Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri / Eid Mubarak

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin is the greeting we Malaysians use everytime we meet someone during the festival of Eid Mubarak. This roughly means 'Happy Eid' and 'i beg forgiveness from you phsyically and spiritually'.

Hari Raya or Eid is celebrated by muslims around the world after ramadhan. Hari Raya or Eid basically means 'celebration'. A merry time of celebration for Malaysians. When i say Malaysians, it is not only meant for the muslims. This celebration is also celebrated by the non muslims in Malaysia. A time to visit one another to strenghten family ties, friendship bonds and asking for forgiveness.

Most muslim Malaysians will don on their best clothes in the morning of Eid and perform the Eid prayers at the local mosque. Most people will either come back home for their big reunion breakfast with the family or go straight to their dearly departed graves to offer prayers.

This is the time of the year where you can expect to see colourful new attires, new cushion covers, new curtains, newly painted houses and even new cars! You can just go over to any house without even being invited and i guarantee a big spread of food laid on the table for you to savour without feeling guilty.

Food is always abundance during this time, Malaysians being good hosts will make sure you will not leave their home feeling hungry.
The traditional food like the ketupat (rice cook in coconut leaves), rendang (meat cook in coconut milk and spice), nasi bariani are a must and the list goes on and on....

We even have cookies for guests who visits and the children (small kids) will be given Raya goodies (money packets, yes its real money!). Open houses (literally means you accept guests all day long) are also a common thing for the whole month of Syawal.

What touches me most is the Takbir. Everytime i hear the Takbir, i get this feeling which i really cannot explain.

Sadly, with all the extravagance, we have inadvertently attached the wrong values and meaning to the day itself, making those who don’t or no longer have the means to experience these things, feel somewhat less than excited about it.

Unfortunately, the true meaning of Hari Raya or Eid remains lost amongst most of us. :(

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin to everyone out there

Gastric again during ramadhan???

Does fasting causes gastric acidity? hmmm.... a question that have been lingering in my mind for quite sometime. When i was growing up, back in my school days, i remember friends especially boys will come up with gastric acid excuses for not fasting. yeah rite!! blame it on the acids huh...

anyway, a friend kept complaining of heartburn, headaches and tummy tumbling sensation when fasting. Funny thing is, he's ok after iftar. According to him, he went to the doctor twice and the doctor gave him some tablets, MC (ahaaaa....*wink*) and advise to drink soya.



I went through the internet and did some checking on this issue which really puzzles me because i know studies have already shown that fasting is beneficial to the body. According to a Dr Mohammad Zafar A. Nomani, an increased of gastric acidity does occur during fasting with symptoms of heaviness and burning in the stomach and a sour mouth. On the contrary, some researches says this assumption is baseless and against the normal physiology of gastric acid secretion.





Fried, spicy food (there goes my chilli padi again...) and too much sugary/sweets kueh/bubur can not only cause weight problems but also indigestion and heart burn. These problem though can be overcome by eating food that is rich in fibre like the wheat bread, beans and fruits. These foods trigger muscular action, churning (macam mesin simen) and mixing food, breaking it down into smaller particles and thus reduce the build up acid in the stomach.





i came across these suggestions below for us to ponder

1) eat slowly and chew food properly to ease digestion

2) avoid catbonated drinks which could easily increase gastric acidity

3) reduce caffeinated drinks such as coffee/tea which can cause diuretic effect and make you lose fluid

4) do not overeat







*note* - Allah SWT has designed the human body to be physiologically intelligent and can adjust to temporary periods of food deprivation. Salam Ramadhan