The Day of Arafat 2015: Food Unifiying

Couple weeks ago, I fasted on the day of Arafat. Fasting on the day of Arafat is Sunnah, it is not compulsory but it should do. Those who are not performing pilgrimage are recommended to fast on 'Arafah day. It is expected that Allah will expiate the small sins committed in the previous two years.

On the way to Library after I had finished all my classes, I met my classmate from Bangladesh, Pinto. He informed me to join breakfasting ceremony, which was held by Arabian Community in UUM. But I was still blur about the location of the ceremony. He just mentioned in Maybank Residential.

Then I remembered about the place that I used to attend the previous ceremony in Ramadan with Abdulrahman. He was the one who introduced me to Yamani food at Dr. Jamal's House last year. I was very infatuated with that food until I was thinking to change all my favorite foods to Arab food.

I went there with Huda because previously, we had an appointment to breakfasting together in the Mosque. Luckily, we went there by motor bike whose belong to my country-mate. Otherwise, with the remaining energy that we had, walking in this huge campus like UUM was a nightmare for us.

The Surau, used for worship and religious instruction similarly with Mosque, is small. But the intimacy between International students from around the world, hush the hierarchy of the education and social stratification inside the community.

Eating together in one plate

We started eating after Maghrib prayer had done, because the Maghrib time was limited. When adzan had reverberated, Huda and I still on the way finding where was the Surau located. 

"You guys are late. hehe" greeted my friend, Gido, "Please you can take milk and date over there. I'm sorry if we provide the simplest meal for you". He smiled

"Thank you Gido. It is more than enough for us. I am really appreciated bro!"

After Maghrib prayer, everyone had folded up their sajadah. They started pulling off the plastic base for about 3-5 meters along the foyer. This plastic was used to collect unexpected rice going out from the plate. As well as, it would be easy to clean the Surau from dirt.

Chicken Mandi Rice

A big plate was seen from the entrance door of my left side with Dr. Jamal carried on it proudly on his shoulder. Then, the rest of the members carried sequentially.

"Here please, you can eat with 4-5 people" he said

But that was not the end of the section. There was a dessert, sweet cake, that could freeze my mind. The taste was totally awesome. In the first bite, my eyes goggled and I looked at Huda.

"Wow, seriously this cake is freezing my brain. It is tasty man!" I told Huda, "come to take a bite".

"Aha, Indeed. It is very tasty!" he giggled, "thou from the appearance is simple, but the tasty is unpredictably amazing. It has milk, very sweet, and little bit coconut inside" he tried to be food examiner like in serial Tv Master Chef.

"Do they still have extra cake? haha" I whispered

"Maybe, me too. I want to take again" he replied

Basbousa Cake

I enjoyed eating in this manner. Surprisingly, not all Muslims are eating in this manner nowadays. But, there are valid reasons why we should eat in this style. Eating together can save food from waste, unity and feelings of unity among people eating from one plate, lastly, it could develop and sense of sharing available resources.

PS: 

• Thank you to the community who organized this event.

• If you eat together, you will forget the amount of the food that you eat. Please be aware for people, especially girls, who always measure food that they eat and try to be slim.