Marhaban....

Waktu kecik2, selalu kumpulan Marhaban di taman perumahan Mama Mia dtg ke rumah semasa Syawal. They used to be almost 40 people in a group. They would go around the participating houses, reciting some tahlil or Marhaban dan doa selamat, and the host would prepare some food for them. I used to join my "sekolah agama" Marhaban group (actually I was forced to join it by my teacher) and at times, we visited almost 4 or 5 houses per night. I went home at 11 pm with a full stomach. When we were kids, there's nothing more enjoyable than eating a variety of food at other people's houses, visiting them and getting some "duit raya".  It was so fun, as we could also meet our friends and went around showing off our colourful, new Hari Raya attires. 

The good old days. 20 years ago.

A few days ago (to be specific on Sunday nite), hubby and Chichi joined our neighbourhood "jamaah surau" went to several houses for Marhaban. It was Chichi's first experience ever. He was so excited about it and I'm happy to see him feel comfortable socializing with our neighbours. It's good for his social skills as I really deem that social skills are as much as important as any other skills or knowledge for a person to gain success in life. Learning how to communicate and interact with others and the manners of visiting peoples' houses, are equally essential as learning to write, read and count. I was brought up in a family who loves visiting relatives and friends, and also hosting "open houses", gathering or entertaining visitors. I really hope that I can raise my children in this kind of environment and experiences. 

Hubby suggested that we invite the Marhaban group to our house on Tuesday nite (last nite). He even promised to take over the cooking tasks and help me out with the preparation. Our intention was purely to enhance the brotherhood and "silaturrahmi" among our neighbors, and this is a chance for the others to come to our "simple and plain" home (all the neighbors' houses are so nicely furnished and decorated, not like ours). Despite my condition (the swollen feet and backache in late pregnancy), I happily agreed to his idea.

So, yesterday, hubby came home at 1 pm to prepare the meal for the Marhaban group. Since he didin't have much time, he only cooked "sup tulang rusuk", which was to be eaten with "roti peranchis". Then around 3.30, he sent me to the clinic for my antenatal checkup appointment. He rushed then to his office again for some works untill 5, fetched me from the clinic, sent me home and straight away attended an important meeting cum Raya gathering untill Maghrib. In the meantime, I prepared the house, did some cleaning and furniture re-arranging. 

Hubby also bought some "satay kajang". Right after Isya', the group arrived. To my surprise, there were almost more than 30 people! It was totally over our estimation and expectation. I became so nervous cos we only prepared food for about 20 people, including us! I didn't have much time to cook extra meal. We never thought that we would be receiving a lot of guests....never thought that they would be interested to come to our simple home! On Sunday, there were only about 20 persons, so I thought during weekdays, people might be busy working, thus they wouldn't join the Marhaban tour. O...I was totally wrong!

However, as Rasulullah s.a.w. said in one of his hadith: "The food for a man is enough for two, the food for two is enough for four, the food for four is enough for eight"; alhamdulillah the food that we prepared is technically enough for everyone, especially the guests. Actually, I've never heard of this hadith before. It was Afafita who taught me this hadith. She learned it at school and keep on reciting it over and over again at home. MasyaAllah..the connotation of the hadith is absolutely true. The most important thing is our sincere intention.  

After the guests went, hubby did all the cleaning and chores. He wanted me to rest, so he took over my jobs despite the hectic day he had gone through. I was supposed to feel happy and took this opportunity to bully him (something that I couldn't do before), but surprisingly, I felt guilty of not being able to carry out my responsibilities. I felt that I was not a good wife. That's the typical me. Eventhough I always complaining and nagging, hoping for helping hands from others with the chores and daily routine, but deep down in my heart, I would feel guilty if I couldn't do my responsibilities.

So..beruntunglah my hubby dpt i. I'm not the type of woman who will love to take advantage on the husband. heheh....