His Majesty Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Kedah who is also the Tuanku Chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) graced the UUM 2019 Iftar Reception held at the grounds of the Sultan Badlishah Mosque recently.
The Raja Muda of Kedah, His Royal Highness Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Ibni Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin, who is also the Tunku Pro-Chancellor of UUM; Kedah Menteri Besar, Dato' Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir and His Royal Highness, Dato' Seri Diraja Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Al-Marhum Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, Tunku Temenggong Kedah, cum the Tunku Pro-Chancellor of UUM were also amongst the VIPs who graciously graced the event.
According to Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Allah Almighty said, 'Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting. It is for Me and I will reward it.'
"In the month of Ramadan there is a complete package with pahala (reward), forgiveness, Lailatulqadar. To gain the pleasure of Allah the preparation of hearts and souls must surpass other preparations because with a clean heart and soul will lead to the creation of person who is truly cognizant and can bring various positive changes," he said.
"Let's together seize the opportunities that Allah has given by carrying out all demands as a servant.
"This Ramadan also brings a lot of self-realisation, we are trained to be a more thoughtful individual, become Muslims who always help their brothers and sisters with love and patience.
"So, do not whine and complain about the problems that arise in our work in this university. We need to be patient and try to overcome them with diligence and wisdom.
On the reward of those who are patient, Allah Almighty said,
“… believing servants, be mindful of your Lord! Those who do good in this world will have a good reward- God’s earth is wide––and those who persevere patiently will be given a full and unstinting reward.’ (Surah Az Zumar: Verse 10)
There are three types of patience namely being patient in performing acts of obedience to Allah, patience in confronting fate that are both difficult and painful and patience in oneself for abstaining from haram acts. All of these forms of patience are found in the practice of fasting.
The month of Ramadan has brought about self-realisation, a quality which can train us to be more considerate of others while at the same time purifying our hearts as well as thoughts.
For example, the setting up of UUM's Orphanage was the result of the concern and affection for this group and with the existence of the orphanage, the future of these orphans is more secured.
He also urged the university community to come together and help this group on unfortunate young people. Assistance in the form of giving sincere donations for example through salary deductions is very much welcome so that the orphans can continuously be taken care of and their plight be continuously looked into.
"I am also deeply moved by the concerned and generosity attributes shown by staff and the community who provided financial contributions to organizing the Iftar programmes for the UUM students every day.
He also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Organizing Committee under the leadership of the Islamic Centre on the initiative of organising the Iftar Reception with the campus community as an annual tradition.
"Hopefully with the tarbiyah we get through this Ramadan madrasah, will make us better people," he said.