The plan was to have the Aqiqah on the 11th of Syawal 1429 i.e. 11th October 2008 because of a few reasons.
It was still during the Raya month, so the house masih belum berselerak.
All the immediate family were still on holiday.
Impossible to have it after October, because there will be a lot of majlis kahwin every week until New Year.
The 3 main problems were:
No goats confirmed for the Aqiqah. In Islam for boys, the parents had to prepare two goats for the majlis. the goats had to meet some criteria before they can be used.
No zikir group available.
The caterer could not be contacted.
Since there was no conformation of event, we could't invite gusets..kwang..kwang..kwang
All this was happening and it was already the 3rd day of Raya (3rd October 2008)....uhhuhuhuhu... now you must be thinking that why o why Iwould put myselfthrough this. I can't answer that.....I even thought of maybe cancelling the majlis to next year. But Alhamdulilah, in the eleventh hour everything fell into place. My wife calmed me down and say that Insya Allah everything would be fine. The goats were available, we got the zikir group form Kampung Gita to attend and the menu for the majlis was confirmed by the caterer. We even managed to distribute the invitation letters to all the family members and sms to friends. Everything was set for the Aqiqah to be held at our house, 2.00pm.
On the 11th, it was two o'clock. the tents were just being put up and there were no tables and chairs. the caterers are still busy preparing the menu and no guest in sight. My wife and I are worried. Did all the invitations got out....are people coming?....is the majlis going to be a disaster?...
At about 2.30 they finished setting up the tables and chairs, the zikir group was already in the house, guests were slowly coming. I was busy collecting "sedekah" from family, friends and guests. Tidak cukup my pocket...hahahhahah....thanks to all who came...
One of the few guests to arrive was my wife's boss, who was a non-muslim (I know we are not supposed to serve aqiqah meat to non-muslim...we served him "cow's meat" I bought separately). He came at about 1.50 pm....because the invitation was about 2pm. Mind you the tables and chairs were still being put up. By normal standards he was on time but...he is early by Malaysian standards...hmmmm.....we should change the standard.......don't you think??
The zikir group started reciting the zikir, I was busy welcoming the guests outside, my wife was busy inside entertaining the other guests....Emir was surprisingly calm and attentive to all the commotion in the house. He just kept quiet and monitored everything around him. Of course he has this habit of staring directly at you if he does not recognize the face.
Then, I was called in to carry Emir around the zikir group for the hair cutting and tepung tawar ceremony. Anor followed me from behind. So, there was me walking around with Emir..having his hair (what is left of it) cut off and ditepung tawar ...with me and Anor also being tepung tawar"ed" together. During all this, Emir just kept quiet and stared at each individual guest who is cutting his hair,....he must be wondering "why are all these strangers here cutting my hair?"....
Alhamdulillah, the "majlis" went on without a hitch...everything went smoothly afterwards. Eventhough there was a slight rain, all the guests enjoyed the feast afterwards. Dalca kambing, ayam masak merah, sayur campur, ikan terubok masin and fruits were served with hot plain rice.
Truthfully, Anor and I was really relieved when it was all over. Luckily we had the caterer to cleanup afterwards. We were defintely exhausted......pooped out...hahhahahahahahaha....
Nevertheless it was all worth it for little Emir Effendy........................
Rojak Kuchei
