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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright March 2023
Recently, Yong Min Cher of Newswav invited creators to "Share your #RAYA2023 content". But we are hardly a week into Ramadan so Hari Raya is still more than three weeks away, so the big day is still far from our daily thoughts.
I would rather focus on what is happening during Ramadan now rather than the day of celebration at the end of 30 days of fasting.
During this month every Muslim is expected to be patient. The word for patience in Malay is sabar originally derived from Arabic صبر sot bar ra.
Muslims are expected to be patient when fasting and feel for the poor and needy who have to go through life without food and drinks on a daily basis.
But more importantly to restraint yourself from losing your temper. To keep cool under pressure in facing the trials and tribulatuons of daily life and gain Allah's blessings.
One of the most striking advertisements that tries to promote this concept of sabar that caught my attention is from Saji, a cooking oil company owned by FGV.
The footage starts with a group of people preparing bubor lambok with onions and shallots being toasted in a big cooking pot attended by burly cooks.
Then the camera switches to a second scene where a young husband is losing his cool because his wife is late coming out of work and he is unhappy that traffic is building up and they might not make it in time for buka puasa.
Just then they are stuck in traffic.
Holding up the jam is a Chinese lady and her Indian friend who are unable to restart their car that accidentally broke down in front of the mosque where the three burly men are busy cooking bubor lambok.
The young husband leans out from his car and shouts at the lady driver in front who is frantic at not being able to bring her car to life.
The camera focuses on three burly men approaching the car. They look menacing. She is scared.
Meanwhile, the young husband keeps shouting because he is late for iftar. The big burly cook turns around looks at him and says, "Sabar...! Everyone wants to breakfast too!"
The big burly man tells the two ladies to get out of the car. He and his friends then push the car into the compound of a nearby mosque.
The two ladies takes their seats and looks for head scarves. Someone arrives and hands them the scarves to cover their heads.
The big burly cook terurns and offers bubur lambok inviting them to stay for iftar.
This striking advert shows patience helps calm tempers and promotes better relationships in a community.
It teaches one to be more patient when fasting.
In fact, indirectly it invites non-Muslims to visit a mosque the way "Jom Ziarah" wants various ethnic groups to appreciate each other's culture in our multicultural society.
Watch this superb advertisement! You may learn something about Malay Muslim culture and its emphasis on patience or sabar!.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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