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I woke up yesterday feeling thirsty. I checked my phone and it was 7:30 in the morning already. I missed my alarm or maybe, it didn’t work at all. Maybe it knew I was off so it also took a rest. But that alarm was for me to wake up and drink water before the sun rises, my last drink to help me make it until sunset. 

It’s Ramadan, if some of you aren’t aware. And though I’m not a Muslim, I fast. For health reasons I usually say, but also, for something more personal.

I tried to sleep again as 7:30 is still quite early but I couldn’t. I started reading the Qur’an.

I received a message, something that would have sparked negativity and I just brushed it off. The topic, was quite an annoyance though. I couldn’t concentrate for a while and after a few minutes of trying, I was back to reading again.

At noon, I fell asleep after hours of just reading. I woke up late in the afternoon, almost evening, took a shower and started reading again until it was time to break my fast.

I received a message from my boss, she was checking on me. I told her I was off and for her to check on me, I thought, something might have happened. I checked my mail, which I don’t usually do on my day off, and I was correct. Flying emails with blame game on it. Such a drag. It was quite annoying and again, I was distressed.

After Iftar, I started reading again. I don’t actually know what happened to me. I felt like a person who haven’t read anything for years, I just couldn’t stop. I kept reading until it was time to sleep.

I woke up at 1:30 am, felt hungry and I couldn’t sleep again. I had some snacks and started reading again.

You might be wondering what happened to me, I was wondering too. I have always wanted to read the Qur’an but somehow, I was only able to really do it recently and much more yesterday where I almost read half the book.

It is quite similar to the Bible, the same story of Joseph the Dreamer (Yusuf), of Abraham (Ibrahim), Noah (Nuh), and Jesus and Mary (Isa and Maryam). Although there were some more to the Qur’an that we won’t find in the Bible, some things like the Holy War, and of course Prophet Muhammed. Also there’s a different feeling when reading the Bible versus reading the Qur’an.  The Qur’an is somehow straight forward while the Bible is a bit poetic in form, one that makes me feel like seeing dandelions flying high while reading, like the words used and the stories are told in such a beautiful way.

I hope you won’t take my comparison in a bad way. I’m just someone who wants to see both sides, who just wants to learn.

It’s not like I got an epiphany or something after spending a day of doing nothing else except reading the Qur’an. But honestly, I felt good and light and fresh even after not having enough sleep last night. I felt like a lot of burden was lifted off my shoulders. I came to work today seeing the person that builds up kilos of hatred in my heart just by the sight of him, but I felt like I just didn’t care, like he was just a dust on my desk that I can get rid off by blowing it off or wiping it with a tissue.

And even until now, I feel good. Really good.

So I started this month with a very positive post and I hope you have a good start too.