BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) yesterday conducted a tadarus (mass reading of Al-Quran) ceremony for its female officers and staff members, as part of religious activities to mark the noble month of Ramadhan.

Held at the Kampung Limau Manis Mosque, the religious event was officiated by the spouse of the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Datin Hjh Jamaiah Hj Abd Manap.

The ceremony started with mass recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah led by the ministry’s head of development and planning section, Ustazah Hjh Aminah Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Hj Yussof followed by the recitation of tadarus, _tahlil _and doa arwah (supplication).

The congregation took turns reciting several verses of the Al-Quran.

Also present to deliver a talk entitled “Puasa Menjana Sifat Taqwa” was Ustazah Hjh Zaleha Hj Ibrahim, an invited speaker from Seri Begawan Religious Teachers College University (KUPU SB).

In her talk, Ustazah Hjh Zaleha emphasised on the uniqueness of the blessed month of Ramadhan, stating that it is a holistic, spiritually rejuvenating experience where Muslims around the world practise self-discipline, self-restraint and engenders the willpower to abstain from what was deemed forbidden in Islam.

“See Ramadhan as a training programme intended to awaken the spiritual life of a believer, Ramadhan, the month of fasting, contains the most intense training to instill taqwa (God-consciousness) in the hearts of Muslims,” said the Ustazah.

“We have fasted, not simply to feel the pangs of hunger and thirst but, as Al-Quran tells us, to gain taqwa. Taqwa is the key to making our spirit last,” she continued.

Concluding the ceremony, Datin Hjh Jamaiah presented gifts to the mosque on behalf of the ministry, including an electric vacuum cleaner and several lighting devices.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs holds the function every Ramadhan to strengthen ties among the community to mark the blessed month and to strengthen silaturrahim (ties) and community spirit among the staff members of the ministry.

The Brunei Times