Free Fridays: Harummanis.

I don’t know if you know how much I love harummanis. It’s my favourite fruit – the tangy unique taste of this fruit, the sweetness bursting in your mouth when you eat it. The wonders of God’s creation – one fruit can give such joy. But He makes it limited edition. It has seasons and only appears to you in exclusive drops so you’d appreciate it more. Well, tis the season! Woohooooo, harummanis season! I only knew because I went to the supermarket and saw it at the fruits section. I did a doubletake and actually reversed my trolley (was the annoying one that keeps getting stuck when you push it but for harummanis, iSanggup). I took three and put them in my trolley, as I pictured eating this cold, in front of the TV tonight after the kids sleep. At the cashier, I stopped smiling. A harummanis is 20+ bucks?! ONE? Is that… normal? Usually, I just steal the ones in my parents’ house. I had no idea they were designer fruits. I paid anyway, desperate to realise my TV vision tonight. Ate every orange bit in the mango that night, cutting the green skin as thinly as possible. Ahhh it was so good. This week, we had my inlaws over for dinner. Got the mains sorted, yummyyy. For dessert, I looked at my fridge and saw the harummanis. Oh… but… I only have a bit left… Plus, they like watermelon right? My heart: You obviously have to share this with your family. Syaitan: No no, you don’t have much left. Keep for yourself. My heart: You must share good things with others. Syaitan: Watermelon is also good. So, which one did I serve my family? YEPPPP. I SERVED BOTH, YALLS. BOOOMMMSSS. The family loved the harummanis and finished it all in a few seconds. My heart pain-ed because a) it took longer to even cut them and b) they didn’t leave any for me. 🗡️ But I love them, so it’s ok. I also learned this: our Prophet s.a.w. said “The most beloved act of Islam is to feed others and to give salam to those you know and those you don’t.” Did you know that? Then there’s also in the Quran about prioritising your family first when wanting to do good deeds. And then the one that sealed the deal for me was when I remembered a hadith: The Prophet s.a.w. said: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” - Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim Fine. I’ll cut up the harummanis. 😂 Now, I need you to pay attention to the next part. The next day, I moved on and went about my day. School run, bla bla, then I had a lunch meeting. My colleague arrived at the meeting, carrying a bunch of things – his bag, some other stuff and a big orange bag. He hands me the big orange bag. “This is from my grandma, she said it’s for you,” he said. “Aww so sweet!” as I peeked inside it. I gasped when I saw what was inside. There was a big green box inside. That said... “Harummanis.” I was shook. Like the shook was shookething in my bones. Is this for real? I gave a couple harummanis to others yesterday and THE VERY NEXT DAY, I get gifted not one, but A WHOLE BOX of new harummanis? ?!!?!?!?!? I didn’t even know what to say. I would’ve cried if I wasn’t so shooketh. In all seriousness, this isn’t really about harummanis. This is about God’s blessings that I witnessed today. You give a little bit, for the sake of Allah swt. He then pays you back “in cash”, three times what you gave up, the very next day. Sigh. A verse we should never take for granted was right in front of me: All of us are chasing such big things like wealth and success, but we don’t notice the other many many manyyyyy blessings that God tries to show us every day in our lives. We never deny any of His favors yet we fail to say thanks. The more we sacrifice for His path, the more He gives back. I was reminded of that today. 😭 😭 😭 I love You, Ya Rabb. Forgive me whenever I am ungrateful to You. I also love you, Colleague’s Grandmother Whose Name I Should’ve Asked For. You’re my new bestie. Let me know you’ve read this. Comment your choice: watermelon or harummanis on my latest post at @sincerelyvivy. See you there! :)