Notes After Terawih

by Ziks

'Tarawih’ (Arabic) comes from the root word that means to take a rest, and take rest I did. Notes After Terawih is a series of word sketches I drew based on my distracted observation during night prayers, or terawih prayers, done in a single mosque during Ramadhan. Thousands of us here in Singapore engage in terawih for thirty nights in a row – that’s a huge multitude of experiences. Yet, all these experiences are tucked within the walls of the mosque and ultimately remain in Ramadhan... As a new kid in this terawih thing, I decided to take some notes. None of these were written on the spot. Instead, they were recalled and typed on my phone as I headed home for the night.

Genres: Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[nonfirqtion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes After Terawih are observational musings & undercooked remunerations of new writer, Zik, who started attending Terawih (prayers during Ramadan) only recently. The book is a basic observation into the type of familiar welcome I’ve always felt when I attend Terawih prayers during Ramadan. I felt that this book would only be alluring to non-muslims or Muslims who do not attend Terawih. It did, however, feel nice to read and remember all my times at Terawih.

I thought the book served as a nice journal of observations, but it seemed as if she wrote this book without a broader reflection of the power structures that exists in the Muslim community which were subtly reflected in the things she found amusing (i.e. children, gender roles & expectations, Muslims who don’t fall into the dominant image of what a Muslim is, who determines etiquette in religious spaces, women & religious spaces etc). I remember reading each passage and thinking: “oh, that’s all?” I wished an editor could’ve seen this and said “hey, expand on this a little? Why are some spaces only for a select few? And who are these “few”?” I hope she would include a more critical angle in her next book, a book that goes beyond the romanticization of the religion and its’ spaces. A book on this is critically needed in Singapore’s context.

Nonetheless, it was a great attempt for a new writer. I liked the simple writing and the insistence of keeping the Malay/English code-switching - a true reflection of the linguistic practices of the community. I would recommend this book for non-muslims. For ~some~ Muslims, it may be an affirmation of something you’ve felt for so long…

[L.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

'𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭.'

I was walking down Arab Street, Singapore, when I saw the gentle façade of Wardah Books. Outside of the bookstore perched this lovely quote: '𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.' A smile. I knew I had to enter, and enter, I did.

I lingered at the second floor, picking up books and debating which ones to get, somewhat listening to a conversation of two strangers about a rare copy. Moved from shelf to shelf, admiring their traditional red rugs and their niche selection...

But right when I read the first vignette of Notes After Terawih, I made up my mind.

This has been a lovely slice-of-life read. A celebration of silence, observation, and the connection of strangers. A fitting book for commuting and sitting by yourself at a quaint cafe. It reminded me of the Miller quote: '𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴; 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱, 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.'

The ending of this book felt commemorative of my solo trip's end as well. I left the country thinking why leaving feels closer to my chest and why strangers feel oddly comforting. As the author wrote:

'𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.'

[Ying Hui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different perspective and a whole new world for me. Lovely and interesting writing style accompanied by details, emotions and small humor. Ziks managed to bring about a sense of community just by writing about her observation, her feelings and more. Lovely book!~

[Shze-Hui Tjoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Beautiful, contemplative, with an eye for details. There was this warmth and tenderness to each little textual sketch that kind of reminded me of the Taiwanese artist Jimmy Liao (who's one of my favourites), and in some places I felt like the writing moved with the profundity and simplicity of poetry, or maybe even prayer:

“I’m left in the dust and I feel a little empty [...] It seems we all need a little bit of empty to breathe. To have a little bit of empty is to have the capacity to be full. ”

I also feel like this book captures something about connections in a community that's hard for me, personally, to articulate. How these connections - which might seem numerous and fleeting and brief, or like they're just dancing on the surface without going very deep - actually fulfil this fundamental human need we all have to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and surrounded by others. Community is not necessarily friendship, but it's a beautiful and vital thing all of its own. Ziks addresses this directly in the text, at one point.

“Another instance, people said they were very close to their neighbours, but they also said they would not talk to them if they had problems, which the researcher found odd. Wouldn’t you tell your problems to those you feel close to? And “then she realised that maybe she was “imposing a Western idea of ‘closeness’ in a non-Western context.” What does it mean to be close to someone, in Asia? Are there different ways of being close?"

I feel like this book has given me a lot to think about and mull over. I guess I read it at the right point in my life. Highly highly recommend.

[Naura (natsuyuu brainrot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes After Terawih by Ziks
3,5/5🌟

This book have caught my attention right after I see its cover & title. The content isn't what I expected to be yet they're good to read. Notes After Terawih is basically a kind of diary that Ziks write during her Terawih in Ramadhan Month about her met various people.

Though I give it a 3,5🌟, this book has a special room in my heart, it's like the air that I breath, it's giving me reasons to go to Terawih. Even by reading it 2 days before Ramadhan, I'm already full of joy that filled my chest anda starting to see my neighborhood vibes in Ramadhan, the heat in Ramadhan day, the chills at night from kipas angin in Mosque while praying Terawih, people on the street saking up everyone for suhoor, the after Terawih Qur'an recitation on Mosque (this is weird, but I like it tho).

[remedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

"What does it mean to be close to someone in Asia? Are there different ways of being close? And this especially hit me because for the longest time, if someone asked me if I am close to my parents, I would say close and not close. I don't talk to them about my problems but I know that we are close, somehow."

Notes After Terawih is a collection of a month-long observation of the writer during the holy month Ramadhan, in which each story reflects the occurring mundanities millions of Muslims in Southeast Asian countries might share in common. It feels like reading a long-lost journal of a neighbor for the familiarity it shares with my own Ramadhan experience throughout the years! Overall, the book is a light and warm read.

[Ziyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come, come whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.

Bacaan yang ringan dan bikin balik nostalgia ke saat sholat tarawihnya jamaah di musholla dekat rumah (karena beberapa tahun terakhir aku tarawih di rumah terus, paling pas 10 malam terakhir, jamaah di masjid).

Ngerasain banget di posisi penulis, karena aku juga modelan yang berangkat sendiri terus abis itu ya observasi sekitar. Ngerasain ketemu wajah-wajah familiar (meski ga kenal) dan cuma bisa ngasih senyum sapa. Kalo memang ga terhindarkan ya ada aja pertemuan/pengalaman ajaib.

[whattoread ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

a tiny personal notes about people you can meet during terawih; Penguin Uncle, Talkaktive Bibik, Brooch Grandma, cutie little boy/girl, etc.

so heartwarming and addictive. I even can't stop reading page by page of this book. :")

“What does it mean to be close to someone, in Asia? Are there different ways of being close?” - pg. 34-35

But this really does feel like a mega-extended family —Ramadhan is the occasion and terawih is our reunion. Who are they to me, and who I am to them? I don’t know, but strangers can share a whole lot. - pg. 60

[Aldy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, that's it?
Buku kecil ini rasanya lebih cocok dibaca oleh non-muslim atau muslim yg tidak/jarang melaksanakan tarawih. Romantisasi tarawih dengan observasi orang-orang yg melakukan ibadah tarawih dengan penuh riang yg dipancarkan anak-anak, ibu-ibu yang berdoa sesungguhnya meminta permohonan kepada sang maha kuasa, dan pertemuan setahun sekali kepada tetangga maupun keluarga yg sebenarnya terasa seperti strangers.

Buku ini mungkin bisa jadi pengingat hangatnya tarawih setelah Ramadhan usai.

[Kes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was ok enough - interesting to read about the social interactions as a non-Muslim, but also felt a little “that’s it?”. Each “note” details a short (<300 words, in general) interaction with the people at prayer. It doesn’t go further than that (there is no follow up, etc).

I did like one question raised: “What does it mean to be close to someone, in Asia? Are there different ways of being close?”

It’s ok if you want to read diary entries. Might be more meaningful for Muslims.

Rounded up to 4 stars cos based in Singapore. Frankly 2.5 stars imo

[Fitra Rahmamuliani · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What does it mean to be close to someone, in Asia? Are there different ways of being close? And this especially hit me because for the longest time, if someone asked me if I am close to my parents, I would say close and not close. I don’t talk to them about my ~problems~ but I know that we are close, somehow. So yes, the forum helped with that and it was nice to go.”

Lucu sih karena ceritanya pendek pendek dan beda orang per bagiannya. Hal-hal yang bisa ditemui pas setelah terawih.

[Fadzli Jambari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book on observations made by the writer Zik during Terawih (Prayers held during the fasting month). This book felt comforting for me to read as a Muslim myself.

While I appreciated her musings, I wished there was more depth in this book. It left me wanting more, especially since such perspectives aren’t usually written in local books specifically.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a non-Muslim, I appreciate experiencing the communal atmosphere of terawih prayers and meeting its sweet personalities, but even as a chapbook, these humble, glancing observations don't add up to much.

[bookdotworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm left in the dust and I feel a little empty. But the dust will settle, and so will my insides, even with the empty. It'll all settle together. Even our hearts have holes, right?

It seems we all need a little bit of empty to breathe. To have a little bit of empty is to have the capacity to be full. You know this. You know me. You know all. Indeed no one is like You."

Do you know those books that make you feel all fuzzy and warm? Yup, this book is one of them. I read this in one sitting, but the feeling of longing lingered. It emphasised the tiny blessings that one experiences while attending terawih. Super cute book, I might even get it just because it reminded of the good memories that I experienced in the holy month of Ramadan.

[totesintobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

tiny portal of anthology packed with cute passages on terawih encounters and a plethora of individuals. i entirely enjoyed this.

[Naf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little observations of people the author meets at the mosque during terawih prayers. Just wished she elaborated more and wrote about what each encounter meant to her, why they were worth noting.

[selm · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5!

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

light read. relatable.

[mm · Rating 4 out of 5]

One person's observations of the people she sees at a mosque during Ramadan. I found it fascinating. A microcosm of a community beautifully told.

[rstitijkl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this during Ramadhan, since then I always paying attention to people on my left, right, behind, or in front of me.

I can relate to every page, from Ngantok during Terawih, someone beside me wearing fancy Telekung, to sobbing hear to reciting translation of the Quran.

My Favorites, page 14, page 37.

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.

Ketika baca buku ini merasa seperti mendegar teman bercerita. Apalagi ada beberapa kata atau istilah dalam bahasa melayu. For the first time, reading book with melayu vocabulary there hehe. Serta beberapa kebiasaan yang emang sering dijumpa di masyarakat melayu juga.

One of my best buys.