One Saturday afternoon in 1991

15 years ago, while most teenagers spent their Saturday afternoons lazing around at home or hanging out at Orchard Road, some of us like my buddies in the photo, chose to go to Ustaz Saripi's classes. On some occasions, when lecturers like Moulana Imran Hossein came over to Singapore, we would even go from mosque to mosque to catch his lectures. Such was the enthusiasm we had during that time.

I hope and pray that Allah accepts our quest for knowledge as an act of ibadah. And in this new year, I hope I will continue seeking religious knowledge even though sometimes it is just so very hard, what with having children and many other commitments. And just be a better Muslim.