altmuslim
Mind, Body and Soul
Pictured here is my 14-year-old son, Jibril Syed, training with head high school track/field coach and ex-Big Ten hurdle champion and Michigan Wolverine, Shelby Johnson. Since the age of ten, Jibril has been fasting full days, praying 20 rakat for 30 days in the first saf, spending the last ten days of Ramadan performing I’thikaf and memorizing the Quran. This year, the paradigm has shifted again. We did not think that he would excel as far as he has in the 200m hurdles. Just having finished middle school as the top hurdler in his school, city champion and county representation he was selected to represent the state of Michigan as a gold medalist in USA Track & Fields Junior Olympics. As a father, at first I struggled with the prospect of him training and competing in Ramadan, because there was no way that he would be allowed to compromise his fast. The days would be the hottest and longest in the year, and I was afraid that his body would not be able to take the stress or that he would compromise his spiritual activities. The boy who rarely speaks up said, “Abu Jaan, give me a chance and I’ll prove that I can handle it!” I gave him a week to demonstrate this and with the blessings of Allah ﷻ, he laid my doubts to rest. Ramadan is not just about starving yourself and engaging in ritualistic behaviors. Of the many things it is, Ramadan is also about challenging yourself to make a case for an upgrade in lifestyle and character.
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