We are fast approaching the end of Ramadan. \u00a0Where did it go? \u00a0Every year we say \u201cinshAllah THIS year we will go to Egypt for Ramadan\u2026 we will put up lanterns for Ramadan\u2026 \u00a0we will have a big community iftaar for Ramadan\u2026. \u00a0 Then, poof! \u00a0It\u2019s the last ten days and it seems as though the dunya has knocked us on the head again.<\/p>\n
But really, when I think of it, that\u2019s not the case. \u00a0We haven\u2019t been sitting at home watching reruns of \u201cHajj Mitwali\u201d and eating bon-bons. \u00a0Life is a struggle, and we have been struggling. \u00a0I have been blessed to have a baby within the last two months, and the sleep deprivation and odd hours and recovering from having four babies in rapid succession, plus a series of pregnancy losses, have made it difficult for me to be Super-Duper-Do-It-All-Mega-Muslimah. \u00a0But I have nursed my baby, I have rocked him at four in the morning. \u00a0I have fed my family and cleaned laundry and have tried to post upbeat musings on my Facebook page. \u00a0I\u2019ve managed to memorize a few <\/i>more verses of Surat Yasin, and I have held my temper with my headstrong two-year-old and am learning to defuse her tantrums. \u00a0This is all a form of \u2018ibaadah when you do it in remembrance of your duty to Allah.<\/p>\n
My husband, may Allah bless him, has worked nonstop seven days a week to bring home halaal income to pay the bills, to feed this family and clothe them and buy them lollipops on Friday. \u00a0He also has served as vice president of our masjid board, helped find us not one but two <\/i>Imaams, one full-time for our masjid and one to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan. \u00a0He sacrificed time he could ill-afford to make sure everyone attending the Tarawih would have the pleasure of a Qari who could recite in a beautiful fashion to help them remember Allah. \u00a0He has rushed home from work to relieve me so I could get a few minutes away from the baby, has taken care of his ailing father and still managed to find time for the occasional wrestling match with his kids. \u00a0This is a form of \u2018ibaadah when you do it in remembrance of your duty to Allah.<\/p>\n
So, I guess we haven\u2019t done that bad. \u00a0We are not sitting down reading Qur\u2019an for hours a day, but inshAllah we are striving to live according to the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah. \u00a0He is fasting; I am not, due to nursing the baby and being overall worn out. \u00a0My oldest son fasted the first ten days, then had to break his fast when school started, but he\u2019s still fasting the weekends. \u00a0The other kids are doing their normal bit of running around, playing, fighting, coming to me so I can kiss any boo-boos, and inshAllah learning what it is like to live in a Muslim home. <\/p>\n
Right now my husband is sitting in the living room resting before going to the masjid for the evening. \u00a0He and my so are eating libb, cracking the seeds in a manner I find infuriating, but I keep silent because I know they enjoy it so much. \u00a0Small sacrifice, though I am always chiding them when I find shells in the crevices of the sofa or on the bed or worked into the baby\u2019s diaper. \u00a0Still trying to figure that one out.<\/p>\n
Me, I\u2019m relaxing after dinner \u2013 barbecue roasted chicken with rice, vegetables, and a nice pasta in sauce that I whipped up at the last minute \u00a0I\u2019m drinking some grape juice and will probably make some tea in a bit. \u00a0After that, I will no doubt be at the beck and call of little Zaid, who is now just over seven weeks old, mashAllah. \u00a0 And that too is a form of \u2018ibaadah when I do it in remembrance of my duty to Allah.<\/p>\n
fi Aman Allah,<\/p>\n
Nancy<\/p>\n
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