Ramadan

Firstly, the month of Ramadan is a training program in order to limit the desires of our body and focusing on priming our soul. The goal we’re trying to achieve is to be more conscious of Allah (2:183) and more thankful for the blessings we possess (2:185). We do this by reading Quran with meaning, and abstaining from the detrimental things we have been accustomed to. The month of Ramadan should make us reconsider our needs and wants, enable us to adopt a more moderate and minimalist approach in our lifestyle, make us more patient, charitable & compassionate towards our fellow human beings. Those are the purposes of fasting/abstaining.

See, we must realize that fasting is not done to please God in anyway, and it is not a means to salvation in itself; rather it is done to achieve the goals that I have briefly outlined above. Obviously, there is no point in fasting if we do not strive to achieve them. If we sleep for the most part of our fast, we are cheating our own souls because it’s not teaching us anything! Or, if we end up consuming more than we usually do and have lavish Iftars, it is totally against the point of fasting in the first place! Think of it like this: You take a university course in order to clear the exams. It would only be worthwhile if you pass in those examinations. Fasting is the course, and we will only pass the examinations if we achieve the objectives of it. Otherwise, it’s useless.

Ramadan is that month where the Quran should reveal itself to us (2:185).  Don’t let anyone deter you from this, not even yourself. If you seek to read the whole Quran, you just have to read 1 juz per day (20 pages) which approximately takes only an hour. Of course, you don’t HAVE to finish the Quran. Read whatever is easy for you, but just read something every day. Be acquainted with the message. Remember, baby steps are the key to success. All of us are ambassadors of Islam. The world doesn’t read the Quran, they read the people who claim themselves to be Muslim. Let’s withdraw from all that we’re used to, and focus our energies on reforming ourselves and then stay that way even after Ramadan has passed by.

I wish you a very productive Ramadan. Thank you for your time!