Its amazing how life takes a 180 degree turn in Ramadan. We eat when we are suppose to sleep (3 am suhoor). We pray when we are suppose to eat (9 pm Maghrib and then 10 pm isha + Taraweeh). We smile when we are furious. We give profusely until we are penurious. We refrain our thoughts and restrain our gaze even when we are tempted and curious. Ramadan is indeed an incredible month. Although it is hard to get used to the changes, especially when we haven't done any good in a long time, Ramadan is still the best time of the year because it gives us the chance to obtain and increase in Taqwa, Gratitude and Guidance.
Gratitude
فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
"So whoever sights [the new moon] of hte month, let him fast it....Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful." [Qur'an, 2:185]
So what can we be grateful for in Ramadan?
Food would definitely top almost everyone's list. We don't think about this when our plates and cups are full but at the end of a long day of fasting - when the body is weak, fatigued, shaking and irritable, even the smallest of dates and the fewest drops of water during iftaar seem sublime and delightful. There is a twofold lesson in the blessing of food.
We seldom think about where our food comes from, and we never think about food shortages. Yet for millions of people around the world, this world this is a daily anxiety. Can you imagine living in Africa and going without anything to eat and drink at all for weeks and months on end? Your stomach growling and distending from hunger? Your body beat and dehydrated from thirst? You scavanging through raw, infected with diseases, garbage dumps to find a few scraps for yourself and your family? This Ramadan when I come home from Qur'an class in the evening, I am grateful for my mom's gourmet meals.
In fact alhamdulillah I am humbled that Allah has blessed me to eat at all. Normally we are overly demanding and fastidious with our food. The vegetables must be broiled to a specific degree, the bread baked meticulously for the exact number of minutes. The coffee stirred methodically in a certain way. InshaAllah we can do without these strenuous stipulations. Be grateful that we have enough to nourish our body. We don't necessarily have to eat with fancy cutlery, seven course cuisines every time we sit at the table. The Sahaba (r.a) were altogether modest when it came to food. They ate to gain enough energy to go about their work and worship. They governed and guided the world without breakfast in bed or buffets. So to do great work, one does not need to eat great food. Simple food is sufficient for the sincere.
When Allah honoured Bani Israel with leadership of the entire human race, they responded to this favour with demands for a change in their food menu. They fixated and fretted over "green herbs, cucumbers, garlic, lentils and onions" [Qur'an, 2:61] when they really should have devouted themselves to the Book of Allah with integrity and called people to its teachings. They gave up the knowledge and respect that Allah bestowed them through Islam for an ignoble obsession with food. Of course in the end, their transgressing tummies incurred the wrath of Allah and they were disgraced, destroyed and replaced with Bani Ismael (that's us! Aren't we awfully preoccupied with our provisions, just like the Bani Israel? Why do you think the state of the Ummah is, what it is? Our priority is food not Allah. Alhamdulillah for Ramadan, we can stop living for food and start living for Allah).
More than anything, I am grateful for Taqwa. Every year, Ramadan is the month in which we are intensely conscious of Allah. His remembrance is magnified in our hearts and we are forced to focus on it. Allah is so GREAT, we are less than a speck of sand and yet He loves us more than 70 mothers could love a baby child. Nothing happens except Allah is Watching. When we breathe in, Allah is watching and when we breathe out, Allah is Watching. When we open our mouth to speak, we cannot utter a word except that Allah Hears it. When we eat, sleep, work, chat, play and study - Allah is well Acquainted. Allah is Subtle and All Knowing of every small detail of our lives. It seems very elementary, of course Allah is Watching! But if we actually sit and really think about this - we are being watched by the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. The weight of this realization will knock the lights of our head and suck the air out of our lungs. It will leave our hearts locked in tension and we'll collapse on the spot - out of fear and love of Allah.Fear because Allah Knows our thoughts and fantasies. Our feelings, perceptions and desires are not entirely a secret but common knowledge to Allah. Allah encompasses all our actions. Love because we are not alone in this universe. Allah Protects His obedient believing slaves, Provides for us, Guides us and Grants our duaa. Allah gives us a pure purpose to live for.
Allah says, "So whoever disbelieves in tāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it....Allāh is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light." [Qur'an, 2:256, 257] Imagine holding a Hand that never renegades its care, protection and safety. Imagine a Hand that leads you into the light. Light here is symbolic for solutions to your problems, enlightenment, ease, happiness and peace in your personal life, health, work and relations. Who would not run to hold this Hand? Such is the Hand of Allah and Ramadan is the right time to take His Hand.
For me, the best part of Ramadan is Taraweeh. I am tremendously grateful for Taraweeh. It is so exciting and enthralling to stay awake one third of the night, out of the house, standing with scores of people in Salah listening to the recitation of the Qur'an. I feel like a lost child finally coming home. Listening to the Qur'an is different from reading the the Qur'an yourself. And listening to the entire juzz at a stretch whilst standing, with your hands folded and heads bowed - is something totally out of this world. It is a divine experience when man (in my case woman) encounters and embraces his Lord. The Qur'an recited beautifully and passionately can generate such serenity and torment, trust and fear that leaves one in anguish and yearning to surrender to Allah and to be with Allah. I am grateful to the Quraa who recite slowly and melodiously. If a qari has a measured and adequately (not exaggeratedly) rhythmic tone, it can actually facilitate the understanding of the Qur'an. Taraweeh is even more gratifying when one knows the Qur'an with meaning. The Qur'an talks to us directly, personally; it knows us better than we know ourselves. It contains our daily vicissitudes. The Qur'an consoles, criticizes, counsels and challenges. It is intense, imposing but ravishing and re-energizing.
Ramadan teaches us to be thankful in almost all instances of our lives. Ramadan removes our cold and skeptical shells and nurtures a caring and sharing spirit. Notice how neighbours send each other more food in Ramadan than in any time of the year. No matter how busy everyone in the family is, they all pool together in the same car to go for Taraweeh. Only in Ramadan the Masajid are packed that strangers are forced to stand close (literally shoulder to shoulder and feet to feet). Ramadan brings people together and gets them to communicate and cooperate.
Some folks have a contemptuously and grouchy attitude. Yes, life isn't perfect, everyone has problems but being rotten and putrid about it, is not going to make it better! There will always be some stress in life - work, family, finance or health related. The key to overcoming that stress is gratitude. If we concentrate on finding something good in every situation, we will discover that our lives are suddenly filled with happiness. This is especially true in Ramadan. No matter how upset or tired we are, we get up and pray; peel ourselves off the couch/bed and find a mushaf to recite. Tune out the obnoxious neighbour, walk away from an argument and ignore our growling stomachs because we don't want to do anything that would invalidate our fast. In other words, despite the setbacks we remain positive in Ramadan and paddle for Allah's pleasure. Yes, the paddling is hard - it goes against our nafs, its even painful at times but the prospective of getting Paradise in return keeps us patient for a whole month. Why not ditch the crying/complaining/cursing-under- the-breath routine for the rest the year too? Just don't get mad or express your anger. Even if something/someone is testing you to your wits ends' - be grateful and busy yourself in a good deed. Allah says the recipients of Paradise will be those people of Taqwa who "who restrain anger and who pardon the people" [Qur'an, 3:133-134]. Remember that a believer is always fasting. The actual iftaar is on the Day of Judgment.
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