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The holy month of Ramadan is upon us - and we are already in its second week.
I was recently surprised at how many of my non-Muslim friends, colleagues and neighbours think that Ramadan is a month-long celebration. While the end of Ramadan does bring with it the 3-day celebration of Eid Ul-Fitr (but by then we have entered the next month on the Islamic lunar calendar, Shawwal) Ramadan is more of a month-long spiritual bootcamp.
And much like a physical bootcamp, Ramadan can be quite physically and spiritually intense, as we fast from all food and beverages from the break of dawn until sunset, we ramp up the number of prayers we offer and worship activities, and we make a conscious effort to refrain from harmful actions, such as using curse words or losing our tempers.
During Ramadan we also reset our intentions for the coming year.
I think everyone can benefit from participating in the month of Ramadan, regardless of faith background.
Here are some of the ways in which you can benefit from this holy month:
Becoming mindful
Ramadan can be a time where you slow the pace of life down; that might sound contradictory given I just described it as a spiritual bootcamp with fasting and lots of worship, but what I mean by this is that for a month your spiritual wellbeing takes priority and other extra-curricular activities are put on the backburner.
Instagram scrolling, Netflix series bingeing, texting and other ways we “kill time” are replaced by activities that are beneficial to our spirituality and wellbeing. As a Muslim these things would include conscious verbal remembrance of Allah (we call this dhikr), reading the Qur’an, reading books of Islamic knowledge and attending Islamic talks/watching them online.
Similarly, you could use your free time to focus on your mental wellbeing and spirituality by practicing your own forms of worship, meditating, and reading books or listening to podcasts on spirituality or wellbeing.
Taking stock
Ramadan offers the perfect opportunity to take stock of the previous year - things that have happened in our personal lives, what we have achieved, good habits that we have become consistent in, and maybe bad habits we have picked up or old habits that we are struggling to let go of.
Ramadan journaling has become popular with many Muslims and this Ramadan is my first one journaling. I have been reading and using Ramadan Reflections by Solace UK CEO, Aliyah Umm Raiyaan for my daily journal activities.
You could use this month as an opportunity to take up journaling in order to take stock of your previous year and write down your reflections.
Resetting your intentions
Once you have taken stock, Ramadan is a great time for resetting your intentions for the next year. Again, writing it down in a journal really helps as you have something that you can refer back to later on.
As a Muslim it means looking at the good spiritual and moral habits I have become consistent in, the areas in my worship and behaviour towards/treatment of others that need correcting or improving, and the bad habits that I need to let go of.
You may be resetting your intentions for good habits you wish to become consistent in, bad habits you want to make a conscious effort of letting go, the people you want to spend more time with, the areas of your life that need greater care or focus, or the things you hope to achieve over the next year. It could even mean reassessing certain relationships that need boundaries, or toxic friendships that need ending.
Forgiving yourself and others
Speaking from personal experience, forgiving the people who have hurt you really does help bring some closure and helps your mental health.
Maybe view Ramadan as the opportunity to forgive others, whether you explicitly say it to them, or if that is not an option you can/want to do, forgive them within yourself.
Sometimes choosing not to forgive can increase feelings of resentment, drive people further apart, or be missed opportunities to save friendships and relationships that could have been salvaged. Sometimes we need to be the ones to extend the olive branch.
Most importantly…you can hold yourself to account while also showing yourself kindness
As a Muslim regularly taking stock is important because I want to ensure that I am moving in the right direction towards what we believe is the next step in the journey after this life - the eternal hereafter.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday grind of this life and forget or become disengaged with one’s spirituality, and Ramadan allows us to reconnect and revive that spiritual side, as well as slow down, reflect and reassess.
It can be easy though to start comparing yourself to others, put yourself under pressure and then feel bad about yourself.
As someone who cannot fast at the moment due to my epilepsy, who struggles with fatigue due to underlying health conditions, and then has the challenge of finding free time as a first-time mother of a toddler, I sometimes look at other Muslims who are fasting, reading the whole Qur’an not just once but several times over 30 days, and performing long nights of prayer, and I feel like I have done nothing in comparison. As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy.
So this Ramadan I promised myself to choose a few small acts of spirituality and worship that I know I will be able to stick to everyday. I have been doing my journaling, reading a chapter of Ramadan Reflections each day, watching Dr Omar Suleiman’s daily video series and listening to the audiobook version of Secrets of Divine Love by A Helwa.
I have also decided to learn about the legacy of knowledge that ‘Aishah,’ the beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) left behind her, by reading Dr Sofia Rehman’s new book, A Treasury of ‘Aishah: A Guidance from the Beloved of the Beloved.
I wish you all a blessed, spiritual and fruitful Holy Month, and a joyous Eid.
Finally, if you enjoy my work and want to support me, consider buying a copy of my semi-autobiographical novel, Hijab and Red Lipstick, published by Hashtag Press.
Longlisted for The Diverse Book Awards 2021, Hijab and Red Lipstick is a rare insight into what life is like as a young Arab woman growing up in the Arab Gulf. Find it on Amazon, Waterstones, Blackwells, and worldwide on the Book Depository.