Okay, I get it. It’s Ramadan, no water, no food, no sugar, no covfefe ( I mean coffee, at least I have a fasting excuse) and no emotional eating throughout the day? Plus we have to work, study for the Bar exam, MCAT, etc, and it’s summer!? I know what you are thinking; couldn’t we just have the “month of mercy” without having to fast? Can’t we just fast in December each year? Can’t we just have water like other religions? Well I decided to write this post to help boost our positivism and love for this month. And here we go...
10.) Free Self-Discipline Class:
Think about how much money we dish-out for wellness programs, personal fitness consultants, financial consultants, tax consultants, life-coaches, etc. God is giving you 30 days training on how to discipline yourself so that you CAN actually start that health plan with confidence, meaning that after a while grilled chicken and broccoli start sounding really good compared to a non-existent caloric intake for the past month, savvy?
#WaxOnWaxOff
9.) Helping Get Rid of Addictive Behaviors:
Instead of having to go through therapy and group support solely, you have an additional way to get rid of risk-taking behaviors and addictions; you are 1/3 of the way there according to a Time Article which states that it takes 90 days to kick a bad habit to the curve.
8.) Ain’t no Body Got Time for That:
Have you ever reflected on how much time we spend eating, driving to the location, getting groceries, ordering, eating, throwing the food away, driving home, preparing the meal, presentation, cleaning up, etc. Meaning that perhaps our time is open now for us to try something new, fun, and exciting. Also, I know we are brain-dead most of the time, and we utilize the hours we have with our brain intact to focus on the more cognitive-labor intensive works, with that, imagine how you can utilize time when you aren’t fasting, right?
7.) It’s Not You Shaytaan, It’s me:
Since the Muslim belief is that all of the sinful activity is coming from us and not from the devilish temptations Prophetic Statement
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying in (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim): When there comes the month of Ramadan the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained,حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ، وَابْنُ، حُجْرٍ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ - عَنْ أَبِي سُهَيْلٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، - رضى الله عنه - أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِذَا جَاءَ رَمَضَانُ فُتِّحَتْ أَبْوَابُ الْجَنَّةِ وَغُلِّقَتْ أَبْوَابُ النَّارِ وَصُفِّدَتِ الشَّيَاطِينُ " .
We have 30 days to reflect and analyze our behavior, if we are getting up for prayers, how we are treating ourselves and our close ones, how much resentment we are keeping inside of us.
6.) Ramadan Fundraisers are Annoying?:
Or.... They are an opportunity for you to give to the needy who need it. In Muslim majority countries, Muslim governments fund most of the Islamic institutions. In America, the onus is on Muslim-Americans to fund the charity groups, masajid (mosques), Islamic schools and the like thereof. You feel the hunger, the thirst, the vulnerability, you are (hopefully) praying extra and reading Qurʾān , so one would imagine the spiritual wellness is lit and legit, so if the organizations are having fundraisers, THANK THEM and THANK ALLAH for the opportunity that many Muslims in Muslim-Majority countries don’t get, your charity may save you from the hell-fire and save literally save many people’s lives simultaneously. It’s a time to soften our hearts, and open our wallets, and a perfect time to pay our zakāh.
5.) Good Deed Jackpot (Cha-Ching!):
In the month of Ramadan, our worship is rewarded at least 70 times greater. Meaning if you feed one needy person, it’s as if you fed 70 people.
The Prophet (May God’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever draws near to Allah during it (Ramadan) with a single characteristic from the characteristics of (voluntary) goodness, he is like whoever performs an obligatory act in other times. And whoever performs an obligatory act during it, he is like whoever performed seventy obligatory acts in other times.” (Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, no. 1887)
#TalkAboutBlackJummah
4.) Many People Want to Fast but Sadly Can’t...:
I know fasting is uber-hard, it’s a training camp for Muslims for the Super-bowl of life. But many people we know because of medical reasons can’t fast and many non-Muslims don’t fast, and so they don’t get the benefit of the prescription from Allah. Allah says that fasting has been prescribed for us and it was prescribed for those before us so that we may become pious. If you don’ fast, you don’t reach the apex of your spiritual potential. That precious moment when we break the fast, there is nothing like it and only the ones who experience it can.
3.) Where did all of these Muslims Come from?
Muslims are only 1-2% of the U.S. population and are spread out even in high concentration locales like Chi-Town, California Love, and Gotham. So, when Ramadan comes, all the Muslims come out to play, I mean pray. Every night mosques are packed with Muslims, weekend all-nighters, people open their homes, even invite other Americans to attend and eat mostly FREE FOOD. Man this is lit & legit, how often do you see this type of critical mass of your fellow faith fam? The lack of Community building is what our country suffers from, and God gives you the opportunity to see your friends, make new ones, meet family, when in other moths, they would be otherwise indisposed.
2.) Sins Forgiven, Rewards Given, Check Please?:
Allah has ordained a night in which is greater than a thousand months of worship Qur'an 97:3, that’s 73 years, that’s an average lifespan in America, and Allah is giving it to you for free in this month. So please take advantage and be grateful. When IHOP gives away free pancakes, we sell our brother’s hair to get them, when Allah gives away a lifetime of worship, do we sleep in or do get spiritual?
Yo! Meaning that anytime you did any minor sin (not killing someone peoples!) they will be forgiven Prophetic Statement:
Abu Hurairah narrated that (Sahih Sunan an-Nasa'i ):The Messenger of Allah [ﷺ] said: "Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. And whoever spends the night of Lailatul-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْأَشْعَثِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ يَعْنِي ابْنَ الْحَارِثِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ وَمَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
and you mean I don’t even have to lead them, I just have to make wuḍūʾ and dress properly and stand behind the imam, that’s what’s up! (The author of this post strongly recommends paying attention in taraweeh prayers and reading the follow-up translations in the language you speak).
1.) The Only Worship God Rewards:
Allah says every good deed we do is for ourselves, except fasting in which Allah personally rewards the person Hadith Qudsi. Seriously, what more do you want than that, peoples? If Islam is indeed the submission to the will of God, what greater joy then knowing that Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth is “hand-wrapping” our reward for us? #GodIsSupreme. #RamadanRocks. #BelieveThat.