“Mindful Muslimah Speaks” EP 375

Mindful Ramadan Pt 1

“Sorry I can’t come; it’ll be during Ramadan” and “Is it happening after Ramadan?” are probably the most sent messages in my phone right now.I spent some time this morning looking at my work calendar to see if I could move a few of my afternoon meetings to the morning. After 3pm during Ramadan you can’t get a word out of me. I limit my words because if I talk too much my mouth will get dry and I will be thirsty.  I don’t even eat breakfast on the regular but when I’m fasting for some reason my brain thinks I missed out on my imaginary daily breakfast sandwich with pancakes on the side.Abstinence is a beautiful thing. An inner battle to restrain oneself from indulging in something you do on the regular. Eat, drink and sin. You put in extra effort not to do these things, to get rid of the intention of. I pride myself in the self-work I do, I spend time working on how to control my reactions to things that happen to me. So, Ramadan is the ultimate time for me to do all these things for the sake of Allah. I can’t think of a greater honor, a greater blessing to witness.

When I was a kid, I used to hate when people in Senegal would say “Kor gui moko diap”. It means (literally) that Fasting caught her, to say that someone is struggling/hungry/tired because they’re fasting. I would hide how hungry and tired I was so I could be one of the people who weren’t scared of fasting. Ramadan is not a competition, yet I still felt the need to prove a point to my family well mainly my brother that it wasn’t hard for me. I was slowly dying. Oh, but today I’m not faking it for anybody, you can tell from my eyes that Fasting has caught me indeed!

Not fasting in Senegal is a bit harder because most of the people around you can’t relate. Something about leaving your house and seeing people with the same look on their face as yours around 5pmmakes you feel a little better. Like heeey gang gang! I know that look, no words needed. There is also this unspoken code, people don’t really eat out in the streets or drink water out in public. You kind of hide to do those things when you aren’t fasting, its not a law just etiquette, I guess. But here in the United States of America, I think it’s when people decide to show off and walk around with ice cream in their hands. Suddenly, they can’t drink water inside their homes but only in the streets. You would think it was personal, you would think they are purposefully doing this to you because you’re fasting. Nah I’m just kidding but no not really. So, I stay at home (most of the time).One of the perks of working from home is that you have more flexibility. You are more likely to be able to pray your prayers “on time, prepare for the breaking of the fast and not have to worry about the hassle of commuting. You can listen to an Islamic podcast in the background with no headphones on. Hopefully Maher Zain drops a new album before Ramadan. Also, while were on this topic can someone, please tell me who told us that Michael Jackson sang “Give Thanks to Allah”? I just –

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It's encouraged to have set goals during Ramadan.

Of course, YOU would think that  Leyla 😊

I suggest getting a journal and writing anything and everything that comes to mind. At the end of the month, you will be able to look back at your journal entries. There is something in the air during Ramadan that I can’t explain. There is so much hope, optimism and joy. So, believe me when I tell you even if you don’t think you’ll have anything to write about, the words will just come to you. I also use my journal to track my Quran reading progress. You can journal at any time of the day, I have friends who keep their journal close and write in it throughout the day. Me? If I write any time before I break my fast, my handwriting will start looking like an undiscovered version of cursive written diagonally across the pages. I try to learn one new Islamic fact a day. If you haven’t memorized the 99 names of Allah yet, I recommend learning 3-4 names a day. Not only does this allow you to have a “productive” and “informative” Ramadan but selfishly, it also helps you to pass the time.

To some Ramadan is exam season to others its studying season, to me its both. I do want to do more and prove to myself that I’m capable of doing better but I also want to learn and give myself space and time for my spiritual reset. Pick and choose your battles, choose the bad habits you want to tackle and the good habits you want to adopt. Last year, a week before Ramadan a friend and I were planning for Ramadan, and one of the things we did was identify the habits we wanted to build or stop by the end of the holy month. First on my list was “praying on time” I have a bad habit of stacking up my prayers and then having to do a marathon at the end of the day. I asked her what hers was and she said sleeping early. When I tell y’all I was confusion but also didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. So, I tilted my head (as if this wouldn’t make her uncomfortable) and asked her “why exactly?”. “Because if I sleep earlier, I will be able to wake up all energized and eager to pray Fajr and read the Quran before work” she responded. I said “oooooooh” because that makes a lot of sense. If and when I do wake up to pray Fajr I am a zombie, I legit walk into walls, use the shortest surahs during prayer and most of the time fall asleep on the mat after I’m done. The intention has to be there, you should be happy when you wake up to pray, less of a task and more of a want. So, the moral of this mini story of mine is that as long as your plan makes sense to you and allows you to maximize your growth in Ramadan, do it!

Don’t get overwhelmed with all the improvement you have to do, it’s a journey. Ramadan reminds us of the right path and God willing it takes us a little further down this path of ours. But what do I know, I’m just a girl sharing her manière de vivre…