Whenever the month of Ramadan approaches, I reflect upon the wonderful years of Ramadan that have past, and also feel sad to think that I really didn’t take advantage of those years as much as I could have. The wonderful memories of iftar with friends and family, of going to the masjid on a nightly basis for taraweeh prayers, and just the feeling of unity and brotherhood/sisterhood in the community make Ramadan perhaps one of the most cherished times of the year, besides the hajj time (for those who are blessed to go to hajj).
This year, more than ever before I feel a pain in my heart, mainly because I am not able to spend as much time in worship and contemplation/reflection as I would like to. I would rather not discuss the reasons for this openly on my blog, but needless to say, I am in the process of completing one level of my life and moving to the next, and in order to complete this one I must dedicate alot of time to it so I can move on. I just always keep the future in perspective, and try my best to enjoy Ramadan. This year, Alhamdullilah, one thing I have done that is different from previous years, and that I have really enjoyed is spending more iftars with my parents, and listening to more lectures from Muslim scholars to increase my knowledge and hopefully my iman. And quite honestly, one of the blessings from Allah when you get older is to spend as much time with your parents as possible. Unfortunately as a young person, myself, and perhaps many others, were not always aware of the importance of our parents in our lives.
Another thing which has brought my heart much pain this Ramadan is the realization that so many Muslims don’t really see the importance of Ramadan. Just tonight I noticed Muslims who I know, born into this faith, taking for granted the blessings of Ramdan and being Muslim. Again, I would rather not go into detail, but I just cannot see it. Islam is a beautiful religion, and Allah has blessed us with so much, but instead of dedicating our lives to working for Allah, or spreading the beauty of religion, our lives are wasted “chilling out”. I pray Allah save us all from this, and show us our faults so we can change to become better peoples.
* AM *
Wishing Everyone a Blessed and Beneficial Ramadan. I know that I personally have a lot of spiritual struggles to work through this Ramadan, and request everyone who reads this to make sincere dua for me, that Allah grant me the ability to become stronger. Below is a good reminder for us all that I encourage you to check out.
