In The Name of The True and Living God The Beneficent, The Merciful.
I begin writing this with full eyes and an empty heart.
How far I’ve strayed and how low I’ve become.
Will I even reach the starting line in the next few hours, let alone the finish line in 30 days?
Do I deserve to enter this month or have I used up every ounce of blessing allocated to me in this life?
Am I deserving of the blessings and am I deserving of being saved from harsh realities?
I am at the complete mercy of my Lord, just like the rest of us.
What have I brought forth as evidence of goodness?
What have I brought forth as evidence of wretchedness?
No one can save me from The Almighty except The Almighty. So with all my shortcomings and any amount of goodness that may exist in parallel to my existence, I turn to You, my Lord.
Timing
Ramadan always seems to come when we need it most. Funny thing, huh? How can close to 2 billion people all need the same thing at once? Well, irrespective of each and every one of us and our circumstances, Ramadan is here to serve its purpose for those who search for the bounty of their Lord each day and night.
Some of us may feel weak. Some of us may have blackened hearts. Some of us may have lost touch of our souls. Some of us may have lost something dear to us. Some of us may be starting a new life. Some of us may be at the highest peak of our lives. Whatever the situation, we all need Ramadan in equal measure. If we are blessed, we ask that the blessings are maintained and that we demonstrate gratefulness. If we are going through it, we ask that our pain is alleviated and that we demonstrate patience.
Practice
I’m not here to tell you what to do during this month or how to do it. Each of us is different and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There is, however, a general framework consisting of:
- Fasting
- Increasing in prayers
- Increasing the reading of The Qur’an
In the previous article I wrote how the goal is to – at the very least – let go of one bad habit and pick up one new good one. The goal is to leave Ramadan better than we found it. That will be enough of an indicator to show that we have benefitted from it and did the month some form of justice.
But this isn’t the purpose of this post. You can find plenty of scholars out there who will give you a detailed breakdown and jurisprudentially correct methods to approach the practices.
The Soul and its Needs
Inspired by my brother Kwaku Dapaah and his Ramadan 2023 reflection post I read earlier today, I wanted to touch upon the feelings we may have coming into this month.
This is the opportunity. As soon as the sun sets, you know you have entered the unlimited yet temporary bubble of mercy and forgiveness. This is our opportunity to reconnect, introspect, reflect, and take every step with the correct intent. Every act of worship has been given a metaphorical reward in the scripture. Except for fasting, the reward of fasting is defined and determined by The Almighty and its knowledge is only with His Majesty.
Allah Knows that abstaining from food and drink – by choice – is a significant sacrifice. We’re leaving our greatest desire, not when we sleep, not when we rest, but during the day when we are working, moving and expending energy. The Almighty takes it upon His Divine Self to compensate for such a sacrifice – compensation that no soul knows what it might be even in a metaphorical sense.
The point is, if fasting is the bare minimum, then what do you think happens when you add everything else on top of it? What do you think will happen when you raise your hands up in the middle of the night and invoke His Majesty for every ask you could ever have? What do you think will happen when you place your head on the ground in the darkest hour of the night to seek the forgiveness and mercy of your Lord?
I remind myself before anyone else because I need this month more than I could have ever imagined. The weight of every misstep, the pressure of every decision, the anxiety of every unknown, but the hope of every answered prayer, the hope for every sin forgiven and the hope for mercy that can only be allocated by The Most Merciful.
This will be the 24th Ramadan I’ve consciously participated in. For some of us, it will be our first. For some of us, it will be our last. I don’t know while typing this if I will reach sunset. Allah Knows how many will take their last breath before their first fast this year. But for the majority of us who make it, let this be the one where we connect our souls with The Almighty.
Let this be the Ramadan that sets the benchmark for future Ramadans. Let this be the Ramadan that frees us from any pre-destined punishment. Let this be the Ramadan in which we perfect Tawakkul – trust in Allah. Let this be the Ramadan in which we find peace of mind. Let this be the Ramadan in which The Almighty praises us in front of an audience of angels that far outnumber the number of humans to exist from the beginning of time until the end.
I ask Allah to allow us to reach Ramadan and to allow us to attain its bounty.
I ask Allah to make us emerge from Ramadan better than how we entered it.
I ask Allah to bless every person reading this and to keep us firmly guided on this journey called life.
My eyes are full and my heart needs replenishing.
#HoodIntellectuals
