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احبك ىارب
5 misconceptions regarding Ramadhaan
Since the month of Ramadhaan is just around the corner, at the time this article is written, and due to the fact that it is a month that reoccurs once every year I thought it beneficial to make a short list of things people usually think about or do when it comes to this blessed month.
However, most people often do things wrong (no I am not talking about how you secretly used to eat and drink in the toilet when you were younger) but inshaaAllaah this article will shed some light on a few very important issues.
#5 Ramadhaan is about FASTING not eating
Behold! The month of fasting in all its glory!
A revert would be forgiven for thinking that this month is all about food and not actually fasting, heck most people actually GAIN weight during Ramadhaan which is very odd to say the least, since it is a month of fasting and not a month of eating. But one only needs to look at every Muslim household the week before Ramadhaan starts and one will see mothers staking up on supplies as if they were preparing for Y2K all over again!
Not to mention what happens one hour before Iftaar, the amount of food that is prepared is mind blowing, we sometimes give more importance to the food than the fasting itself. Between all the sambosas and other special foods that seem so unique to this month, most of us, due to our joy, even forget to repeat after the mu’athin when he calls out the athaan for maghrib, I mean how are you expected to? With your mouth full of dates and what not, the fact that you don’t forget to breathe is a miracle in itself.
It almost feels like we are trying to make up all the meals of the day and eat ’til it hurts to breathe (don’t pretend like it never happened to you) and then we complain about how the Taraaweeh is long and how our uncle that stands next to us in salah keeps burping and you’re pretty sure the brother in front of you just farted in your face during ruku’, and you’re caught in between nauseating burps and spicy smelling farts. Don’t get me wrong though, eating is perfectly fine but just don’t forget to eat in moderation.
Also remember to chew before you swallow, otherwise next Salah you’ll be attending, will be Janaazah and not Taraaweeh.
#4 Worshipping Ramadhaan instead of Allaah
The Masjid is where it’s at ahki during as well as after Ramadhaan
This month brings the good out of every Muslim, so much so that you will see many new faces at the local Masjid (even that dude who lives across the street from the Masjid who you thought was a kaafir drug dealer all year) a phenomenon known as “Ramadhaan Muslims”.
Although I dislike this term it is a sad truth, for many Muslims, Islaam has become something you remember when someone passes away or on Eid etc as for the rest of the year you are only a Muslim by your name (and even that is hard to guess sometimes, how am I supposed to know Moe is short for Muhammad?) you will see the Masjids packed, people actually praying fajr on time and many other wonderful things, yet as soon as this month passes the very same Masjids going back to their original size.
In reality we shouldn’t be like that, yes we should do more good deeds in Ramadhaan and yes we should strive even harder, but like the scholars say, if you want to know whether or not your good deeds are accepted then the sign for that is Allaah allowing you to do more good deeds afterwards and so on.
Celebrating the end of Ramadhaan with a rave party is not a good sign.
#3 Ramadhaan is only about staying away from food
Let’s prepare for Ramadhaan shall we?
Not to be confused with #5 on this list, yes abstaining from food and drink is a part of Ramadhaan but there is so much more to it. Ramadhaan is a school, a training camp for us Muslims to improve ourselves spiritually.
This means that in Ramadhaan we stay away from everything haraam, listening to music, gossipping and every evil thing like it. I mean just think about it, in Ramadhaan what normally was halaal for us such as food, drink and intimacy with our spouses have all now become haraam for us during the day, right? So what do you think about things that were haraam in the first place! Doesn’t it mean that it is even more severe now?
It is extremely sad to see Muslims breaking their fasts with a cigarette, others (especially in the arab world) actually prepare for Ramadhaan by making a TV schedule of what to watch and they refer to it as “killing time” until they can eat again. Did you not know that many of the great battles of Islaam were fought during this blessed month? Whilst you keep lazying in bed the Prophet and the Muslims “killed time” by marching and defending Islaam.
In short, do not fool yourself, if you only want hunger and fatigue from your fasting, then by all means watch whatever you want, do whatever you please. But if you care about the reward that is with Allaah, and Allaah alone, then know that the meaning of fasting is to abstain from all forms of sin, and not just from food.
#2 The night of Power, Laylat-ul-Qadr is on the 27th
The reward with Allaah is far greater!
Even though a lot of narrations point towards this night being the special night, which is better than a 1000 months, a lot of brothers and sisters misunderstood the bigger picture, you see them only praying Tahajjud on that night (like a poor person placing all his money on one lottery ticket [lottery is haraam btw]) others only pray during the odd nights and sleep during the even nights.
Imagine for a moment if a billionaire made an announcement at the Masjid and said ”For each day (the ten last days) I will give one hundred thousand pounds to whomever attends the Masjid, and I will give one million pounds on a day only known to myself, whomever is here that day will get that money”.
Personally I would have camped inside the masjid (‘itikaaf ring any bells?) just for that money (and no you can’t rob that man or take him hostage), now let us ask ourselves again, how many of us would come every other day? Or only on the 27th? I know a lot of you would have stayed an extra month and try to bargain with the man in order to get some more money, even though this worldly wealth will all leave us, but why don’t we struggle like that for the ever lasting rewards of Allaah?
#1 Keeping up the good deeds after Ramadhaan
May Allaah grant us steadfastness, aameen!
Perhaps the key lesson in this article is this last point, many of us only ever finish the Qur’aan during the month of Ramadhaan, others might only fast during this month and the majority of us only know of night prayers during Ramadhaan.
However if we want to make the most of this month, we should all make a plan that includes us preparing for this month as well as preparing for what comes after it.
Do not be like those people who exhaust themselves during this month only to call up their girlfriend/boyfriend on Eid to chill, rather make Ramadhaan the new start in your life, turn to Allaah with sincerity and stop all the sins you might have been doing. If you don’t repent in Ramadhaan when the devils are chained up when will you repent?
Since the month of Ramadhaan is just around the corner, at the time this article is written, and due to the fact that it is a month that reoccurs once every year I thought it beneficial to make a short list of things people usually think about or do when it comes to this blessed month.
However, most people often do things wrong (no I am not talking about how you secretly used to eat and drink in the toilet when you were younger) but inshaaAllaah this article will shed some light on a few very important issues.
#5 Ramadhaan is about FASTING not eating
Behold! The month of fasting in all its glory!
A revert would be forgiven for thinking that this month is all about food and not actually fasting, heck most people actually GAIN weight during Ramadhaan which is very odd to say the least, since it is a month of fasting and not a month of eating. But one only needs to look at every Muslim household the week before Ramadhaan starts and one will see mothers staking up on supplies as if they were preparing for Y2K all over again!
Not to mention what happens one hour before Iftaar, the amount of food that is prepared is mind blowing, we sometimes give more importance to the food than the fasting itself. Between all the sambosas and other special foods that seem so unique to this month, most of us, due to our joy, even forget to repeat after the mu’athin when he calls out the athaan for maghrib, I mean how are you expected to? With your mouth full of dates and what not, the fact that you don’t forget to breathe is a miracle in itself.
It almost feels like we are trying to make up all the meals of the day and eat ’til it hurts to breathe (don’t pretend like it never happened to you) and then we complain about how the Taraaweeh is long and how our uncle that stands next to us in salah keeps burping and you’re pretty sure the brother in front of you just farted in your face during ruku’, and you’re caught in between nauseating burps and spicy smelling farts. Don’t get me wrong though, eating is perfectly fine but just don’t forget to eat in moderation.
Also remember to chew before you swallow, otherwise next Salah you’ll be attending, will be Janaazah and not Taraaweeh.
#4 Worshipping Ramadhaan instead of Allaah
The Masjid is where it’s at ahki during as well as after Ramadhaan
This month brings the good out of every Muslim, so much so that you will see many new faces at the local Masjid (even that dude who lives across the street from the Masjid who you thought was a kaafir drug dealer all year) a phenomenon known as “Ramadhaan Muslims”.
Although I dislike this term it is a sad truth, for many Muslims, Islaam has become something you remember when someone passes away or on Eid etc as for the rest of the year you are only a Muslim by your name (and even that is hard to guess sometimes, how am I supposed to know Moe is short for Muhammad?) you will see the Masjids packed, people actually praying fajr on time and many other wonderful things, yet as soon as this month passes the very same Masjids going back to their original size.
In reality we shouldn’t be like that, yes we should do more good deeds in Ramadhaan and yes we should strive even harder, but like the scholars say, if you want to know whether or not your good deeds are accepted then the sign for that is Allaah allowing you to do more good deeds afterwards and so on.
Celebrating the end of Ramadhaan with a rave party is not a good sign.
#3 Ramadhaan is only about staying away from food
Let’s prepare for Ramadhaan shall we?
Not to be confused with #5 on this list, yes abstaining from food and drink is a part of Ramadhaan but there is so much more to it. Ramadhaan is a school, a training camp for us Muslims to improve ourselves spiritually.
This means that in Ramadhaan we stay away from everything haraam, listening to music, gossipping and every evil thing like it. I mean just think about it, in Ramadhaan what normally was halaal for us such as food, drink and intimacy with our spouses have all now become haraam for us during the day, right? So what do you think about things that were haraam in the first place! Doesn’t it mean that it is even more severe now?
It is extremely sad to see Muslims breaking their fasts with a cigarette, others (especially in the arab world) actually prepare for Ramadhaan by making a TV schedule of what to watch and they refer to it as “killing time” until they can eat again. Did you not know that many of the great battles of Islaam were fought during this blessed month? Whilst you keep lazying in bed the Prophet and the Muslims “killed time” by marching and defending Islaam.
In short, do not fool yourself, if you only want hunger and fatigue from your fasting, then by all means watch whatever you want, do whatever you please. But if you care about the reward that is with Allaah, and Allaah alone, then know that the meaning of fasting is to abstain from all forms of sin, and not just from food.
#2 The night of Power, Laylat-ul-Qadr is on the 27th
The reward with Allaah is far greater!
Even though a lot of narrations point towards this night being the special night, which is better than a 1000 months, a lot of brothers and sisters misunderstood the bigger picture, you see them only praying Tahajjud on that night (like a poor person placing all his money on one lottery ticket [lottery is haraam btw]) others only pray during the odd nights and sleep during the even nights.
Imagine for a moment if a billionaire made an announcement at the Masjid and said ”For each day (the ten last days) I will give one hundred thousand pounds to whomever attends the Masjid, and I will give one million pounds on a day only known to myself, whomever is here that day will get that money”.
Personally I would have camped inside the masjid (‘itikaaf ring any bells?) just for that money (and no you can’t rob that man or take him hostage), now let us ask ourselves again, how many of us would come every other day? Or only on the 27th? I know a lot of you would have stayed an extra month and try to bargain with the man in order to get some more money, even though this worldly wealth will all leave us, but why don’t we struggle like that for the ever lasting rewards of Allaah?
#1 Keeping up the good deeds after Ramadhaan
May Allaah grant us steadfastness, aameen!
Perhaps the key lesson in this article is this last point, many of us only ever finish the Qur’aan during the month of Ramadhaan, others might only fast during this month and the majority of us only know of night prayers during Ramadhaan.
However if we want to make the most of this month, we should all make a plan that includes us preparing for this month as well as preparing for what comes after it.
Do not be like those people who exhaust themselves during this month only to call up their girlfriend/boyfriend on Eid to chill, rather make Ramadhaan the new start in your life, turn to Allaah with sincerity and stop all the sins you might have been doing. If you don’t repent in Ramadhaan when the devils are chained up when will you repent?
!!