Today is the second day in this blessed month of fasting. I am conscious that I don’t want to spend my time in being distracted from the true purpose of this month which is to reconnect with my Creator. So, with that in mind, I will simply write what comes to my mind as I type…
To be honest, I was feeling anxious in the days leading to the start of Ramadan. Always wondering if I am ready to take on the challenge and purge myself of so many unsavoury habits or thoughts before I even enter the month. I have learnt that the fast is spiritually weakened if, as a Muslim, I can’t declutter my head and arrive with less unwanted baggage. Alhamdulillah, there is something indescribable about this month. No matter how nervous I feel, the ambience takes over and I become wrapped in the spiritual warmth and comfort this time affords. There are simply no words.
What I also realise is that the way we are expected to be in Ramadan, is actually how we should be all the time. Yet, humankind is forgetful, arrogant and ungrateful and so we fall back into that false sense of security that all is good, after the month has passed. I would love to keep this heightened state of self-awareness but naturally, it slips a little with each week and month. But how blessed are we who get to witness Ramadan again as it comes around the following year! What an opportunity to recharge and reset.
Whilst on this spiritual high, I remind myself that nothing else matters in this duniya. The daily grind will remain but what I know is that I can’t look at life from a temporal dimension only. If I do succumb to that narrow perspective, I will drown in despair. Ramadan quite literally is the prescription for anxiety which I need right now. It has already renewed my conviction that as long as I have Allah, I have everything. No harm can touch me unless He wills. My worries have not gone away. They have simply been cushioned in a blanket of faith and hope.
For every day I survive and get through without harming anyone, perhaps instead, even helping someone, then I believe that day has been a success. Alhamdulillah for being a Muslim. Alhamdulillah, my faith is the panacea to all the ills in the world. The trials and tribulations may not cease but I can override them with a firm belief that everything has a purpose – to direct me back to Allah.
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