This year, Ramadan entered my home like a gentle breeze and soothed me into a state of submission and the desire to purge the excesses of life. The month has an ineffable ability to do that for Muslims all over the world. Even those who struggle to keep up the pace and follow their good intentions with good deeds, simply know that they are in the embrace of a sacrosanct time whose purity and uniqueness described in lofty words would still be doing it a disservice.
Even though I know I fell short of attaining goals I had set for myself during Ramadan, I also know that had I achieved them, there would still be a plethora of things I could aspire to in that quest to be a better person.
However, that in itself is not a cause for despair. Because as long as I keep trying and even if only incremental improvements are made, they are still improvements nevertheless. Being static and complacent is the real danger. Which made me reflect on how I planned to exit Ramadan if I would be granted to see it through in the first place…
One of the real fears that a person has is that life after Ramadan shouldn’t be a return to the ‘old ways’ or a regression of sorts. There has to be change which dictates that upon self-reflection, a person makes a commitment to improving themselves is the quest for reaching higher standards and goals. Inevitably, over time, things will slowly come unravelling and even with the best will in the world, as mere mortals, the flaws will return.
That being said, I’ve made it my mission that I will try to delay this process with a heightened consciousness. I don’t want my exit from Ramadan to be like a plunge in icy water in winter. It has to be a smooth, gradual process to the point where the continuity is more visible than the extraction from that blessed month. The criteria which would make this all the more possible is a certain silent introspection, being surrounded by like-minded people and hope combined with gratitude. So, it will take a combination of internal and external factors working seamlessly together.
I do have confidence that I will follow through with my action plan, insha’Allah even though there will be times that I falter. I see that the Islamic calendar is permeated throughout with occasions in which we can aim to score high marks and gives us a sense of focus and direction. It is all beautifully laid out and when I feel there are times I might drag my feet, those specific days, weeks or months will be there as a reminder of what I could potentially aim for instead.
The mastery of Allah’s plan knows no bounds. Perhaps I am a late arriver in this lesson of life but insha’Allah, arrive I have.
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