By Basheer Luqman Olarewaju
A time to purify our hearts and souls, a time to be freed from all sins, a time to establish a deep connection with Allah and that time is coming very soon! Are you ready for Ramadan? Make this Ramadan the turning point to change your life. Let us take a break from the cheap tricks of this world and involve ourselves into the purity of Imaan. The Prophet (SAW) said, “when the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed. And the devils are chained.” Saheeh Al-Bukhari
Ramadan is gifted to muslims so they attain devotion, purification of their innerself and gain immense rewards from Almighty Allah. It is approaching soon. It trains us to break our bad habits. So, this Ramadan let us get rid of our all bad habits. It is a month of Allah whose beginning is mercy, middle is forgiveness, end is freedom from fire. It will be here soon! Mold yourself, shape yourself, change yourself and apply all the teachings of Islam in your acts to be a practicing Muslim.
Before Ramadan, try to forgive everyone who has done something wrong to you so that you can focus on enjoying the month of Ramadan with a pure heart and blessed soul. It is a great chance to purify and rebuild your Imaan. Be ready to refresh your Imaan in this approaching holy Ramadan. In this week’s column, I am pleased to express to you, my sincere wishes on this great month and pray to Almighty Allah to make this month an opening to divine blessing, sound health, beneficial wealth and unalloyed happiness. Please remember me in your prayer. Ramadan Mubarak!
Ramadan is reaching soon! Be a better person and do not be like a person who fasts only to keep himself away from food. But fast to keep yourself away from improper gossips, sinful deeds, backbiting and hurting others. In this approaching Ramadan! let us change our routines. Be a person who eats less and feeds to others. Spend less time in sleep and try to seek more grace, forgiveness and blessings from Allah.
Food must be consumed moderately during the nightly Sahur and at the time of breaking of fast (Iftar). Good nutrition helps to detoxify unwanted substances from the body as fasting helps to eliminate load of toxins that may have accumulated from food. There is no doubt that excessive eating is not only a cause of many diseases but is also a major factor in stopping us from maximising our worship of Allah. Many of us who fast during Ramadan try to make up for all the food we missed throughout the day after Iftar, by binge eating. Surely, this goes against the very purpose of Ramadan, which is to be moderate in eating and to remember those who have less than us.
The best type of food is that which is used by the body. By controlling what we eat now, we will not only benefit our health in the short and long term but moderate eating will make us less heavy and enable us to maximise the amount of worship we do every day during Ramadan and the rest of our lives. Many people indulge in making all kinds of food (during Ramadan) and treating food preparation as a virtual art form, so that housewives and servants spend all their time on making food and this keeps them away from worship which painfully makes them to spend far more on food during Ramadan than they do ordinarily.
Many people spend their entire day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking about food, instead of concentrating on Salaah, recitation of the Quran and other acts of worship. All they can think of is FOOD, so much so that they turn the month of ‘fasting’ to month of ‘feasting’. At the end of the day, people make the month as the month of indigestion, fatness and gastric illness, where people eat like gluttons and drink like thirsty camels. When they go to pray Taraaweh they do so reluctantly and some leaves after the first two rakahs.
Several studies have shown that cases of nutritionally-induced diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cancer can be prevented with fasting. Nutritionists have recommended consumption of cereals/root/tuber; milk and dairy products; fish; meat and poultry; beans; vegetables and fruits and that it is not advisable to break the fast with heavy food and acidic fruits.
Let us try to make God Happy by offering sincere prayers and observing fasts and reach to Him so He lights up our hearts and souls with the light of Imaan and Taqwa. Let us promise ourselves to make this upcoming Ramadan the turning point in your life. Let us take a break from the deceptions of this world and prepare our hearts and souls to taste the sweetness of Imaan.
Every night in Ramadan, Allah chooses people to be saved from the hellfire. So, let us avail this chance in the upcoming Ramadan to please Allah by turning our hearts and bodies towards Him not only for Ramadan but for forever and to assure the freedom from hellfire. Ramadan does not come to change our schedules. It comes to change our hearts. Free up your heart from all types of sins and find the purity of heart and soul by fasting appropriately in the upcoming Ramadan.
Ramadan is approaching fast! Don’t forget to avoid these mistakes to do proper fasting and achieve its rewards: Don’t be angry on anyone. Don’t spend your fast while sleeping all day. Fasting without prayer is nothing but to keep your abdomen empty for no use. Avoid the use of bad Language. Feed a soul if not many: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “He who gives iftar to another fasting person shall earn reward equivalent to a fasting man without detracting from the reward of the latter” (Nisai and Tirmidhi)
The key to success is reflected in the Qur’an. May we find blessing and guidance as we recite it altogether in the Ramadan days.
