Are you excited? Well, you should be. Ramadan is almost here.
I have a strange relationship with this month. When it comes near, I go on panic mode. I don’t know why, so don’t ask me. I just know that towards the end of Sha’ban (the month before Ramadan), I start to freak out.
“Oh no, Ramadan is almost here!”
“I won’t be eating from sunrise till sunset!”
“Will I be able to do it?”
And the thoughts keep coming. Maybe this would be a good place to tell you that sometimes my thoughts really get the best of me.
I am inspired by others who have such a positive attitude before this month. And that is how it should be. I don’t know if I will be alive for Ramadan next year and it’s a blessing to be alive to experience Ramadan for this year. Plus, the benefits of Ramadan are numerous; the main benefit being the self-discipline that one achieves.
Most problems can be remedied by the self-discipline approach. We should promote Ramadan as a beat-your-bad-habit-in-the-rear-and-become-a-new-person-in-thirty-days type of program. It really is a thirty-day boot camp that seeks to rid individuals of the spiritual and social toxins that are ruining their relationship with not only God, but with other human beings as well.
And this last point brings me to the main reason I opened up a blank post (even though my post jumped from how ridiculous I act when Ramadan approaches to how some people don’t, to how that is a good thing, to how Ramadan is beneficial, and finally to my main point). How wonderful would it be if we could get our Non-Muslim buddies participating in this month, fasting side by side with us?
I recently posted on a community at blogfrog about Ramadan. Then, I asked if anyone wanted to participate in fasting from either food, water, a bad habit, or all three. Surprisingly, some people responded right away and said they would be willing to give up one thing for the month. I definitely think that’s a start.
Here’s my request from you. If you are a Muslim, would you like to make an agreement that you will try to recruit your Non-Muslim friends (from either online or not) to participate in this Holy Month? Wouldn’t that be a great opportunity to educate others about Islam? If you are Non-Muslim and reading this, would you like to participate with me. Just leave a comment or send me an email (whichever you are comfortable with) and let’s set goals together=)
"O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God" [2:183]
