Ramadan Week 2

Anisah Vasta
May 24, 2019
4 min read

Assalamualikum everyone! Week 2 has been completed of Ramadan and here’s a summary of our second week of Ramadan.

ANISAH

The second week of Ramadan has been an ease, minus the few odd days of hardship, as the weather is quite hot in the UK. I want to talk a bit about my personal spiritual journey through Ramadan and the different battles I have faced through Ramadan. One of the hardest lessons I have learn through Ramadan, so far, is reading Quran. I feel reading Quran has been a very difficult challenge for me, as sometimes its difficult to connect with the words. The Quran is such that through translation we can understand the meaning behind the Quran. A translation that I have enjoyed reading is the The Quran, translated by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem.

Charity and the importance of giving

This has been one of the highlights of Ramadan Week 2. Charity has been an important part of Ramadan for me personally and I have tried to make effort in giving back to society, whatever way I am able. Recently, hearing some of the incredible stories of different people giving back on charity appeals on Islam Channel really inspires me and motivate me to give as much as I can. I can remember when I went to Palestine and I found myself I a hospital just on top of the Mount of Olives, and there were people who had returned from the Gaza Strip, injured physically and emotionally from the trauma of war. Although this wasn’t a long visit I was able to get a glimpse into these peoples lives. But that is the very aspect, I had only had a glimpse, but the reality is, is that they are living through this reality everyday. As hard it may sound, during Ramadan we are faced with ample chances to give back and make a difference to someone’s life, through the large amount of humanitarian crises that plague the world. From Yemen to Palestine, there are many places that are in need, so open your heart and give charity.

Procrastination and making the most of each day of Ramadan

This is by far on of the hardest problem I have faced so far during Ramadan. University is over and assignments are handed in. So you must be thinking what is this girl worried about? Having nothing to do can be a very dangerous part, especially when you are a lazy person. Praying, reading Quran and being a overall good Muslim during Ramadan can be a little difficult, due to temptations. The temptations of wanting to watch a series (Of course Game of Thrones) or even listening to music can be hard. Therefore try to keep yourself occupied and busy as much as you can. during Ramadan, we underestimate the amount of time we spent eating. This is the lesson we need to learn, the value of food and how blessed we are for having it. I have found reading the Quran in translation and praying to be a very good way of dealing with these temptations. Just remember, Ramadan is a way to get away from your normal regular life and remember Allah in all that we do! We are nearly there guys!

SAMEENA

We are already past the halfway mark! I'm proud of every single person for coming this far, also who have not gone back into old habits and has changed something about themselves in these past two weeks. As you've probably noticed my Instagram quote theme for week two was gratitude, I also asked you what you were grateful for so I want to talk about gratitude and share what you said.

We always hear our parents say "be grateful for what you have" or people tell you "you don't know what you have until it's gone", they're thrown around quite a lot but are we truly grateful for what we have? Ramadan is the one time everyone is grateful to have food especially around the third day when you're energy levels are low, you're still getting used to fasting and your stomach is rumbling every two minutes. But perhaps we need to be grateful for everything else in our lives too.

We all live pretty comfortable lives, most, if not all of us, have a roof over our heads, have food at home, are not in danger of being killed by bombs, are well clothed, we're healthy, have a decent education. I have to say I'm guilty of not being grateful sometimes because instead of looking at what I have I look at what I don't have, aside from gratitude, this is a negative mindset anyways. Of course it's natural to want stuff like a better house, better car, better job, better clothes and better everything and there's nothing wrong with a bit of ambition but I think sometimes we need to stop and look at what we already have and thank Allah for all he has given us.

I urge you, the next time you open your fast when you're waiting with your food in front of you, thank Allah for it, thank Allah for the person who made it. And remember, if you're thankful for everything you have, Allah will give you more.