An online mirror

Ramadan is the chance to move and get up. Yes it is… so let’s wash our spiritual eyes from  their sleep and wipe off the dust of laziness off our head and body and get ready for a full spiritual-mental-physical-moral renewal:

with God our creator and our maker: we need to fix up our relationship by looking at our obligations and doing them, improving them, and moving them to the state of excellence. We need to look at our short coming and try to repent from them this month.

With our family: We need to look at our family dynamics and see if any maintenance is needed there. We need to contact family members that we have cut off, improve relations that are weak, and move the normal routine relations to relations of high levels of kindness, mercy, love, and politeness.

With people: take a look at your colleagues, neighbours, friends, and brothers and sisters in faith, and any people you know and try to improve your interactions and dealings. Smile more, buy a gift, and lend a helping hand.

With yourself: Put yourself under the microscope and see if there are any germs. If they are spiritual kind it is time to change the diseases of the heart like pride, arrogance, hate, and envy into their opposites. If they are habits like laziness, unorganization,  or procrastination then work on that as well.

The Ramadan tide is here to take us from being far from Allah to being close to Allah, from being cold with our families to becoming a loving family member, from being an unpleasant person to a pleasant person to be around, and from someone with bad habits to someone who acquired good habits.

May Allah aid us all in it…

Once in a past Ramadan we were in the masjid, the sheikh announced when taraweeh prayer will start after Isha. One brother replied that the time was either too early or too late. Another brother raised his voice telling him to be quiet. The first thought that came to my mind “we didn’t even start the month and a mini argument was going to start?!”

It is amazing that each Ramadan people argue… although Ramadan is on the contrary the month of manners and piety. In some countries there is a joke about how some people say in anger “don’t let me ruin my fasting because of you” etc…

I think we as Muslims need to understand the spirit and aim of Ramadan before we start it so it doesnt become habit rather than a worship. Once a friend and mine went to give a presentation about Islam and we both said “one of the amazing things about fasting is almost all Muslims fast including those who are not serious about observing the teachings of Islam.”

So Moon sighting, when is Eid, and how many units of prayer is more preferred arguments are not a victory of any kind? The real victory is to come out of this month when you are forgiven, closer to God, and you improved your manners.

Note: My point about arguments is not to abandon dialogue, or to research, or to share our views, or give advice, or diligence in practice, but it’s about attitude and reflection of why and what we are doing before we start.

People in Canada are familiar with the Little Mosque on the Prairie show that was quite a success on Canadian television. I’m going to play on the words to get a welcoming remark/resolution/goal for Ramadan.

Here it is:

Little Mosque in the heart.

Sound familiar? Think about it… we all complain and hate to see our masjids empty after Ramadan especially they are filled with eager energetic worshipers in the holy month. What happens after it is over? Others will provide a better answer than me here. The only hint I give is we are part of the problem when we realize the phenomenon yet we don’t participate in the solution. Silent actions are more effective than talk. So let’ make the mosque big in our hearts by being more present in it. Let’s try for Fajr and ‘Isha (I won’t mention taraweeh since most people will go for them when they can although it is interesting to note that praying obligations in the masjid is more rewarding! Not a discouragement just to get our priorities right).

Since some sisters might read this, make sure you pray in congregation at home if you are unable to go with your husbands at anytime. Or wake them up and push them out the door “See you after salah honey.. tomorrow’s iftar will only be salad if…”

O Masjids around the world I’m sure you will be more happy if us Muslims realize that you are more beautiful in Ramadan but you are still beautiful all year long. So we hope to be consistent guests who are not only users who come for a favour only. Please accept our apologies. We know you are generous hosts. Hope we don’t let you down this month.

Today I had the honour and privilege (although before I used to call it a headache ) to teach a few kids for a few hours. I was a substitute. Since I have not done that for quite a while I was taken away by the fun time I had with these guys. It was a cool time, but more importantly I learned a few things by just watching them and listening to them that are amazing that as older people don’t sometimes pick up from them we are usually in the midset of “we are older” so we pass over these lessons and these  young teachers while we are unaware.

1- In professions that are highly stressful it is highly advised for professionals in this field to seriously take part of hobbies outside their career that will recharge them for work so they do not burn out. Ever watch kids play their bodies out in a play groung although 2 min ago they were all writing quietly in class?

2-Trust is one of the key feelings we hope to express and feel with others. It opens up the doors to friendship and help, because without trust there is no talking. Kids come and tell you stories that analogous to things we as adults keep reserved at many times because of embarassment, or we think no one is interested, or it is a waste of time, or whatever. Although they obviously would make comments like “eww” or “that’s a dumb story” when they are listening to one another but overall they open up way faster compared to us.

3-One of the worst feelings to feel after you have helped people for a while is that they are not grateful back and forget totally how you stood by them oneday. Walking in the hallway and meeting kids I have not seen in a year and they come with a big smile just to say salam and say the miss you is lots of fun. Its amazing really how they are grateful that one day you took the time for them. All of us are hopefully grateful to people who have bee on our side but really kids do it beautifully and innocently.

To cap this off read what Ibn Qudama mentions as an etqiuette of a teacher towards a student in his book Mokhtasr Minhajul Qasideen (rough translation is done by me just to get the idea otherwise for real appreciation go to an official translation):

“… does not see from himself a grace towards the students, but sees the due is owed to them because they prepared their hearts to get closer to Allah the Most Exalted by putting knowledge in them, so they are like the person who lends a land for someone to plant in it…”

I was very fortunate to attend a great workshop yesterday by br Ahmad Deif, who is really good at presenting the topic. One great thing he mentioned about the way we apporach our actions and assess them is to be like Omar ibn Al Khattab. During the incident of the treaty of Hudaibiya Omar ibn Al Khattab was furious, he saw that the treaty went againt everything Islam stood for and what he believed. He could not stand still trying to convince the Prophet peace be upon him, talking to Omar, and while thinking in his head. The key here is contradiction.

Although obviously there was greater wisdom in what happened, the lesson here is very interesting how many of us feel that kind of emotion when we feel our own actions are contradictory? Or do we just go along in life without any feeling of guilt or sadness?

The other day as light hit my textbooks from the window I was thinking about the relationship between worship and nature. It is amazing that the majore rituals in Islam make a very strong connection between people and nature. Ritual Prayers have a precondition of ritual purity, in which a person must be pure using water or its substitute from the earth. The timings of prayer are measured by changes in nature and when we pray we put our head on the ground as well.

If we move to Prayer’s sisters worship the spending of obligatory alms giving (Zakah) we find that you give up natural things that God created for you to others who don’t have them.

Fasting is an appreciation of nature because you give up natural habits for a full month. It makes you more sensitive, conscienctious and perhaps reflective (If you dont believe me read the Prophet peace be upon’s brilliant supplication when he sees the Crescent of Ramadan)

Finally Hajj… what a journey. A long journey by land and sea… and appreciation of Allah’s beautiful creation as you go and perform the prilgrimage and seeing various kinds of people from all over the globe.

Worship then should make us look at nature differently and live with it with a different attitude. The connection with the Creator of nature along with constant connection with nature should facilitate that feeling in us.