I wanted to send greetings of the month of Ramadan to you and let you know a little bit about what this month means to me.
The long awaited month of Ramadan has finally arrived on the lunar calendar! It is a month packed with immense blessings that will be observed by Muslim's all around the world from Los angeles to Jordan to China to New Zealand
It is a month packed with reflection, discipline, intense spirituality, and gentle asceticism. It is the month that God, Most High, revealed the Qur'an in its entirety to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
It consists of approximately 30 days.
The first ten days of the month are the days of 'Mercy.' During these days Muslims should reflect on God's infinite Mercy and be thankful for all that they have been granted. It is a period where they should embody mercy and try to soften their hearts in a way that will render it tender for the rest of the year. Most importantly they should enjoin mercy amongst humanity at large.
The second ten days are the days of 'Forgiveness.' These are the days where should turn to their Creator in all sincerity and seek God's forgiveness for the transgressions they have committed against God, the transgressions they have committed against other people, and the transgressions they have committed against themselves.
The last ten days are those of 'self-improvement. ' It is during these days in which Muslims seek a drastic increase in their spirituality, in their worship and in their rememberance of God in hope to be sincere and worthy enough to be granted the highest ranks of Heaven.
During this month Muslim adults wake up in the morning when only very few people are awake, and then worship God.
Then they have a small meal meant to give them nourishment for the entire day and conclude with another ritual prayer.
Throughout the day they engage in remembering God, reflecting on the profundity of God's creation, and reading God's book of guidance to humanity - the Qur'an - and abstain from eating or drinking anything until the sun sets.
This is a means of increasing their gratitude towards the Creator of the Heavens and Earth for all that they have been given by depriving themselves of things thay typically indulge in or may take for granted.
How many people struggle to find food due to it's scarcity?
How many people around the world struggle to get enough money to put food on the table" How many people are being hit by harsh droughts? How many people around the world are caught in violent war zones?
It is through fasting that Muslims draw nearer to God and that they also draw nearer to God.
Muslims also spend their night standing together in prayer for a few hours and prostrating their heads on the floor to the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth every night during Ramadan.
For a Muslim this is a month of beauty and reflection and not a month of sacrifice and hardship as a non-practitioner may view it.
This is a month where God throws Satan in a cell and he cannot whisper his evil whisperings to us.
All the good we do during this month is from our own hearts and all the evil we commit is from our own hearts and cannot be attributed to Satan's evil endeavors.
During Ramadan we are shown our true selves and hopefully will make the effort to correct our flaws.
I hope that you have a great month and that perhaps you can find a time out of the year to reflect and increase your spirituality and worship of God...
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