Ramadan - Day 15

Had some Quaker Oats for Sehri with some Gales with Lemon Honey, it was amazingly good. I would definitey recommend this to those who are curry shy in the early hours. My parents have always had curry and rice at Sehri, not sure how they do it, definitely dont have the palet to do that. Must be my Britishness coming out, porridge it is and will continue to be.

The day went well at work, was rather busy, which is not a bad thing, could not go for a "dry" coffee break with a good brother of mines at work, called Zakariyya. But hasten not met up with him after work, prayed Asr Salat in the usual place on the 1st Floor of the Disaster Recovery Site we have been tarnished away at RBS which is named Regents House. We both then went to its names sake but no affiliation, Regents Parks Mosque to break our fast. which we did with almost 500-750 people (only as an estimate). It was amazing and well recommended even for once in Ramadan, for anyone wanting to get a real feel of community. With this being the Central Mosque in London it attracts all types of Muslims, from all races and cultures, a truly remarkable way to break the fast with the Ummah.

The Mosque also provides a gratuity Iftar with a box of rice and chicken with dates, milk and fruits. It was just great, Alhamdullilah. The brothers were very helpful and each person truly wanted to help their fellow brother (not to mention the sisters who were from my brief observation were doing likewise).

Helped myself to some cakes too (£1.00 a slice so can not go wrong, so ended up piling some for mum and elder sis back home).

I was feeling really drained when I got home, no rest for me, 5 mins in, wudu, a change of clothes, a cup of mums chai and off for Taraweeh! When I did get home, was really feeling weak and with a sore throat on the cards itching to become a virus, I rightly went straight to bed. Felt a little better at Sehri, so ended up reading more of the Qur'an after Fajr Salat, which was really nice.

Ramadan - Day 12,13 & 14

The days of Ramadan have been going faster than they have been coming.... Already on half way thought this beautiful month and so far it has been a great blessing.

Fri - 12; Younger sis came back from Guildford after her first weeks stint at becoming a English teacher, she was exhausted and needed the homecoming fast by the look of her. I attended the gym that day and was abs. useless - no energy at all! Maybe if I change my Sehri eating ways that may change my energy levels, i.e. eat properly at Sehri and not just eat dates.

I booked myself on a four day course over 2 weekends, called "Journey Through the Qur'an", lectured by Hafiz Abdullah Muhammad. With the first weekend starting on Sat 12th, See more information on the course on a separate blogg on the course. It was an excellent course and I would definitely recommend to All.

Sat - 13; With the course in full gear, had to really prepare myself mentally for a hard day, but Alhamdullilah the day went well, with me getting back to mi casa just before the break of fast time of 19:22. Younger sis was making sure I did not miss it as she made some very delicious dishes, the food was awesome. May Allah swt bless her.

Sun -14; I was invited to a friends Iftari, Anwar from the "Kind Eddys Sunday Footy", so had to rush back from the end of the class to get their, which I managed to do in good time. There was an array of foods on display ready for the team of 10-12 staving male carnivores on show waiting to feast after our Maghrib prayers, the only thing on risk are Anwars' two young boys who may have been mistaken for a chicken leg the way everyone was waiting to eat. The deserts - which those that know me well is my "main" course, and it did not fail in my testing. Had to shortly leave for the Taraweeh prayers...suppose that was my stop loss on the desert.

I have completed Jus 1 (Para 1) in the early hours of this morning after Fajr prayers and now into the 2nd Jus. There are 30 Jus in total and are parts rather than chapters. The Suras of which there are 114 in the Qur'an which are interchangeably referred to as chapters. Some of the Qur'an texts have been split in Jus's in order for people to complete a Jus/day and thus complete the Qur'an in a month. I am as you can read well behind as I have started late and thus have to play catch up, Insha;Allah I am up for that challenge.

It was most refreshing to read the Qur'an in the 1/3 part of the night, as it has been written in the Qur'an that those who wake up to read in the 1/3 part of the night, which is the most difficult time to get up and read, an angel will watch over them and report back to Allah swt and thus it proved to be the most rewarding and fulfilling.

I also feel that once you have read your Fajr prayers, read the Qur'an and made supplications you really do feel content and the sleep is so much more fulfilling and peaceful.

Ramadan - Day 11

It was a rather weird day, not feeling like doing anything, well that was not really a choice I had given that I had made the initial decision to come to work - doh, work always gets in the way and wins again!

The body was feeling lathered and tired, the waking up for Sehri at the early hours of the morning of 4am was taking its toll on the body. However the mind was in good shape to continue with this small obstacles of fatigue, it is from these hardships we get the spiritual enlightenment.

It was a really weird episode I experienced last night waking up for Sehri, from a call on the mobile, must have had some conversation that I briefly recall and then had some dates (a packed placed delicately in arms reach of the table besides my bed) , which looking back must of been whilst semi-conscious. It was mind boggling that I also missed Fajr after consuming the dates, this should really had woken me up!

Think the body apart from the tiredness has got into a routine now, so all is go go go for another 20 or so days. Mind you don't think I am losing any weight though at all, if anything I must have piled on the pounds, which is really obscure given I only have an 8 hour window to consume 2500 kcals of which half of that will be taken in sleeping. Must be the large consumption at Iftar and before Taraweeh that is doing the damage and the lack of exercise which is pretty Null at the moment. Mind you Taraweeh is a form of exercise and the knees to take it, not that I am complaining, thought there maybe a market for garments with knee supports for Taraweeh and potential head rests on the mat - only a thought!

Thought of the day:
"Do not put off a good that you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might receive from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good"

A beautiful read on Allah (swt) Plans

Allah's Plans

Some things are beyond planning.
And life doesn't always turn out as planned.
You don't plan for a broken heart.
You don't plan for an autistic child.
You don't plan for spinsterhood.
You don't plan for a lump in your breast.

You plan to be young forever.
You plan to climb the corporate ladder.
You plan to be rich and powerful.
You plan to be acclaimed and successful.
You plan to conquer the universe.
You plan to fall in love - and be loved forever.

You don't plan to be sad.
You don't plan to be hurt.
You don't plan to be broke.
You don't plan to be betrayed.
You don't plan to be alone in this world.

You plan to be happy.
You don't plan to be shattered .

Sometimes if you work hard enough, you can get what you want. But MOST times, what you want and what you get are two different things.

We, mortals, plan. But so does Allah (SWT) in the heavens. Sometimes, it is difficult to understand Allah's plans especially when His plans are not in consonance with ours .
Often, when He sends us crisis, we turn to Him in anger. True, we cannot choose what Allah wishes us to carry, but we can carry it with courage knowing that He will never abandon us nor send something we cannot cope with.

Sometimes, Allah breaks our spirit to save our soul.
Sometimes, He breaks our heart to make us whole.
Sometimes, He allows pain so we can be stronger.
Sometimes, Allah sends us failure so we can be humble.
Sometimes, He allows illness so we can take better care of ourselves.
And sometimes, Allah takes everything away from us so we can learn the value of everything He gave us

Make plans, but understand that we live by Allah's grace. Although they plan, Allah also plans. And Allah is the Best of Planners.
[Holy Qur'an 8:30]

Ramadan - Day 9 & 10

The days have been coming and going so fast that I have accrued two days of blogging! Alas there is a life apart from blogging I hear you all cry...but rest assured I am back on it again with much oomph!

With 10 days passing and marking a 1/3 of Ramadan, it feel rather nice, being content with life and the things around me.

One thing I have notice more about my ownself is that I have become much more focussed and have had more Sabr in the tasks I choose to do, whether it be work, salat to the general communication with folks, friends and siblings. Suppose with the dramatic fall in energy levels that was expected to some extent, but the spiritual journey is the unknown factor.

Insha'Allah that this change goes into my permanent stream of thoughts and one way to do that is to keep the the stomach in the correct ratio - 1/3 food, 1/3 water and 1/3 air.

I cam back from Taraweeh prayers and put the old telly on (yes, the traditionalist will say what you mean you have the TV plugged into the socket during Ramadan?) and their was a documentary on the BBC called "Funny thing about Ramadan". This can be viewed on BBCiplayer (which will last only for 7 days) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dczz3

This documentary was about a Scottish sister, a stand up comedian by profession, whose parents were both Muslim, with her own association of being Muslim having been lost since her early kindergarten years and she was asked by a brother to fast, at least a day for the production of this doc' .

I suppose I do empathise with her to some extent when she spoke about doing things like being forced to attend Islamic classes on Saturdays to read the Qur'an when all other children were watching Saturday Morning TV and playing on their Commodores/Sega Master systems (now you can guess my age from this). But I feel my grounding on Islam came due to the environment I was (which my parents were a large part of) and the benefit that I personally found both spiritual and physical from the actions I took within the realms of Islam, which did not come so easily and it does take time.

I think the programme was ok, nothing special as it really should of been a full length hour doc' on what the true essence of what Ramadan is for a variety of people as I found it only scraped the tip of the iceberg when it interviews a few people on it. Nevertheless it is a start to more docs on faith and Islam (which show a positive side to it) I hope for the BBC and TV in general.

Thoughts of the day:
"The spiritual journey sits on a very long road one must find their own highway as long as its one that causes them peace and harmony and with the end result of ultimate contentment with life, we must not be haste with things that come our way; respect the things around you and Allah will ensure you will flourish"

Ramadan Thoughts

This is a poem that I had recieved in my inbox today, written by an 18 year old brother, MasaAllah, it is very thought provoking

I asked for strength and Allah gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and Allah gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and Allah gave me brawn and brain to work.
I asked for courage and Allah gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for patience and Allah placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.
I asked for love and Allah gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favours and Allah gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted but everything I needed

Ramadan - Day 8

The day was more difficult than the previous weeks, would of thought the body and mind would had got used to it, just shows that the body can go back to it "normal" setting very quickly. Though even after that I did go to the gym, only to work the muscles for 20 mins but think I was definitely a defeated man as mind and body was not up for that type of challenge.

Iftar on Sunday (7th) was spent with family with my sister #2, my nephew and nieces with my bro in law were invited to dine and have Iftaar with us. My elder sis brought her close friend too so was a packed Ali casa and with stupendous food on show (which I must add could not get on camera as well the food was gone before I could take any shots of it....no it was not all because of me for those reading....lol).

Tarweeh prayers I now call "my own time" as even though its a prayer that I do in congregation with as much as 500-750 people at my local Masjid, I feel this is my time with Allah (swt) and can reflect sincerely on the day past and to prepare my mind and soul for the forthcoming day, it really is a beautiful experience. In previous years and as a teen, the Taraweeh salat I felt was a chore, and dreaded the nightfall when I had to go to to the Masjid to perform it, things have obviously changed for the better, Alhamdulilah.

There are things in the prayer that are worth observing, and having been attending such prayers for over two decades, things do not change much.

A few things of note:
- The Imam switch over after the 12th rakat from the slow to the speedy gonzalez fast lane ferrarri typed manoeuvre on the A40!
- The various attire on show, from jeans, long white dress, to various forms of hoodies (and yes they have the swagger too when going to Sajdah would you believe)
-Constant muttering of children and teens during the whole prayer (and the elders getting well annoyed)
- The 8 raka post exodus when you would think someone raised the fire alarm (not its for those that can't hack the full 20 - though that's the reason I feel the "slow" imam comes at the first leg to keep the 8'erz there longer).
- Water cups and bottles that come round for those that require it, (well it is a marathon of rakat almost lasting for 2hours after all)
-Brothers (some) stepping on your little toe when standing for salat (so beware get your toes out the way before its on lock down). It is fascinating that some brother like the side to side feet alignment and and some don't. The idea behind it is that in congregation nothing should pass by and all should be as one, with feet and shoulders touching - different school of thoughts have differing views of this.

Thought of the day:
"On no soul does Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear"

Ramadan - Day 7

Now a full week has gone by and Alhamdullilah Ramadan has been very fruitful. I thought prior to the the start of Ramadan, was fearing the long days of the summer, but with the weather not being as hot as expected on this time of the year, it has been easier than expected.

The tiredness is also not as bad as I can remember Ramadan to be. The body and mind conditioning usually happens in the first few days and this time round has been no different. I have been cutting down on my portions coming up to Ramadan as part of the 'Nam weight loss target which was moving on nicely and may have helped significantly in hindsight.

The lack of physical exercise is hard given I have been very active over the last few months, giving up footy (twice a week) squash, spinning classes and gym for a month.

I strolled in the garden for some fresh air today and was noticing a lot of the varieties of colours that the garden encompassed, the green grass, the brown shed, the varieties of flowers, pink, yellow, and the different shades of green in the various plantation s on show.

Both my parents love the garden immensely and I suppose that's one thing they can take from not being in Bangladesh, being close to nature. I came across the pair tree which I dutifully picked the pairs for Mum to prepare for Iftaar., they were abs delicious! It is a beautiful things producing your own fruits and vegetables, may this continue Insha'Allah onto the next generation.

Thought of the day:
"Life is what you make it, so make the best of this dunya in the name of Allah swt, and the gardens of paradise will be opened in the akirah"

Taqwa - 6 Characteristics to emulate

I have come across an article on the site: http://muslimmatters.org/2008/09/05/ramadan-reflections-juz-4/, where it provides a neat and easy to digest essence of what characteristics are required for one to be truly fearful of the the punishment of Allah (Swt) (Taqwa).

Here is a snapshot of one of the main messages:

"Allah provides us with some examples of the behaviour of the people with taqwa, so that we can strive to emulate them.

1. They spend out of what Allah has provided them with in both prosperity and adversity.

2. They repress their anger, in particular when they are capable of acting upon it

3. They are forgiving of others and freely pardon those who have wronged them

4. They quickly rush to seek Allah’s forgiveness when they commit any wrong – big or small

5. They know with certainty that only Allah can forgive sins (and they expect that from Him)

6. They don’t knowingly persist in those wrongs, meaning that they don’t delay repenting

Virtues of Ramadan - Yasir Qadhi video

This is a really good 9 minute video on the virtues of Ramadan by Shaikh Yasi Qadhi, that I could not put it any better myself. Definitely worth viewing.