How to Set Yourself Up for Success in Ramadan
Ramadan is not an easy month of the year, where Muslims have to restrict themselves from committing sins and succumbing to desires such as hunger and thirst. That being said, it would be best to soften the blow of Ramadan’s sudden arrival (and the changes that come with it) be preparing for Ramadan in advance. So, how should one go about doing this?
After asking a couple of officers, it was clear that before Ramadan, you should do what I did before writing this blog post: renewing and purifying your intentions. According to Fatimah Yousuf, MYNA’s very own Program Chair in the North Central region, “I prep by just being really thankful that I have the chance to experience the blessing of Ramadan again and reflect on how Allah (swt) has let me live to another Ramadan where I can repent on my sins and gain so many good deeds.” There is a story that two men were levels apart in heaven, even though they lived very similar lives as Muslims. The reason there were levels between them in heaven was because the higher man experienced just one more Ramadan than the other. As Fatimah said, Ramadan is a wonderful thing and one must go into it with pure intentions. Beelal Tebry, the EC Marketing Coordinator, added that he likes “to begin preparing my mindset which mainly revolves around sacrifice. Sacrificing many of the things that our pleasurable to me for the sake of Allah. It’s about raising your soul so that you are in control of your desires, not your desires controlling you!“ Based on this testimonial, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea to try and control yourself a little in different aspects of your life in the weeks leading up to Ramadan.
Rayyan Salam, MYNA’s Social Media Chair, had something to say about this. She said that she likes “gradually cutting back on snacking just because it makes fasting so much easier when you don’t have the urge to snack all the time.” This is just one example of a desire you should try and limit during Ramadan. I’ve been trying to put down my phone more and start reading books more so that during Ramadan I can maximize the time reading the most important book in the world, like Musab Chummun, the Communications Chair. He said that “reading more Quran gradually makes it easier to make a lot of time during Ramadan [to read Quran] since I have been gradually going up to that point.” I should start reading more Qur’an as well. Keep in mind that it’s even okay if you read an English translation of the Qur’an. This is because what is really of the utmost importance is to build a spiritual connection with Allah (swt), which easily transcends languages.
Just to make sure you smash it out of the park during Ramadan, keep in mind that you’re doing this to become a better Muslim, purify your intentions, and attempt to limit bad actions while increasing the good actions you partake in.