| Deed 5 of day 5 | Ramadan series

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuhu

Alhumdulillah it's almost a week now since Ramadan has passed.

The deed of today is to try to do something productive throughout your day, that normally looks a normal routine task but it could be an act of worship once you change your niyyah to do that act just for the sake of Allah. 

Verily every action is judged by its intention.

Few actions for us girls could be to make iftar for the entire family, not just because you have to but because you want to make Allah happy and please Him by helping your family members. See how that became a simple act of worship? Help your mom to please Allah and to return the favours back to your mother. Speak good words to your father in a low polite tone not because you are controlling yourself from anger but because you want to make Allah happy by respecting your father.

Forgives your sibling's shortcoming not because you want to feel relieved and light but because you want Allah to forgive you as well.

Simple!  Isn't it?

Alhumdulillah, this will make your entire day free from expectations from any body and it will make you do ample of good deeds and worship in sha Allah. :) :)
JazakumuaAllah khairan for reading

-Manal Mirza

| Deed 4 of day 4 | Ramadan series

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuhu

The deed that I really want to acquire this Ramadan is in sha Allah to fast my tongue just as much I fast myself from food, water and all the halal things. 

Tongue is one of the biggest paths that could lead us to heaven or hell. And I am afraid we speak useless and futile more than we speak beneficial and rewarding.  So in sha Allah, we will try to moist ours tongues with the remembrance of Allah and also with the recitation of the Qur'an and earn lots of ajar through our tongues. 

May Allah grant us the strength and tawfeeq to control our tongues and also our behavior throughout the entire year.  Ameen

JazakumuaAllah khairan for reading

-Manal Mirza

| Deed 3 of day 3 | Ramadan series

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuhu
I am sorry I didn't post earlier for yesterday's day three deed.

Deed of the day for day 3 would be something that we would want to apply in our daily lives and not only in Ramadan.  It is to wake up from your sleep to pray tahajjud after you've woken up.  Pray at least two rak'ats and seek forgiveness from Allah. Thank Him for all the blessings that He bestowed you with.  Ask anything you want from him. 

This is a deed we need to do daily.  And in the month of Ramadan rather than being awake all the time, sleep a little and then wake up again for tahajjud, then do your suhoor. 
Always keep doing astagfar at the time of suhoor.  Don't indulge in useless talks. Allah listens at that time to whatever we ask.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

Our Lord‬ (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says:

Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? 
Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? 
Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?

It was related by al-‪Bukhari‬ (also by ‪Muslim‬, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud). In a version by Muslim the Hadith ends with the words: And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines.
(From 40 Ahadith Qudsi)

Rabbana taqabbal Allahu minna wa minkum.

-Manal Mirza

| Deed 2 of day 2 | Ramadan series

Assalamualaikum

Today I will share with you a common good deed that we can practice this month of Ramadan so that we can continue this great habit even after Ramadan.
I'm sure all of us must be regular in their five daily prayers and from that the most regular must be the Fajr prayer. Since Fajr is the prayer that comes after we do our suhoor and very few of us sleep at that time.  [I have good hopes from my Rasool's (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) ummah.]
So coming to the point, the great habit which we can add into our list of good deeds is to read Qur'an after Fajr.

"Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur'an of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed." (Surah Al Isra-78)

The recitation of the Qur'an after fajr is witnessed!! SubhanaAllah! From the last post of mine I mentioned how we must keep on doing dhikr, read Qur'an after fajr until sunset at our muscular, and now this deed, they both are similar. You won't have to try that harder now.  In sha Allah you will gain reward simultaneously for doing two things at once.  Two good deeds at once and rewards are multiplied. In sha Allah

May Allah grant us the tawfeeq to establish these simple acts of worship. Ameen

Remember me in your duwas. 

Rabbana taqabbal minna wa minkum.

-Manal Mirza

| Deed 1 of day 1 | Ramadan series

Assalamualaikum

A simple reward one can do this Ramadan is as followed below:

1. Involving oneself in dhikr and azkaar until sunrise.

Prophet ﷺ said “Whoever prays Fajr in congregation then sits remembering Allaah until the sun rises, then prays two rak’ahs, will have a reward like that of Hajj and ‘Umrah, complete, complete, complete.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (586).

Shaykh Abdul Azeez bin Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“If a woman prays in her Musalla, then after Fajr remembers Allah by dhikr or reading the Quran until sunup, then offers two Rakah she gets the reward mentioned in the hadeeth.”

(Majmoo’ Fatawa vol 11)

Alhumdulillah! Let's race in doing good deeds. Bi iznillah!!!

Kullu aam wa antum bi khair.

RAMADAN MUBARAK!!!
Remember the entire Muslim Ummah in your prayers. 

-Manal Mirza

P.s: in sha Allah I'll try to post everyday about one good deed we can do this Ramadan. Remember me in your duwas for my isteqaamat

YOU AREN'T MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR RAMADAN IF...

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't reading Qur'an daily.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't helping anybody.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't praying the Qiyam Al Layl.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't seeking forgiveness for your sins and mistakes.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you are sleeping half of the day.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't giving charity.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't forgiving others.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't getting rid of your bad habits or you do not stop complaining.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you can't stop fighting, criticising others and behaving badly with others.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you can't stop the obscenity and stop wasting your time.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't planning to know more about Allah.

You AREN'T going to make the most of your Ramadan if you don't make a sincere intention that you really want to make a change and

you AREN'T going to make the most of your Ramadan if you didn't seek help from Allah to make your goals of this Ramadan possible.

We aren't going to achieve what we want this Ramadan if we don't stop worrying about other people, their success and the materials they have. What needs cleansing and nourishment is our hearts which have been rusted with constant suppositions about people and their lives; the constant niggling about someone and somebody you don't even know!

What needs more is the constant remembrance of our deaths to remove the desire of the worldly materials.

What needs more is the constant remembrance of you aakhirah, your hisaab kitaab (accountability) and your deeds.

What needs more, is that pain in our hearts for other people who haven't been blessed with Islam yet or the pain for people who don't have enough knowledge as you yet.

What needs more is the steadfast of our good deeds and regularity in them.

What needs more is the changing of our lazy lifestyles into something productive.

What needs more is the removal of selfish motives we have built for ourselves and our own families.

May Allah help us all to achieve what we really intended to do and make us successful. Ameen

Start little by little with constant duwas and excel in them and be constant in them. We aren't perfect but we can aim to be close to perfection in sha Allah! 

Jazakumullahu khairan for reading. Make sure you rate, share, comment and follow me. 

Ask me anything regarding this topic here.Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views. 
- Manal Mirza

PROPER WAY TO READ QUR'AN IN RAMADAN

Assalamualaikum Warahmatuallahi Wabarakaatuhu

Disclaimer: This post is not going to teach you on how you should read Qur'an with proper Tajweed. It is only going to show you the proper way to read Qur'an this Ramadan without rushing or feeling the need to finish it without understanding. 

Ramadan is a month of blessings and Qur'an is that biggest blessing that we muslims have received. What a mercy it is to us! SubhanAllah!
Before Ramadan begins we all make the intention of reading more Qur'an and try to finish it. But little to we care about pondering upon the ayats of Qur'an let alone finding out what it means.
Qur'an is a speech of Allah. It is something which we need to understand its value and try to recite it properly with etiquette and manners.

But If I asked you what Qur'an is, would you be able to answer it?
Qur'an literally means something that is read and collected whereas linguistically it means the revelation of Allah's ayats to Jibreel upon our Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu alaihiwasallam which begins from Surah Al Fatiha and ends with Surah An Naas which was revealed for the entire mankind.

Here are some simple and few steps on how to read the Qur'an in Ramadan. Just follow the pictures below.

Some of the best ways is to first take five to ten verses of the Qur'an and understand its meaning. Divide the Qur'an to understand but do not divide your time. (you have lots of time) The best translation according to me is the Sahih International. It's simple and clear and doesn't have difficult vocabulary. If there is any ayat that you fail to understand, then you may open the books of Tafseer to understand it even better. The best one out there is Ibn Katheer. Both the translation as well as the tafseer is available online for free. 
Then there are couple of things that you need to follow up through your recitation of Qur'an .  
1. understand the ma'rifat (recognition) of Allah through His names
2. absorb the rulings and commands by Allah
3. ponder upon the qualities of a mo'min and of a disbeliever
4. take lessons from the prophetic stories
5. understand the difference between Tawheed and Shirk,
6. understand the vision of heaven and hell 
7. get a clear idea about the aakhirat and fear of it severity
8. memorize any duwa that comes along the surahs and make them for yourself

If you've read the Qur'an this way, then in sha Allah you will taste the sweetness of Iman. :D

Ramadan is not about rushing over to finish the Qur'an and get rid of it quickly and not taking the benefit and blessings from it. Rather we must read it slowly and understand the meaning of what your Lord wants to speak to you and gain all the reward and the blessings from it.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "He who recites the Qur'an in less than three (days), he does not understand it." (Jami At Tirmidhi: Vol 1, Book 43, 2949)

But if you read slow, struggling and are demotivated then this hadith is for you. :) 

It was narrated from Aisha that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: "The one who is proficient with the Quran will be with the noble and righteous scribes (the angels), and the one who reads it and stumbles over it, fining it difficult, will have a double reward." Graded Sahih: Sunan Ibn Majah 3779

Qur'an was sent to us as an admonition, cure, guidance and mercy but little do we take heed from this beautiful book. 

"O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers." Surah Al Yunus- 57

Let us all take heed from this beautiful Kalaam Ullah and seek forgiveness from Allah for reciting any verse wrong by mistake and pray that Allah gives us the tawfeeq to act upon what we learned from the Qur'an.   

Jazakumuallahu khairan for reading. Make sure you rate, share and follow my blog for more updates. 

Ask me anything regarding this topic here. Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views.

- Manal Mirza

THINGS WE DO AFTER RAMADAN

Assalamualaikum Readers,

I just wanted to pick few things that we may or may not do after Ramadan. Most people might feel this or not. :)

Things we do after Ramadan:-

• Miss the blessings of Ramadan like late night qiyaams and the actual righteous atmosphere.
• Keep on intending that you will fast the missed fasts of Ramadan and 6 days of Shawwal but you end up delaying it.
• Stopped reading Qur'an and now it's back in the shelf.
• Remember cautiously for two minutes before eating anything whether you're fasting or not.
• Start doubting yourself whether you really are a good muslim or not because of the high Iman level in Ramadan and not so much in Shawwal.

• Getting back to work or school with the feeling as if you've not gotten enough holidays to relax.
• Feel too relaxed that you don't have to wake up for suhoor anymore and can sleep as much as you want.
• Sleep after fajr and wake up late in the afternoon. The routine is all messed up.
• Do not wake up for fajr or Tahajjud anymore because it's not Ramadan. 
• Praying all the prayers late because there is something more important I have to do first.
• Started wasting time more than ever before and constantly whining that you've got nothing to do.
• Plan the whole day or week but aren't able to do anything except of staring the screen or checking your phone.
• Start believing as if you achieved a lot in the last Ramadan so hence not much ibaaat is required now.
• Not going to the Masjid anymore for the congregational prayers. 
• Back to using horrific language and disobedience to parents and elders because I can't handle them.
• Started watching movies, T.V shows and listening to music because Ramadan is over. 
• Planning what to eat in breakfast or where to go for breakfast because now Ramadan is over. I can eat whatever I want.
• Caring less for all the ne'mats you have in life and focusing only on what you don't have.
• Becoming extremely lethargic,  lazy and tired from just 'sleeping'.
• Feeling sleepy even after waking up from sleep. 
• The most forgotten, not eating fruits regularly as you ate them in Ramadan! :O

My question is, what have we really learned from Ramadan? Verily, with hardship comes ease? lol

Those who had taken Ramadan as a burden must be enjoying their lives right now with full freedom. But those who enjoyed every bit of Ramadan's blessings must be feeling it as a challenge to maintain their iman levels just like how it was during Ramadan. Not because they don't struggle in maintaining but because they are scared of not maintaining it! Do you get what I mean?

We should always be worried about our Iman and our Taqwa because that's what we had aimed for in Ramadan and Ramadan was our training period to become better Muslims and leave our bad habits and sins behind. Please brothers and sisters, at least try to drop one bad habit. It's not hard as you think. You will struggle for sometime but then you'll be stronger to overcome anything hard or bad that comes in your way. Make duwa to Allah to make this hardship easy for you and in sha Allah you'll see progressive improvement over the days and you'll feel accomplished and moreover you'll thank Allah that He made that possible for you. 

May guide us all and all the muslims who struggle in leaving a bad habit. May He give us the courage to do small good deeds regularly and constantly.  Ameen

So are you happy or sad that Ramadan is over?

JazakiAllah hu khairan for reading. Please Rate, Share and comment for similar views. 

If there is any other thing that we do after Ramadan, please comment below. :)

p.s- EID MUBARAK. taqabbal minna wa minkum. kul aam wa antum bi khair!

Ask me anything related to this topic here . Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs.

- Manal Mirza

Why Am I Upset This Blessed Month?

Assalamualaikum WarahmatuAllah hi wabarakaatuhu!

Although I am very happy and blessed to be alive during this month and enjoying all the blessings and Rahmah of Allah subhanaAllah wa Ta'ala and having to have all the mercies possible, Alhumdulillah, there is some kind of sadness in my heart.

                              
Even after all the ibaadat is being done, I realized something that no matter how much ibaadah we do for the sake of Allah, it is never enough. Which is why it makes me feel as if I am not doing enough! subhanaAllah! How can it be enough when Allah is the Supreme Deity of the Universes? He deserves much more than that. The most amazing and mind boggling ne'mat is that He has prescribed for us these small number of things to do, like Pray Salat, give Zakat, enjoin good and forbid evil, be the best to your parents, maintain relationships with kins, help the needy, sick, poor, way traveler and neighbors, speak good words to one another, do hijab with your soul and body and abstain from Shirk, Murder, Fornication, evil heinous sins, wasting time. If you think about it, these are very little things. Then WHY can't we simply follow these? Why? What is the reason? 
It really upsets me for myself and for others as well who don't seem to be practicing in this Blessed Month of Ramadan as it is meant to be practiced. Of course majority of us are striving hard enough but then why aren't we achieving the goal of achieving total Taqwa? 
It really saddens me because this month there are no devils. We should be happy that the devils are chained up right? But what saddens me is every one of us has that devil within us which is let lose to do whatever we like and not fear Allah! :( AstagfiraAllah! We need to purify our souls, mind and heart from our inner devil. in sha Allah!
This is the month especially for us to train to fear Allah and remember that He is watching and Seeing us. We not only have to abstain from the haram but also from the halal. (which btw is an amazing training formula for the ones who really want to heighten their iman and taqwa levels, or simply not sin)

                           
It really saddens me because not only me but many are victims to this. Many say that they simply can't change, they simply can't give up their sins. What really makes me wanna do is applaud shaitaan for his wonderful job and this is out of hatred.... I am not talking about sins exactly but bad habits like watching t.v seriels, movies, gossiping, bad language, playing games all day waiting for the fast to just get over with, browsing internet all day long, chatting all day with friends, praying late, fighting with one another, cursing, lying, eating A LOT, sleeeeping for half of the fast and waking up 2-3 hours before the fast is over, facebooking & tweeting all day, uploading pictures and begging for attention and compliments. I don't really understand facebook and never will. We have to strive hard to give up these bad habits (or sins once they are done repeadtedly) because if not this month then which month are you going to drop it? Sigh! May Allah save us from this. Ameen
What also upsets me is that I see Muslims, in Syria, Palestine and other oppressed Muslim countries, fasting with no or very little food around. How can they do it when they have nothing except of Tawakkul Allah, when on the other hand we have everything, wasting half our day preparing for numerous kinds of meals just for ourselves and not even the poor? This is a disaster!
What really upsets me is that time is passing by so quickly that almost half of Ramadan is gone! Yes people its gone! What have you really done? I mean other than for yourself, what have you really done for others? Did you advice others to do good? Did you help your neighbors or even mingle up with them? Did you read enough Qur'an that you at least understood some of the ayats? Are you planning on giving your Zakat ul fitr this year? [Women and men who work and have had savings, gold or silver for at least one year and have it more than the nisaab (required amount), has to pay Zakat ul Fitr before Eid prayers. Just an off topic reminder]

Please continue to strive harder and harder and seek forgiveness from Allah as much as you can. Do your best. Worship as it is your last Ramadan and believe that you are going to die anytime and time is ticking. Pray to Allah to remove your bad habits and make you steadfast as a Muslim. Prepare yourself from now itself for your last ten days of Ramadan. What are you going to do and how will you be managing your time for the Qiyam ul layl and say In sha Allah after you've intended. Also, remember me in your duwas. 
 May Allah forgive all our sins and grant us Jannatul Firdous! Ameen

JazakiAllah hu khairan for Reading, Please rate, share and follow me. 

Ask me anything related to this topic here 
Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views. 
- Manal Mirza

DO'S AND DON'TS OF FASTING IN RAMADAN

"Shaitaan trains us the entire year just so that we mess up our Ramadan and Ramadan trains us so that we brighten the rest of our year!"

Assalamualaikum WarahmatuAllah hi Wabara kaatuhu!!!!
Kullu Aam wa antum Bukhair!! RAMADAN MUBAARAK! Alhumdulillah for granting us life and giving us another chance for pleasing Allah in this blessed Month. 

                   

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained."[Sahih Bukhari :: Book# 31 :: Hadith# 123]

Fasting is about abstaining not only the Haram but also the halal. (food & drink)
Many of us know what we are supposed to do in Ramadan but little to we realize what NOT to do. And even if we did know, most of us focus on what we need to do rather than what we need to stop doing!

I am quickly going to wrap this up and write in brief. 

DOs:

• Read Qur'an with the intention of gaining ajar and finishing it. Read with tajweed, slowly, with translation or with Tafseer. Do not read Qurán with haste but understand it most importantly. 
• memorize surahs from the last juz or any of your wish. If you already are a Hafiz, best time to revise your memory.
• Learn more about your Prophet Muhammad Sallahu alaihi wasallam and act upon his sunnah for constant Ajar. (reward)
• Add nawafeel prayers at the end of Zuhur, Maghrib and Isha.
• Add Sunnah prayers before Zuhr. Four sunnah before Zuhr and four sunnah before Asr and four sunnah before Isha. 
• Go for tarawih with the intention of gaining reward and increasing imaan and taqwa. 
• Do morning and evening Azkar without FAIL!
• Give charity every day either by words, money, food or smile. 
• Pay your annual Zakat
• hurry up in breaking fast (of course only at the call for Maghrib). Break fast with Dates. It is sunnah.
• Wake up for suhoor for there is blessing in it. Have dates at Suhoor time. It is a sunnah. 
• learn the duwa for breaking the fast and break the fast with the duwa.                         

                   

• finish all your kitchen or outside duties half an hour before maghrib azaan so you could spend that important time in duwa. (Duwa is accepted at that time)
• Eat less
• Worship more
• Seek forgiveness
• Forgive everyone
• play the recitation of Qurán if you are busy and can't read. The least you could do is listen to it. 
• lips should be busy more in Azkar and less in utter nonsense. Speak only when important. 
• fast like it is your last Ramadan and pray like it is your last Salat
• sleep early and wake up early. Be productive throughout the day
• train your taqwa level so that you can be a better muslim even after Ramadan
• Fast with sincere intention for pleasing Allah so all your past sins will be forgiven in sha Allah. 
• Try to do self-ibaadat more than automatic ibaadat like Read Qurán instead of listening, act upon your knowledge instead of acquiring knowledge through listening to lectures. Ramadan is more about Amal than knowledge. It is the time to act upon your authentic knowledge and gaining more ajar. (reward) 
• Even if you have not finished your shopping before Ramadan try to finish it before the last ten days of Ramadan. Although, it is better if you shopped way before Ramadan.
• Go to umrah at least once in Ramadan. It is equal to performing Hajj with Rasool Muhammad Sallalaahu alaihi wasallam.
• Attend all the prayers of the last ten days. If you can't for some reason, attend at least the odd nights; 21, 23, 25, 27, 29. 

• If you can't fast because of a chronic disease and can't make them up ever, please feed a meal per missed fast to a needy person. (better to feed than to give money) that is your kaffara. It is obligatory!
• Indulge yourself in Etekaaf. Go to the masjids (mosques) or take a break and go to Makkah or Madina. People who are not in Saudi Arabia could go to masjids and perform etekaaf. Best place is Masjid. 
• Women with Menstruation should do all the above except for praying Salat and fasting. You can read Qurán from your tablets or cell phones. Don't make excuses for not reading Qurán and stop being LAZY!

DON'TS:

• don't sleep more than required. Sleep less than required
• don't eat more than required. Eat less than required
• do not fast with the intention of losing weight or dieting. (minor Shirk)
• no smoking or drinking. (avoid major sins)
• stop watching anything related to entertainment be it during the fast or not

               

• no playing games, watching tv seriels, cricket, over dosed news, reading novels, watching unlimited youtube videos etc
• no sexual contact with your wife during fasting. 
• minimum usage of your cell phone. (the hardest of all is to minimize chatting) 
• minimum usage of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, snapchat etc. 
• Please stop posting your pictures with or without Hijab. Some people post pictures of themselves performing Umrah. We know you did umrah but it is best if we hide our good deeds from people. Remember we need to clean our intentions only for the sake of Allah! AND NO showing off!                                                                                  
• Stop your sins or bad habits like watching movies, wasting time, munching mouth, talking unnecessarily, shopping every night, having loads of Iftar parties etc.
• stop all the cursing or bad words that you use in your daily life. Do not goof around or make jokes. Don't be a snob but also don't be a clown. 
• Do not scream or shout or fight or create fights. If someone starts a fight with you, warn them politely that you are fasting. (doesn't mean you will take the matter outside after you finish fasting) 

For complete detail about Ramadan and Fasting please read this post from my group blog. 

Some other great Ramadan blog posts from amazing blogs to read:

1. Duwa Qunoot in Witr Prayer

2. Excellence of Spending out charity in Ramadan

3. Duwa for Ramadan and Fasting

4. The Virtues of Ramadan

5. Fasting in the Month of Ramadan

6. Stay healthy in Ramadan with patience
7. Suhur: The Pre-Dawn Meal During Ramadhan
8. Ramadaan Mubarak? OR Ramadaan Kareem?

If there are any more Do's and Don'ts that I missed, Please enlighten us all so that we may benefit!

If you have posted anything beneficial on the topic of Ramadan, do post your Links below so I shall publish them here in my post so that people could benefit in sha Allah!

Ask me anything related to Ramadan or Fasting here.  in sha Allah I will try to answer and get back to you soon.

JazakiAllah hu khairan for Reading. Make sure you Rate, Share and Follow my Blog.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views. 

-Manal Mirza

STAY HEALTHY IN RAMADAN WITH PATIENCE

Assalamualaikum! 

How are you?  Ramadan is only a week and a half away now. So have we all decided what our routine is gonna be or what we are going to do with our time?

Well I know that you must have decided how much ibaadat and Zikr you'll all be doing and what things you'll be stopping. InshAllah, we'll all make this Ramadan the most memorable ones of our lives and learn from our past ramadan mistakes and improve it this year. We will read Quran (with the intention to finish it), pray in the nights and do no evil talking, hearing or seeing. InshAllah!

BUT in this article, I'm going to speak MOSTLY about what kinds of foods you will have to avoid. Basically, it's about HEALTH in Ramadan and also how we could abstain eating what our taste buds offers us to eat for example the delicious, tasty- FATTY- OILY-UNHEALTHY and weight gaining foods. 

Why is it that we were so healthy and didn't have an upset stomach before Ramadan? And as soon as Ramadan starts, after the first Iftari, we swallow the food without chewing NON-Stop and gain weight all of a sudden? It's like an involuntary action happening with us that we don't realize. We only realize when we lift our shirts and check our tummy in the mirror and Say ,"O Crap, Here we go again" Raise your hands for those who relate to this. Well I do. Shaitaan has been preparing us the rest of the 11 months so that we screw our Ramadan. And will we let him? NO, we won't. 

I am a student of  Alternative Medicines and I have been learning about health and I decided to share something that I have learned. My field is about something which is not only beneficial for me now, but it could be beneficial for all of us throughout our lives!

In my studies I have learned that, the best way one could get rid of diseases is through FASTING! Yes, you read that right, FASTING! It is the Master of remedies. The practice of fasting is one of the five most important pillars of Islam. We devout our complete selves to Allah and do not do the regular things that we do like eating, drinking, watching t.v, or anything that is a bad or evil deed. 

The problem of every disease in our body is mostly because of "food". There is Shaitaan in food also. Every disease can be healed by only one remedy-- by doing the opposite of what causes it, by reducing the food intake or "fasting".

Some of you should know that there are several benefits of fasting. It burns and digests the tissues by the process of breaking down of fat stores in the body in order to produce energy (autolysis). The body decomposes and burns those cells and tissues which are damaged or dead. BUT the essential tissues of the vital organs, vital glands or nervous system are not digested or damaged. The building up of new and healthy cells are speeded up by the amino acids released from those diseased cells  and the capacity of lungs, livers, kidneys and skin is increased because they are relieved from the burden of digesting food and eliminating the waste substances. And therefore helps in curing gastric and other diseases. SubhanAllah!

Now how do you usually break your fast. Of course you start with the duwa or break it with a date or water. And after that?????? Khopt! Khopt! Khopt! You know what that sound is. If you really want all those benefits above to be successful, breaking the fast is the most important factor to be kept in your mind.

Food that shouldn't be on your Iftari table are:

1. Oily samosas

2. Aalo ke pakorde/ Bhajiya or any other pakorda/ Bhajiya

3. Puff Pastries (even though they are baked doesn't hide the fact with what they are stuffed with)

4. Anything that was taken out from your deep frying pan with oil or ghee. Shallow pans are still yet acceptable.

5. Any sweet dish which has lots of sugar or starchy refined items.

6. Cold water/liquid

7. ANY BEVERAGE/ tea, coffee, ghahwa. (after dinner maybe)

Food that are allowed on your Iftari table are:

1. Fruit Salad. Mind you, no sugar in that! Fruits are sweet by nature, subhanAllah.

2. Dahi bade (for those who squeeze out the oil from the wada and dip them into water for few seconds and then put them in the yoghurt) 

3. Fresh lemon juice/ Grapes, Apples.

4. Dates

5. Milkshake of any fruit with crushed almonds maybe. 

6. Luke warm water/ Zamzam.

The most important factor is how you break your fast. Start with a date or two. Then you might drink a glass of water. Wait for five minutes. Then start up with your fruits first. Don't eat the delicious looking foods first. The fruits would solidify your food and won't digest it properly. 

After you are done with eating that "slowly", drink a glass of fresh juice. (Chewing slowly is important as most of us gulp it out of excitement or impatience.)  Then you can eat your Dahi bada, your shallow fried cutlet, more dates. It also depends on how much food you want to eat but remember to chew it slowly and do not over eat so that your food comes out when you are in Prostration. After that, get up for your Maghrib Salah. You might be a little hungry even after your prayers. You could drink a glass of milkshake to suppress your hunger. 

You can eat a well balanced dinner after tarawi prayers but do not fill your stomach because you have to eat again in Suhoor. Suhoor is a sunnah. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Eat Suhoor, for there are blessings in it." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]  So try to have your Suhoor may it be a date or two. A date is comprised of 23 calories. Even eating a couple of dates would be enough for your Suhoor. (for the ones who are in a hurry or over weight). You could have your normal cereal, whole grain food, eggs, bananas, lots of water half an hour before food in Suhoor. Eating Suhoor would be fulfilled by eating a small or large quantity of food, or even just by drinking a sip of water as mentioned in the Hadith of Abu Said al-Khudri. However, the best of Suhoor is eating dates since the Prophet (Sallal lahu Alai hi wasallam) said: "How excellent are dates as the believer's Suhoor". [Abu Dawood, Ibn Hibban and Al-Baihaqee; Sahih]. Too much tea at Suhoor makes you pass more urine taking with it valuable mineral salts that your body would need during the day. No smoking. If you cannot give up smoking, cut down gradually starting a few weeks before Ramadan. Smoking is unhealthy and one should stop completely.

During the fast, try to take little sun bath. Cold baths are not advisable.  Fasting sometimes produces a state of sleepiness which can be overcome by working or walking for a short distance (your hall would be okay). Fasting also produces a state of sleeplessness for few of us which can be overcome by a warm tub bath & hot water bottles at feet.

How hard could it be? Just be patience with your tongue. Even our tongues are extremely impatient when it comes to words and food. 

Remember my article is not about dieting in Ramadan. DO NOT make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the biggest mistakes some of us make (especially sisters). Fasting is an act of worship and can only be done for the sake of Allah alone. Mixing it with the intention of dieting is a form of Shirk. My article only encourages to eat healthy food during Ramadan and to stay fit like you were before Ramadan, as most of us acquires gastric problems or gain weight unnecessarily due to overeating in Ramadan. Also fasting is a great remedy to cure many diseases. 

 

I hope this will help all of us once we adapt these guidelines in our healthy and disease free Ramadan!

Remember, Ramadan is all about submitting yourself to Allah by fasting, praying. Dhikr and invoking Allah and it's not all about the food or late night shoppings.

JazakumuAllah!!

Feee imaniAllah :D

Few Hadiths on eating habits in Ramadan

The Prophet (SalAllahu Alayahi Wasalaam) said: 'The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.' (Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani). 

The Prophet (SalAllahu Alayahi Wasalaam) said: 'Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.' (Bukhaari)

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views. - Invisible Identity