Bismillah
ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
ADOPT A RAMADAN BUDDY!
Assalamu Alaikum! This is Aishah, checking in after a short
hiatus since our first introduction via the ICNA Convention and the launch of
Almuslima.com! I had hoped to begin my
journal entries before such a late date, but, sometimes life just gets in the
way…do you know what I mean?
Al-hamduillah, so many things have happened in the past several weeks,
it’s hard to know where to pick up from where we left off! But with Ramadan on the horizon, I got to
thinking, and an idea came to mind!
As Muslims we are obligated to discharge
our moral responsibility not only to our parents, relatives and neighbors, but
also to the entire mankind, animals, trees, and plants. Ideally, the basic moral characteristic of
Islam builds a higher system of morality and purifies the soul from
self-seeking egotism, tyranny, wantonness and indiscipline. It creates God-conscious members of a
society devoted to their ideals, possessed of piety, abstinence, discipline and
uncompromising with falsehood. It induces feelings of moral responsibility and
fosters the capacity for self-control. Islam generates kindness, generosity,
mercy, sympathy, peace, disinterested goodwill, scrupulous fairness, and
truthfulness towards all creation in all situations. It nourishes noble qualities from which only good may be
expected.
This being
said, imagine my amazement to find, that it was not until after the sixth week
of my absence from the Masjid that I had been regularly attending since
embracing Islam in April of this year, that someone finally contacted me to say
that I had been missed and to ask if I was okay. Al-hamduillah, however delayed
this inquiry was, it was received with a sigh of relief; at last I had an
affirmation that there was yet hope that not every Muslim had forgotten their
moral responsibility. May I be so bold as to suggest that there is more to
being a “Muslim” than just saying you are a “Muslim?” Claiming to be a Muslim and actually practicing the teachings of
Islam are two different things.
So, with
Ramadan right around the corner, and EID following right behind, I got to
thinking; thinking about how many other people there are out there that exist
in an environment where they find themselves alone, for one reason or
another. Ramadan and EID are times when
Muslim communities come together in celebration, and most travel with their
families and friends to the Masjids for breaking of their fasts (iftar), and to
various EID celebrations. With this in
mind, and in light of our moral responsibilities, what I hope you will consider
asking yourself is this: Do you know
someone who lives alone? Do you know
someone who does not have transportation?
Do you know someone who is sick and can’t get out? Do you know someone who has recently
suffered a personal tragedy? Do you
know someone who has lost his or her job?
If so, then you know someone on whom you can practice your moral
responsibility.
Adopt a Ramadan Buddy! Don’t let that person that lives alone break
fast by his or herself! Call or visit that
person who is sick and can’t get out, offer a ride to the one who has no
transportation, make du'a, and visit the one suffering from a personal tragedy,
offer whatever assistance you can afford to the one who has lost his or her
job…and make it a practice throughout the month of Ramadan to maintain contact
with that person – not just one day out of the month, but, Insha’Allah, make it
a goal to do this at least two or three days of each week of Ramadan!
And if you
think fasting for a month is going to be a stretch! Adopt a Ramadan Buddy!
Make a connection with a family member, friend, co-worker, or classmate,
and make a pact with each other to support one another through Ramadan! If you feel weak and think you might break
your fast, make du'a, and pick up the phone and call your Ramadan Buddy! Support each other during this blessed time,
and surely your reward will be even greater than you might ever imagine. If you consider this for the sake of Allah
subhanaho wa ta'ala…what have you got to lose?
Ma'Salaama,
Aishah
The testimony of faith is saying with
conviction,
"Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ash hadu anna
Muhammadar Rasul Allah."
("I declare there
is no god but Allah and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah.")
The first
part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has
the right to
be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son.
This testimony
of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula that should be said
with
conviction in order to convert to Islam.
The testimony
of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.
SISTER
AISHAH'S ISLAMIC JOURNEY