Shaping Your Story

Ramadan

Ramadan is  a fasting month that comes once a year. This year we started it on May 16th. Not all Muslims around the world started it on the same day. We were given a calendar from the local mosque, according to them, we were to start on the date I mentioned, regardless of the fact that others started a day later.

A month before  fasting, I got an eerie feeling will I successfully begin and end the month?

June is a long month for fasting in our city, we finish eating by 3 AM and continue until sunset, at this time, food or drink is not allowed.

So far I managed to fast nineteen days and I hope I’ll continue until it’s over.

Each morning I read the Quran after I finish eating. It reminds me I’m only here for a short while, the real place is hereafter. I try to think back if I have accumulated enough good deeds to get a place where I will not face any hardship.

It doesn’t matter what I think,   it’s up to God who decides our fate.

Fasting is one of the good deeds, I hope I can complete it  successfully this month without problems!

…………………………………… 🙂

 

My Favorite Holiday : Eid al Fitr

 

The Birth Of The Holy Quran

On the 25th June, I celebrated Eid al-Fitr, a festival which follows after one month of Ramadan.Let me write a few words about Ramadan. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Islam uses a lunar calendar- each month begins with the sighting of the new moon.

The Islamic calendar is eleven days shorter than the solar calendar used elsewhere. Islamic holidays move each year.

In 2014 Ramadan began at sundown on June 28th. For more than a billion Muslims around the world –including some eight million in North America– Ramadan is a month of blessing, marked by prayer, fasting and charity. Ramadan focuses on self-sacrifice and devotion to Allah(God).

Why is this month so important? Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan. Allah revealed the first verses of the Holy Quran, the holy book of Islam.

Around 610 AD , a caravan trader named Mohammed was wandering in the desert near Makkah( in today’s Saudi Arabia). While thinking about his faith, a voice called him from the night sky. It was the voice of Angel Gabriel, who told him Mohammed was chosen to receive the words of Allah.

In the days that followed, Mohammed found himself speaking the verses of the Quran, these words were then transcribed,  and was the beginning of the Glorious Quran.

After a whole month of fasting, we the Muslims celebrated, Eid al Fitr. It is a holiday which announces the end of fasting and the beginning of a  celebration with friends and family.

Eighteen to nineteen hours of fasting which began at 2 am in the morning for me and ending at 9: o3 pm in the evening. It was something we as Muslims have to endure to understand how those less fortunate than us live each day of their lives.

Eid Mubarak to you all!

………………………………………..

 

Daily Prompt: Sleepy time

More and more of us go to bed too late because of sleep procrastination. What are the nighttime rituals that keep you up before finally dozing off?

There are not a whole lot of things I do before going to sleep. what keeps me up is the prayer time. In summer because the days are long my prayer time is later in the evening. One prayer is after sunset, the last one is an hour and half later. There is not much I can do to change it .

In winter the sunsets much earlier, so I have plenty of time to sleep at 10:30 pm which is my usual time.

This past month because of Ramadan i.e the fasting month, I can sleep by 11:00 PM then wake up again at 2:00 AM for breakfast, although I have a hard time eating, I try to eat something to be able to fast for nineteen hours, during which time we can neither eat nor drink anything. My sleep schedule is completely different.

There are ten days left to complete the thirty days of fasting, after this there is another six days which is optional fasting. I try to fast this time for what I call bonus points to be added to my good deeds.

The fasting month is a reminder to us humans about those unfortunate souls who are deprived of food day in and day out, it makes us feel their pain of hunger so we can  make an effort to help them!

……………………………….. 🙂

Daily Prompt: In the Summertime

If it’s autumn or winter where you live, what are you most looking forward to doing next summer? If it’s spring or summer where you are, what has been the highlight of the season so far for you?

It is summer where I live, we are still waiting for real summer, it hasn’t shown up yet. One warm day is followed by       several cold wet days. Today it’s sunny, the wind is strong and cold, I’m not sure if we will have summer. Today is the 30th June, if I didn’t know the date and month, I’d think it is fall. I haven’t stopped raising the heat in my house.

I am really looking forward to summer, the difference is I may want it but summer may not oblige me.

Although I have only been negative so far, there is a very positive side to these cool temperatures we’re are having.It is the month of fasting, where we are not allowed to eat or drink for nineteen hours, the cool weather helps, we are not thirsty, at least I am not. It is a big plus for me. Today is the 13th day of Ramadan, I haven’t felt thirsty all these days, I do feel hungry for a few minutes then I’m okay.

I must say cool summer is very helpful for those who are fasting. I’m getting a lot of benefit because of it. I know I must not complain.

…………………………………….:)

DP Daily Prompt: Local flavor

Write a piece about a typically “local” experience from where you come nas though it’s an entry in a travel guide.

I will describe a street in Dhaka at the time of Ramadan. It is the time when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.During this time the people gather together and prepare different types of food for the public to buy for Iftar ( time the people are allowed to eat and drink water and other beverages).

The buying and selling starts before sunset, after sunset the people open their fast with a few dates and a sweet drink prepared with sugar, water and lemon juice. Then they offer the Maghrib prayer (Which is after sunset). After the prayer they eat some of the foods they buy at the market.

Here is a youtube video showing the street scene on a typical Ramadan day.

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/dp-daily-prompt-local-flavor

DP Daily Prompt:190 days later

Back on January 21st we asked you to predict what day #211 would be like.Well July 30th is that day — how have your predictions held up so far? If you didn’t reply to the prompt at the time, is this year turning out to be as you’d expected?

I wasn’t certain whether I was required to reply about that particular day or the days and months leading up to day #211. Today is day# 211, nothing has changed, except it’s a hotter day than I had imagined on the 21st January. In St. John’s all the years  that I have spent here, it was not this hot, we had hot days but they were very short, and we were back to rain, drizzle and fog as usual. This year it is entirely different, the days are much hotter. I was afraid on June 28th when the fasting month started I’d be unable to fast when it was so hot and eighteen hours of fasting, did not seem I could accomplish. I surprised myself, I carried on my fasting all thirty days, I feel so happy.

I am hoping to pray, it will be by myself, I had some caring friends but they left the city and moved on. This year is not quite what I predicted, some of it is true, others are not!

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/dp-daily-prompt190-days-later/

DP Daily Prompts: Nosey Delights

From the yeasty warmth of freshly baked bread to the clean, summery haze of lavender flowers, we all have favorite smells we find particularly comforting, What’s yours?

This month my favorite smell which is particularly comforting is food, any kind, spicy,non spicy, sweet, sour you name it, I like it.

When I wake up in the morning I’m disheartened when I see the clock tells me it’s eight in the morning, I sit on my comfortable couch and begin counting how many more hours I’d have to wait to smell and eventually eat the food. Would you believe it’s another twelve hours before I get to smell and eat.

While I wait I turn on the TV and watch the food network, there is a show called chopped and another one is ‘Cut throat Kitchen’, this one is amazing how the chefs do everything to get ahead of the next person. It’s helpful to me, my time passes quickly.

Yesterday the sun set at 8.53 pm which meant it was time for me to eat. After fasting so long the craving for food suddenly disappeared.

Permalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/dp-daily-prompts/

DP Daily Prompt: No Fair Post by Ranu

Fast_fast_fast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am thinking what is it I think is terribly unfair. There are quite a few in my head. One of them is fasting,our fasting month started in the month of July and continued till the first week in August. I have no trouble with it. But at the same time to fast from before sunrise to sunset in the month of July is where it gets kind of difficult. Depending on where you live it is over eighteen solid hours with no food or drink. We get the same credit as those who fast for much less time than us.It is all because of location.

The only way I can rectify is to move to a location where the days and nights are almost the same length. Moving out bag and baggage has its own predicament. It is not easy ,one has to consider the job prospects,housing,the location etc, I guess we have to be happy with our situation and wait for fasting season in December,when you only have to fast for about ten hours. It’s a massive cut!

Fasting Post by Ranu

Ramadan Mubarak Said (Photo credit: jotunbani)

For a month once a year we have the month of fasting. This is the best medicine prescribed for Muslims all over the world. It gives us a chance to understand discipline. Waking up in the middle of the night to eat something,wait for an hour to do our morning prayer,makes us look at ourselves and think of all those unfortunate ones,who are dealing with it regularly that is deprived of food.

This is the time when we are required to be generous,be kind,refrain from lying ,cheating and read the Quran and follow the instructions given in it. I am not saying to do all these things only in the month of Ramadhan.We are supposed to do it throughout the year.

Maybe we do not think of these things daily. This month reminds us of our duties towards our fellow human beings. We all need discipline and this is a very unique way of learning it.

To all the people fasting ,”Ramadhan Mubarak”, may you have a very good month and also “Eid Mubarak” to everyone.