Ramadan 1433

In the days before Ramadan, I was in a state of physical exhaustion and spiritual lethargy. I was completely unproductive and was distracted by a lot of things.

Ramadan is said to be a period when we recharge our Iman, but I was already running on fumes a week before reaching the fuel station.

I hadn't made much preparation for this year's Ramadan. So when it arrived, it sort of caught me off guard; I haven't written down my resolutions, haven't figured out my daily routine, etc.

But Allah has mercy on us even when we do not have mercy on ourselves.

Even when we self-destruct and make things complicated for ourselves, He is there to give us yet another chance :')

On the first night of Ramadan, I found myself in Masjid Wilayah (due to unforeseen circumstances). Listening to the beautiful recitation of the Quran, I grew conscious of how, despite my transgressions, Allah showers innumerable blessings on me.

And one of the biggest blessings is that I get to make the most out of this blessed month again.

I always thought of Ramadan as the bonus mode in Digger. I don't think many are familiar with the game but my siblings and I were addicted to it when we were kids. This was before PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox came along.

In the bonus mode, you get a free reign to achieve your purpose because the "monsters" run away from you rather than towards you for 15 seconds.

Similarly, Ramadan affords you a chance to better yourselves in 30 days with minimal interference.

So, will we grab that chance or let it pass us by?

Like a friend of mine wrote; the only thing that stands between you and “a better you” is: YOU!

Having said that, please go easy on yourself if/when you slip up. Don't mentally abuse yourself; acknowledge that human beings aren't perfect. Thus, nobody can be infallible throughout the entire month. So just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again :)
That's one of the things I learnt from the lecture below:



May Allah be pleased with our endeavours and may we be stronger and better Muslims by the end of the fasting month. Ameen...