I meant to write this post after the first day of Ramadan was over. I guess I was too full to think properly then haha.
A typical day of fasting usually goes like this for me:
1. Trying and failing to wake up and pray Tahajjud at 4:00 am
2. My mom wakes me up at 4:30 am to have Suhoor
3. I pray Fajr at 5:30 am and promptly head off to bed (which is not the best idea - you wake up feeling dry as a desert)
4. Wake up and refresh myself - wash my face or whatever. This is at about 9:00 am
5. Start reading Quran in Arabic and the English Translation side-by-side. This, coupled with general lazing around and other things to this effect until 1:00 pm
6. Dhuhr prayer at 1:00 pm. After this I try to get a few hours of reading Quran, or if I feel too tired or lazy, I just hang around or try to get some sleep (which I never do)
7. Pray Asr prayer at 4:00 pm.
8. Hang around waiting for Iftar time, helping out in the kitchen, or if I feel like I can't live anymore because of the hunger and tiredness, I watch some TV. I find that time goes faster when you're watching TV.
9. 7:00 pm - YAASS Iftar time. FOOD. FOOD. COME TO MAMA. I don't generally stuff myself, I eat half my meal before praying and the next half after praying. Of course this is just for the past 2-3 days, on the first day I couldn't move after Iftar, haha.
10. After this comes reading more Quran, praying Isha prayer and heading off to bed.
I TRIED getting some writing done - on the first day I wrote quite a lot. I was so determined, but I just feel so lazy after lunch. I feel like I'm living in another country when I'm fasting, you see. I don't know how to explain it any better. I'm not supposed to eat or drink, and I LOVE eating. FOOD. FOOD. First thing I think of when I wake up. In the mornings I'm usually fine. Energy levels up and systems running OK. But if I do anything extra like going to school, more-than-usual walking or anything, my energy reserves get depleted and I can't do anything after lunch time. Which is funny because you don't eat lunch when you're fasting. You see, my days are divided into food timings. Second breakfast, Elevenses and the like.
I'm quite proud of myself for being up to par with my Quran reading. Masha Allah, of course. I don't want to have a downward descent in my progress.
COOL THINGS ABOUT RAMADAN
1. FOOD
That's kind of ironic seeing as you're fasting, but at Iftar time you're gonna eat foods you don't normally eat. Good food. Yummy food. And- might I say- you're gonna go over the top and stuff yourself, because well - you did go hungry the whole day. Eating an entire tub of ice cream isn't really over board. No- really!
2.Gratitude for what you have
At like 7:00 pm, when you're about to break your fast, you just sat there thinking: man I have food everyday. God provides for me every single day. I can now taste how it feels to starve, how to have nothing. That assurance that when it's dusk, I'm gonna chow. Life is good. #gratitude
3. Rewards are multiplied
Anywhere from 10-700 times is a LOT if you think about it. Also, it's about the only time I ever read the Quran from cover to cover. I mean, I'm kinda ashamed to admit that. I usually just take a surah and study it, but I don't exactly read from front to back continuously. But I should ergo start doing just that. So yeah, that's one of the ways I take advantage of the multiplication effect. I also do dhikr and just do general good deeds with the assurance that I'm gonna be rewarded 700 fold, if Allah wills.
4. Free time
Let's face it - there's a lot of free time in Ramadan. That's because eating takes up a whole lot of time (at least for me). You have a lot of free time to do stuff. So maybe you can use it for productive things, and stuff like improving yourself spiritually. There's extra time to read Quran, and study Islam, make dhikr, etc etc.
5. No Shaytan
Evil guy's chained down in Hell - so you can see if your heart is inherently evil. Just kidding! Only a little bit. If you're still evil in Ramadan, you've gotta do something about it, mate. I personally feel a little different in Ramadan than I did before it started. My mind feels calm, mostly. I find it easier to do good stuff. Honestly, I think our souls need this time to be who we are without any evil influences, and find out who we are, if we don't already know, and to establish ourselves wholly before Ramadan ends.
Alright! That's my Ramadan. Now you tell me all about yours in the comments below. Do you stuff yourself at iftar? Do you sleep after Suhoor? What good deeds are you stocking up so they can be multiplied? Talk to me!
Happy Ramadan, readers! Here's a nice graphic I made. I'm kinda (REALLY) proud of it.
A typical day of fasting usually goes like this for me:
1. Trying and failing to wake up and pray Tahajjud at 4:00 am
2. My mom wakes me up at 4:30 am to have Suhoor
3. I pray Fajr at 5:30 am and promptly head off to bed (which is not the best idea - you wake up feeling dry as a desert)
4. Wake up and refresh myself - wash my face or whatever. This is at about 9:00 am
5. Start reading Quran in Arabic and the English Translation side-by-side. This, coupled with general lazing around and other things to this effect until 1:00 pm
6. Dhuhr prayer at 1:00 pm. After this I try to get a few hours of reading Quran, or if I feel too tired or lazy, I just hang around or try to get some sleep (which I never do)
7. Pray Asr prayer at 4:00 pm.
8. Hang around waiting for Iftar time, helping out in the kitchen, or if I feel like I can't live anymore because of the hunger and tiredness, I watch some TV. I find that time goes faster when you're watching TV.
9. 7:00 pm - YAASS Iftar time. FOOD. FOOD. COME TO MAMA. I don't generally stuff myself, I eat half my meal before praying and the next half after praying. Of course this is just for the past 2-3 days, on the first day I couldn't move after Iftar, haha.
10. After this comes reading more Quran, praying Isha prayer and heading off to bed.
I TRIED getting some writing done - on the first day I wrote quite a lot. I was so determined, but I just feel so lazy after lunch. I feel like I'm living in another country when I'm fasting, you see. I don't know how to explain it any better. I'm not supposed to eat or drink, and I LOVE eating. FOOD. FOOD. First thing I think of when I wake up. In the mornings I'm usually fine. Energy levels up and systems running OK. But if I do anything extra like going to school, more-than-usual walking or anything, my energy reserves get depleted and I can't do anything after lunch time. Which is funny because you don't eat lunch when you're fasting. You see, my days are divided into food timings. Second breakfast, Elevenses and the like.
I'm quite proud of myself for being up to par with my Quran reading. Masha Allah, of course. I don't want to have a downward descent in my progress.
COOL THINGS ABOUT RAMADAN
1. FOOD
That's kind of ironic seeing as you're fasting, but at Iftar time you're gonna eat foods you don't normally eat. Good food. Yummy food. And- might I say- you're gonna go over the top and stuff yourself, because well - you did go hungry the whole day. Eating an entire tub of ice cream isn't really over board. No- really!
2.Gratitude for what you have
At like 7:00 pm, when you're about to break your fast, you just sat there thinking: man I have food everyday. God provides for me every single day. I can now taste how it feels to starve, how to have nothing. That assurance that when it's dusk, I'm gonna chow. Life is good. #gratitude
3. Rewards are multiplied
Anywhere from 10-700 times is a LOT if you think about it. Also, it's about the only time I ever read the Quran from cover to cover. I mean, I'm kinda ashamed to admit that. I usually just take a surah and study it, but I don't exactly read from front to back continuously. But I should ergo start doing just that. So yeah, that's one of the ways I take advantage of the multiplication effect. I also do dhikr and just do general good deeds with the assurance that I'm gonna be rewarded 700 fold, if Allah wills.
4. Free time
Let's face it - there's a lot of free time in Ramadan. That's because eating takes up a whole lot of time (at least for me). You have a lot of free time to do stuff. So maybe you can use it for productive things, and stuff like improving yourself spiritually. There's extra time to read Quran, and study Islam, make dhikr, etc etc.
5. No Shaytan
Evil guy's chained down in Hell - so you can see if your heart is inherently evil. Just kidding! Only a little bit. If you're still evil in Ramadan, you've gotta do something about it, mate. I personally feel a little different in Ramadan than I did before it started. My mind feels calm, mostly. I find it easier to do good stuff. Honestly, I think our souls need this time to be who we are without any evil influences, and find out who we are, if we don't already know, and to establish ourselves wholly before Ramadan ends.
Alright! That's my Ramadan. Now you tell me all about yours in the comments below. Do you stuff yourself at iftar? Do you sleep after Suhoor? What good deeds are you stocking up so they can be multiplied? Talk to me!
Happy Ramadan, readers! Here's a nice graphic I made. I'm kinda (REALLY) proud of it.
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