Ramadan is the Time to Stop Running

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah’s; and whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it; then He will forgive whom He pleases and chastise whom He pleases, and Allah has power over all things. (Holy Quran 2:284)

We all have sins for which we seek Allah’s forgiveness.  But we sometimes have secret sins that we’re afraid to mention even to our Creator, even though we know we have no secrets from Allah.  Some of us manage our secret sinss-sour, darkest hidden guilt–by turning away from Islam, claiming to be “secular Muslims” who bury sins and guilt under drugs, alcohol, sex, food, or the pursuit of money, power or fame.  Some of us claim to be practicing Muslims and do those  same things–only not so openly. Some of us drive ourselves into various states of anxiety, depression and other psychological ills.

Regardless of how it manifests in our lives, the problem is the same: we are running away from Allah. Running away often seems easier than facing the shame of  having anyone know what we’ve done wrong–whatever it is–and keeps us from taking any steps toward Allah.  We forget that the shame we fear from people we know is less than the shame we will face of the Last Day. 

Sometimes we think we can do great good in other areas of our lives and hope that Allah will forgive us everything without pur ever having to acknowledge that deepest, secret guilt.  But the hope that Allah will gloss over without ever any accounting of our worst misdeeds–our secret misdeeds–still leaves us agitated within our souls, and we are unable to feel any peace.  Without peace, we continue to pursue our addictions or diversions, compounding sin upon sin, guilt upon guilt.

The only way to stop the cycle is to turn back to Allah to ask forgiveness, to take whatever steps we must to end or undo the wrongs we’ve done.  The process is a painful one when it involves making restitution in some way to others, or going to others for help.  Sometimes the pain is in knowing that some things cannot be undone–an injured party is dead, for example. Sometimes we see the repercussions of our misdeeds affect other lives in ways it is impossible for any one person to fix.  Sometimes a choices we made years ago have lead to unforeseen disasters in our life or in the lives of others.  What then?

The answer still the same:  turn to Allah.  Stop running.  Perhaps, truth be told, it feels easier to continue running.  To stop running, to turn to Allah seems immeasurably more difficult. Continuing with a life filled with  hidden terror, addictions and emotional imbalance seems somehow to be the more familiar and safer choice, but there is this:  that choice is the choice without peace or rest or hope or light.

It is Ramadan–a month of  forgiveness and mercy. Stop running.

And whoever does evil or acts unjustly to his soul, then asks forgiveness of Allah, he shall find Allah Forgiving, Merciful. (Holy Quran 4:110) 

Summer Ramadans Demand More of Us

As we move into the summer Ramadans in North America with 15 to 16 hour days and 90-plus degree temperatures, some of us will discover that  fasting is about more than just abstaining from food and drink during the day, it is also about what we do when we break our fasts. In order to stay hydrated, we need roughly 5 cups of water at night and 3 at suhoor to account for the 7-8 cups of water our bodies need on a daily basis.  In order to drink that much means cutting down on food intake—there’s only so much the stomach can hold at one time.

Staying up late in order to eat more is not an option for many of us.  Staying up late only makes increases the possiblity of sleeping through suhoor in the morning.  Increasing the length of the fast by missing suhoor is something most of us want to avoid.

Many of us are also finding that what we eat affects our fast and our health.  We are less able to fast, especially as we get older or if we have any health issues already, to tolerate a diet that contains junk food or foods with a lot of salt or sugar–both of which dehydrate to body.  One sister found that even though she was drinking a lot of water, the popcorn, potato chips and french fries she ate at iftars during the first week of Ramadan left her in a dehydrated condition, with a urinary tract infection .  Getting  treatment caused her to miss a couple of days of fasting.

Many of us are learning  that  summer Ramadan means being conscientious about taking care of ourselves, of what we eat and drink at night in order to maintain our ability to fast during the day.

Use Vacation Time to Make Ramadan Easier

Ramadan starts in August this year.  We can expect long, hot days of fasting.  Some of us have never fasted in the summer, some of us are thirty years older than the last time we had to fast during the summer.  Young and new Muslims may be wondering how to fast in summer.  Older Muslims who fasted during summer Ramadans of the 1970’s may be wondering how their aging bodies are going to hold up (Muslims living in the southern hemisphere are undoubtedly having the same concerns about fasting during the harsh winter seasons they are now facing).

One thing many of us can do to make it easier on ourselves is to schedule some vacation time during Ramadan.  You can take a week or two off at the end, when you can expect to be getting tired. You may prefer taking time off in the middle of Ramadan in order to break the month up.  You may even want to take the time off in the beginning so you can more easily get adjusted to fasting during the summer.

If you can’t take a lot of time off, how about just one day mid-week, so you don’t have to work more than 2 or 3 days at a time without getting a break? It makes it a lot easier mentally to get through Monday and Tuesday for example, if you know that you will be off on Wednesday.  And it’s easier to get through Thursday and Friday knowing you will have the weekend free.   Or you may want to take Friday off each week and go to Friday prayer while enjoying the benefit of a whole month of 3-day weekends.

If you are looking for more information on fasting, you can find tips on how to fast year round.  You can also read an excellent article on the physiology of fasting by Dr. Suriya Osman.

One final note: you may also find that if you try fasting before Ramadan begins, you will be able to figure out what works best for you when fasting during this time of year.  Not having to go through a prolonged trial-and-error period at the beginning of Ramadan will make that fast that much easier.