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Name
Noora
-
Profession
Question
Salam Alaikum.
What can a new Muslim do for his/her first Ramadan? Like, what can he/she read (any specific surah for any particular time), what extra prayers to perform?
Answer
Wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu.Thank you for your question.
What a wonderful opportunity and what a wonderful gift from Allah that some Muslims will be celebrating the holy month of Ramadan for the first time. It is truly a blessed month and, in a sense, we get as much out of Ramadan as we put into it ourselves, so you are right to ask what new Muslims can do to make the most of Ramadan.
First of all, take a look at some of what has been written here at islamonline.net by those new to Islam and how they experienced Ramadan for the first time. It is very important to build up expectations in your heart for the what the month will hold. In some Muslims countries, for example, people will be looking forward to Ramadan all the year round because of the exrtra events that will be taking place in their communities. Such things as extra television programmes, whilst not really a part of the spirit of Ramadan, do build up that excitement that something special is happening.
You can, of course, read about Ramadan in the Holy Qur'an.
You can attend the special Tarawiyah prayers in the mosque every evening.
And, of course, the gift of Ramadan is the fast itself, which teaches us not only self-restraint, but helps us to appreciate all that we take for granted.
So, there is much to do and, in sha' Allah, Allah will bless you with a holy Ramadan.
Except fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, is it expected too much from a new convert? Many new-comers don't know about Tahajjud or what Du'a to say on breaking the fast...From this point,as a new-comer, I'm a bit nervous, I'm "behind"...
Answer
Asalaamu alaykum. Thank you for your question, and welcome to islam!
I am not sure how recently you embraced Islam, but if you are very new, then it is important not to try and do too much all at once. If this is your first Ramadan, allow the fasting to be your main concern and don't get too worked up about what to say and when. The Fasting will be quite enough to cope with. If you feel you are coping well with the fast as the month goes on, you can then add extra prayers. (If you already know these in Arabic, then feel free to use them). Your first Fast, though, will be quite an achievement and at the end of each day's fast, thank Almighty Allah and rejoice that you have fasted for His sake.
Name
yehia
-
Profession
Question
How can we be consistent in the level of worshiping all over Ramadan as we always start very active and then we spirit goes down.
Answer
Asalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. Thank you for this very good question.
You are right, even the least religious among us can be fired with enthusiasm at the start of Ramadan, vowing to do all the things they have fallen behind on during the course of the year, yet after the initial enthusiasm has gone, many people fall back on their good intentions.
This is why it is very important to be realistic with our goals for Ramadan. For someone who perhaps misses the five prayers regularly, it is too much for him to vow to say the five daily prayers and then add Tarawiyah prayers in the mosque and then get up in the middle of the night to pray.... and so on.
All of us should take advantage of Ramadan to renew our daily commitment to Almighty Allah, to tighten up on the things we have let slip over the last year, and to try and be better Muslims in the year ahead.
Without being over-ambitious with our goals, we should all try to concentrate first of all on the fast and the prayers. If we can manage both of these, then add extra challenges that will help to renew our faith, like reading books about Islam and reciting more of the Qur'an.
Almighty Allah gives us this special month to call us back to Him and to strengthen us as Muslims. So, rather than starting over-enthusiastically and then falling back, it is perhaps best to start quietly and then add extra things if we find we can cope. This way we won't disappoint ourselves and get discouraged.
One of the reasons Muslims have for rejoicing in the evenings of Ramadan is partly to congratulate each other on having succeeded in that day's Fast, and it is also a way of supporting one another for the next day, knowing that we are not alone but are part of a much greater Muslim community.
Salams, brother. I don't think I can live for 16 hours without coffee. What can I do in Ramadan?
Answer
Wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu.
You will be surprised! If, like me, you drink several cups of coffee as soon as you get up in the morning and then carry on in the same mode throughout the day, then Ramadan will come as a shock to the system. The body will crave to get what it wants. But precisely one of the reasons for fasting is to tell the body that it is not in control and that it can't have what it wants whenever it wants it. We read in the Holy Qur'an:
"O Ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you That ye may learn Self-Restraint." (Al-Baqarah 2:183)
You will find that after the first few days when you feel it is more than you can bear to go without coffee, it will become easier and easier. You will surely manage!
It is important to realise, too, brother another lesson which Ramadan teaches us. There are many in the world who won't have coffee not only in Ramadan but any time. In fact, there are people whose fast will not end with the sunset prayer, because they will starve to death that day. Thinking about those less fortunate than ourselves helps us to put our own comforts and needs into perspective.
May Allah bless your Ramadan and help you to give great witness to Him by your cheerfulness.
Name
Kristen
-
Profession
Question
assalamu alaikum.
I'm a new Muslim. I'm in college living in a dormitory. Will I be able to fast? Dinner time is finished before sunset here. What will I do? and how can I eat enough breakfast before fasting in my dorm room? It's going to be very hard here with all the other kids partying on weekends. Any suggestions?
Answer
Wa alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. Congratulations on embracing Islam. How lucky you are to be experiencing your first Ramadan.
In sha' Allah, you will be blessed with the strength to cope during the month. Remember, you will be fasting for the sake of Allah, so He will help you, in sha' Allah, to fast for His sake.
On a practical level, can you ask those in authority if they can set aside some food for you, since the mealtime will fall inside the period when you are fasting? If you discuss it with them sensibly, they may allow an exception to the normal rules. Similarly, they may allow you to get up early to eat a few biscuits or have a glass of milk before the normal breakfast time. You need to point out to them that without these exceptions, you are going to get sick, because you won't be eating anything! I am sure they don't want that.
As for the weekends, when everyone else is partying, you need to be the heart and soul of the party, but just don't eat. It is a wonderful chance for you to witness to your friends about what you believe. It is so important that they see you cheerful and happy, and not grumpy and sad, so you must really try hard to give a good image for Islam, especially when others are eating and drinking.
You never know, but you fast during Ramadan might become the talk of the dorm and may lead others to begin wondering what this fast is all about and why nearly two billion people in the world will be joining you each day in fasting for the sake of Allah.
Name
Nelly
- France
Profession
Question
I'm a new Muslim from France, I don't know any Arabic word. How can I deal with Ramadan as the Month of Quran?
Answer
"Asalaamu alaykum" is the Arabic way in which Muslims greet one another. It means "Peace be to you" and I wish you this.
Less than twenty per cent of the world's nearly two billion Muslims are Arab, so don't feel as though you are in a minority in not speaking Arabic. You are not!
You are right that the holy month of Ramadan, as well as being the month of fasting for the sake of Allah and of thinking of those who are less fortunate than ourselves, is also the month of prayer and the month of the Qur'an. Fortunately, there are many Internet sites available which help you to memorize verses from the Qur'an, so perhaps this Ramadan you could learn just a couple of verses to use in your prayers.
No-one will expect you to memorize vast chunks of the Qur'an so soon, but just a couple of verses (including the opening verse of the Qur'an) is all you need to fuflil the obligations of the Five daily prayers.
Apart from this, you can also read the meaning of the Holy Qur'an in translation and you can listen to it being recited either on tapes or CD's or via satellite television or the internet. Sometimes, you know, just listening to the Holy Qur'an, even though we don't know what it means, can have a very powerful effect on us, touching our hearts very deeply.
In sha' Allah, you can look at some of the links on the internet which might help. May Allah make your first ramadan a time of real growth for you as a Muslim.
I'm really excited that Ramadan is coming, but the problem is I work at the morning and at night I'm always very tired, so I'm afraid I won't be able to perform Tarwaih properly,what do you suggest?
Answer
Asalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. Thank you for your question.
The only obligation on Muslims during Ramadan is that they fast from dawn to sunset. All the other activities which Muslims perform are additional to this and are not obligatory.
So, you do not have to perform Tarawiyah prayers. If you are fasting properly and then are going about your business and doing your work well, then Allah will reward you, in sha' Allah. Anything extra you can manage to do is a bonus. Your priority, though, is to fast and then be at work on time, giving a good account of what you are supposed to be doing.
It is no excuse for Muslims to perform badly at work or school because they didn't get enough sleep during Ramadan. Similarly, being grumpy or bad tempered because of lack of sleep is not called for either. These would both defeat the whole purpose of fasting. I think you have understood what your priorities are in saying that you might not be able to perform extra prayers, but that will fast and will go to work as normal.
There are other things you can do, like showing extra kindness to others at work or giving something to a poor person on your way there. Almighty Allah will know the intentions of your heart. May He bless your Ramadan.
Name
Tom
- United States
Profession
Question
I'm a 15 year-old Muslim for a year now. I didn't tell my parents that I converted to Islam, and now I don't really know what to do in Ramadan. How could I possibly fast without giving my family the chance to know that I'm a Muslim?
Answer
Asalaamu alaykum, thank you for your question. And welcome to Islam. May Almighty Allah bless your Ramadan and draw you ever closer to Him.
As you know, Muslims are infinitely attentive to their parents' wishes and they show love and concern for their parents throughout their lives, whether they are Muslim or not.
You have a very difficult choice to make. Either you tell them or you somehow try to cope with the demands of ramadan without them knowing.
I obviously don't know the full circumstances of your story, nor of your family background, so I don't know how much pain and what sort of difficulties it would present to both you and them if you told them you are Muslim. I would always favour telling parents, rather than keeping anything a secret from them. You never know, your story might touch their hearts.
I am going to suggest to you, however, that since yours is a complicated situation, you actually address your question to Ask the Scholar here at www.Islamonline.net, and ask them to give a fatwa (religious ruling) on this matter. In private, you can tell them the whole situation and they can give a solid answer.
May Allah bless you and your family.
Name
Karim
- Austria
Profession
student
Question
Salaam. Wouldn't it be easier for us to sleep during the day, so that the fast isn't so severe? Or is that missing the point?
Answer
Wa alaykum salaam. Thank you for your question, and I think your own conclusion shows you know what the answer should be.
It would be far easier for us to ward off the pangs of hunger, or to stop having such a terrible headache because we want a drink of water, by just going to sleep. We could then get up in time for the breaking of the fast and so our Ramadan would pass relatively painlessly.
But of course, as you say, that would miss the point. You have heard of the much mis-used word jihad. In Islam there are two types of jihad. The lesser jihad is to fight in the cause of Allah. This has special requirements for it be valid, like being called for by the rightful authority and not just by anyone who wants to fight! The other, greater jihad, is the daily struggle of each Muslim to live as a good Muslim, a good person.
Ramadan provides us with a great opportunity to become better Muslims, struggling against our bodies' craving for food and drink, which itself is a symbol of the inner struggle we face each day to fight evil and do good.
Sleeping through the fast would be no fast at all.
Name
ahmed
- Morocco
Profession
teacher
Question
Salaamu alaykum, brother. How would you sum up, for people who are not Muslim, what Ramadan is really like?
Answer
Wa alaykum salaam. Thank you for your question.
If you have ever been to the cinema and seen a film that you really enjoyed, it is difficult to tell others how good the film is unless they have seen it themselves.
Ramadan is a bit like that. Muslims look forward all year long to Ramadan. To those who are not Muslim they must seem mad, wanting to go without food or drink, not even smoking, between dawn and sunset for a whole month. But for Muslims, the fasting is done for Allah's sake and the whole month of Ramadan is a time to come close to almighty Allah once more. It is a month of prayer, of reciting the holy Qur'an, of thinking about the poor in our midst. If you don't feel that in your heart, Ramadan is just fasting. If your heart has been touched as a Muslim, you know that Ramadan is so special.
So, it is like trying to talk about a film which your friends have not seen. In sha' Allah, our good example and our cheerfulness during Ramadan will help others to see how beautiful and how sweet Islam really is.
Name
MFR
- Egypt
Profession
Question
The experience of fasting Ramadan for the first time has a special taste for new reverts; could you talk to us about this unique taste? How a new Muslim in his first day of fasting? And how could he maximize the spiritual fruits he reaps from Ramadan?
Answer
Asalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu.
Fasting for the first time in Ramadan affects people in different ways. For some, it is the food which they miss. Others crave for the water. Still others get a headache, which soon goes after the first few days.
I think I was so excited to experience my own first Ramadan that the day passed very quickly and I was so proud at the end of the day to have achieved the fast. For one new to islam, the fasting of Ramadan helps him/her to see that they are now Muslim. They feel in their bodies what their hearts have been proclaiming. They are doing this for the sake of Allah. hey are going without food and drink because they believe that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It is done for no reason except that Allah has commanded that it be done.
At the end of each day's fast there is a wonderful feeling of having done something for Allah and also a feeling of being part of the great brotherhood of islam.
Reminding oneself throughout the year of those Ramadan days and nights is a great way of encouraging ourselves to be better Muslims. Inshallah, this Ramadan will be for many a time when they return to Almighty Allah. May He bless us all with a holy Ramadan.
