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Name
Anisa
-
Profession
Question
School & studying + fasting is very trying in Ramadan, even when I make prayers or recite Qur’an, I don't really feel the spirituality of it
Answer
May Allah bless you for joining this live dialog; welcome.
As we still have a few days before the start of Ramadan, you can insha'Allah try to start getting into the "mood" of fasting and of feeling the spiritual impact of observing the fast. Often we are too hard on ourselves and expect that unless we have total concentration in prayers, in reciting the Qur'an, or in observing the fasts, that we are somehow being less spiritual. On the contrary, we are being spiritual but we have not fully relieved ourselves of the worldly burdens and therefore are feeling more of the impact of the world and less of the impact of our acts of worship.
We know in the Qur'an that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala introduces us to fasting as follows: "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may (achieve) heightened consciousness (taqwa)." (Sura Al-Baqara, 2:183). We urge you to use the remainder of the blessed days of the month of Sha'ban to achieve this heightened consciousness in all of your acts of worship. Make a special, uninterrupted time block for prayer and for reciting Qur'an.
Be sure that you are not squeezing in prayers between classes or studying and that you are giving the prayers their proper due, i.e. enough time to focus and achieve spiritual concentration and not rushing through the motions like a robot. We urge you to start developing a Ramadan schedule for yourself so that you can also make the most of this blessed month. There really should be no surprises with regards to your school and studying schedule so be creative and develop a schedule that helps you to achieve that heightened consciousness and spiritual concentration. In the early days, if you see the schedule needs fine tuning, attend to that immediately.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Othman
-
Profession
Question
I work for a long hours in Ramadan, and my boss doesn't give me a break to worship God properly in the holy month, what should I do?
Answer
May Allah reward you for the long hours you endure at work and bless your family and your wealth. Your boss will only take Ramadan as seriously as you do. If you do not propose a schedule that allows you to pray and fast, then your boss will not take the initiative to develop such a schedule for you. We recommend strongly that you review the breaks for lunch (longest break), tea (somewhat shorter break), and restroom use (short break). We are not sure in which country you live, but in the United States, there are legally mandated break times which the employer must grant to the employee. You could use these breaks creatively by skipping the usual time for the lunch/or tea break and shifting the break times to be as close to the prayer time or the suhur/iftar times of Ramadan. You should also do your best to make the tarawih prayer as well insha'Allah.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Barbara
-
Profession
Question
In Ramadan, I'm always busy answering the needs of my husband, my children, and my work, can you help me to make better use of Ramadan?
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog. You are expressing a concern which is clearly shared by Muslim women all over the world - and yet, the answer we give you will not satisfy you because we do not know your specific circumstances. We can however speak in general terms and offer some suggestions as to how to make the most of this blessed month of Ramadan.
Alhamdulillah that you are exerting effort in taking care of your husband, children and work. May Allah bless you and accept your efforts. However, remember that even outside of the month of Ramadan, there is no reason whatsoever that you cannot rely on your husband to assist with the duties which are assumed to fall in your domain.
Have a family meeting, at least with your husband, and include your children if they are old enough to participate. The family meeting should be centered around how to reduce the household operations to a bare minimum during Ramadan so that the burden of "answering the needs" of your husband, children and work are reduced as much as humanly possible.
Ask the family to be creative in trying to simplify all of your lives during Ramadan. This could mean a reduced reliance on prepared foods and or, the whole family could collaborate to prepare dishes on the weekend for most of the coming week. You have to get everyone in the family on board to this plan so that their expectations in Ramadan fall within the simple and basic existence mode. Then insha'Allah you will find the needed time to make the most of Ramadan.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
ghada
- Egypt
Profession
teacher
Question
My husband likes to invite people for eftar in ramadan but i feel so nervous because i loose time in the kitchen . but my husband tell me this is iftar sayem .if i make neyah iftar sayem will i make for the time i waist in the kitchen and take hassanat.
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog. Your concern is quite universal and since we do not know your specific circumstances, we will offer some general thoughts to help you.
It is very much from the Prophetic tradition to feed those who have been fasting, i.e. provide iftar. Of course, there are many ways to seek the reward of Allah in providing iftar and among them is the option of actually cooking the food for family and friends. However, there is no such implication that you have to take on the entire burden of cooking. Therefore, a couple ways to help are: simplify the menu and not offer too many elaborate dishes which are time consuming to prepare; look into purchasing prepared food (catered).
In addition, no matter what you decide, be sure that your husband is involved in the actual preparation and cooking. If you can get him to spare some of his time and he knows he is responsible to help, you will see that he will also be just as responsible when he makes the invitation and not invite too many people or invite them too often.
Talk to your husband and explore options to make inviting people much less of a burden on your spiritual routine insha'Allah. May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Malak
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Every time I said to my self this Ramadan will be a new start to me I will change every thing I will read qur’an all the time not only in ramdan, keep my prayers on it's time and make Sadaqa all over the year etc..!! but that not happened just after Ramadan I back from what I began, how can I make the most of this Ramadan also to be the really new start to me?
Answer
This is a wonderful question and one which all of us struggle to deal with in our personal lives. It is difficult but not impossible to maintain consistency in matters of our worship. We know for example that the companions of our beloved Prophet sal allahu alayhi wa sallam wanted very much to have a consistently strong attachment to the Hereafter. However, when they left the company of the Prophet sal allahu alayhi wa sallam, they found themselves consumed with affairs of daily life and they felt as if they were hypocrites - which they clearly were not! This is often referred to as the hadith of Hanzala radhi Allahu, who reported: "We were in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and he delivered to us a sermon and made a mention of Hell-Fire. Then I came to my house and began to laugh with my children and sport with my wife. (hanzala) further reported: I went out and met Abu Bakr and made a mention of that to him. Thereupon he said: I have done the same as you have mentioned. So we went to see Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) and said to him: Allah's Messenger, hanzala has turned to he a hypocrite. And he (the Holy Prophet) said Show respite.
And then I narrated to him the story, and Abu Bakr said: I have done the same as he has done. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: hanzala, there is a time for worldly affairs and a time for (worship and devotion), and if your state of mind is always the same as it is at the time of remembrance of Allah, the Angels would shake hands with you and would greet you on the path by saying: As-Salamu-Alaikum." (Sahih Bukhari, Book #37, Hadith #6624).
Of course we should all heed the advice of our beloved Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wasallam throughout the year, and especially in Ramadan. Your particular challenge is also that you feel you are unable to maintain the consistency throughout the year. And here we are reminded of the teachings of our righteous predecessors who said that one sure way of knowing if our fasts of Ramadan had been accepted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that we find that all of our acts of worship and our spiritual routines are able to be maintained with ease in the days and weeks following Ramadan. So the focus becomes Ramadan itself and our trying very hard to be sure that we establish a consistent and manageable spiritual routine. May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Jasmina
- Canada
Profession
Question
As'Salam Alaikum!
I take dance class, (girls only). Do you think it is appropriate for me do continue with my lessons during Ramadan while I am fasting? The classes are in the afternoon, but before Iftar. You advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog. We would recommend that you ask this questions of the Islamic scholars during our regularly scheduled General Fatwa sessions on Islam Online. Please check the main website.
A good rule of thumb however is that whatever activity/habit/hobby we have should be acceptable according to Islamic guidelines regardless of the month in which those activities take place. So if the dancing is a form of exercise and the scholars have deemed it to be acceptable, then as with any other form of exercise, the only caution with regards to Ramadan would be to ensure that you do not over exert yourself physically and that you take caution not to become dehydrated. And Allah knows best.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
muslama
-
Profession
Question
A Salamo Alikom o Rahmato Allah o Barakato,
Dear Mr. Altaf
First of all I would like to thank you for this valuable live dialog, may Allah reward you for it.
I am a 21 years old Muslim girl, living in an Islamic country and trying to be god Muslim as far as I could.
In Ramadan I always try to make the best use of this great month. After fasting I use to pray, reading Quran, and sometimes listen to Islamic lectures and so on. So I think I make a good use of the night time in Ramadan.
But my problem is that during the day of Ramadan as I am fasting, I always be so exhausting cuz of the last night and spend the all day sleeping .in opposition to this If I wake up early , reading Quran, and trying to use the day of Ramadan I become no more able to use the night
That makes me always feel so guilty.
I wish you help me to find much better ways to make the best utilization of Ramadan’s day & night.
Gazakom Allah khairan.
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog and for your kind words. We make du'a to Allah to accept our efforts.
You are to be commended for the effort you are exerting in preparing yourself for this Ramadan based on a thorough analysis of your last Ramadan. Yes, it is difficult to maintain a consistently high energy level as we are going through each day and night of Ramadan. It is not impossible but it is challenging. Even the companions of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wasallam wanted to always be consistent and maintain strong faith and concentration in their acts of worship. We learn from the hadith of Hanzala radhi Allahu, who reported: "We were in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and he delivered to us a sermon and made a mention of Hell-Fire. Then I came to my house and began to laugh with my children and sport with my wife. (hanzala) further reported: I went out and met Abu Bakr and made a mention of that to him. Thereupon he said: I have done the same as you have mentioned. So we went to see Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) and said to him: Allah's Messenger, hanzala has turned to he a hypocrite. And he (the Holy Prophet) said Show respite.
And then I narrated to him the story, and Abu Bakr said: I have done the same as he has done. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: hanzala, there is a time for worldly affairs and a time for (worship and devotion), and if your state of mind is always the same as it is at the time of remembrance of Allah, the Angels would shake hands with you and would greet you on the path by saying: As-Salamu-Alaikum." (Sahih Bukhari, Book #37, Hadith #6624).
We urge you therefore to try to not complete your entire routine every night and perhaps even alternate between focusing on one early morning and one late night, and so on. Make du'a to Allah to accept your efforts and to grant you the spiritual fortitude to establish and maintain a solid worship routine.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Heba
-
Profession
Question
I have a sister, she is 12 years old ,sometimes when she got tired from the fasting she breaks her fasting without telling us she used to do that the last year, I don’t know how to advice her, as she feel I’m her elder sister and my words are orders.. but really I want her to get thawab of Ramdan
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog. May Allah reward you for being concerned about your younger sister's spiritual wellbeing. It is important that you maintain a trusting relationship with your sister so that she can turn to you and share with you the difficulties she might be experiencing with fasting. If you can become more involved in her fasting routine, that might help her and encourage her. For example, develop some form of incentive for her so that she can receive an immediate reward for each fast she completes and then a more substantial reward if she maintains a certain number of fasts consistently.
Remember that you do not want to be too tough on her so that she starts to dislike fasting. Work with her, be patient and help her understand that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is very much pleased with her when she prays, fasts or reads the Qur'an just to seek His pleasure and for no other reason.
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Nicole
- United States
Profession
Educator
Question
I'm planning to wake up early to eat Suhoor and Make Fajr during Ramadan. This will be the first time I do this, eventhough I am a convert of 3 years. My husband and I work very hard jobs, and he says that he needs his sleep more than Suhoor. He is also a muslim from birth. How can I convince him that the blessing in Suhoor and Fajr are well work waking up early?
Answer
Thank you for joining this live dialog. We are pleased to hear that you will insha'Allah try this year to wake up early to eat Suhoor and to pray the fajr prayer. May Allah make it easy on you and may He accept your acts of worship.
As for your husband, you are to be commended for trying to encourage him but remember that in the end, he alone is accountable to Allah for his choices and actions. We suggest strongly that you help him to minimize spending anytime in unhelpful activities. What we mean is that it is important for both of you to get a good night's rest so that waking up for suhoor and praying fajr is an achievable goal. Therefore, be sure that your nights are not ending too late and that neither of you is spending late nights on the internet, watching TV, or talking to friends or family. In Ramadan, we have to make some firm choices to put our acts of worship first.
If you manage your time well insha'Allah, both of you could sleep until just before fajr, wake up in time to eat something light, pray fajr and if needed sleep some more until it is time to wake up. Although this type of change in routine is difficult at first, there is great reward in trying to perfect it!
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
Name
Fayrouz
- Bolivia
Profession
Question
I do want to finish reading the Qur'an at least once in Ramadan,, but is it showy to read the Qur'an in public?
Answer
Thank you for making this our last question in today's live dialog. Reading the Qur'an and completing the reading of the entire Qur'an at least once are from the recommended acts of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wasallam. Only Allah knows what is in your heart when you are reading the Qur'an so if you wish to achieve your goal of reading the entire Qur'an in Ramadan, you should not concern yourself with what people are thinking about you. Focus on your recitation and try to tune out everything and everyone around you. Our beloved Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam reminds us in a hadith narrated by amir al mu'mineen 'Omar ibn Al Khattab, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." (Sahih Bukhar, Book #1, Hadith #1)
May Allah accept our fasting and all of our acts of worship. Ameen.
