Ramadan Resolutions
It's Ramadan!!!!!!! That amazing, glorious month, full of blessings just waiting to be racked up That month in which God closes the gates of Hell and throws open the gates of Paradise... when the shayaateen, the devils, are chained up and we have only ourselves to battle.
And that's the hard part, isn't it? Fighting ourselves, our nafs, our whims and desires. That's why I've decided to make a list of Ramadan Resolutions. Ramadan is gonna be extra-hard for me this year, because it's in this new city, away from aaaaaaaaall my friends and the Islamic centre we used to go to for Iftaars on weekends and for Taraweeh, and we don't even have a house yet (we're staying with my grandparents), and I feel like I'm going to go crazy (I've been feeling that way for the last 2 1/2 months, though... that's how long we've been here, and STILL no house!) and it's just not going to be the same as the last several Ramadans... *Sniffles*
Anyway... here are this year's Ramadan Resolutions!
1: Control my temper and my tongue. One of the hardest things to do, especially when I'm 'in a mood' and lonely and bored and grumpy and missing home and ready to cry...
2: Read a lot more Qur'an. Go over Juz 'Ammah, improve recitation and memorization. Start memorizing Juz Tabaarak.
3: Help around the house more often. I really should do more chores to ease the burden from my mom and grandparents.
4: Spend less time on the Internet and more time doing other stuff (like reading Qur'an and other Islamic books or helping around the house). I need to majorly cut down on the time I spend reading blogs... but I'm going to continue to blog, because sitting down and writing out posts is for me a way to organize my thoughts and clear out my head, and I always feel better after doing so.
5: Try to really 'feel' the spirit of Ramadan, even though I don't have my friends to help me out.
Having them around always made things so much easier... I dunno, but I always felt that my Imaan level went up around them, 'cuz we'd be talking about Islam all the time, and sharing that amazing bond of Islamic sisterhood helped me sooo much, made it easier to remember Allah all the time and control myself and just be a better Muslimah...
Well, those are the five things that I can think of right now. If you've got anything to add (and I'm sure you do!), more resolutions or tips on how to accomplish them, please do tell...
May this Ramadan be an amazingly fantastically awesome one for all of us, and may we benefit from it in every way possible, emerging stronger in faith and purified in soul... ameen!
I think it's great that you have certain goals that you want to accomplish this Ramadan. It's amazing how dedicated we can become to improving ourselves through Ramadan though the key is sustaining that effort well past it. :)
ReplyDeleteMay Allah (SWT) help you accomplish that which you feel you must. Ameen.
I have one surah left of Juz 'Amma which has been eluding me for years... insha-Allah, I'll try to finally memorize it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about losing out on the "spirit" of Ramadhan when there's no one around. This year, I'm really isolated, and I know it's going to be quite different from all the years I broke fast with my family, or my university years where we had over 200 students together for iftar.
And that picture is tremendously weird. Why are the stars and moon wobbling around? Why is the tree dancing?
As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,
ReplyDeleteNauman - yeah, sort of funny how we're all dedicated throughout Ramadan, but as soon as Ramadan's over we're back to our lazy old selves! :S
Ramadan Kareem to you, too, Law Student! :)
Faraz - which surah is it? Technically, I've already finished memorizing Juz 'Ammah, but I've been neglecting to regularly revise, so sadly I forgot several of the longer surahs. Right now I'm trying re-memorize surahs 'Abasa, wan-Naazi'aati gharqaa, and 'Amma. :S
LOL, I love the picture! I Googled 'Ramadan Kareem' under Google images, found this pic, and loved it! It's very... festive. :D
I was also wondering why the tree was dancing... I think it might cause someone to get a seizure if they watch it too long... it's too festive I think for my liking but the fact that it could cause a seizure seems kinda cool...
ReplyDeletethat wobbling tree thing is genius. May Allah help you achieve all your Ramadan goals
ReplyDeleteAssalamu'alaykum,
ReplyDeleteI still find that picture extremely weird and disturbing; it's just animation for the sake of animation, and seems to counter the feeling of serenity and peace that I've come to associate with Ramadhan. It kinda gives the feeling of "all-night-disco Ramadhan", but anyway.. so long as you like it, I guess. I agree with the seizure comment.
I've had trouble with Surah Inshiqaaq. I started working on the 29th a while back, even though I never quite finished 30. I love Surah Nuh, and kinda just kept going with 29 after I learned it.
Wa ‘alaikumus-salaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,
ReplyDeleteHeeeey, I love my bouncy pic! *Hugs it protectively*
lol, just kidding... but insha'Allah I'm going to be posting a bunch of different 'Ramadan Mubarak/Kareem' pics with various Ahadith or Ayaat about Ramadan...
Ooooh, yeah, surah Inshiqaaq is a toughie to memorize... especially the first few ayaas, I get confused with them a lot :( But after the first bit, I find it easier.
What I have trouble with is when there is one aayah that is repeated in another surah, and I get confused and end up mixing up the surahs… that really sucks. Even when I practice them, it’s hard to remember it all and I still get confused… that’s why, even though I finished memorizing Juz ‘Ammah and started with Juz Tabaraak, I didn’t get very far and had to go back and re-memorize the longer surahs… :(
Ah, well, may Allah help us in our memorization of His glorious revelation, ameen!
Ramadan Mubarak, take care little mouse.
ReplyDelete