If you’re like me… and, well, probably a lot of other people, you won’t fully realize that Ramadan is here until you’re dragging yourself out of bed a few hours early to eat while it’s still dark.
Ramadan offers us a very unique opportunity. Ramadan offers us the opportunity to start fresh. It may not necessarily have the “wash-away-all-your-sins” publicity that Hajj does, but Ramadan gives us a chance to put ourselves through a mind, body and soul detoxification.
Fasting has always been an excellent way to clean out the body of impurities. With Shaitaan locked up during Ramadan, we also get a bit of a mental break. Add to that extra Nafl and we have a spiritual jackpot.
My suggestion then, is to make this Ramadan “Detoxification Month.”
What will this entail?
First of all, don’t skip suhoor! And for you suhoor-lovers, no more super oily extra heavy food in the morning. Second, small iftaars (follow the Sunnah!). And finally, don’t spend half the night cramming food into yourselves and the other half praying taraweeh. Eat modestly and let your body deal with it.
Make sure you’re still getting the right amount of water. Try to have salad with your food and eat healthy, balanced meals.
Eating well during Ramadan is like running the entire month on Premium fuel, while cleaning out your system of all the toxins it has built up throughout the year. By the end of the month you should be feeling great inshallah.
Cut out TV, music, the radio. All extra sources of noise and distraction should be put to rest. The point? Often times we don’t reach higher levels of thought because our minds are so bogged down with useless information. Take sometime out everyday to re-evaluate yourself. Write down everything that’s on your mind. When you’ve cleared your head, think about your relationship with Allah–think about where it is, and where you want it to be.
How do you detoxify your soul? Good question. Start by reading this: http://www.jannah.org/articles/ (scroll down to the “purify yourself” part. Ask Allah for forgiveness and ask Allah for purification.
If you’re able to work on these three areas of detoxification throughout Ramadan, inshallah you’ll leave Ramadan on a new level. And this will inshallah give your iman a new boost until next Ramadan.