The last 10 days of Ramadan are upon us. Many are planning to finish stronger than they began while others are trying to salvage what remains of their Ramadan, all of whom are doing what they can to attain the night of power or Laylat al Qadr. I’m sure for those of you reading this most of these goals are on our minds.
For myself, I have also been reflecting upon what it means to truly use Ramadan as a means, and not just an end to achieve only to later abandon and forget. I figured to achieve this I should reflect upon those positive things I was able to realize thus far these past 20 days, and perhaps not even those things I’ve quite mastered or fully achieved yet, but would nonetheless be something I can utilize these last 10 days to refine, build upon, and strive to be consistent in, to set up myself up to ensure that these Ramadan realizations, these benefits that I have been able to become conscious of, do not just live and die in Ramadan, but rather, go beyond and carry on.
For myself, there is one thing that Ramadan has provided me this year and that is the ability to be honest with myself when it comes to why I do not succeed or why I do things that I am not proud of, or deeds that are merely mediocre.
Fasting has allowed me to realize that this time that we are given when wasted or misused is not because of some external factors or a result of the excuses that my nafs is able to produce and put forth, but rather it is the choices I make. Fasting has allowed me the opportunity to take heed and take ownership of my decision to use or misuse that time, to use or misuse those opportunities, to use or misuse those righteous companions, people, and company that I have been blessed to be around. The decision to use or misuse those blessings of help, physical ability, youth, financial freedom to be able to benefit myself, my family, and my community.
These last 10 days I am going to ensure that I am accountable for my time, not just through planning, not just through better time management, but actually through developing the habit of accounting for every moment; knowing where it went, whether it was good, bad, or otherwise. If I can do this, consistently, through these 10 days and onwards it will help me develop more consciousness, more awareness of the blessings that I have and I feel this is a sliver of what it means to have Taqwah. I pray that this is beneficial not just for myself but all those who read this, and I ask all of you who read this to make duah that I am able to achieve and maintain this.
Until next time, Assalamu alaikum.
– NYM Brother
