Welcoming Ramadan

WELCOMING RAMADAN: WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
I have once described Ramadan as a wide playing ground where every Muslim is a player and potential striker. Shaitan (AL) that would have acted as goal keeper is said to have been chained as Ramadan rolls in. So, one could score as many goals as possible depending on individual’s scoring prowess. Here, each household constitute a team and is expected to compete favourably for Allah’s bounties contained in this month of emancipation.
No doubt, the just concluded FIFA world cup offered some important clues for those who can reflect. Significantly, it could be epitomized that inadequate preparation and lack of discipline led to instant and disgraceful exit of our darling “Super Chicken”. The impact of selfishness, goal incongruity and other remote causes are not underplayed; but those two mentioned factors captured the whole thing and are most relevant in this context. Adequate preparation is a vital pre-requisite of Ramadan while discipline remains ineluctable while Ramadan lasts.
It has been said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. Had our “Super Chicken” prepared adequately early, the story would have been different. So, preparation for Ramadan should not be limited only to economic/fis cal preparation but should encompass both physical and spiritual readiness. Physically, scholars have enjoined light exercise to build our physique making it strong-ready for Ramadan and going for medical check-up to establish one’s fitness. This is especially necessary as not everybody is fit to fast (on health ground) and not all ailments can debar one from fasting. Economically, each household should have family meeting aimed at prioritizing their needs to avoid wasteful spending; the haves should start setting aside resources to cater for their family and their neighbours while the have not should endeavour to properly manage their little wherewithal and pray fervently for Allah’s support. The spiritual realm is the... [continues]

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