Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

altmuslim

Home
Muslim
The Priority Fast – Getting the Most from Your Ramadan

The Priority Fast – Getting the Most from Your Ramadan

Last updated on: May 20, 2018 at 8:11 pm by Guest Contributor

The Priority Fast – Getting the Most from Your Ramadan 2018-05-20T20:11:28-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image source: Pixabay

This is Day Five of the 2018 #30Days30Writers Ramadan series.

Stores are bustling with shoppers who are looking for the freshest of dates, the softest of cakes and assorted coffees and teas. Houses are being decorated, suhoors and iftars planned, houses cleaned and recipes shared. There is a hint of awe and wonder looming in the air. So much beauty in this blessed month of the descent of the Quran — Ramadan. And, lurking somewhere behind the excitement is anxiety — anxiety of Ramadan failure.

Questions of doubt begin to swirl in your head: Will I be enough at the end of Ramadan? Will I have grown, at least some? Did I do enough? These questions and more may have you feeling hopeless and ungrateful. The reason behind these feelings are the expectations one may have in preparing for Ramadan when instead the reality of your life kicks in.

Your current life does not take a break. Although now you must include going to the masjid, waking up for suhoor, keeping the children busy, sadaqa, iftar, cleaning the masjid, delivering food to the homeless and whatever other added responsibilities we pile on our plates during Ramadan, only to end up barely keeping with the fast.

What I propose is a priority fast. A priority fast is when you keep to the activities that are most important to you and not to everyone else. Practice Islam within your frame of obedience and increase your deeds at a suitable pace set by your spiritual needs.

Regarding fulfilling the obligations of the fast — abstaining from food and drink, refraining from sex—this should be among the top priorities. Everything else is extra credit. Lay a firm foundation and build upon it deed by deed. You will find that you are not only meeting your fasting goals but increasing in your overall ibadah (worship).

You have 30 days to maximize the benefits of Ramadan. And, although that is a short amount of time in terms of exerting yourself, it is also just enough time to lay the foundation for long-term changes. You can use this time to work on your most troublesome areas of worship, and then you can move on to charitable works.

Plan out what you want most from your Ramadan. Everyone is posting and pledging their Ramadan intentions, and it appears as if they are going to be accomplishing huge tasks. But the reality is we are all struggling in someone ways. Social media makes it difficult for the brain to decipher between the reality and façade. We confuse what everyone says they are going to do during Ramadan with the reality of the implementation of said goals.

That can leave us feeling defeated. To avoid the confusion, you must be clear about what you need in your life and how you will go about achieving it. If you want to increase your prayer, then pray all the sunnah prayers before and after the fard (obligatory) salah for the first ten days. If you want to add more prayer, then you should try adding tarawih and witr, but if you struggle to make the five obligatory prayers, jumping into tarawih and witr will be counterproductive.

Next, we want to focus on doing good deeds. Now, this is my favorite part because year after year people get inundated with performing extra-charitable deeds outside of the home. However, charity starts at home. Parents fuss with their children, argue with their spouses, neglect their parents, then go to the masjid and feed the people. Is it logical that someone benefits from your kindness other than your family?

Take this time to reconnect with your family: Pray together, breakfast together, let someone other than yourself make choices about meals, or activities during Ramadan. If you have an established good relationship with your family, then feel free to continue building the bond by feeding the homeless, hosting an iftar for fasting Muslims, or allowing the children to choose to whom they will give sadaqa. The mission is to be kind to your family first and build a strong bond at home then give the overflow to strangers.

Another pressing issue during Ramadan is health: Long fasting days, late night suppers, early suhoor, there’s seems like there isn’t any time for anything else other than fasting and praying and then trying to squeeze food and sleep between the two. Over the years, I have collected some practical advice on both matters.

Let’s look at sleep; the first thing that most people complain about is the lack of sleep. Isha prayer for a good majority is late in the evening; then comes tarawih around 9:30 – 10 p.m., which may not be completed until 11:30 p.m. or later. You set your alarm for suhoor around 4 a.m., then after eating you sit and wait for fajr.

I propose some sleep hacks to ease the hardship of fasting:

Learn your sleep cycle and set the alarm to it. If you wake up at the proper point in your sleep cycle, you reduce the chance of grogginess. You can serve yourself and your family better if you get the proper amount of sleep.
Take a power nap. Napping between dhur-asr time is sunnah, and it’s good for you. The sunnah/power nap will rejuvenate you and give you energy. It doesn’t have to be a two-hour nap; 20 minutes is sufficient. Find a spot, throw your head back and nap.
Take a power nap between Isha and tarawih. I have found that just closing my eyes for a few minutes is rejuvenating. But, never nap at asr time; it will make you angry and groggier than you were before the nap.

Then there is the issue of nutrition. I hear it year after year: This Ramadan I am going to lose weight. And some folks do lose weight. However, that should not be the focus of your fast. You should focus your nutrition on being balanced like the rest of your ibadah.

Do not skimp on eating. If you skip out on eating enough food, you will lose energy before half the day of fasting is done. If you continue with that behavior, you will lose vigor for Ramadan in its entirety.
Make it your mission to stay hydrated as much as possible. Water is your best friend in Ramadan. The days are long, and you are likely to feel thirst before you feel hunger.
Avoid over-consumption at iftar and suhoor. Eating too much food is as harmful to your fast as not eating enough. Your body will be sluggish and tired.
If you desire to exercise, don’t overdo it. If you exert all your energy to exercising, then you won’t have much left for your prayer goals. Again, the key is to stay balanced.

Let’s recap:

To have a beneficial and prosperous priority fast, you will need to be clear about your goals and intentions for Ramadan; focus on the fulfilling the obligations of Ramadan. Do not exert yourself to the point of burnout. Use this time as a springboard to increase your overall ibadah.

Be gracious with your charity to your family, but most importantly, take care of yourself. The primary goal is to be balanced in your religion and maximize the blessings of this precious gem called Ramadan.

Ramadan Mubarak!

30 Days 30 Writers

30 Days 30 Writers (2018)

About Khadijah Abdul-Haqq

Khadijah Abdul-Haqq is an author, blogger, mother, homeschooler and an all around cool person. You can find out more about her on Facebook @Author Khadijah Abdul-Haqq, Instagram @ theunconventionalmuslimah, twitter @haqq_khadijah , and on her blog Ramblings of an Unconventional Muslimah. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

May 19, 2018

9 Health Benefits and Tips for Beneficial Ramadan (and Otherwise) Fasting

Next Post

May 21, 2018 When You Cannot Fast, Here's What You Can Do

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet was told to eat a scroll in a vision?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Obadiah Daniel Ezekiel Joel