Blast from the past: “And So It Begins…”

Last updated on: July 7, 2013 at 9:21 am by Marwa Aly

Blast from the past: “And So It Begins…” 2013-07-07T09:21:57-04:00 Marwa Aly

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.

Here is a “blast from the past” post by one of our GrowMama writers we hope you’ll enjoy. It was initially published in 2010 where she shares the story of a special first night of Ramadan. We pray yours are blessed as well!

Ramadan is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen a child’s Muslim identity, and to build a closer relationship with Allah SWT and with community. Each year I wonder how to make it special for the family. What can I do for them to taste it’s sweetness? This year, like many others, I was not completely ready. At least not with the home perfectly cleaned or the fridge stocked with all the right suhoor/iftaar groceries. I took a deep breath and said to myself, “Lets make the best of what we have.”

Listen to our story…the first night of Ramadan was special for us…

An hour and a half before sunset, I started to make crescent cookies with my children. Our goal: To welcome Ramadaan as a special guest. As the cookies baked, I pulled out a box of simple Ramadaan decorations. I collected some of their Ramadaan crafts over the years. While decorating our home I thought it would be nice to invite our neighbors. We called over to Michelle’s asking if they wanted to come over for milk and cookies, watch the sunset and share in our welcoming party. They were at BMX biking practice. “If we were home, we would have definitely loved to come. “

So, I tried again. We called over to Carrie’s. “Do you and the boys want to come for milk and cookies and wait for our special Ramadaan to start?”

“Ohhh…we would have loved to, but we are at the Texas Road House having dinner with my mom. Can we come by later in the week?”

I sighed, maybe a dawa moment was not meant to happen tonight. As the children decorated, I remembered my new Muslim friend “Eileen.” When I called, she was already in her PJ’s . “No worries, I’ll come as I am. Thank you so much for inviting me.” She was ringing our doorbell within 10 minutes.

The house was half decorated, the oven timer dinged. The sink was full of dishes, our tablecloth was full of crumbs. We all sat together at the big table by the window. We watched the sky turn pink, ate delicious crescent cookies with milk. We talked about our Family Ramadaan Goals. My husband wrote each family member’s goals on a large poster board. He included a spot for Eileen. My youngest, who is almost five said her goals were to “Be nice and learn more surahs.”

Eileen said “To be kind in word and actions.” My husband would like to improve his taraweeh and read more Quran. Our seven-year-old son wants to fast between breakfast and lunch and give one of his toys in charity. I want to work on learning to forgive in a better way.

We prayed a peaceful Magrib salah together. My husband put the kids to bed while Eileen and I sat out on our deck next to the forest. We enjoyed some special sister time accompanied by the night sky and forest noises. My heart sensed Ramadaan around us. I thank Allah for a very special first night. In the end, I realized, having all the “stuff”’ ready wasn’t as important as having the right attitude, spirit and company.

Sharda Mohammed

Sharda Mohammed is a Canadian born mother of two young children. She has a keen interest inlearnig to foster leadership, self esteem and empathy in young children. She works part time as a Physical Therapist.

Motherhood Reflections

Previous Post

July 9, 2012

A Father’s Influence

Next Post

July 16, 2012 Ramadan Suhoor Ideas

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book and Movie Reviews Community Connecting with Allah Counselor's Corner Environment fatherhood five stars GrowBaba Spotlight GrowMama Picks Growmama Roundup Health Light Fare marriage Motherhood Reflections moving Parenthood Photography Poems Schooling Self-development tragedy Tutorials Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 August 2015 July 2015 June 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 November 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where does the Bible say, "do to others as you would have them do to you"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Leviticus Luke Revelation Judges