Greetings Sarada,
I hope you will support me in my quest to learn more about Islam. Perhaps you could share with me how you feel during Ramadan and why, if I'm not getting too personal.
Thank you for your interest in Islam. I hope these reflections will be of some benefit.
Ramadhan is a very special time for Muslims. It is a blessed month with great opportunity for goodness, blessing, worship and obedience towards Allaah.
It is a noble season in which rewards for good deeds are multiplied and in which committing sins is more serious than at other times. The gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the sinners’ repentance to Allaah is accepted. It is a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is redemption from the Fire. These are all reasons why Muslims try to make the most of this blessed time by filling it with acts of worship and forsaking forbidden things, and we strive more than ever to do good, focus our hearts on worship and turn to Allaah. It is a time to look forward to because it offers the chance to renew and increase faith, to cleanse our souls and seek forgiveness for our errors and rectify mistakes in our lives.
Ramadhan is a month out of this world, as everything we do is different during this month and there are many reasons why we feel excited about it...
It is a time of unity and bonding, both with our extended family of people from all colours and backgrounds, and with our family at home. The day begins when we wake up before the dawn prayer to eat the morning meal with family and the fast ends after sunset when we meet in the mosque to break our fasts with dates and various snacks. Then we pray the sunset prayer and go home to eat the evening meal with family again. After this, almost everybody will attend the special night prayer.
During this prayer, the mosques will be filled with the young, the old, men, women and people of all kinds who gather to hear the Book of Allaah (swt) being recited in its entirety in gradual stages - a portion recited each day for the whole month. It's amazing how every mosque will have their own reciters - different voices and styles, and that's why some people travel to different mosques to get a taste of such diversity. It truly is a magnificent atmosphere to be among so many people coming together for a common purpose, amidst the sweet scents, the whooshing fans, the fluttering robes, the falling tears, the gripping warmth, the smiles and salutations, and sometimes sweets on the day the Qur'an has been completed!
It is a time of devotion to the mosques, as they are usually filled with people unlike at any other time of year - so for each prayer there will be many more attendees. It makes one really feel the presence of Ramadhan and visibly see the impact it is having on the hearts of the people. Throughout the day, people will be staying behind to recite Qur'an. There is also a special act of worship called I'tikaaf, which is secluding oneself in the mosque - usually during the last 10 days of Ramadhan.
It is a time of sharing and exchanging, because a little while before Iftaar (the time to break one's fast), people will send food to each other so that by the time we break our fast, there will be so many things to try that we are too full to try them all! One of the highlights of the day is when we are all crowded in the mosque, waiting for the call of prayer to signal the time for breaking the fast, and people bring all kinds of food to share and break the fast with. It's a wonderful experience to try out foods from different cultures, sit alongside different people, and wonder what someone will bring the next day.
This is just a glimpse into the delights of participating in Ramadhan.
See this thread for more personal accounts:
http://www.islamicboard.com/fasting-ramadhan-eid-ul-fitr/50035-ramadan-diary.html
I too would be interested to know if any Muslim could genuinely feel excited about the fasting aspect of Ramadam.
Fasting is not only giving up food, drink and intimate relations; rather it is abstaining from all kinds of evil actions.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it and offensive speech and behaviour, Allaah has no need of his giving up his food and drink.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6057.
There are also a number of benefits to fasting, such as attaining piety (doing that which Allaah has enjoined and avoiding that which He has forbidden). It is one of the greatest means of helping a person to fulfil the commands of Islam and it is a kind of training to become a better person. Other benefits of fasting include appreciating the value of the things we give up, gaining self-control, being more sympathetic towards the poor, developing an attitude of asceticism towards this world and its desires and getting used to doing a great deal of acts of worship.
So fasting is not simply actions without meaning, rather there is much spiritual involvement and Allaah makes it easy for those who try to draw nearer to Him.
Peace!
