Stop Making These Ramadan Mishaps

We all start Ramadan with high spirits and gusto, fasting and doing whatever we can spiritually. However, there are some common mishaps many of us repeatedly fall into. Here’s a few of these mishaps and how to change your habits for a more positive, and spiritually fulfilling Ramadan.

Over focus on meals

Even some of the most disciplined eaters tend to fall off the healthy eating bandwagon during Ramadan, knowing the entire day will be without food or drinks. Nonetheless, the true spirit of Ramadan is that we act with discipline physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

Using Ramadan as an excuse

Whether it’s sleeping or not putting in your best at the office, don’t use Ramadan as an excuse to get lazy. Actually, wasting hours during this time is an avoidance of the trials of Ramadan and reduces the whole month to a test of coping with hunger. It is supposed to be a far richer experience where we strip away all our normal physical and worldly pursuits and use the space created to improve ourselves.

Fasting without giving up other vices or sins

Realistically, fasting without behavioral or mental change is actually a hunger test. We are meant to use Ramadan to our advantage to help others and develop more empathy with others in deprived states. We are working towards cleansing our bodies, hearts, mind, and soul which requires some sacrifice of some kind.

Spending exorbitantly on iftar parties

If Ramadan is a chance to re-train our habits, then surely spending appropriately is relevant. We should avoid being lavish and profligate as these behaviors don’t demonstrate we are living the spirit of Ramadan. If we were to give exorbitantly on charity, then we are observing the spirit of Ramadan, but to be greedy and spendthrift and simply go from one expensive iftar buffet to another where we over eat seems to defeat the purpose and Ramadan becomes another empty experience.

Skipping suhour

Suhour is a true representation of the spirit of Ramadan, you are altering our rhythms of sleeping and eating for the sake of Allah, if we observe suhour, we are most likely to be observing the dawn prayer. In the dead of night, when we awaken for suhour we embrace the purpose of Ramadan to develop discipline and alter our behavior not because it makes sense but because we are serving Allah.

Fasting, but not praying

We have to remind ourselves of the meaning and purpose of fasting. It is essentially a faith test from Allah. We are enduring hardship for the purpose of submitting ourselves to the will of Allah. Prayer is our commitment to our God. Fasting and prayer together serves the core purposes of self-improvement and spiritual strengthening.