MY First Ramadhan.

My first Ramadhan and Eid experience did not live up to that of the Twitter and Facebook status updates. I will share with you my experience and what I thought about this blessed month. The month where The Holy Qur'an was revealed, the month of extra worship, the month of fasting.

I wasn't sure what Ramadhan would entail since it was my very first one. My husband told me in his country, they make it more of a huge event than it really is; feasts, food being wasted, large family gatherings, and weight gaining are part of the Ramadan starter pack. Many individuals would eat before praying Maghrib and many would also experience weight gaining at the end of Ramadhan. AstughfurAllah! The Holy Month of Ibadah (worship) has turned into, for some, the holy month of eating!  Also, during Ramadhan, the part-time Muslims were hard at work, and once Ramadhan ended, they would be back to their full-time job with shaitan. I chuckled at the thought of this.

First of all, how is it even possible to be a part-time Muslim? Well, it is very possible and it happening everywhere in the world today.
Secondly, since when did Ramadhan become a social event? I thought the main purpose was to worship your Creator and show Him your gratitude!?
Thirdly, what ever happened to sticking to what Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught?

I am not sure how most of the Muslim's Ramadhan went, but my Ramadhan went a little something like this:

It was quiet and extremely simple.
I had much time alone to reflect on my relationship with my Creator.
I didn't have any big Iftar parties.
I blogged a lot.
I prayed a bit more than I normally prayed.
I took more naps than usual.
I learned how to cook two new dishes.
I thought about ways to work on my Iman.
I truly thought about death and truly dreaded the Day.
I was able to envision in my mind the day the Angel of death came to take me away
I thanked Allah continuously for the opportunity to live each day to worship Him and only Him

As you can see, my Ramadhan was uneventful and quite "boring" compared to most Muslims, but I have to say that I preferred it to be that way rather than loud, hectic, and distracting. It was nice to spend it by myself and with my husband.

I had a lot of time to reflect about my new life and how I never ever want to go astray. I had much time to really think about what it would be like in my grave when I die. Really envisioning the confined space, with nowhere to go, nothing to see except darkness. Though I am dead, my soul is still alive in my grave, waiting for the Day of Resurrection. This thought frightens me because I know that after the grave, comes the Day when we will all be judged by our Creator. So instead of stuffing my face during Iftar and Soohur, instead of worrying what new outfit I was going to wear on Eid, and instead of being busy with family gatherings, I was busy worrying about how to strengthen my iman, how to keep myself focused on the straight path until the day I die, how to live my life day by day until the Day of Judgement arrives.

I would say for my first Ramadhan, it was the most productive time I have ever had in a long, long time. Now that Ramadhan is finished, I plan to live my life with the image of me in my grave waiting for that brutally, scorching, terrible Day of Judgement and a suggestion for the part-time Muslims, you may not live to make it to the next Ramadhan, so you might as well start working hard and promote yourself to Full-time Muslim.