another ramadan, another year passes by. doesnt seem that long ago that i was making (or failing to make) all my eid mubarak phone calls, catching up with old friends and affirming to myself that i would keep all my post-ramadan goals.
verily, i suck.
but that's what i love about ramadan: a chance to start fresh.
so let me start. if i've ever wronged you in any way, made you feel angry, annoyed, frustrated, hurt etc etc, please please please forgive me. i can almost guarantee that it wasnt my intention at all. i know it seems trite and overdone, but i can't emphasize how much i need forgiveness from you all. please comb your hearts and memories for times in which i may have hurt you and please please please forgive me. inshaAllah i'll do the same for all of you. if possible, please keep me in your duas, especially during this month.
throughout the month, i'll try to post beneficial tidbits about ramadan... but no guarantees.
first off, a brief intro to ramadan, by none other than Stephen Colbert, a la The Daily Show.
second, a ramadan song, by mike chen (still waiting for this to be a quotable, chen!)
Auto response from Farah: send me good ramadan-y songs please. thanks all. laters/salaams
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Chen: *ahem*
Chen: oh ramadan oh ramadan
Chen: how ramadanish are you
Chen: with your days of rama
Chen: and your nights dan
Chen: oh ramadan
Chen: oh ramadan
Chen: something something la oh ramadan
third, an amazing ramadan dua by sheikh saad al-ghamdi, with translation ( the [--]'s represent a point where the translator was unsure of the translation)
A bunch of audio lectures [warning: i havent listened to any of these yet, aside from the zaid shakir one]:
- Ramadan Preparation with Imam Zaid Shakir -- this is the only one i've listened to, but imam zaid give numerous practical things we can do reap the benefits of ramadan in the midst of our busy lives, as well as the virtues of fasting and ramadan.
finally, an awesome article on the meaning of ramadan, from http://themodernreligion.com/.
highlights:
"Yes, Ramadan is the most important month of the year. It is the month that the believers await with eagerness. At the beginning of Rajab --- two full months before Ramadan --- the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate thus: "O Allah! Bless us during Rajab and Sha’ban, and let us reach Ramadan (in good health)."
Anyone who fasts during this month with purity of belief and with expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have his previous sins forgiven," said Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. "Anyone who stands in prayers during its nights with purity of belief and expectation of a reward, will have his previous sins forgiven." As other ahadith tell us, the rewards for good deeds are multiplied manifold during Ramadan.
And of the three persons that Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam cursed, one is the unfortunate Muslim who finds Ramadan in good health but does not use the opportunity to seek Allah’s mercy.
One who does not fast is obviously in this category, but so also is the person who fasts and prays but makes no effort to stay away from sins or attain purity of the heart through the numerous opportunities offered by Ramadan. The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, warned us: "There are those who get nothing from their fast but hunger and thirst. There are those who get nothing from their nightly prayers but loss of sleep."
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