Maryam Amir – eading the feeling of dreading Ramadan

			Many of you have mentioned
dreading, the feeling you have of
		

			dread about Ramadan coming. People
all around you are super excited
		

			about it coming, and you know
you're supposed to be joyful, but
		

			for you, Ramadan might often be a
time of extra guilt, and so you're
		

			already nervous about it. That's
often because you can't do what
		

			you think everyone is expecting
you to do in Ramadan. And that
		

			could actually be because you
physically can't fast. But it
		

			could also be that you can fast
and you can pray, and you are
		

			fasting and praying, or at least
trying your best to do that, but
		

			you're not able to do all the
extra things like going to the
		

			masjid or reading the Quran or
just praying extra prayers. And
		

			sometimes that's because of a
mental health related issue. But
		

			also it could be, realistically,
you physically can't, like you
		

			work full time, or you are, you
know, stay at home, mom with
		

			little kids, or stay at home
parent, or you just have other
		

			responsibilities where you can't
drop everything and just do all
		

			this extra worship. But if you are
sitting in front of the Kaaba in
		

			Ramadan with no responsibilities,
how do you think your Ramadan
		

			would look like? Your issue is not
about not having strong enough
		

			Eman, so I don't want you to frame
it in that perspective. Even when
		

			you talk about it to your own
self, what you need is a
		

			perspective change. Be excited
about Ramadan, because it's the
		

			month of extra joy and extra
reward and extra worship and extra
		

			mercy and extra acceptance of dua,
whether or not you think you're
		

			doing everything extra normally
change your baby's diaper. Are you
		

			weeping out of joy from the
strength of your faith? Probably
		

			not. But when you intend that you
do that to take care of you know,
		

			helping relieve the distress of a
little believer, Allah will
		

			relieve your distress in the
Hereafter, as well as inshaAllah
		

			in this life, but in Ramadan, that
same exact action that you do
		

			regularly every day is extra
rewarded when you're a nurse and
		

			you take care of your patients and
you can't do extra things because
		

			you're literally there serving
other people. Don't you know how
		

			beloved that is to Allah,
Subhanahu wa taala, I want you to
		

			apply that rule to every part of
your life, Ramadan is a month of
		

			extra blessings, not because you
do something that's worthy of
		

			extra blessing, which, of course,
absolutely we should try to do as
		

			much extra as we can, but Ramadan
is a month of blessing anyway. So
		

			whatever you're doing today
inshallah will be extra rewarded
		

			in that month. So fam, get excited
about Ramadan coming. You don't
		

			have to be perfect for Ramadan.
You just have to be you. And you
		

			try harder. And Allah sees you be
more intentional that you're doing
		

			everything for the sake of Allah.
Try to do extra whenever you can
		

			remember ALLAH, keep your tongue
moving with the kid of Allah at
		

			all times. May Allah bless us with
Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem faith
		

			sibs.