Ramadan Reflections: 30 days of healing from the past, journeying with presence and looking ahead to an akhirah-focused future

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Usually, we have the clothes ironed and laid out the night before as the Eid prayer in the mosque the next day is very early. I tend to wear "salwar kameez" (this is the traditional clothing of Pakistan). I liked how the book didn’t have too much journaling in it tbh, bc I usually don’t like to journal (lol surprising I know as a writer- but I prefer typing to pencil writing). This book was the perfect amount of text and journaling balanced- and it was written in such an impactful way that I found myself really soaking in each chapter and pausing and enjoying the journaling process at the end! On the day of Eid, the whole family will go to the mosque for the Eid prayer. This usually gives us the chance to meet and greet family and friends.

It is written in 3 parts, with different energy levels and 10 chapters (days) in each part. Each chapter is on the important issues that affect us daily such as forgiving others, responsibility, love, life auditing, difficulties, hope and private deeds. The parts and chapters of the book cover our past, present and future and I found this to be very comforting and helpful.

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Ramadan Reflections: a guided journal is a collection of intimate, healing, Islam-focused reflections aimed at guiding readers through the 30 days of Ramadan. I’m super grateful for the many life-changing tidbits I took away from this book🤲🏾. They changed my approach to worship this Ramadan, and hopefully, for every daily worship to come.

With a chapter set aside for each day of Ramadan and divided into parts, representing how The Holy Month is divided – it makes it so easy to digest but fulfilling every crevice of your soul at the same time. There is space for journaling – and even for someone like me who finds this difficult, Aliyah’s pointers are very easy to follow and make you interact with your own emotions. She takes you on a journey of story-telling, reflection and making Duah as you go along. But there is no compulsion in any of it and you will find that through taking it in your own pace you will achieve more, than you set out to, with this treasure of a book. This guided journal is divided into three parts which focus on the past, the present and the future respectively. There is a chapter with its own topic for each day of Ramadan with some prompts/questions at the end for the reader to write their own reflections and thoughts.The book has been written very practically and beautifully. Aliyah has this gift to connect the readers actual feelings and thoughts as if she is inside their own minds. She effortlessly draws clear lines of truths to the truth, while connecting us to our Creator, presenting Him and His Choices and Actions in our lives in such deeply beautiful considerations. She reminds us of our purpose and life in the hereafter. This is her debut book. Reflection: In using the momentum of Ramadan as a springboard to further reflection. How can we continue doing good works for a local community? How can we make small changes of understanding to further close the gap of misunderstanding? How can we as a family come together and with our own hands help the hungry, care for our neighbor, reconnect with God ( Allah) in a way that is more meaningful than rushed prayers in between activities? It's a book that pulls you in as you find yourself reflecting over the gems shared by the author. There were times when I would re-read a paragraph due to how much it hit home. I felt seen, heard and validated. I felt as though it was speaking to me rather than at me. Like someone holding your hand and accompanying you through each step. I This isn’t a flaw per se🌚, just personal preference, but because of the nature of the book (the author sharing her personal experiences), there are many parts that I found repetitive, which dampened parts of my reading experience. I tend to give up playing any sports during the month of Ramadan to minimise the dehydration and therefore the activities for some during the month of Ramadan could be fairly low key.

Fasting allows the individual to understand the pain and suffering of millions around the world, who live their lives in poverty and famine, leaving the participant feeling more grounded and grateful for their privileged lives and what we take for granted every day. This would usually encourage actions of generosity and charity. Charitable donation is a huge thing during the month of Ramadan. Charity, compassion and generosity should be something which is a part of our lives and not just a one-off action. Islam recognises and places a great deal of emphasis on being compassionate and caring and helping those in our communities who have less than us. Hisham lbn Urwa said, “I have never seen anyone who could have knowledge of an ayah, an obligatory act, a Sunnah act, poetry, history, lineage, judgement, or medicine better than Aisha.” During Ramadan this year, two Physiotherapy colleagues from Clinical and Scientific Services have written an article with useful information about Ramadan and Edi Ul Fitr, which was featured in the quarterly AHP Newsletter. You can read the article written by Naheed Ahmed and Mai Hussain here.

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Firstly, we learn fasting is a prescription. Much like other forms of ritual worship, human or otherwise, when the formula is followed the believer is given the opportunity to experience spiritual healing and growth. We see this time and again across Star Trek, from Klingons to Kelpiens, rituals offer meaning and a sense of sacredness to one’s being. Maybe celebrating Ramadan here is not as easy as it would be in a Muslim country. However, I would argue that it is more meaningful. We as a Muslim community must work that much harder to implement and institute our religious traditions in a non-Muslim country. In making space for ourselves now, we are also making space for others that come behind us. If that is not in the spirit of Ramadan than I don’t know what else is.

Each chapter speaks to you and makes you reflect upon your own situation. You are then invited to think differently; take yourself from where you are now to where you’d like to be. The second chapter does this effortlessly. When you read this book it invites you to lovingly change for the better for your life in this world and the next.

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As our second Ramadan of the pandemic approaches, I’ve been reflecting on the last year, and thinking about what lies ahead. Last Ramadan was extremely challenging for many in our community. Above all, it felt lonely: There were no communal iftars. No visiting the masjid. No breaking bread with friends and family. No tarawih. And there was also a huge amount of grief. We knew very little about Covid-19, except that it was claiming many, many lives. Later, official data confirmed what we were seeing on the ground – that people from minority ethnic communities were far more likely to become seriously ill and to lose their lives from the virus.