60 days till ramadan (more or less)
at any given point of the year, muslims look forward to the arrival of ramadan and with just sixty days to go, the blessed month is truly fast approaching. however, these last 3 years have been unlike any other that any of us is old enough to remember. we’ve gone in and out of multiple quarantine and stay-at-home orders, some of us have lost our jobs, and others have unfortunately lost loved ones. in some way or another, we are all grappling with the struggles this global pandemic has wreaked upon our lives. in march 2020, muslims from around the world helplessly watched the heartbreaking scene as the masajid locked their doors, the kabah was barricaded, and janazahs were buried without ghusl. these past few years have been quite different than any other, in the most tragic of ways.
but our community is strong and resilient. as people lost their jobs and struggled to put food on the table for their families, the generosity of our brothers and sisters poured forward in an undeniable way. so many put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of their muslim brother and for the good of the community, from doctors and nurses in overrun hospitals to the volunteers that washed bodies and prayed janazah when we were plagued by the uncertainty of how exactly this deadly virus spreads. this spirit of sacrifice for the betterment of others is truly the light of the muslim community that shines through the darkest of times.
and even though we spent that ramadan at home, praying taraweeh alone, distancing our hearts as we refrained from hugging or shaking hands, ramadan did not lose its spiritual significance. yes, we missed being able to pray in jama’ah, to attend lectures and meet our brothers and sisters, but that ramadan proved something even more important. despite the fact that the masjid was closed and we prayed alone, we still worshipped Allah ﷻ. we still tried our best to please Him ﷻ. we still worked our hardest to make the most of our ramadan and multiply our rewards. this is proof that Allah ﷻ is not in the masjid, not even the kabah, but truly وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ .
and that’s what we should take with us into this ramadan season. as the masajid are, alhamdulillah, finally open in full capacity again and the haramain are welcoming more visitors than ever before, we must summon the same fear of the unknown and hope for a brighter tomorrow that we held through these dark years. for indeed, we should fear that which will become of us after death but remain hopeful of Allah fulfilling our duas to become closer to him that ever before. Allah is wherever you look for Him ﷻ, so begin your journey back to the Creator today.
