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akilanajmahI was telling my friend, "Friend! I am excited to see if I can make better use of my time this year during Ramadan."
I always figure that since I'm not constantly eating or exercising, I can focus on other things. Ideally? Allah. Not so ideally? Work that I am behind on.
I really haven't succeeded. I did cut out some time last weekend to just sit and read the Qu'ran, but since it is late summer and the timings of Isha and Fajr what they are, my need for sleep has trumped my nightly reading of the Revelation. I'd also hoped to memorize another Surah, but there's still time, inshAllah. I did manage to go to Masjid Belal and, inshAllah, I'm going to make it to the Muslim Foodies meetup. NEW THINGS! THEY ABOUND!! I have the feeling my next post may be about socializing. Le sigh.
Anywho!
The time I do have is in the morning since the rest of my schedule (my day jampacked with hearings, the house's need to be cleaned, the beasts' need for care) does not stop for the holy month.
In the morning, everything is still.
The streets are quiet if I take a walk and my email box has not yet been flooded with ads for sales or groupons. I can drink and eat and do whatever I have the mind to, appropriately. I pray without a rush, I eat without a rush.
What if you had no food to start it?
Eating suhur reminds me to take a little of everything that I've been given in small amounts to satisfy myself. No overindulgence (although sometimes I go a little too hard on the agua) or you'll be wrecked for the day and you risk breaking your fast by vomitting up all the stuff your body wasn't ready for. If I eat too little, I'll be wrecked for the day, cranky, unable to focus and headachey.
The middle way, as the Prophet, SAW, always said, is the best.
My suhur usually consists of a whole grain cereal, fruit, toast and peanut butter. And about 30-40 ounces of water. Dawn is getting on toward 6AM, but I'm still up around four to get the water in over a bit of time. Sometimes, I have a cookie.
But that's it. And I've stopped trying to put half of my calories into the suhur-- I don't need that much. And that's the other thing about Ramadan. It really puts into focus what you don't really need and what you do need.
I hope Allah blesses me to recall these things after the fasting is over.
Bismillah
Alhamdullilah
wa salat wa salaam ala RasoolAllah.
Ameen
So, I may stop taking these photos after I've come back from my morning walk. I'm always wearing an unusual sheen of sweat and marine layer humidity. And yes, in all of these photos I'm wearing my trusty denim jacket. It is Seattle, it is August. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
Taken at work.
The scarf on top is new and I wore it today. I'll have to write about the woman who sold it to me yesterday.
The middle scarf was on clearance at Lane Bryant. I got lots of compliments on it.
The final scarf is from Wednesday. I am a little adverse to bright colors and when my assistant saw me her eyes widened. I was also wearing a bright pink shirt under my black sweater. When I asked her about her expression she said she really liked it... so yeah. This scarf was thrifted.
I always figure that since I'm not constantly eating or exercising, I can focus on other things. Ideally? Allah. Not so ideally? Work that I am behind on.
I really haven't succeeded. I did cut out some time last weekend to just sit and read the Qu'ran, but since it is late summer and the timings of Isha and Fajr what they are, my need for sleep has trumped my nightly reading of the Revelation. I'd also hoped to memorize another Surah, but there's still time, inshAllah. I did manage to go to Masjid Belal and, inshAllah, I'm going to make it to the Muslim Foodies meetup. NEW THINGS! THEY ABOUND!! I have the feeling my next post may be about socializing. Le sigh.
Anywho!
The time I do have is in the morning since the rest of my schedule (my day jampacked with hearings, the house's need to be cleaned, the beasts' need for care) does not stop for the holy month.
In the morning, everything is still.
The streets are quiet if I take a walk and my email box has not yet been flooded with ads for sales or groupons. I can drink and eat and do whatever I have the mind to, appropriately. I pray without a rush, I eat without a rush.
“Eat Suhur for there is a blessing in it.”
(Bukhari 1923, Sum Muslim 580)
There is really. Suhur forces me to think about what will sustain me through the day. It forces me to consider the uncountable blessings I have from God and that He sustains me in all things. Someone posed the question earlier this week: What would it be like if you had no food to break your fast?What if you had no food to start it?
Eating suhur reminds me to take a little of everything that I've been given in small amounts to satisfy myself. No overindulgence (although sometimes I go a little too hard on the agua) or you'll be wrecked for the day and you risk breaking your fast by vomitting up all the stuff your body wasn't ready for. If I eat too little, I'll be wrecked for the day, cranky, unable to focus and headachey.
The middle way, as the Prophet, SAW, always said, is the best.
My suhur usually consists of a whole grain cereal, fruit, toast and peanut butter. And about 30-40 ounces of water. Dawn is getting on toward 6AM, but I'm still up around four to get the water in over a bit of time. Sometimes, I have a cookie.
But that's it. And I've stopped trying to put half of my calories into the suhur-- I don't need that much. And that's the other thing about Ramadan. It really puts into focus what you don't really need and what you do need.
I hope Allah blesses me to recall these things after the fasting is over.
Bismillah
Alhamdullilah
wa salat wa salaam ala RasoolAllah.
Ameen
So, I may stop taking these photos after I've come back from my morning walk. I'm always wearing an unusual sheen of sweat and marine layer humidity. And yes, in all of these photos I'm wearing my trusty denim jacket. It is Seattle, it is August. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
Taken at work.
The scarf on top is new and I wore it today. I'll have to write about the woman who sold it to me yesterday.
The middle scarf was on clearance at Lane Bryant. I got lots of compliments on it.
The final scarf is from Wednesday. I am a little adverse to bright colors and when my assistant saw me her eyes widened. I was also wearing a bright pink shirt under my black sweater. When I asked her about her expression she said she really liked it... so yeah. This scarf was thrifted.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-13 08:51 pm (UTC)