Ramadan Mubarak!

Tomorrow, September 1st, is the first day of Ramadan. Therefore, I wanted to share something with you some information that talks about this special month and the reasoning behind why it is so special and sacred to Muslims. InshAllah (God willing) I will do my best to continue posting throughout this month to share with you my experiences of being in a country where almost everyone is fasting and participating in this special month.


Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the Islamic moon calendar. It is very important because it is the month in which the glorious Quran was first sent down by Allah to the prophet Muhammad salallaho alayhi wasallam (peace and blessings be upon him). During Ramadan, Muslims must fast. We don't eat or drink between dawn and sunset and we should be very careful to speak and behave in the right way. We learn many things from fasting during Ramadan. It is a time to increase our remebrance of Allah and remember the blessings which we have been given.

We learn how to be thankful for the good things we normally take for granted. After fasting all day we realize just how wonderful food and drink taste, so we thank Allah more sincerely for providing us with enough to eat and satisfy our thirst. Ramadan is a good form of training. There may come moments or times in life when things are not easy, and we have to carry on even though it is difficult. By fasting we learn to be patient with such times and to control ourselves and our bodies - this is called self discipline. During this holy month the prophet salallaho alayhi waslaam said: "the doors of Heaven are open and the doors of Hell closed and the devils are chained." This helps us see ourselves as we really are, not under the influence of unseen evil forces. We can watch and improve ourselves more especially by reading the Quran and going to the mosque to join in our taravee prayers.

In Ramadan there is a special night that is better than one thousand months, it is called Lalaytul Qadr, the night in which the Quran was first revealed, a night in which all our sins can be forgiven. Fasting is also important because it makes the rich equal to the poor. It gives them a chance to realize what life is like for the less fortunate, those who have little or no food. This helps them become more charitable and give generously of their wealth to the needy so that they too can enjoy and share the blessings of Allah, which are enough for all.


Tomorrow is also my first day of teaching, so please continue to check back to see how I am doing handling the eight boys! I posted some pictures of my classroom that I finally finishing setting up today so please take a look.