Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, in which Muslims fast. This month is divided into three sections each composing of 10 days. You may also hear these three sections being referred to as “Ashra” which simply means 10 in Arabic. Each of these stages have their own speciality, virtues and supplications.
We have just entered our first 10 days of Ramadan and this stage is for attaining mercy from Allah SWT.
However, not only should we ask Allah SWT for mercy but, we should also also show mercy to others. Some of the ways this can be done is by giving charity, feeding the hungry, donating clothes, sheltering the homeless and even controlling your temper.
When one is fasting, especially a few hours before iftar, we can get agitated or easily annoyed.
But, these are the situations in which we should show more mercy than usual.
When we break fast in the masjid, or with the family their may be times when others annoy us through their own agitation. However, this is where were we can practice being patient with people and this is where we learn self-control.
And that is the exact challenge of Ramadan: self-control.
If we really look at Ramadan as a whole we can see that everything about Ramadan centers around self-control.
Self-control of desires, self-control of hunger and thirst, self-control of emotional reactions. But the self-control and the self-awareness that comes from that is not limited to just Ramadan. We can make Ramadan our practice month so that by the time Eid-ul-Fitr rolls around, we are pillars of mercy for our communities.
Yes it’s hard. But we can start with the easier steps first.
For example, charity is an important aspect of Islam.
When a person is charitable they are willing to help others with what Allah SWT has provided for them.
Anger management may be very difficult for a lot of us and sometimes we might not even realize that we’re angry or how angry we are. This is why fasting during Ramadan can help us deeply analyze ourselves and recollect, to understand ourselves internally and figure out how we can become better.
And these are just a few examples of mercy that every person can act on to help show mercy to others during the holy month of Ramadan, the list can go on and on – what are some ways you can show mercy during Ramadan?
By Hina Mohiuddin
