The Great British Ramadan

Yumm

One of the greatest achievements that Islam has had is the ability to adapt to and co-exist in communities that traditionally are not Islamic. The early companions of the Prophet (saw) never imposed a new culture into a community but would bring in the beautiful aspects of Islam and live alongside the cultures they found. Now we are not talking about things that compromise the commandments of the Almighty but about becoming active members of the community we live in, showing that Islam is a way of life that is not difficult or a burden on people but beautiful and flourishing.

The same is true today – we are young British Muslims who have an identity of being British and yet hold dearly our beliefs – nothing can show this more so then the blessed month of Ramadan. As the moon is sighted to signify the beginning of Ramadan, our attitudes change and we make more of an effort to concentrate on our spirituality while continuing to get on with our normal British lives; we must go to work and yet we must try and get the most and best out of this month and we can do this like the companions who migrated to cities far from their original homes.

Working in an office, one of the first things we do is grab for that cup of tea, and is general courtesy to offer a round of tea making to our friends and colleagues but now for one month we as Muslims aren’t drinking that morning cup of tea – so what to do? Maybe you just explain to your work friends that you are fasting and explain to them why you fast or maybe you still offer to make the teas; from experience the generosity of Islam truly shows when you are fasting and you still offer to get the tea rounds for your colleagues instead of not going for an entire month.

A lot of the times I am asked how do you manage to fast and I tell people it isn’t as difficult as they think. A good idea would be to challenge them to fast with you for a day so they can understand the concept better and then you have a Iftar (ending of the fast) together to celebrate the achievement; what a great opportunity to invite non-Muslims to our homes to interact with Iftar and observe our prayers and family lives. Imagine the impact you can have on people who will better understand what it is like to observe Ramadan and how blessed this month is to us all.

Ramadan is a great chance for us to seek forgiveness from Allah and get the most from our time by being in prayer and reading from the book of Allah. Maybe our obligations like work mean that we cannot spend all our time in the masjid (mosque) as we would like to in Ramadan but we can still demonstrate the beauty of what it is to be a Muslim to our friends, work colleagues and neighbours.

Ramadan Mubarak to you all; I pray Allah gives you the best from this month and every month after for as long you live. Ameen.