Fasting Sucks All - Day 5

In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ Peace be with you السلام عليكم

(Read the full post on Muslims In England.com)

• Islam City, for looking at their reference in Quran.-


• And here is the popular group recitation for memorising again, if you want a help.

And then, during the day I managed to complete my Mughal gown. What's that you ask. Well, I for some unknown reason am 'diggin' the Mughal era right now. I studied them at college, have Mughal ancestors and have watched and read their history, empire and frivolous decline in awe. The Mughals were of African origin and weren't called Mughals until they migrated to the subcontinent, had a succession of fabulously femininely dressed emperors and did things like try to spread Islam, get hooked on Indian culture, start dancing and falling in love with the wrong women. And so they ended; the last emperor was Bahadur Zafar Shah the Second. Awesome name.

So I was saying, I'm designing this Mughal gown out of a gorgeous green paisley Jacquard weave fabric. I completed it today and attempted to cut out a template from the fabric. First attempt: Laying down on the fabric and using chalk to draw around myself... That didn't work. Second attempt: Getting someone else to draw around my pixie body. Also failed. Third attempt: using a tape measure to obtain the correct anatomic measurements and then draw them out on the fabric. That came out scribbly too. Bleh, I gave up. I'll do it tomorrow. Insha'Allah!

Oh, I bought a Mughal ring too, a ruby red mega ring the size of a meteorite. I've been practising my Mughal Hindi lines of 'Hat jao meray raste se! Hum hain aap ki Mahrani aur aap, humaray ghulam! Jaldi se kaam kar lo varna hum naraz ho jain'ge!' Translated: Move outta'the way! I'm your Queen and you are my slave! Do the work quick or I'ma get really, really mad. I can't wait to use it on people who dislike me.

Fasting is difficult. Fasting sucks out energy. Allahu'Akbar... I've had that thought in my head all day too and I know it's pretty awful but -shrug- I'm human.

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I had two heart wrenching conversations today, with a middle aged muslim and a young teenager, both converts. They both had the same "fasting is a challenge" facial expression on. There's an image in our heads of Iman High Muslims always on Righteous Clouds and in Sufi Sonic states of mind. That doesn't exist anywhere. It's an aspiration and insha'Allah sometime we get that 'high' but it isn't realistic. I'm going to ask you again to take the time to meet and greet people like you would want to be met if you were brain affected like me. Encourage each other regularly to smile, 'suck it in' and take all situations with a pinch of garam masala. Don't just say 'Ramadan creams' and walk away, really sit with people and ask them how they're coping, what they're aims are, if they are struggling at all and what they need soon.

It's a humble act of charity and once it begins and flowers, it spreads like light as then they will go onto use that motivational energy to help others. We cannot save lives, sponsor orphans (I'm doing that soon insha'Allah) and feed the needy if the sister and brother sat next to you feels like a crockload of fakery too.

Another thing I wanted to share with fasting folks is the Quran links I use online for reciting and memorising. These are my top three:

• Quran explorer I really love this. I can recite just like the Qari now. Pretty pleased, alhamdulilah.


• Quranic Realm, has different translations and optional listening.



• Multi-ingual Quran, in Dutch, Spanish, Indonesian and Japanese!

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Besides that, my Muslim community is racing one another to complete the Quran first. That's great! Alhamdulillah, do that everyday for the rest of your lives! But do you have even an inkling of what you're reciting? None-what-so-frikkin'-ever. Forgive me, every single time I suggest we pick up a translation of the Quran, read the tafsir (interpretation) or discuss and analyse the Quran, a fatwah is hailed against me and oh-what is that? "weee-wooo-wee-wooo-wee-wooo" The biddah police appear. -sigh-

For this ramadan, make it an aim to read the Quran for not just its thawaab, its value. Read it so you understand what Allah is saying to you. He made the effort to reveal and share His words. Now I request each one of us to make the effort to find that book and listen to it. Implement its words, question them, look at the history behind each revealed chapter.

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I'm out now. I need to 'wake up' for suhoor in 30s and start living all over again. I wish my brain had a reboot button or a sleep mode.

Zaufishan ★ sleepy eyed and hungry for more
By: The Misanthrope

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Peace & respect ★

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