A couple of years ago, we had reached the half-way point of Ramadan and due to having young kids and a generally busy schedule, I felt like I was missing out on the blessings of the month.
Sure, I was doing the regular stuff: fasting during the day and a bit more prayer at night, but nothing spectacular.
One day as I was driving somewhere on an errand for the family and, hoping for a boost of inspiration, I let the often helpful but always insidious Youtube algorithm do its thing and suggest a good video for me.
And boy did it deliver.
A video had been released literally a minute earlier with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf being interviewed by 3 young British Asian (apparently madrassa-trained) young men. It was one of the best interviews with him that I’ve ever seen, because there was mutual respect among them.
It was as if the newly-trained young scholars were saying: okay, we did the study, know let us in on the secrets you’ve gained from your decades of real-world experience.
Naturally, the topic turned to Ramadan and one of the young men specifically asked Shaykh Hamza about his schedule.
And that’s when he dropped the zinger.
He said that in his experience, the greatest scholars he knew didn’t change their routines and rituals during Ramadan. They kept their spiritual rituals and training completely consistent throughout the year.
He went on to say that after returning to the USA, he could look at the clock and with a quick calculation, he would know EXACTLY what his teacher, Murabit al-Hajj, would be doing at that moment. After years of living with him, his rituals and daily activities were completely regulated and fine-tuned… and they never changed.
When the young men pushed the Shaykh on his personal rituals, he kept it vague but he went on to say that he didn’t have any ‘special’ rituals or routines for Ramadan. He keeps his schedule the same, with the exception of tarawih prayers.
I don’t know what it was about that conversation (if I find it somewhere again on Youtube, I’ll post it on my blog, with this article), but 2 things immediately occurred to me:
#1: Although he didn’t say it, in all likelihood, that means that the real Shayukh ALWAYS do tahajjud and recite a juz the of the Quran EVERY day. (Pretty obvious, but also mind-blowing when you reflect on it).
#2: It’s not too late!
The goal of Ramadan, according to the Quran is to increase your taqwa (level of consciousness). And although that can’t be measured externally, you certainly can measure your spiritual rituals, and gently increase them at will.
So, instead of thinking about whether you’re hitting your Ramadan goals (or beating yourself up for not being half way through them right now), look at it this way:
What’s ONE decision you could make about a spiritual improvement that would have a dramatically positive effect on the rest of your life, if you were to maintain it beyond Ramadan?
My decision back then was to take a bad habit and make a sincere intention to eliminate it. I set a 40-day goal, renewed the intention every day, and for the first time in my life, I completely smashed it. I didn’t return to the bad habit at all for several months, by the grace of God.
It did sneak back in a long time later, but it was no longer a habit, just a one-off mistake. The nafs (ego) is kind of like The Terminator. Very hard to kill… and it just keeps coming after you. Thankfully, this particular bad habit is now like the Terminator at the end of the movie with only the head and arm inching towards me. And I’m pretty sure this Ramadan I’ll crush its skull. Insha’Allah.
Anyway, if you want to save this Ramadan and make it one that completely turns your life around, even though we’re already half way through, then here’s a decision your future self will likely thank you for.
I’ve created a suite of programs for anyone that wants to make a big change during Ramadan that will likely last for many years to come.
It includes:
- The Conscious Ramadan Workshop – how to get the highest possible benefit from your fasting and prayers for the rest of this month and tangibly increase your taqwa (consciousness)
- Instant Ihsan: The Spiritual Transformation Program designed to fill your mind with insights that give you the power to master your nafs
- Quran For Busy People – the 10-step Quran plan that guides anyone (completely beginner to advanced students) through the unique Quran skills that enable you to to be transformed or ‘coached’ by the Quran each time you open it
- The Ramadan Body Challenge – the simple plan to follow if you want each fasting day to result in considerable, continuous fat-loss for the rest of this month… without increasing the difficulty of the fast (you’re already doing all the hard work – might as well get lean and ripped in the process!)
For a very limited time, you can get access to every for a massive Ramadan-Only discount.
Unfortunately, as soon as Shaytan returns, my generosity goes out the window, and the cost of these programs goes way up, back to normal.
Here’s where to get the good stuff:
P.S. I found the video… and it turns out the cool young men are American, not Brits:
