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However, this celebration should not make us forget the true purpose of Ramadan. We must remain attentive on the final objective — to please God and become a better version of ourselves than we were at the start of the month. We are not commemorating the birth anniversary of a person or the anniversary of a victory in war. We have just completed a Divine command to purify our soul of collected sins. Experience the sense of relief and satisfaction, feel the joy! We have abstained and restrained in compliance with the command of our Creator not only in external forms but also in attitude and behaviour as well.
When the resplendent and blessed days of Ramadan are over, we should not quit all our great experiences during the month. We do study more Qur’an, do more zikr and charity but this needs to carry on throughout the year. The only thing that does not continue would be fasting for the next 11 months unless it is for missed fasts or atonement of sins. We can keep in mind the hunger and thirst we felt when we voluntarily gave up food and water. Now we should make sure that the needy do not get deprived of these essential necessities. Here lies the spirit of Ramadan—of fasting and submitting ourselves to the will and commands of Almighty God.
All of us will return to our daily routine and activities. Does fasting in one full Ramadan month reflect our behaviour? Are our good works of generosity, patience, well-controlled conduct also over? The large-heartedness, calmness and other merits performed during Ramadan should not be suspended as Ramadan ends. It helps us to do more good deeds. In essence, Ramadan is like a renaissance for us to maintain a better and more meaningful life, for ourselves as well as others. We are trained and taught to be upright and well-behaved not only during that month but also for the rest of the year.
We need to be aware of the troubles and hardships of the underprivileged. The purpose of fasting is to feel the dilemma and plight of the poor. We go without food from dawn to sunset during just one month of Ramadan; for some it is a daily routine.
We end up accumulating many sins 24/7 while encountering the daily fluctuations of life. We may be insolent or delve into verbal arguments with our parents, family and others, telling little white lies here and there, backbiting, vain talk and so many more sins. To make mistakes is human nature. Ramadan is a month to forgive and forget grudges. Here is a massive opportunity to atone for all those sins by repenting to God. Take it a step further, even after Ramadan, apologise to all those you may have hurt consciously or otherwise.
The love of God will come naturally in our hearts when we realise how much He has blessed us with. The fact we see and hear is truly a blessing of God — that He has blessed us with eyes to see, ears to hear and a mind that can comprehend. So be it social, educational or financial — we are doing far better than so many people in our society. Isn’t this enough for us to be thankful to Him?
One of the ways to be grateful for the blessings we have is to pass it on and help others.
There are many families around who are roofless and sleep on the pavement. There are others who have to skip meals and drink unclean water. There are parents who deprive themselves just to nourish their kids. There are children who lack adequate clothes. There are the sick who do not have money for treatment and medication. All these are the unfortunate ones who need our help around the year. There are so many charitable organisations which are working unstintingly for the welfare of our people. You can either donate to those or find needy individuals.
To feel the true essence of Ramadan, we must ensure that we retain all the good habits we acquired during Ramadan and put them into practice for the rest of the year. Patience and tolerance should be instilled in us thoroughly.
When Ramadan is over, use the lessons learnt—the lessons of serenity by not yielding to our instincts when fasting. We can use the same resolve to control ourselves from getting angry, being rude, overindulging and not adhering to all the rules that God (and our parents) have set for us. This will not be so hard if we tap into our will-power that we used with such success. It is all in our mind; if we tweak it to only do good and stay sincere for one month, it will remain so. Why don’t we inspire ourselves that we will be that way the rest of the year too? The format of kindness and good acts that we followed during Ramadan should not change, it should continue so that we become better humans and the world a better place for everyone to live in peace and security.
Is the red traffic light just refusing to change? Instead of cursing, be patient, wait a few more seconds and drive only when it turns green. If you are tempted to lie to your teacher about why you did not complete your homework, just remind yourself that lying is disgraceful and that one lie will lead to many more.
We can start with little gestures of kindness. Make someone’s day better by giving them a nice compliment. Just smile — even smiling is an act of charity. If you spot something on the road or pavement which could pose a potential hazard and you remove it, that is your good deed.
So what happens after Ramadan? If you want to know if your Ramadan has been accepted, look to see how your actions are after Ramadan. God showed us that for an entire month we were better submitters, and we have the capability to augment this. The objective is to be able to implement most of these good habits we picked up in Ramadan to carry on even after.
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