Great article in the Crimson

As Ramadan Ends, Muslim Students Reflect on Religion
By Nadia L. Farjood, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Monday, August 29, 2011

For the past four weeks, Rashid M. Yasin ’12 has folded back his covers around 4:15 a.m., rising to make a meal comprised of protein, grain and dairy, which he washes down with plenty of water to sustain him throughout the day. He then heads to a faucet to do wudu, the Islamic procedure for purifying oneself in preparation for prayer. Once he has washed his hands, face, mouth, arms and feet, Yasin performs the first of five daily prayers. He praises God and asks for forgiveness, concluding his prayer with personal supplication.

“I tend to pray for guidance and forgiveness and success in this life and the next,” Yasin says. “I pray to be able to incorporate consciousness of God and His will in all I do.”

Yasin’s morning ritual ends when he slips back under his covers again, still in the dark. After suhoor, his early meal, he will not break his fast for approximately 15 hours, going without food or drink from sunrise to sunset.

Yasin, the president of the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS), is observing Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting that ends Monday. This year he is doing so in Cambridge, but this is not the case for many Harvard students. Ramadan’s date is determined by the lunar calendar, and this year, the month does not overlap with the academic year as it has in the past. So Muslim Harvard students are showing their devotion to their faith all over the world, from Minnesota to South Korea, Senegal to Palestine.

ROUTINES AND RITUALS

Although Fatoumata B. Fall ’14 started the summer in her home nation of Senegal, she plunged into Ramadan in Seoul, South Korea, as a student in Harvard’s six-week summer school program at Ewha Womans University. She maintained her fast through studies and a two-week internship with an international development institute.

During what she considers a blessed month, Fall alters her daily schedule to practice her faith. Rising early, she prays five times throughout the day and reads the Quran after work. When dusk descends, she prepares for iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast. Following her fill, she prays, meets with friends, and spends time on the Internet until she sleeps “after the morning.”

“Let’s just say there is lots of sleeping in on the weekend,” quips Nima Y. Hassan ’14, a Somali-American who is observing Ramadan in Ham Lake, Minnesota.

Like Hassan, Lena K. Awwad ’13, who observed Ramadan in Palestine this summer, also awakens to eat and pray before the sun rises.

For each student, pangs of hunger are a reality throughout the day. Awwad combats her cravings by avoiding salty foods and consuming enough water to “keep awake.” She fills her day with prayers until she breaks her fast with dates and cup of milk or water, which, she explains, was “how the Prophet used to do it.”

THE MONTH AND ITS MINDFULNESS

For Hassan, Ramadan is a dedicated time for believers to focus on getting closer to God. With constant demands on her time and the overwhelming presence of the Internet, she says it can be difficult to find the space and time to thank and praise God.

“We spend a lot of our time wired and moving onto the next activity,” Hassan says. “But in Ramadan, there’s a mindfulness that’s encouraged and expected of you which you don’t really make the time for otherwise. Ramadan is not just quieting the noise, but doing so with a purpose to hear God.”

Aside from being a religious and family-oriented month, Ramadan provides space for people to learn tolerance, Awwad says. She considers prayer on an empty stomach during Ramadan to be more reflective than prayer at any other time throughout the year.

“While fasting from sun-up to sun-down, it is important not to waste the day or the opportunity to get closer to your religion and the people around you,” Awwad says. “You see life as more than just in between the meals.”

Fall says that the most meaningful aspect of Ramadan to her is constantly evolving.

“We are young people and I’m restless. When Ramadan comes around I find a more peaceful side of myself,” Fall says. “As I grow, I enjoy getting more time and opportunity to practice my religion during Ramadan. This year, for instance, I did not devote a lot of time to my religion and spirituality with all the work at Harvard.”

HARVARD'S TRADITIONS

Yasin was raised in Scituate, Mass., 20 miles south of Boston, a community where he knows no other Muslims. Raised by a Bangladeshi father and a white mother who converted to Islam, Yasin attributes his view of his faith as diverse—“not only comprised of Arabs or South Asians”—to his mixed background. While he expected to find diversity in the Harvard Islamic Society, he was unsure of what it would entail with respect to people’s practices.

“When I got to college, I would see the different cultural traditions that Arabs have and Caucasians have. It’s partially religious, partially cultural,” Yasin says. “I was oblivious to different trends and interpretations. I had an individualized non-communal background.”

Yasin says community-building happens most during Ramadan, the biggest event on the HIS calendar. Historically, the organization has celebrated the holy month with catered iftars daily in Ticknor Lounge, drawing more than 80 graduate and undergraduate students.

With fewer people in Cambridge this summer, the group held three iftars per week, but the society continued to draw a consistent group of people Yasin calls his “brothers and sisters.”

“As part of the only Muslim family in my town growing up in suburban Massachusetts, I missed having a strong Muslim community outside of my nuclear family and so I have really embraced HIS since coming to Harvard,” says Yasin.

Awwad fondly recalls Ramadan with HIS as the “perfect introduction” to the College, especially as a first-year international student searching for a niche. As classes began, the society co-sponsored interfaith dinners and dialogues with student groups. Dinners served as a forum to meet Muslims and non-Muslims, while sharing the traditions of Ramadan.

“We even held iftars with faculty and had the chance to meet people from different religions,” Awwad says. “The events helped me connect to home. HIS was helpful in ways I didn’t imagine.”

SPACES AND SPIRITUALITY

Shortly after Hassan was born in Saudi Arabia, her family bounced to the U.S. Midwest, ultimately landing in Minnesota. She moved to Ham Lake, where she practiced Ramadan this summer. While she says there a sizable Muslim community concentrated in the Twin Cities, her town lacks a Muslim presence.

“There are Muslim communities within reach, but where we live there are few Muslims and people of color generally,” Hassan says.

Growing up in Fridley, Minn., in a community of largely first- and second-generation immigrants, Hassan recalls fasting with five other students in her grade. The school provided accommodations for observing students in a separate room.

“We didn't want to go to lunchroom and watch everyone eat. Over 30 days, we grew close,” Hassan says.

Despite appreciating the individual attention accorded to her by the school administration, Hassan says there is a disconnect between the West and Muslim societies where most people fast.

By contrast, Fall has celebrated Ramadan in a Muslim-majority country, Senegal, where she was born. Despite hot and dry temperatures that mark Ramadan, inducing thirst early in the day, she says the Muslim community is strong. Radios announce the time for iftar, community prayers are held drawing hundreds, and skits are performed in honor of Eid, the Muslim holiday following the final day of Ramadan.

“Ninety-four percent of my country is Muslim so Ramadan is not just a small group celebrating their special holiday,” Fall says. “In Cambridge I felt more in an isolated world. In Senegal, after iftar we have community prayer. Everyone, I mean everyone, goes. Houses are empty.”

Observing Ramadan in South Korea this summer proved even more isolating. Instead of praying with a large community and family, she often led prayers alone.

“I can count the Muslims who live here,” Fall says, who noted Seoul has a community of predominantly Buddhists, Christians, and Agnostics. Her friend observed her pray once, she says, and noted it was the first time she had seen a Muslim pray.

REFLECTIONS ON HUNGER

For Hassan, fasting has taken on special significance in light of the drought in the Horn of Africa, which has struck her parents' native Somalia, leaving millions with limited access to food or water.

“Somalia is a place where droughts happen with frequency, but this is unprecedented,” Hassan says. “When there’s so much hunger we need to be even more dedicated to our fast during Ramadan to be even more cognizant of what it’s like for many people around the world and act accordingly.”

But Hassan mentioned that some malnourished may continue to fast. She draws a distinction between her observance, which includes minimal physical activity during the day, and that of people who continue strenuous activity—such as working in the fields—while experiencing hunger.

“Building empathy through actual experience for people who go hungry is a beautiful thing about Ramadan,” Hassan says. “Whether you’re a king or a poor person, you observe the same. Having felt that, it’s a lot easier to imagine what it’s like for someone else to understand hunger and thirst.”

Hassan says that this empathy inspires charitable acts, making Ramadan known as a month of giving. Yasin connects empathy to spirituality, explaining that Ramadan provokes God-consciousness whereby he is reminded of his faith when he feels affected by the fast. He calls fasting “a spiritual refocusing” which facilitates remembrance of the interconnectedness of God in his life.

But hunger is only part of the experience of Ramadan. Iftar—breaking the fast—remains an important element. In Hassan’s family, it includes preparation of almost two hours, after which relatives gather for a countdown as the sun sets.

“We say ‘Three minutes! Two minutes! Time to eat!” she says.

While meals vary, one of Hassan’s favorites includes a rare Somali food, which resembles a donut, accompanied with a mango watermelon salad. The table is set with a cucumber and tomato salad, dates and milk.

“It’s pretty colorful, and I’m pretty thankful,” Hassan says.

FINISHING THE HOLIDAY

For Fall, last year’s Eid—her first in the United States—was strange. In the early morning of the day after Ramadan’s end, she gathered with other students in Roxbury to pray.

“After that I came back and went to class,” Fall says. “This was shocking, because all my life I had Eid as a holiday.”

On Eid this year, Yasin will go to prayers, accompanied with his friends from HIS, but he plans to skip out on the first day of classes. He will visit his family and celebrate in a week or two with HIS members again in the evening for an Eid banquet.

“For Eid, I’ll be home with my family,” says Fall. But after spending half the holiday in her home, she will spend the other half on a plane, coming back to Harvard.

In light of multiple reports of the sighting (ru'yah) of the crescent moon of Shawwal overseas and in N America, as well as the announcement to be released shortly from the New England Imams' Council, the Harvard and MIT Muslim communities recognize tonight/tomorrow as Shawwal 1, 1430 i.e. `Id al-Fitr (The Feast of the Fast-Breaking). Taqabbala llahu minna ajma`in. May Allah accept from all of us!

Suheil Laher and Taha Abdul-Basser
Muslim Chaplains at MIT & Muslim Chaplain @ Harvard (respectively)

Al-hamdu li-llah, as promised, a more robust Harvard Islamic Society Ramadan Program (including communal fast breaking [iftarat] and performance of salat al-tarawih at the Harvard Prayer Space) will begin on Mon 8/31. Please consult the HIS website for more details.

In sha'Allah, there will be salat al-tarawih starting tonight, Tuesday 8/25 @ the prayer space. Salat al-`Isha will start @ 9pm and Salat al-Tarawih will begin @ 9:15pm.

In light of the numerous reports of the sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan (including in N America) that have come to our attention and as per the decision of the New England Imams' Council, in sha'Allah, we will be gathering to pray salat al-`isha and then salata al-tarawih in the Harvard Prayer Space (Canaday E Basement) in 30 min.

May Allah accept our fast, prayers and other good deeds during this blessed month!

As-salam `alaykum wa-rahmatullah

The Imams' Council of the Islamic Council of New England has once again decided this year, by a majority vote, to continue to use moonsighting to determine the start and end of Ramadan. We advise and encourage members of the community to follow this decision, by way of following this local leadership body in an opinion that reflects the view of the majority of contemporary and classical Muslim jurists. Insha'Allah, a Council decision on the start of Ramadan should be announced by Friday night.

We are aware that a few mosques/Islamic centers in the Greater Boston area have chosen to follow pure calculations, a minority juristic view which has been adopted by ISNA since last year. It is possible that different methodologies will coincide on start and end dates for fasting. In any case, we caution against making these disagreements a cause for barren argumentation (such as that which led to the knowledge of Laylat al-Qadr being lifted up), stereotyping or questioning of the intentions of those involved. Let us instead focus our energies on reaping the spiritual fruits of Ramadan.

Wa s-salam
Suheil Laher and Taha Abdul-Basser
Muslim Chaplains at MIT & Muslim Chaplain @ Harvard (respectively)

"Reaching for Low Hanging Fruit: Preparing for the Blessed Month of Ramadan" (nasa'ih/qa`z). Islamic Ctr of New England. Sharon, MA. Fri Evening. after Salat al-Maghrib)

The following are some notes that a sister, Maria Khan, wrote up on the Pre-Ramadan workshop I have been doing at Harvard for the last 5 years or so. Last year, Shaykh Suheil Laher and I did a combined session for the Harvard Islamic Society and MIT MSA. May Allah reward the sister and benefit people with it.
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Notes on the Harvard Ramadan Intensive
Maria Khan
Fall 2007

Instructors: Shaykh Suheil Laher (MIT Muslim Chaplin) and Ustādh Taha Abdul-Basser (Harvard Islamic Society Muslim Chaplin)
Where: Harvard Islamic Society Prayer Space, Harvard Yard
When: September 2007

Introduction

Ramadan is one of the practices upon which Islam is built. It is obligatory (wājib) for all ethically responsible (mukallaf) Muslims to seek and obtain a basic understanding of the key formal aspects of the Ramadan fast, so that they can perform a valid Ramadan fast and achieve the spiritual benefit associated with fasting the month. True spirituality is associated with belief and practice; it is only through sound belief and acceptable practice that one can heighten one’s spiritual attainment; hence the need for a solid understanding of the formal aspects of Ramadan fast.

Imam Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazali’s (d. 505/1111) spoke of three levels of fasting: 1) Common level fasting: which is to abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse; 2) elite level fasting: which is to abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse and to abstain from sinning with tongue, heart and the other faculties and limbs and 3) “elite of the elite” level fasting: which is to disengage one’s heart-mind (qalb) from all thoughts that do not bring one closer to Allah.

0. Repentance (Tawbah)
0.1 Three Components
0.1.1 Regret
0.1.2 Discontinuation of the sin
0.1.3 Resloution to never to do it again
0.1.4 Restitution, when the sin is against another person
1. Basic Terms
1.1 Ḥukm (plural aḥkām) is an ethico-legal value (e.g. obligatory, commendable, neutral, offensive and impermissible).
1.2 The Shar'ia (Islamic sacred ethics and law) is made up of aḥkam.
1.3 Fiqh is a deep understanding of ethico-legal values of human acts based on indicants (i.e. evidence) from the Qur'an and Prophetic Custom (Sunnah); Fiqh is knowledge of what is permissible (halāl) and impermissible (harām). Fiqh is “discovering” the ethico-legal values of the Sharī`a.
1.4 Sawm means “abstaining” in the Arabic language in general. In fiqh sawm = abstaining from food, drink, etc from true dawn to sunset as an act of devotion for Allah.
1.5 Fard 'ayn = personal obligation
1.5.1 As opposed to communal obligation (farḍ kifāya)
2. Fiqh of Fasting
2.1 Performing the Ramadan fast is a personal obligation (fard 'ayn) for each ethically responsible Muslim who does not have a shari`a-recognized exemption
2.1.1 A child who becomes mature during the day must abstain from those things that invalidate a fast for the rest of the day.
2.1.2 An insane person who gains sanity during the day must abstain from those things that invalidate a fast for the rest of the day.
2.1.3 A person who becomes Muslim during the day must abstain from those things that invalidate a fast. A convert need not make up the missed fast.
2.1.4 Exemptions
2.1.4.1 Sickness: If fasting will aggravate the sickness, or delay the healing, of a person, that person does not have to fast. They must make up the days later when they are in good health.
2.1.4.1.1 Strenuous physical exercise, like working out or heavy labor is discouraged, as it weakens the body.
2.1.4.2 Travel: Traveling on a journey of 48 miles or more. If one feels as though there is no hardship in one's travel then one may fast. One must fast until one is actually traveling. A traveler must make up the missed fast.
2.1.4.2.1 A traveler who has returned home and is not fasting should abstain from those things that invalidated a fast (in public and private) until sunset.
2.1.4.3 Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Pregnant and nursing women are exempted from fasting if they fear for themselves or their children.
2.1.4.3.1 Hanafī school [madhhab (plural madhāhib)]: A pregnant or nursing woman can just make up the fasts.
2.1.4.3.2 Shāfi`i and Ḥanbalī schools: If the pregnant or nursing woman feared for her child's health (only) and not her own, then she must perform substitution (fidyah), i.e. feed a poor person every day for each day of fasting that she missed, in addition to making up the fasts.
2.1.4.4 Old Age: Very old people who are weak and will not regain their strength are exempt from fasting and must perform substitution (fidyah), i.e. feed a poor person for each day of fasting.
2.1.4.5 Menstruation: A woman who is menstruating is exempt from fasting and must make up the fasts she misses later.
2.1.4.5.1 A woman who is not fasting due to her menstrual cycle but who regains the ability to fast during the day must abstain (or should [Shāfi`i]) from those things that invalidate a fast.
2.2 Valid Fast
2.2.2 For a valid (ṣaḥīḥ) fast one must abstain from food, water and sexual intercourse from true dawn until sunset (maghrib).
2.2.2.1 Refraining from talking the entire day is prohibited.
2.2.3 Intention
2.2.3.1 One must make a separate intention (niyya) for each day of Ramadan that one is fasting. One makes the intention to fast during the night, before each day of fasting.
2.2.3.3 One is not required to vocalize the intention of fasting. One makes the intention one's heart.
2.2.4 Fasting Begins at True Dawn
2.2.4.1 Definition: If one observes the eastern horizon during the night (in optimal conditions which are not available in most cities) one sees two appearances of what could be called “the dawn.” The first dawn is “false dawn” (al-fajr al-kadhib); the second, which is more lateral in its spread is “true dawn” (al-fajr al-sadiq).
2.2.4.2 It is sunnah to stop eating a short while (10-15 min) before Fajr even though it is allowed to eat until the time.
2.2.4.2.1 In a hadith in Sahih Bukhari, Anas ibn Malik (the personal attendant of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) asking Zayd ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the Qur'an) how long the interval was between when the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) stopped eating and fajr. Zayd ibn Thabit's response was the amount of time that it took to recite fifty ayāt of the Qur'an.
2.2.4.2.2 Another lesson to be drawn from this hadith: The scribe of the Qur'an, Zayd ibn Thabit, was closer to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), during Ramadan than was his personal attendant, Anas ibn Malik. So we should read, contemplate, and keep in our memory the Qur'an as much as possible in Ramadan as it is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.
2.2.5 Fasting Ends at Sunset
2.1.5.1 Sunset is when the sun disappears below the horizon.
2.1.5.1.1 It is suggested to add 3 minutes to the calculated timings for sunset.
2.1.5.2 It is a Prophetic custom (sunna) to break the fast when the as soon as day has ended (i.e. as soon as the sun has set).
o It is impermissible to intentional refrain from eating during the night after a day of fast and then fast the next day.
2.3 Invalidating a Fast
2.3.1 There are three (3) ways to invalidate a fast indicated by the Qur'an
2.3.1.1 Eating
2.3.1.1.1 Eating something that is not normally eaten (e.g. pencils, dirt, pebbles) invalidates a fast.
2.3.1.2 Drinking
2.3.1.3 Engaging in sexual intercourse
2.3.1.3.1 Masturbation invalidates a fast.
2.3.1.3.2 A husband may kiss his wife as long as it does not lead to sexual intercourse or ejaculation. Note: Hanbalis and Maliki schools: Even the emission of pre-ejaculation fluid invalidates the fast (in case of kissing, masturbation or other physical contact). Hanbali and Maliki schools: Even pre-ejaculation fluid invalidates the fast (in case of kissing, masturbation or other foreplay physical contact).
2.3.2 Three ways to invalidate a fast indicated by aḥādith
2.3.2.1 Inducing vomiting
2.3.2.2 Inhaling something through the nose
2.3.2.3 Therapeutic blood-letting that weakens the patient
2.3.2.3.1 Note: according to the majority of scholars, invalidation by means of the third of these, i.e. therapeutic blood-letting, is abrogated.
2.3.3 Idle talk is discouraged.
2.3.4 Backbiting (ghība) reduces the value of one's fast.
2.4 Consequences of Invalidating the Fast
2.4.1 If one unknowingly invalidates one's fast by eating, drinking, engaging in sexual intercourse, etc.--i.e. if one breaks it out of genuine forgetfulness--then one’s fast is still valid. One need not make up that fast.But, it is obligatory to stop eating and drinking as soon one realize’s (i.e. remembers) and one must then continue fasting for the rest of the day (i.e. not eat, drink, etc. until sunset).
2.4.2 If one knowingly invalidates one's fast by engaging in sexual intercourse, then one must perform expiation (kaffārah), one must either:
2.4.2.1 Free a slave or
2.4.2.2 Fast for two months consecutively or
2.4.2.3 feed 60 poor people
2.4.3 If one knowingly invalidated one's fast by eating or drinking anything which provides nourishment or medical benefit, then the fast is invalidated without disagreement.
2.4.3.1 Hanafi school (but not the Shāfi`ī school): In addition, expiation (kaffārah) is required.
2.4.4 If one knowingly invalidates one's fast by any means other than those covered above (e.g. by eating sand or pebbles, or by masturbation) then the fast is invalidated, but expiation (kaffārah) is not required.

While a few first years and some other members of the community have been gathering in the Harvard Islamic Society Prayer Poom (Canady E) for salat al-isha' and salat al-tarawih, most of the students have yet to return to campus. Things should pick up this week.

Tomorrow at the Prayer Room (5;30-7pm) there will be a Chaplain Open House, in sha'Allah. First-years and others interested in the Islamic Society should feel free to stop by.

Stay tuned.

I missed the New England Imams' Council meeting today. Shaykh Suheil Laher tells me that the Council met this evening and, as expected, no member reported that any reliable report had reached him of the crescent moon having been sighted anywhere in the world. Since, according to Council's methodology, tonight is the 30th, tomorrow night, Sunday, August 31, will be the first night of Ramadan and Monday, Sept 1, will be the first day of fasting. The Council will make an offical announcement tonight in sha'Allah. I will send out the announcement insha'Allah to the Harvard Islamic Society lists.

May Allah accept.

Over the last few weeks I have been participating in a series of telephone conferences at the invitation of the New England Imams' Council (NEIC). The Council is essentially composed of the 10+ Imams (prayer leaders) of the major mosques in the Greater Boston Metro Area. There are imams from elsewhere in Eastern Massachusetts (e.g. Worcester, Burlington) and Rhode Islam. The meetings are organized and led by Imam Talib Abdullah Faaruuq (Amir and Imam of Masjid li-Hamdillah). The group meets every year, for the past 5 years or so, just before Ramadan, in order to coordinate a unified announcement of the confirmation the sighting of the moon, which ocassions the beginning of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the month of obligatory fasting, in Islamic law.

For several years now, the Council has held meeting during the last days of Sha`ban (the month before Ramadan) in preparation for their meeting on Sha`ban 29. On Sha`ban 29, they meet in order to evaluate open source (e.g. media, blog) reports of crescent moon-sightings in tradtional Muslim societies in the East of North America. The Council looks for a convincing large numer of announcements from multiple countries in order to overcome suspicion of political manipulation and the like. For similar reasons, preference is given to announcements made by authorities that are known to base their announcements on eyewitness testimony as to the sighting of the crescent moon.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam,

As-salamu `alaykum wa-rahmatu llah.

In sha'Allah, Wednesday night (tomorrow) is the first night of Ramadan 1428 and Thursday, Sept. 13 (the following day) is the first day of fasting. In anticipation of our making the most of the beautiful occasion, I wanted to share a bit of advice that I pray will be helpful to students, and other members of the Muslim community at Harvard, who will be on campus for Ramadan soon, if they are not here already. In sha'Allah, we will have an opportunity to discuss Ramadan-related matters on other occasions in the near future.

* As in years past, we are announcing the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan on the Harvard Islamic Society website and over the community announcement list (his-list). There is also a post on the blog of your favorite HIS Muslim Chaplain . Note that, as in years past, in ascertaining the beginning of Ramadan, we are relying on regional Muslim organizations in the Greater Boston Area. Al-hamdu li-llah, the Imams of the Islamic Council of New England agreed at its recent meeting to continue following the methodology for ascertaining the beginning of the month that the New England Imams established several years ago. The New England Imams rely on acceptable reports of the sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan by Muslim religious authorities from multiple locales around the world.

* Start fasting with your community wherever you are. Avoid disputes. Do not to get caught up in the wrangling about establishing the beginning of the blessed month that sometimes afflicts members of our community a day or so before Ramadan, the month of patience, begins.

* Do fix your intention (niyya) to fast during the night before fasting during the day. If you have questions about this or any of the other technical aspects fasting ask an `alim (religious scholar). Asking is a form of worship in itself. As in years past, there will be a "Ramadan Workshop" on the basics of fasting this Sunday, Sept 16, 1-3pm with Shaykh Suheil Laher (MIT Muslim Chaplain and PhD Student, Arabic and
Islamic Studies, NELC, Harvard University), Shaykh Sami ul-Ihsan Khan (JD candidate, Harvard Law School) and myself. The location will be announced soon in sha'Allah. Watch the HIS Event Calendar at the website.

* As a rule, try to make the days and nights of Ramadan different from what they are for you outside of Ramadan. Hadith: "Let not your day of fasting be like your day when not fasting."

* Try to spend a lot of time around your brothers and sisters in Islam this month. Try not to break your fast alone. Make a special effort to pray in congregation.

* Ask Allah for forgiveness a lot during the beginning of the month. Try to think of the sins with which you entered Ramadan and seek forgiveness and repent from them.

* Read the Qur'an. Recite the Qur'an. Listen to it being recited. Turn an ayah (passage) or two over of the Qur'an in your mind for a couple of minutes.

* If you normally watch TV, listening music, watch movies on DVD or the Web, give it up for the month. Try replacing it with listening to the Qur'an, reading from the Qur'an or making remembrance of Allah.

* Give a lot of sadaqa (charity). Remember that sadaqa includes saying
subhana llah ("How Perfect is Allah!"), al-hamdu li-llah ("Praise be to
Allah") and allah akbar (Allah is Greater!); smiling at your brother or
sister and helping him or her carry his stuff.

* Do not burn out. Increase your devotions as the month goes on. The
Messenger said the most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are
[done] consistently, even if they are small.

May Allah forgive all our sins; accept our fasting, bowing, prostration,
charity, supplications and other good deed; manumit us from the Hellfire
and admit the Paradise Gardens through the Rayyan Gate!

Your Brother and the Most Needy Slave of Allah
Taha bin Hasan Abdul-Basser