Down Ramadan Lane...
Salaams,
Ramadan Mubarak…!!
So another Ramadan has stealthily crept upon us again…subhanAllah how time eats away at us like the waves crashing into the rocks…
The past few Ramadan's I've had have all been different in various ways…pre-university alhamdulilla it was a very family orientated experience fasting at home in Burnley…something which I haven't really had in 6 years…! I think in many ways this is a great loss as, for me anyway, Ramadan is very much a family orientated thing as everyone wakes up together for sehri, goes through the day hungry with each other and then collects together again at iftaar time to break the fast…also another huge loss in not fasting at home is the loss of the community atmosphere you get in the area I live in….given that 99% of the people in my area are Muslim, there's a noticeable "noor" about the area with people busy shopping for their iftaar or running to the various masaajids for prayer and the various smells of food being cooked coming into the streets….almost like being in a Muslim country…!
From 18 onwards the following three Ramadan's were spent at university..and to be honest they were a bit dry, the first two anyway. From being a spiritual act, fasting almost became a mechanical one as the vast majority of people around are still eating, you still have to go to lectures, supervisions etc..essentially the days were the same as normal apart from missing breakfast and lunch. But one good thing about Cambridge was the free food…! No, I don't mean because it was free…! But the food provided at the mosque for iftaar provided a focal point and allowed you to meet up with many friends, although it wasn't That regular as it was a good 20 min walk from the main campus site. My third year at uni was Much better, particularly because I had swapped to an Eeeeasy course which meant I had lots of time to do extra ibadah, alhamdulilla. Looking back on that, I know appreciate how much of a link there is between how much ibadah you can do and how "useful" you feel that Ramadan was. Alhamdulilla the ISOC in that yr at uni was very strong too so there were many communal events going so I really felt I benefited from the spiritual and social blessings of Ramadan.
The following Ramadan I was back at home but unfortunately I didn't feel like I got that much out of it as I had just finished my ten week internship and so was Drained and I was off on my gap year straight after so had a fair few things to sort out. Last years Ramadan got even worse as it was my first in London and the first whilst working which was Very difficult. I literally joined my team on the first day of Ramadan, so I found it incredibly difficult in combining all the extra things your supposed to as well the demands of the new job.
This year however has been much better, so far. I think I've settles into London and my job and so am able to better manage things so I can get as much out of Ramadan as I can. As with most years, it always somewhat awkward to explain to a new bunch of non-Muslims that your fasting, then having to go through what this means etc etc…but alhamdulilla this yr I've been very fortunate…! One of our BIG clients happens to be a Muslim guy from Leicester (he actually commutes from Leicester to London everyday…!!). So anyway I went to a meeting with my boss and him, and when he saw me with a beard and my name I presume he thought I was Muslim so he came over to me, gave me salaams, asked about me etc…all with my boss just standing there feeling somewhat dejected I think…! So I think he was chatting to my boss the other day and mentioned to him that Ramadan would be starting soon, that he should le me leave early etc etc…so all the things I was going to say, my client told my boss for me…! Alhamdulilla..! So in return I was thinking about telling my boss to organise an iftaar for our Muslim clients…! I actually think this would be the first time any bank would have done this…but am a bit wary though as they are all very keen to keep religion etc out of things…we'll see inshaAllah
In other news there are Big developments at 41CGG…due to various reasons (nothing bad!) two of the high profile members have ceased to be part of the brotherhood in the flat (ie they're moving out) so after an extensive process (which we on many occasions thought would never end…!) alhamdulilla we have found two high calibre young men to fill their places ; ShortStack from the Mauritius (bro from Cam) and Yank from the US (still working on a nickname for him..another bro we had the pleasure of studying with for a while at Cambridge). So alhamdulilla the Cambridge centric vibe to the flat will remain, and both the guys are a good laugh so this should be another good year coming up, inshaAllah!
Salaam
Ramadan Mubarak…!!
So another Ramadan has stealthily crept upon us again…subhanAllah how time eats away at us like the waves crashing into the rocks…
The past few Ramadan's I've had have all been different in various ways…pre-university alhamdulilla it was a very family orientated experience fasting at home in Burnley…something which I haven't really had in 6 years…! I think in many ways this is a great loss as, for me anyway, Ramadan is very much a family orientated thing as everyone wakes up together for sehri, goes through the day hungry with each other and then collects together again at iftaar time to break the fast…also another huge loss in not fasting at home is the loss of the community atmosphere you get in the area I live in….given that 99% of the people in my area are Muslim, there's a noticeable "noor" about the area with people busy shopping for their iftaar or running to the various masaajids for prayer and the various smells of food being cooked coming into the streets….almost like being in a Muslim country…!
From 18 onwards the following three Ramadan's were spent at university..and to be honest they were a bit dry, the first two anyway. From being a spiritual act, fasting almost became a mechanical one as the vast majority of people around are still eating, you still have to go to lectures, supervisions etc..essentially the days were the same as normal apart from missing breakfast and lunch. But one good thing about Cambridge was the free food…! No, I don't mean because it was free…! But the food provided at the mosque for iftaar provided a focal point and allowed you to meet up with many friends, although it wasn't That regular as it was a good 20 min walk from the main campus site. My third year at uni was Much better, particularly because I had swapped to an Eeeeasy course which meant I had lots of time to do extra ibadah, alhamdulilla. Looking back on that, I know appreciate how much of a link there is between how much ibadah you can do and how "useful" you feel that Ramadan was. Alhamdulilla the ISOC in that yr at uni was very strong too so there were many communal events going so I really felt I benefited from the spiritual and social blessings of Ramadan.
The following Ramadan I was back at home but unfortunately I didn't feel like I got that much out of it as I had just finished my ten week internship and so was Drained and I was off on my gap year straight after so had a fair few things to sort out. Last years Ramadan got even worse as it was my first in London and the first whilst working which was Very difficult. I literally joined my team on the first day of Ramadan, so I found it incredibly difficult in combining all the extra things your supposed to as well the demands of the new job.
This year however has been much better, so far. I think I've settles into London and my job and so am able to better manage things so I can get as much out of Ramadan as I can. As with most years, it always somewhat awkward to explain to a new bunch of non-Muslims that your fasting, then having to go through what this means etc etc…but alhamdulilla this yr I've been very fortunate…! One of our BIG clients happens to be a Muslim guy from Leicester (he actually commutes from Leicester to London everyday…!!). So anyway I went to a meeting with my boss and him, and when he saw me with a beard and my name I presume he thought I was Muslim so he came over to me, gave me salaams, asked about me etc…all with my boss just standing there feeling somewhat dejected I think…! So I think he was chatting to my boss the other day and mentioned to him that Ramadan would be starting soon, that he should le me leave early etc etc…so all the things I was going to say, my client told my boss for me…! Alhamdulilla..! So in return I was thinking about telling my boss to organise an iftaar for our Muslim clients…! I actually think this would be the first time any bank would have done this…but am a bit wary though as they are all very keen to keep religion etc out of things…we'll see inshaAllah
In other news there are Big developments at 41CGG…due to various reasons (nothing bad!) two of the high profile members have ceased to be part of the brotherhood in the flat (ie they're moving out) so after an extensive process (which we on many occasions thought would never end…!) alhamdulilla we have found two high calibre young men to fill their places ; ShortStack from the Mauritius (bro from Cam) and Yank from the US (still working on a nickname for him..another bro we had the pleasure of studying with for a while at Cambridge). So alhamdulilla the Cambridge centric vibe to the flat will remain, and both the guys are a good laugh so this should be another good year coming up, inshaAllah!
Salaam
posted by Me at
5:29 PM
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