A Farewell to an Honorable Guest

by Hussein Ata

Here we are again bidding farewell to an honorable and great guest, the month of Ramadan.  The feeling, excitement and energy we see during this holy month is truly amazing. For eleven months of the year we struggle in all aspects of life: be it raising our families, working long and hard hours to bring food to the table, and so many other priorities in life. Our schedules keep us busy from performing our nightly prayers (Qiam and Tahajud). Our generosity and giving are limited throughout the rest of the year. We rarely shed a tear in remembrance of Allah or when listening to Quran. Families rarely sit at the same table for dinner or breakfast. Friends and families rarely see each other throughout the year. Many of us cannot seem to find the time to come to the masjid for Fajr and Isha prayers.

Subhan Allah, in a matter of a few hours, from the end of Sha’ban to the start of Ramadan, our lives completely change. Our schedules and priorities are transformed. We seem to find time to perform our nightly prayers (taraweeh). Our masjid reaches its capacity during Isha and taraweeh prayers. Our hearts and feelings become more attached to Allah. Tearful eyes and weeping souls are heard while listening to the beautiful recitation of Quaran during taraweeh. Our charity and giving reach their peak. We find time to have dinner (Iftar) and breakfast (suhur) with our families and friends just about every night. We see each other every night instead of once a month or once a year. We feel the excitement in our kids and enjoy the scene of them standing next to us in prayers, shoulder to shoulder. We care, we share and we dare to accept hunger, change our behavior, and give up good things in life, including part if not all of fortune. For many of us, we seem to find the strength and will to do all of this only in the month of Ramadan.

What happened and what is the reason for this tremendous change in our lives? The answer is very simple; it is truly the blessings of this great month.  A month of mercy, forgiveness and giving, a month for cleansing our souls and strengthening our faith.

Unfortunately, the month has to end, and sadly many of us go back to the old schedule of what was before Ramadan. We are truly saddened by the departure of this wonderful guest and will surely miss its blessings. We ask Allah to give us the strength and determination to maintain our faith and sincerity. We ask Him to shower us with his mercy and blessings throughout the year and extend our lives to next Ramadan. As for the masjid, which was full during Isha and Fajr prayers in the month of Ramadan, we hope that it will remain so for the entire year.

Alhamdulillah, we were blessed to complete the month of Ramadan. Many others did not and were not as fortunate as us. We found food and shelter to make it through the month; many others within our community and around the world are homeless, impoverished, and starving to death. Our joy will not and should not be complete unless we help the less fortunate. Let us be more gracious and share the pain of others, and at least remember them in our prayers.

Finally, the Mosque Foundation would like thank our community for its continued support.  We pray to Allah to accept our deeds and make us among those who attained His mercy and forgiveness and are among those who are freed from the hellfire.

Eid Mubarak to you and your families.