Just Another Ramadan?

By Idris Tawfiq When it comes to Ramadan, we're all "new Muslims." We may be good at putting on a good show, even fooling ourselves at times that our intentions are pure, yet when our foreheads touch the ground in prayer we are all novices in serving our Creator. Ramadan is that special gift of Allah which allows all of us to return to Him, whether we have been Muslim for fifty years or for five minutes. It is a time when we can honestly take a look at how we have been living our lives over the last year, and resolve to improve and be better Muslims in the year ahead. It is the time for us to declare once more with our lips and to mean with our whole heart and mind that there is no created being worthy of worship other than Allah alone, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger. Let's be honest. We talk about "calling others to Islam," yet very often we are the ones who don't even get up in the morning to pray. We invite others to be Muslim, yet often we pay them very little regard once they have declared Shahadah and accepted Islam. Ramadan, then, is a time for all of us to re-think how things have been going. It is a time to set things straight once more, to put our spiritual house in order and to re-set our priorities as Muslims. How many people in the world would love such a chance to start over again, to put aside the mistakes of the past and to set off once more in the right direction. We have only to look around us to see that many people in the world are lost in the pursuit of worldly things or of selfish ambitions, clutching at this or that to bring them happiness. Their happiness can only b [...]

Read full article here