Give Regardless Of The Pinch
Please pray that Allah grants our brothers and sisters who are suffering ease, and victory and that He replaces all they have lost with that which is better, Ameen. Please donate here: launchgood.com
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakaatuh.
Trust that you're good, striving, and thriving.
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Two angels descend every morning, and one says: 'O Allah, give him who spends something, in place of what he spends.' The other one says: 'O Allah, give destruction to him who withholds". [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Riyad as-Salihin 295
https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:295
Phone rings, and I pick up: Good evening, please who am I speaking with?
Caller: Ma, it is me! says a bubbly voice filled with excitement at the other end of the line. I am the one who sells fruits close to your old office, please I need your address I need to deliver apples to you for Ramadan.
Me: Wait.. What? How? Stares at the phone in amazement
Different thoughts raced through my mind during this call. I've not seen this lady in five years or maybe even more. Plus, with the level of hardship that currently exists, how can she be so concerned about giving me apples? How will she make up for the cost? How is she even surviving on the little gains from fruits?
But you see that call, was just what I needed to snap out of the fear that I had been experiencing. How could I be bothered about the future of my account balance when a woman whose daily earnings did not amount to much was so willing to share? Ah! My brain did an immediate reset! Who am I to hold on to the Rizq that Allah has given me? Who am I to hoard what does not even belong to me in the first place? WHO AM I OOOO?
If there's one thing that you must have felt, if you are from my part of the world this Ramadan, it is the pinch. Yes, charity this Ramadan may not have been as easy as the last. You might have stalled, second-guessed, or wondered whether to cave into the fear of the currently fluctuating currency, and I sure do not blame you if you are living in fear of what the economy will say tomorrow. I want to encourage you though to SPEND regardless, this is a fabulous opportunity to give when it hurts the most and lend Allah a loan.
Give food
Give money
Give water
Provide shelter
Give clothes
Give knowledge
Just GIVE and for Allah’s sake and worry not about the rest.
This year you do not need to look too far, I am sure that you will find within your family, neighbors, and a ton of other people who are in dire need. Looking for a cause to support this year sadly is not hard, there are too many. So, drop that money o! Just do it and leave the rest to Allah.
Can you believe we are midway through Ramadan? Subhannallah! Feels like the month flew by! As we have passed the halfway mark and started to prepare for the last 10 days, I am still surfing the waves of my beautiful chaos, but will Insha Allah not let that get in the way of finishing strong. Plus has been super merc , but Allah has been soooo merciful as always!
Here area few tips to finish strong courtesy me and one of my faves!
Review, Review, Review: I LOVE reviews and I use this daily checklist from a life with Allah to keep track and monitor my goals. It is so helpful in showing me what is working and what is not. For example, I have now realized (like I do every year..lol) that I cannot follow all the amazing Ramadan content out there. I just cannot find the space for it, So I am just hanging on to one and saving the rest for later. I also have cut down on some goals that cannot work this month.
Don’t feel bad about it, the goal is to identify what is working and double up on that.
Consider Alternatives: See ehn? Allah is sooo merciful and it is out of His mercy that He has blessed us with different ways to serve and worship Him. If one goal is not working, consider an alternative o! It is not too late to choose something else and run with it. There will be no awards for those who stay with goals they cannot fulfill…errr.. Don’t quote me on that!
Moderation In Eating: One of the greatest changes I made this year is eating before and not after Taraweeh and just eating a little. I usually break my fast and leave all other eating till after Taraweeh, I will now be wobbling around as bloated as ever. The difference this has made to my night routine has been phenomenal! I now seem to have more energy for night activities. Keeping my meals simple has also been such a blessing! NO FEASTING for me.
Being A Barakah-Hunter: If I do not have all the time in the world, it means that I will leverage everything I have for Allah’s sake nothing can stop me, Insha Allah! This is everything from responding to a greeting in the best way, smiling, being kind to people in the Masjid.. Everything it takes!
Finding Pockets Of Time To Dhikr and Snooze: I know, such a weird pairing! I do not actually do not do them together. I just hunt for pockets of time and use them to either catch up on power naps or trying to hit my Dhikr goals. I have to say that those pockets are everything!
Automating My Giving: This works for me every single year! Especially in the last 10 nights. I will never be able to hit these goals without automation and it is why highly recommend it.
These next 3 points are from my dear Sis R, please make Dua for her
Celebrate the small wins: Think about what you DID instead of what you did not manage to do. I LOVE this point by my dear R!
Find Ease in Jamaah: Grab a sister, friend, family member, or someone to do Ibadaah with together. Ibadah feels lighter when in Jamaah!
Keep Ibadah Simple.
What has worked for you? Will love to hear from you in the comments. I pray that Allah blesses us to make the most of this Ramadan. I pray He blesses us to witness Lailatul Quadri and He rewards us for more than we have intended.
Speaking of giving, a lot of us have benefitted incredibly from Quran.com We use it to read the Quran, memorize it, reflect upon it, read Tafsir and more! They are currently raising funds this Ramadan to improve the website and expand their work and I believe that we should support them! Since last Ramadan, Quran.com has grown by 52% reaching 5.5 million monthly users worldwide. Imagine the Barakah! You really should consider donating! Plus have you seen the additional features like the notes and reflections? Masha Allah!
REFLECTION OF THE WEEK
A Mindful Heart
The central place in where taqwa is stored is our hearts. Allah says, That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols [i.e., rites] of Allāh - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts (22:32)
If the central storage for Taqwa is the heart, then one has to constantly rid the heart of diseases such as arrogance, jealousy and hatred and other blemishes so that taqwa can dominate above all other influences. Taqwa is not something that simply manifests physically in our clothing, and apparent realities- Hammad Fahim
I have no commentary on this, it was soooo good! Watch it!
Please please keep me in your Duas this blessed month. May Allah grant us all ease and accept ALL our striving! Ameen
Till next week In shaa Allah.
We leave you in Allah's care,
One of us at Ibadahplug.