[Preparing for Ramadan (Part 1)]

[Ramadan preparations (Part 2)]

To combat fatigue and laziness: Get into an exercise routine.

With the holy month even closer, I bring you the final part of my series on Ramadan preparations.

I first brought up the need to prepare, so that we are not surprised when Ramadan starts, and also stressed the importance of planning to make more long term changes to our lives, rather than the 30 day marathon that dies down.

That was followed by some suggestions on how to begin preparing from a spiritual point of view. But Ramadan is also a very physical month, and hence its important for us to make physical preparations.

And this definitely does not only include making the samoosas and stocking up dates and Zam-zam water!

Physical preparations:

• The first few days of Ramadan are always a struggle for people, as our bodies are not used to it. One of the ways in which we can curb that fatigue and struggle, is to fast on Mondays and Thursdays (now) which is suggested as a preparation by the Prophet (PBUH).

Sunan of Abu Dawud the Prophet  has made the fasting of the sacred months praiseworthy, and Rajab is one of them.

• Eating less can also be a preparation for some of us. Ramadan is not about feasting each night, it is meant to teach us the exact opposite – moderation!
• We also have a responsibility to look after our bodies and eat healthy. This means eating less oily foods and less meat. (See this post for more on this topic)

Every faith has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty. (Al-Muwatta, Volume 47, Hadith 9).

• Ramadan also gives us the opportunity to give up bad habits like drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, swearing, lying to name just a few.

• To combat the fatigue and laziness in Ramadan the best idea is to exercise. Getting into a routine of exercise boosts your energy levels and enables you to last longer in a stressful day. Exercise in Ramadan does not necessarily mean that you have to train for a marathon – rather, ensure that you are keeping in shape so that your body does well during the month.

Achieving our goals for Ramadan or just making the most of the month can really only happen if we train ourselves to do so before the month begins.

The Prophet (PBUH) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying:

Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer’s sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all.

[Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]