With the month of Shaban already set in, many people are beginning to plan at home for the month of Ramadan. Meals are being planned and prepared so that a lot of time is not spent on cooking in the holy month. This is a good thing to do as it frees up time later for worship and reflection. But what spiritual meals are we planning? The soul also needs to be fed. It is often starving. It becomes weak and listless. It withers. But we don’t recognize the symptoms. We misdiagnose it and feed the yearning within with things that are junk food for the soul. The Prophet (s) is reported to have said; ‘I spend the night near my Lord, and He feeds me and quenches my thirst.’ This is explained by scholars as; – The Prophet’s food near his Lord is not of the kind of animal food, nor is his drink like the drinks that we see before us. Indeed what is meant here is only the ta’ām (food) of knowledge and the sharāb (drink) of gnosis (ma’rifah). – Undoubtedly that drink is nothing but Divine gnosis, love, and seeking illumination through the lights of the hidden realm. (Extracted from: https://www.al-islam.org/short-treatise-divine-invitation-muhammad-m-khalfan/spiritual-food) Include spiritual meals in your planning for the holy month. Plan for how you will nourish your soul, and those of your family, during this extraordinary month. Set aside time for connecting deeply with Allah, reflecting on the self, studying the Quran, making amends for past mistakes, seeking God’s forgiveness, reaching out to others, and planning how you will be different in the year after it. That is what the month is all about.
Sis Tahera Kassamali
Thought provoking reflections for our spiritual hearts to grow and glow.
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