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Ramadan Idea 21: Share Ramadan with those around you through FOOD

Ramadan Idea 21: Share Ramadan with those around you through FOOD

With Ramadan being such a beautiful and blessed month, why not share it with those around you? The children can get involved with the cooking, giving out of food and entertaining! Here are some ideas:

  • Make iftaar for others:

Saw this awesome idea on Facebook and loved it. Building bridges with those around us is something we believe in strongly (thus the neighbour cards/cards for non-Muslims) and boy has she done it in style ๐Ÿ™‚ Here is her link to the printables.

ย ***We may not always see the effect but we are having one!ย Check out this man’s response to someone knocking on his door!

“In light of recent events, I’ve felt the need to share a heartwarming experience I just had with anyone who is willing to pause scrolling for just a minute.

I just had a knock at the door – I wasn’t expecting anyone, so opened the door pretty sheepishly. A lady who was clearly of Muslim faith was standing outside with a carrier bag filled to the brim with containers. Confused, I asked if she was okay – she told me her name, and apologised for knocking so late in the day before explaining that she lived on my road in another flat and was walking round the houses to give people gifts; bearing in mind that I hadn’t ever seen or spoken to her before. She opened her bag and handed me a selection of beautiful smelling food, wrapped in foil with a small note titled ‘Dear Neighbour’, a jar filled with Bombay Mix, and a double-sided letter titled ‘Ramadan’ – picture attached.

She told me that she wanted to share something with everyone on our road to explain what Ramadan actually is for those of us who aren’t aware, and to give us the gift of food at a time when neither her, nor her family, we’re able to eat. The letter detailed what Ramadan is, why it is practiced by followers of Islam, and what the principles of Islam actually are. I had expected the knock at the door to be a disgruntled neighbour complaining about my parking, or god forbid, a political canvasser – *shudder* – I didn’t expect a visit from someone who simply wanted to share community spirit, generosity and most importantly, someone who wanted to actively share the knowledge of a religion which is currently at the center of recent events, and which is integral to the lives of over a 1/6th of the planets population.

Recently there’s been a lot of headlines in the news referencing Islam in relation to the terrible events which are taking place far too regularly. I’ve found it disheartening and disappointing to see quite a few comments online, and quite a few ignorant tweets from moronic individuals which have been aimed at anyone who classes themselves as a Muslim – all because a small handful of barbaric, twisted individuals feel the need to commit atrocious acts in the name of a God they incorrectly believe they’re serving.

Innocent lives have been unnecessarily lost enough times now in this country alone; not to mention the fact that the events which have happened in the UK are more of a daily occurrence for thousands upon thousands of people in less privileged countries around the world – places where the inhabitants don’t have the luxury of safety, emergency services, protection, or shelter. Some people need to be reminded that these attacks have not been carried out by true followers of Islam; these events have been carried out by Extremists who have their own fucked-up beliefs. The people affected most by these events are people within the Muslim community, who have to fight against the claims made by the so-called Islamic State on a regular basis.

Today, I’ve been lucky enough to learn a bit about a religion which I’ve never invested time to learn about. If the c***s who are carrying out these destructive acts had any brains, they’d learn to read and have a flick through the Quran themselves, because as I understand, they’re clearly reading a different book entirely if it’s telling them to go and slaughter innocent men, women and children without any reason or cause. Perhaps they’ve mistaken the Holy Scripture for Mein Kampf?

There need to be more people like my neighbour, because it’s amazing what a bit of good can do in a time when almost everything we read in the news is negative. What an amazing lady.”

  • Why not invite others to your home for iftaar? You can invite them to fast for the day too! There is a movement called Share Ramadan which encourages just this. I tried it – here is my experience!
  • P.S. If your child is in Scouts, they can actually earn a badge for it!

Sunnahs of Cooking

Sunnahs of Cooking

I really liked this shortlist of things to do when cooking – imagine the impact of that food on our families!

Sharing as seen on someone’s timeline:

SUNNAHS OF COOKING

1. Have wudhu whilst cooking-a person in wudhu is safe from shaitaan, wudhu not only cleanses one externally but it purifies us internally as well by washing our sins off.
2. Have the intention of cooking food solely for the pleasure of Allah and not for people’s praises and compliments- doing so, the cooking will be counted as ibaadat and one will be getting rewards
3. Keep your hair covered- not only to save oneself from the embarrassment of having someone pull out a hair from the food but to keep the angels of mercy present too.
4. Say BISMILLAH when beginning- Allah will fill the food with barkat & noor.
5. Always check the things and be conscious of halal & haram- the one who consumes a single morsel of haram food, his ibadat of 40 days is not accepted
6. Do lots of dhikr & recite durood throughout- the love of Allah &
Prophet Muhammed ุตู„ู‰ ุงู„ู„ู‡ ุนู„ูŠู‡ ูˆุณู„ู… will enter in the hearts of those who eat the food.
7. Have the pious people partake the food- the pious are the friends of Allah n their duas on your behalf can be readily accepted.
8. Do not waste anything, not even a few grains as Allah hates israaf and this causes reduction in the ni’aamat .
9. When eating any food that was liked by Prophet Muhammed ุตู„ู‰ ุงู„ู„ู‡ ุนู„ูŠู‡ ูˆุณู„ู… e.g dates, meat, thareed, pumpkin, vinegar etc, make niyyat of sunnat and gain the numerous rewards of following sunnat.
10. Think of yourself & blessing of Allah and that He is the one who has given you the ability to cook and it is he who puts taste in the food.
11. Have your servants partake of the food too.
12. Say Alhamdulillah upon completing as Allah made you the reason of satiating hunger and your ability to do so was from Allah….

Make the whole process of cooking into Ibadah & gain rewards
ุฅู† ุดุงุก ุงู„ู„ู‡

Giving away the little they have…

Okay so I think I don’t want to wait until Friday… there are too many awesome vids out there!

I originally saw this as an Asian version, but interestingly enough, the results were the same…watch to find out what I mean!

Reminds me of our Prophet and his family, who would give so generously while having so little. The story of Bibi Fatima and her family giving away their food for three days in a row despite fasting and having so little themselves comes to mind in particular… here is a link with the story in case anyone wants to share with their kids:ย http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/kids/Books/istories/20.htm

Idea 9: Encourage them to eat less meat beforehand and/or fast

Idea 9: Encourage them to eat less meat beforehand and/or fast

Idea 9: Encourage them to eat less meat beforehand and/or fast

Cutting down on meat and fasting for the last 3 days (http://www.myziyarat.ca/Books/ZIYARAT-IRAQ.pdfย (page 7)) before the trip is also highly recommended.

If your children are too young, encouraging them to eat less, and perhaps less of the junky food, may be a good way to emphaises this aspect. It will also stress the importance of how what we eat affects our spiritual state – a good reminder for us parents as well!