Ramadan Articles - "R" is for Ramadan and resolution – I

It is customary among many peoples to set New Year resolutions. The
majority of people lose their newfound resolve, however, within just a
few months. This is mainly because few of us know how to set goals for
our self-promises. Even less have an action plan to achieve them.
The best time to set resolutions or renew intentions for Muslims is
not in Muharram or January, but Ramadan, for Ramadan is Divinely
designed to be a month of personal and communal change. No surprise,
then, that it is also the lunar period in which Allaah Almighty
changed the destiny of humankind by blessingthem with His final and
universal Divine Guidance.
In it, as a commemoration and a renewal, Allaah re-instituted fasting
among humanity and magnified all the other great actsof worship not
specifically time-bound to another calendar date or season. His
Heavenly purpose, therein, being precisely to purify us both
physically and spiritually. These acts of worship,within a state of
worship, within framework of worship— Sadaqah)charity(, for instance,
given when one is in a condition of self-imposed deprivation, within a
divinely demarcated, obligatorysacred span—of and by their verynature
facilitate—even mandate—change in our lives, at the very list by
disrupting our daily routines. It is during this time of flux that our
lives are most malleable to any attempts to improve them. Muslims
must, therefore, set new resolutions and goals for and during this
month.
But what kind of resolutions should we make? What type of goals should
we seek to achieve?
Allaah Almighty has clearly set out the main goal for the month of
Ramadan by declaring what means:}O you who have believed,decreed upon
you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may
become righteous{]Quran 2:183[, that is to become ever God-fearing.
But the acquisition of Taqwa itself contains a higher purpose: To
prepare us for a much greater achievement in life— namely, to meet
Allaah. Allaah States this throughout the Quran what means:
...{•Then to your Lord is your return…{]Quran 6:164[
•}…To Him is the destination.{]Quran 40:3[
•}And that to your Lord is the finality.{]Quran 53:42[
It is for this reason that Allaah States in another place in the Quran
concerning Hajj)Pilgrimage( what means:}…And take provisions, but
indeed, the best provision is fear of Allaah. And fear Me, O you of
understanding.{]Quran 2: 197[ Hajj, in this life, symbolizes our
inevitable meeting with Allaah in the Hereafter while Ramadan
represents the life of this world that we are living, which, again, is
a preparation for that ultimate goal.
The practical reflection of our spiritual objectives
Given this understanding of the profound aspirations of the believer,
the main focus for any Ramadan goal should entail the ultimate
ambition of a favorable meeting with Allaah.
One of the most common New Year resolutions is to lose weight. This,
it seems, has also become a common objective for Muslims during
Ramadan. Although keeping a healthy body is part of our responsibility
as Muslims, if our focus is as solemnas meeting Allaah in joy and
happiness, then it becomes clear that our goals for Ramadan mustbe
more comprehensive than losing weight.
Our lives are multidimensional: Financial, spiritual, intellectual,
social, familial, personal, philanthropic, physical, etc.
Consequently, the resolutions weset for Ramadan must reflect
thismulti-dimensionality. Some people expend all their energy in
pursuing only their financial goals and pay no heed to other aspects
of their life. Muslims should try to achieve and maintain the golden
mean, as practiced by the Messenger of Allaahin all aspects of his
life.
A successful personal goal setting endeavor begins with a
self-assessment. For Muslims, thecentral question in accounting for
oneself is to ask sincerely:"Am I observing the golden meanin my
life?"This will reveal wherewe focus most of our energy and resources
in life.
For some of us, we may realize that we are spending the bulk of our
time and energy at work, to the detrimental neglect of our family
life. Others may come to realize that though their family, social, and
intellectual life is satisfactory, the spiritual aspect is wanting.
Still others may conclude that while they are financially fulfilled,
they fall short in giving charity. This central question will help us
identify areas and aspects in our lives that we need to work on in
orderto achieve and maintain that golden mean. Still, the question
remains, How should we prioritize our goals?
Allaah Almighty provides guidance in setting priorities in life
through the example of His Friend, Ibraaheem. After delivering his
wife Hajar and his son Ismaa'eelto the precincts of the barren sacred
valley of Makkah, Ibraaheemwalks away from them, as directed by Allaah
Almighty. When he is out of their sight, he turns around facing the
place of the Ka'bah and makes the following Du'aa )supplication(
forthem:}Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an
uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may
establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them
and provide for them from the fruits that they might be
grateful.{]Quran 14:37[
Note that though Ibraaheemacknowledges in his supplicationthe scarcity
of food and water faced by his family—an urgent matter of life and
death—the first affair of significance that Ibraaheemplaces before
Allaah Almighty is the high purpose of his intent: To facilitate his
family in the establishment of Salaah )prayer(. Only after first
establishing their spiritual mission—and by extension his hope in
Allaah's succor of their vital spiritual need—does Ibraaheemturn in
his supplication toward their dire physical and social needs in his
supplication. And even then, he connects the purpose of the
fulfillment of their social and physical needs to their )ultimate(
spiritual goal, namely, to thank Allaah.
It is with this same spirit and understanding that we need to
prioritize our goals for life in general, and more specifically for
the month of Ramadan.