Ramadan Is More Than Becoming 'Mo-slim' And Getting Dates

Ramadan Is More Than Becoming 'Mo-slim' And Getting Dates

With all the hilarious puns comes an even more extraordinary month.
Eeman Z. Uddin
Eeman Z. Uddin May 22, 2018
484
views

When welcoming Ramadan, we also welcome all the puns and memes that come with it. The memes and puns can speak for themselves, especially when it comes to the preparations for Ramadan. It is often times that we get into such a Ramadan high, and we meticulously plan every second of the day and listen to hundreds of inspirational lectures with feverish hope.

But after only two weeks in, our Ramadan high begins to turn into a Ramadan low. The fasting hits us in the stomach; the exhaustion of Taraweeh hits us in every inch of our bodies, and we just want out. The only thing we look forward to is losing weight and the end of the month.



SEE ALSO: 11 Ramadan Puns To Get You Through This 'Fast'

Warning: If you find yourselves in this situation, you should know that you've probably been doing something wrong. Sometimes focusing only on the fact that you can't eat can make you forget about Ramadan's real importance. In essence, Ramadan is about emptying our stomachs while feeding our souls. If you're only doing the emptying stomach part, then it's no wonder why you're not getting anywhere.

If you look at the word Ramadan, you find that it was taken from the word "ramad" which means extreme heat. Why is this important? What does heat do? Heat changes the state of an object whether it be from a solid to a liquid or liquid to a gas. Similarly, This is a month in which we change the state of our faith by focusing on the things that will nourish it.

Have you ever just felt dead inside? No, like actually dead inside — you feel like you need to be doing something with your life or with your time. Or maybe you've been at a point in your life where you question your purpose and goals. These feelings of discontent come from a place of spiritual malnourishment. We feel empty inside because we have no goals to look forward to and no means of sustainable fulfillment.

Ramadan is your one chance in the whole year to turn your life around. It's an opportunity served to you on a golden platter, and all you have to do is take it. The devil is chained, and everyone around you has similar goals. All you need to do is push yourself. Ramadan is like a spa treatment or vacation that has been long overdue. It's up to each one of us to now disconnect from everything that feeds our desires and plug into the things that feed our souls.

Take this one chance, this one month and change yourself change your perspective. Prioritize your life, organize your schedule and take action. Ramadan will be gone before you know it, and there's no guarantee that you'll make it to the next one.

SEE ALSO: Readying For Ramadan The Right Way: 14 Tips To Make This Year's Ramadan Rock

Cover Image Credit: Pexels / Simon Migaj
Eeman Z. Uddin
Eeman Z. Uddin May 22, 2018
At Alpharetta, Georgia
At Alpharetta, Georgia

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To Everyone Who Hasn't Had Sex Yet, Wait For Marriage, It's The Right Move

If you have not had sex yet, wait.

Kathryn Brooks
Kathryn Brooks Nov 21, 2018
84894
views

Premarital sex is not a new concept, no matter how much people like to pretend it is. You can trace scripture and historical texts back thousands of year to see that lust and fornication have been a problem since… well, since we humans have been problems.

They tell you in sex ed that sex causes you to form a bond with someone. They throw some big chemical names at you that are apparently in your body and cause that emotional attachment to happen, then you move on (or back to) how important condoms are and why STDs are so scary.

As a middle schooler or teenager, you can't understand what it means to become permanently connected to someone as a result of a quick, physical act.

If you haven't even had your first kiss, you really can't imagine what it's like to develop such a complex and intimate connection with someone because you have yet to feel the butterflies in your stomach from a kiss. So you really don't know what it's like to have a whole different type of feeling in your stomach.

You never forget your first love. It's one of the most cliche things you consistently hear, but it's true. Ask anyone. I guarantee your parents can still spurt out their first love's name in a few seconds. And most people never forget their first time. I know all my friends can recount that often awkward and slightly terrifying moment as if it happened an hour ago. When you mix those two, especially if you are in your teens, oh boy.

You never forget that. No matter how hard you try.

Everything you hear about sex is true: it's amazing, fantastic, life-changing, etc. There's a reason people have done it as frequently as they do, for as long as they have. But every time you sleep with someone, you leave a piece of yourself with them. Every time you choose to take that final physical step with someone, you cannot go back and collect that piece of your dignity and soul that you left with someone.

So, imagine what happens when you break up with someone you've slept with. Or that you just hooked up with. You have given someone a little slice of yourself forever. And you can never get it back. And imagine what happens when you do that multiple times. You give a piece of yourself to five, 10, 15, 20 or more people. Then you meet the person that you want to spend forever with. And you no longer have that whole part of you. You've given pieces away, and you can no longer give those to the love of your life.

So, save those pieces for your future spouse.

If you have not had sex yet, wait. If you have, consider not giving more pieces of yourself away to people who are not your spouse. Sex was created to be between two spouses, nobody else. So we need to try to maintain its integrity.

Kathryn Brooks
Kathryn Brooks Nov 21, 2018
At Miami University

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From The Christian Girl Who Visited A Mosque And Had Her Perspective Changed

Getting to know your neighbor...

Madison Krystyniak
Madison Krystyniak Jun 13, 2018
1185
views

In today's current political climate, it feels as though it's harder than ever before to understand our neighbors. We often cannot look beyond the headlines we read in the news and actually talk to each other: it is difficult to separate political propaganda from the people we encounter daily.

One group in America that faces particular discrimination is Muslims. Whenever ISIL commits horrific acts, people in the United States suggest extreme measures such as banning all Muslims from entering the country. While I understand the skepticism, I think that it is of the utmost importance that we all recognize that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful and ISIL does not represent their beliefs.

The KKK calls itself a Christian group, but they represent the exact opposite of Biblical teachings; the same is true of Muslims and the Quran. ISIL has completely distorted the teachings of Islam and misrepresents Muslims around the world.

I am currently taking a class on the Middle East, Arabs, and Islam. Over the weekend, my class and I visited the local mosque in Waco. The people there were generous enough to let us partake in their breaking of the Ramadan fast along with other Christian churches and members of a Jewish temple. It was a moment where we were all able to come together and see each other as people who simply have different beliefs.

I identify as a Christian, so I obviously do not believe the same things as Muslims. However, I have discovered that many of our beliefs and teachings are similar to those in the Muslim faith. Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Noah, and even Jesus are all mentioned in the Quran. There are striking differences between Christianity and Islam, but there are also several similarities.

At the end of the breaking of the Ramadan fast, I left with a feeling of peace and reconciliation. I realized that events like this that involve sharing our cultures and religions with each other is a start to ending bias. Our neighbors may not look like us, or even have the same beliefs as us, but we are all people in search of happiness and a better life. In the end, love will always trump hate.

Cover Image Credit:

upload.wikimedia.org

Madison Krystyniak
Madison Krystyniak Jun 13, 2018
At Baylor University

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