Eid Mubarak to everyone. I had a really great Ramadan and I hope you did as well. This year I kept a personal report card and I'll give myself a B. Definitely room for improvement, but as someone who didn't make it past the 10th grade in school, I hold a B in high esteem!
What went right?
I stopped watching news and massively reduced my media intake
I intensified my move away from politics and activism as I believe both are generally harmful to the believer and it's not an accident most activists aren’t religious, focus on identity, and are largely funded by non-Muslims. Outside of local politics (which are the most important), I'm generally turned off. I cannot reconcile my personal values as a Muslim with either the MAGA or progressive movements, but I also cannot put my head in the sand as an American citizen with a vested interest in the health of the nation.
I don't listen to much music. Maybe 30-45 minutes a month. This Ramadan I didn't listen to any.
Didn't watch any TV shows or movies. My focus was ibadah. Part of my B is binge watching the series finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm after Ramadan ended! I also couldn't resist watching the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Didn't watch any other sports other than some boxing and baseball highlights. Couldn't tell you anything about March Madness.
I only ate out four times this Ramadan (three masjid dinners and once at the home of a family). I had a few guests over, but I focused less on socializing this Ramadan and more on prayer.
I tried to not read any books other than Quran and commentary That lasted a couple of weeks and I eventually started reading a few books you can find on my Goodreads.
Some notes on St. Louis. When I took shahadah in 1992 there were two mosques, they had to fly a hafiz in from South Africa because there were none here, and the only organized iftar was a potluck at the Islamic Center. Now there are numerous local hafiz, more than 25 mosques in the metro area with most having nightly iftar, Halal meat is easily procured, and thousands of local Muslims attended the various Taraweeh prayers nightly.
St. Louis City Hall held an iftar led by Black American Muslims from Masjid al-Mu'Minun and the community of Imam Warith-deen Mohammed and in association with President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green. Mayor Tishaura Jones has welcomed local Muslims into her office for Eid al Fitr. Our local soccer team has sent out Eid greetings. The Mehlville school district (and soon others) have Eid as a school holiday for Muslim students. St. Louis will also have one of the largest Eid celebrations in the country at Schroeder Park in Manchester with thousands registered to attend. Despite any protests from negative actors and non-obsevant political activists, progress continues.
I pray that this Ramadan made a lasting impact on me and I can work on the gains I've made and address my shortcomings. There has never been a better time to be a Muslim in America and Eid must be embraced with celebration and joy even as hearts are heavy for the numerous places throughout the world where Muslims are suffering.
Here are some photos from this month. Impossible to share them all here.
Alhamdulillah I ate good this Ramadan thanks to my family
I visited our new Turkish masjid in south county
My brotherhood class visiting our dear elder Brother Rasheed. May Allah give him shifa.
The photo in prayer is from the City Hall Iftar and courtesy of Charles Abdul-Wali Muhammad.