Paradigm Shift Through Ramadan: A Personal Reflection on My Journey

Being the first time I would observe the Holy Month fasting away from home, I was partly motivated by the fear of messing up and missing out on the opportunities that come with it, and partly by the need to reconnect with my inner self and advance my spirituality. In both cases, Ramadan presented a unique opportunity to achieve my goals, think through personal issues, and experience a shift in my paradigm.

In the beginning, I consciously transitioned from active usage of social media to passive usage and became highly selective with the information I absorb. I had listed out some materials (books and playlists) that I wanted to consume during the month and had one of my diligent friends as an accountability partner to whom I report my progress daily. I was able to achieve the bulk of my goals, including going through the core messages of the Qur’an from A to Z and studying its literary uniqueness with two renowned experts, covering chapters on knowledge, spirituality and history from esteemed classical texts, coupled with exhaustive consumption of audio and video playlists on contemporary issues, among other things. The amount of work that can be done with dedication and useful resources is unimaginable!

One thing I noticed, however, through my online studies was that there is a tendency for Islamic content (written and verbal) on social media to be too scholarly and complex, too simplistic and superficial, and sometimes, too harsh or too lax. Knowing that Islam, as a religion and a way of life, emphasizes objective moderation and balanced pursuit of Truth, and that its traditions have been preserved the same way, I couldn’t help but see a problem. While I might not be the most qualified person to deal with this systemic problem, I couldn’t fold my hands either, so I decided to do something about it.

Even though I had planned to only concentrate on absorbing knowledge and thinking through personal issues for the whole month, I had to start experimenting with writing on some of the topics I had studied extensively without being too scholarly while maintaining academic merit. To my surprise, most of the short articles I wrote were well received and that helped me to improve at synthesizing knowledge. I realized that I loved the whole process and that, in addition to my innate love for Islam, informed my decision to take up a formal approach to Islamic Studies by picking up a degree at International Open University . I am deeply excited by this and I pray that Allah aid me.

Away from social media, I was able to set up a Muslim community in my hostel, and together with some of the members, we were able to approach the management and secured a place for prayers, where I co-led Taraweeh, finished the Quran, and had meaningful discussions with the congregation on issues affecting Muslim youths. I also finished a semester and got a paper published. Currently, I’m trying to find a common ground between the Islamic approach and public health practices. This is because I have no doubt that a civilization with such a rich heritage must have significant contributions to a critical field like public health. Even though I haven’t found much yet in Western literature, probably because the bulk of classical Islamic works is still not translated from Arabic, I take inspiration from the beautiful works being done by the likes of Dr Rania Awaad and her team at Stanford Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab .

In the end, I do not know for sure what the future holds for me, so I have chosen to live in the present and make use of what is at my disposal. I am not an Islamic scholar, and I am far from being the most pious. If anything, I would love to be a brick wall through which some of what the scholars have documented and the saints have implemented can be heard. I hope that their voices can bounce off me in some distorted form, and maybe some additional benefits through the little work I do. None of this is possible without Divine Intervention, and I take solace in knowing that my Lord wastes not the efforts of the sincere seekers.

#reflections #paradigmshift #Ramadan