Tag: Ramadan

Food For My Soul: Zikr (#2)

by Noureen, posted in Food For My Soul, Mind, Body & Soul
Assalamoaliqum everyone! I hope you all are doing well? As we all know we are reaching almost to the end of this Holy month of Ramadan and I’m kinda sad but it has to end –  you know all good things must come to an end, anyhow so before it leaves us I won’t miss this chance to write something which you can benefit from In’Sha’Allah (If God wills) and in return I can fill my bucket of good deeds as every act of goodness in this month is multiplied by 70. So today I am going to talk about the second most important ‘food for our souls’ and that is “Zikr” – yes –  “Remembrance of Allah”!
As Muslims, we all believe that we are like a traveller in this world and have to leave this world one day but still we work so hard for this worldly life, and do so little for the life Hereafter. We should try to spend more time for worship and do something in this Duniya that can be helpful for us in the hereafter. Zikr is the best thing to do even if we are busy with our worldly affairs. We lose nothing if we remember Allah (Zikr) for a little while or whenever we get free time, even if we are cooking, doing house chores, we can make ourselves busy with zikr and it will count as an Ibadah (act of worship).
Recently I got this noble oppurtunity  of meeting few sisters in Deen, they came all the way from South Africa to Perth and Allahamdullilah we had some real heart to heart conversation and I felt so great and spiritually uplifted in their company. All this for the sake of Allah –  SubhanAllah – the amount of sacrifice they do for ALLAH and on the path of Allah, it can not be explained in words. May Allah reward them for their efforts. I had a beautiful experience with them and most interesting part is they gifted me this book named as “Faza’il – e – A’maal” by Maulvi Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalwi. This is a beautiful gift I could ever have, may Allah reward them for this. So I started reading this book which is divided into different sections, as I was turning pages I reached a section on “Virtues of Zikr”, out of curiosity I started reading this section. SubhanAllah, I was amazed to see that there are multiple benefits of doing zikr and I have realised that how important it is to include Zikr in our day to day life to gain more Barakah. So, I thought of sharing it with you guys.
Hafiz Ibn Qayyim, a well known Muhaddith has written an authentic book, named, ‘al – Waabilus Sayyib’ on the virtues of Zikr. He has stated therein that the virtues of zikr are more than 100 and he has listed 79 of these. I am gonna share few of these with you not all of them …
  1. Zikr keeps away the satan and weakens his strength
  2. It is the cause of Almighty Allah’s pleasure
  3. It relieves the mind of anxieties and worries
  4. It produces joy and happiness in the heart
  5. It brightens the face and the heart
  6. It attracts one’s sustenance
  7. It invests the zaakirs (person who does Zikr) with awe and sweetness so that the seeing eye is filled with awe and pleasure at his sight
  8. It is the key to nearness to Almighty Allah; the greater the Zikr, the greater the nearness to Allah, and greater the indifference to Zikr, the greater the difference from him.
  9. Zikr of Allah causes one’s mention in the court of Allah, as Quran says “Remember me, and I will remember you”
  10. It gives life to the heart. Hafiz Ibn Taimiyah says that Zikr is as necessary for the heart as water for the fish. Imagine the condition of a fish out of water
  11. It is food for the heart and the soul; depriving them of Zikr is like depriving the body of its food
  12. The words of Zikr keep on moving round the Arsh of Almighty Allah as stated in a Hadith
  13. If one remembers Allah in happiness, Almighty Allah remembers him in his afflictions
  14. It causes Allah’s peace and mercy to descend, while angels surround the person engaged in Zikr
  15. It saves the tongue from indulging in backbiting, loose talk, lies and abuses. It is a common experience that a man whose tongue remain engaged in Zikr does not commit these absurdities. On the other hand, the tongue that is not used in Zikr, falls an easy prey to all kinds of useless talk
  16. By virtue of Zikr, the Zaakir is blessed, as also the person sitting by him.
  17. If Zikr is shared by tears and repentance in loneliness the Zaakir (a person who does zikr) will be blessed under the shadow of Allah’s throne on the Day of Judgement, when hearts will jump to lips due to agony of intolerable heat of that day
  18. The noor of Zikr remains with a person in his life as well as in his grave. It will go infront of him on the Siraat in the Hereafter.
  19. There is a sort of hardness in the human heart, which is not softened by anything except Zikr
  20. Almighty Allah grants His grace to those who do Zikr, and the angels pray for them (Imagine angels are praying for you, Isn’t it worth it.)
  21. By Zikr one is blessed with divine help that associates in all one’s doings. That is why some time man’s achievements surpass his powers, and he attains what was seemingly beyond his reach. This is perhaps the reason why our beloved prophet (peace be upon him) advised his daughter Hazrat Fatima (Radhiyallaho anha) to recite SubhanAllah – Allhamdullilah 33 times each and Allahu Akbar 34 times before going to bed at night, when she approached him for a helper, complaining that she was over-worked by the labour of grinding wheat and doing other house-hold jobs. The prophet (peace be upon him) further said, “The recitation of these Kalimahs is better for you than a servant”
  22. The faces of those who do Zikr remain bright in this life, and will carry a special radiance in the Hereafter
  23. One who does Zikr at many places will find many witnesses in his favour. Our beloved prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whatever deed is done, good or bad, by any man or woman on the face of the earth, the earth will describe it all, with date, time and place”
  24. Zikr dispels every fear of the heart. It has a special hand in inducing peace of mind and for relieving the heart of its fear. The greater, therefore, the amount of Zikr, the greater freedom from fear
  25. Gatherings of Zikr are also the gatherings of angels

After knowing all of this who wouldn’t want to do Zikr. I specifically found these virtues so inspiring. So my last note would be: get yourself engaged with Zikr and other kinds of worship, especially in this last portion or Ashrah (ten days) of Ramadan. These days are signified by increasing devotion to worship and increased good deeds. For this reason I have taken these last days of Ramadan off from all social media because I believe it’s important to recharge our souls, connect ourselves to Allah and to get ourselves spiritually uplifted so that we can face the challenges this world has to offer with powerful souls for the whole year. And Ramadan is the best time to do that, to disconnect yourself from the social media. That’s all for now, Remember me in your prayers. See you after Eid In’sha’Allah! 🙂

Till then take care and eat healthy! 🙂

Healthy Eating In Ramadan

by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, Islamic Medicine, Mind, Body & Soul, Prophetic Food, Prophetic Medicine, What our beloved PBUH used to eat?

Why is that we spend a whole month of fasting, yet rather than losing weight we actually put on weight? I tell you why? It’s because we take this month as a month of food and forget the real essence of fasting and we overindulge ourselves, instead of eating less we actually overeat. Overeating has been frowned upon in our religion as it is thought to increase worldly appetites and cause sluggishness, thereby ”dulling the soul”. Ghazali said that satiety results in laziness and sluggishness of the heart; it slows down perception and awareness, while hunger clears the mind and purifies the heart. So, the whole purpose of fasting here is to have a lighter body in order to free the soul and focus on more important spiritual matters.

BENEFITS OF FASTING:

Fasting has lots of physical and spiritual benefits. I’m going to discuss some physical benefits here. Accordingg to Dhahabi in his ‘Medicine of the Prophet’, it was thought that the stomach was ”the seat of disease”. Fasting gives the digestive system a rest and makes the body feel lighter. The energy usually consumed in digestion and food metabolism will be directed towards body detoxification, tissue repair, and system healing.

Leon Chaitow recommended fasting in his book ”Natural Alternative to Antibiotics” as an effective way to ‘supercharge’ the immune system. He states that fasting boosts the activity of essential parts of the body’s natural defence mechanism. During fasting the ability of the lymphocytes and other blood cells to encounter any bacterial attack is much improved, and since the level of free radicals in the body is reduced by reducing food intake, the activity of the antioxidants is retained for better cell protection. Fasting also boosts the detoxification powers of the hepatic (liver) cells, cleans the kidneys and colon and purifies the blood. Furthermore, it helps overcome obesity, aids in ridding the body of any excess water, and clears the blood from extra fats, which in turn frees the tissues from stored fat-soluble toxins such as pesticides or drug metabolites.

In this month of Ramadan, we should aim and plan to gain the full benefits of fasting by eating healthy and controlling our portions of food. Always remember our body is a gift from Allah; He trusted our bodies to us to take care of for a fixed period of time. Taking care of it in the best way possible is our responsibility. The prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“God has a right over you; your body has a right over you …”

While we focus on our spiritual upbringing in this month, we also need to focus on our physical well being. To strike a balance between the needs of the physical body and your spiritual needs, you must consume the right type and amount of foods. Now let me share a few tips on what to eat and what not to eat during Ramadan.

 

 

WHAT’S FOR SUHOOR?

The prophet (Peace be upon him) strongly advised people not to skip suhoor (the meal before dawn). He recommended eating this light meal as close to dawn as we can, to be able to keep our full strength during the day. If you skip out on suhoor, you are putting your body in starvation mode and actually only going to cause yourself to overindulge at Iftaar time. So, eat sahoor. The prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“There is a blessing in eating sahoor so do not skip it. Atleast drink a sip of water, for Allah and his angels give their blessings to the people who eat their meal before the break of dawn”.

Ahmed 

List Of Food You Can Eat:

The best foods for suhoor are:

  • a light meal of bread and cheese or
  • A slice of bread with an omelette
  • Whole grain toast with all-natural peanut butter/almond butter top with berries/banana slices or
  • Museli/Quinoa with almond milk/full fat milk/yogurt, raisins, cinnamon, organic honey and banana/other fruits. Don’t forget the dates to spread on the top
  • 3 or 5 dates with water melon, depending upon the size of the dates (Sunnah)
  • 3 dates with milk

Basic rule applies here : ‘Do not overdo it’, when you eat less, you are less prone to becoming hungry quick and remember the purpose of fasting is to empty the stomach and lighten the body to free the soul.

WHAT’S FOR IFTAR?

List Of Food You Can Eat:

  • Dates: After a long day of fasting it is wise to break the fast with a light and healthy meal. Start with dates if possible. I personally don’t question any food that was eaten by our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him) or recommended by him. Anas Ibn Malik RA (may God be pleased with him) narrated:

“The messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) used to break his fast before praying with some fresh dates, but if there were no fresh dates, he took some mouthfuls of water”.

Sunan Abu Dawud

 

 

Dates contain a high percentage of simple sugars that are easily and quickly absorbed by the body, giving an immediate boost of energy and restoring normal blood sugar levels (BSL) after a long fasting day. Dates also provide the energy necessary for food digestion, assimilation and absorption, thus preventing the sluggishness often felt after the Iftar. Dates are rich in vitamin A and B, in addition to magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. In addition to simple and easily absorbed sugars, they contain fibre, which relieves constipation, aids in cholesterol reduction, fights colon cancer and rapidly gives a feeling of satiety (fullness).

  • Fresh fruit juice/Milk: I will highly recommend that you break your fast with dates and fresh juice. This is the healthy combination and  if you can’t prepare it daily then make your life easy and have plain water or even milk with dates. Milk with dates at Iftar is a tradition which is applied in many Arabs and Muslim countries. Muslims break their fast on dates pre-soaked in milk before performing their sunset prayer. Milk is rich in proteins, calcium, vitamin B2 and fat soluble vitamins. The high glycemic index of dates is counteracted by milk. The fatty nature of milk slows down the absorption of the sugars in dates, preventing a sudden rush of insulin.
  • Other option would be Dates and Fruit salad

Basic rule applies here: Eat three or more dates with milk/fresh juice or any other healthy drink. Take it as a snack time, offer Maghrib and then have your dinner post Maghrib.

Dinner Meal Options:

  • Fresh salad: Eat lots of fresh salad, it is both healthy and filling, but avoid the ready made dressings. You can prepare your own healthy dressing from olive oil, apple cider vinegar, thyme, basil and oregano.
  • Chicken/lentils/beans
  • Rice/Chapati/Bread/Pasta

I recommend you follow the plate method for dinner. If you want to know how much food should we eat from the food items mentioned above, check out my blog which I wrote about portion control.  Click here for the blog on Portion Control

Basic rule applies here: Eat salad first and then the rest of your meal. Salad will fill you up. Check out your portion sizes, Don’t overeat.

 

Drink Plenty of Water:

Water is the most purifying drink. It cleans out toxins from your body, prevents you from getting headaches (especially when you are not drinking or eating all day). So drink plenty of water between Iftar and Sahoor.

FOODS TO AVOID:

  • Avoids fats and fried foods as much as you can. Please, a humble request, don’t eat those samosa, pakoras, chips and bla bla. Frying foods creates unnatural fats called trans fatty acids (trans fats) which studies have shown to be involved in many heart and circulatory disorders. So avoid it.
  • Skip the soda. Drinking soda with your Iftar will only make you thirstier, and dehydrate your body more than it already is.
  • Break your coffee and tea addiction. If possible, regulate your body to get rid of your caffeine addiction before Ramadan starts. If you are drinking 3-4 cups of coffee/tea daily, and on the first day of Ramadan you don’t drink any, you may get headaches and lack energy. So start reducing your tea/coffee now.
  • Don’t eat empty calorie desserts. Replace them with fresh or dried fruits.

Furthermore, do not sleep after Iftar. Be active and take a walk or 15-20 min of exercise would be good. It will help your body to digest the food. And how can we forget our voluntary prayer – ‘The Tarahweeh prayer’ is the best form of exercise guys. Be aware that if you fast properly (no overeating), you may experience some natural symptoms of detoxification as the toxins are slowly withdrawn from your body, especially in the first few days. These symptoms can be anything from fatigue to headache and may be bad breath. These are totally safe and natural symptoms which you will soon overcome (as long as you are getting enough fluids). I hope that you find this blog helpful. I assure you that making these small healthy changes in your Ramadan and even regular diet, will substantially improve your overall health and fitness.

My last note would be: Make a good intention for all of your actions. For instance, instead of praying Maghrib and rushing to eat, set your intention to eat to nourish your body so that you can stand and pray. Set your intention to eat suhoor to have energy all day so that you can worship properly. In this way, you make eating an act of worship and get rewarded for it In’sha’Allah (If God wills).

May you all have a happy and healthy Ramadan. Remember me in your dua’s. Take care and eat healthy! 🙂

RAMADAN – A Month of Self Discipline!

by Noureen, posted in Eat Well, Islamic Medicine, Mind, Body & Soul, Prophetic Food

Hello friends … hope you all are doing really well. “Ramadan” is coming … yaaay I’m excited 😉 It’s unbelievable how fast this blessed month flies by every year. For those of you who don’t know much about Ramadan (my non muslim readers), it’s the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims fast every single day from around just before sunrise to sunset. Most muslims offer the extra prayers called ”the Taraweeh” prayers which they pray after the night time prayers. Muslims pray five times a day. Those are the obligatory prayers that practicing muslims pray on a daily basis and in Ramadan we have some extra prayers (voluntary prayers) after the final fifth prayer at night. Fating is something that most major religions of the world part take in. For muslims its different in that sense we don’t eat anything whatsoever from pre dawn till sunset. People who are ill they are exempt from fasting. For instance women who are pregnant and in their lactation period, old people – people who are weak all of those are exempt from fasting. Apart from abstaining from food, muslims also abstain from sexual relations during fasting period and also from being bad people. Fasting teaches us patience, tolerance and how to discipline our body and souls. Ramadan is a special time where we make an extra effort to truly be fully conscious of how we are behaving and the vibes that we have not just on ourselves but also on the people around us. This month is actually a training period for us so that we can continue doing good deeds through out the year.

There are so many wisdoms behind fasting but for me it is actually to pull myself out of this material world and to put myself in touch with the spiritual dimension, the spirituality that we all have inside us but we tend to forget on day to day basis. And abstaining ourselves from food really does do that. You feel that empty stomach, you become extra sensitive towards people, you feel the pain for people who are deprived of food. Hunger reminds me that I am so blessed to have food on my table everyday whereas there are many who are dying because of hunger because they don’t have food.

With less than a few days to go to Ramadan, I am trying to take my own advice and prepare for the blessed month as well as I can. This month of 29 or 30 days is the best time to change ourselves and to make or break a habit. I believe Ramadan is the best time to discipline ourselves physically and spiritually. So, that’s why I thought of writing about Self discipline. It’s really unfortunate to see that we Muslims have forgotten the traditions and made this month a month of over indulgence, a month of food and Iftar parties and sleepless nights. Yes, lets talk about filling our stomachs, its vital to talk. Every time when I see muslims filling their stomach it reminds me of a very well known hadith:

“The prophet (PBUH) said: The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for air”.  Al Tirmidhi

 

 

We truly ignore this saying of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) and do the opposite. Especially in Ramadan when we can easily discipline our eating habits we simply overeat, and eat all the crap like fried stuff – samosas, pakoras, junk food and bla bla. So, in this Ramadan we should make this goal to attain discipline, to change our bad eating habits In’sha’Allah (If God wills). In Imam Al- Ghazali’s “Breaking the two desires” book 23 he explains the following four duties as a method of discipline. I am going to share these with you and will add few more useful tips for additional benefit and guidance which you can follow throughout this Ramadan and after Ramadan of course.

Eat what is lawful (halal) and pure (Tayyieb):

  • Make intention for the sake of Allah
  • Avoid packaged and processed foods
  • Avoid fizzy carbonated drinks
  • Eat organic whenever possible and seasonal food
  • Support local farmers, I normally use this notion “Eat Local & Think Global”

Limit the quantity you eat:

  • Eat when truly hungry
  • Discipline gradually
  • Let food digest before eating again
  • Reduce intake gradually
  • Stop eating before you are full
  • Be consistent, have balance.

Delay when you eat:

  • Fasting is good for self discipline (fast Mondays and Thursdays other than Ramadan)
  • Feel hunger (without hurting health)
  • Determine what is the least you can eat safely

Which varieties of food you eat:

  • Incorporate prophetic foods into your diet
  • Introduce healthy food choices
  • Eat nutrient dense foods
  • Avoid diet trends, gimmicks, and quick fixes
  • Limit meat consumption
  • We are individual (it must be convenient, accessible and available)

This is not about attaining self discipline only in Ramadan, it should be with the intention of changing one self for the whole year. Also, this is not only for our health and good nutrition but we want to follow the sunnah of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) and gain more rewards.

Before I finish my blog, I feel the need to talk about this but first I’d like to ask this question … If you knew that this would be the last Ramadan you had left, how would you spend that Ramadan? Would you be in the kitchen for 3 hours cooking? Would you? Hello sisters, I’m talking to you 😉 Answer would be ”Probably Not”. I am aware of the fact that women spend hours in the kitchen during this month. You should be spending that time for lectures, reading Quran, anything else than just wasting time in the kitchen. If you wanna cook that’s fine, but don’t overdo it, you know what I mean. Make enough, don’t overdo it. If you ask me, honestly I’d love to have cooked the night before extra, this way I get another hour and a half to get more stuff done. Eat left overs, eat less. It’s the month of sacrifice, so eat less and give more. Last thing on our mind should really be food.

Lastly, I would like to draw your attention to the real purpose and spirit of Ramadan. Ramadan is not only about omitting food, It’s not about eating and overfilling our stomachs, it’s not about indulging all night and sleeping all day and waking up an hour before sunset to prepare a meal. Rather, it’s about you and your relationship with Allah. It’s about connecting with your lord, it’s about growing spiritually, doing extra ibadah (worship). Its about sitting with your kids, teaching them the importance of Ramadan and going together as a family to the mosque to offer Taraweeh prayer. Eat healthy so you have more energy to do the right things that you need to do in this month.

That being said, I’m done with my topic today. My next blog would be about what should we eat for Iftar and Sheri, its coming up soon, so stick around. Till then take care and eat healthy! 🙂