1: the beautiful hunger-the beautiful struggle.

salaams everyone and ramadan mubarak to those who have already begun the observance of this beautiful month. i want to remind everyone that this is the month to reflect--listen more than you speak:

i should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears/when that one steps near and begins to speak.--rumi

since in order to speak, one must first listen, learn to speak by listening.--rumi

i have started a blog with the intention of separating my ramadan thoughts from my other thoughts. i usually do not like the compartmentalization of my discourse because it feels contrived, but i think this will be a useful distinction. each day i will post two things: (1) reflection and (2) photo(s). this blog is called the 'beautiful hunger' because as is noted near the header, 'ramadan increases your physical hunger. more importantly, it nurtures as well as sustains a spiritual hunger for reflection and renewal. this is the most beautiful hunger.' ramadan is not solely about fasting from food, but from the bad habits that cause us to surrender our best selves. this blog is also called 'beautiful hunger' in relation to martin luther king jr's 'beyond vietnam' speech where he says:

We must move past indecision to action. Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world.

ramadan is a beautiful hunger and thus a beautiful struggle. we struffle toward better selves and a better world. i envision ramadan as the personalized revolution that puts you in the best disposition to have both the courage and insight to change society. when we cleanse our bodies, we also cleanse our minds.

for this ramadan, there have been two strands of preparation. first, there has been the cooking and cleaning. i cooked a huge pot of lentil stew, baked vegan oatmeal raisin cookies (and loaf), made a green/spinach smoothie, and sliced up fruit. i also cleaned my whole apartment putting up new curtains, organizing books, and generally creating an uncluttered space where i can be at peace for prayer and reflection. second, there was the more spiritual preparation which included letting go of a lot of negative feelings, reconciling any bad relationships, and making space in my heart for renewal.

i believe this ramadan will be a good one. the main struggle will be to maintain my schedule. far to often, we make time for everything else except prayer and reflection. i made a very detailed schedule which i intend to follow. i do not plan to stay at work longer than necessary and i will not waste my time in fruitless pursuits and inconsequential activities. i have three main goals this ramadan: (1) read the qur'an in its entirety (2) improve my khushoo and (3) read haykal's the life of muhammad. i also want to reread ulum al-quran and some works by al-ghazali.

tonight, i am going with my pops up to oakland to do the moon sighting. i have not sighted the moon myself since i was a young girl on the porch with my father.

i am excited about this ramadan, and inshaAllah you are as well. i have been in a beautiful and loving mood. i pray that ramadan further nurtures this disposition.

for basic info on the month of ramadan, tajuddin b. shu` 'essentials of ramadan, the fasting month' text is online here. for a more brief description, you can visit aaminah and mai'a collaborative ramadan blog here.