MYNA Ramdan Campaign Day 1: For those who could not make it, we highly recommend you all watch the recording of MYNA's first Ramadan halaqa. We would like to stress that there are alot of Ramadan prep videos out there, but this one is made especially for you, the youth ages 12-18. To watch yesterday's halaqa, here is the link for the recording: http://connectpro92382499.adobeconnect.com/p4qjbn2gksr/adobeconnect.com/p4qjbn2gksr/
Also, Br. Kia gave a beautiful dua in yesterday's halaqa, and it is attached to this page, along with the Ramadan checklist and guidelines.
Finally, don't forget to start working on your personal goals for this Ramadan!! The goals should be finalized and you can write them down on the checklist. For those who were not with us during the halaqa, the entire PD Ramadan Campaign for MYNA is explained at the end of the halaqa.
We pray that we all have a beneficial Ramadan and that we are able to utilize every single minute for attaining good deeds. Ramadan Kareem to all of you, remember us and the entire ummah in your duas.
MYNA Ramadan Campaign Day 5:
Now that the first week of fasting has nearly ended, our Ramadan activities have probably fallen into a routine of Quran, chores, and taraweeh prayers. And as the weekend comes up, many of you will likely be very busy with iftars and community gatherings InshaAllah. It’s easy for the days of Ramadan to seem either empty or extremely busy and social. However, it’s important to remember that we should avoid wasting time in this month :) Even when we’re not engaged in usual acts of worship, we should still make an effort to have the intention of pleasing Allah in our other activities, whether we’re taking classes, working a summer job, or helping cook for iftar. For those who find their initial Ramadan enthusiasm has decreased and need some spiritual refreshment, we recommend the following: Tariq Ramadan has been delivering a short podcast everyday about the 99 names of Allah. Also, as we discussed in last week’s halaqa, one way to strengthen your connection with the Quran this month is to read its English translation, and especially to read what the imam will recite before going to taraweeh prayers so you can follow along. This book, Reflections on the Quran, has brief and clear summaries of all the surahs that would be recited each night during Taraweeh, and it is a great way to supplement your reading of the translation.
MYNA Ramadan Campaign Day 10: ‘The Value of Time’ is exactly the topic of this week’s halaqa. Br. Saad Omar, a MYNA alumnus and speaker, has kindly allowed us to share this halaqa he recorded after the recent Midwest Summer Regional Camp in Kentucky. It really is an excellent video and it was made especially for MYNA youth like you, so please take advantage! Here is the book recommendation mentioned in the halaqa, also called The Value of Time.
To recap Br. Saad’s challenge to us this week: Look at how you are currently spending your entire day and break down that routine into blocks (ex. 1 hour of Quran, 2 hours of Internet, 30-minute nap, etc). How many of those blocks are bringing us closer to Allah, and how many of them could we give less time to? The MYNA Ramadan Checklist (reattached) is an easy way to identify certain actions we need to focus on or avoid, and it will also keep you on track towards reaching your Quran & charity goals :) And as we mentioned before, even when we’re not doing usual acts of worship, we should still make an effort to have the intention of pleasing Allah in all of our activities.
As Ramadan flies by, our focus during the next 10 days has shifted from the ‘days of mercy’ to the ‘days of forgiveness’. And with the blur of activity going on in Ramadan, we don't want to find the month ending before we've realized it! Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Take yourself into account before you’re taken into account.” Let’s use this next part of the month to make permanent changes in our routines, and let's sincerely ask Allah to forgive us and those around us. Ameen.
