Ramadan Is Around the Corner

February 19 marks the first day of Ramadan

This year, Ramadan begins on February 19. Because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, instead of the solar cycle, it arrives about 10 days earlier each year. This ensures that no matter where a person lives on Earth, they experience Ramadan through every part of the year. The long summers, the short winters, and the moderate spring and autumns.

I will have much more to say about Ramadan once the holy month begins. Keep an eye out for what I hope are daily gems of knowledge to share. But for now I’d like to share some high level thoughts on framing, and why this month is my favorite time of the year.

Ramadan is a priceless opportunity to take action and become a better servant to humanity. It is a precious gem that attracts God’s nearness, His mercy, His blessings, and His forgiveness.

Ramadan is a narrow path that reminds us fasting is not just about abstaining from food and drink, but also from back biting, gossiping, malice, suspicion, miserliness, extravagance, vulgarity, immodesty, infidelity, arrogance, ignorance, cowardice, and thinking ill of others. Muslims are called to break each of these bad habits and do so by willpower, so that when food and drink become permissible once again, we have built an internal fortress to permanently abstain from the aforementioned bad habits.

In short, Ramadan is our annual reset button, an opportunity to reflect, revise, revive, reform, and revitalize ourselves to become the best version of ourselves.

I cannot wait to share this journey with the Islam Today community this year. And if anyone wishes, perhaps we can plan a collective fast one day this month. More to come, I promise. Be sure to subscribe below and share your questions, as they will help inform the articles and videos I produce this blessed month of Ramadan.

Ramadan Mubarak!