Ramadhan in Isolation: Part 2

As explained by Atiyah here, Ramadhan is a time of spiritual detoxification and exercising self-control. It is a time to engage in extra deep worship at scale to gain more reward from Almighty Allah. It is also a time to reflect, expand one’s knowledge about the religion of Islam, and incorporate its learning into one’s daily activities afterwards. Also, and most significantly, it is a pillar of Islam which is obligated on every able Muslim and the revelation of the holy book (Al-Qur’an) began during this month.

Hence, being in lockdown just served as a means to intensify the act of worship with little or no distraction except from coursework and exam preparation of course 🙂 which is paramount as a student. Observing this year’s Ramadhan in lockdown has also provided me the opportunity to explore other aspect of worship (like doing taraweeh alone) and focus on its quality. Of course, I miss going to the masjid for taraweeh as well as the different iftar invitations which was the usual norm during Ramadhan but then again, I am grateful for the opportunity to be alive and well.

Although, my schedule has been impacted by the lockdown as my night seems to have turned to my day and vice versa. However, I still try to balance my online workload, student representative responsibility, and coursework with my worship. What I do is to plan my day ahead (oh sorry night, hahaha!) and allocate time to each task in order not to miss anything because it is very easy to go off-track since one is just at home without going anywhere. That does not mean I do not derail sometimes though  🙂 as one can only try his best.

Another thing about this Ramadhan in lockdown is that I have enjoyed my iftar (meal for opening one’s fast) more in the sense that I have been able to explore different kinds of Nigerian local meals, continental food, and desserts especially taking them in appropriate proportion since no eating of iftar out. Below is a picture of my rustic meal set.

One of the deserts I enjoy most is puff-puff shown in the picture below. It is a typical Nigerian street food which if spiced up with sesame seeds or coconut and marple syrup can have a delightful taste :).

Also, there is a particular fruit called "dates" which is highly recommended in opening of fast. I enjoy taking this with milk as it enhances the taste of the dates and it is a practise of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) as well.

I have been and keep enjoying my Ramadhan thus far, I pray God accept it from us as an act of worship and spare our lives till the end and beyond.