Inspirational Stories

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A few years ago after I had just been promoted, received a raise in salary, and wanted to celebrate. I then went up to my colleague, and someone I consider a brother, asking him if he wanted to travel to London with me. He responded by saying "Khalid I can't come to London with you, but how about you come to Hajj with me?".

That moment is high up there in the most awkward moments I have experienced. Here was someone who had invited me to join him on a beautiful pilgrimage and complete one of the five pillars of Islam, and I on the other hand was inviting him to holiday filled with late nights, lots of food, and unnecessary shopping. The beautiful thing about the situation was that he didn't make me feel awkward about my initial plans, he simply opened the door and invited me in to join him, no pressure at all.

Alhamdulilah I joined him, completed the Hajj pilgrimage, and I will be forever grateful to him for that. More importantly during our pilgrimage he would never remind or tease me about my initial plans of wanting to travel to London. He always made me feel like I was part of the original plan of performing Hajj, he made me feel comfortable, like it was where I was meant to be all along.

The moral of this story is to always hold back judgement on people who are trying to become better (in this case me), especially during our holiest times. In Ramadan there are people who are branded as "Ramadan Muslims", the description goes something like these people party, don't attend mosque or pray regularly, and put their religion second. Then along comes Ramadan and they start to calm down, attend mosque and pray regularly, read Quran or attend lectures, and overall try to strengthen their connection with Allah.

What happens as these people try to change for the better is that others start to mock them, tease them, or judge them for only embracing Islam during the month of Ramadan. Funnily enough the people who judge them are usually the same people who were saying "Allah yihdee" or "Allah please guide them" when they were not following certain Islamic practices before Ramadan.

If anything "Ramadan Muslims" should be encouraged and supported. I mean what better a time to change their lives for the better and seek a stronger connection to their faith than in Ramadan. People should make them feel welcome, the same way that the people who encourage them to do other things make them feel welcome when they are at a party or out late at night.

We shouldn't make "Ramadan Muslims" feel weird, awkward, or strange, we should make them feel loved and remind them that they are important part of the community. We should make them feel normal, because it is through that encouragement, support, and comfort that will hopefully make them continue their new found faith beyond Ramadan.

Imam Hamza Yusuf said during one of his Ramadan lectures "Allah's door is always open, whatever you have done, just come back". He said this very passionately with tears in his eyes as he knows that we judging each other is one of the biggest things that is tearing communities apart. Practicing muslims must always remember that, we have no right to stand guard at Allah's doors of forgiveness, and the best thing we can do is embrace "Ramadan Muslims" and welcome them home.