your priorities are your character

“Good character melts away sin just as the sun melts ice.”

“May you receive what you’ve been praying for.”

“Ladies, when we’re on our periods, I know how frustrating it can be to feel barred from the spirituality of Ramadan. And I know that some cultures shame and guilt for eating when others are fasting. But the guilting, the shaming- those are not from Islam. Your menses is a natural, beautiful, critical experience for you AND FOR THE EXISTENCE OF HUMANITY. It is not a punishment or a curse- it is a blessing! Aisha ®, more righteous than all of us combined, got her period when she went to make Hajj with the Prophet (s). How devastated must she have been, after all of those years of waiting to make this journey, coming back into Mecca with the beloved of God (s) and His worshippers. And yet the Prophet (s) simply gently told her, “This is a thing which God has ordained for the daughters of Adam.” And then the Prophet (s) guided her in the fiqh rulings of worship. He didn’t make her feel like she couldn’t participate, like she couldn’t reach God in this time, like every door of worship was closed to her. He ensured she felt like she was still a part of her community’s Hajj experience, and that the small of which she didn’t participate in, she was taught what to do instead. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us, “When a slave falls ill or travels, then s/he will get reward similar to that s/he gets for good deeds practiced at home when in good health.” (Bukhari). So you’re still rewarded as if you were doing what you would be doing if you could even when you can’t do it. When you go through all of the physical and emotional pain of being on your period, remember, “Whatever befalls a Muslim of exhaustion, illness, worry, grief, nuisance or trouble, even though it may be no more than a prick of a thorn, earns him/her forgiveness by God of some of his/her sins” (Bukhari). Your pain is not overlooked: it’s a means of forgiveness and blessings and your ranks raised. You’re rewarded for eating and resting and recharging your body instead of spending hours in Salah and fasting. And you’re rewarded for submitting. Your menses is a blessing and with the right intention, every minute of your pain, effort and submission can be an act of worship this Ramadan.”

“When a man praises himself, his elegance disappears.”

“I have God. I’m good.”