Ihsaan Magazine May 2017 (Ramadhan Issue) | Page 28

Health & Lifestyle
order to facilitate your workouts. Ramadhan has
limited time, therefore if you can find the time
to get all major acts of worship done and also fit
a workout in, we say; “More power to you, but
make it a short one!!” We wouldn’t want you to
overexert yourself. Some fitness experts advise
on only doing strength training or short sessions
of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) during
Ramadhan as extended cardio exercises can have
an adverse effect and lead to loss of muscle mass
as a result of decreased nourishment. It is also
suggested that you find a ‘safe’ time to work out,
perhaps after Taraweeh or after Qiyaamul Layl
before Suhoor, some even go as far as suggesting
a half hour before iftaar (not for the faint nor for
the busy).
8 G you and when it wants to rest, then rest. Go
A Green
Ramadhan
despair if this happens. You are not a failure. Don’t
give up; just keep trying to stick to the plan.
Positive! – You can achieve what your
10 B e mind
conceives! Ramadhan is a time where
et Some Rest! – Your body has a right over
to bed on time and wake up energised the next
morning for Suhoor. Even our Nabi (SAW) spoke
about sleeping and the importance of giving our
body its right in Sahih Al-Bukhari. Don’t forget
the Sunnahs of sleeping! Going to bed with Wudhu,
laying on t he right side and saying the Du’a before
sleeping (AllahummaBismikaAmootuWaAhya).
9 P you may want to get done during this month.
lan PlanPlan! – There are many things that
There are immense rewards attached to every
second of the month of Ramadhan and I am
sure that you would want to capitalise on every
moment. Time management is the ultimate key to
balancing your responsibilities and accomplishing
your goals. Map out a schedule ahead of time and
pre-plan your meals, your times for formal actions
of ‘ibaadah, your workout, even your rest time and
try your utmost to adhere to your commitment.
There may be times where breaking your schedule
is unavoidable because surely “Allah is the Best
of Planners” (Surah Al-Anfal: 30). Don’t fall into
Muslims intend to draw closer to Allah (SWT)
through various acts of worship. The remedy to
achieving any goal, however, is to have proper
intentions and most importantly a positive
mindset. Once these are factored into our daily
lives, then accomplishing any goals that you put
your mind to becomes attainable. Remember, Allah
(SWT) created you capable, strong, and enduring,
therefore, you can accomplish your target, and
the sky is the limit! Ensure to set goals that are
realistic and achievable. If you did not achieve
what you set out to do initially, pick yourself up
and try again. Never allow negative thoughts to
cloud your mind, as this is the perfect remedy for
defeating your progress by striking doubt and
feelings of incompetence. Be good to yourself,
as any difficulty you may face whilst on your
journey, could only lead to a beautiful destination.
Reward yourself when the goal has been
accomplished. You deserve it, most definitely you
do! Rewarding yourself will only help you to stay
focused and will motivate you to keep working
diligently toward your purpose. Lastly, the most
important aspect of life is that you have Allah
(SWT); therefore, you have much to be positive
about. Remember this; “Allah gave them the return
in this world and also the better reward in the
Hereafter. Allah loves those who do good.” (Surah
Al-E-Imran: 148).
Ramadhan is a month of fasting,
reflection and community. It
is also a month for food. For
one month from dawn to dusk,
Muslims around the world
fast from food and drink. It is
customary for many to break the
fast with a date,
fresh fruit, water
and other local
delicacies.
As much as it
is a time for
restrictions,
it can become
a time of
indulgence.
Iftaar meals
can be quite
extravagant,
featuring a
variety of meats,
side dishes and
desserts which can
easily rival celebratory meals.
Islam teaches moderation, that’s
not saying that Muslims should
be miserly or withhold for these
meals, but instead of going ‘all
out’ every night for the month,
try to find a balance where we
can avoid excessiveness, gluttony
and wastage and focus our time
and effort on the remembrance of
Allah during this blessed month.
Muslims are encouraged to eat
halaal (i.e. permissible) and tayib
(i.e. what is good or pure). This
means that Ramadhan should
be a reflective time not only in
prayer but a time where we are
conscious about the food that
we put into our bodies. Are the
foods that we consume locally
produced? How many pesticides
were used? Were the animals
injected with hormones and
were they treated humanely? We
can also ask ourselves, were the
workers who farmed this food
treated fairly, and paid living
wages? Sometimes, the answers
to these questions, particularly
imported products, are generic
and may be difficult to attain. For
locally sourced fruits, vegetables
and meats it may be easier to
enquire about the process that
went into farming and harvesting
them. Ramadhan can be a good
time to get involved in community
issues and start having these
conversations.
For many local mosques,
the entire
congregation
takes part in
the Iftaar
meal, and
for most,
if not the
entire
month,
the other mosques across the country.
How do we as a Muslim community
address this? What can we do
to encourage ethical eating and
reducing our carbon footprint? How
many of us even know what that is
or take the time to understand it?
Are the three “R’s” of sustainable
development (reduce, re-use and
recycle) only to be learnt in theory
and not in practice?
The first step should be education.
Have posters in the mosque calling
for water conservation in the wudhu
area. Another should be imams giving
khutbahs on being environmentally
conscious, and taking steps to
use our food and water resources
wisely. Advice
is
already given
in
mosque
hosts. With hosting
also comes waste. How many
mosques in Trinidad and Tobago
have recycling bins for the many
plastic bottles of water, soft drink
and juices that are consumed? If
not, what’s stopping them from
having them, and what would
help encourage mosques to
recycle?
What about using traditional
dining plates instead of styrofoam
ones? Yes, it takes a lot of time
to wash those dishes and cutlery,
but what about using disposable
plates that don’t lead to rubbish
piling up, and instead will
decompose after time. There are
quite a few options today of bio-
degradable items that can be used.
With hundreds of plastic plates,
cups, and cutlery being used each
night during Ramadhan by one
mosque alone, by the end of the
month that number would’ve
risen to the thousands as a similar
situation would be occurring in the Qur’an
and
Sunnah about living sustainably, so
this isn’t a foreign concept. Talks on
eating halaal food should be taken
to the next level to include tayib,
focusing on the importance of it not
only for our well-being but for the
environment.
Make recycling easy; have easily
identifiable bins for plastics
and encourage the use of fewer
plastic products either by using
reusable dishes or encouraging the
congregation to bring their own.
Choosing the more eco-friendly
option of biodegradable utensils,
plates and cups. This may be a bit
more costly, but will, in the long run,
be better for the environment.
For far too long Muslims have been
idle about environmental issues, and
it’s not a luxury we have anymore. A
shift in cult ure and attitudes when it
comes to the environment is what is
required to make our mosques eco-
friendly and ourRamadhan green.
WRITTEN by. Get fit muslimah TT
WRITTEN by. Saffiyya Mohammed
26 | Ihsaan | Issue 2