while a third more deadlier wave of COVID-19 infections cloud over Toronto, as Ramadan 2021 comes to an end.
For Muslims who practice it,
Ramadan is like hitting an annual “reset” button of the physical and the spiritual aspects of being.
It is an opportunity to rejuvenate and nourish the spiritual self that gets diminished by the incremental increase of material desire over time.
The creep of materialism and other physical desires such as food, clothes, spending in excess, negative emotion such as anger and envy, can be insidious.
Ramadan acts as a reboot and new spiritual updates load up as the Muslim practices refraining from food during daylight hours for the 29 or 30 days.
It is not just about food but a cleansing of the soul, the body and one’s wealth.
It is a check-in towards humility and away from arrogance.
It is an acknowledgement of gratitude away from greed,
and it is a look inward to consider what needs to be fixed in the outward being.
Muslims donate generously, pray authentically, and pay close attention to how parts of us can be reinvented toward good.
Only when we hit the reset button do we realize what needed to be changed, much like when we update our electronic devices.
While in this pandemic, as the banality of each day continues, all days blending into each other, we languish in “stagnation and emptiness” in this continued isolation.
Many of us feel ourselves regressing inward, strangely getting accustomed to this lonely existence.
The cited New York Times article describes it as the “void between depression and flourishing”.
Going to the grocery store to pick up pastries to share a simple iftaar (food for breaking fast) front door drop-off was riddled with anxiety because the store seemed more full of people then it should have been,
or perhaps I was just manifesting the over a year long practiced fear of others due to social distancing.
Iftaar — soup and crackers
So how is this Ramadan different?
I struggle as I write this piece because while I have increased my worship and submission to the Creator,
I also feel an emptiness that is unusual.
In disease there is despair.
The start of the pandemic showed us how our senior citizens became victim to this deadly pandemic.
Over the year,
we had two close family members fight for their lives and win against covid-19 while we lost one other close family member.
Since my family is originally from India,
we are in shock and sadness at the recent second wave in India, where death and loss ravage a nation.
Until it hits home it is not real.
We had one covid scare right in our own home when even a slight common cold or a rising body temperature due to exhaustion can lead to panic and fear until a negative Covid test eases the anxiety.
In despair there is hope.
We have witnessed acts of generosity where people and organizations have galvanized communities during Ramadan and beyond.
Jamal Alsharif in Ottawa has set out to clean 30 streets in 30 days with his son during Ramadan or the 9 year old girl Hana Fatima whose gesture to help a neighbour who is a senior citizen became a facebook grassroot group of people helping each other.
Many others have organized and delivered food, and helped the homeless.
I wait with bated breath to see how it will consider its truth to power.
Action moves us forward, because inaction can lead to paralysis.
I have worked on strengthening my inner voice to advocate against isms and phobias that berate our society.
I have tried to organize events with like-minded colleagues,
to educate and increase awareness against anti-Asian racism, anti-black racism, Islamophobia and hate of any kind.
But I still feel like a coward staying safe, with my privilege, while those who bring us food and take care of our sick, are out there sacrificing every day.
If the worship in Ramadan began as a jog, it intensifies into a sprint in the last 10 days of the month, sacrificing sleep, contemplation in solitude, seeking the pleasure of the Creator.
I am filled with gratitude in ways that I have never been before,
and this is a gift of Ramadan and of the pandemic combined.
The pandemic has also been a type of reset for planet earth, and we are still rebooting.
As Ramadan will soon come to a close, but the pandemic will not, I grasp to the hope that as an indelibly marked people, we will be more humble and refreshingly humane.
As we metamorphosize,
I hope that we will go beyond the physical and acknowledge our collective humanity and see how we can seek to be good,
Comments Off on Day 24 – VIDEO – Itikaaf – First Dose – Mobile Vaccination Clinic – MAC ICCO – Muslim Association of Canada – Islamic Community Centre of Ontario – 2550 Dunwin Drive, Mississauga
Today was another success at the MAC ICCO mobile vaccination clinic. We managed to reach the maximum capacity of the clinic with 737 vaccinations administered today. We supplemented the inefficient Alio bookings with standby lists and limited walk-ins. #VaccineForAllpic.twitter.com/Nh1ZebY7Q0
— Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) (@MACNational) May 7, 2021
Priority is given to confirmed appointments then standby registrants then walk-ins. Today everyone was vaccinated. However, no guarantees for late walk-ins.
— Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) (@MACNational) May 7, 2021
Wednesday Night was the 23rd Night of Ramadan 1442,
They took ownership of what was potential for BAD PR / NEGATIVE Dawah situation for a “Masjid”,
The MAC ICCO,
From point of view of non-Muslim Peel Region residents,
Into a positive Mobile Vaccination Clinic experience for Muslims & non-Muslims alike.
Being a Masjid,
ICCO provided Private Vaccine Station for Muslim Sisters & for Women who wished extra privacy,
Female Registered Nurses administered doses to women vaccine clients in that private station.
While inside ICCO,
I was able to observe Itikaaf at least for the few minutes while in there.
My ONLY opportunity to observe Itikaaf INSIDE any masjid during these last 10 days or nights of Ramadan 2021.
The release of local proteins eg. Cytokines or chemokines cause the blood vessels to dilated and make the area feel warm and sometimes red. It results in irritation of the pain fibres in that same area which is why it aches afterwards. 2/2
Thank you Imam Yehya Soliman and team for organizing tonight's drive thru Iftar for our community. Your generosity and kindness is greatly appreciated. Ramadan Mubarak! pic.twitter.com/Ge2jzw6nIn
— Alethia O'Hara-Stephenson (@alethia_o) May 6, 2021
Comments Off on 30 MORE | Day 22 – Twitter Thread : “Mayor Tory and Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine Smith host virtual Ramadan celebration; forget to invite the two local Muslim MPPs”
So proud of the #manel, eh? Eventhough it excluded the 2 Muslim women elected to represent those exact 2 wards. So embarassing for all of you, but clearly you have no shame.
Had no idea they hadn’t been invited until it was pointed out as it’s often the case that elected officials are invited to events and unable to attend.
Comments Off on 30 MORE | Night 22 – VIDEO – Guest Blog Post: The Islamic Centre of Kingston – ISK — By Dr. Mona Rahman
“Find out from Sr. Mona Rahman what things were like before the Islamic Centre of Kingston was established,
and the story of how two groups of youth got to know each other through a Masjid activity to dismantle their misperceptions of each other,
resulting in more participation in youth activities and a sisterhood which developed and continued through to their adulthood.”
By Dr. Mona Rahman (@naeema_mnr) | Kingston, Ontario
The Islamic Society of Kingston was founded in the late 1960s as the Queen’s Islamic Society (mainly students and some faculty) and followed the route of many MSAs in North America,
evolving to the ISK as members settled in the community in the university town.
We, the first generation of children of the founding families in the 1970s and 1980s, did not grow up with a masjid.
Rather the community activities were held at various venues in the city,
with many activities centred around Queen’s University.
As the community grew from a handful of families,
it was clear that we needed a masjid to call our own which came to fruition in 1996 as the Islamic Centre of Kingston.
The small community of 200 were able to raise the $1 Million to make this dream a reality over time,
and we prayed our first Taraweeh Prayers in the unfinished Musallah in February of 1996.
Today the community has grown more than 10x to 3,000 people in the area and we have clearly outgrown the masjid.
Islamic Studies Classes on Saturdays have to be held in three sessions to accommodate all the students with intermediates having class from 11-12:30, primaries from 2-3:30 pm and juniors from 3:30-5 pm.
Qur’an classes are held on weeknights.
The playroom which was specifically built in the original design for the children and youth was recently transformed into an expanded Sisters area for the Musallah,
a very difficult decision but a sacrifice that was made.
As a result,
there is no longer a designated space for children/youth to hang out and play during Taraweeh, lectures or dinners.
Ramadan Iftar dinners (pre-COVID) have gotten so crowded that people can’t find room to sit,
and many go outside or into the Musallah.
The children have nowhere to play without disruption.
We have also now gotten to the point where we need to have more than one Jama’a for Salat-ul-Jumu’ah.
Many times,
particularly on long weekends when people are travelling on the 401,
we will have a completely full house with both the Musallah and community hall full to the brim at Jumu’ah.
Unfortunately, when things are so crowded it becomes a deterrent for people to attend social events.
Moreover, it is difficult for families with children in many age groups on Saturdays when they need to chauffeur children back and forth.
Even if children stay for supervised activity during their siblings’ classes, they are confined to a small space of the kitchen during the cold months.
Most importantly, though the different groups are keen to have activities more often, we are restricted by space to coordinate with each other.
The youth in particular need a space where they can gather with their Muslim peers and also develop an attachment to the masjid.
Alhamdullillah,
we have finally gotten the building permit from the city to launch Phase I of our extension project.
We already have raised over $1 Million towards this and this Ramadan have set a goal of $500,000 to get us closer to getting the shovels in the ground.
Comments Off on Day 21 – LIVESTREAM – Resilient Hour – Shaikh Abdul Wahab Saleem – IIT – Islamic Institute of Toronto
“Resilient Hour | from the Islamic Institute of Toronto
The hour before the breaking of the fast is perhaps the most difficult;
yet it signifies the strong will of the believer to take the hardship of the day to its conclusion and to take comfort in the knowledge that we will accomplish yet another day of worship.”
