Legilimens

Today was the last day of Ramadan. Tomorrow will be Eid ul-Fitr. After thirty days of #RamadanReflections, it’s finally over. And I can’t believe it.

I am finding today’s post to be the most difficult to write. How do you “close” Ramadan? How to try to summarize this experience in 600 words or less? What kind of opening story or closing prayer do you offer to try to capture everything this month has meant? Ramadan’s been about so many different things for so many different people. It’s been about growing, about maturing, about bettering ourselves in a way that will change our lives forever.

And it’s important we remember that the lessons we have learned during Ramadan are lessons we can take with us as we move forward. The improvements we have made and the experiences we have picked up, these are things that won’t leave us. They’ll be with us, standing by our side, ready to support us—as long as we let them be. I began writing this blog thirty days ago, because I wanted to have something to look back long after Ramadan. At the time, I knew that much too soon Ramadan would pass and we would find ourselves struggling again. And that’s the reality of it. In the coming months, we are going to struggle, we are going to fail, and we are going to feel our imaan, our faith, at its very weakest. And that’s when we will realize how much we truly miss Ramadan. It’ll be then that we realize how important these lessons are.

So as you leave Ramadan, make sure you have something that you’re taking from it. Don’t leave this month without a parting gift. Whether it’s a manner, whether it’s a friend, whether it’s a small quote you found that kept you going when times were rough, have something—because you’ll need it. While writing this blog, I’ve found myself struggling, I’ve found myself reflecting, I’ve even found myself tearing, but, most of all, I’ve found myself growing. And I have you all to thank for that. From this Ramadan, I’m taking away not only 30 days of reflections and writings, but 30 days of meeting new friends, of making new connections, of reaching people in a way I never thought possible. During this last month, this blog was read from over 65 different countries; the readers numbered in the thousands and the message reached millions. And without exception, each and every one of us came with our own personal story, with our own personal struggle, with our own personal Ramadan. Each one of us brought something different to the table, and it was because of that we each benefitted.

Moving forward, we can’t afford to forget how much we all mean to each other. Each retweet, each Like, each comment and message, they’ve all mattered. It’s the support and encouragement of all of you that’s been keeping me going this month. It’s been what’s driven me to the highs and pulled me out of the lows. It’s been a huge part of what my Ramadan experience has been this year. And it’s something I will never forget. But the most important thing about it is that it proved something very profound: We each have the potential to change the lives. We each have the potential to be kind, to be thoughtful, to be the kind of person this world needs.

If you have the opportunity to bring just a little bit more happiness into someone’s live, use it. If you have the chance to share a small act of kindness, act on it. If you see something you can do to make the world a better place, do it. Thirty days after I first posted it, this Ramadan brings me back to the same hadith I began it with:

“The best actions are those which are small and consistent.” 

-Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Hold on to that. Let it be what keeps you going. Be kind. Be generous. And most importantly, be real. Be realistic in your expectations and consistent in your actions. Do those things that you know are right and avoid those things that you know are wrong. Learn how to love those around you. Learn how to appreciate the reality that we all need each other, that we all must depend on each other for love and support—because none of us can do this alone. And as you do that, let the lessons you learned during this Ramadan become the experiences that carry you to the next Ramadan, the experiences that carry us all to the next Ramadan.

As this Ramadan ends, I just want to once again thank everyone who has made it an amazing experience for me. If you’ve benefitted from my reflections, if you’ve really enjoyed one of the posts, if you’ve just been wanting to say something but wondering if it’d be awkward, or even if you’ve been asking who it is behind these words, I’d love to hear from you. Tweet me. Email Me. Message me. And, most of all, please keep me in your duas. For the last thirty days, you’ve all been in mine.