Page 20 - Pakistan Link - May 28, 2021

P20 – PAKISTAN LINK – MAY 28, 2021 COMMENTARY
n By Samana Siddiqui Ten Ways to Keep Those Ramadan Habits
Chicago, IL have to work hard to force yourself to main-
tain your habit, whether it’s waking up for Fajr,
amadan was great for Sarah. She ac- good way to maintain good habits. not smoking, eating less, being more patient,
tually started praying five times a day Self-evaluation doesn’t only help you see etc.
Ron time. But once the blessed month where you are and where you’ve got to go. It’s Be thankful when you’re able to maintain
is over the momentum, drive and motiva- also a great reminder of what you were sup- your habit and think about practical things
tion that kept her going faded out. posed to do and didn’t. you can do to keep it up on a regular basis.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve Add a question or two (or three or four) 9. Work your way up slowly
been praying regularly, fasting, controlling about your specific habit into a daily self- Aisha reported that the Prophet said: “Do
your temper, trying to be more patient, or evaluation questionnaire. Ask yourself, for in- good deeds properly, sincerely and moderate-
keeping any other good habit during Rama- stance, how often did I pray today? What was ly, and remember that you shall enter Paradise
dan, you’re almost sure, Insha Allah, to keep the quality of my prayer? Did I pray on time? only through Allah’s Mercy, and also remem-
up with it afterwards. These serve to remind you to keep up the habit ber that the most beloved deed to Allah is that
Nonetheless, we all slip up. As well, the and do better next time. which is regular and constant even if it is little”
drive that pushes us to do good in Ramadan is 4. Evaluate yourself weekly (Bukhari).
usually not as strong the rest of the year. Here This helps you see the bigger picture. The wisdom in this Hadith is tremendous
are a few things you can do to maintain the You’ll be able to evaluate on a more long-term and it is one way of keeping up good habits
good habits you picked during Ramadan. level how well you’ve been keeping your habit you have picked up in Ramadan.
1. Make Dua in practice. You can do the same thing on a For example, if you were motivated to
It was Allah who gave you the ability to monthly and yearly basis. read the Qur’an for half an hour on a daily ba-
keep the good habit in Ramadan, and only For those who are really into the technical sis in Ramadan, but now you feel sluggish and
He can help you maintain it afterwards. Make aspect of self-evaluation, maybe you can make become slack afterwards, we must realize it, want to give it up, reduce the time to as much
Dua that Allah helps you not only to keep the a graph to help you chart how well (or not so seek Allah’s forgiveness sincerely, and try our as you are initially able to do, even if it’s just
habit, but that He accepts it and makes it a way well) you’ve been keeping up with your good best to get back on track, asking Allah to help five minutes a day.
for you to grow in closeness to Him. habit. us. If you keep up this habit, insha Allah,
2. Make it a habit 5. Get a friend to help We should not give up trying to pray on you will see the amount of Qur’an you read
If you want to keep good habits, you’ve If you’ve got a close friend you feel you time just because we have missed doing so on will increase slowly but gradually, perhaps
got to make sure they remain part of your can share your new habit with, let them join a couple of occasions. even surpassing your Ramadan maximum in
daily schedule. For instance, fasting. Did you you in keeping up with it and keeping tabs 7. Ask yourself WHY you kept the habit the long-term!
know that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and on you while they’re at it. This will not only Niyyah or intention is a key to Allah’s ac- 10. Don’t give yourself the option
blessings be upon him, encouraged fasting on encourage you, but insha Allah, deepen your ceptance of our good deeds. If we developed a What makes you get up for work in the
Mondays and Thursdays? He said: A person’s brother/sisterhood as well. habit to impress others, for instance, we may mornings, no matter how tired you are? What
deeds are reported (to Allah) on Mondays and Alternatively, look for groups where you be able to keep the momentum for a while, but makes you drag yourself out of a warm bed on
Thursdays and I prefer that I should be fasting can maintain the habit. If, for instance, you most probably it’ll wear out afterwards. a cold morning to get ready for school? It’s the
when my deeds are reported (Tirmidhi). memorized Qur’an regularly in Ramadan and But if we maintain a habit sincerely for the fact that you have no option, and you know
This is a great way of maintaining the want to keep the habit, join an Islamic study sake of Allah, not only will we be rewarded for that there are negative consequences to not
habit so you’re not rusty by next Ramadan. circle focused on memorization. it, but our intention will help us maintain the going to work or school.
Or for example, were you extra gener- 6. Don’t fall apart once you make one necessary motivation to continue to do good. Use the same kind of psychology on your-
ous during Ramadan? Well, maybe you can mistake 8. Don’t expect the same results self when it comes to maintaining your good
portion out a set amount of your weekly or The beauty of Tawbah (repentance) in If you were ready to spring out of bed in habit. Tell yourself, for instance, that miss-
monthly paycheck to a charitable cause to Islam is that Allah blesses us with this op- anticipation for Fajr during many of the days ing prayer is not an option and that there are
maintain the habit of giving. portunity to return back to Him after doing of Ramadan, but find yourself barely waking consequences to that. These include decreased
Make the habit part of your daily and something wrong. We should remember that up for the prayer afterwards, don’t be sur- faith and a downward spiral in your life.
weekly schedule. The point is to keep the ac- we are humans and that we will err. Only Al- prised, but don’t become slack either. https://www.soundvision.com/article/10-
tion in practice and gain rewards from Allah. lah is Perfect. Good habits are often easy to maintain in ways-to-keep-those-ramadan-habits?eType
3. Think about your day each night This is why, for instance, if we were able Ramadan, the blessed month. The hard part is =EmailBlastContent&eId=51a1d758-cec7-
Evaluating ourselves, our intentions, to pray on time all through Ramadan, but have doing so after Ramadan. This is where you’ll 4ec5-ba63-18fa9a9be856
words and actions, every night is a very
n By Siraj Khan The First Word in Ghazal, the Last Note in Silence hai), his light classical renditions, folk
Dubai par excellence, the thumris and the
kafis, any one of them can give goose-
t was 1978. The Rajasthan gov- bumps to any music lover, even with
ernment had honored Mehdi rudimentary knowledge of our music
IHasan with the status of a state and culture.
guest. The arrange- Mehdi Hasan, the man, was a
ment included his great believer that poetry and music
performance at a belong to the whole world, and tran-
ghazal program scend national boundaries and fron-
in Jaipur - home tiers, making them either vanish or at
of Mehdi Hasan’s least seem to not exist. He is reported
native village and to have mentioned more than once
birthplace Luna. The maestro want- that Jo haq Pakistanion ko meri ghazlon
ed to visit Luna before the program, par hai, wohi Hindustanion ko bhi hai.
for the first time since he left it after Unhon ne mujhe kum piar nahi diya
Partition. (the right that Pakistanis have to my
During the bumpy ride there, he songs, Indians have the same rights.
suddenly asked the driver to stop the They have given me no less love).
car. His travel companions were rather Only Indian writer-poet Gulzar
surprised. He got out of the car and could have responded with something
started to walk towards a small temple stronger than that a couple of years ago
located not far from the road, then when he recited his poem for Aman ki
flung himself on the ground, weeping Asha on TV:
like a child. After regaining his com- Ankhon ko visa nahi lagta, sap-
posure and returning to the car, Mehdi Jagjit Singh is seen paying homage to his mentor, Mehdi Hasan non ki sarhad nahi hoti
Hasan informed the others that, as a Band ankhon se aksar sarhad par
child, he used to sing bhajans in that trict. No less than two hundred thou- one of Mehdi Hassan’s few surviving However, even in the best of times, we cha-la jata hoon milne
temple. sand people attended the event. All childhood friends, said that he would have been confounded by the debates Mein Mehdi Hasan se!
The next day, Mehdi Hasan per- proceeds from the show were allocated pray to God to give him a long life. on whether music is haram or halal Rajasthan is known for its haunt-
formed before a selected audience for the road paving. Access to Luna to- But perhaps it was now time for and what constitutes culture, heritage ing melodies, connecting the earth and
at the scheduled ghazal program in day is not only easier, it is also more God to have His own concert too. or Islam. Mehdi Hasan was above all the soul. The echoes of the local no-
Jaipur. That was followed by a dinner welcoming, thanks to the maestro, a Mehdi Hasan was part of the era that and continued unfazed. mads roaming its vast deserts are said
hosted in his honor by the Governor true son of the soil. when our cultural landscape was in- From Khyber to Dhaka and from to find their way into the sand dunes,
of Jaipur. During the dinner, Mehdi When Mehdi Hasan became seri- spiring enough to create music, films, Multan to Madras, Mehdi Hasan’s pro- the dark nights and the shining stars.
Hasan remarked upon lack of a proper ously ill, Mohan Nath, a priest in Luna, poetry and other forms of art whose found vocals today bind discerning Mehdi Hasan’s voice probably
paved road leading to his village and said that the whole village was praying quality could encompass all tastes lovers of music, who truly feel that it still wafts around in that vastness, pro-
lack of electrical facilities in the area. for Khan Sahib’s total and complete across the class divide. From the late- was a privilege in itself to be living in viding their sound of silence.
Well, the electricity was pro- recovery. “Since the time we came to 1950s to the mid-1970s, Pakistan had the same era as him. His childhood friends too have
vided in three days. The roadwork know about the ill-health of Mehdi succeeded in creating a fine blend of I have never referred to him as passed on but the trees, streets, wells
would need more time and funds, but Hasan we have been very worried. We high and popular culture, where artists Shahenshah-e-Ghazal, simply because and fields of the village still remain,
a promise was made that it would be continue to hope and pray that God like Noor Jahan, Iqbal Bano, Mehdi that seriously limits his matchless ver- mute witness to the formative years of
done. In order to expedite the process showers his blessings upon him and he Hasan and others, could not only sur- satility and his unique contribution to Mehdi Hasan.
and ignite the torch himself, Mehdi is fine soon,” Nath said. vive but thrive, and the nation could music and performing arts. His film (Siraj Khan is a Boston-based
Hasan decided to perform before a Narayan Singh Shekhawat, an- boast about its musical creativity, playback, his patriotic songs (apni connoisseur of film music who “lives a
larger audience of the Jhunjhunu dis- other native of village Luna and also which the citizens could be proud of. jaan nazar karoon, ab fath-e-mubeen life without boundaries”. )
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