the official ramadan thread

[Guest TimeBomb]

half way done, going quickly alie?

[Lucarelli]

no one cares these man packed it in within afew days

[Guest TimeBomb]

u cant resist comin in here can u?

[Lucarelli]

nope

[Guest TimeBomb]

too tired to even make some jewish related insult 2nite

[Baroness.]

*holds TimeBomb back*"He's not worth it fam, he's not worth it"

[DAT_YOUT_FROM_E15]

ppl r gona b sitting itakaaf in the mosque tdayany of u man doin it?

[UN.Muzik]

Nah Really only see the elderly folk do it at mosque stillNeed some nex level disclipine to do it

[Guest TimeBomb]

coming up to the last week people how to we feel?

[_aMk_]

illseriously miss hitting the gym

[VENOM]

why are you lot bombing during ramadan? thought it was supposed to be the holy month. its usually after ramadan that you go on milly. fix up

[Lurch]

I actually read Lurchs posts btw.Lurch im christian. My dad was born into a muslim family but he converted. I do feel like christianity is the best way for me to have a personal relationship with God, but thats my perception.I've always admired the real discipline it takes to be a devout muslim, but then if you're praising The Creator, such things should NOT be a big deal.When i was about 17, i met this older muslim girl who schooled me a lot, i vowed to do more research, but i didnt.A close family relative is a reverend but she had a copy of the Qu'ran lying around so i would read it when i was younger.When i weigh it up, in my life time I've been exposed to far more devout muslims than devout christians. I find that baffling but at the same time it makes sense.Because of the lack of rigidity alot of christians take God forgranted.Lurch, outside your 5 daily prayers, do you feel that you have a personal relationship with Allah?Like do you feel like you can talk to Him/be in His presence anytime of the day?

WARNING: LONG READ, IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED OR CAN'T READ BEYOND TWO LINES THEN DO ONE.Ramadhan's done for most bar those doing Eid on Wednesday but I have LOG's outstanding question still to answer.5 times daily prayers I try to make, I must say I should try harder cos it ain't much but when I do, I definitely feel a spiritual connection. You ever go in the shower and feel relaxed without a care? You feel like that through prayer and more. Your mind, body and soul feels relaxed, thoughts passing through your mind, things looking clearer and honestly I think God is with all who remember him.That's within prayer now to answer your question about times other than prayer. With Islam I think following it as best you can while making that effort is important for everyday life. Remembering God through prayer and he will remember us and be with us.Say if I pray daily then not only during my prayer time but things that happen during the day I feel are also positive cos of God, almost like karma cos I feel I've done a good deed by praying. Like during the day something so brilliant that'll make me smile will happen and straight away I'll think to myself that's a blessing from God. Recently, I was totally lost in my Economics degree, didn't understand anything Mathematical or more so I told myself 'I can't do this' but at the time I felt lost and knew something was missing.It might be seen as a d*ckhead move by some cos I wasn't remembering God as best as I should, but I turned to God for answers. Asking whether I was capable cos I really didn't know much (no ones fault apart from my own for not attending or attempting to learn), asking whether this was the path for me and to help me become stronger and lo and behold things started to sink in, I felt at ease, I felt more confident cos I thought to myself God is with me. I don't know about others but I really believe in fate, so if it is written then with God's help it will be achieved. I felt he was with me during my exams and I passed them, something which looked highly unlikely before (even up until a couple days before sitting the exam) and it's little things like that I attribute to God's power and that 'connection' you ask about.You say Christians take God for granted. Well I think we all do, well I think I do. I think to myself I'm not deserving of any spriitual guidance but because God is full of mercy and is absolute he looks beyond that and still helps us. There are so many personal examples where I feel God has helped me and I do wonder why but for helping me... for that I am grateful. Some people think WTF, nothing is attributed to God and it's within us but I don't think so, God created us, he gave us free will but has put in place regulations to guide us, which is up to us whether we follow them.Praying to God isn't just 5 times prayer. You can do something called 'Zikr' which is remembering God at all times. Islam has prayers for eating, sleeping, drinking water, walking, greeting.. everything, that's why you might hear people say 'Islam is a way of life'. You might hear people say 'Allah-Hu-Akbar' (Allah is the Greatest) when they hear certain news or 'Al-hamdu-lillah' (All Praises Due To Allah) or 'Sub-han-Allah' (Glory be to Allah), these are short praises of God which can be deemed as Zikr and prayer whenever you want to and as time goes on that closeness develops further.At the same time through sinning you move further away, we believe Allah becomes disappointed in a person for sinning and though you will be punished in the hereafter punishments may also be in this life too, which could be physical or mental. Again like Karma, if I've sinned if something bad happens I attribute it to God's displeasure and showing me the real deal.Right that's me going on again, hope that makes sense. These things can't be said in one or two sentences so that's why I try and be as thorough as possible. Anyone who wants to read and ask questions go ahead, anyone who criticises well you're open to your opinion and I don't care.BTW it's Eid for me, time to sleep got to get some kip cos I gotta be awake in a couple hours for Eid prayers and the munching restarts.

[Guest ChoccyLog]

Thanks for answering! Like I can see things a lot clearer now and I understand things more.Anymore questions I have you'll find in your inbox.