As the blessed month of Ramadan in 2020 comes to an end, billions of Muslims across the world prepare their best clothes and tastiest recipes for a joyous Eid day. Most notably, this year has been an extremely memorable and different experience due to the ongoing pandemic. With lockdown measures in the UK continuing throughout Ramadan, and the mosque doors closed, Muslims have found new opportunities to refine and reflect on their relationship with God by transforming their homes into places of worship.
Although we have not been able to attend the long, calm prayers at night in the mosques, or break our fasts with neighbours and friends, the purpose of this Holy month has always been the same: spiritual reflection, self-improvement, and devotion to God. As members of the Islamic Society, we sought to make the best use of our time by organising various activities to encourage each other on this journey.
With the help of online resources such as Zoom and Google Meets, we were able to conduct weekly sessions that allowed our society to grow as a community and an online platform. On Mondays and Tuesdays we began the week with sessions on the ‘Seerah’, discussing key events in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and learning about his beautiful character. Thursday evenings were allocated for recitations and explanations of selected chapters from the Holy Quran, enlightening our hearts with deep and meaningful verses. As the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: “There is a piece of flesh in the body which if it is sound, the whole body is sound. If it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and that is the heart.”
There were impressive contributions from different year groups including Shells, Rems, UMs, Fifths and Divs. To conclude each week, we listened to talks on Fridays from KES boys on important and relevant topics, such as:
- Making the most of Ramadan in the current circumstances.
- The blessings of the final 10 days of Ramadan (in particular the Night of Power, considered greater than 1,000 months).
- Importance of reflecting on our personal character.
