Alhamdulillah, I’m fasting. I didn’t think I would be able to, and while Day 2 of Ramadan may be a little early to announce success, I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to continue for the entire month, InshaAllah. The heat isn’t bothering me, Alhamdulillah, and neither is the hunger. Even the dehydration is mild despite feeding a seven week old baby. The only challenge is the sleep. Musfira fussed from 6pm until 1am yesterday. By the time I was able to put her down, I had one-handedly:
- Served iftar
- Eaten Iftar
- Prayed Maghrib
- Had the kids put to bed
- Eaten dinner
- Attempted to clean off the table
- Cooked for suhoor- daal and oatmeal
- Watched three short documentaries and listened to Surah Mulk twice
Yes, all of this was done either one-handed or hastily in between being able to put Musifra down for five to ten minutes before she woke up again. Sometimes we have weird nights, and sometimes they spill over into weird days as well- Musfira will fuss- tired but refusing to sleep- and I will rock/walk/bounce her to sleep only to have her wake up again five to ten minutes later, regardless of whether I stop rocking/walking/bouncing or even holding her. Normally, Alhamdulillah, she sleeps easily for four hours at a stretch, and that’s more than enough time for me to get stuff done in between. Occasionally, she has these weird days, and those are the ones where I never get of my pajamas and Musfira cries, fusses, sleeps, wakes, and cries- later, rinse, repeat- for hour after hour until the sun rises and sometimes even until the sun sets the next day.
So last night was a weird night. By the time I was able to put Musfira down (1am!) I was too exhausted for any Tarawih or any Qur’an, and had barely any concentration in my prayers. I crashed into bed and just two and a half hours later, had to get back out of it for Suhoor. HF kindly got me out of bed, steered me to the kitchen and placed a bowl of oatmeal into my hands as I stood with my eyes closed and my head against the kitchen door.
Then we prayed Fajr and went back to bed, and two hours later, Musfira woke up in need of a diaper change and a feed. I’m not hungry or thirsty as much as I am tired and, yes- disappointed. I love Ramadan. I need Ramadan desperately, in order to counteract the downward spiral I’ve been in for the rest of the year and to help realign myself mentally and spiritually. Ramadan is the reset button, ideally because you’re conquering your laziness, kicking bad habits, and remembering the sweetness of Ibada- ideally. In actuality, I’m so busy juggling Musfira, cooking, shopping, taxiing Khalid and Iman around town, and working that I feel like I’m losing out. My immediate thought is that I need to prioritize extra worship and the energy required to do it, but I’m not doing anything that I can cut out of my schedule. I need to take time for Ibada, but I don’t know where to take it from. If I get any less sleep than I already do I’m going to crash.
(Two nights ago I jumped out of bed to pick Musfira up. I took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and crashed face-first into a corner. The next morning I had a headache and a swollen eye, and it took a few moments for me to remember why.)
So here’s the reconciliation. Allah is responsible for any circumstances I am in, and they are all good, regardless of whether I am able to recognize that. Last night, when I wanted to pray tarawih but instead spent the six hours between maghrib and qiyaam rocking Musfira, there was good in that too. Ramadan is challenging enough, Ramadan plus young motherhood must be the next level for me. I need to push through the busy-ness and the tiredness and somehow find the energy that I need to make the most of it. I’ve always said Ramadan is spiritual boot camp. Now I’m at bootcamp with a baby on my back, a spatula in my hand, and two children dragging me backwards by my apron strings. It’s no longer enough for me to reach the end on my own, I have to make it there with a serene smile, clean and alive children, Surah Mulk memorized, and a tray of freshly baked samosas.
May Allah make the path to righteousness easy for all of us, and grant us the trust in Him to know that all of His decrees are good ones.
Ameen!
*HUGS*
Assalamualaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
Ramadhan kareem!
I think you hit the nail on the head in the last para when you said, “Allah is responsible for any circumstances I am in, and they are all good, regardless of whether I am able to recognize that…”
When I read your post, I thought of this:
“…according to al-Sheikh Mustafa al-Zarqa (may Allah’s mercy be upon him) in his booklet “Worship In Islam”, Muslim jurists and scholars have proclaimed that good intention changes acts of habit into acts of ‘Ibadah (worship). Eating, drinking, sleeping and even sensual pleasure, become acts of ‘Ibadah provided that they are performed with true religious motives. Yes, even those acts become acts of ‘Ibadah if the intention underlying them is to comply with the Will of Allah.”
Perhaps, it’s not reconciliation but submission? 🙂 May Allah ta’ala make it easier for you.
It “WILL” get better Zeba:)
Ramadan Kareem to you and the family. Stopping by after ages, but if it’s any consolation, my number of visits to your blog are about five times higher than those to my own blog 🙂
Having said that, your post reminded me of the fact that young mothers are exempted from saum Ramadan – I am guessing, the clause of ‘Ow iddatim min ayyamin ukhar’ applies as well. So while your resolve to balance Ramadan with young motherhood is admirable, it might just be that you might be pushing yourself too hard. There are a couple of other ahadeeth I came across recently which are pertinent – source Sahih Bokhari – paraphrased, one reminds us that our body has rights on us, and we ought to not push it too hard even in worship.
The other pertinent hadeeth teaches us that we must avail of any exemptions that are provided to us by Allah in His mercy – this applies to (not) fasting when traveling, or the ‘qasar’ prayers and so on and so forth.
I am sure you and hubby have already done your homework, just thought I would share above just in case it helps in anyway.
May Allah subhanahu accept your good deeds, and reward you manifold for them. Ameen.
Thanks Knicq for your Islamic research. I was just about to log on and say maybe Musfira isn’t sleeping well is because she isn’t getting as much milk to keep her asleep at night. Please heed Knicq’s wisdom and give yourself all the Islamicly allowed eases as possilble.
I have so much to say on this topic but this is not the place. Will whatsapp or call you. x
Assalamu alaikum
As far as I know one is only exempt from fasting if they are unable to do/ if it is harmful to them or the child. Wa AllahAlam
When our first Ramzan came post-Tyke, he was five months old and I was still nursing him. I tried fasting and found that he was fussier than usual. So I tried fasting on alternate days…he was more at peace when I was not fasting. of course I have been fasting through-out now that he’s been weaned.
my sister’s daughter on teh other hand was older than six months and had started on solids by the time her first Ramzan came post-child…so Sis could fast with not much effects on her child’s levels of ‘fussiness’.
Just thought I should share.
JazakAllahuKheiran and thank you to everyone for the input. 🙂
I wish I could say that Musfira’s fussiness was due to me fasting, but she actually started the nightly fuss around three weeks ago, which is typically when infant colic develops. Iman was colicky as well, and her schedule was 1 am to 7 am, so we were completely nocturnal for quite a while.
I’m not dehydrated, or even hungry enough to be losing weight (gosh darnit!) and I know I could be exempt if it were harming myself or the baby, but I’m relieved to say I don’t fit the requirements for an exemption. Alhamdulillah. 🙂
used Internet for time passing during fasting.
have you tried gripe water. i swear by it. http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tummys-Gripe-Water-120/dp/B001J5LDM4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314574410&sr=8-1.
also perhaps burping her more might help with frequent feeding. i had to burp mine after a minute of feeding.