Thread by @SirajAHashmi, Habibis, it’s happening.Ramadan is here. It’s a time of fasting, worship of [...]

Habibis, it’s happening.

Ramadan is here. It’s a time of fasting, worship of Allah (God), giving, as well as reflecting on how far we’ve come and making ourselves into better humans.

With that, Ramadan Mubarak!

Here we go

RAMADAN THREAD: a running log of my Ramadan experience

I did a thread like this last year and went 16-13, clincing a birth in the jannah playoffs. Never figured out where I was seeded (most likely a 15- or 16-seed).

Anyway, the goal is to go for 30-0, but would be happy to go 21-9. Inshallah, we’ll see. https://twitter.com/sirajahashmi/status/1125219507188977665?s=21 https://twitter.com/SirajAHashmi/status/1125219507188977665

https://twitter.com/sirajahashmi/status/1125219507188977665?s=21

*clinching. Wow, Ramadan’s been here for 20 minutes and already my brain is forgetting how to spell words.

me seeing the time realizing I have to wake up in less than four hours to eat breakfast and then start fasting

DAY 1: woke up for suhur. seeing a lot of ppl on this website awake at the same time, which leads me to suspect that a lot of you, habibis, converted to Islam and never told me. First off, how dare you leave me in the dark. Secondly, welcome to the Deen, brother/sister.

DAY 1 suhur meal: chicken parm, spaghetti with tomato sauce (leftover from last night), protein shake, water, and coffee with cream and a slight pinch of hazelnut sweetener because i’m a delicate flower when it comes to coffee, so

DAY 1 PREDICTION: my brain is going to perform at a below-average level, which means I should probably stay away from this website. But where’s the fun in that?

DAY 1 PROGRESS: So far, so good. Definitely one of my better 1st days, albeit, my sleep schedule is all out of whack, and I had to go grocery shopping, which is normally excruciating.

Apologies to everyone I have yet to respond to on DM or text, my brain needs glucose.

DAY 1 is in the book.

1-0

These are the types of jokes I wish I had thought of that my dad beat me to https://twitter.com/fayyazhashmi14/status/1253824155583201280?s=21

https://twitter.com/fayyazhashmi14/status/1253824155583201280?s=21

DAY 2: almost didn’t wake up for suhur, which would’ve been quite disastrous. Trying to decide if drinking *a little* coffee is a good idea to be able to either go back to sleep but also avoid caffeine withdrawal. Decisions, decisions to make.

DAY 2 [cont’d]: I drank coffee the first day and actually had the best first day of fasting than any Ramadan I’ve had. Gonna not have any coffee this morning and try to get some legit sleep. We’ll see how it goes. Ramadan’s always been about adjustments.

2020 Ramadan record: 1-0

DAY 2 is in the books. Once you get thru the first 3 days of fasting, then it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. But tbh, I haven’t struggled like I used to. The main struggle has always been praying five times a day, which is what I’m working on.

2020 Ramadan record: 2-0

I have to wake up in 50 minutes for suhur (breakfast). Is there even a point in trying to sleep?

DAY 3: got at least 1 hour of sleep before suhur. Had Afghani takeout (chicken karahi) last night and filled myself to the brim. Didn’t think I’d be hungry for suhur, yet here I am stuffing my face. Did well w/o coffee yesterday, so continuing that practice for today.

2-0

DAY 3 is in the books. Wallahi, fasting gets easier as I’ve gotten older. The main hurdle is now upon us: fasting while working. Pray for me, habibis.

Ramadan record: 3-0

DAY 4: Keep falling into the same trap of only getting an hour of sleep before suhur and waking up with plenty of time to eat and get hydrated. Kinda mad about it when I have no reason to be. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep. Idk. Either way, today’s probably gonna suck.

3-0

DAY 4 is in the books. Was tempted this morning to break my fast by taking a swig of water because I was *that* thirsty and had to do a TV hit and record another thing on camera. But instead I resisted the urge and didn’t feel the need to drink water for the rest of the day.

4-0

DAY 5: up for suhur (breakfast) again at 4:30am. Someone shoot me.

4-0

me with about an hour left before being able to break my fast, thinking about steak and jelly donuts, preferably mixed together.

DAY 5 is in the books btw. Long day filled with a lot of dumb takes.

5-0

DAY 6: almost didn’t wake up for suhur. Starting to wonder if this running log of my Ramadan experience is becoming tedious because I haven’t struggled like I have in the past.

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

5-0

DAY 7: Slept thru basically all my alarms and only had a few minutes left for suhur (breakfast). I’m not gonna rush. Will eat as much as I can and pray and go back to sleep.

6-0

DAY 7 is in the books. My first perfect week of fasting and best start since 2006.

7-0

DAY 8 is here. Week 2 of Ramadan.

Somehow I’m up eating breakfast against all odds. https://twitter.com/sirajahashmi/status/1256119469224726528?s=21 https://twitter.com/SirajAHashmi/status/1256119469224726528

https://twitter.com/sirajahashmi/status/1256119469224726528?s=21

DAY 9 (8-0 record): didn’t even go to sleep. wife just went to bed. we’ve been up binge-watching netflix. meanwhile, @hard2ern is over here like...

DAY 9 is in the books.

9-0

DAY 10: almost didn’t wake up for suhur. slept thru all my alarms. yet here i am, injecting food directly into my veins. Gotta go for gold.

it me when the snooze on the alarm goes off for the 69th time

DAY 10 is in the books.

10-0, habibis!

DAY 11: I can feel myself start to get weary from waking up at odd hours to eat. It’s mentally draining. On the bright side, when Ramadan is over, I think I can be pretty proud of how much progress I made mentally and spiritually.

Also, my wife and @hard2ern keep me sane.

10-0

DAY 11 is in the books. Made it to 11-0.

Inshallah, let’s keep the streak alive.

DAY 12:

my brain: hell yeah. legooooo

also my brain:
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃＼○／
┓┏┓┏┓┃ /
┛┗┛┗┛┃ノ)
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃
┓┏┓┏┓┃
┛┗┛┗┛┃
┓┏┓┏┓┃

ern lookin at me as my brain melts:

Made it to 12-0. Alhamdulilah.

DAY 13: Safe to say the mental exhaustion has hit.

Going for 13-0, but it definitely comes at a price. Idk how anyone can do this for more than 30 days. Even that seems too long.

Ramadan Day something
Record: X Æ A-12 - 0

habibis, i hardly can believe it. i’ve now fasted for two full weeks.

ramadan record: 14-0

here’s a treat with @hard2ern:

For reference:

DAY 15: I’m gonna attempt something on here that might be my hardest Ramadan challenge by far: being nicer to ppl on this website instead of coming off like a malevolent a$$hole. Think I’ve slipped up a few times in the last 2 weeks and that’s not who I’m trying to be.

14-0

DAY 16: Ya Allah, I’ve tried. I really tried to be nicer to people on this website, but the combination of virtually everyone being dumb or willfully ignorant and evil has caused me to go HAM & call them out.

Please accept my du’a to become a better person.

Ramadan record: 15-0

NOTE: I felt particularly shitty towards the end of the fast on Day 15. Was worried I wasn’t going to cross the finish line.

Here I am, back at it for another suhur. I actually have not yet gone to bed. Wife and I seem to make a habit of staying up late, binging TV shows.

Alas, we’ve reached the halfway point of Ramadan. 15 days down, and about 15 to go. Sometimes Ramadan is only 29 days, instead of 30, depending on the Moon sighting. We’ll see, but I’m getting close to that goal of 30-0 inshallah

DAY 17: met my 2019 benchmark of 16 days fasted (went 16-13). Having clinched a winning record, I qualify for the 2020 Jannah playoffs inshallah.

Ramadan record: 16-0 (I swear I will die if I end up going 18-1)

DAY 18: it dawned on me yesterday that Ramadan is over in less than two weeks. feels like i haven’t properly gotten the advantage of benefitting from it despite doing as much as I have with fasting, praying, reading Qur’an. it’s a weird feeling.

Ramadan record: 17-0

DAY 19: i’m still awake for day 18. i forgot what sleep is. all i can think about is all the work i gotta put in this week. got a podcast coming out with @RealDocSoos that i’ve been editing, got to record maybe 3 episodes of Hashing it Out this week, plus a new HPH w/ @Btaylor74.

Then of course I’m trying to put together an explainer for Obamagate/Flynn as well as the List (maybe), and finally I got “Keeping it Halal.” Truly a busy week. Pray for me, habibis.

Ramadan record: 18-0

DAY 20: Thank Allah I didn’t go 18-1. Would just give me haunting flashbacks of the Pats-Giants SB (welp, there are the haunting flashbacks, thanks a lot, siraj, you idiot).

Entering the home stretch here. Only 10 days until I can eat during the day and sleep at night.

19-0

DAY 20 is in the books.

20-0

DAY 21: I’m up for suhur, meaning that I never went to bed in the first place. My sleep schedule has completely gone to sh*t, unlike this fluffy boi right here.

20-0

DAY 22: decided to take a break from the usual of granola cereal and milk with a protein shake and make myself a couple beef bacon egg mcmuffins.

Not sure if I have the cajones to eat pork during Ramadan. Will have to switch to my alter-ego, @Btaylor74, to do that.

21-0

DAY 23: Wondering how long I can live with this hair before shaving it off. Contemplating how much I want to look like @Btaylor74 before the next Habibi Power Hour.

22-0

DAY 24: the last week of Ramadan is upon us.

DAY 25: time to cut my bangs

24-0

DAY 26: already planning what I’m gonna pig out on when Eid comes around this weekend: jelly donuts & a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich.

25-0

NIGHT 27: the last 10 days of Ramadan are considered the most holy. The 27th night in particular, known as Laylat-ul-qadr (translated to "The Night of Power"), is considered the night that the Holy Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

During the Night of Power, which usually happens on the odd nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan (i.e. 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29), the belief is that Allah is more amenable to worship and supplications made for forgiveness. Henceforth, Muslims usually pray a lot on this night.

I can't fully say I know how all of this works or what it means, but I usually try to pray and remain God-conscious as opposed to getting into my usual mischievous habibi antics.

So, to the habibis I've wronged or quarreled with, I humbly ask your forgiveness and I'll always strive to become a better person and do good works.

I know I'm not perfect, but I'm just trying to be the best me that I can be.

DAY 27: i envy this little buddy’s schedule.

26-0

DAY 28: kinda weird that we’re at the tail end of Ramadan already. Went by so quickly. At the same time, I’ve also never felt the month drag so slowly and expose me for the things I missed out on. I don’t ever think I’ll have it as easy during Ramadan than this year.

27-0