Vacation & Preparing for Ramadan

Assalaam Alaikum dear sisters!


I hope you're all doing well and enjoying yourself, insha'Allah!
As you might know, I have vacation now, my husband is abroad visiting friends... When he left, I decided to escape from the city and go stay at my parents house closer to nature. Of course I brought my rabbit too :-) She's having such a wonderful time and loves all the grass she can eat daily! Last year she was on vacation here too and even gained weight from all the grass, although she doesn't sit in a cage and therefore even gets a lot of daily excercise. Hehe.
I just love to be away from the city and stepping out on the grass and the dew with the sun in my face in the morning - it is just amazing, masha'Allah. Insha'Allah my husband and I can live in a house surrounded by nature one day :-)

Ramadan is getting closer (right now 33 days and 15 hours to go ;-) - see the countdown in my sidebar), Alhamdulillah! We are about to enter the month of Sha'ban. The Prophet (saws) used to begin fasting in Sha'ban as a prelude and towards the end of the month he would stop to gather strength for Ramadan. Therefore, planning ahead is a Sunnah. I read a lot about fasting yesterday and read how you can increase the benefits of fasting and avoid any side effects. Today I am starting a detox diet, which I'll follow for ten days. It includes a lot of herbal teas, water (with/without lemon), fruit and vegetables + brown rice etc. I'm excited to see how my body will react to the detoxification! :-) Did any of you ever try a detox diet?


Detox is not abstaining from all food and water during the day, like in Ramadan. But I hope a detox diet will be beneficial as a preparation for Ramadan, insha'Allah. And also a proper fast.
There are many things to be aware of when fasting. This piece of an article is just some of the things that we should be aware of in the holy month of Ramadan:


"The first meal of the day, before dawn, should contain complex carbohydrates in order to fuel the body for the rest of the day and keep one feeling full in order to reduce the onset of hunger pains at a later stage.  The meal at night, after sundown, should preferably be a lighter one in order to avoid indigestion and heartburn...To avoid the possibility of constipation it is important to eat foods that are high in fibre, increase fruit and vegetables in the diet, and to consume an adequate volume of liquids, such as water, soup, weak tea and fruit juices. Take care not to drink too much or digestive juices can become overly diluted and stomach bloating may occur. Sweet foods high in sugar, including most desserts, and adding salt to meals, thus causing additional thirst, should be avoided.  Decreasing consumption of spicy and fried foods is advised to lessen digestive problems." Source: helium.com


Personally I have not been taking these things into conciderations every time I cooked during Ramadan. Insha'Allah you will also benefit from this Ramadan Health Guide (2007) available online! And insha'Allah we'll all have a blessed and beneficial Ramadan!! :-) I can't wait :-) How are you preparing yourself for Ramadan? Both physically and spiritually? Spiritually I will also this month increase the amount of Qur'an that I read and insha'Allah achieve more knowledge about our deen through books and increase my dhikr.


If you don't see me much online this week, it's because I'm at my parents' place and have chosen not to sit too much in front of a computer. Like today I want to go on a bike trip on my own to the water and forests nearby :-) insha'Allah.


Take care all of you <3

Fruit

Dear sisters. I would like to share this little information about fruit with you, especially these days, where we are fasting, insha'Allah, and perhaps thinking about what to have after the break of the fast or before Fajr. Fruit is a great health-source, as we all know, but do we know exactly in which way these delicious colourful things benefit us? If not, then read on, insha'Allah. A sister I know shared this with me (and I don't know where she got it from) and I'm sure nobody would mind, if you share it with others too :) d

KIWI

Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

APPLE

An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

STRAWBERRY

Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE

Sweetest medicine. Taking 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON

Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene — the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C and Potassium.

GUAVA and PAPAYA

Top awards for vitamin C. They're the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene, which is good for your eyes. 


Food for thought: If you want to read more about food and fruit and how the shape of a food has to do with which bodypart it is good for, take a look at Rene's Bare Essentials post Allahs pharmacy! Bismillah.

Reminder of the Day of 'Arafah

Today it's the 7th of Dhul-Hijjah...

Here a little more about the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and the day of 'Arafah (the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah):

The first days of Dhul-Hijjah are the days of Hajj, which include the Day of `Arafah, the peak of Hajj; it is the focal point when the pilgrims gather in the plain of `Arafah. Such a mammoth gathering of Muslims supplicating to Allah is bound to have all-pervasive effects on the whole world; Allah has promised an answer for those who gather on the plain of `Arafah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) exhorted the non-pilgrims to spend these days in as much devotion as possible. This means that we must show spiritual solidarity with the pilgrims. The Prophet (saws) is reported to have said, “There are no days that are dearer to Allah in respect of devoting oneself to devotion and worship than the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.”

 He is also reported to have said, “Fasting on the day of `Arafah expiates sins of two years, the past and future.”
 

Source: islamonline.net...

It is very beneficial to repeatedly say: “La illaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharik la, lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kul shayy’in Qadir.” This is related in many ahadith.
Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Whosoever reads Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad (Chapter 112 of the Quran) 1,000 times on the Day of ‘Arafah will be given whatever he/she asks for. The best thing to occupy oneself with during this day is du’a. Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him, “They are days in which du’a is not turned back. How would du’a be turned back during these days when the Day of ‘Arafah is amongst them, which was narrated as being the best day in the world?” [Ibn Hibban in his Sahih collection].

Source: islamcrunch.com...

So dear sisters and brothers in Islam - this was a reminder of the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah! Take care all of you and I hope you spend the day fasting and in remembrance of our Lord, insha'Allah :)