There have been a lot of posts on Facebook floating around with Ramadan routines, mashaAllah! It’s wonderful to see so many people getting ready for Ramadan with sincere intention, but am I the only one that’s afflicted with a huge feeling of inadequacy?
When I first became Muslim, every moment of Ramadan was worship, and it was invigorating, mashaAllah! Kira was 7 when I came to Islam, so it wasn’t hard to have time to read, listen to lectures, and work on personal development in general. Maghrib was around 6:30pm at the time, so she didn’t have to stay up very late to take part, and she even came with me to taraweeh a few times. Alhamdulilah, I have such pleasant memories of those first years!
For the last four years, I have not been able to take part in fasting, and now Maghrib is about 9pm – two hours after Amatullah’s bedtime, and just slightly after Aamina’s. Taraweeh is out of the question for the little ones (and therefore for me) since it runs past midnight. Ramadan is very different, and rather than let myself sulk in what I wish Ramadan could be, I’m using some wise advice from a good friend and my job will be to make Ramadan as fruitful and easy for my family.
My main focus will in sha Allah be to make it a special and exciting time for Aamina and Kira, facilitate opportunities for ibadah for Hubby, and a quiet house for him to sleep. The fasting isn’t what wears on him as much as the lack of sleep. It’s hard to ramp up for the last 10 days of Ramadan when he’s been getting 4-5 hours of sleep for nearly three weeks!
My aim is to share what Ramadan looks like in our home via the blog and Instagram, in sha Allah. It may look a lot more scaled down than other bloggers, but please be forgiving as we are working with littles. 🙂
So, after all that explanation about why my Ramadan routine looks so minimal, here’s our super simple, easy to follow routine. Click on the image to get access to the PDF you can print for yourself.
Assalamualaikum, thanks for sharing I need to this when we come back to America in the middle of Ramadhan. MashAllah
Walaykum assalam,
Since we are in Minnesota, the days are almost the longest you’ll find in the states (besides Maine and Alaska). If you’re further south, the days are shorter, but it’s hotter. It’s all a trade off. 🙂
Salam,
This is more or less how I will spent Ramadan as well with my family. My kids are 4 and 5 so taraweh prayers go way beyond their bedtime and right now go past my bedtime too.
Walaykum assalam, It’s tough with little kids, but in sha Allah as they get older, the days will get shorter and we can all take part again. I really look forward to that!
Thats a full on day. We are breaking fast at 5.30pm here in Perth, Australia. Iam making dua for you guys living in the USA, thats a really long day but Allahswt will give you the energy to get through it. I will make dua that you and your family and all the muslims having really long fast have a easy and fruitful ramandan inshaAllah ameen
And I’ll make du’a for you in December. 🙂 Once we get there, I think it’ll feel like cheating because the shortest day of the year will be fasting from 6am to 4pm. It’s just skipping lunch, basically! SubhanAllah, this long of a day really teaches some valuable lessons, though. The struggle makes you feel so strong when you’ve had a successful fast each day.
I’m interested to know what you eat for suhoor. It must be an already prepared food, right?
This morning leftover steak and potatoes were on the menu. In years past, I’ve gotten up early and cooked, but as the days get longer, and I have more kids, we’ve started to go more simple. Sometimes I’ll set the crock pot the evening before; or we have leftovers; or a buffet style with yogurt, cottage cheese, granola, eggs, etc. Kira, my oldest, loves english muffins with eggs, cheese, and turkey strips. The goal is a mix of protein, fiber, and carbs, plus lots of water and hydrating fruits.
Your day doesn’t look too different from ours! Admittedly, suhoor for you comes an hour earlier, but we’re right there with you for iftar. As our “craft,” we have a Ramadhan calendar and I put a slip of paper in there with a suggestion of a craft / activity (depending on what I feel up to)… today my elder daughter kept forgetting to check the paper, so I changed it out three times as my energy level and the time of day shifted! Sneaky me! I also “homeschool” with her (she’s preschool age so it’s not very serious in that vein) during the toddler’s naptime, but I think I will also start reserving some of that time for reading Qur’an. Thanks for the idea, and for sharing!
That’s so funny that you changed out the activity! 🙂 I’ve been just going on the fly for activities, even though I had grand plans of having everything mapped out ahead of time. In sha Allah I’ll get a Ramadan activity book in the mail in a few days and I can have a little guidance in that regard.
Oooh! Where’s your activity book from / what’s its name? I’ve just been making things up on the fly as well–sometimes I do better than others. 🙂 I hope insha Allah your days and fasts are going well.
I got this book from East West Souk.
http://www.ewsouk.com/Ramadan-Crafts-for-Kids-p/nbk-1308.htm
In sha Allah it proves helpful! I have such a hard time making up crafts myself! I figure once I have a few years of doing crafts with the little ones, I’ll be able to start making some up myself, too, in sha Allah.