6 Days of Shawwal- Day Two

Salaam alaykum!

Over the next few days as I fast my 6 days in Shawwal, I will desperately cling to the spirit of Ramadan by reflecting and remembering all the important lessons I learned.
(read why http://ilmthejourney.blogspot.com/2012/08/6-days-of-shawwal-day-one.html)

Day Two: Seperation from the Dunya.
Throughout our day, we are supposed to worship God, in every moment, in every act. And Allah has blessed us with the opportunity to separate and cleanse ourselves from the dunya 5 times a day. SubhanAllah. Whenever we pray salaat we are able (supposed) to tear ourselves from the world and devote to Allah. We should forget work, school, spouse, family, friends, dreams,desires, leave ALL the worldly things aside and in those minutes focus on the creator and worship, praise him and strengthen our relationship with Him. We have this opportunity 5 times a day. 5 times to leave the world. 5 times to completely focus on our relationship with God and worship and praise him in addition to our daily acts of worship.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there could be more. There is so much more you can do.
I realized this while spending time at the masjid during the last ten days of Ramadan. Although work was a deterrent from completely dedicating to Itikaf, I stayed there the most I could, staying all day on the weekend and some nights on weekdays. And it was an amazing experience!

I spent my time reading the Quran, doing dhikr, praying tahajjud, praying nawafil, crying to Allah, building a bond and relationship that I had never experienced before. Imagine if I did this daily, or weekly! Just find some time, aside from daily acts of worship and salaat, and build my relationship with Allah and worship Him and draw closer and closer to Him.

We all need to create this time, and use it to deepen our bond with our Lord. Maybe, sit after fajr until sunrise and dedicate this time or in the hour or so between magrib and isha. We need to find the time, cut something out our schedule and insert this in its place.

I had never felt as close to Allah as I did during this period. I was not weighed down by the troubles of this world, my eyes were facing God and I was at peace.

I sincerely pray that Allah help me maintain this habit and continue to lead me closer and closer to Him

Amin