Daily Dua:

رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا

Rabbi Ziddni Ilma

O My Lord! Increase my Knowledge. 

An Ayah of the Quran and is also read as a Dua. It’s short and simple. Recite this if you are currently going through exams or you’re struggling to remember things. 

I thought I was prepared for Ramadan but can you ever REALLY be prepared. I didn’t figure out my workout schedule, my sleeping pattern or even done the housework to properly get myself settled and focused into start praying on time, to read a few saparas (juz) a day. The first day of Ramadan got all a bit too much. But the first week is always difficult, by next week it’ll become a routine. 

Last night I was hoping to read Tarawih at Central Mosque but I ended up sticking to reading at home. Even today I ended up reading Tarawih at home. Once I opened my fast and read Maghrib and got a proper meal down me, I had no energy and all I wanted to do was sleep. 

*Note to self. Get into a sleeping pattern at least 2 weeks in advance and prepare a decent food shop a few days before the first fast. 

Suhoor

I had a brown rice and scrambled eggs, a jar of overnight oats with protein powder and fruit, I also made sure to down at least a litre of water. 

This meal kept me going throughout the full day and I didn’t feel the fast at all, nor did I sleep to distract myself. The brown rice and oats are full of good carbs which packed me with slow releasing energy. The eggs and protein powder kept me feeling strong and not weak and then the fruit and water helped me feeling hydrated throughout the full day. 

Iftaar

For the whole day pretty much all you think about is what you’re going to devour yourself into at Iftaar and then when the time comes you can’t even get much food down you. I had a glass of water and a fruit bowl to open my fast (we didn’t have dates because mind how I said we weren’t prepared), I then read Maghrib and after had a few Aloo Tikkis and Vegetable Pakoras. That was pretty much all I had. In fact I can’t forget the mini cupcakes I picked up from Aldi, I could only have one. 

Prayers

I set goals to memorise a surah a day however today I went over surahs I already knew by heart and polished up on them. I’ve printed out the surats and kept them on the fridge to test each other in the family when we’re all sitting together. It becomes a bit of a challenge for us and we’re all very competitive which is good as it keeps us motivated.

I hope you have all had a blessed fast, bring on Day 2!

Sincerely Sophs x