{"id":708,"date":"2015-06-30T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T15:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=708"},"modified":"2015-06-30T11:59:13","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T15:59:13","slug":"getting-to-know-your-true-self-during-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/getting-to-know-your-true-self-during-ramadan\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting To Know Your True Self During Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely, Eternally, and Everlastingly Loving and Caring<\/em><\/p>\n

In a famous saying of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), it is said that the Devil and his minions are chained during the month of Ramadan, which is almost half way done at this point. Thus, the believer is spared from his constant and unrelenting whispers and temptations. While this is a good thing, it does leave open one disconcerting implication: any evil thoughts or actions during Ramadan can no longer\u00a0be attributed to the Devil. They are all ours to own.<\/p>\n

In fact, I have a big problem with the retort that “the Devil made me do it,” whenever one is confronted with their mistakes. The Devil does not make anyone do anything. He\u00a0is quoted as saying this very thing\u00a0in the Qur’an:<\/p>\n

And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: “Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true! I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you – but I deceived you. Yet, I had no power at all over you: I but called you, and you responded to me. Hence, do not blame me, but blame your own selves… (14:22)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whenever we want to blame the Devil for the things we have done, he will sell us out every time. We have to\u00a0take responsibility for all the evil we have wrought. The Devil is not a puppeteer that\u00a0controls our every moves.\u00a0He is only an evil whisperer – a weak one at\u00a0that\u00a0–\u00a0and we are the ones\u00a0who choose to heed his\u00a0evil suggestions.<\/p>\n

But now, with\u00a0the Devil being chained in Ramadan,\u00a0we will have to come to terms with our true selves. And we may not be very happy with whatever base\u00a0desires that our own selves may conjure.<\/p>\n

Yet, that is the whole purpose of the fast of Ramadan. It is an opportunity for us to get to know our true selves and – armed with the spiritual power of fasting, prayer, and reflection – learn to overcome those temptations and make ourselves better people. And when Ramadan is over, and the Devil returns to his evil whispering, all the fasting and prayer we have done will make us steadfast in the face of\u00a0his temptations.\u00a0This can only be a good thing, and it will make all those long hours of hunger and thirst worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely, Eternally, and Everlastingly Loving and Caring In a famous saying of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), it is said that the Devil and his minions are chained during the month of Ramadan, which is almost half way done at this point. Thus, the believer is spared from his constant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,145],"tags":[193,441,6,730,629,632,630,631],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-common-word","category-ramadan","tag-evil","tag-hope","tag-quran","tag-ramadan","tag-satan","tag-self","tag-temptation","tag-whispers"],"yoast_head":"\nGetting To Know Your True Self During Ramadan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Devil and his minions are chained during Ramadan. So, any evil we conjure is ours to own. 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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