 I seek salvation from shaitan the accursed, dearest viewers, my brothers and sisters from all over the world, may peace, blessings and protection of Allah be with you at all times. Welcome to another episode of the Ramadan show with me, your host Dr Shabiat Ijani. Today once again we'll be looking at a variety of different issues to be your one-stop shop for the month of Ramadan. Like I've said before, we will be with you on social media, please join in with us using the hashtag on Twitter, IHTVRamadan. Also join us on Instagram and Facebook and insha'Allah this episode will be uploaded on to YouTube tomorrow. Before we commence with the show I just want to quote a hadith from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq alaihi salam where he says, knowledge is the lock, but the question is the key. In this episode the specific trait that we'll be focusing on for the spiritual refinement part of this episode is jealousy. Jealousy is one of the oldest negative traits that we find in human history and humankind and it is the ultimate and the most fundamental cause of the fight between good and evil. After all it was Iblis who in the heavens said to God that how can you make me bow down to Adam, peace and blessings be upon him, after all I am more superior to him. And this jealousy is what led shaitan to bring us all to come into our lives and to try and make us falter in our quest to become close to Allah swt. There is a very specific and fundamental difference between jealousy and envy and we must try and understand what that is. Jealousy essentially is when someone else has got a specific trait or a specific quality or they have something which they have within their means that you would like yourself to have and for them not to have. However envy is when they have something and you wish that you could have the same thing too. Now the holy prophet peace and blessings be upon him has said jealousy eats an iman, a person's iman in the same way fire eats away a dried wood. So as you can see it is a very very burdensome disease of the soul. However there are many things we can do and ways in which we can lead our lives to try and avoid becoming jealous. And there are some practical steps that I will now tell you ways in which you can start contemplating thinking philosophizing in order to make sure that this disease of the soul does not affect you. Firstly we must try and understand what the causes of jealousy are. I have come across six qualities that would be the precursor to someone becoming jealous. The first one is enmity. The second one is weak faith or weak iman in Allah swt. Thirdly pride and arrogance plays a huge role in the beginnings and the fundamentals of jealousy and then there is the desire for power and materialistic things in this world and that can be something that makes someone jealous. Next it is a bad intrinsic nature so if you intrinsically have bad qualities or if someone else has intrinsically bad qualities they are more prone to becoming jealous of those around them. And finally it is the harsh heart. Someone who has committed sins or who has specific traits due to which their heart has become cold and harsh tends to become more jealous of those around them. Now we will talk a little bit about how to overcome jealousy. Jealousy being one of the worst traits that a human being can have and it is one of the causes why there is a lot of breakups of relationships in society, why there is a lot of problems in society because greed causes jealousy and once someone gets jealous they want bad for others around them and good for themselves and therefore that causes a decline in society and a break up of the fabric of society and social interactions. So how can you overcome this negative trait? Firstly you must try and understand that Allah SWT and the Ahl al Bayt alayhim salam they despise this quality, the quality of jealousy in a person's heart and in a person's being in a person's soul. If you can acknowledge, if you do have this trait of jealousy within you, the first step like dealing with any other negative trait is to try and acknowledge that actually this is a disease that you have within your soul and thereafter you can start to deal with it. A practical step to try and get rid of jealousy is to try and interact with the person that you're jealous of, try to help them in whatever way you can and try and understand why you're jealous of them. For example, if you're jealous of someone for whatever reason try to praise him or her and try to make them feel more elevated and so that you do not feel jealous of them anymore. Initially this is quite hard to start off with but once you start doing it you realize that actually it increases the humility within yourself and lowers your arrogance and your pride as well as giving the other person more self-esteem, more self-confidence and bringing them closer to you creating a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood. Thirdly, remember that on the day of judgment in the hereafter, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't look at your physical state. He doesn't look at the status that you received in this world. He doesn't look at the materialistic gains that you acquired within your life. He looks at the purity of your heart, the sincerity of your soul, the near and the intention for all of your actions and after this he will make his judgment. Therefore, always have this in mind and plan to cleanse your soul from any diseases and the worst of diseases, jealousy being one of them. The Holy Prophet peace and blessings be upon him, said there is a morsel of flesh in the body, if it is rectified the whole body is rectified and if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the same with the heart. See, in this phrase the Holy Prophet peace and blessings be upon him emphasises that a single negative trait can completely ruin you and destroy your soul and getting rid of that negative trait can actually revitalise your soul and make your soul ready for meeting your Lord on the day of judgment. Next, it is really important to try and get to the fundamentals of why people are jealous, of why people have this disease of jealousy within their soul and the answer to that is simple and that is a desire, a wish for worldly and materialistic things and it's ultimately caused by greed. When someone has greed in their heart they want everything material around them so a way to get rid of this is to try and remember Allah SWT at every turn, try and reassess, reevaluate your intention at every turn. Remember that Allah SWT is where you've come from and it will be your ultimate destiny because once you're in your grave that is who you're answerable to. I've said it many times in the previous show and I'll say it again many, many more times during the shows that we have in the coming nights that it is really, really important to focus and constantly remember your death because it is only when you remember your death and your grave that is when you remember Allah SWT and remember where you're heading to because this world is borrowed time it is a very temporary life that we have and it's very short so if you constantly remember Allah SWT and the grave where you'll end up you will surely try and cleanse your heart of all the diseases that will take you away from Allah SWT so remember that this dunya is temporary and everything that you do within this world you're accountable for and it is only when you do that you'll be able to achieve that closeness to Allah SWT It has been narrated upon the authority of Imam Al-Sadaq May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him Say not this is Ramavan or that Ramavan has departed and that Ramavan has arrived for surely Ramadan is one of the names of Allah Azza wa Jalla the mighty, the glorious who neither arrives nor departs surely that which arrives and departs is ephemeral instead say the month of Ramavan not Ramavan alone In this segment of the show we look at how people from around the world prepare their day to day lives for the month of Ramadan and today because we're going to be talking about the heart of our spirituality I want you to focus on the heart of the Shi'a world which is Karbala and I will talk a little bit about how the people of Karbala prepare their day to day lives for the holy month and also talk a little bit about the shrines and how they also run their day to day activities throughout this month We will talk about the people to begin with the people here in Karbala because it's so hot they tend to, if they can, try not to work during the hottest parts of the days the hottest parts of the day are around midday and if they can, the labourers especially they try to work through the night after the iftar time so that during the daytime they can rest as much as possible however for some people that is not possible for teachers and for doctors for other people who cannot postpone their work to other parts of the day, they have to continue working the Iraqi people are naturally very giving so what they will try to do is try and host other people for iftar and give them as much as they can so whether it's a date or just a glass of milk they will try and give them food and water and sustenance during this month in any way, shape or form that they can now moving on to the shrines as you're aware that in Karbala we have the shrine or shrines of two of the greatest personalities in Imam al-Hussain alaihi salam and Abu al-Fadal alaihi salam and their shrines were in a very routine cycle of events during these days throughout the 30 days of Ramadan so typically in the morning after Salat al-Fajr they would have Ziyarat al-Ashura in both shrines and then after Salat al-Zohar they would have the recitation of the holy Quran this recitation you can hear live on Imam al-Hussain TV followed by this during iftar time families would gather in Bain al-Haramain they would eat the iftar and try and share it amongst each other and share it amongst the passes by as well because this is a month where people come together where they show love towards each other and the month of Ramadan is so special because they're in the heartland of the Shi'a world so they become even more giving around the shrines and in Bain al-Haramain and finally after Maghrib Salah there is Dua'i Ifteta in both shrines as well as in Bain al-Haramain and people tend to join in these du'as and these du'as you can also catch on Imam al-Hussain TV so it is a very special time of year and the routine is very, very spiritually elevating for those in Karbala and you'll be able to catch and keep up to date with all these activities throughout the month on Imam al-Hussain TV like every day, like every evening I would like to encourage you also to send in your videos to let us see, let us into your homes and also let us see how you prepare for the month of Ramadan how you go about your day to day activities so that we can share it with the rest of the world after all, as an ummah, we are one body and we would like to share how you prepare for this month with other people from all across the globe and other Shi'a and lovers of Imam al-Hussain dearest brothers and sisters I hope that the holy month of Ramadan have been so beneficial to you so far I hope that you have been using and being blessed with the blessings of this holy month and do not forget us in your prayers and do not forget to pray for the hasten reappearance of Imam of our time Imam al-Mahdi may Allah hasten his blessed reappearance Peace be upon you dearest Imam Hussain TV viewers welcome again I have another brother here I will ask him a few questions regarding the holy month of Ramadan Peace be upon you peace be upon you brother, he is greeting you and he is greeting the Islamic ummah He is saying that the holy month of Ramadan in the holy city of Karbala is totally different. The atmosphere is different, people are different, the meals are different. People usually go and visit each other. The brotherhood and sisterhood is a stronger during the holy month of Ramadan. How do people accept the gathering during the holy month of Ramadan? The gathering is excellent. In terms of the state of the holy month, it is known during the Eid days. God willing, it will be easy. It is accepted by couples, children, men and women. This will be a great joy for the children, especially during the Eid days. It is accepted by couples, it is accepted by something new, something new. Brother is saying that because the holy Eid of Eid al-Fitr is so special here in Karbala and Iraq in general, and especially for the children. After doing the exams, as you know the children are doing the exams before the holy month of Ramadan, and during the fast days they are waiting for the Eid to come and shop and to renew their clothes. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about nutritional tips for the month of Ramadan. As you can imagine, the holy month of Ramadan, due to the fasting periods, physically can drain individuals. So it is really, really important for all of you to understand what happens to your bodies during this month, during the fasting period, and also what you can do. The holy month of Ramadan is very important. In this episode, I'll be talking about nutrition and things that you can eat and drink in order to try and help you to get through the day. This will not only help you physically, but also spiritually, because it will give you more focus, more emphasis, more time that you can devote towards A'amal, and towards spiritually allowing you to get through the day. During the month of Ramadan, during the fasting periods, obviously on a day-to-day basis, when you're not fasting, when you're eating foods at regular intervals, your body has a constant supply of energy. Now this energy is primarily there in the form of sugars. So when you eat any food, whether they're carbohydrates, or simple sugars as well, that sugar gets absorbed into your body. And it remains in your blood system so that the body can utilize that sugar in order to provide you with energy. However, during the month of Ramadan, when you have prolonged periods of fasting, the sugar that you acquire from foods isn't there in your system. Therefore, you have to try and use other sources of energy. When this happens, what normally happens is that you have to try and use other sources of energy. When this happens, what normally happens is that you break down other things in your body such as protein, some muscle, and fats in order to produce energy sources so that your body can utilize that for energy. The other thing that happens to your body is obviously due to the lack of fluid and water, you tend to become very dehydrated. And also you lose a lot of other vital salts in your body such as sodium or potassium, chloride. All of these get lost through specific means, but the most commonest cause of loss of salts is through your sweat. So again, it is really important to replenish these stores when you have time to eat after your iftar. So today in this episode, we'll be looking at good foods that you can eat in order to try and keep your energy levels up and also good foods and good things that you can take in order to keep yourself rehydrated because after all, the last thing you'd want is to be so physically exhausted during this month that you do not have time to focus and think about the most important part of this month which is the spiritual element of it and the element of it where you can elevate your soul so you can achieve closeness to Allah swt. Now, during the time of iftar, obviously in different countries the period of fast and the period of being able to eat differs from place to place, region to region, country to country, but it is really important that you have an idea in your mind how you can keep yourself going through the day. Now, where I'm from, which is the United Kingdom, because I'm a doctor there, I get a lot of patients who ask me about the month of Ramadan, firstly whether the prolonged periods of fasting are physically... a human being is physically able to fast for that period of time and secondly, if they do fast, what they can do in order to make the most out of their day so that they're not hungry and so thirsty, so dehydrated for the whole period of the day and for this, the advice I give them is that if they have a good routine throughout their day even if they're working, the fast can be bearable, it can be tolerable as long as you eat the right things at the right times, obviously during the period of after iftar and also if you are sensible through the day as well. Obviously in very, very high levels of heat and humidity you use a lot of fluids, so the first thing to do when you're opening your fast or when you're eating your food is to make sure that you rehydrate yourself adequately. Now, there's many theories out there on how to rehydrate yourself effectively. Some of these include sports drinks or other rehydration solutions. However, studies that have been carried out in many parts of the world which has been specific to sports medicine actually show that milk has been a very, very good source of replenishment for fluid. The reason being is that due to the fat content in milk in any foods that has a high fat content the material will stay in your gut in your digestive system for a prolonged period of time. So what happens during this period of time is that the water is slowly going into your system over many, many hours rather than being put into your system during a very short period of time. So during this period of time the first advice I'd give you is try and drink some milk during the periods of eating and drinking. Secondly, as I mentioned before you do lose a lot of energy stores such as sugars. Now, a lot of people think that the way to replenish these stores are to eat lots of sugar when you're opening your fast. In fact, it's on the contrary because what happens when you do this is that you have a spike of sugar in your blood system and as a result you have a spike of insulin in your system and what insulin does is that it absorbs the glucose, the sugars into your cells very, very quickly so it doesn't remain in your blood system for a prolonged period of time and once that sugar is gone then you don't have anything left in your system. The way that you can overcome this issue is to concentrate and focus on specific types of food in order to give you a prolonged burst or prolonged supply of sugar in your system. So the best food to eat in this situation is complex carbohydrates so things like rice and pasta. The reason being that because the molecules are quite complex it takes time for your gut to digest these and as a result they slowly get absorbed into your system over a prolonged period of time so they keep you energized for a longer period of time and the sugar is getting into your system rather than having spikes of sugars you get a more prolonged slow release of sugar into your system it keeps you energized for longer periods of time. The other thing that I mentioned is loss of salt obviously it's very, very important salt is essential for our body because without these salts organs such as our heart and our brains would not be able to function the way that they do so it's very, very important for you to replenish these stores regularly after you have your iftar. Now the hadith of the Holy Prophet peace and blessings be upon him show us that it is very, very good to open your fast with a pinch of salt or a taste of salt and there is actually scientific basis behind this because salt which usually exists in the form of sodium chloride is the most commonest thing those are the most common salts that you lose through your sweat so by having some salt when you open your fast it's actually very good for you and what it does is it very, very quickly replenishes those stores of lost salts finally the last thing I want to focus on is other types of foods that would be good to eat during this month of Ramadan the reason being is that it is a very unique month not only spiritually and obviously Allah swt opens his doors of mercy to you during this month but also physically it is a very testing time it can be a very testing time for individuals but also your body does not go through this routine on a day to day basis for the rest of the year so it's a very new thing for your body to try and get adapted to and as a result your body goes through many changes during this month your metabolic rate changes and the way that you deal with specific foods that get put into your system also changes so you have to try and adapt that and change what you eat to try and counteract for that so specific foods that you can eat or focus on during this month especially are the lighter foods so like the Hadith says it is very important not to overeat when you're having an iftar not to overfill your stomach with food it is important to drink plenty of water but also to leave some space in your stomach because if you overeat not only do you feel sluggish and bloated but also affects you spiritually because that person who has a full stomach all the time cannot gain spiritual elevation because they're so focused on trying to digest that food and they're so burdened down by it that they don't have time to focus on anything else so really important not to overeat during this month so my tips to you are to try and take foods that are light such as soups to open your fast with and also utilize the gifts that God has given you in the sense that the natural fruits and vegetables that we have the fresh fruits and vegetables try and have those because again they have a good supply of sugars in them and also they have other vitamins and minerals that will be very useful to you to keep you going through the day because not only do you lose a specific sugars, salts, fluid but also it is important to replenish the stores of vitamins and minerals because during the day whilst you're not eating regularly you're not getting that regular supply of vitamins and minerals so you need to make sure that you replenish those in the time that you have for eating finally I'd just like to finish on these last words it is really important to remember that every food that you receive anything that you eat is a blessing from Allah SWT this may be slightly diverting from the topic of this specific talk but remember those brothers and sisters around the world who do not have food to eat and do not have water to drink because they even fast and whilst you're eating your food and drinking your water or whatever drinks you're drinking remember them and it is really important like I said before not to overeat remember not to waste food because surely for the food that you waste it is someone else's meal someone else's food that you're actually throwing away so remember those who are in need and surely if you do that you'll be more sensible about the way that you eat and about the things that you eat the sermon continues by several instructions O people Prophet Muhammad SAW states O people the gates of heaven are open in this month of Ramadan so ask your Lord not to close them the phrase the gates are open the gates of being open has at least two meanings number one the chance of someone entering heaven in this month is higher and greater than the rest of the month across the years across the year number two due to the openness of heaven's gates all kind of divine mercy in heaven are ready to encompass the servants in this world we see that Allah SWT these make the sleep and breaths of the faithful in the month of Ramadan like the inhabitants of heaven glorification of Allah and worship although the gates of heaven are being open the holy prophet warns people that if they do not appreciate this great opportunity subsequently Allah the Almighty will close them the situation of the gates of heaven sorry the gates of fire are quite the contrary Prophet SAW states and the gates of fire are closed in this month so ask your Lord not to open them along these lines the condition of satans are described as follows and the satans and satans are in chains so ask your Lord not to dominate them over you although satan and his assistants are chained up in this month the month of Ramadan committing sin results in releasing them therefore while the month of Ramadan is the best month to some people and to a specific group of people the month of Ramadan can also be a sort of worse than to a specific also to a specific group of people as Allah SWT mentions the holy Quran a cure and mercy this month is a cure and mercy for the faithful and it increases the wrongdoers only in loss this is in chapter 17 verse 82 the fourth Imam of Ahlul Bayt Imam Sajjad peace be upon him states in his farewell supplication that all month of Ramadan peace be upon you how long were you for the wrongdoers and how magnificent were you in the hearts of the faithful by implied as implied by the supplication and as proved by experiences the month of Ramadan for those who did not fad deliberately without any religious excuse it seems like a whole year and every moment of that year is some sort of torture for them on the contrary those who do their best to appreciate this month find it passing quickly and are concerned about not losing a second without taking advantage of taking fully advantage of it for this episode I would like to dedicate the poetry, the recitation to the person, the individual the personality who is the foundation of our religion whose name beats in all of our hearts who is the ultimate saviour of humankind I want to dedicate this to Imam al-Hussain alayhi salam this poetry is called I will come crawling to your Hussain and it was written by myself and my brother Abbas and it was written around the time of Arba'een when so many of the Zawad were heading towards Imam al-Hussain and we were left behind in our country and this is our way of expressing our grief and remembering Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain as I conclude this episode I just want to leave you with a final thought a few words a philosophy that you can implement in your day-to-day life in order to try and understand Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain Imam al-Hussain unless you let it inside you. The reason why I think this is a very important saying or a very important philosophy to try and implement is that positivity is a good start. It's a starting point for Ibadah, for good actions. Because if you let negativity inside you, you'll start doubting yourself. Your self-confidence will diminish. And essentially, your being will become very small inside. And as a result, your soul suffers. So it is very, very important to try and stay positive and to not let negativity of those around you affect you. As I finish this episode, I just want to remind you once again to please join us on social media, to join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on YouTube. And don't forget to send us your videos as well. Insha'Allah, I finally ask you to please pray for us here at Imam Hussein TV. And also, do not forget to pray for the reappearance of our awaited saviour, Al-Mahdi, alayhi salam. Insha'Allah, I look forward to seeing you all very soon. And insha'Allah, we hope that we can inspire you for this month of Ramadan. Wa-salaamu alaykum, jami'an wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.