# Day 5: Be Present | Ramadan Strong **Author:** Dr. Tesneem Alkiek **Series:** Ramadan Strong **Published:** 2019-05-10 **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOSdEgwtzPM **URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-5-be-present-ramadan-strong **Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia ## Description Break out of your daily routine of checklists and make an effort to focus on your Qur’an and in Salah. ## Transcript **[0:01]** Salamualaikum everyone and congratulations because if you're seeing this video then we've made it alhamdulillah to Ramadan. **[0:18]** So I'm really excited for this month because this is really my opportunity to sort of sit back and reflect on everything that's happened this year and sort of set my goals for the following year. And so this Ramadan my goals are pretty personal and hopefully will help benefit anyone else who has similar struggles. **[0:38]** I'm the kind of person who's always on the go, I'm checking things off my list, you wake up and what am I going to do today? I always joke with my friends that most people see the day as all fun unless they're working, but I see the day as you get up and you're working until you might have a break for fun. **[0:55]** So sometimes that's productive and unfortunately a lot of times, especially when it comes to your spiritual well-being, it's very very detrimental. Because when you have that mentality when it comes to salah or reading the Qur'an or whatever the case is, it's always alright I gotta get it done, let's pray two raka'as, let's go, I have to read my juz' for the day, let's go, let's go. **[1:15]** And you don't really get that opportunity to savour what you're reading and what you're doing. And so for anyone who has a similar mentality or just in general, what I intend to do and hopefully this will benefit you as well is that for every juz' of Qur'an I read or for anything I do in relation to building my iman or coming close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, **[1:35]** I want to walk away with three lessons. So every day before I read my juz' of Qur'an or review or whatever it is, I'm going to tell myself by the end of this I'm going to be able to come away with three life lessons or three just reflections, the stories that are mentioned in the Qur'an or whatever the case is. **[1:54]** For taraweeh, right, we're standing long nights in prayer, whether it's listening during the salah or reading the juz' beforehand that you know that the imam is going to be reciting and preparing yourself to what is going to be coming so you can think of those lessons and reflect about them in salah. **[2:12]** So I'm really excited to be able to do that just because I want at the end of every day have a list of ten different things to walk away with, reflections, every night review those before I go to sleep or after iftar or in between certain timings. **[2:28]** And so hopefully by doing this it will force me to actively participate consciously in what I'm doing and hopefully be a means of focusing and reflecting and not just checking things off my list. **[2:43]** So I'm excited for the Ramadan, I'm excited for inshallah all the ajr that we can collect. So I hope this benefits you and I and good luck to everyone else inshallah. Wa alaikum salam. ## Other Episodes in "Ramadan Strong" - [Day 30: Farewell, Ramadan | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-30-farewell-ramadan-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 29: Beware of Ramadanitis | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-29-beware-of-ramadanitis-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 28: Practicing Istiqama for the Long Haul | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-28-practicing-istiqama-for-the-long-haul-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 27: Meeting the Best Version of Ourselves | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-27-meeting-the-best-version-of-ourselves-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 26: A Date with Destiny | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-26-a-date-with-destiny-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 25: The Value of Seclusion - Ihtikaf | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-25-the-value-of-seclusion-ihtikaf-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 24: When the Night Draws its Curtain —The Importance of Tahajjud | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-24-the-importance-of-tahajjud-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 23: Maximizing the Last Ten Days | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-23-maximizing-the-last-day-days-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 22: Charity in the Last 10 Nights | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-22-charity-in-the-last-10-nights-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 21: Ten Days Ahead, Another Chance? | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-21-ten-days-ahead-another-chance.md) - [Day 20: The Extra Good Deed | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-20-the-extra-good-deed-ramadan-strong-2.md) - [Day 19: The Man Who Thought He Thanked God Enough | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-19-the-man-who-thought-he-thanked-god-enough-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 18: When Ramadan Breaks | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-18-when-ramadan-breaks-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 17: Ramadans of Yore | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-17-ramadans-of-yore-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 16: Detox by Day and Indulge By Night | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-16-detox-by-day-and-indulge-by-night.md) - [Day 15 | Overcoming the Mid-Ramadan Slump | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-15-mid-ramadan-slump-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 14 | Praise be to Allah | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-14-praise-be-to-allah-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 13 | The Need for Consistency and Balance | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-13-consistency-and-balance-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 11: "...but I've already fallen behind in my Ramadan goals" | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-11-behind-in-my-ramadan-goals-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 10: Your Qur'an Goals | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-10-your-quran-goals-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 9: Desire, Dedication, Discipline | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-9-desire-dedication-discipline-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 8: Talking to Allah | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-8-talking-to-allah-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 7: The Importance of Documenting Progress | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-7-the-importance-of-documenting-progress-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 6: Being Excused from Fasting is a Gift From God | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-6-being-excused-from-fasting-is-a-gift-from-god-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 4: So That You Attain God-Consciousness | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-4-so-that-you-attain-god-consciousness-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 3: Mindful Fasting to Feed Your Soul | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-3-mindful-fasting-to-feed-your-soul-ramadan-strong.md) - [Day 1: Not Just Another Ramadan | Ramadan Strong](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/day-1-not-just-another-ramadan-ramadan-strong.md) - [Ramadan Strong: Series Introduction](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/ramadan-strong/ramadan-strong-series-introduction.md)