Studying in Ramadan

Ramadan Mubarak to you all!

After having successfully delivered webinars and in-person workshops at university Islamic societies on the topic of Studying in Ramadan, I thought it was best to write up a summary of the key points into a blog post for wider accessibility. The points addressed are as follows:

·      Intentional Learning

·      Planning

·      Habits & Routines

·      Resource Management

·      Diet

·      Sleep

·      Revision & Exams

Intentional Learning

We cannot put studying to one side completely in the month of Ramadan. It is not good practise. Especially if it is your fulltime occupation at present.

Studying and learning can be turned into acts of worship in and of themselves when we have the right intentions and follow prophetic ways. Renewing our intentions about the whole process of educating ourselves, and clearly defining the purpose behind learning and studying for our present lives and the hereafter weigh heavy in our deeds scale. Alongside our intentions and actions, we also rely on Allah SWT and make sincere supplications (duaa) for Him to help us succeed.

There are lots of different supplications that you can specifically do for learning. One of my favourite ones is very simple: “rabbi zidni ‘ilma”. Which translates into “Oh my Lord increase me in knowledge”.

Planning

We all know the often quoted saying: “if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail”. This could not be further from the truth when it comes to Ramadan planning. Ideally, we want to plan in advance: prior to the month starting. At least we need to plan a week ahead at a time or a minimum of day-to-day planning. This is because ‘decision fatigue’ is a real thing. When we rely on “going with the flow” too much and deciding on what to do as we go along will simply drain out energy. Having a realistic schedule with a certain degree of flexibility is very useful. Some considerations and tips to help you in planning your Ramadan studying days and weeks are:

·      To plan your day around prayer times and the specific mealtime window.

·    Allow a reasonable degree of flexibility. Perhaps a grace period of up to 7 days over the month that may not be consecutive.

·      Factor in any contact hours that are not so flexible and may require more heightened focus or require travel.

·      Know when your best times for independent study are, and stick to them.

·      Females need to factor in how they will capitalise on those days where they have a break from fasting and praying. We are all different. For some, this might be when they have a complete break from everything, and for others it is the time when they can “go big or go home”.

Habits & Routines

Habits is certainly one of my favourite topics to read about, research and practise. More content will be coming out shortly on habits in general soon in sha Allah. However, for the sake of Ramadan studying, 30 days are a good number for building a new habit or breaking a bad one.

Additionally, when we are fasting, we are using our will-power ‘muscle’ and strengthening it. We can make good use of that muscle and stack those good habits and break those bad ones. If that was not enough, the devils are also chained up! So, it should generally become easier to refrain from any sinning throughout the holy days.

Building lots of good habits, especially those that revolving around your occupation and complement it, can then be turned into good routines and systems that will shape your days, weeks and the entire month. You will know that they have really worked when you carry on with these habits, routines and systems after Ramadan in sha Allah.

Resource Management

Ramadan is a perfect time to practise effectively managing resources for studying and working. Why? Because we really do not have any energy or time to waste. Our days and nights are perfectly restricted to certain acts, are organised, and timings are out of our control.

1.     Resources are finite, it is essential to prioritise.

2.     It is about energy and focus management rather than “time management”.

3.     Be smart in allowing more attention to your tasks and days, and work on eliminating those distractions. (and food is a massive distraction!)

Diet

What we consume in the hours we are allowed to eat and drink in Ramadan directly impacts our energy and focus levels throughout the day. Our body adapts beautifully in the month of fasting and it cleanses our digestive system, if we are doing the fasting correctly. Some pointers to take care of our diet that will help in productivity and feeling good during the fasting hours are:

·      Do not skip the barakah in suhoor time. Even if you just have some water and a few dates. Eating the meal before Fajr is a sunnah act.

·      Hydration. Hydration. Hydration! Hydration means consuming water. Other drinks can cause dehydration. Water and dates are also sunnah when first breaking the fast.

·      Consume foods that are high in water content, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as slow-releasing carbohydrates, quality proteins, and healthy fats.

·      Small sips of water throughout the night hours is better than chugging down a litre of bottle in one go when you remember or moments before Fajr!

Sleep

It is good practise to stay awake after Fajr prayer and fit in a nap later in the day if you can. The Prophet PBUH used to do this. He would nap between Duha and Dhur prayers often and on Fridays after Jummaa. That nap is what is known as a “قيلولة” = “the little one”. Sleep experts now tell us how powerful a nap between 20-45 minutes can be to our productivity. If we want to sleep any more than that, we should make sure it is a full sleep-cycle of 1.5 hours or multiples of that. With sleep, sometimes it is the quality that is more important than the quantity. Regularity rather than sporadic sleep patterns are better.

It is not uncommon that “night-owls” may want to stay up and study after tarawih prayers. Bear in mind that getting some sleep is critical between the 11pm-2am window. It may be easier for the “early-birds” to stay awake after Fajr and get their most important tasks done ahead of the fasting day. Whatever works best for you, do it and stick with it throughout the month.

Revision & Exams

A brief note on those who have exams during the Holy month of Ramadan. For Muslims, fasting is obligatory in the month of Ramadan with clear exceptions stated in Quran and Hadith. Revision and preparation for exams is supposed to be months in advance of that one examination day anyway. Additionally, performance on the day is not reliant on food and drink on that specific morning or hour. There is a lot more to success than fuel for a few hours. Seeking success whilst fasting will come from faith, focus, and the barakah of the Holy month.

Alhamdulellah we have made it to another Ramadan. May Allah SWT bless, reward and forgive us all. May He help us observe the entire month and the night of decree, and accept it all from us. Ameen.