SaqibSaab

Reactions To And Reflections On My Status About Food On ‘Ashura

With yesterday being ‘Āshūrā’, the day Allah saved the Children of Israel from Fir‘aun, many Muslims, including myself, were happily hungry for the day to follow the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad who fasted the day because Prophet Moses fasted that day as well, peace be upon them both.

As is the usual during days of fasting, I began to grow cravings for certain foods throughout the day. To let everyone know, I posted the cravings I had on three different areas of online social connection: my Gmail status, Facebook status, and my Twitter. I posted the following status message:

Saqib Shafi is craving chicken philly cheese steaks, chicken shawarma sandwiches, BBQ sauce burgers, & a solid cup of coffee with lots of cream & sugar.

Here are the images that come to mind:

 

Look good, don’t they? Apparently they looked really good yesterday, considering the way people responded. Now, I’ve been dānted (lectured) in past for putting up posts on this blog about food on days when people are fasting (i.e. during the month of Ramadan). But even with a status message, something less direct, or so I thought, people reacted in pretty much the same way.

12:53 PM
Ayesha: i’m hungry
i want chicken and mashed potatoes
w/ a biscuit
maybe some gravy
sounds good?
maybe ill make some when i get home

1:00 PM
Kamran: damn you and your status message!
now im hungry

1:09 PM
Aamair: assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
fasting?
me: wa alaykum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
yep, you?
Aamair: yeah
i could tell from your g-status
me: heh

1:17 PM
Yahya: I am also craving such things now that you mention it
me: assalaamu alaykum
haha third person to say that!
LOL
and now a fourth!
Yahya: you know what that means right saqib
you should take it as a sign and make dinner for us 4

1:18 PM
Irshad: dude
i am fasting
can you please update your message
me: lol
four people in a row
you being fourth
IMed me about it
I was gonna take a snapshot but then accidently refreshed
Irshad: I feel like giving you The People’s Elbow
me: lol

2:31 PM
Mujeeb: sheesh, i was doing so well
till i read ur ms
msg
“chicken”1
!
n behold! my stomach started making noises
for chicken

3:06 PM
Osmaan Akhtar: um…………..yum

4:37 PM
shafmaster03: way to kill yourself before breaking your fast

Funny stuff. Goes to show us a couple things.

First, look at how connected we are on the internet and how effective the concept of a status message is. Sure I put it up in three different places, but the reactions still came in. Gmail gave me the most, probably because I’m on there the most, and Facebook is just too large. With Gmail status, it’s more personalized as only the people who Email me can see it. Still, its pretty interesting how well we can fuse together the online world and our daily lives based on the way we use the intartubes.

Next, you know those cravings I got, which then you got, as well the other cravings I ended up getting later (such as Cheesecake Factory, caramel ice cream with chocolate chunks and peanuts, dahi baray, fruit chat, etc.), and those that you probably had yourself? Those are all luxuries we enjoy throughout our day to day lives given to us by Allah. When they’re stripped away from us, we remember them and crave for them.

Allah has given us countless comforts, not just in food, but in shelter, security, health, faith, and life. Keeping that in mind, it’s important to do three things:

1. Reflect on them. Not only are there those who starve everyday, but think of those in Gaza who don’t have the same amazing life you do of physical and emotional security, and are struggling to hold on to their limbs, let alone their lives.
2. Be thankful for them. A good slave of Allah is thankful for the blessings he or she is given by Him. And what exactly should we do to be more thankful to Him?
3. Show thanks by worshiping and obeying Him, and not disobeying Him. If you really want to be more thankful to Allah for what you’ve been given, we show it by increasing our relationship with Him.

With all those blessings that you have in your life, isn’t about time that you gave up that secret sin you constantly commit, or pick up that good habit or extra worship you’ve been putting off for so long? If you want to be thankful to Allah for those blessings, then it’s high time to do so.

Please continue to make du’a for the Muslims in Gaza and against the oppressors.