Ramadan Journal: Teenager's Toolkit & Tennis [Day 2]

Create a Ramadan toolkit for teenagers using personalised tools and Halalify.com's impressive Ramadan Battle Plan, a must-have for Muslims of any age.

Fasting is a very personal experience. Each of us is keeping track of competitive deeds while a great angel is assigned to monitor ours. The magic of Ramadan is that we transform ourselves to follow a disciplined routine although the honest approach is that it isn't easy for everyone, especially new Muslims or younger Muslims.

I've always made charts and scrapbooked a Ramadan diary to keep my studies, cool quotes, duas and even iftar meals all planned out. There hasn't really been a Ramadan Journal available on the market. Until now.

Halalify.com [from the Du`a Request Line] has made a Ramadan Battle Plan since 2011 so this year I bought one for my younger sister who is nearly 16. As she is inclined to intense productivity and likes to label everything from pens to clothing, this book is ideal for her independent progress, kind of like a daily report. The battle plan is gender-neutral though and perfect for most ages.

Below is a preview of what the Ramadan Battle Plan 2012 contains. But first;

Ramadan Du`a Day 2:

Ghufranaka rabbana wa ilaykal masir
"[We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."
(Quran, 2:285)

A Teenager's Ramadan Toolkit Includes:

• Notebook for cool quotes and making shopping lists
• Small dhikr beads that are easy to carry [ours has 33 metal beads]
• Flash-cards in a binder on duas to learn and personal studies
• `Ilmy classes
• Involve younger Muslims in your family when you book an Islamic event, attend a Qur'an class or listen to a lecture on CD. Tell them to make their own Ramadan audio playlist and a chart of what they want to learn this month; make it count, like the names of Allah, names of Prophet Muhammad, or salawat
• Books, CDs and DVDs
• Muslims aged 12-16 are on the verge of adulthood and like to feel grown-up, but that doesn't mean they won't play it down and say no to a cartoon now and again. Get a (small) stash of nasheed CDs, just ONE book on the Sahaba and Anbiya and a DVD, for example, on the life of Prophet Muhammad, or a documentary. This will count as their entertainment. Halalify all the way.
• Ramadan 2012 Journal; ours is available free online for download (54 pages) or can be bought as a printed paperback copy through Halalify.com.

The opening pages to Halalify's Ramadan Battle Plan book contain productive tips on how to clean-up the house and organise things in preparation. It also dips into 'spiritual' preparation by teaching readers how to 'compartmentalise' your mind.

A visual checklist is great for reminders on what to do and when - have you 'automated' your sadaqah? Are you fit enough to exercise each day? There are spaces to fill answers and tick off jobs done.

HASANAH CHASERS: One of my favourite pages mathematically counts how many sins you would have to commit in one day to cancel out the reward of making this tasbih, tahmid and takbir: 2,500. When you look at like that, making dhikr is a doddle.

Towards the end of the book are informative pages to 'Decompress' by evaluating one's progress and on tips for Tarawih.

The main bulk of the Ramadan Battle Plan consists of daily pages for fasting with space for things-to-do and Sunnah lists.

These pages like the rest of the book are in full colour and printed on fairly good quality paper. The book is paperback too. My sister is storing hers in a plastic see-through paper-box that opens like a latched suitcase. We got ours for £1 from Staples.

That's what I would plan with and have given my sister as her Ramadan Toolkit. She totally loves it and I see her scribbling things in the evening after iftar. Ma-sha-Allah.

My brother on the other hand, prefers some aggressive tennis with friends at the local park. Boys, -shrug-

Download or buy the Ramadan Battle Plan (2012).

Today's fast in Yorkshire, England will open at 9:25pm.

More like this:
- Downloadable Salah Achievement Chart For 30 Days
- Make Pocket-Size Qur'an Du`a Cards
- Ramadan Journal - Convert Resolutions Into Life-Long Habits