The Muslim month of Ramadan 2023 begins today (according to the moon sighting - the Islamic calendar is based around the lunar cycle). Ramadan lasts for 30 days (until April), when Eid al-Fitr begins.

For Muslims worldwide, it’s a sacred time for worship, devotion, reflection and celebration.

During Ramadan, adult Muslims fast from dawn ‘til dusk, provided that they are healthy enough to do so. This includes not only abstaining from both drinking and eating, but also from immoral acts and anger. Muslims also worship, pray, read the Quran and often donate to charity.

According to the Quran, these charitable offerings should only be given to the poor and needy, recent converts to Islam, to free those ‘in bondage’, people who are in debt, wayfarers and ‘for the cause of God’ (or the people organising these donations).

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Creating your Peaceful Space

A peaceful space created in a clean, tidy home will create a positive environment for prayers or work at home.

Decluttering helps create focus in a way that will continue to give benefits on an ongoing basis, and will help you make space for this area of contemplation.

Considerations for your peaceful worship area include:

·         Pick a space where you can safely have the Quran open, safe and ready for reading. Remember that nothing should be placed on top of it, nor should it be on the floor. (It’s unlikely that you would choose the bathroom as your sacred space, but remember that your Quran should not be placed there.)

·         Make sure there is room for a rolled-out prayer mat, considered a symbol of wisdom, decency and Islamic law as well as being used to beautify prayer sessions and to carry out namaz (Islamic meditation). Other than being decent, there are no constraints on appearance, but it should be long enough to lie on, be comfortable and not slip.

·         A table to hold prayer beads and a journal.

·         Only hang Quranic verses on walls for blessings rather than for decoration, which would be ‘haram’ (forbidden).

What would make the space feel more inviting, relaxing, and spiritual for you? Comfortable floor cushions to sit on and read?

If you are having a thorough declutter as part of Ramadan, remember that worn-out copies of the Quran (for example with broken binding or missing pages) should never be thrown out with ordinary rubbish. Various sources suggest that acceptable ways of disposing include:

·         wrapping in cloth and burying in a deep hole;

·         placing it in flowing water so that the ink dissolves;

·         burning it (but not with ordinary rubbish).

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Making Space for Your Peaceful Space

Decluttering is the obvious way to create space for your place of Ramadan contemplation.

However, if you need some temporary storage for larger items to allow you the space, easyStorage offers storage at around half the price of traditional storage, and even collects and delivers back.

No obligation quotes for where you live can be obtained by calling  0800 061 4091 or visiting the easyStorage website page for quotes, where there’s even a handy space guide.