Ramadan compared to other holidays is like driving a Mercedes while everyone else has a Honda Accord.* Imagine if you were a young child sitting in the back seat of that Mercedes. Your mom or dad is driving along and everywhere you look every other kid, like you, is sitting in the back of a Honda Accord.

At this point you would be too young yet to realize the quality and value of your parents automobile, so you may feel somehow left out, awkward, and like you just don’t fit in. Likely you may even wish your parents drove a Honda just like the other kids’ parents.

But imagine how much your view would change once you got behind the wheel…

We Muslims are truly a blessed community. Not only do we have the best holidays, but we also have a blessed time preparing for them.  Consider ᶜEid al-Aḍḥa: millions of our brethren have flocked to the epicenter of Islam, the Kaᶜba, to circumambulate it and perform the rituals of hajj. And millions more around the world who are not present with them on the most important day of the hajj, Yawm al-ᶜArafāt (the Day of Arafat), humbly fast and pray for them; observing the rites of our patriarch Abraham, upon who be peace. Then, when they complete this fifth pillar of Islam, the world celebrates their accomplishment.

And consider again Ramadan. We prepare for it by fasting months in advance and preparing ourselves both physically and spiritually, and those of us who lead tarawiḥ take this time to increase their review of the Qu’rān, reciting it several times over to make sure every each letter of the Qur’ān is pronounced as it was revealed.  And then when Ramadan finally arrives it is incomparable to any other holiday that any other group celebrates.  Like me, I am sure you have even heard from non-Muslims that they wished they had a “Ramadan” in their religion. Ramadan is simply indescribable, and it lasts for a whole month and afterwards we celebrate for three days more with family and friends.

I know still that some of our youth look at other holidays with envy, wishing they could have a day devoted to gifts and engage in treasure hunts; but how is there any comparison to Ramadan? What others do only in one day we devote 29-30 to. Engaging in daily dinners with friends and family, praying nightly beside our brothers and sisters in faith, giving in charity- all  in seeking closeness with our Lord. I pray that everyone’s prayers are accepted by their Lord, and that Allah increases us in both peace and security around the world. There is no comparing Ramadan to other holi-days; it is a holi-month.

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*No offense to Honda Accord owners. I was very happy with mine, other than the times it was broken into…