Samana Siddiqui

According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school spending could reach over $100 billion for the first time in 2020.

For those of us who were not going to Hajj this year, we may not feel the pain and sadness as acutely as those whose Hajj has been canceled due to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean we can’t swing into the Hajj spirit.

We may still be in lockdown due to COVID-19 in most parts of the United States, Canada, and in other countries, but that doesn’t mean we can forget about celebrating Eid with joy and creativity; we will be celebrating Eid in quarantine.

With Ramadan’s first 10 days over, many of us have established a routine and adjusted physically and mentally to the new schedule. Now is the time to ask if our habits and schedule are giving us the spiritual rewards we need to excel in Ramadan. Here are a few questions to ask:

At this writing, over 30 million Americans have lost their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 cris

While Ramadan in quarantine has forced us to curb many of our outside activities, the temptation now is to think we will easily be using our time to reach our Ramadan objectives of spiritual empowerment and improvement.

With Ramadan 2021 or 1442 beginning with some level of quarantine restrictions, we will still need to adjust and plan our days taking into account our restrictions - but also our benefits.