Ramadan – Acmo Network

Tech as a facilitator of Community Engagement and Spiritual reflection during Ramadan

Durdanah Masoodi — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 05:51:40 +0000

With the emergence of technology, many aspects of life have been reshaped profoundly.

But as soon as advanced technology started to influence society dynamically, it became hard to identify sectors that were not facilitated by it, either directly or indirectly. Tech has left its stamp almost everywhere. Ranging from communication, education, medicine, and many other fields. The most lucid feature provided by technology is its customization capacity. That means technology is at your service, you have to utilize expertise from IT companies to customize any service per your requirements.

In this blog, we will try to explore how Tech can support the two mentioned important

activities during the month of Ramadan, let us figure out:

The month of Ramadan engages the entire Muslim community in various worship acts. The essence is strengthened by activities such as an increase in community engagement

and spiritual reflection. Activities of Life nowadays cannot be isolated from the

technological boom, so rather than analyzing them separately, let’s see them together.

Tech as Facilitator of Community Engagement: The month of Ramadan is accompanied by a rise in community engagement. This is obvious due to people being more involved in worshipping acts. And the most involved time for this is the five congregational prayers. It does not mean that during the alternate months, people are not there, rather we only mean to convey that the crowd during this month is more. Having an idea about numbers, let us see how tech can be placed here.

● Emails, messages, or group calls are some vital benefits of technology for people. Their utility can reinforce community engagement by scheduling texts/meetings for the community’s good. Automated Alarms can help in structuring prayer times. The absence of people may no longer be an issue because group voice calls or video calls may be scheduled to conduct conversations on any emerging community issue. All this will facilitate people-to-people contact and bind the community.

● The herculean schedules do not allow communities to identify the needy easily, especially during this month. Because that determination requires an inclusive decision on behalf of community members, Tech can be a wholesome solution to this. Having access to mobile phones can aid this process by hosting meetings or creating groups online, wherein discussion on the said issue can be concluded. There may no longer be

any need to wait for weeks together for one member and the other, apart from the

unnecessary wait of members, which also leads to delays in the distribution of financial

aid among deserving members. This was at a collective level. At an individual level also,

the charity that one is obliged to pay as per Islamic ruling called ‘Zakat’ can be facilitated by tech. Since contemporary times are called cashless and contactless, an individual who has to pay Zakat to any deserving individual can do so by various methods such as UPI, Paytm, scanner method, etc. This will ensure two things, one the accurate amount reaches the deserving person on time, and secondly, it fosters the power of doing good and not making hu-ha of it. Also, it strengthens bonds among interactive members, because often payment through physical means may not be an ideal option for numerous reasons, in that

sense if it’s done through an online method, it satisfies the receiver and sender, and the

former the more.

Tech as a facilitator for Spiritual reflection: The month of Ramadan allows individuals to extract many benefits for their personality development. One such benefit is the spiritual improvement. Due to the sacredness of the month the Muslim community across

the globe gets involved in various activities aimed to strengthen their relationship with their Lord. This spiritual reflection may be attained by various means, but we will explore how Tech can aid this process:

● Technology has made the world a small place. You can access online anything on the

internet in a jiffy of seconds. As a matter of the month of Ramadan, spiritual reflection

can be aided by numerous online lectures given by experts and scholars. Some

influencing lectures and discussions can be accessed at channels/websites such as

Bayyinah, Ummatics, Yaqeen, and many others. These channels run throughout the year but host new series every Ramadan. The experts involved are highly knowledgeable and give lectures on numerous topics that can prove highly beneficial to our spiritual

improvement.

● Mobile phones are the constant item in our pockets. Every ten minutes, you look at

your phone, meaning whatever is on screen, scrolling, texts, emails, etc does impact your mind. So during Ramadan why not initiate a set-up change for this handy gadget? You

can do so by changing your wallpaper and lock screen to some relatable theme, whichever attracts you to the sacred month. You can also get an email subscription, or

newsletter subscription, to various channels or companies that produce quality Ramadan content acting as reminders. The subscription may also aware you about event information that you can access online. Since Google based on your search history, recommends you things, it may prove highly beneficial, because rather than getting unnecessary pop-up messages at the top of your phone, you may get something more

worthy. Lastly, you may create WhatsApp groups among your friends where authentic information about the month, its importance, etc is shared, this will add to your knowledge and indirectly impact your mind. All these small steps taken on this small gadget together, will yield positive benefits for you and support your spiritual reflection and improvement.

● At an institute or company level, you may also want the set-up change. You may require images, designs, logos, business cards, etc to reflect the essence of Ramadan. Because the workspace has a profound impact on our mental framework. We ask you not to worry about it anymore because as an IT team, Acmo Network can facilitate you in this task through our Branding & Graphics Services. We can design and curate to-the–point graphics for you.

Conclusion

The bottom line one can say is that the emergence of Technology is a matter of usage. We may not have been even able to relate how the commitment to spiritual improvement is linked with Tech, but deep analysis says we can. The various aspects that are run through

technology and are available to users via the Internet can aid the spiritual journey. If you require any customizable application that you think can aid your Ramadan activities such as community engagement and spiritual reflection in this case, then our IT company may prove a reliable option for you. Discuss your ideas with us, and together we can decide how to take it forward. Acmo Network promises to be your credible IT partner, that can get ineffable results on the table.

The post Tech as a facilitator of Community Engagement and Spiritual reflection during Ramadan appeared first on Acmo Network.

The Month of Ramadan: Balancing Work and Worship

Durdanah Masoodi — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 09:08:16 +0000

As per the Islamic calendar, the month of Ramadan marks the ninth month preceded by

the month of Sha’ban. Ramadan marks fasting for thirty consecutive days from dawn to

sunset (Isha time). The sacredness of the month is observed globally by the entire Muslim

Ummah due to the revelation of the Quran in this month itself. Tracing its etymology in

the Arabic word‌ ‘‌ض‌‌-‌‌م‌‌-‌‌ر‌’ ‌or ‘R–MD’ in English, the translation means ‘the scorching heat.’ The scorching heat in this context broadly is a symbolic representation. As the

unbearable rays of the sun burn us deep, the month of Ramadan is also meant to burn our sins, which have deeply engulfed us.

The act of fasting serves a more profound purpose than restraining just from eating, and

drinking. We are expected to restrain and strive to purify ourselves in all possible ways. Striving for good is crucial, against odds such as seeing wrong, doing wrong, practicing wrong, etc. It is not perfection that the month of Ramadan demands from us, but rather continuous efforts that can act as a catalyst for us during the rest of the year.

Having a brief idea about the month, we can now move ahead and see why we are writing about it over here. We know how technology has influenced our lives. Almost all aspects of human life are engulfed by the contemporary digital age. Fasting may no longer be an exception. So many people are involved in doing tasks or carrying their business online these days. It is just a matter of fingertips, that plays the whole game. Therefore if technology is so integral to us, and our mundane tasks, then avoiding it is not a solution. It means the two go together, rather than separately.

Let’s dwell more on the analysis of tech and fasting.

● Fasting during the month of Ramadan is another thing, if, in the first place, you do not

know when the month begins. Since the Islamic calendar (Hijiri Year) marks a 10 or 11–

day difference from the usually followed Gregorian calendar, there may be confusion about when the month starts. If in case you do not have a hard copy of the Hijri calendar, then, technology can be the best aid in this regard. The digital system allows you to download or get a customized Islamic calendar developed for your workspace by any IT

partner. You may also get it automated so that it reminds you a week or a few days before the month starts, thus saving you from getting into errorful dates.

● The discovery of numerous technological gadgets is a sign of how new things can be

improvised in dynamic ways. The wearing of smartwatches can be highly beneficial as a

time tracker during the month of Ramadan. The schedule applications can benefit as well. You can set alarms for the ‘Sehri time-pre dawn meal’ allowing you to wake up easily from deep slumbers. Besides the technique of automation may help you more during this

interval, because you can set alarms once and for all, rather than daily.

● If you are overbusy during the day, then reminders are what you need to leave the

office, or company earlier than usual timing. To make sure that you reach home at least half an hour before the ‘Iftar-Fast breaking time’ it is good to choose automated

reminders that modern gadgets such as your smartwatch or mobile phone can easily provide you with.

● Mobile phones nowadays have built-in Health-tracking applications or can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Benefits of the fasting act are known to all of us. Whether you are obese and want to work on it, or due to benefits of the act like fat loss, cardiovascular exercise, diet control, etc, all is manageable by utilizing the tracking applications on your mobile phones. Such applications track your regular workout and display information daily, such as calories burnt, walking, diet to continue and control,

and a lot more. Thus you can make Ramadan more beneficial for yourself and others as well by recommending the same plan. All you need is to get an application developed or

set up a customized application from a professional IT company.

Tips for Balancing Work and Worship

Striking balance is always what we should aim towards in life. Similarly, overexposure to

work in contemporary times, especially due to the technological revolution, has led many of us to shift more toward the work aspect. Though striving for balance should be a constant try, the month of Ramadan being more sacred, demands more efforts from us toward acts of Worship. At the same time knowing that we have professional engagements as well, increases the dilemma. Therefore it is advised to manage your scale and put in efforts to strive for a balance between Work and Worship. A few tips that could help to maintain this balance are:

● Companies, business units, and institutions working on a medium or large scale should

relax the working schedule for this month. Being beneficial at an individual and collective level, the act would foster the bonds between the employer and the employees.

● Tasks done on small scale or by remote means can be done under a set limit, or

changing your existing schedule, so that you can carry both your work and worship together.

● A lot of time can be saved if involvement in unnecessary things is stopped, such as

useless video scrolling, petty conversations, non-beneficial investment in screen time, etc. The said time may be allotted to the acts of worship such as frequent recitation of the Holy Book, and listening to Islamic lectures and podcasts. And there is a huge possibility that this may become your normal schedule if done with all wits.

Conclusion

We can sum up by concluding that the month of Ramadan is an immense blessing to the

Ummah. It provides all of us a chance to strive more towards good. In the era of technology, when people are immensely occupied in their work through digital setup, it

is difficult to escape the penetration of technological boom in our daily lives. Rather

than worrying about what to do, it is advisable to utilize the technology to make more

from the sacred month. At Acmo Network, https://acmo.in/, we promise to be your

reliable IT partner which will provide you with credible IT services. We can develop

built in, automated, or customized setups for your mobile applications or website, that can help you add features to your daily routine such as tracking applications, scheduling

applications, workout update apps, and a lot more. This is why we do not just restrict

ourselves to the domain of professional setup, rather our professional work can aid your

personal commitments, and at your back will always be our IT Consulting Services.

The post The Month of Ramadan: Balancing Work and Worship appeared first on Acmo Network.