#forislam

Wa alaikum assalaam,

Ramadan Mubarak :) To be honest, your situation is one that is similar to what many Muslims face on a daily basis, be it with their family, friends, or members of their community. When it comes down to trying to motivate and inspire people towards betterment, I believe the best approach is to be positive in your speech. This is an approach that I believe is great for children and raising them with positive attitudes, happiness, and more. With people that are around your age or older, it’s best to do the same. Build a love for the Deen in their hearts, and don’t make practicing Islam feel like a chore. Make it enjoyable for them by providing them with a challenge or a physical reward like the people who fast a whole week gets a chocolate bar of their choice, or make it a group thing where you all get together for Suhoor and Iftar, and while eating, you or another person knowledgeable in Islamic teachings start a discussion on a topic that they can relate to. During the discussion, you could tell them stories of the Sahabah, examples from your own life, and more. You could also talk about the things they’ve said as being what makes fasting difficult and ask them about it, and suggest that you guys all brainstorm ideas to help overcome that difficulty.

These are just some suggestions, but I think you see my point. Make it enjoyable through their eyes. If they aren’t inspired and motivated by the immense amounts of rewards and benefits that comes from this month, inspire and motivate them using things they enjoy, like a soccer tournament (where the requirement is that they attend Suhoor and Iftar with your group at the masjid or at one of your homes).

And finally, avoid saying things like, “That’s not okay, bro. You have to do it." When you use negative words like not, don’t, wrong, etc. or commanding words like have to, must, etc., you push them away from feeling comfortable with you. Stick to positive words and kind, inspiring words like I understand, try this, it’s okay, we, let’s, us, our, etc.

I hope that answers your question. I pray that Allah continues to guide you, and helps those in your community grow closer to Him in faith and purpose. And may Allah reward you for your efforts. Ameen. Take care!

Wassalaamu alaikum,