For Muslims, the month of Ramadan isn’t simply just about fasting. Yes, it marks a significant part of the holy month, abstaining from food and drink from sunrise (suhoor) to sunset (iftar), but it also involves reconnecting to your faith and your relationship with Allah. It’s a time to strengthen your bond to Islam through fasting, but also through prayers and reading the Quran. One thing that I tend to struggle with every Ramadan is motivation and setting achievable goals for the month. I often don’t know where to start, but with the Ramadan Planner, that’s about to change.

To find out more about Dina Aziz’s new book, Stylist sat down with the author to talk all things Ramadan, journaling and how we can use the planner to set and achieve our goals.

What is the Ramadan Planner?

It’s a journal and planner packed full of helpful checklists, reminders, journal prompts and spaces to reflect and get ready to track your progress through Ramadan:

• Set and keep track of your goals for the month ahead
• Check in on your mood and mental health
• Fast mindfully and plan your suhoor and iftar meals
• Stay focused on your goals and good intentions
• Keep track of your prayers for each day
• Make a list of duas and note down your good deeds
• Create space to reflect on the highs and lows
• Prepare for Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations
• Schedule your day to make the most of the month

I want this to appeal to anyone and everyone – whether it’s someone who’s recently converted to Islam or a person who just wants to know more about the religion – and that’s why I start the planner with the five key pillars of Islam and some of the key facts about how Muslims practise their faith before going on to the main planner section. The sections are also broken up with questions around progress so that people can stay on track with their goals but also with what they’re reading and digesting.

Using the planner means that by the end of Ramadan, you’ve built up 30 days’ worth of habits, so it’s about proving to yourself that you can achieve your goals, and afterwards take accountability for continuing your new habits and behaviours beyond Ramadan.

Where did the idea for the Ramadan Planner come from?

It all started a few years ago when I befriended someone who had recently converted to Islam and was finding fasting during Ramadan difficult – especially as she was living alone in the UK. So, we used to exchange gifts and I’d make her these planners and little information packs so she had the knowledge and tools for Ramadan. As time went on, however, I’d find myself constantly adding bits and pieces to this planner I’d made for her, and one day I sent her the then final version. She sent me a message a couple of days later asking if she could send the planner on to her friends, and it took off from there.

My family convinced me to share this planner I’d created online – which I did, for free – and download links broke several times due to the demand, which led me to create a website to upload the planner. Now, it’s going to be a physical planner for anyone to use.

Has creating this book changed your own relationship to your faith?

Yes, definitely. Especially when I was putting together the smaller bits of the book such as the quotes that relate to each day, which I chose specifically to match the tracking progress but also to suit the mood of that particular day in Ramadan. For example, the first few days are all quotes based on hardship as people tend to struggle a little at the beginning. And the more I researched and found new quotes, the more I learned about the finer details of Islam and my thirst for knowledge grew to the point that I now want to translate some of the research I found into social media content so that I can share with my community and beyond.

How are you feeling about Ramadan?

I’m really excited; it’s always such a beautiful atmosphere of togetherness. I feel a lot more prepared than I ever was before, especially with the Ramadan Planner and having habits in place that I’ve built up over the last year or so, which will hopefully make things easier. I want to focus on my spiritual connection and the Quran, which I made sure was a significant part of the book. Ramadan is only 30 days, but the planner is around 200 pages and that’s because there’s so much more to the holy month than not eating or drinking.

Frame Of Mind is Stylist’s home for all things mental health and the mind. From expert advice on the small changes you can make to improve your wellbeing to first-person essays and features on topics ranging from autism to antidepressants, we’ll be exploring mental health in all its forms. You can check out the series home page to get started.

Image: Dina Aziz