Holy month of Ramadan is a family time for most Muslims. People get up together, eat sehri and iftaar meals together, pray together etc. But what happens when your family is not near you? Waking up alone in an apartment and eating food you might have burnt to catch Suhoor in time are some of the realities of being a single Muslim. But you will be happy to know that there are some ways to make this blessed month special when you are on your own. Here are these ideas:

Establish a Suhoor Telephone Tree

Get couple of your friends together and establish a telephone tree to wake each other for Sehri. Set a time to call and a schedule of who will call whom. This way you will be anxious to observe fast every day.

Invite People At Your Place For Iftaar

Invite people at your place for Iftaar party even if you could not eat the food the last time you cooked. Order pizza or hire caterers if you can afford it. Food is not the thing. Blessing is in the company where you will be rewarded for feeding everyone. Ensure you invite especially those people who are away from their families.

Attend Prayer At Your Local Mosque

Try to attend Taraweeh prayers organized by your local mosque even if the recitation of Imam is not the best or the behavior of other Muslim people is annoying.

It is true that praying alone in quiet and peace is great. But praying shoulder-to-shoulder with other Muslim friends with whom you have nothing in common except your religion is pretty unique experience.

Keep Holy Quran Playing When You Are Alone At Home

It is usually tempting to keep radio or TV switch on when we are alone at home to get rid of the silence. So this Ramadan, search a CD of Quran reciter you like and play it in your home when you want to fill your place with any sound. Pick selections you would like to memorize and keep it on repeat mode.

Keep In Touch With Your Friends and Families Back Home

Send Ramadan thoughts, e-cards, questions, reflections etc through email or phone to your friends and family back home. Contact them at least once a week and share the things you did in Ramadan.