Assalamu alaikum lovelies

 

If you’re a new Muslim or revert wondering what your first Ramadan might feel like, this post shares my personal experience of Ramadan 2025. From learning salah step by step and attempting to fast in 2024, to visiting the mosque for the first time, meal prepping for suhoor, sharing iftar with friends, and attending Eid prayer, this is what my first proper Ramadan was really like.

 

When I look back at my first Ramadan in 2025, it feels like more than a month of fasting. It feels like the moment my heart finally caught up with the journey I’d already been walking for a while.

My story didn’t begin with a dramatic event or a sudden transformation. It began quietly, in December 2023, when I bought an educational interactive My Salah Mat.

At the time, I wasn’t Muslim yet. I wanted to understand what prayer really was, how Muslims prayed, and why it mattered so much. The mat became my starting point. Something simple, something practical, and honestly something that made the idea of salah feel possible instead of intimidating.

Learning the basics, one step at a time

After that, I started learning the basics of Islam and salah. I didn’t rush it. I didn’t pressure myself to know everything. I took it step by step.

Some days it felt like progress. Other days it felt like I was stuck repeating the same things again and again. But looking back, that slow pace was a mercy. I was building foundations, not just collecting information.

Salah wasn’t just “something Muslims do.” It became a journey of learning how to stand, how to speak to Allah, and how to keep showing up even when I didn’t feel confident.

Ramadan 2024: I tried…and I failed

In 2024, I tried to fast during Ramadan even though I wasn’t Muslim.

I really wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to understand the discipline. I wanted to experience the month that so many people speak about with love and longing.

But I failed.

Not in a dramatic way. Not in a way that makes a big story. I just couldn’t sustain it. My body struggled, my routine wasn’t ready, and my mind wasn’t prepared. I remember feeling disappointed in myself.

But now I see it differently: that attempt mattered. It showed me that I cared. It showed me what I needed to work on. And it made me want to try again, properly.

Ramadan 2025: My first proper ramadan

In 2025, I finally gave it a real go. My first proper Ramadan.

This time I prepared.

I meal prepped. I planned my suhoor. I tried to be intentional instead of just relying on motivation. I treated it like something worth showing up for, even on the harder days.

And it wasn’t perfect. But it was real. It was mine.

The first time I went to the mosque

One of the biggest moments for me was going to the mosque for the first time.

I was so nervous. I worried I would make a mistake. I worried I wouldn’t belong. I worried people would notice that I was new.

But the moment I stepped in, something softened inside me. There was a calm I hadn’t expected. There was a feeling of being welcomed, even without words. I realised I wasn’t the only one who had ever felt nervous. And I wasn’t the only one who had ever started from zero.

Sharing iftar and feeling the beauty of giving

During Ramadan, I also made food to give out to friends during iftar.

There was something special about it. It wasn’t just cooking. It felt like sharing a piece of what I was experiencing. It reminded me that Ramadan isn’t only about what you don’t do, it’s also about what you give.

Time. Food. Kindness. Effort. Presence.

In a month where you become more aware of hunger, you also become more aware of generosity.

Eid 2025: Community Like No Other

Then came Eid in summer 2025.

I went to Eid prayer, and I still struggle to put into words how it felt. The takbeers, the rows of people, the smiles, the energy. It was like stepping into something bigger than myself.

It wasn’t just an event. It was community. It was belonging.

It made me understand why people love Eid so much. It made me understand why Ramadan is something Muslims miss even while they’re still in it.

Ramadan is Coming Again

Now Ramadan is coming again in 28 days.

And as someone on this journey, I feel a different kind of emotion this time. Not just nervousness. Not just excitement. Something deeper.

A quiet hope.

Because I’ve learned that you don’t need to be perfect to return to Allah. You just need to come back. Again and again.

This next Ramadan, my du’a is simple: that Allah keeps me steadfast, that He accepts the little I can do, and that He lets me grow in a way that’s sincere.

If you’re reading this and you’re also on a journey, especially as a revert or someone still learning, I want you to know you’re not alone.

We’re all learning. We’re all returning.

May Allah allow us to reach Ramadan, and may He make it a means of change for us all. Ameen.

Jameelah,

Meem&Moon