Repentance: a management's perspective

Its Ramadhan, 30 minutes before Subuh and I am thinking about repentance. I guess that many people do not appreciate religion because they see it as 'irrational'. But when you look at Islamic concepts and you trace them back to psychology, you find that they make a lot of sense. Fasting, for example, is not just about 'cutting food'. It is about changing your behaviour. When you have fasted and you start praying, it's normal to start thinking about repentance. Repentance is about analysing yourself, identifying the good and the bad and throwing away the bad. Although people repent after the prayer, I believe that analysing yourself is much easier before the prayer. If you are serious about repentance, a good technique is to have a little notebook. Spend a few minutes answering the following questions:

1. Why am I Muslim? Is it simply because I was born in a Muslim family?

2. If I were to die today, would I be able to justify all my behaviour to Allah?

3. If the answer is no, which behaviour would I have problems justifying?

4. Which aspect of my character would I like to improve?

I personally find that reading religious books is a good way to trigger ideas. For the last 10 days of Ramadhan, I plan to read a series of books about Aqidah - specifically about the Day of Judgment, the questionning in the grave, the descriptions of Paradise and Hell, what happens at death and so forth - to stimulate my thinking.