The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXII No. 27 Page 3 Ramadan is truly a gift, a blessing from Allah during which the doors of Jannah (Paradise) are open while the doors of Jahannam (Hellfire) are closed. Ramadan gives us the opportunity to renew ourselves, recharge our iman, purify our hearts, and set our goals and priorities – to improve and excel insha’Allah. Ramadan is the time for us to redirect our focus to the akhirah, and join the race to Jannah, as reflected in the verse below: “And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the Muttaqeen (righteous). ” (Quran 3:133) So how can we can reap the benefits of this blessed time? How can we ensure that we come out of Ramadan more righteous and pious than we began? Here are some tips: Make the intention to change for the better in Ramadan. Decide which habits you would like to drop and which you would like to adopt. Be specific, ambitious and realistic. You may wish to keep the following categories in mind when it comes to forming habits or improving your acts of worship: prayer, charity, Quran, community work, family ties, dhikr, and dua. Start forming your good habits and increasing your good deeds from now. Be aware of distractions before or during Ramadan – turn off or minimize the TV, Facebook, and other social media. Prioritize your commitments so you can get the best out of the few days of Ramadan. Also remember Ramadan is not a month to spend all our time at elaborate iftar/dinner parties, but rather it is intended to be a month of worship and drawing closer to Allah (SWT). Maintain the intention that you will continue to do the good deeds and habits you began to do after Ramadan. In fact, continuing to do those good deeds is one of the indications that your good deeds have been accepted, Inshallah. If you do slip, just renew your intention and get back up and on track again! There are so many things that you could do to increase your connection at this time, from acts of worship to good deeds. Determine which deeds you need to begin to practice or improve on that will please Allah the most. Have a good look at your current practice and pick two or three areas to concentrate on during this month. It may be that you choose to look at your prayers; read the Qur’an; attend the mosque; give of your time, money or effort to assist others; or practice controlling your anger or your tongue from idle gossip and backbiting. Whatever two or three you choose, focus on perfecting them as much as you can during this month. This will help you to establish them as habits and make it easy to continue them after Ramadan has finished. What if you knew of a way that will ensure that all of your prayers are answered, that none of your Du’aas will be rejected and anything that you ask for will be granted? Wouldn’t you like to know what that way is? Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to avail that? So, how can we achieve all this and more? The answer to that isn’t anything secret or hidden. The answer has been there for ages. Actually, it has been there for the last 1400 years. We just didn’t look hard enough. We just didn’t pay much attention to it. It is what Allah (SWT) has promised His slaves every single day….every time he sits down to break his fast. The answer lies in the hadeeth of the Prophet (S) when he said: “Indeed the fasting person has at the time of breaking the fast a supplication, which is not rejected.” (lbn Majah, Saheeh) “Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father (parent), the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler.” (alBaihaqi, Saheeh) “There are in the month of Ramadan in every day and night those to whom Allah grants freedom from the Fire, and there is for every Muslim a supplication which he can make and will be granted.” [Ahmad, Saheeh] Allah answers the Du‘aa of the fasting person at Iftaar time. But, alas, most of us are either unaware of this great blessing of Allah or are too busy thinking about food at this time. Some of us are frying ‘samosas’ till the last minute, setting the table and preparing ‘hot’ food. Some are too busy talking, arguing about the exact time to break the fast, or watching television. Others may be reading, surfing the internet and some are even sleeping until after the Maghrib adhaan has been called! And some are busy filling up their plates even before the time to break the fast has entered! One of the greatest pieces of advice given by our Prophet (S) was: “The most beloved actions to Allah are those performed consistently, even if they are few.” (Sahih AlBukhari) During Ramadan, it’s very tempting to work hard on improving yourself and perform lots of extra acts of Ibadah, but how beneficial is that if once the month ends you slip back into your old pattern? There are some acts of worship, such as Tarawih and Zakat Al-Fitr that are specific to Ramadan, but everything else can be carried on afterwards. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed by Ramadan; decide to use the time in the best way you can to gain a positive spiritual result from this month. Keep in mind the purpose behind every act of worship or good deed that you do, concentrate on two or three priorities for the month, and then perform them with consistency. Inshallah doing this will help you achieve a positive spiritual result and bring you closer to Allah. HOW TO EXCEL THIS RAMADAN
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