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It is known that our early Muslim scholars used to spend the six months before Ramadhan asking Allah to let them witness it with life and faith, and the six months following it praying for Allah’s acceptance of all the good they did in it.
So much depends on this one month of beauty-so much in terms of reaching our full potential with the support of Allah to purify our faith and practice. For with all the focus packed into this “spiritual intensive,” we cannot possibly-afford to let it go without having tried our very best.
Before Ramadhan’s thin crescent appears, we need to practically and spiritually prepare ourselves as much as we can so that we do not lose any ounce of benefit when this portal of Heaven does actually open for us. To be in such close proximity to Allah, His Books, His Angels and His Worship, when we can truly be born anew, is of inexplicable worth.
Sensible Steps to Readiness
Practical preparation for Ramadhan entails different things for different people. Some working full-time may have the option of arranging for a few days off, preferably in Ramadhan’s last third. Others will want to create a get-home-early schedule. And the opposite-starting work late after a night of salah.
There are other logistics to arrange in advance. Think through a thorough iftar-suhoor grocery list prior to Ramadhan and stock up on as much of it as you can before the month’s intense cycles and rhythms set in.
The point is Ramadhan has many practical arrangements to be made, so do as much of the background work as you can before we step into Ramadhan so we’re not under-utilizing precious worship moments then.
There are psychological preparations that are even more important, like getting yourself and your family into the Ramadhan mood. Keep the small ones excited about the new routine. Explain to them the joy of Ramadhan. Needless to say, when we are joyous and excited about something our kids effortlessly pick up that energy from us.
One of the more obvious practical measures we should take before the first sunrise of Ramadhan blazes is fasting in the month preceding it. This was the routine of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and it makes perfect sense, we need to train ourselves for the fast in the weeks before fasting becomes incumbent.
Another necessary preparation is picking up our recitation of the Qur’an, by which I mean both increasing our reading of it as Ramadhan approaches in order to sharpen our ability and striving to memorize as many new surahs and ayahs as we can, so we can use both during this month of mercy and forgiveness.
Ready or Not
Once Ramadhan arrives, focus as much of your mind as you can on two things: ibadah and ‘adah, acts of worship and qualities of character. This too is a family project, the more worship and good manners we acquire in Ramadhan the better. But we need also to remember the Prophet’s advice and the best actions. So this Ramadhan centers yourself on acts whose habits you will continue once the month is over, those we have been too lazy or unmotivated to inculcate in our lives in years past.
Among the best of these kinds of acts is the athkar that the Prophet taught us, simple duaa for eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, greeting, entering or leaving the house, the masjid, the market, the bathroom, getting in a vehicle, etc.
In this category also are the athkar after the five salahs, the special ones at dawn and dusk, on Friday mornings ..etc. Integrate these into your Ramadhan practices. And what of the all-important Ramadhan (and life!) ‘ibadah of sadaqah, charitable giving. Make food and share food with those around you, particularly those who need it most, Muslim or non-Muslim. Be sure to incorporate a wider vision of sadaqah into your life. It’s not just money, but clothes, bedding, shoes, all the things that people need, including a happy attitude displayed toward others, for the sake of Allah. Remembering to smile, greet others with peace and guidance-all of it becomes a charity. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was the most charitable of people always, but he was more giving than a free-flowing, salubrious wind in Ramadhan.
The Book of Allah
Ramadhan is the month of Qur’an, read the Qur’an in the Name of your Lord. And read it on multiple levels- of recitation, understanding, and explanation. And with a mind to implement as much of it as you are so able. For that, after all, is the purpose of the Qur’an.
Use Ramadhan to get in the habit of reading a bit every day, of opening ourselves to conversing with Allah, and getting into a deeper study of Qur’an and hadeeth.
We need to become mindful of the correctness of our salah, and the sincerity widi which we perform it. If you are praying taraweeh alone, incorporate the recitation of the Qur’an into this as much as you are able. Mindless recitation does not engage the heart.The Qur’an is more proclamation than recitation, and it can only become that if we focus on what is being said.
Lastly, make use of Ramadhan’s three divisions-mercy, forgiveness, and escape from Hellfire. Beg Allah for His mercy in the first 10 days, for His forgiveness in the next, and for protection from Hellfire in the last.
Let us learn to protect our tongues from foul and idle talk, our eyes from looking upon what they should not, our hands from approaching what they ought not, our ears from listening to what they should not, and, yes, even our noses, from putting them in affairs that have nothing to do with them. Nothing is more wasteful than these vices.
But it is not all about negating. It is also about inculcating, so say a kind word to all around you. Let your eyes look upon the things that bring you wholesome joy and remembrance of Allah.
Prepare each spiritual event of your Ramadhan life before the month sets in, whether it falls in the category of ibadah or ‘adah. This means we must start now.
May the new moon come upon us with tranquility, and faith, and peace, and Islam. O crescent! Your Lord and Mine is Allah.
Source: a Dialogue held with Sakina Ali at: http://www.islamicity.org/6021/hoping-for-ramadhan/
So much depends on this one month of beauty-so much in terms of reaching our full potential with the support of Allah to purify our faith and practice. For with all the focus packed into this “spiritual intensive,” we cannot possibly-afford to let it go without having tried our very best.
Before Ramadhan’s thin crescent appears, we need to practically and spiritually prepare ourselves as much as we can so that we do not lose any ounce of benefit when this portal of Heaven does actually open for us. To be in such close proximity to Allah, His Books, His Angels and His Worship, when we can truly be born anew, is of inexplicable worth.
Sensible Steps to Readiness
Practical preparation for Ramadhan entails different things for different people. Some working full-time may have the option of arranging for a few days off, preferably in Ramadhan’s last third. Others will want to create a get-home-early schedule. And the opposite-starting work late after a night of salah.
There are other logistics to arrange in advance. Think through a thorough iftar-suhoor grocery list prior to Ramadhan and stock up on as much of it as you can before the month’s intense cycles and rhythms set in.
The point is Ramadhan has many practical arrangements to be made, so do as much of the background work as you can before we step into Ramadhan so we’re not under-utilizing precious worship moments then.
There are psychological preparations that are even more important, like getting yourself and your family into the Ramadhan mood. Keep the small ones excited about the new routine. Explain to them the joy of Ramadhan. Needless to say, when we are joyous and excited about something our kids effortlessly pick up that energy from us.
One of the more obvious practical measures we should take before the first sunrise of Ramadhan blazes is fasting in the month preceding it. This was the routine of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and it makes perfect sense, we need to train ourselves for the fast in the weeks before fasting becomes incumbent.
Another necessary preparation is picking up our recitation of the Qur’an, by which I mean both increasing our reading of it as Ramadhan approaches in order to sharpen our ability and striving to memorize as many new surahs and ayahs as we can, so we can use both during this month of mercy and forgiveness.
Ready or Not
Once Ramadhan arrives, focus as much of your mind as you can on two things: ibadah and ‘adah, acts of worship and qualities of character. This too is a family project, the more worship and good manners we acquire in Ramadhan the better. But we need also to remember the Prophet’s advice and the best actions. So this Ramadhan centers yourself on acts whose habits you will continue once the month is over, those we have been too lazy or unmotivated to inculcate in our lives in years past.
Among the best of these kinds of acts is the athkar that the Prophet taught us, simple duaa for eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, greeting, entering or leaving the house, the masjid, the market, the bathroom, getting in a vehicle, etc.
In this category also are the athkar after the five salahs, the special ones at dawn and dusk, on Friday mornings ..etc. Integrate these into your Ramadhan practices. And what of the all-important Ramadhan (and life!) ‘ibadah of sadaqah, charitable giving. Make food and share food with those around you, particularly those who need it most, Muslim or non-Muslim. Be sure to incorporate a wider vision of sadaqah into your life. It’s not just money, but clothes, bedding, shoes, all the things that people need, including a happy attitude displayed toward others, for the sake of Allah. Remembering to smile, greet others with peace and guidance-all of it becomes a charity. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, was the most charitable of people always, but he was more giving than a free-flowing, salubrious wind in Ramadhan.
The Book of Allah
Ramadhan is the month of Qur’an, read the Qur’an in the Name of your Lord. And read it on multiple levels- of recitation, understanding, and explanation. And with a mind to implement as much of it as you are so able. For that, after all, is the purpose of the Qur’an.
Use Ramadhan to get in the habit of reading a bit every day, of opening ourselves to conversing with Allah, and getting into a deeper study of Qur’an and hadeeth.
We need to become mindful of the correctness of our salah, and the sincerity widi which we perform it. If you are praying taraweeh alone, incorporate the recitation of the Qur’an into this as much as you are able. Mindless recitation does not engage the heart.The Qur’an is more proclamation than recitation, and it can only become that if we focus on what is being said.
Lastly, make use of Ramadhan’s three divisions-mercy, forgiveness, and escape from Hellfire. Beg Allah for His mercy in the first 10 days, for His forgiveness in the next, and for protection from Hellfire in the last.
Let us learn to protect our tongues from foul and idle talk, our eyes from looking upon what they should not, our hands from approaching what they ought not, our ears from listening to what they should not, and, yes, even our noses, from putting them in affairs that have nothing to do with them. Nothing is more wasteful than these vices.
But it is not all about negating. It is also about inculcating, so say a kind word to all around you. Let your eyes look upon the things that bring you wholesome joy and remembrance of Allah.
Prepare each spiritual event of your Ramadhan life before the month sets in, whether it falls in the category of ibadah or ‘adah. This means we must start now.
May the new moon come upon us with tranquility, and faith, and peace, and Islam. O crescent! Your Lord and Mine is Allah.
Source: a Dialogue held with Sakina Ali at: http://www.islamicity.org/6021/hoping-for-ramadhan/