Connect with us

Worship

Ramadhaan To The Max!

Published

ramadanmubarak.jpg  SubhanAllah, less than a week until Ramadhaan! Insha’Allah this year we’ll be entering the blessed month sometime in early September… which also means back to school! For many youth in the West, this is going to be quite a challenge, since so far we’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced Ramadhaan in the shorter winter months and often at a time that coincided with the winter holidays – that definitely made it easy on us.

Now, however, we’ll be facing the test of longer fasting days as well as beginning-of-the-school-year stress. What’s a person to do?! How to balance school, homework, chores, AND extra ‘ibaadah?! Fear not, dear brothers and sisters in Islam, for with trust in Allah, good time management, and following the example of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and our predecessors, we’ll get through it successfully, insha’Allah. In fact, not only will we “get through it,” but more importantly, insha’Allah we’ll be able to make the most of it and take it to the max!

The first thing to remember is the importance of Ramadhaan. Y’know how the advertising hype for movies and new products can make people go wild with excitement? That’s exactly what we need for Ramadhaan! So first and foremost, let’s hype ourselves up for the most blessed of months, the month of the Qur’an, the month of forgiveness, the month of rewards unimaginable from our Lord the Most High, Most Great, Most Merciful, Most Forgiving, Most Merciful! (Are you excited yet?)

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

The Salaf as-Saalih, our pious predecessors, used to make du’aa 6 months ahead of Ramadhaan asking Allah to keep them alive until Ramadhaan, that they might make the most of it and receive the maximum benefit out of it, and that their deeds would be accepted during it. It’s also recorded that ‘Aishah (radhiAllahu anha) reported: “Allah’s Messenger never fasted an entire month other than Ramadan and I haven’t seen him fast more than he did in Sha’baan.” Think of fasting in Sha’baan – or at least on Mondays and Thursdays – as a warm-up to the fasting of Ramadhaan.

The next most important thing is to PLAN PLAN PLAN! What are your goals for Ramadhaan? What do you want to accomplish? How do you want to feel during the month? How do you want to feel after Ramadhaan is over? This all requires some deep thinking and self reflection… so sit down with a pen and paper and write it all down. Remember to make realistic goals, so that there’s a strong chance that you will accomplish them. For example, instead of deciding to memorize the whole Qur’an, choose to memorize one or two Juz instead.

Now that we know what we want to do, we have to figure out how to do it. Create a schedule that considers your everyday life as well as the adjustments you want to make for Ramadhaan. For example, wake up for suhoor and then after Fajr, take the time to read or memorize more Qur’an. Use lunch breaks at school as an opportunity to finish homework ahead of time so that later on you have the time to focus on Deeni things instead.

The key is to be practical and know what you’re capable of achieving – and remember, it’s best to do a little bit constantly, than to start off with a zillion things and get burnt out before even half the month has passed. The power of little is a great thing.

There are so many things that we can do to give this month the attention it deserves, and to benefit from Allah’s infinite mercy and blessings in this time when He showers it upon us so freely – and it’s up to us to step up to the plate and be ready for the challenge. Do not make this Ramadhaan like those of previous years: make it bigger and better and extract from it every ounce of barakah that you can! Let this Ramadhaan be a turning point in your life; climb the ladder of emaan and taqwah and do not let yourself slip to the bottom of that ladder once the month is over.

May Allah keep us whole and healthy and alive to live through this amazing month of Ramadhaan, to extract and receive and appreciate every single blessing from it, to benefit from it, to purify us and increase us in emaan and ihsaan, taqwa and tawfeeq, ikhlaas and khushoo.’ Ameen, thumma ameen, ya Rabb al-‘Aalameen!

See Also: MM’s Ramadan Coverage 

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Zainab bint Younus (AnonyMouse) is a Canadian Muslim woman who writes on Muslim women's issues, gender related injustice in the Muslim community, and Muslim women in Islamic history. She holds a diploma in Islamic Studies from Arees University, a diploma in History of Female Scholarship from Cambridge Islamic College, and has spent the last fifteen years involved in grassroots da'wah. She was also an original founder of MuslimMatters.org.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. MR

    August 28, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    40+ lectures on Ramadan and preparing for this month here:
    http://www.halaltube.com/ramadan

    Also I started my 3rd annual Qur’an reading contest. For those interested here is the info:
    http://www.mujahideenryder.net/2008/08/25/mrs-online-quran-reading-contest-ramadan-20081429/

  2. Zaynab

    August 28, 2008 at 10:12 AM

    Everyone should check out Shaykh Muhammad AlShareef’s HeartWheel Journal – it’s a 30day Tarbiyah Journal for Ramadan.

    It’s amazing, masha’Allah, full of information and activities to help you renew your intentions, set goals, and track your progress thruout Ramadan.

    When you download it there is also an audio file in which Shaykh Muhammad goes thru the journal and tells you how to use it.
    Keep the Shaykh and his family in your du’aas insha’Allah.

  3. Hermana

    August 28, 2008 at 10:27 AM

    Asalam Alaykum,

    Awesome Article AnonyMouse.

    If any sisters are interested in having an OUTSTANDING RAMADAN, contact me for a free exploratory Muslim Personal Development Coaching session. Commit to excellence not only in Ramadan, but in LIFE!!

    TanisavATgmailDOTcom
    DiscoverULife Coach

  4. aarij

    August 28, 2008 at 11:09 AM

    I say, have like 2 or 3 goals for Ramadan. For example,

    1. Read entire Qur’an with meaning
    2. Memorize 5 pages/week
    3. Read the adhkar (all of them as mentioned in hisnul muslim) after each prayer, and pray the 12 sunnahs each day.

    WAllahu alam.

  5. aarij

    August 28, 2008 at 11:24 AM

    If you want to study Qur’an with a teacher (on Paltalk):

    RAMADAN CERTIFICATE COURSE 2008
    All
    Starting 24 Aug, 2008 for 5 weeks
    Mon – Fri
    11:00am to 2:30pm (EST)
    Cost: Free
    Quran ( Tajweed, Translation & Tafsir, Du’as, Adaab & Akhlaq)
    Register: alhudaonlinecourses@gmail.com

    Same thing in Urdu taught by Dr. Farhat Hashmi. To register, alhudaonlinecourses@gmail.com

    We’re on the 4th Juz today.

  6. Zahra

    August 28, 2008 at 3:31 PM

    Awesome article on beginning Ramadan prep. Jazaka’Allah khair for sharing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending