Ramadhaan To The Max!

  subḥānAllāh, less than a week until Ramadhaan! Insha’Allāh 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 Allāh, good time management, and following the example of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and our predecessors, we’ll get through it successfully, insha’Allāh. In fact, not only will we “get through it,” but more importantly, insha’Allāh 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?)

The Salaf as-Saalih, our pious predecessors, used to make du’aa 6 months ahead of Ramadhaan asking Allāh 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: “Allāh'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 Allāh’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 Allāh 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.’ āmīn, thumma āmīn, ya Rabb al-‘Aalameen!

See Also: MM’s Ramadan Coverage