Assalam Alaikum Brothers and Sisters!
Any guesses what this article is going to be about?
No, it's not about the Fifa 2014 World Cup, though I will not deny the fact that I am enjoying the action-filled matches.
This article is going to be about a certain time of the year...
... a time when:
~ We will all know the time of Maghrib Salah accurate to the last second.
~ There will be daily pictures of massive amounts of a variety of salads and fried foods and so many other eatables we may never have seen before.
~ There will be a competition on how many parties we all get invited to. I say the one with the least invitations wins!
~ There will be daily memes on dates, The Hunger Games, etc which all of us really enjoy, though some of us like to pretend otherwise.
~ Socialising in the masajid during Taraweeh will become a highlight of the day.
~ The 'Haram Police' will be on duty round the clock. Yeah suddenly, everyone will know about the Haram and Halal!
~ We will all be staying up all night. Am I right or am I right?
~ We will have a date everyday. YAY!
~ And how can I forget the oh-so-important shopping that will become more intense as the days progress!
Well, by now, I am sure you will already have a little clue as to what I am talking about. I left a lot of hints up there!
So, let me take this opportunity to wish you all:
On a more serious note, it is also that time of the year when:
~ The devils will be chained.
~ The gates of the Hellfire will be closed.
~ The gates of the Heaven will be opened.
~ The blessings of 'Suhoor' will be abundant.
~ The joys of iftar will be widespread.
~ The opportunity to fulfill one major pillar of Islam will be with us.
~ The opportunity to spend the night in Taraweeh will be with us.
~ The opportunity to get unlimited rewards will be with us.
~ The opportunity to have all our sins forgiven will be widespread.
~ The night worth more than a thousamd months will appear for us.
~ Access through the gate of Ar-Rayyan will be available.
May Allah (SWT) allow us to benefit from these 29/30 days. Ameen!
Since this blog already had two separate Ramadan-related articles (click on the links to read the articles) titled The Virtues of Ramadan and How To Get The Best Out of Ramadan, I did something a little different this time and hope you appreciate the idea and benefit from the following paragraphs.
I decided to make use of my Whatsapp and Facebook (finally found something worthy to do through social media) and posted the following question:
What are you planning to do differently this Ramadan that you haven't done before, to get the best out of it?
Here are a mixture of replies I got (my comments are in brackets)...
"I am going to read the Qur'an with translation and also do a lot of ahadith." (All the best with that little brother.)
"I am going to read Tafseer Ibn Katheer so I know what I am reading in the Qur'an and hopefully finish." (InShaAllah! My duaas are with our sister. I should take out my notes and revise them too. Owing to my bad memory, there is a lot I have forgotten that needs to be revised.)
"I plan to memorise some Surahs. I've never memorised Surahs before, usually just read the Qur'an." (Another realistic goal, and May Allah (SWT) make her successful in acheiving it.)
"Attend Islamic lectures on a daily basis." (InShaAllah our sister gets to learn a lot of stuff and then share it with us.)
"Frankly dunno, but I've decided to complete my Eid shopping before Ramadan starts." (Totally agree! I know looking good on the occasion of Eid is important, and for that one needs to do tons and tons of shopping. Focus on the shopping before Ramadan, and InShaAllah there will be sufficient time for 'Ibadah' during Ramadan.)
"Great question! Mainly I will increase my Duaas. Ramadan makes you realise the capacity you have to practice your religion and all the moments you have to ask of Allah (SWT). I want to try and use everything that's challenging or upsetting to me to push me closer and towards Allah (SWT). Because you are fasting, you are more aware of Allah (SWT), so dhikr and duaas should come much easier. It's a matter of making it into a habit. Also I would try to increase in sunnahs.
Other things would be to not procrastinate until the last 'Ashara' (last 10 days) and eat better. If you're gaining weight by the end of Ramadan by eating fried foods... you lost the point of it!" (This is one of the more detailed replies I got. I don't think I have to add much to this one, except for duaas for our sister.)
"I am not going to get typhoid this time, InShaAllah" (Quite right. It's not easy to be fasting if you're unwell. May Allah (SWT) bless us all with good health and the true spirit of Fasting this Ramadan, Ameen!)
"I want to complete the Qur'an atleast once which I fail to do every Ramadan so have divided the pages of the Qur'an. Will read five or more pages before and after each Salah, and this way I can complete it once or one and half times. Also, in Sehri I won't eat tooooo much and drink tons, I will take it easy. Will not sleep toooo much and do ibadah mostly." (Reading replies like these from the younger generation is really nice. And you read what she said, not toooo much eating or toooo much sleeping; so you actually make time for Ibadah. May Allah (SWT) make it easy for the little one.)
"Well, for many Ramadans now, I was not doing well - low motivation, kept missing days, bad schedule etc. Last year I wanted to fix all that but I was also nervous, because I had started working out and I did not want to stop that. Alhamdulillah, I set myself a routine, and followed it day by day. The key points were healthy food (lots of fruits for energy), nap after work, etc. and just sticking to the set routine. It worked very well and it was the best Ramadan I had. I plan to do the same this year." (Well, here's to hoping and praying this Ramadan is just as great as last years! InShaAllah all the efforts pay off.)
Some of these friends of mine said since I asked everyone what they were doing, it was only fair I told them my plans too. My idea was to be more consistent with my Sunnah prayers, and also try to help a poor or needy person everyday, but I also said that I wasn't sure how to help them out. So, one of these lovelies suggested that I send a plate of food to the local masjid everyday, and that is what I will try to do.
And may Allah (SWT) help us all to achieve our goals this Ramadan, and benefit from it and avail all the oppurtunities that come our way to collect good deeds, have our sins forgiven, and rekindle our relationship with the Almighty Allah (SWT). Ameen!
Before we go our separate ways, here's my favourite Ramadan lecture by Sheikh Noman Ali Khan. Be sure to listen till the end, it's very informative and sure to make you chuckle a couple of times as well.
Wassalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakathu!
Any guesses what this article is going to be about?
No, it's not about the Fifa 2014 World Cup, though I will not deny the fact that I am enjoying the action-filled matches.
This article is going to be about a certain time of the year...
... a time when:
~ We will all know the time of Maghrib Salah accurate to the last second.
~ There will be daily pictures of massive amounts of a variety of salads and fried foods and so many other eatables we may never have seen before.
~ There will be a competition on how many parties we all get invited to. I say the one with the least invitations wins!
~ There will be daily memes on dates, The Hunger Games, etc which all of us really enjoy, though some of us like to pretend otherwise.
~ Socialising in the masajid during Taraweeh will become a highlight of the day.
~ The 'Haram Police' will be on duty round the clock. Yeah suddenly, everyone will know about the Haram and Halal!
~ We will all be staying up all night. Am I right or am I right?
~ We will have a date everyday. YAY!
~ And how can I forget the oh-so-important shopping that will become more intense as the days progress!
Well, by now, I am sure you will already have a little clue as to what I am talking about. I left a lot of hints up there!
So, let me take this opportunity to wish you all:
On a more serious note, it is also that time of the year when:
~ The devils will be chained.
~ The gates of the Hellfire will be closed.
~ The gates of the Heaven will be opened.
~ The blessings of 'Suhoor' will be abundant.
~ The joys of iftar will be widespread.
~ The opportunity to fulfill one major pillar of Islam will be with us.
~ The opportunity to spend the night in Taraweeh will be with us.
~ The opportunity to get unlimited rewards will be with us.
~ The opportunity to have all our sins forgiven will be widespread.
~ The night worth more than a thousamd months will appear for us.
~ Access through the gate of Ar-Rayyan will be available.
May Allah (SWT) allow us to benefit from these 29/30 days. Ameen!
Since this blog already had two separate Ramadan-related articles (click on the links to read the articles) titled The Virtues of Ramadan and How To Get The Best Out of Ramadan, I did something a little different this time and hope you appreciate the idea and benefit from the following paragraphs.
I decided to make use of my Whatsapp and Facebook (finally found something worthy to do through social media) and posted the following question:
What are you planning to do differently this Ramadan that you haven't done before, to get the best out of it?
Here are a mixture of replies I got (my comments are in brackets)...
"I am going to read the Qur'an with translation and also do a lot of ahadith." (All the best with that little brother.)
"I am going to read Tafseer Ibn Katheer so I know what I am reading in the Qur'an and hopefully finish." (InShaAllah! My duaas are with our sister. I should take out my notes and revise them too. Owing to my bad memory, there is a lot I have forgotten that needs to be revised.)
"I plan to memorise some Surahs. I've never memorised Surahs before, usually just read the Qur'an." (Another realistic goal, and May Allah (SWT) make her successful in acheiving it.)
"Attend Islamic lectures on a daily basis." (InShaAllah our sister gets to learn a lot of stuff and then share it with us.)
"Frankly dunno, but I've decided to complete my Eid shopping before Ramadan starts." (Totally agree! I know looking good on the occasion of Eid is important, and for that one needs to do tons and tons of shopping. Focus on the shopping before Ramadan, and InShaAllah there will be sufficient time for 'Ibadah' during Ramadan.)
"Great question! Mainly I will increase my Duaas. Ramadan makes you realise the capacity you have to practice your religion and all the moments you have to ask of Allah (SWT). I want to try and use everything that's challenging or upsetting to me to push me closer and towards Allah (SWT). Because you are fasting, you are more aware of Allah (SWT), so dhikr and duaas should come much easier. It's a matter of making it into a habit. Also I would try to increase in sunnahs.
Other things would be to not procrastinate until the last 'Ashara' (last 10 days) and eat better. If you're gaining weight by the end of Ramadan by eating fried foods... you lost the point of it!" (This is one of the more detailed replies I got. I don't think I have to add much to this one, except for duaas for our sister.)
"I am not going to get typhoid this time, InShaAllah" (Quite right. It's not easy to be fasting if you're unwell. May Allah (SWT) bless us all with good health and the true spirit of Fasting this Ramadan, Ameen!)
"I want to complete the Qur'an atleast once which I fail to do every Ramadan so have divided the pages of the Qur'an. Will read five or more pages before and after each Salah, and this way I can complete it once or one and half times. Also, in Sehri I won't eat tooooo much and drink tons, I will take it easy. Will not sleep toooo much and do ibadah mostly." (Reading replies like these from the younger generation is really nice. And you read what she said, not toooo much eating or toooo much sleeping; so you actually make time for Ibadah. May Allah (SWT) make it easy for the little one.)
"Well, for many Ramadans now, I was not doing well - low motivation, kept missing days, bad schedule etc. Last year I wanted to fix all that but I was also nervous, because I had started working out and I did not want to stop that. Alhamdulillah, I set myself a routine, and followed it day by day. The key points were healthy food (lots of fruits for energy), nap after work, etc. and just sticking to the set routine. It worked very well and it was the best Ramadan I had. I plan to do the same this year." (Well, here's to hoping and praying this Ramadan is just as great as last years! InShaAllah all the efforts pay off.)
Some of these friends of mine said since I asked everyone what they were doing, it was only fair I told them my plans too. My idea was to be more consistent with my Sunnah prayers, and also try to help a poor or needy person everyday, but I also said that I wasn't sure how to help them out. So, one of these lovelies suggested that I send a plate of food to the local masjid everyday, and that is what I will try to do.
And may Allah (SWT) help us all to achieve our goals this Ramadan, and benefit from it and avail all the oppurtunities that come our way to collect good deeds, have our sins forgiven, and rekindle our relationship with the Almighty Allah (SWT). Ameen!
Before we go our separate ways, here's my favourite Ramadan lecture by Sheikh Noman Ali Khan. Be sure to listen till the end, it's very informative and sure to make you chuckle a couple of times as well.
Wassalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakathu!
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