MAKING THE MOST OF RAMADHAN

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatu 

Ramadhan Mubarak to Muslims from all the corners of the world. 

It's evident that the Sahabas would prepare for Ramadhan months before this blessed month unlike what we do just in the last days of Shaaban or at most when Shaaban starts. But during Ramadhan, there are many things that you can do to increase the strength of your faith, keep healthy, and participate in community activities. You can follow this to-do list to make the most of the holy month.

CLEAN UP YOUR TIME. 

Phones: Try to minimize your chat on phones. If you are used to chat with your friends on a regular basis, try to make it short. Share with them the importance of this month and tell them that you want to devote yourself for Ibaadah in order to get the maximum reward in this month. Try to share with these tips too. 

Cooking: Try to cook something simple during Ramadhan as this is a month of Ibaadah & Quraan, not a month of food. There are some husbands who push their wifes to cook different varieties of food and sisters have to spend most of their time in the kitchen. If its very necessary, keep a tape of Quraan in the kitchen and listen to it or keep your toungue moist with the Zikr. [Try to find out some short cut & tips to prepare the food quickly]

Shopping: Try to get all your shopping done before Ramadhan. Make a list of the things such as grocery or any items you might need, that is enough for one month and buy it all together.

Sleeping: Cut less the time of sleep during this month. Its a month of Ibaadah, doing good deeds. Who knows this could be our last Ramadhan. Try to reduce your sleeping hours but also rest well. Its only one month and then you can get back to your normal routine.

Computer & Internet: If you really have to be on the internet spend time by visiting Islamic sites and pages and groups on social media and blogs too. And maybe just checking and sending emails. Try to spend less time on the internet.

Distractions: There are many time-wasting distractions around us, during Ramadhan and throughout the year. From "Ramadhan soap operas" to shopping sales, we could literally spend hours doing nothing but spending our time and money on things that have no benefit to us. During the month of Ramadhan, try to restrict your schedule to allow more time for worship, reading the Quran, and fulfilling more of the other items on the above "to-do list." Ramadhan only comes once a year, and we never know when our last one will be.

Now when we have cleaned up a big amount of time, lets schedule it for Ibaadah.

IBADAAH TIME. 

Taraweeh & Qiyaam-ul-layl: Try to pray the taraweeh in the Masjid where the Imaam is doing long Qiyaam.

Sunnah: Engage in Sunnah acts right from the sunnah prayers to acts of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They were meant for us to practise them too. 

Charity: Try to give as much charity as you can, as the reward gets more during the month of Ramadhan. Give food to the poor and needy people and help those in need. It doesn't have to be money; perhaps you can go through your closets and donate quality used clothing. Or spend some volunteer hours helping a local community organization. If you usually make your Zakat payments during Ramadan, do some calculations now to find out how much you need to pay. Research approved Islamic charities that can put your donations to use for the needy.

Last 10 days: Double & triple the amount of Ibaadah you are doing during the last ten days of Ramadhan. Sleep less and pray more. Pray as much as you can and make a lot of dua'.

Read Quran every day: We are always supposed to read from the Quran. But during the month of Ramadhan we should read much more than usual. It should be the focus of our worship and effort, with time for both reading and reflection. The Quran is divided into sections to make it easier to pace yourself, and accomplish completing the entire Quran before the end of the month. If you can read more than that, though... good for you!

Dua' and remembrance of Allah: "Turn to" Allah throughout the day, every day. Make dua' and remember His blessings, repent and ask forgiveness for your shortcomings, seek guidance for decisions in your life, ask for mercy for your loved ones, and more. Dua' can be done in your own language, in your own words, or you can turn to samples from the Quran and Sunnah.

Keep and build relationships: Ramadhan is a community-bonding experience. All over the world, beyond national borders and linguistic or cultural barriers, Muslims of all types are fasting together during this month. Join with others, meet new people, and spend time with loved ones whom you haven't seen in a while. There is great benefit and mercy in spending your time visiting relatives, the elderly, the sick, and the lonely. Reach out to someone every day!

Reflect on and improve yourself: This is the time to reflect on yourself as a person, and to identify areas in need of change. We all make mistakes and develop bad habits. Do you tend to speak a lot about other people? Tell white lies when it is just as easy to speak the truth? Turn your eyes when you should lower your gaze? Become angry quickly? Regularly sleep through Fajr prayer? Be honest with yourself, and strive to make just one change during this month. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to change everything at once, as it will much harder to maintain. The Prophet Muhammad advised us that small improvements, done consistently, are better than large but unsuccessful attempts. So start with one change, then move on from there.

Let's make most of this Ramadhan to be the best.

May Allah accept our fast and grant us more of this love blessed and holy month In Sha Allah.