Welcoming Ramadan

In his sermon on the reception of Ramadan, the Prophet Muhammad (saas), explained the importance of a preparation, he said: “Indeed ahead of you is the blessed month of Allah. It’s a month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness; a month which, with Allah, is the best of months. Its days are the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath you take glorifies Him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered”.

Therefore, because Ramadan is such a huge gift and blessing from Allah SWT, our beloved Prophet advised his community: “So, ask Allah, your Lord to give you a sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite His Book”. Now you understand why it is necessary to get prepared to fast.

Let’s prepare ourselves for this great month. Here are few tips to help you preparing yourself, your family and friends.

1. If you are in a non-Islamic country, this is the right time to plan your days off as you will probably want to dedicate the last 10 days of Ramadan for worship or for Eid celebration. It is also recommendable to discuss with your employer minors arrangements regarding your work schedule. You may prefer to have a shorter lunch break in order to leave work earlier or you may start later if you would spent a part of the night in worship. If you are in a Muslim country, then its much easier to deal with work timings. You may still have to deal with non-Muslims at work. Tackle it in such a way that they come to appreciate this holy month rather than taking it negatively.

By the way, the discussion with your boss is a good opportunity to introduce him/her what is Ramadan: meaning, reasons, the hows and the rewards.

Generally speaking, it is also a good opportunity to discuss with non-Muslim colleagues, friends and neighbors about Ramadan.

2. Gradually create Ramadan spirit at home. Ramadan is a sharing moment, with family members, friends and the community. So is the preparation to Ramadan. Indeed, you should try to set gradually at home the spirit of Ramadan. If you have children for example, help them organizing their own Ramadan schedule, encourage them to plan to learn few surahs, to read stories of the Prophets or any other Islamic book. Do not forget that Ramadan will be during summer months, and in most cases kids are on holidays. Therefore, having a Ramadan plan is a good way to keep them busy and to teach them Islam.

3. Ramadan is a wonderful time to assess one’s personal and spiritual situation. As it is a month of spiritual elevation, meditation, better awareness of Allah SWT, we should consider our deeds during the past year and think about improvements for this and next year. Ramadan will definitely help us assess the situation and take steps to be a better person and grow spiritually.

4. It is also a time to start thinking about few exceptional deeds to do during Ramadan. It can be offering a meal or making a donation to the Masjid or to a charity. It may also mean inviting needy people, new Muslims or neighbors to share a Ramadan meal. Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (saas) advised to share iftar with Muslims, he said: “keep yourself away from Hell fire by inviting for ‘Iftar’, though it may consist of only half a date or simply with water if you have nothing else”. Do not miss this blessing.

5. It is best to plan the meals ahead so that we do not get frustrated and always in a rush. In fact plan the whole day so that we get enough time to do prayers and Quran recitation peacefully.

 With that said, lets get into the spirit and welcome Ramadan.
 

Ramadan Karim