Six Steps to Shine This Ramadan

Ramadan came, Ramadan passed, and perhaps not much may have changed in us. Even if we thought we had a ‘good’ Ramadan, did we aim higher to have an outstanding Ramadan?

To begin, let us make the intention to make this Ramadan better than the last – how about we come out of this Ramadan feeling satisfied, insha’Allah wit the feeling that it was the best Ramadan we had? This feeling is a sign of acceptance of our deeds, our fasting, salahs, recitation, duas, charity and all other deeds done especially this month to gain Allah’s Pleasure and His Mercy and His rewards. In the past have we had this kind of feeling or did we feel “Ah at last its over, now we can go back to our normal lives”…?

Acknowledge the fact that this holy month is truly a gift from Allah when the doors of Paradise are open and the doors of Hellfire are closed. It is a month which gives us the opportunity to renew ourselves, recharge our faith, cleanse our hearts, and set our goals and priorities – to improve and excel. In case our minds and hearts became distracted, Ramadan is the time for us to redirect our focus to the akhirah, to join the race for Jannah as reflected in the verse below.

“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the Muttaqeen (righteous).” (Quran 3:133)

So how can we can reap the benefits of this blessed time? How can we be certain that we come out of Ramadan more righteous and better than we began?

Here are six good tips to start with:

1. Ask Allah (swt)
Before Ramadan, ask that Allah allows you to benefit from Ramadan this year. During the days of fasting, make your supplicate with your own personal du’as and ask to improve yourself, for forgiveness, for increase in faith and so on. After Ramadan keep making du’a, and ask that Allah accepts your Ramadan and your deeds that you have sowed to be bountifully harvested one day.

2. Make a Conscious Decision
Make the all-important intention to make an effort to be better in Ramadan. Decide which habits you would like to change or drop and which habits you would like to start or improve. Be specific, ambitious and realistic. When deciding about adopting or improving habits, you make wish to keep these areas in mind: prayer, charity, Qur’an, social work, family ties, dhikr, and du’a, duty to parents and siblings.

3. Start Now
Those good habits which you have decided to start – well start them from now. Increase the already good deeds you have been doing.

4. Drop the Distractions
In order to excel in our goals, it is better to be aware of distractions before or during Ramadan – turn off or minimize the television, online computer time, reducing activities that are not really needed such as window shopping, hanging around in malls, texting, spending time in preparing or attending large fancy iftar parties and so on. Prioritize your commitments so you can get the best out of the few days of Ramadan. Pack your days with deeds especially done for this month. Remember Ramadan is not a month of eating, but rather it is intended to be a month of worship and drawing closer to Allah (swt).

5. Interpret true Islam
As we know Islam is misinterpreted, in some countries due to the actions of a few misguided Muslims. It our duty to correct these views. Ramadan is one of the good times to do this. I emphasize DO NOT do the good deeds for show but only for Allah (swt) but doing these deeds sincerely and at the same explaining the meanings of the deeds to others who are misguided or misinterpret Islam, will help them to understand better, open their eyes and be more curious. Gain the rewards of da’wah in this blessed month too where good deeds have multiple rewards!

6. Be Consistent
Make the intention that you will continue the good deeds/habits even after Ramadan. In fact, continuing to do those good deeds and the way these are molded into your daily life, is one of the pointers that your good deeds have been accepted, insha’Allah and hence you get the feeling of satisfaction and taste the sweetness of Ramadan. If you fall back, just renew your intention, strengthen it and get back up again!

Brothers and sisters in Islam, this is the time to race for good deeds and for the forgiveness of Allah (swt); this is the landmark month to resolve to make a new start that is filled with righteous actions for Allah (swt), to start anew and fresh and emerge as a new good person. What better than this? Let us not deprive ourselves of this good opportunity to be amongst the inhabitants of a Paradise that spans the heavens and the earth, by the Mercy of Allah (swt).

To your success always in duniya and akhirah.