Make this Ramadhān a memorable one. Make it a Ramadhān you will remember for the rest of your life. Make it such that, inshā'allāh, in Jannah you will say it was this Ramadhān in which Allāh ta'ālā made you his walī (Special Friend), and from when your life changed forever.
To make this Ramadhān a memorable one you must follow the following five advices:
�Abstain from sins. Don't even think about sinning in the month of Ramadhān.
�Stay away from gatherings and mixing with people. Many sins take place when mixing with people, e.g. backbiting, slandering, wasting time etc.
�Safeguard your eyes by only looking at what is permitted.
�Safeguard your ears by only listening to what is permitted.
�Safeguard your tongue by only speaking when it is absolutely necessary.
The commands of Allāh ta'ālā fall under two categories
�Obligations - Things we have to do
�Prohibitions - Things we are forbidden from doing.
If we analyse the category of obligations, we can conclude that they too are prohibitions. Take the example of the obligation to perform salāh (daily prayers); it is in effect a prohibition against not performing salāh. As such, the commands of Allāh ta'ālā are all about abstaining from things.
A muttaqī (God-fearing person) is someone who abstains: when it comes to salāh, someone who does not neglect salāh is termed muttaqī with regards to salāh.
The 29 or 30 days of Ramadhān are a training ground, teaching us abstinence. From dawn to sunset, we practice abstaining from food, drink and marital relations. Sawm (fasting), is defined as abstinence, and through fasting we become accustomed to abstaining. The month of fasting compels us to ask ourselves the following question:
If after becoming accustomed to abstaining from desires during this one month, is there any reason why we cannot abstain from following our base desires and disobeying Allāh ta'ālā during the remaining 11 months?
By setting targets in Ramadhān you are able to remain busy and thus protect yourself from sin and wasting time. For example, you should set a target for the number of times you will complete the recitation of the whole Qur'ān during this month.
Another example is to aim to perform optional worship such as tahajjud, ishrāq, dhuhā and awwābīn salāh.
During heavy rainfall if someone were to complain about his failure to collect water then all those around him would conclude that this was due to his negligence and laziness.
Likewise, in Ramadhān the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allāh ta'ālā descend in torrents; it is only the extremely negligent who remain deprived.
During the month of Ramadhān you should try to perform the Awwābīn Salāh.
Awwābīn is the performance of six raka'āt (units) after the sunnah and nafl of the Maghrib Salāh.
If you find it difficult to perform six extra raka'āt, you can perform just two extra raka'āt after the two raka'āt of sunnah and the two raka'āt of nafl. This will suffice too.
When it comes to preparing ourselves for the ākhirah, we should consider our journey to the grave as being very short; our lives may end at any moment, so time is of the essence and we mustn't be slow in doing good deeds or delay repenting from disobedience to Allāh ta'ālā.
When it comes to the risk of falling into fitnah or doing something to incur the anger of Allāh ta'ālā, we should consider that we still have a very long road to travel. We should think that we have a long life ahead of us, during which the consequences of our actions may catch up with us and during which we may be faced with many trials. Therefore we must fear Allāh ta'ālā and seek refuge in Him.
My beloved Shaykh Hāji Fārūq Sahib rahmatullāhi alayh used to say: "The one who asks (Allāh ta'ālā) is not deprived, and the one who fears (Allāh ta'ālā) is protected."
In order to truly benefit from the month of Ramadhān you need to understand its true spirit and purpose. The purpose of this great month is to help us weaken our connection with the material world and to strengthen our connection with Allāh ta'ālā by excelling in spirituality.
Any worship driven and imbued with this spirit will truly be fruitful.
By refraining from food and drink and by abstaining from conjugal relations with one's spouse, one's fast will be deemed as sufficient according to the requirements of fiqh. But this needs to be combined with struggling against one's desires and refraining from all sins. Without such striving the fast will be of no spiritual benefit.
The angels, by their very nature, don't possess any urge to eat, drink or procreate, nor do they disobey Allāh ta'ālā. If we want to match the angels then not only must we control our natural urges, we must also abstain from all disobedience to Allāh ta'ālā.
Only then will we see the true benefits and achieve the real objectives of fasting.
Daily during the month of Ramadhān, and thereafter as well, you should take account of the deeds you have performed each day. You should ask yourself two things:
1. Have I done any good deed today that will attract the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allāh ta'ālā ?
2. Have I committed any sin today that will divert Allāh's Mercy and Forgiveness away from me?
Fasting is not only confined to refraining from eating, drinking and cohabitation with one's spouse; fasting in reality means to abstain from everything that has been forbidden by Allāh ta'ālā.
During the month of Ramadhān, lay your sins and shortcomings before Allāh ta'ālā. Admit your guilt, fearing Allāh ta'ālā and at the same time having strong conviction that He will forgive you.
We need to get used to fasting and develop an appreciation for it. There was a time when one would see people with the signs on their faces that they had been fasting and spending long hours of the night standing in salāh. However these attributes are no longer visible. Indifference is widespread today; people do not give importance to these things any more.
We should make ourselves accustomed to fasting outside of Ramadhān. To do this, first start observing the masnūn fasts that fall on special occasions throughout the year, e.g. the six fast of Shawwāl, the fasts of Muharram and the fasts of Dhul-Hijjah. Thereafter, start fasting on ayyām-ul-bīdh, i.e the 13th, 14th and 15th of every Islamic month, which was a sunnah of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu alayhi wasallam. The next stage is to fast on every Monday and Thursday which also a sunnah of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu alayhi wasallam.
We have heard and read the Ahaadeeth regarding the virtues of Ramadhaan many times, however do we ever reflect and ponder over what they mean?
For instance take the hadeeth regarding the Shayaateen being chained up. Since they are chained up they are not around to cause mischief. Allah subhaanahu wata'ala is giving us an opportunity to build up our forces and become powerful enough to combat their attack when they are released after Ramadhaan. Therefore perform abundant good deeds, refrain from all disobedience and be included amongst the Muttaaqoon (the god-fearing).
There is the Hadeeth regarding the good deeds performed in Ramadhaan being multiplied manyfold.
"...Whosoever tries to draw nearer to Allah subhaanahu wata'ala by performing any virtuous deeds in this month, for him shall be reward as if he performed a Fard (obligatory action) in any other time of the year. And whoever performs a Fard, for him shall be the reward of seventy Faraaidh in other times of the year..." from Fadhail A'maal
Out of all the deeds, the obligatory ones are most beloved to Allah subhaanhu wata'ala. They are a means of attaining His closeness. Therefore the good deeds performed in the month of Ramadhaan become an easy means of attaining Qurb (nearness) of Allah subhaanahu wata'ala!
One especially beneficial and unique advice given by our respected Shaykh was concerning charity. Firstly it should be increased and secondly to reap maximum benefit one should reflect on the following:
The Night of Power falls in the last 10 days of Ramadhaan (and in some narrations it could be any night in the month). This night is "better than a thousand months" which according to the calculation made by Shaykh Zakariyyah (raheemahullaah) is "more than 83 years". Now if one was to give charity every night for the entire month one is bound to attain the reward of the Night of Power and the charity given on that night would be similar to giving that amount every day for more than 83 years! So one should try and give whatever amount one can afford every night during Ramadhaan to attain maximum benefit.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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