the last 10 days are here, ramadan will be departing us soon.
What have we gained from this ramadan?
What sort of habits and good deeds have you gained?
Was it that you have started praying more regularly
More sunnah salaah
Being more charitable
Being good to your parents and familiy
If so thats amazing alhamdulilah,
If not, we have only a few days left for redemption and you are still not late at all.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of the heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained.”
Found in Sahih al Bukhari and muslim
Hence you still have time up until the maghrib of the last day of Ramadan!
So don't loose hope and strive that you end this ramadan well in'sha'Allah.
Some practical tips to aid you in the last couple of days are...
Step 1:
Getting rid of all distractions.
Treat this Ramadan as your last, as it could possibly be your last and one ramadan
WILL BE YOUR LAST
so make this one as if you will never see one again
make this Ramadan a month where your emaan is on the line, where your soul needs to be saved by the will of Allah. Hence why Ramadan came down "so that we may achieve piety"
Lets make this Ramadan a month where we can finally achieve piety.
Now the issue lies, how can one acieve piety?
To achieve piety you need 2 key ingredients
1. A heart that is sincere
2. Actions are in accordance to the qur'an and sunnah
By using this formula in'sha'Allah you will be able to attain piety with perserverance and disicipline.
Step 2:
Stay disciplined
Whenever your heart inclines you to do something which is a sin, you must be disiciplined to reject it and pre-occupy yourself with other aspects.
Your desires is the reason why many people fail
Whether it is the desire of laziness, the desire of food or the desire of fame. These eventually, if overdone will consume you and your time during Ramadan and you will find you have wasted your ramadan again!
So how can we tackle this?
1. Pre-occupy yourself and make yourself busy with beneficial activities.
2. Stay away from harm such as bad areas, people and being alone often.
Step 3:
Staying close to the Qur'an
bu Umamah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Recite the Quran, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for its reciters.
Source: Sahih Muslim
Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
The example of those who recite the Quran and memorize it is that of one who is with the ‘righteous and noble scribes’ (80:15); and the example of one who recites the Quran with great difficulty is that of one who receives a double reward.
Source: Sahih Bukhari
These are just some of the great virtues of the qur'an as mentioned above, and there are many more virtues within it.
The month of Ramadan is when the qur'an came down for us to benefit and to cure us.
Hence, we should strive to keep the qur'an a companion for the rest of our lives and not just Ramadan.
How can we be close to the qur'an?
1. Know its meaning and tasfir
2. Recite it with a melodious voice with its correct tajwid
3. Be close to those who love the qur'an
During ramadan, it is known within the salaf that they would complete the qur'an at least once during ramadan (khatm), hence if you haven't done it now it is truly a great time to do it whilst gaining millions of reward for the sake of Allah.
You can truly complete the qur'an within the week as the salaf did - which has been known as 'Mufassal'
Aws Al-Thaqafi said:
‘So when we woke up, we asked the companions of the Messenger of Allah about the divisions of the Quran and how you divide it.
They said:
‘Three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, and the division of Al-Mufassal.’’ [Abu Dawud Al-Tayalisi, Musnad, (1204)]
Three Suwar: (plural for surah): Al-Baqara, Al-Imran, and Al-Nisa’
Five Suwar: Al-Ma’ida, Al-An‘am, Al-A‘raf, Al-Anfal, and Al-Tawbah
Seven Suwar: Yunus, Hud, Yusuf, Ar-Ra‘d, Ibrahim, Al-Hijr, and Al-Nahl
Nine Suwar: Al-Isra’, Al-Kahf, Maryam, Taha, Al-Anbiya’, Al-Hajj, Al-Mu’minun, Al-Nur, and Al-Furqan
Eleven Suwar: Al-Shu‘ara’, An-Naml, Al-Qasas, Al-‘Ankabut, Al-Rum, Luqman, Al-Sajda, Al-Ahzab, Saba, Fatir, and YaSin
Thirteen Suwar: Al-Saffat, Sad, Al-Zumar, Ghafir, Fussilat, Al-Shura, Al-Zukhruf, Al-Dukhan, Al-Jathiya, Al-Ahqaf, Muhammad, Al-Fath, and Al-Hujurat
Al-Mufassal: from Sura Qaf to an-nas
Hence, you can be able to complete it in 7 days in'sha'Allah, even if its a struggle try listen to it especially with translation.
Step 4:
Increase in du'a
Du'a is truly one of the best ways to ask Allah for anything.
This is an intimate moment between you and Allah where you speak to him humbly and he shall always listen to you
There are ettiqutes in which how to make du'a:
1. Call upon no one except Allah
The Prophet said:
“If you ask, then ask of Allah (only), and if you seek help, then seek the help of Allah.”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, 2516; classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Jami’).
2. Seek to draw close to Allah through one of the ways that are prescribed in Shari`ah.
3. Avoid seeking a quick response , for this is one of the problems that may prevent the Du`a from being accepted.
“One of you may be answered so long as he is not hasty and says, ‘I said Du`a but I got no response.’”
(Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 6340; Muslim, 2735)
4. Your Du`a should not involve sin or severing of the ties of kinship
5. Think positively of Allah
The Prophet said:
“Allah, may He be exalted, says: ‘I am as My slave thinks I am.’”
(Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 7405; Muslim, 4675).
6. Be focused and mindful of the greatness of the One upon Whom you are calling.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Know that Allah does not answer a Du`a from a distracted heart.”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, 3479; classed as sound by Al-Albani in Saheeh Al-Jami’, 245)
7. Ensure that your food comes from lawful sources.
8. Avoid aggression in Du`a for Allah does not like aggression in Du`a.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.”
[Al-A’raf 7:55]
9. Do not let Du`a distract you from an obligatory duty such as an obligatory prayer that is now due, and you should not neglect parents’ rights on the basis of Du`a. Which is indicated by the story of Jurayj, when he did not answer his mother’s call and turned instead to his prayer. She prayed against him and Allah tested him sorely.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The scholars said: This indicates that what he should have done is to answer her, because he was offering a supererogatory prayer, continuation of which was voluntary, not obligatory, whereas answering his mother and honouring her was obligatory and disobeying her was prohibited.”
(Sahih Muslim bi Sharh Al-Nawawi, 16/82)
In this lengthy but sincere newsletter I hope that you will be able to change your last few days of ramadan for the better and strive to be like the salaf in'sha'Allah khayr.
If you have reached the end of my newsletter, if so.. here is my free shawwaal journal carefully made to help you build on your habits after Ramadan!
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