Tips for a Successful Ramadan Experience

Whatever I see and wherever I go it’s Ramadan everywhere. The whole city is being lit up to celebrate the month, lanterns and moons are sparkling through buildings and malls. And topping all of that is the Ramadan Food offer. The amazing 70% to 50% discount. When we think of Ramadan the first thought that comes to our mind is food, keeping away from it during the day and eating as much as one can in the evening.

With all the excitement, are we celebrating Ramadan 2023 the right way?

In fact, Ramadan is not about food at all. It is a time given to us by Allah to stop and reflect on ourselves. Ramadan is a month of purification from our sins and our bad habits. A month in which we think about others before ourselves, it’s a month of giving to those in need.

So now that we know Ramadan is not about food and preparing for Eid, then what is Ramadan & why is Ramadan important?

Some people say what month is Ramadan, the Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the fourth pillar of Islam. The new crescent moon marks the beginning of this holy month. In Ramadan, we fast from sunrise to sunset. It is the blessed month because in this month Allah multiplies all our good deeds and gives us the opportunity to have our sins erased and deleted completely.

In this month, we refrain from all kinds of Eating and Drinking and stay away from indulging in intimate desires from Sunrise to sunset. This is the basis of fasting. Then there are certain things that invalidate our fast which is vomiting deliberately, cupping or letting ourselves bleed, and menstruating.

Basically, all Muslims who have reached puberty must fast, Allah is Al Hakeem (All-Wise) and Ar Rahman (The Most Merciful) there are a few categories of people who are exempted from fasting. They are the sick, travelers, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, intense hunger and thirst, those who are compelled to breakfast, mental illness, and old age.

There is a beautiful Hadith regarding Ramadan:

Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained up.”  (Sahih al-Bukhari 1899)

So, gear up to enter the Jannah by doing these simple acts of worship:

1. Fast: from Fajr until maghrib we must fast which means we must abstain from eating and drinking and stay away from indulging in intimate desires, this is the fasting rule.

Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven (Bukhari).

2. Recite the Quran: Quran was revealed in Ramadan, after performing your compulsory acts of worship the next best act is Reading the Quran. We must recite Quran as much as we can, Prophet ﷺ would review the Quran once every year in Ramadan and he reviewed it twice in the year he passed away.

The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites a Harf of the Book of Allah will have one Hasanah for it, and each Hasanah brings a tenfold reward. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem is a Harf; rather Alif is a Harf, Laam is a Harf and Meem is a Harf.” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2910) 

3. Prayer: We must pray our 5 daily salah and missing it is a sin. But there are some optional Salah which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has taught us to get closer to Allah such as:

• Iskrak: The early morning salah
• Salat ud duha: The Mid noon salah
• Tahiyyatul Masjid: Upon entering the masjid.
• Tahiyyatul Wudhu: After wudhu.
• Tahajjud: The night prayer between Isha and Fajr
• 2 Raka sunnah before the Fardh of Fajr
• 2 Raka before the Fardh of  Dhuhr and 2 Raka after it.
• 2 Raka after the Fardh of Maghrib
• 2 Raka after the Fardh of Isha

Prophet ﷺ said: “A house will be built in paradise for every Muslim who offers twelve Rak’ah of optional salah other than the obligatory salah in day and night, to seek the pleasure of Allah.” Narrated by Muslim.

4. Charity: The Prophet ﷺ would give charity throughout the year but increase his Sadaqah during Ramadan.

Ibn Abbas (RA) said, “The Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was most generous during Ramadan” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3554). We must give to charity as much as we can.

5. Self-control and Discipline: To maximize the benefit we must also avoid certain acts such as listening to music, watching movies or dramas or wasting time on social media, using bad language, smoking, and so on. These things don’t invalidate the fast, but this is not the type of Fasting Allah likes. We must try our best to keep our anger in control. It happens sometimes we get cranky due to hunger; we must remind ourselves that we are fasting for the sake of Allah.

6. Time: We must use our time wisely by Reading Qur’an a lot, doing Adhkar, and praying Nawafil as much as we can. Spending lots of time on social media and watching movies and dramas will lower your spirit of Ibaadah .

Hence, Ramadan is the time to indulge in acts of worship and create a stronger bond with Allah the Almighty. 

If you are struggling to read the Quran or want to improve your recitation, then you can enroll in our Tajweed Masterclass course at Al Furqan Academy.

It’s time to increase our status in Jannah. Hope you make this Ramdan the best one ever! Ramadan Mubarak