Ramadan Countdown 100 days left!

change for the better

Blessed month is soon arriving .

Less than 3 months left now until Ramadhan!

It's really important that you start preparing for it now, and I don't even mean practising the "fasting" because many are currently still fasting Mondays and Thursdays with them being short easy days, and we all know that even if we had to fast a month with days 23 hrs long, it only takes 1-2 days and we're all into the groove and the bodies adjust even to crazy times.

No, I mean mentally ready.

A fasting day is not a day without food and drink. That's just a day you got hungry!

You need to ensure that your day is one which is significantly purer, more spiritual, more moral, and 'ibadah-full than the days you are currently living.

So study your day carefully and observe critically: the filth your mind consumes, the minutes that you waste procrastinating, the hours you waste on pointless actions, the oppressed that you have helped in some way, the civic responsibilities that you have championed and actioned yourself, the number of sick people you visit, the amount of times you've helped your neighbour, the company that you keep and the kind of things you enjoy hearing from them, how often you check up on your extended family, the length of time you spend with the Qur'an or reflecting on it, the amount of charity you give, the amount you read, the amount of nafl you pray, the regularity of your dhikr, the uncouth things that your tongue automatically spurts out, and so on, and so on.

Start changing your day now, and Ramadhan will make it permanent.

- Abu Eesa

By Jamaal Diwan

Ibn ʿAṭā said:
“Appeal to no one but Him to relieve you of a pressing need that He Himself has brought upon you. For how can someone else remove what He has imposed? And how can he who is unable to free himself of a pressing need free someone else of one?”[1]

How can you appeal to other than Him when He is the one that controls all affairs? And to whom shall we seek aid if He is not in our aid? If He is in our aid can there be anything that can prevent Him from his magnanimous giving? Indeed, there cannot be.

Then we should know that He is the source of all things, He is the One. So we must learn submit ourselves to the acceptance of His divine wisdom, as Moses learned with Khiḍr. In doing so we will turn to Him with full attention and intention. He will become our qiblah before anything else. In doing so we acknowledge or weakness and our inability and seek strength and ability through the All-Powerful, the One who is capable of all things.

It is said that one day a poor man went out seeking some rich people in order to ask them for charity. He came upon a rich man who was raising his hands towards the sky in supplication so he asked, “From whom is he asking?” He was told, “From his Lord.” So the poor man said, “He is my Lord and his Lord. So why do I not ask Him as he asks Him?!”

As these wisdoms have reminded us throughout, it is now and in Ramadan that we should renew our relationship with God. We should look to see what our qiblah really is. Are we seeking Him first and foremost in everything that we do? If we are then He will bestow light upon us through His infinite bounty, and we will be guided by it. If not, then we will continue to stumble through the darkness of the absence of recognizing His presence in our lives.

May God enlighten us with the infinite light of His beauty and magnificence.

[1] Translation from jannah.org

for reminding us of this beautiful month. May Allah swt keep us healthy to keep fast. Ameen

Ameen, may Allah SWT allow us to benefit from this holy month.

8 Simple Steps to Help You Prepare for Ramadan

by Wesam Kerayem

Have you ever wondered why it is difficult to concentrate in your prayer? Or why your faith throughout the year is not on a high like it is during Ramadan or through Hajj? Maybe it is because we usually jump straight from a phone conversation into Takbir or because we just go with the flow in Ramadan and are influenced by the environment around us and not our own ‘real’ feelings.

A lot of us usually live life and have our faith dependent on an upcoming major event i.e. “I’m going to start reading a page of Quran a day as soon as Ramadan starts; I’m going to start praying Qiyam every night when I come back from hajj; or, I’m going to stop smoking when my child is born.” And because of this way of thinking we usually end up with an anticlimax; we don’t end up giving up smoking, we don’t end up praying Qiyam and we start reading Quran but then get back to our normal old self after a few days or weeks.

This is because these ‘statements’ or ‘feelings’ are based on impulse and not a real thought out plan. We usually don’t prepare for Ramadan or hajj or have a plan for our faith to stay at the increase; we just go with the flow and expect it all to happen. Well, it doesn’t!

Wouldn’t you love to enter the month of Ramadan on a real high and have the effects of this beautiful month be a permanent impact on your life thereafter? How can this be done? Below are the 8 steps for a Legacy of a Ramadan.


Step 1 – Create a Ramadan Count Down

Counting down for Ramadan (whether it is done mentally or by keeping physical signs around the home or office) will help create hype and buzz in your mind and amongst the people around you. When you and others are counting down to the same event, it becomes part of regular conversation and excitement spreads.


Step 2 – Seek knowledge about Ramadan

This will help you ensure you will do things correctly and perfectly for Ramadan, it will create a hype as there are many motivational aspects and events in the month to look forward to and finally it is a reward reaper. The more you know about Ramadan the more you can apply, hence multiplying your rewards.


Step 3 – Make a Ramadan plan

Be it reading the entire Quran, ensuring you pray taraweeh every night or inviting families over for iftaar; make a list of things you would like to achieve in the month and then how you plan on achieving these goals. It is important that goals are realistic and it is better that your life doesn’t need to entirely take a different road in this month (i.e. take the month off work or change work hours etc.) so that you may continue to do these deeds after Ramadan. Knowing what you want to achieve in the month will help you stay focused. Ensure you plan your day every night before you sleep when Ramadan starts (try to continue this even after Ramadan).


Step 4 - Know your life

Be aware if Ramadan affects anything that is happening in the month or shortly after. Do you have exams during Ramadan? Or is there a major family wedding after Ramadan by a short time? Moving house? If so, plan for these events from now. Study now so that you are prepared for the exams before the month starts. Be packed and ready to go before Ramadan or plan that you do it after so that it doesn’t take time away from your worship. The last thing you want to do is spend Ramadan at the shopping centres. Buy any Eid presents and prepare for any wedding before the month starts.


Step 5 – Prepare spiritually

We all know that Ramadan is about Fasting, Praying, Reading Quran and giving in charity. Start these worships early; don’t expect to just click into it as soon as the first day of Ramadan starts. Start doing extra prayers from now, start revising and regularly reading Quran now, get used to being generous and follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) and fast during Sha’baan.


Step 6 – Prepare your mind

Fasting is to refrain from more than just what we consume in our mouth. Start working on your patience; be extra vigilant with your conversations: ensure you are not backbiting, slandering or talking about useless things.


Step 7 – Say ‘good riddance’ to bad habits

Know what bad habits you have and stop them from now, don’t wait until Ramadan begins. If you sleep late, start sleeping early, if you are a Facebook junky start cutting down, have a coffee craze, slow it down etc. It might sound much easier said then done, but once you’ve committed yourself, purified your intentions – make sincere dua for guidance. Insh’Allah, these bad habits will be easier done with than you ever expected.


Step 8 – Plan your life around your worship

For instance; instead of working through your prayer or setting up meeting etc., at prayer times, plan that you have a break at prayer time. Don’t take your phone with you to the place you pray and forget the world as you stand between the hands of the almighty Allah (glorified and exalted be He).


Source: ProductiveMuslim.com

Now...

75 days until Ramadan.

Allahu Akbar!

That feeling of excitement in anticipation for the month of Ramadan never goes does it? I still feel that sudden rush of energy the way I did when I was six years old - I was far too young to fast or even understand the meanings of Ramadan but it just has this feeling which everyone can sense.

Ya Allah, may we be able to reap all of the benefits from this blessed month and come out as an improved and better Muslim.

Approximately 57 days left to Ramadhan!

May Allah allow us all to reach the month of Ramadhan.