Ramadan Mubarak to all my beloved sisters in Islam! :)
We have now approached the blessed month of Ramadan! I know we’re going to experience a very different Ramadan then we’re used to this year…No communal/family iftars or sharing food with neighbours, no taraweehs at the Masjid and no group isoc events.
But don’t despair! Allah swt knows best and He is the best of planners. This may be an opportunity to have our best Ramadan yet! This year we have more time on our hands, Alhamdulilah! Less time spent on other commitments such as work, school commuting etc, and so we can in sha Allah channel more of our time and energy to acts of ibadah and worship!
Our intentions could be even purer this year, because what we do during Ramadan is hidden from the world and so if we do good deeds they won’t be for the sake of looking good or showing off in front of people but rather to be seen by our Maker alone. This year Ramadan is just between us and Allah swt. We can truly enjoy our Ramadan, in sha Allah, in the comfort of our own homes! Maybe this time in lockdown can be spent in a way that brings us closer to Allah through solitude and deeper reflection like no other Ramadan before it! (May Allah swt grant us this chance to truly connect with Him in private and with sincerity. Ameen)
So do you want to get the most out of your Ramadan during lockdown? Looking for some practical ideas of how you can do that? Well keep reading on! I’m going to be sharing some tips to help you to hopefully gain a lot out of your Ramadan and increase your rewards on the Day of Judgement!
But before you get to reading the rest of this article, I want to direct you to my first Ramadan article: ‘5 practical ways you can prepare for Ramadan’, because there are a lot of great tips and tricks over there that are very applicable to the rest of the month, in sha Allah. I’m going to be referencing some of the tips from that article here, so please read that too, if you get the chance in sha Allah!
A REMINDER THAT THE ULTIMATE GOAL WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE THIS MONTH IS…
TAQWA!!
- Make the right intentions and remember to renew them regularly
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Allah rewards people based on their intentions. So make sure your intentions are good ones! You want to avoid doing things for the sake of looking good or boasting, and rather complete good deeds for the sake of Allah. Try to purify your intention and renew it often to make sure you are not straying in sha Allah! Something as simple as writing it down and reminding yourself of it often can be great thing to do to help with this.
- Try to Read the Quran (in Arabic and Translation) everyday
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The Quran is one of those books that you can read over and over and over and find something completely new in it every time. The words in the Quran itself are one of the many miracles Allah swt has blessed us with, linguistically, scientifically and stylistically. It’s such a beautiful experience learning to read the Quran in its original unchanged state in the Arabic language and then hearing about the meaning behind this incredible text.
But it is an entirely different experience, in it of itself, to be able to read it in translation in your native language as well so that you can try to understand the Message Allah swt is conveying to us. We need to be really careful though because one of the reasons the original text was chosen to be preserved and written in Arabic is because the Arabic language is so rich and detailed. Every word contains a very specific meaning in Arabic, unlike the English language. Hence, when we read the Quran in translation we need to supplement it with an understanding of the context of the time (explained in exo-genesis like tafsir ibn kathir) and with hadith. (There are some Qurans written in English translation that come with context and hadith which are readily available, so don’t worry!)
Before we begin reciting we should seek protection and refuge from Shaytan, because he is what is stopping us from developing that pure connection with Our maker, Allah swt. It can be very easy to misinterpret Islam and Allah’s message and so we should be conscious of seeking guidance from Allah towards the correct understanding before we begin reciting. We believe that Allah swt guides whom He wills. If you approach the Quran in a stubborn and narrow minded way, only with the intention of ridiculing and finding hatred in Islam, then you will only see what you want to see and only gain what you sought to gain from it. Instead we should be seeking guidance and truth and ask Allah swt to grant us open hearts that will easily understand and accept what is good for it.
Especially in this month of Ramadan, in which the Quran was revealed to us, what better time to take out the Quran and reflect on it. In Islam, we believe in the importance of the developing a personal relationship with Allah swt as individuals. We don’t believe in having any intercessors or intermediaries in between us and Allah. So while it is important to consult the proper authorities (Sheikhs, imams, ustadths etc) when there is a matter of confusion in our understanding the Quran, we should read the Quran for ourselves. By reading it on your own, with understanding and context, you can allow the Quran to reach your heart in sha Allah and deeply contemplate and reflect on it and apply its lessons to your own life.
There have been many instances in which people have been feeling lost, sad, confused about Islam and they just pick up the Quran, sincerely ask Allah for guidance, and open it up onto a random page. SubhanAllah! Each and every person opened up the Quran and found that they had opened it up and saw a specific ayah, verse or surah that was specific to what they were going through at the time. So no matter what emotion you are feeling, pick up the Quran with pure intention and sincerity and I am sure you will find in it something which really resonates with you and your life. Don’t believe me? Honestly try it for yourself, right here, right now. Allah created us and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows exactly what is in our hearts, how we think and what is troubling us at the moment. He has carefully crafted this book to answer our questions and restore peace and light into our hearts. Ramadan is the time of the year to establish and kickstart this strong relationship between you and Allah, but the Quran should be used as a book of guidance all year round!
- Pray in Congregation (Jammat) with your family at least once a week AT HOME
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I know one of the things people are most bummed about during this lockdown is the fact that they can no longer go out to pray at the Masjid for Jummah or Taraweeh. There is something about praying side by side with the community and in the House of Allah whilst hearing the Imam’s beautiful qirat that really does strengthen our Iman, Alhamdulilah! But just because Allah is testing us right now with this pandemic, doesn’t mean we can’t still feel the benefits and baraqah of praying salaah together in the home. Gather your family or whoever you live with and read your prayers together in congregation. Not only will you feel stronger and more connected when you pray together, you will also reap more rewards too in sha Allah. The Prophet said: “The prayer in congregation is superior to the prayer performed individually by twenty-seven degrees.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Try to aim to pray jamaat at least once a week. This is especially important to replace Jummah namaaz (Friday prayers), because the Imams have stated as of late, that jummah prayers have had to be disbanded due to the dangers of spreading the Coronavirus. While you can’t pray Jummah at home and it is not permissible to do so through technology either (e.g praying on Zoom), you can still come together with your family and pray Zuhr salaah in jumaat together. If you can do more than once a week and you want more baraqah in the house, I would also recommend the time of Maghrib prayer, as it is ideal to pray in congregation every day after iftar because everyone should already assembled in one room in sha Allah and so it should be easy to pray together.
According to some rulings it is also permissible to pray Taraweeh at home! In fact the Prophet (s.a.w) used to pray taraweeh in his home during Ramadan. (check out this source for this here from Sh. Omar El Banna). Some scholars say that you can do this if you have a hafiz of the quran who is reciting from memory or by holding the Quran during the prayer (although you should check this with your local Imam, Sheikh as there are some differences of opinion). We also often forget that during the time of the sahaba (ra) they didn’t have taraweeh and it is not an obligatory prayer, but it is still a good practice to take part in, in sha Allah! But of course it is more important to fulfill our obligatory prayers (the 5 daily salaah) first and perfect them in sha Allah. So if you are not praying you daily salaah please focus on at least getting into this habit during Ramadan, take this opportunity of Ramadan during lockdown to start praying so that you can get into praying for the rest of your life, in sha Allah! - Give a little bit of charity every day (even as little as £1)
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Try and take out and set a side a little bit of change every day of Ramadan to go straight to charity. Even if it is as little as £1 it could make such a difference to a person’s life. You might want to give a bigger sum in sha Allah, but you will reap more rewards in sha Allah if your spread out your giving throughout the month of Ramadan, because that way you will earn Sawab for every day you give. Think about it. If you give £1 a day for everyday of Ramadan, that’s only £30 by the end of the month, but because you gave it in parts rather than the £30 upfront, you will get more reward for it, in sha Allah! That’s just what happens when you give £1 a day, what about £5, £10, £20 etc? Give in proportion to how much you can afford and Allah will multiply your rewards!
You can give manually by collecting change in a jar and ticking off the days to make sure you remember to do it everyday, or your could do it automatically through online services. Launchgood has released a fantastic new service called Ramadan Challenge which allows you to send money to a variety of different causes all in an automated system which sends a specific amount of your money to one of your chosen causes everyday. It is really easy and simple to use and it will allow to portion out your charity across the whole month in sha Allah! If you sign up for it there are also special features you can ask for such as them sending you free daily reminders through text message! There is also IslamChannelGiving and my10nights which provides a similar service to launchgood, but is specifically designed for the last 10 days so that you can catch the most rewards during Laylutul Qadr in sha Allah!
Give generously in charity because Allah specifically says in the Quran that:
“Whatever you spend in the path of Allah, shall be repaid to you in full and in no way shall you be at loss.” (9:103)
In other words, whatever you give in charity, Allah will only multiply it for you and shower you with more rewards and blessings and you will never lose out on what you give. Charity has a big emphasis in our deen and so we should strive our best to give as much as we can for the sake of Allah.
- Learn more about Islam through interactive engaging content (e.g online classes, videos, apps
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There are so many fantastic resources out there at the moment that have only been released or come out because of this lockdown! Here is a fantastic extensive list of many of the free online lectures and classes that are available at the moment so please do have a look at them in sha Allah! (This amazingly comprehensive list was put together by my good friend Rufeida Alhatimy, May Allah reward her for it, Ameen!)
There are also many other interactive classes, videos and apps which I have personally used and benefited immensely from and would like to recommend!
For Tafseer – Quran Weekly’s Gems from the Quran series, delivered by Nouman Ali Khan, is fantastic addition to Ramadan every year! He takes a short ayah from every juz and shares a reflection on it in a short video. This can be really awesome to watch alongside each day, especially if you have been aiming to finish one juz per day. By reading the Quran on your own in Arabic and in translation and then hearing the context behind the verses along with the root meanings of Arabic words etc, you can feel so much more connected to Allah’s word! We usually try and watch a video a day as a family, just before we sit down for iftar so that we can fit this into our busy daily schedules!
Other lecturers have also provided similar series such as Yasir Qahdi, Omar Suleiman etc so check them out too! Perhaps you could even combine a few on the same day so that you can hear multiple reflections on one specific juz! If you are looking for something a bit more comprehensive though, you should look into signing up for a course from either Bayyinah institute, Al-Maghrib, Yaqeen etc! Or alternatively have a look at some of the free webinar series on offer (link to full list mentioned above)
For Tajweed/Qirat – I have just recently discovered a Youtube channel and app called ‘Quran Revolution’ which is a project that stems from ‘Al-Maghrib institute.’ From what I have used of it so far, it is fantastic and has already really helped me get better at reciting the Quran! Check out the video that immediately helped me, right here! It provides practical steps to improving and gives really great, motivating advice too! The app provides an interactive textbook to help you with your tajweed, gives you assessments to check your progress, weekly live session, office hours and much more! Find out more about what they have to offer here!
For Memorisation – The Quranic app is fantastic for helping busy people learn Arabic words from straight from the Quran in digestable, bitesize, daily doses. The app works by using words in the Quran that have been repeated often, so that by learning these few words, you could easily understand the whole Quran in sha Allah! The app uses a quizlet style interface which makes it easy and fun to learn from and it is also filled with beautiful illustrations and Islamic artwork! I’m not even joking when I say I look forward to using this app every day! It makes you want to learn and keep coming back, MashaAllah! You can even get points for inviting your friends and then host study circles together and challenge each other to get better high scores in sha Allah! Download it from the App store here.
For General Reminders – I’ve recommended this Youtube channel time and time again, so much so that my friends and family in real life are proably tired of hearing about it but, I can’t get over FreeQuranEducation. I’ve watched this channel grow and progress since its earliest videos Alhamdulilah and so I’m really invested and proud of how far it has come, MashaAllah! This channel provides free, quality content using high class animation to make islamic reminders more accessible and visual for its audiences. My family and I have learnt so much from just this channel alone because it provides short and easy to understand content in an exceedingly illustrative and engaging format! They have produced lectures from the likes of Nouman Ali Khan, Mufti Menk, Omar Suleiman, Yasir Qahdi, Abdul Nasir, Yasmin Mogahed and much more MashaAllah! They have also translated a lot of their content into many other languages too, in order to make content about Islam comprehensible and accessible to everyone! So if English is not your first langauge then feel free to check out their other channels too! They are also in the process of making a cartoon series for young kids, so if you have any younger siblings, please do direct them to this amazing content in sha Allah!
May Allah reward all of these amazing organisations, put baraqah in them and increase the impact of their good work to make a long lasting difference in the world and as a Sadiqah Jarriayah. Ameen.
This brings me nicely onto my next point in sha Allah…
- Refrain from distractions and wasting your time by replacing POINTLESS entertainment with BENEFICIAL entertainment!
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Try not to get distracted this Ramadan by watching pointless entertainment and instead replace that which is bad for you with that which will be good for you! But what is beneficial entertainment? Does that even exist? And if it does is it really boring?
Yes it does exist and no it is not always boring! There are plenty good halal stuff out there to keep you entertained and aware of Allah during this blessed month. So what you should start by doing is replacing what you already do with better stuff.
Music for example is unbeneficial for you because the instruments used are haram and a lot of the lyrics used today are often filthy and encourage bad messages. This can easily be replaced with good halal Nasheeds instead! When you think of nasheeds you might be thinking of really old fashioned ones, but there are soooo many modern Muslim nasheed artists nowadays who uses vocals only. (Two of my favourites and two of the most well known are Maher Zain and Siedd, but I’ll be releasing a whole other blog post recommeding the best nasheeds artists to listen to, one day in sha Allah!) Their latest stuff actually turns some of the popular songs we have all heard today and halalifies it in an actually really great way.
Tv/Netflix/Films are another example of this. While it really does depend on what exactly you have been watching, there is a lot of trash on our screens nowadays. Instead replace bad content with good content! Instead of watching unislamic shows, watch islamic ones! The Umar Series is fantastic one and I would definitely recommend it. (Maybe not during Ramadan though!) However in Ramadan we should try to stay away from wasting our time completely and so it is better to watch lectures instead of films during this month.
- Control your tongue and your emotions, don’t get angry or use foul words.
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This is a reminder for me, before anyone else. Allah does not like those who cannot control their anger and that the Jaliyaah (disbelievers) are the ones who could not control their emotions.
Let’s try and work on this by not getting into arguments with people and not letting our emotions get the best of us, isA. This is especially important during Ramadan because being angry can certainly ruin our fasts and lessen the rewards.
May Allah protect us from ourselves and from falling victims to our own anger. Ameen.
- Do regular Astaghfar, Dhikr and Dua to Allah asking for help, guidance & FORGIVENESS
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You have probably heard this a hundred times but this is the month of forgiveness. Please, please, please use this to your advantage because it is certainly a mercy from Allah swt. He is Ar-Raheem (the most merciful) and Al-Ghaffar (the most forgiving), so call on Him using his names. Anyone who walks a step closer to Allah, Allah will come running. Don’t ever think that for a second you are too sinful to ask for forgiveness, because that is simply what Shaytan wishes from you.
The other day I was in an online halaqah and the sister who was leading it shared this beautiful story (May Allah reward her, AMEEN) about a path of thorny bushes. When traveling through this path people have to be very careful to not get pricked by the thorns so that they won’t get hurt in the process. If you get pricked by one of the thorns you don’t want to suddenly lash out and get pricked by all the thorns, do you? No, you simply and carefully remove the thorn, and you need to evaluate what movements you took that led you to getting pricked in the first place so that you don’t get pricked again.
There is a big lesson to learn in this story for those who seek it, as the thorns can be likened to our sins. Just because you might have fallen into sin once, doesn’t mean that should just give up and therefore try every sin. Similarly, it would be foolish to get pricked by the same sin twice. But rather everyone is on their own journey and their own path and should try to get through it as best as they can. It is impossible to get through this path without getting pricked, at least once. But the wise person learns from their mistakes. It is therefore not the sin that separates the worst from the best, but rather how they choose to react once they have gotten stung. I just thought that was such a beautiful reminder to hear, especially when you are feeling unworthy of forgiveness.
Also it is important to remember that Allah has chosen you to be Muslim and He chose you for a reason! Even if you cannot see it yourself or you don’t believe in your own self-worth, know that Allah has already given it to you and so you don’t need to chase this dunya looking for validation from the world because Allah has already put worth inside of you when he destined you to be a Muslim. If you are a non-muslim who is reading this, you have clicked on this article for a reason. Allah swt has chosen you specifically to be reading these exact words so that they may benefit you!
- Take the time to reflect.
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I am actually very grateful for this Coronavirus because it has given so many more people the time to slow down and escape this busy rat-race of chasing materialism in this life and reflect on their bigger life purpose. I have seen so many people say they feel so lost and don’t know what their life is meant for. In Christianity, they believe that God has already asolved them from their sins and so now in this life all they have to do is believe in Christianity and God and then they’ll go straight to Heaven. Due to that, some christians also struggle with what exactly their life purpose is. If you ask a Christian this, they may have many different answers to what their purpose in life is. Some say happiness, some say helping others, some say living their life to fullest. But in our religion, it is not quite as simple as if you believe and are a good Christian you go to heaven. The term be a “good Christian” is such a broad term as well and many Christians would have completely different answers to what exactly this means. In our religion, Islam, Allah gives us our one life purpose from the moment we are born. Our purpose is to pass the test of this life and to earn Jannah by following practical steps our religion has prescribed for us (5 daily prayers, charity, hajj, belief, fasting etc.). If we follow these practical steps along with the ones laid out in the Quran, we have certainty that, in sha Allah, Allah will reward us for it.
- Stuffing your face with food at Iftar should not be the focus of your entire month!
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While food is a big part of this month in the sense that we have to abstain from it and we get to eat it after sunset, it shouldn’t be the main focus of your entire month. Although you do get sawab for feeding fasting people, don’t waste so much time to the point where you spend your whole day in the kitchen preparing lavish meals for you and your family, Equally, when it gets to iftar don’t stuff your face with so much food that you miss or forget to pray Maghrib.
- Keep a gratitude journal and write down all your blessings you have to be thankful for!
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Express your gratitude to Allah by writing down each and every thing you are grateful for in your life. You’ll be surprised by how Allah has blessed you with that you won’t be able to possibly write them all down because they are too many. But regardless, do so as a reminder so that when you are feeling low in iman and are feeling ungrateful/hopeless you can look at it in sha Allah! I have a little mini note book that I like to keep by my bed and use from time to time. It is a book that I hope to use throughout my life in sha Allah! I like to write down what Allah has blessed me with alongside exactly why I am grateful for it because it helps me contextualise things a bit better. But you can arrange it however you like and make it personal to you!
Things to remember to include if you need inspiration and reminders: Religion, Family, Home, Health, Peronality, Education, Body/Organs, Mind, Rain, Hijab, Dua, Animals, Culture, Food, Oxygen/Air we breathe, Being born, The Solar System, Night and Day, Gravity, Eye-sight, Sleep, Ability to wake up, Smell, Hear, Speak, Emotions etc etc. Even things like Imperfections, Disagreements, Sorrow, Dissappointments can be sources of gratitude if you think carefully enough.
Be grateful that you lived to see another month of Ramadan that you could potentially reap the benefits from isA! May Allah bless us in this holy month and for many years to come, Ameen!
- Complete a daily good deed or a Random Act of Kindness and Strive for Ihsan in everything you do!
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The Ramadan legacy app has daily good deeds for you to complete! But you could also just look online or make up your own too! Why not help your Mum or sister around the ktichen in preparing iftar today? Or you could do an extra chore without being asked! Whatever you do, remember to do with the right intention of pleasing Allah swt and helping your fellow humans.
- Write down your goals and keep looking back on them!
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Check out my first Ramadan aricle on how to set SMART goals for Ramadan. Some areas to keep in mind for making these goals: the Quran, Tafseer, Memorisation, Tajweed, Dhikr etc
- Sharing is Caring!
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Hey, you know what is one easy way to reap the rewards in Ramadan that is SUPER easy, will literally take you 5 secs and you can do it right now? Share this article with your friends and family! Not only will they benefit by this, but you will also then gain the rewards for sharing it if they follow any of these tips isA! Pay it forward and take part in spreading the reward isA, whilst also helping your fellow Muslims!!!
It is also said in a hadith which Aisha (ra) reported, that “Allah has made it a mercy for the believers” and those believers who take precautions to stay safe and remain at home during a plague will in sha Allah get the reward of a matyr. This Hadith applies to any servant who:
- Resides in a land afflicted by a plague
- Remains patient against this test
- Hopes for reward from Allah swt
- Knows that nothing will befall him but what Allah has decreed.
The reward of a martyr in Islam is regarded very highly, in fact it is one of the greatest honours in Islam. According to Saheeh hadith, the martyr is given 7 favours in particular from Allah, including being forgiven for all his sins from the very moment the first drop of blood is shed, to seeing their beautiful palace in Paradise before they die, to not be tested or punished in their grave, having no fear on the day of judgement, a crown of honour placed on their head , jewels that could illuminate the Earth from their brilliance, marry the most beautiful spouses in Paradise, have the ability to intercede for 70 members of their family and be rescued from Hellfire and enter Paradise. SubhanAllah if we can remain patient, hope for reward and accept Allah’s decree during this Coronavirus, we can be amongst the elevated status of the martyrs in sha Allah, just for simply residing in the land afflicted by a plague.
May He swt put baraqah in all our good deeds so that we can reap the most rewards out of this Ramadan, Ameen!
These tips are all reminders for MYSELF before they are for anyone else and I pray that Allah swt will help me to follow these to the best that I can isA! Please keep me in your duas and I will keep you in mine! If you benefited in any way from this article please remember to share it with your friends!
Further Ramadan Articles: