Don't give up after Ramadan
Alhamdulillah we had a great Ramadan and Eid was just amazing. Now it's going on Shawwal and the days are passing us by like water through the palms of our hands... We must stop to ask... have we benefited from our month of worshiping our Lord or are we back to our old way of life?
Here are some things we can do to make the Ramadan feeling last inshaAllah.
1. Make sincere Tauba every chance you get:
Tauba acts like a vacuum cleaning up our sins. Allah made us so important that we have not one, but TWO angels writing down our deeds. We can help ourselves by making sincere tauba each time we mess up so that the angel to our left will Inshallah erase it from our list. And we can do good deeds and the angel on our right will write them down as quickly as we do them! Subhanallah! Can Allah make it any easier for us?
2. Proclaim Ikhlas to Allah
Simply put, whenever you do something tell Allah you are doing it for Him and Him alone. When you give someone a gift, don't give it because they gave you a gift or because they are nice, but because you know Allah would be pleased with you for giving it to another Muslim and making them happy. Take credit for pleasing Allah and not just for pleasing another Muslim. Show mercy to others because you know Allah would be pleased with you. Recite Sura Ikhlas as much as you can: Reciting Ikhlas three times is equivalent to reciting the entirety of the Quran! Do everything for the sake of Allah and Allah will be pleased with you InshaAllah!
3. Pray on TIME!
Never postpone your prayers. Especially the Fard prayers! Make up missed salah. Continue to do your sunnahs and nafls. Don't give up!
4. Keep your tongue moist with Dhikr
Allah loves dhikr. Allah loves the one who does dhikr. It is said that if Allah loves you, He allows you to recite dhikr often. With the exception of doing salah and reading Quran, we should try to do dhikr often. Dhikr comes in many flavors and forms.
Some examples of Dhikr are:
- Istighfar - 100x or more
- La ilaha Illallah - 100x or more
- Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahuakbar
- Subhanallahi Wabihamdih, Subhanallahil Azeem
- Allahumma ajeerna minan-naar 100x after every Fajr and Maghrib salah
- Recite Ayatul Qursi after every Fard salah and before doing the Sunnah or Nafl portion(s)
- Astaghfirullah lil mu'mineena wal mu'mineen 27x
- Recite Shahadah
- Ash hadu al la ilaha illallahu wahdahu lasharika lahu, lahul mulk, wa lahul hamdu euh' heeyu umeet, wa la hawla wala quwwata illah billah aleeul azeem
We try our best during Ramadan to recite the Quran atleast once. Then when it's over, we put it on our shelves and wait for the next Ramadan to recite it again. Let's not do that anymore and try to read it, even if it's one page a day. We should also try to understand the meaning of what we read. If we don't do this then we can't understand what it is that Allah is trying to tell us. And ofcourse, finally, We should learn to live our lives with the teachings from the Quran. This is the true way to show Allah that we love Him and we do everything for His pleasure and pronounce His Ikhlas.
6. Give Sadaqah! Give Charity! Give! Give! Give!
Don't stop giving just because Ramadan is over! Continue to give in Sadaqah, even if it be a smile to another Muslim to brighten their day. Allah loves us more for showing mercy to His creations. The more mercy we show to others, the more mercy Allah will show to us InshaAllah.
7. Walk on Wudu. Sleep on Wudu
Wudu is a weapon against the Shaitan! Fight him the easiest way you can with wudu! Before going to sleep, do wudu. During the day try to keep wudu and if it breaks, try to make it again.
8. Watch what you watch
On the Day of Judgement we will be answerable for everything we did with our eyes, our mouthes, our hands, our minds, our legs, our body and every other part of our bodies. We will be asked if we kept our eyes downcast when something non-halal passed us by or if we looked away when something bad came in front of our eyes. We will be questioned about our speech and our words and if we made fun of others or even ourselves.
We will be asked if we tried to do good with our body or we didn't care enough to do right by it. We are answerable for habits that make us sick or kill or damage our body. We are accountable for everything we do.
9. Keep making Dua to Allah for EVERYTHING
One of the easiest ways to let Allah know you are thinking of Him is by continuously making dua to Him for everything in this life and for the Hereafter! Subhanallah! Can it get any easier than that? Allah loves the slave who begs Him for everything! Even our selfish needs are a blessing to us! As a friend would say, Ya Allah give me halaal rizq and even more!
- Turn to Allah for advice or guidance. Who better to solve our problems than Allah?
- Give Hamd: Thank Him for all the good things you have.
- Tell Him of the patience you are trying to maintain during those hard times; Allah loves a patient believer.
- Beg Him for everything in your daily life, even for that parking spot on a busy Sunday afternoon!
- Ask Him for forgiveness for all past sins and to help you from doing sins in the future.
- Talk to Him about everything that is in your mind and heart and ask Him to guide you and keep you in the halal
10. Keep Relations Alive (Salatul Raheem)
Allah forbids us to break family ties. No matter how hard it might seem to keep familial relationships going, it's very important that we try our best to maintain them. Shaitan loves it when we break our ties so let's not please the shaitan! When we break our Family ties, Allah will not accept our Dua!!
Let's not let our days go by without benefit. May Allah make it easy for all of us and shower his mercy & blessings over us & over our families, and keep us on the right path, Ameen wa ameen!
