- Messages
- 379
- Reaction score
- 2,070
- Points
- 253
Ramadhan has left us as guest afraid to overstay it's welcome. But does Ramadhan really end with Eid ul Fitr? Most of us would answer in the affirmative.
For most of us Ramadhan was a time of renewal and reestablishment of our commitment towards Allah and His Deen. We fasted, prayed, gave in charity, read the Qur'an and abstained from every evil that would invalidate our fast. But now that Ramadhan is over, most of us unfortunately are back on square one. The Qur'an is back on the shelf, fasting is suspended till the next Ramadhan and the voluntary night prayers are abandoned.
But this is not how it should be! These deeds carry immense rewards and will benefit the Faa'il (the doer) throughout the year and they are not confined to Ramadhan alone.
Moreover, continuing with the good deeds signifies acceptance of the previously done deeds. If one returns to the previous state of doing sins, misdeeds and negligence, this indicates the rejection of his deeds; and if he, on the other hand, comes to do righteous deeds one after the other, this indicates the acceptance of deeds. This is because the reward of the righteous deed and the sign of its acceptance is that one is helped to do another righteous deed after it.
It is a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also to offer voluntary acts of obedience regularly. `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would offer an act of obedience, he would keep doing it regularly (Muslim).
Regular acts of obedience are the most beloved acts to Almighty Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and remember that you shall enter Paradise only through Allah's Mercy, and also remember that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is regular and constant even if it is little(Bukhari).
So here are a few tips on keeping the Ramadhan spirit alive throughout the year:
1. Make Dua
It was Allah who gave you the ability to keep the good habit in Ramadan, and only He can help you maintain it afterwards. Make Dua that Allah helps you not only keep the habit, but that He accepts it and makes it a way for you to grow in closeness to Him.
2. Make it a habit
If you want to keep good habits, you've got to make sure they remain part of your daily schedule. For instance, fasting. Did you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged fasting on Mondays and Thursdays? He said: A man's deeds are reported (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays and I prefer that I should be fasting when my deeds are reported (Tirmidhi).
This is a great way of maintaining the habit so you're not rusty by next Ramadan.
Or for example, were you extra generous during Ramadan? Well, maybe you can portion out a set amount of your weekly or monthly paycheck to a charitable cause to maintain the habit of giving.
Make the habit part of your daily and weekly schedule. The point is to keep the action in practice, and of course gain rewards from Allah.
3. Think about your day each Night
Evaluating ourselves, our intentions, words and actions, every night is a very good way to maintain good habits.
Self-evaluation doesn't only help you see where you are and where you've got to go. It's also a great reminder of what you were supposed to do and didn't.
Add a question or two (or three or four) about your specific habit into a daily self-evaluation questionnaire. Ask yourself, for instance, how often did I pray today? What was the quality of my prayer? Did I pray on time? etc. These serve to remind you to keep up the habit and do better next time.
4. Evaluate yourself weekly
This helps you see the bigger picture. You'll be able to evaluate on a more long-term level how well you've been keeping your habit in practice. You can do the same thing on a monthly and yearly basis.
For those who are really into the technical aspect of self-evaluation, maybe you can make a graph to help you chart how well (or not so well) you've been keeping up with your good habit.
5. Get a Friend to help
What are friends for anyway? If you've got a close friend you feel you can share your new habit with, let them join you in keeping up with it and keeping tabs on you while they're at it. This will not only encourage you, but Insha Allah, it'll deepen your brother/sisterhood as well.
Alternatively, look for groups where you can maintain the habit. If, for instance, you memorized Quran regularly in Ramadan and want to keep the habit, join an Islamic study circle focused on memorization.
For most of us Ramadhan was a time of renewal and reestablishment of our commitment towards Allah and His Deen. We fasted, prayed, gave in charity, read the Qur'an and abstained from every evil that would invalidate our fast. But now that Ramadhan is over, most of us unfortunately are back on square one. The Qur'an is back on the shelf, fasting is suspended till the next Ramadhan and the voluntary night prayers are abandoned.
But this is not how it should be! These deeds carry immense rewards and will benefit the Faa'il (the doer) throughout the year and they are not confined to Ramadhan alone.
Moreover, continuing with the good deeds signifies acceptance of the previously done deeds. If one returns to the previous state of doing sins, misdeeds and negligence, this indicates the rejection of his deeds; and if he, on the other hand, comes to do righteous deeds one after the other, this indicates the acceptance of deeds. This is because the reward of the righteous deed and the sign of its acceptance is that one is helped to do another righteous deed after it.
It is a Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also to offer voluntary acts of obedience regularly. `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would offer an act of obedience, he would keep doing it regularly (Muslim).
Regular acts of obedience are the most beloved acts to Almighty Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and remember that you shall enter Paradise only through Allah's Mercy, and also remember that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is regular and constant even if it is little(Bukhari).
So here are a few tips on keeping the Ramadhan spirit alive throughout the year:
1. Make Dua
It was Allah who gave you the ability to keep the good habit in Ramadan, and only He can help you maintain it afterwards. Make Dua that Allah helps you not only keep the habit, but that He accepts it and makes it a way for you to grow in closeness to Him.
2. Make it a habit
If you want to keep good habits, you've got to make sure they remain part of your daily schedule. For instance, fasting. Did you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged fasting on Mondays and Thursdays? He said: A man's deeds are reported (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays and I prefer that I should be fasting when my deeds are reported (Tirmidhi).
This is a great way of maintaining the habit so you're not rusty by next Ramadan.
Or for example, were you extra generous during Ramadan? Well, maybe you can portion out a set amount of your weekly or monthly paycheck to a charitable cause to maintain the habit of giving.
Make the habit part of your daily and weekly schedule. The point is to keep the action in practice, and of course gain rewards from Allah.
3. Think about your day each Night
Evaluating ourselves, our intentions, words and actions, every night is a very good way to maintain good habits.
Self-evaluation doesn't only help you see where you are and where you've got to go. It's also a great reminder of what you were supposed to do and didn't.
Add a question or two (or three or four) about your specific habit into a daily self-evaluation questionnaire. Ask yourself, for instance, how often did I pray today? What was the quality of my prayer? Did I pray on time? etc. These serve to remind you to keep up the habit and do better next time.
4. Evaluate yourself weekly
This helps you see the bigger picture. You'll be able to evaluate on a more long-term level how well you've been keeping your habit in practice. You can do the same thing on a monthly and yearly basis.
For those who are really into the technical aspect of self-evaluation, maybe you can make a graph to help you chart how well (or not so well) you've been keeping up with your good habit.
5. Get a Friend to help
What are friends for anyway? If you've got a close friend you feel you can share your new habit with, let them join you in keeping up with it and keeping tabs on you while they're at it. This will not only encourage you, but Insha Allah, it'll deepen your brother/sisterhood as well.
Alternatively, look for groups where you can maintain the habit. If, for instance, you memorized Quran regularly in Ramadan and want to keep the habit, join an Islamic study circle focused on memorization.