Have We Prepared Ourselves for Ramadan?

– Dr. Farrukh Adnan

Whenever there is a function at our house or a guest arrives, we are very excited, and preparations are started weeks in advance. So that there is no shortage of anything that we regret later. Are these similar preparations we also make before the arrival of Ramadan to change the environment of the home, to set aside a place in the house for worship, or to change ourselves and improve ourselves in the eyes of Allah?

For our worldly lives, we spend money to make people happy and to maintain our position in society, and we also invest our precious time, but do we spend so much for our lives in the hereafter to get freedom from hell and the ticket to heaven? Don’t we remember that every year Allah gives us a great blessing like Ramadan so that we can return to Him again? The month of Ramadan is a training for us so that we live in the same way for the next eleven months, follow the commandments given by Allah, worship Him, strive to make ourselves good servants of Him, and try hard to keep ourselves away from sins so that even after Ramadan, we can worship Allah for eleven months of the year and live as His good servants.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.” (2:185)

Maulana Maududi comments “The Qur’an has been given to us so that we know the path of the pleasure of Allah, walk on it ourselves, and lead the world on it. To prepare us for this purpose, fasting is the best means available. Therefore, our fasting in the month of the revelation of the Qur’an is not only worship and not only moral training but also a proper and appropriate gratitude to the blessings of the Qur’an itself.”

Ramadan is the month of Qur’an, Night of Decree, Repentance and Forgiveness

How to Prepare for Ramadan?

1) Recognizing the Greatness of the Month of Ramadan:

In order to prepare for Ramadan, it is very important that we consider why Allah has blessed us with the holy month of Ramadan, what is Allah’s strategy through it that we should know, and why Ramadan is called the month of glory. Through the obligation of these fasts, Allah wants to create the attributes of piety and fear in the hearts of the believers so that we become His pious servants and do all the things purely for Him and His commands. Fasting is the best act through which we fear Him.

2) Purification of Intentions:

We should purify our intentions only for the sake of Allah, worship Him, and do good deeds. If we are doing a good deed but our intention is wrong, then know that Allah has nothing to do with our acts of worship; He wants His servant to purify every action for Him alone. Whatever good work you are doing or worshiping, check that there is no hypocrisy in this work and that we are not doing it to show off to others and to get praise.

3) The Cleansing of Hearts:

Before the arrival of Ramadan, we should cleanse our hearts from envy, malice, selfish desires, enmity, and ingratitude, so that when we fast in Ramadan, our heart will be free from every negativity and we may find peace in our heart through remembrance of Allah.

4) Repentance from Past Sins:

We should pray to Allah for the sins we have committed and ask Him for forgiveness. At the same time, we should also keep in mind the blessing of Allah that He has once again granted us the holy month of Ramadan and has again given us the opportunity to be virtuous and righteous.

5) Obligation of Prayer:

Allah has made it obligatory for us to pray five times a day, but sometimes we get so busy in our lives that it is difficult for us to find time for prayers, and those prayers either become Qadha (not offered on time). We should perform Sunnah and Nafl along with the obligatory prayers.

6) Excellence in Good Deeds:

This Ramadan, we should make a plan to put ourself first in doing good deeds, because the more we progress towards goodness, the more we will move away from sins. In addition to the obligatory prayers, we should make efforts to perform the Nafl prayers, try to remember and recite the Qur’an, make time for the lessons of the Qur’an, do good deeds ourselves, and order others to do good and prevent them from doing evil.

7) Attachment to the Qur’an:

Allah revealed the Qur’an in the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, we should also be attached to the Qur’an in terms of its greatness. Let us set aside time in our daily routine to read and understand the Qur’an. Let us try to find out how Allah wants to guide us through this Qur’an. Try as much as possible to understand and follow whatever instructions Allah has revealed in this Quran for us and for our welfare.