Basicofislam
sister
.: PREPARED ?! :.
Assalam Alikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu !
So what's the answer to the
"frequently-asked-but-seldom-answered"
question?!
Coz' Ramadan's not "round-the-corner" anymore, its here !!
" Have we prepared enough? "
Yes?!
MashaAllah ! according to the before-hand planning we see around us, we are forced
to wonder :
"Are people really ready for the blessed month ?! "
But
…there's one problem...Why are the before-hand planning just for food stuff !?
Exactly!
This is what has occupied our minds, isn't it? I'm not saying that we shouldn't have before-hand planning for food, of course ! how else are we planningto survive ?!
We understand, that as humans, our physical-self ( body ) requiresfood ..
But
why ignore the need of our spiritual-self ( soul ) ??
Think of it like this , if we are off for a vacation. We plan everysecond of it, coz we don't want to miss anything,
Especially if its just once a year ...
Similarly , we prepare and plan for other important occasions,classes, interviews, appointments, parties etc.
However, when it comes to our Islamic duties /obligations we do solittle in advance.
Take the month of Ramadan for example.
Such a blessed month thatno matter how much we plan, its never enough, but sadly for some reason we feel we can transform into great pious personalities overnight !?
IF we were to step back a moment and realize that this is the last
Ramadan we will see in our lifetime,
HOW would we spend it ???
How many people do we know, who aren't around to see
Ramadan this year ??!!
Death we know can come to us at any time,
Ibn Umar used to say, "If you survive till the evening, do
not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive
till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening,
and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from
your life for your death."
yet we still remain so
ignorant of the blessing of time given to us now by Allah the Almighty, to be
utilized as He has prescribed .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*.: Goals for this Ramadan :.*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eat Suhoor:
'Eat a pre-dawn meal for there are blessings in it.'(Bukhari and Muslim)
Completing the recitation of the entire Qur'an (at least once):
Formula: A standard Quran has around 600 pages. So we'll have to read at least 4 pages after every fard
prayer (the 5 obligatory prayers ) to complete the whole Quran in Ramadan (30 days)
Time for Simple math :
5 x 4 = 20
20 x 30 = 600
How easy is that ? !
DO NOTTT FORGET TO READ THE TRANSLATION!!!
UNDERSTAND what Allah is trying to tell you
this ramadan!!!
and follow His orders n stay away from His prohibitions...starting today!!
Offering our 5 daily prayers with more sincerity and concentration:
For Starters - Learn the interpretation of Surah Al-Fatiha (Chapter one),
and concentrate on the words while you recite them in prayer.
* Ka'b b. 'Ujra reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There are certain ejaculations, the repeaters of which or the performers of which at the end of every prayer will never be caused disappointment: SubhanAllah- ' Glory be to Allah' thirty-three times, Alhamdolilah - ' Praise be to Allah' thirty-three times, and Allahu Akbar - ' Allah is most Great' thirty-four times.
( Muslim, Book 004, Number 1242 )
Learn some prophetic duas (supplications), and make them a habit:
Say this du'aa three times every morning and *ponder* its meaning:
Juwairiya reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came out from (her apartment) in the morning as she was busy in observing her dawn prayer in her place of worship. He came back in the forenoon and she was still sitting there. He (the Holy Prophet SAW) said to her: You have been in the same seat since I left you. She said: Yes. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: I recited four words three times after I left you and if these are to be weighed against what you have recited since morning these would outweigh them and (these words) are:
' Hallowed be Allah and praise is due to Him according to the number of His creation and according to the pleasure of His Self and according to the weight of His Throne and according to the ink (used in recording) words (for His Praise).'
(Muslim, Book 035, Number 6575)
The du'aa in arabic:- . سُبْحـانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْـدِهِ عَدَدَ خَلْـقِه ، وَرِضـا نَفْسِـه ، وَزِنَـةَ عَـرْشِـه ، وَمِـدادَ كَلِمـاتِـه
Remembrance of Allah:
As much as one can, keep Allah in your heart by doing Dhikr (Remembering Allah at all times).
*Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to (Allah) the Gracious One.
These are, subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi (All Glory is to Allah and all Praise to Him),and subhanallah al-azim (Glorified is Allah, the Great).''
(Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi)
Abu Hurairah also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'I love repeating
subhanallah, wal-hamdulillah, wa la-ilaha ill-Allah, wa-Allahu akbar
(Glorified is Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and there is no God but Allah, Allah is the greatest) more than all that the sun shines upon.''
(Muslim and Tirmidhi)
And control of tongue in disagreement, anger and frustration.
(even if you're right )
'Whoever doesn't stop from speaking falsehood and acting upon it, Allah has no need that he stops from his food and drink.'
(Bukhari)
So lets make This Ramadan Like never before !
This is the month which Muslims wait for,
A Holy Month of purity which opens goodness's door,
A time where we show our love to Allah Almighty,
Where we fast, pray Taraweeh and do lots of Charity,
The Quran was sent down this month many years ago,
For all the Muslim to read, learn and follow,
Fasting is prescribed like the people before us all,
To control our desires (nafs) and to prevent our downfall,
Mosques are filled with virtuous Muslims who pray,
The Quran is recited beautifully all night and day,
Things look more peaceful, everything seems fine,
Muslims help the others and give even more sunshine,
Our bodies become healthy and our hearts are cleaned away,
Say "NO" to parties and crazy music to distract us all away,
Ramadan is a good month for spiritual upliftment,
For us to be better Muslims with enlightenment,
Allah only do we serve, and to him we will be near,
WASTE NOT Ramadan as it comes only once a year…
-
May Allah give all of us the ability to utilize the month of Ramadan to change ourselves for the better and safeguard ourselves from the punishment of the hereafter, and not to be of those who are prevented from His Mercy and Forgiveness. Indeed He is the One who Hears and He is the One Who Responds. (Ameen)
Assalam Alikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu !
So what's the answer to the
"frequently-asked-but-seldom-answered"
question?!
Coz' Ramadan's not "round-the-corner" anymore, its here !!
" Have we prepared enough? "
Yes?!
MashaAllah ! according to the before-hand planning we see around us, we are forced
to wonder :
"Are people really ready for the blessed month ?! "
But
…there's one problem...Why are the before-hand planning just for food stuff !?
Exactly!
This is what has occupied our minds, isn't it? I'm not saying that we shouldn't have before-hand planning for food, of course ! how else are we planningto survive ?!
We understand, that as humans, our physical-self ( body ) requiresfood ..
But
why ignore the need of our spiritual-self ( soul ) ??
Think of it like this , if we are off for a vacation. We plan everysecond of it, coz we don't want to miss anything,
Especially if its just once a year ...
Similarly , we prepare and plan for other important occasions,classes, interviews, appointments, parties etc.
However, when it comes to our Islamic duties /obligations we do solittle in advance.
Take the month of Ramadan for example.
Such a blessed month thatno matter how much we plan, its never enough, but sadly for some reason we feel we can transform into great pious personalities overnight !?
IF we were to step back a moment and realize that this is the last
Ramadan we will see in our lifetime,
HOW would we spend it ???
How many people do we know, who aren't around to see
Ramadan this year ??!!
Death we know can come to us at any time,
Ibn Umar used to say, "If you survive till the evening, do
not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive
till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening,
and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from
your life for your death."
yet we still remain so
ignorant of the blessing of time given to us now by Allah the Almighty, to be
utilized as He has prescribed .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*.: Goals for this Ramadan :.*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eat Suhoor:
'Eat a pre-dawn meal for there are blessings in it.'(Bukhari and Muslim)
Completing the recitation of the entire Qur'an (at least once):
Formula: A standard Quran has around 600 pages. So we'll have to read at least 4 pages after every fard
prayer (the 5 obligatory prayers ) to complete the whole Quran in Ramadan (30 days)
Time for Simple math :
5 x 4 = 20
20 x 30 = 600
How easy is that ? !
DO NOTTT FORGET TO READ THE TRANSLATION!!!
UNDERSTAND what Allah is trying to tell you
this ramadan!!!
and follow His orders n stay away from His prohibitions...starting today!!
Offering our 5 daily prayers with more sincerity and concentration:
For Starters - Learn the interpretation of Surah Al-Fatiha (Chapter one),
and concentrate on the words while you recite them in prayer.
* Ka'b b. 'Ujra reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There are certain ejaculations, the repeaters of which or the performers of which at the end of every prayer will never be caused disappointment: SubhanAllah- ' Glory be to Allah' thirty-three times, Alhamdolilah - ' Praise be to Allah' thirty-three times, and Allahu Akbar - ' Allah is most Great' thirty-four times.
( Muslim, Book 004, Number 1242 )
Learn some prophetic duas (supplications), and make them a habit:
Say this du'aa three times every morning and *ponder* its meaning:
Juwairiya reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came out from (her apartment) in the morning as she was busy in observing her dawn prayer in her place of worship. He came back in the forenoon and she was still sitting there. He (the Holy Prophet SAW) said to her: You have been in the same seat since I left you. She said: Yes. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: I recited four words three times after I left you and if these are to be weighed against what you have recited since morning these would outweigh them and (these words) are:
' Hallowed be Allah and praise is due to Him according to the number of His creation and according to the pleasure of His Self and according to the weight of His Throne and according to the ink (used in recording) words (for His Praise).'
(Muslim, Book 035, Number 6575)
The du'aa in arabic:- . سُبْحـانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْـدِهِ عَدَدَ خَلْـقِه ، وَرِضـا نَفْسِـه ، وَزِنَـةَ عَـرْشِـه ، وَمِـدادَ كَلِمـاتِـه
Remembrance of Allah:
As much as one can, keep Allah in your heart by doing Dhikr (Remembering Allah at all times).
*Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy on the scale of rewards and are dear to (Allah) the Gracious One.
These are, subhanallah wa bi-hamdihi (All Glory is to Allah and all Praise to Him),and subhanallah al-azim (Glorified is Allah, the Great).''
(Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi)
Abu Hurairah also reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'I love repeating
subhanallah, wal-hamdulillah, wa la-ilaha ill-Allah, wa-Allahu akbar
(Glorified is Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and there is no God but Allah, Allah is the greatest) more than all that the sun shines upon.''
(Muslim and Tirmidhi)
And control of tongue in disagreement, anger and frustration.
(even if you're right )
'Whoever doesn't stop from speaking falsehood and acting upon it, Allah has no need that he stops from his food and drink.'
(Bukhari)
So lets make This Ramadan Like never before !
This is the month which Muslims wait for,
A Holy Month of purity which opens goodness's door,
A time where we show our love to Allah Almighty,
Where we fast, pray Taraweeh and do lots of Charity,
The Quran was sent down this month many years ago,
For all the Muslim to read, learn and follow,
Fasting is prescribed like the people before us all,
To control our desires (nafs) and to prevent our downfall,
Mosques are filled with virtuous Muslims who pray,
The Quran is recited beautifully all night and day,
Things look more peaceful, everything seems fine,
Muslims help the others and give even more sunshine,
Our bodies become healthy and our hearts are cleaned away,
Say "NO" to parties and crazy music to distract us all away,
Ramadan is a good month for spiritual upliftment,
For us to be better Muslims with enlightenment,
Allah only do we serve, and to him we will be near,
WASTE NOT Ramadan as it comes only once a year…
-
May Allah give all of us the ability to utilize the month of Ramadan to change ourselves for the better and safeguard ourselves from the punishment of the hereafter, and not to be of those who are prevented from His Mercy and Forgiveness. Indeed He is the One who Hears and He is the One Who Responds. (Ameen)