Things to do this Ramadan
Fasting the month of Ramadan is a Divine gift of ultimate bliss, but it needs to be unwrapped and used; it is a trust, which needs to be kept with care and concern. All great things require great sacrifice and determination: if you wish to receive this gift and protect this trust, you must be determined to sacrifice and start early.
1. Start early: To wake up one day and find that Ramadan begins tomorrow, or even the next week, is disrespectful to Ramadan and a way to show ingratitude towards it. Its preparation requires time, reflection, and determination. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them would anticipate it for half a year before it, and miss it after it passed for the other half. The Prophet would especially increase his worship and his charity during the month of Sha`baan, which precedes Ramadan.
2. Organize your life in advance: The preparation of the soul is the most important, of course. However, putting your ordinary life activities in order is also important. Complete your deadlines before Ramadan. Reschedule what can be. Plan Iftaar invitations and other Ramadan activities ahead of time to minimize the distractions that might keep you from the true purpose of fasting and Ramadan. Your plan to make the best of this divine gift should include the following spiritual preparation:
3. Recognize your sins: Reflect on their causes and the harms they have done in your life. Think about the greatness of the One against Whom you have sinned and Whom you have ignored. Think about the gifts He has given you that you have wasted. Think about the time, the years of your youth, that He has given you that you have squandered. Think of the days you have been healthy and strong, but which you have chosen to use in sinning rather than worshipping Allah. Look back at your life, until you weep over what you have missed. And if you do not realize this, as some of the scholars say, weep over that fact that you still do not recognize it.
4. Recognize your gifts and opportunities: Realize how you have wasted so much of your talents, so many of your chances, and how you might put them to better use in service to Allah and those in need in what little time you have left.
5. Fast a farewell Ramadan: Consider this hard and deep until you believe it, because it is true: You may not see another Ramadan. This month might be your last month of mercy, forgiveness, and ransom from the Fire. This may be the last Night of Decree you have the opportunity to worship. Plan accordingly.
6. Set self-improvement goals: Use this Ramadan to achieve these goals. They should be realistic, precise, and measurable. Challenge yourself, but do not forget that even in Ramadan, you will have limits. The Prophet said: "The best deed before Allah is the most persistent one, albeit small." [Muslim]
7. Reflect on past fasting: What has helped you get closer to Allah during previous Ramadans? What has prevented you from being closer to Allah? Plan in order to systematize the former and stop the latter from reoccurring.
Four ennobling things to do during Ramadan
I. Make all five Prayers on time:
Strive to perform as many as possible (in particular Fajr and `Ishaa') in the Mosque. This is highly desirable for men. Remember that the Taraaweeh prayers are extremely blessed, but the other prayers are obligatory, without which all your efforts are invalid. Hence, the five daily prayers are incomparably more important.
2. Recite the entire Quran: Start reading the Quran before the beginning of Ramadan, and plan to read the entire Quran, with reflection on its meanings, at least once during Ramadan.
3. Mend relationships: Think about those against whom you have harbored hatred, dislike, envy, or jealousy. This is urgent if you have caused someone harm due to your ill-feelings, or if you have spoken ill of them, even to one person in secret
4. Give much charity: Find a worthy cause, or several, and contribute to it. If you don't find one, work on creating one. Give until it becomes hard to give, until it hurts. Allah Says what means: "Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love..." [Quran 3:92]
Finally, recall that each one of us has his or her own gifts that Allah has given us. And each of us has his or her challenges and flaws. No one is devoid of virtues. Nor is anyone free of faults. Fasting is our time to connect with the Source of all goodness, all beauty, all truth. And in the process, we embody, by way of reflection, some of these divine qualities and overcome our shortcomings.
As Allah, Most Exalted, has said in a Sacred Hadeeth: "A servant of Mine gets nearer to Me by performing voluntary deeds until I love him. And when I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, and his eyes with which he sees, and his hands with which he holds, and his legs with which he walks. Then, if he seeks my protection, I protect him. And if he asks, I give." [Al-Bukhari]
Nine explicit things you must avoid in Ramadan
Avoid all major sins, for committing a major sin makes one lose one's status as a believer (one may still, legally speaking of course, be a Muslim). Some common major sins, which are usually considered small, are the following:
I. Missing Prayer: According to many scholars, this major sin may even exclude one from even the nominal membership of Islam altogether.
2. Engaging in spiteful behavior: Do not backbite, slander, incite animosity or rancor between people. And do not fight.
3. Showing off: Do not show off, or do acts of righteousness for the sake of being thanked or praised by others.
4. Imbibing intoxicants: Consume neither alcohol nor "recreational" drugs.
5. Engaging in games of chance: Neither gamble, use dice, cards, or instruments of chance, nor play the lottery.
6. Devouring interest: Neither charge nor collect interest on any of your holdings.
7. Lying: Do not lie, not even in the least.
8. Financial cheating: Take care not to intentionally or inadvertently defraud, embezzle, swindle, or otherwise deprive another of his or her money or property through deception.
9. Approaching fornication: Do not do any of the things that might lead to your sexual attraction, or tempting another sexually, who is not your lawful partner. This includes gazing in lust at another, or flaunting any of your attractive qualities or gifts, flirtatious behavior and suggestive dialogue, and any, sort of self-exposure or physical contact, however seemingly innocuous, with any non-lawful person. Take special care to shun any viewing or reading habits that engage this impulse.
In addition, avoid minor sins, as well. Some common ones are: looking at illicit images and persons; delaying Prayer; being careless about modesty in clothing; using entertainment to pass time during the fast; foul, immodest, abusive, or harsh language.
We ask Allah, the Most Forgiving and Most Compassionate, to make us among His most loving and beloved friends–Al-Awliyaa'--and let this Ramadan be an opportunity to that felicitous end. Aameen.