A great and blessed month…
This is how the Prophet, , described the best of all months!
Little wonder, for Ramadan is a great season for making profits.
Whoever wastes it has lost a great deal, whoever refrains from competing in it is feeble, and whoever is deprived of its blessings is miserable.
Its great blessings must be sought and received with all the necessary preparations and strong determination.
Our beloved Prophet, , used to long for this month, wait for it and supplicate Allah The Almighty to lengthen his life so that he witnesses it.
He also used to give the glad tidings of its advent to his honorable Companions and encourage them to compete in doing good deeds during it, so as to be among those whom Allah The Almighty boasts about to His angels. The Prophet said: “Ramadan has come to you. It is a month of blessing, in which Allah covers you with blessings, for He sends down mercy, forgives sins and answers supplications. In it, Allah looks at your competition (in good deeds), and boasts about you to His angels. So show Allah goodness from yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in (this month) of the Mercy of Allah, The Almighty, The Exalted.”[At-Tabaraani and its narrators are reliable (on the authority of ‘Ubaadah ibn As-Saamit, may Allah be pleased with him)]
Therefore, we have to prepare a detailed plan to make use of this great opportunity. Here are some relevant tips that would help us achieve this purpose:
First: Define your objectives in this honorable month
Turn to your Lord with a sincere intention and strong determination. Open a new page with Him through repenting of all sins and acts of disobedience. Renew one’s intention to observe fasting during the month of Ramadan with faith while seeking its reward from Allah The Almighty. Start by determining the objectives that you want to achieve during this great season. However, you should know that a strong resolve comes to people of determination, and noble deeds come in proportion to your share of determination and magnanimity. Nevertheless, always remember to make your ultimate aim to achieve piety as Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.}[Quran 2:183]
Then, you can divide your sub-objectives as follows:
1- Personal objectives
2- Family objectives
3- Objectives related to your relatives
4- Objectives related to your neighbors
5- Objectives related to your colleagues
6- Objectives related to the Muslim nation
Second: Plan for the following:
A Quranic program to make use of the massive rewards for good deeds. Be keen on reciting the whole Quran more than once during this blessed month. You should also be keen on memorizing part of the Quran every day and you can compete with your friends and relatives in this regard to encourage each other.
A program for supplication: Write down your supplications and determine your requests. Then, repeat these supplications as much as you could during this great season. You should remember to ask your Lord the sublime and most precious things as He is The Benevolent and The Gracious.
A program for acquiring knowledge
A program for visits
A program for charity
Third: Try to learn the juristic rulings of fasting as well as its manners. This requires you to sit with your family to study the rulings and manners of the fast at the beginning of the month of Ramadan or before it if possible, because this will prepare you not to fast ignorantly. This will also ensure that you will avoid making mistakes besides enabling you to turn to scholars for Fatwas in special cases.
Be keen on making your fast of the highest rank, as we have three ranks of fast:
1- The fast of the general Muslim populace: It means restraining oneself from eating and drinking during the day and avoiding sexual relations with one's spouse.
2- The fast of the few select Muslims: Beside avoiding eating, drinking and sexual relations, there is avoidance of sins of the hands, feet, sight, tongue, and other parts of the body.
3- The fast of the highest class: This is the fast of the prominent ones who avoid the world completely and immerse themselves in the love of Allah The Almighty Alone.
Fourth: Encourage your family to make use of this month.
Hold a family meeting and discuss the topic “Let us make use of Ramadan.” Sit with them and consult them about the program that you should adopt to make use of this blessed month. Encourage them and they will come up with great ideas by the permission of Allah The Almighty. Be keen on making a written plan with realistic objectives and measurable results.