Make Your Ramadan Plans in Advance-I

06/06/2014| IslamWeb

Most people draw detailed plans for the affairs of this life, whereas very few of them plan for the affairs of the Hereafter. Planning for the affairs of the Hereafter includes planning to spend the duration of Ramadan in acts of worship. It is important to have a practical plan in place, spanning the days and nights of Ramadan in obedience to Allah The Almighty and distributing your time between spending time with the family, reading, sleeping, praying, visits and so on. Be organized and do not let random circumstances control you.

Prepare a special program for supplication and Thikr

Determine your needs and write your supplications and Athkaar (remembrance o Allah The Almighty) in this program. Try your best to say Thikr or Tasbeeh after every act, after every prayer, before and after sleeping, in intervals between worldly activities, upon entering and leaving the house, one’s work, and place of study, while walking, and even more beneficial would be that you remember Allah The Almighty with every movement you do at work.

Determine to excel in this month and utilize its time usefully

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And when the matter [of fighting] was determined, if they had been true to Allah,  it would have been better for them.} [Quran 47:21] Imaam Ibn Rajab says, "When the soul strongly yearns for something and is able to get it, but it abandons it for the sake of Allah The Almighty in a place that only Allah sees, this will indicate the truthfulness of one's faith."

Start strong, resolved, and active

A strong start takes you to the furthest distance. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O Yahya (John), take the Scripture with determination.}[Quran 19:12] If the start is weak, any barrier will take it back to point zero or close to it. Ibn ‘Ataa’ Allah As-Sakandari says, "Whoever has a good start will have a good end."

Seek the Help of Allah The Almighty and do not lose heart

The Muslim needs to seek the help of Allah The Almighty. If he seeks His help, Allah The Almighty would Help him; if he abandons it and seeks the help of others, Allah The Almighty would leave him alone with those whose help is sought. As a result, he would be forsaken.

Read about the efforts of the Companions and the righteous predecessors

When Ramadan came, Sufyaan Ath-Thawri used to quit all his work and start reading the Quran. Al-Waleed ibn ‘Abdul-Malik used to read the Quran in full in three days, and he completed it seventeen times in Ramadan.

Ar-Rabee‘ ibn Sulaymaan said, "Ash-Shaafi‘I used to read the Quran completely sixty times in Ramadan and thirty times every month."

Muhammad ibn Ismaa‘eel Al-Bukhari used to read the Quran completely once a day in Ramadan, and complete it once every three nights after Taraaweeh.

In Lataa’if Al-Ma‘aarif, Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali says, "It is forbidden to read the Quran completely in less than three days on a regular basis. Whereas it is recommended to read it as much as possible in meritorious times like the month of Ramadan, particularly on the nights when the Night of Al-Qadr is expected, or during the meritorious places like Makkah for the Muslims who do not live there. That is so in order to attain the virtue of the time and place. This is the opinion of Ahmad, Is-haaq, and other Imaams and it is supported by the actions of others."

Be spiritually and psychologically prepared

This could be done by reading books and articles, and listening to beneficial lectures and discourses which highlight the virtues and rulings of fasting, so that the soul is prepared for worship in this month. The Prophet, , used to prepare the souls of his Companions to utilize this meritorious month; he used to say: "Ramadan has come to you. It is a blessed month in which Allah showers you with mercy, removes sins, answers supplications, observes your competition in it, and is proud of you before His Angels. So, show Allah the best of your deeds, for the miserable man is the one who is bereft of the mercy of Allah in this month." [At-Tabaraani and others (its narrators are trustworthy)]

Strive against yourself and give up your bad habits

Bad habits, for instance, include staying up late for no purpose, over-sleeping, over-eating, watching frivolous programs on TV, uncontrollable shopping, and other habits which leave no resolve to do acts of worship. Strive against yourself starting from now till you overcome all these difficulties. Whoever strives hard will find good results, and whoever plants will surely reap fruits.

Prepare yourself well for calling to Allah

In Ramadan, the souls are ready, hearts are open, and the devils are chained. Calling to Allah The Almighty is one of the best, most sublime and pure acts. How could it not be so when    Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims."} [Quran 41:33] You can prepare some gifts for Ramadan and distribute them among the worshipers at the Masjid and the people of the neighborhood when this blessed month arrives. Remember the poor and needy people and try to give them charity and Zakah (obligatory charity).