In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful All praise is due to Allah alone, and prayers and peace be upon the last prophet. Ramadan has come and Allah gave you the boon of living its days and nights, so you should praise Allah almighty for that. And in order to gain the joy of Ramadan and seek Allah s bounties in it, I provide to you some quick tips. May Allah almighty help us all and accept our deeds. 1-Keep performing the prayers in congregation from Takberatul ihram (the opening of the prayer). Anas may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the prophet peace be upon him said: Whoever prays for Allah forty days in congregation from the first Takbera (saying Allahu Akbar as opening to the prayer), two freedoms would be written to him; one is from the hellfire, and the other is from the hypocrisy. [Narrated by Al-Tirmizy and declared Hasan by AlAlbani] وبراءة من براءة من النار : كتب له براءتان من صلى هلل أربعني يوما في جماعة يدرك التكبيرة األولى النفاق رواه الترمذي وحسنه األلباني 2- Keep performing As-Sunan Ar-Rawateb (the mandatory prayers). Aisha may Allah be pleased with her narrated that the prophet peace be upon him said: Whoever keeps performing twelve rakaat every day and night, he would enter the paradise. Four rakaat before Adh-Dhuhr prayer, two after it, two after Al-Maghreb prayer, two after Al-Ishaa and two before Al-Fajr (dawn) prayer. [Narrated by Al-Nisa y and declared authentic by Al-Albani] وركعتني بعدها أربعا قبل الظهر دخل اجلنة من ثابر على اثنتي عشرة ركعة في اليوم والليلة وركعتني قبل الفجر رواه النسائي وحسنه األلباني وركعتني بعد العشاء وركعتني بعد املغرب 3- Keep the Wudu (ablution) especially when not eating and drinking well 2
during the day. Thawban, the prophets slave, narrated that the prophet peace be upon him said: And none keeps the Wudu (ablution) except the true believer. [Declared authentic by Al-Albani] ولن يحافظ على الوضوء إال مؤمن صححه األلباني 4- Ramadan is the month of the Holy Quran; so, how do you celebrate it? Assign to yourself reciting daily quota of the Holy Quran. The prophet peace be upon him said: Recite the Holy Quran because it comes in the Day of Judgment as an interceder to those who recite it [narrated by Muslim] فإنه يأتي يوم القيامة شفيعا ألصحابه رواه مسلم اقرؤوا القرآن 5- Attend the funerals and follow it till the burying. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying: He who attends the funeral till the prayer is offered for (the dead), for him is the reward of one qirat, and he who attends (and stays) till he is buried, for him is the reward of two qirats. It was said: What are the qirats? He said: They are equivalent to two huge mountains [narrated by Muslim] وما : قيل. ومن شهدها حتى تدفن فله قيراطان. من شهد اجلنازة حتى يصلى عليها فله قيراط القيراطان قال مثل اجلبلني العظيمني رواه مسلم 6- Perform prostration much because it is one of the greatest acts of worship. The prophet peace be upon him said to Thawban: Prostrate yourself to Allah much, whenever you prostrate yourself to Allah, He would raise you a rank and eliminates a sin from you [narrated by Muslim] وحط عنك بها خطيئة فإنك ال تسجد هلل سجدة إال رفعك اهلل بها درجة عليك بكثرة السجود هلل رواه مسلم 7- Deal with these hours and minutes as a beginning to returning to Allah and 3
repentance. You should insist on not returning to the sins. You should also ask Allah to change you and accept your repentance. And be pleased by being beloved by Allah: " Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." [Al-Baqarah 2:222] 222 : ح ب ا م ل ت ط ه ري ن} البقرة ح ب الت و اب ني و ي {إن الل ـ ه ي Transliteration: inna Allaha yuhibbu alttawwabeena wayuhibbu almutatahhireena 8- Having the breakfast early and delaying As-Suhour. The prophet peace be upon him said: Take Suhour (meal a little before dawn), for there is a blessing in taking Suhour [narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim] تسحروا فإن في السحور بركة رواه البخاري ومسلم 10- Asking Allah for forgiveness in the hours before dawn is the slogan of the good people; Allah has complimented them in His saying: And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness," [Az-Zariyat: 18] 18 : س ت غ فر و ن} الذاريات م ي {و ب الأ س حار ه Transliteration: Wabialashari hum yastaghfiroona Sheikh Saady, may Allah mercy him, said: There is special good in asking Allah for forgiveness in the hours before dawn; this is thinking that Allah would surly accept the supplication, because He is calling His slaves at this time saying: Who would supplicate Me to response to him, who would ask Me to give him, who would seek forgiveness to forgive him [narrated by Al-Bukhari] من يستغفرني فأغفر له رواه البخاري من يسألني فأعطيه من يدعوني فأستجيب له 4
11- Spend charity in Ramadan more than the other months; the prophet peace be upon him was the most generous person humankind had ever known, and he was more generous in Ramadan. You can gain help for doing this by having moneybox and putting (you and your wife and children) money in it daily; then at the end of the month, open it and give the money to the poor and needy people. 12- If you were not memorizing the Holy Quran, you could review the short chapters of it. You should recite them from your memory each day in your way to the mosque or during driving or sitting or reclining. Try doing this and you would discover after a few days that you begin to care for the Holy Quran much, and you would feel the sweetness of the book of Allah. Moreover, this may entice you to memorize the rest of Allah s book. 13- The prophet, peace be upon him, enticed sitting in the place of prayer after the prayer of Al-Fajr (Dawn) till the raise of the sun. Anas may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the prophet peace be upon him said: Whoever prays Al-Fajr in congregation, and then sits to remember Allah till the raise of the sun, and then prays two rakaat, He would have the reward of Haj and Umrah comprehensively comprehensively comprehensively [Declared authentic by Al-Albani] كانت له أجر ثم صلى ركعتني ثم قعد يذكر اهلل حتى تطلع الشمس من صلى الفجر في جماعة تامة صححه األلباني تامة حجة و عمرة تامة If you sat this period all the days of Ramadan, you would have the reward of thirty Haj and Umrah. If we thought logically, we would find that you might not be able to perform that number in all your life, so praise is due to Allah. 14- Keep supplicating Allah and submitting to Him, and keep seeking the times of responding to the invocation, and desert the reasons of not accepting it, and ask Allah (the Most Generous) to bestow his bounties upon you. 5
15- Give the call to Allah a portion of your time. The prophet peace be upon him said: Whoever guides to the good, would have a reward equivalent to its doer [narrated by Muslim] من دل على خير فله مثل أجر فاعله رواه مسلم 16-Enjoining the ties of kinship is obligatory. You should purify your heart from grudge. Making visits may help in this provided not lengthening them or making them undesirable. Also, do not forget the presents, even if they were simple. 17-Make endowments in this great month. Actually, endowments bring much good. You could make endowment by donating a copy (or even three or ten copies) of the Holy Quran. In some countries Muslims do not find a complete copy of the Holy Quran and only a handful of papers of the Holy Quran would be distributed between the people who are in the mosque before the coming of the Imam who will give the Khutba, then it would be recollected again. Abu Huraira may Allah be pleased with him narrated that the prophet peace be upon him said: Among the rewards and good deeds that follow the believer after his death are knowledge he had taught to others, a good child he had left behind, a copy of the Holy Quran he had left to others, a mosque he had built, a house he had erected for the wayfarer, a river he had made or charity he had spent from his money during his health and life; they all follow him after his death [narrated by Bin Maja] إن مما يلحق املؤمن من عمله وحسناته بعد موته علما علمه ونشره وولدا صاحلا تركه ومصحفا ورثه أو مسجدا بناه أو بيتا البن السبيل بناه أو نهرا أجراه أو صدقة أخرجها من ماله في صحته وحياته يلحقه من بعد موته ابن ماجة 18-Politeness towards parents, whether they are alive or dead, and whether it is in Ramadan or any other time. You can achieve politeness toward them by pleasing them and obeying them. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) as saying: Let him be humbled into dust; let him be humbled 6
into dust. It was said: Allah's Messenger, who is he? He said: He who sees either of his parents during their old age or he sees both of them, but he does not enter Paradise [narrated by Muslim] من أدرك والديه عند الكبر : من يا رسول اهلل! قال : قيل. ثم رغم أنفه. ثم رغم أنفه. غم أنفه ثم لم يدخل اجلنة رواه مسلم أحدهما أو كليهما 19- Being beneficent to the workers or the servants that work for you or the workers that you meet in the streets and roads and mosques. By greeting them you please them. And if you invited them to your house to have breakfast with you, it would be beneficent to yourself and to them. 20- Kindness towards the wife and children and teaching them the teachings of their religion and enticing them to obedience and worship. Be beneficent to them all, because this is the month of beneficence. 21- Acquiring knowledge, even if it was little. It is good to learn about monotheism and sincerity and the details of the acts of prayer. There are books and tapes describe the prayer of the prophet peace be upon him. The following are some of the things that could help you to be excellent in this month: 1. Repairing your heart by five things; reciting the Holy Quran and considering it carefully, not eating much, praying at night, invoking Allah before the dawn and sitting with the righteous people. 2. Closing the windows of evil in your house by turning off the evil TV channels and getting rid of the evil magazines, because they are not good means for receiving the month of Ramadan or seeking Allah s mercy and forgiveness. 3. Desert the bad and prohibited customs (e.g. backbiting, gossiping, cursing etc.) Make Ramadan a special month and seek nearness to your Lord almighty. 4. Praise Allah for the bounty of life and living these blessed days, because you 7
may not live to the next Ramadan, and you may even not accomplish this Ramadan. Your life is just counted breath. 5. Go away from people s places of sitting unless it is necessary, and desert cafes and the places of wasting time, because they are precious times. 6. Continue submitting to Allah and supplicating Him, display to Him your weakness, complain to Him and ask Him, because you need him in every moment and twinkling of an eye. 7. Think in the rewards, and praise Allah for giving you the boon of living this blessed time. 8. Do different acts of worship (e.g. prayers, reciting the Holy Quran, Tasbeeh {saying Subhan Allah), Tahmeed (saying Alhamdu lillah), performing funeral prayers, supplication etc,) to gain their rewards and to be stronger and gain vim. Doing different things bring vim and prevent boredom. Make your slogan: So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, (7) And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. [Al-Zalzalah: 7-8] 7-8 : و من ي ع مل مث ق ال ذ ر ة شر ا ي ر ه} الزلزلة ٧ {ف من ي ع مل مث ق ال ذ ر ة خ ير ا ي ر ه Transliteration: Faman yaaamal mithqala tharratin khayran yarahu (7) Waman yaaamal mithqala tharratin sharran yarahu May Allah almighty accept from us all the good deeds and forgive our sins and the sins of our parents and all Muslims. And prayers and peace be upon our prophet; Muhammad. Compiled by Al-Qasem House Wathakker website 8