Ramadan is not just for one month it is for everyday of our lives!

[Hamza81]

Ramadan Not Just For One Month But For Everyday Of Our Lives!



Many of us are just Ramadan Muslims:


Many of us both Muslim men and women are unfortunately just Ramadan Muslims. We become devoted to our Deen (way of life) for just one month of the year and the rest of the year we spend chasing our desires with our only or main concern being the worldly and materialistic life. Why do we desire a life that is so temporary and can end at any second?

Just for this one month we reach to our top shelves and blow off the dust from our Qur'an's and get the prayer mats out from within our cupboards. Many of our sisters put their makeup sets, high heels and tight clothes away for the month and bring out the hijaab and Jilbaab. Many of our brothers put away their ear rings, chains and chaps and shape their beard lines for the month to loo as holy as possible for just this one month.

Mash Allah we become so much more practicing during this blessed month than any other time of the year. We fast and do the prayers. We stand in the night for Taraweeh prayer and even do good deeds that we have not done or even thought of doing outside of Ramadan. We sit and spend more time with our families. We recite the Qur’an; do dhikr of Allah and visit the Masjid so much more than at any other time of the year.

We feel a wonderful sense of peace and satisfaction in our hearts because we feel a deeper sense of awareness of Allah during this blessed month than we do throughout the year.

The night before the day of Eid:

The night before the day of Eid, shaythan gets released from the chains and shackles and runs to see what state we are in after this blessed month. He does not like what he sees. So straight away he gets to work trying to undo the good habits we have acquired throughout this blessed month. Then we see that during the night before Eid, our sisters take out their makeup sets, high heels and tight clothes and put away their Hijaab and Jilbaab for another year. Even if many of our sisters do wear hijaab it will be bright and colorful worn with the tight and revealing clothes and high heels. Is that hijaab? We can fool ourselves but not our creator!

We see the brothers take out their ear rings, chaps and chains and get their wacky hairstyles cut many of which are gravity defying and intricately shaped patterned haircuts that even Siberian tigers would be envious of. Remember those who imitate the disbelievers will be raised amongst them on the day of Judgment:

Narrated by Ibn Umar (Ra): "Whoever imitates a group, then he is from amongst them" (Abu Dawud, Mishkat)


Back to old habits:

That very same night before Eid the Masjids are EMPTY! The Isha prayer is abandoned! We see many of our brothers and sisters blasting music from their cars, beeping in the high streets, busying themselves preparing for Eid day and in doing so abandon the prayer which is the purpose of our creation!

We see our brothers and sisters going out intoxicating themselves and meeting up for illegal sexual relations that very night. We see our brothers and sisters go back to old bad habits that we were supposed to have stopped and asked Allah to forgive us for. We begged of Allah to forgive us and we go back to our evils that very night before Eid? Subhaanallah what a sad state of affairs we are in!

Instead of thanking Allah on the night before Eid we ridicule and mock him by going back to the evils we begged of him for forgiveness for! This month was a chance for us to redeem ourselves and to change our state but rather than go forward and get closer to Allah and bring our Deen into every aspect of our lives we go backwards again and back into old and evil habits.

Is the purpose of Ramadan that we become pious and practicing for just this one month and for the rest of the year we follow our desires, imitate the disbelievers and hardly practice our faiths at all. We are Muslim just by name but not by action. Many of us fast and pray during this blessed month only because we have to or others are doing it and not solely for the pleasure of Allah or to get closer to him. What a sad state of affairs!

O believers enter into Islam completely and do not follow the footsteps of Shaythan, surely he is your clear-cut enemy. If you falter after receiving the clear-cut message, then keep in mind that Allah is Mighty, Wise. Are they waiting for Allah to come down to them in the shadow of clouds, along with the angels, and make His decision known? Ultimately all matters will be presented to Allah for decision. (Surah Al-Baqara, Ayah 208-210)


There are no excuses for not praying:

Allah does not expect us to be perfect angels but he will judge us on the amount of effort we made throughout our lives. When we say "I try to read Salaah or i try to do what i can". Then are we really trying our best? Surely If we really tried our best to do something then we would do it. If we get a warning from work for being late and that we must be at work on time from now on or face the consequences then there is no doubt that we would make sure that we reach work on time even if it means leave our houses early in order to avoid traffic as we would not want to be late again and face the consequences.

Similarly if we know that we must do our prayers and if we do not then we must face the consequences in this world and the next then why do we not pray? Why are we so heedless? We are in a state of delusion if we think that we will be saved by not praying and doing a few good deeds. We may deceive ourselves but we cannot deceive Allah!

Therefore there are NO excuses for us to miss a single prayer. Allah has created us for only one reason: to worship him! What is the best and most important form of worship? The Salaah (prayer).

Abandoning the prayer is kufr (disbelief)

The Prophet, (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), said, "The agreement that is between us and them is the prayer: whoever leaves it has disbelieved." [Reliance, p4.2]

In another hadith, it is narrated on the authority of Abu Zubair that he heard Jabir b. 'Abdullah saying, 'I heard the Prophet (Salalallahu Alaihib Wasallam) observing this,' "Between man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salat." [Muslim]


Only 3% of our day on praying:

If we calculate how long it would take to pray 5 times a day then you could sum it up to around 40 minutes a day. Now there are 1440 minutes in a day and 40 minutes out of 1440 of our day is ONLY 3% of a day and we still can't manage that? Many of us spend that much time eating, excreting or in front of a mirror and we can't even spend it praying and fulfilling the very purpose of our creation? We spend hours on end in front of the television or listening to Music or playing our playing the latest play station games or seeing who's poked us on Facebook but we can't spend a few minutes praying to the one who has given us EVERYTHING we can possible imagine and far more? We are truly at loss!

Many of us work full time jobs having to work almost everyday of the year having to get up at early hours in order to do so. If we can do this then can't we pray Salaah 5 times a day for a few short minutes that it takes to pray them? If we really did try then we would not fail in praying our 5 prayers but we decieve ourselves and we end up wasting our lives decieving ourselves and then regret it later on when it is too late! Let us not be of those who will regret it forever


The month of training:

If we had training at work so that we can become better at our job and then after the training is finished we disregarded what we learnt and did not implement it into our jobs throughout the year then what is the use of the training? Our employer will be angry with us that they provided us with an opportunity for training and we did not even implement it in our daily lives. Similarly Allah has provided us with the blessed month of Ramadan as a month where we can train ourselves and improve ourselves as Muslims for the rest of the year in order to gain the fear of Allah and get closer to him. It is to make us practicing Muslims every day of our lives not just for Ramadan.

Therefore let us change our ways and not be one month Ramadan Muslims. There is no such thing as a part time Muslim for Allah tells us to go fully into our Deen and not partly. Let us immerse ourselves into our beautiful way of life and not let ourselves stop practicing as soon as Ramadan is over for the best way to know if our Ramadan has been accepted or not is if we actually make changes to our lives after Ramadan is over. If we go back to how we were before Ramadan started then how can we except for our Ramadan to be accepted?

We are not expected to become saints overnight but surely the least we can do is to fulfill our obligations unto Allah and that is to establish our 5 times prayers and to keep away from that which Allah has forbidden. Does he not deserve even a little amount of our time each day? Has he not given us enough that we are so ungrateful to him? How much is he asking from? Is half an hour a day too much when he has given us EVERYTHING we can see, hear, touch and imagine? Remember he does not need us but we sure do need him.

Let us not abandon the Qur'an:

So the brothers should not abandon the house of Allah as soon as Ramadan is over but we should establish a close connection with the best and most favorite place of Allah which is the Masjid. We should not put away our prayer mats and our Qur'ans on the highest shelves to gather dust for another year but we should recite from the Qur'an everyday even if it is a few lines. We should read and try to understand the message of the Qur'an and contemplate and ponder over it and try to implement it into our daily lives as that is the purpose of the Qur'an for it to be used as our daily guide and not to gather dust on the top shelf.

Make changes for the whole year and not just during Ramadan:

Our sisters should not put away the hijaab and Jilbaab away for another year but should realise that to cover is an obligation from Allah and would they rather want to please Allah or to please the eyes of other men and shaythan who is our worst and sworn enemy and only wants the worst for us? Do our sisters not feel good and at peace by wearing the hijaab and Jilbaab during this month? Was it not a freedom from the shackles of the way the glossy magazines want women to dress and be like? Then do not put away the hijaab and Jilbaab but continue to wear it throughout the year. Those sisters who do wear colorful, bright hijaab with tight clothes, high heels and excessive make up should know that this is a mockery which goes against modesty which is the very purpose of hijaab. Those sisters should know that by wearing tight clothes along with excessive makeup they are in fact contradicting the very purpose of hijaab. Instead those sisters should wear proper Hijaab with Jilbaab as that is closest to what true modesty is really about.

The brothers who try to imitate the disbelievers by wearing chains, chaps and ear rings as well as getting inappropriate haircuts should know that this is not the way a Muslim should be. Our role model is the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) not the latest celebrity’s and rappers. If we look into their lives then we will know they are mostly unhappy and not content. This is because Allah has informed us that the ONLY way to bring true contentment is through his remembrance, NOT money, cars, fame etc.

So we should not make them as our role models who or what the latest trend is but we should copy and imitate the best of creation and the best example for us and there is no better example for us and the whole of mankind but our beloved Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).

Make the changes NOW!

Forget the past now, it is gone and will never come back. There is no use worrying about the future because it is uncertain and we may not even live to be alive tomorrow. Therefore we must concentrate on making the changes NOW. This is by far the best opportunity for us to change our lives for the better forever!

Therefore let us practice our beautiful way of life EVERYDAY throughout the whole year. Ramadan is like a training month for us where we train ourselves for the rest of the year. If we have not yet made a commitment to Allah then let us make it NOW! What are we waiting for to change ourselves? DEATH? Death will NOT wait a second but it will take us at its appointed time.

Change before the soul reaches the throat:

We have until our souls reach our throat to ask for forgiveness from Allah and make the necessary changes. So we should not wait to die before we make changes. We should never think that we can change next week, or next month, or after marriage or after this and after that. It is shaythan who wants us to keep putting it off so we never make those changes. That is why shaythan keeps telling us to change tomorrow but tomorrow never comes and that is why we MUST change NOW!

Why do we chase a life which is so temporary and short and can end at any second when the Hereafter is FOREVER and will never end? Surely something that never ends is so much better than something that will end so quickly! Then let us devote ourselves to something that will last forever not something that may end today! Let us devote ourselves to our creator who gave us so much that we can never comprehend. We should imagine that we are in this life on a journey and our final destination is the Hereafter. This journey is very short as it may end at any second, so surely we should be preparing for the end to our journey as we almost reach our final destination.

So make the firm commitment:

So we must make a firm commitment to Allah now and also internalise this commitment and the need for change in our minds and hearts and do everything we can to ensure that we make the necessary changes and not put it off otherwise tomorrow maybe too late so the time for change and commitment is NOW!


May Allah enable us to carry the positive changes we made during Ramadan throughout the rest of the year. Ameen

[Hamza81]

What After Ramadhan?

by Adapted from "Wa Maadha Ba'da Ramadhaan"

AlHamdulillahi wa kafaa, was-Salatu was-salamu `alaa `ibaadihi-lladheena Stafaa

We leave the blessed month of Ramadan, its beautiful days and its fragrant nights. We leave the month of the Qur'an, taqwa, patience, jihad, mercy, forgiveness and freedom from hellfire.

Have we fulfilled the requirements of taqwa and graduated from the Ramadan school with the diploma of the god-fearing?

Have we fought our souls and desires and defeated them, or have we been overtaken by our customs and blind imitations?

Have we performed our actions in a way that fulfills the conditions for receiving mercy, forgiveness and release from the Fire?

Many questions and numerous thoughts come to the heart of the sincere Muslim, who asks and answers with truthfulness.

What Have We Gained From Ramadan?

Ramadan is a school of iman and a 'stop to recharge one's spiritual batteries' - to acquire one's provision for the rest of the year...

For when will one take a lesson and change for better if not in the month of Ramadan?

The noble month is a true school of transformation in which we change our actions, habits and manners that are in variance with the Law of Allah 'azza wa jall. "Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." [Ar-Ra`d, 11]

If you are from those who benefited from Ramadan, fulfilled the requirements of taqwa, truly fasted the month, prayed in it with truthfulness, and strove against you soul, then praise and thank Allah, and ask Him for steadfastness upon it until you meet your death.

Be not like one who has sewn a shirt and then destroyed it... Have you seen one who sewed a shirt or thawb, so when she looked at it, she liked it. Then she destroyed it pulling a thread by thread for no reason. What would people say about such a person?! Or have you seen one who earns a fortune trading throughout the day, then when the night comes, he throws away all that he earned, dirham by dirham. What would people say about such a person?!

This is the condition of one who returns to sinning and evildoing after Ramadan and leaves obedience and righteous actions. So after he was favored with the blessing of obedience and enjoyment of communicating with Allah he returned to the blaze of sins and evil actions. How evil are the people who know Allah only in Ramadan!

My dear ones, falling short in one's commitment to Islam after Ramadan is manifested in many ways, including:

1 Men leaving the five prayers in congregation, after they filled mosques for Taraweeh prayers, thus going to the masjid for recommended prayers and leaving obligatory ones.

2 Return to musical entertainment, forbidden films, women displaying their adornment beyond that which ordinarily appears thereof, free mixing etc.

This is not thankfulness for blessings and favors, nor is it the sign of acceptance of one's actions, rather this is opposition to favors and absence of thankfulness.

These are from signs of one's deeds not being accepted and Allah's refuge is sought for one who truly fasts rejoices on the occasion of `eid, praises his Lord for helping him complete the fast, and remains fearful that Allah may not accept his fasting, just as the Salaf would continue asking for acceptance of their actions in Ramadan for six months after it.

From signs that one's deeds are accepted is that he or she has improved in his or her obedience to Allah `azza wa jall. "And remember when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]" [Ibrahim, 7] Increase you in good, faith and righteous actions. So if the servant is truly thankful to his Lord, you will see him guided to more obedience and distanced from sinfulness. Thankfulness is leaving sins, as the early Muslims said.

"And worship your Lord until there comes you to the certainty [i.e. death]." [al-Hijr, 99]

The Muslim must continuously be in the state of obedience of Allah, firm upon His Sharee`ah, steadfast upon His Deen, so that he or she is not of those who worship Allah only during one month or only in one place. Rather, the believer knows that the Lord of Ramadan is also the Lord of other months, and that He is the Lord of all times and places, so he is steadfast upon the Sharee`ah of Allah until he meets Him while He is pleased with him. Allah ta`ala said,

"So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, [you] and those who have turned back with you [to Allah]." [Hud, 112]

And, "So take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness." [Fussilat, 6]

And the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said, "Say 'I believe in Allah', then be steadfast." [Muslim]

-- If the fasting in Ramadan has ended, then there remains voluntary fasting, such as fasting six days in Shawwal, on Mondays and Thursdays, the three days in the middle of the month, the days of `Aashoora and `Arafat, and others.

-- If standing in prayer at night during Ramadan has ended, then there remains voluntary night prayer throughout the year. "They used to sleep but little of the night." [Adh-Dhaariyaat, 17]

-- If the charity in Ramadan and zakat ul-fitr have ended, then there is the obligatory Zakat, and also there are many other open doors to charity, voluntary actions and jihad.

-- Reading of the Qur'an and contemplating it is not only for Ramadan, rather it is for all times.

Righteous actions are for all times and all places, so strive, O my brother and sister, and beware of laziness. And remember that it is not allowed for us to leave the obligatory actions or delay them, such as the five daily prayers on time, in congregation etc.

And do not fall into forbidden actions, such as forbidden sayings, food and drinks, or by looking at or listening to what is forbidden.

Be steadfast and upright upon the Deen of Allah at all times, for you do not know when you'll meet the Angel of Death. Beware of him taking you while you are in a state of sin. "O Allah, Who turns the hearts, keep our hearts steadfast upon Your Deen."

I ask Allah to accept from us and you our fasting, our prayers and other righteous actions, that our condition after Ramadan be a better one, that the state of our Ummah improves, that we are granted honour and that we truly turn to our Lord. Ameen

[ILM_Sika]

I agree it's not, have not read your essay on the matter but I soon insha'Allah Jazak'Allah khair

[Hamza81]

The Sahaba used to prepare for Ramadan 6 months in advance so therefore we should be preparing now for Ramadan so that we can make the best of it when it comes inshallah.

[IneedAllah]

Ramadan is not just for one month it is for everyday of our lives!


Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, there are many of us both Muslim men and women who become Ramadan Muslims just for the month of the year.

Just for this one month we blow off the dust on our Qur'an and prayer mats. Some of our sisters put their make up away and bring out the hijaab and jilbaab and put it on for the month.

Then when Eid day comes our brothers get their wacky hairstyles cut many of which are gravity defying and patterns all over their head that even Siberian tigers would be envious of.

The sisters who mashallah wore hijaab and jilbaab for the month pack them away for another year to gather dust and get the makeup out to become hollywood and bollywood princess wannabe's for another year.

Is this the purpose of Ramadan that we only become practising Muslims for just this one month of the year and for the rest of the year we become only Muslim by name moderates who imitate the kufaar and hardly practice their faith?

Fair enough if we have done this for the past few years then there is nothing we can do about the past now but we can do something about it this Ramadan! We can make the necessery changes to our lives whilst we are still alive and let me tell you brothers and sisters we are VERY lucky to still be alive and be benefitting from this blessed month!

Therefore let us practise our beautiful way of life EVERYDAY throughout the whole year. Ramadan is like a training month for us where we train ourselves for the rest of the year.

If we were being given training at work so that we can become better at our job's and then after the training had finished we disregarded everything we learnt and did not implement any of it into our working lives throughout the year then what use was the training?

Our employer would have been so angry with us that they provided us with an opportunity for training and development but yet we did not even bother to implement it in our daily lives.

Sameway Allah has provided us with this most blessed month of Ramadan as a mercy to us and this month is where we can train and develop ourselves and improve ourselves as Muslims for the rest of the year in order to gain the fear of Allah and get closer to him. It is the chance for us to gain forgiveness of all of our sins and freedom from the torment of the grave and of the fire of hell who's feul will be men and stones. This month is to make us practising Muslims everyday of our lives and not just for one month a year in Ramadan.

Therefore let us change our ways and not let ourselves be one month Ramadan Muslims. There is no such thing as being part time Muslim for the only vacancy is for a full time practising Muslim.

Allah tells us In the Qur'an to enter fully into our deen and not partly:

O believers enter into Islam completely and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan, surely he is your clear-cut enemy. If you falter after receiving the clear-cut message, then keep in mind that Allah is Mighty, Wise. Are they waiting for Allah to come down to them in the shadow of clouds, along with the angels, and make His decision known? Ultimately all matters will be presented to Allah for decision. (Surah Al-Baqara, Ayah 208-210)

Allah does not expect us to be perfect angels but he will judge us on what efforts we made throughout our lives. When you hear a person say "I try to read Salaah or i try to do what i can". Do you think they are really trying? Or are they just saying they are and decieving themselves? If we really tried we can do anything.

We can decieve ourselves but we cannot decieve Allah. Allah knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we are capable of and praying 5 times a day is not impossible for any of us.

If we calculate how long it would take to pray 5 times a day then you could sum it upto around 40 minutes a day. Now there are 1440 minutes in a day and 40 minutes out of 1440 of our day is ONLY 3% of a day and we still can't manage that? Many of us spend that much time eating, excreting or in front of a mirror and we can't even spend it praying and fulfilling the very purpose of our creation? We spend hours on end in front of the television or listening to Music or playing our playing the latest play station games or seeing who's poked us on facebook but we can't spend a few minutes praying to the one who has given us EVERYTHING we can possible imagine and far more? We are truly at loss!

Many of us work full time jobs having to work almost everyday of the year having to get up at early hours in order to do so. If we can do this then can't we pray Salaah 5 times a day for a few short minutes that it takes to pray them? If we really did try then we would not fail in praying our 5 prayers but we decieve ourselves and we end up wasting our lives decieving ourselves and then regret it later on when it is too late! Let us not be of those who will regret it forever!

So let us internalise these changes in our heads and immerse ourselves into our beautiful way of life and not let ourselves stop practising as soon as Ramadan is over for the best way to know if our Ramadan has been accepted or not is if we actually make changes to our lives after Ramadan is over. If we go back to how we were before Ramadan started then how can we except for our Ramadan to be accepted.

I'm not saying that we should become saints overnight but what i am saying is that we should at least fulfill our obligations to Allah and that is to establish our 5 times prayers and to keep away from that which Allah has forbidden.

We should also keep a close connection with our Masjid and not abandon the Masjid as soon as Ramadan is over. We should not put away our prayer mats and our Qur'ans on the highest shelf to gather dust for the rest of the year but we should continue using them everyday!

Our sisters should not out their hijaab and jilbaab away for another year to gather dust but shoudl realise that to cover is an obligation and would they rather want to please Allah or shaythan? Did our sisters not feel good and at peace wearing the hijaab and jilbaab? Was it not a freedom? Then do not put them away but continue to wear it throughout the year everyday of one's life.

Let us make changes to our lives now because we may not have a tomorrow. Death can strike at ANY second and many i personally knew died this year and they were all ages. Therefore do not think you can change later for death may come to you today or tomorrow. Shaythan says change tomorrow but we MUST change NOW!

This life is so temporary and short but the hereafter is FOREVER! Let us devote ourselves to something that will last forever not something that may end today! So let us devote ourselves to Allah and the Hereafter and we will benefit in this world and the next. Those who chase the hereafter then this world will chase them but if we continue to chase and devote our lives to this world then we will only get what is destined for us and we will not gain the hereafter or this world so we will lose out in both but if we chase the hereafter then we will gain both so it is a win win situation as oppose to a lose lose situation.

So let us make the choice now and take this opportunity to change otherwise when death comes then it will be too late and we will regret it for eternity and death awaits for NO ONE!

And Allah knows best in all matters

Wallahi this is SO true!!!! Many of the people do that, but Alhamdulillah i am NOT one of them!

[shatibi]

The Sahaba used to prepare for Ramadan 6 months in advance so therefore we should be preparing now for Ramadan so that we can make the best of it when it comes inshallah.

Only a few more months left for Ramadan inshaAllah, we better start preparing!

[Hamza81]

Let us continue with the good we acquiredin Ramadan throughout our lives.

[Maddy1]

salam. mashaa'allah brother may allah azwajall reward you. i just want to add to that. you see alot of brother say that we want to read namaz but can do it, saytan too powerful on us. well to this sort of answer i would like to say first that it your own fault for beening in this situation and second that the situation you are in is not the last and perminant place for you if you are willing to change. lots of brother and sister are wanting to change but not willing to do any thing. thats like saying that you want to eat but dont want food in your mouth. if you are wanting to change then you must be willing to make changes. now its jammat time at 2pm what do you do. at 1.30 you could make you way to the masjid or make your way to town. you see till you are not willing to change then nothing much will happen. you mind has to be alert to doing good deeds. retraing your self around bad company and having the courage to stop before its too late. then when your with the good, let yourself loose, think freely let people teach you. feel like an empty glass wanting knowledge of deen. what you learn try to put into practise sooner or later. attend zikr gathering weekly and boost the emaan battery up. watch madani channel on sky 838 if u can. stay with good people, this act is better for learning.

[emnaiss]

To find all the information about el hajj this link is very important for our pilgrims will go to hajj:http://www.go-makkah.com/english/Topics/Downloads.html

[francisaso_12]

This is the month of sacrificing and communicating to ALLAH the GOD of Muslims to asking forgiveness.