Ramadan Reminder

Assalamualikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, the blessed month of Ramadan is fast approaching, inshAllah. For some of us it is like a long awaited friend whom is dear to us and we cant wait to greet and meet, and sadly for others, it is a burden or just another month. Why not make a change this Ramadan and really make an effort in trying to maximise your good deeds, minimising your bad deeds and make those extra sacrifices in pleasing Allah, . By doing so, I assure you, that you will feel the essence and spirituality of Ramadan You will feel and taste the sweetness of emaan, inshAllah. For my brothers and sisters who are not practising and those who are indulged and drowning in sins, know that Allah is the most Merciful and He loves you to make taubah (repentance) and turn back to Him. If you truly put your heart and soul with the correct intention of wanting to please Allah , then you can truly change and transform your life from being merely a Muslim by name to a Muslim who follows the guidance of our Beloved Prophet Wallahi my brothers and sisters, the treasures of this life is to gain the riches of our beloved Prophet by following and practising his sunnah. Here are a few things that we can all try and do, inshAllah: 1. Ask Allah to enable you to reach Ramadan and to get the most out of it as the Salaf used to do. 2. Intend to fast every day with emaan and pure intention, seeking the reward from Allah alone. The Prophet said, "Whoever fasts in Ramadan with emaan and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven". (Bukhari) 3. Read the whole Qur'an at least once as the Prophet did. 4. Have Suhoor as the Prophet said, "Have Suhoor because it is blessed". 5. Make Du'a during the fast because the Prophet him said that three people's supplication is not rejected one of them is the fasting person. Ask for the good of this life and the next for yourself, your family and Muslims in general. 6. Make Dua before opening the fast. The Prophet said, "The fasting person has a supplication that is answered when he opens his fast".

7. Give Sadaqah and be good to people. The Prophet was the most generous of people and he was most generous in Ramadan. 8. Avoid anything that diminishes the fast such as, lying, backbiting, cheating, getting angry. The Prophet said "Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), and evil deeds, and speaking bad words to others, Allah is not in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink." [Bukhari] 9. Do not eat too much after iftar as you would feel bloated, tired and unable to pray Tarawih. Also avoid cooking all day as this will keep you away from reading the Quran or doing other good deeds. 10. Avoid wasting time by watching TV and socialising with friends. 11. Try to give up any haram things you may do such as listening to music, smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and socialising with the opposite gender (including having boy/girlfriends) and make taubah (repentance) from it. 12. Ask for forgiveness since this is the month Allah frees people from the fire. 13. Pray all the prayers at the masjid in congregation and try to do all the sunnah salaats connected to the 5 daily prayers. 14. Make the tasbeeh after every salaat, say: SubhanAllah 33 times Alhamdulillah 33 times Allahu Akbar 33 times La illaha ila Allahu wahdahu la shareek kalahu la hul mulku wa la hul hamdu wa hu ala kooli sha in kadeer (once) 15. Pray At-Tarawih with khushoo. If you pray in the Masjid complete the Salah with the Imam. If you pray at home prolong the Salah as long as you can. The Prophet said, "Whoever prays during Ramadan with Iman and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven". 16. Feed the poor and invite others for iftar. The Prophet said, "Whoever gives Iftar to someone fasting he will have the same reward without decreasing the reward of the person fasting". 17. Try harder the last ten nights especially the odd nights. The Prophet would strive in Ramadan more than he would in any other month and more so in the last ten days.

18. Say this Dua in the nights that Laitul-Qadr is likely to fall on: Allhumma innaka afuwun tuhibbul-afwa fa'fu anni (O Allah you are Forgiving and love forgiveness so forgive me). 19. Ask Allah to accept all your good actions during this month.

Tip on how to complete the Quran in Ramadan: The Quran has 600 pages if you divide it over 30 days, thats 20 pages a day. You see, thats difficult to do, right? But, if you divide it between the 5 daily prayers a day, it gets easier: Read 4 pages after every salaat in Ramadan, then you complete the Quran

Or even better If you want to complete the Quran twice, then read 4 pages before and 4 pages after each salaat

Why not maximise your rewards and forward this message onto others. If you can help someone complete the recitation of the Quran during Ramadan with this advice then there is ajr and khair for you, biithnillah.