Hold on to the Ramadan Spirit

By Tabassum M.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Ramadan is over. A month of peace, mercy, and vigorous worship comes to an end. Then comes the day of Eid with all its festivities.

Now what?

What have we gained from Ramadan?

Ramadan isn’t just a month in which we accumulate blessings to fuel us for the rest of the year. It’s a month of learning the Quran and imbibing new habits. The acts of worship we perform are not confined only to Ramadan. But we often find it very difficult to continue our worship (such as Quran recitation, voluntary night prayers, voluntary fasting, and helping the poor and needy) with the same zeal as in Ramadan.

So here are a few pointers for coping with this seemingly upstream swimming against the current to hold on to the rope of Allah will all of one’s might and not letting all the treasures we gained in this blessed month slowly leak away.

1. Don’t expect too much from yourself

Ramadan was different from the other months in many ways. Some of us left off other studies to concentrate on just the Quran. In some Muslim countries, working hours are reduced during Ramadan, and schools are closed. After Ramadan, life goes back to its usual hectic pace, and so it’s natural that we won’t be able to dedicate as much time to worship as we did in Ramadan.

2. Never let go completely

Fast at least three days a month. If you can’t recite the 2 juz a day as you did in Ramadan, at least read half a juz. But never completely skip your recitation, even for a day. This will induce laziness, and soon, you’ll find that you’ve completely given up without even realizing it.

3. Maintain your level of eemaan (faith)

If you’re like me and most other people, you’re probably already feeling a downward dip coming. Don’t let it come near you! What causes eemaan to increase? It’s quite simple – we just need to try a bit, and Allah will keep increasing it:

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – their Lord will guide them because of their faith…” (10:9)

Read the Quran

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely.” (8:2)

Especially recite 33 Ways of Developing Khushu’: Humility and Devotion in Prayer to improve the quality of your Salah (prayers).

4. Keep up the barakah (blessings)

One of the most salient characteristics of Ramadan is that your time and energy seems to expand. This is the concept of barakah. So how do we bring that Barakah into the rest of our year?

Connect with the Quran as much as you can

The first thing which Allah mentions when talking about Ramadan is that the Quran was sent down in it. He also says about Laylat al-Qadr: “Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night…” (44:3)

If the time in which this Book was sent down is so full of barakah, how blessed is the Book itself?

“And this is a Book which We have sent down, blessed [mubarak] and confirming what was before it…” (6:92)

Allah further clarifies how we’re supposed to treat this blessed Book:

“… so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy.” (6:155)

“And this [Quran] is a blessed message which We have sent down. Then are you with it unacquainted?” (21:50)

Will we get acquainted with the Quran in Ramadan and leave its company once the month is over?

Make dua (supplication) for barakah, especially at the two ends of the day:

One of the morning and evening invocations is: “… O Allah, I ask You for the good of tonight, its triumphs and its victories, its light and its barakah and its guidance…” (Abu Dawud; acceptable)

Utilize the early hours of the morning because the Prophet (sa) made dua: “O Allah, bless my nation in their early mornings.” (Ibn Majah; authenticated by Ibn Hibban)

Tabassum M is a final year student of BA in Islamic Studies at Islamic Online University and a Foundation student on Classical Arabic and Islamic Studies at al-Salam Institute. She also has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and studies psychology by herself. She’s interested in a wide range of subjects and writes about them at understandquran.com/blog and other blogs. Contact: tabassum_mosleh@hotmail.com