Assalamu Alaikum,
It’s that time again. Time for us to get up every morning earlier than any normal person would! Time for us to spend the day trying to guard ourselves from bad speech, bad deeds, and all food! It is the time that we start to hear khutbahs and speeches about fasting, and prayer, and Quran. It is a blessed month –the month in which every single one of us was given the greatest gift that we could possibly receive – the gift of Guidance. The month in which we were blessed with the Quran.
Every year, many of us fall into this month unprepared, unready, and without a plan. And soon enough, we will hear ourselves, our friends and our family say: “Wow…I can’t believe Ramadan is almost over!” As we know, everything our Prophet (saw) did, he did with a game plan. He was the best prayer coach, the best life coach one could possibly ask for. He never walked onto the court of Ramadan without making sure he and his team, the Sahabah had a well-rehearsed game plan. In following this Sunnah, we thought we’d put together this game plan – to remind all of us of ways to take advantage of Ramadan.
InshAllah this booklet will be one of the many ways in which we can be reminded, guided, and pointed in the right direction, as to how we should make the most of our Ramadan. How can we drop our bad habits? How can we leave the things that will hurt us and displease Allah? The best way to begin is to understand the importance of this month and how great the blessing of the Quran is in our lives.
Allah says: “Had We sent this Quran down upon a mountain, you would see it crumble out of awe of Allah.” This book changed the most ignorant, wild, and evil men who worshipped stones and buried their newborn daughters alive – into upright, righteous, God-fearing men who spread Mercy, gentleness, light, and justice into the land. If this Quran could change some of the worst of mankind into the very best of Mankind; if it can change hearts, families, communities and nations – surely it can help you and I become better human beings and better ourselves in this month.
This Quran is the lifeline that pulls us out of darkness into light. Allah called it the Nur (Light) so we should never feel that we are in darkness, Al-Shifa’a (The Cure) so we should never feel that our hearts are incurable, Al-Huda (The Guidance) so we should never feel lost, Al-Furqan (the Criterion) so we should never feel like that we have nothing to tell us how to choose right from wrong.
So let’s look through this booklet, and what advice we can glean from it, that will help us REALLY change ourselves this time….for the rest of our lives inshAllah.
Book: Making the Most of Ramadhan, By Khurram Murad
Booklet: Ramadan, Personal Development Guide, By Young Muslims
Dawah Brochure: Ramadan, The Month of Fasting, By WhyIslam.org
Self Evaluation Chart: Ramadan Planner, By alhudainstitute.ca
