Ramadan is at our doorsteps and like every year the anticipation of it grows by the day. Muslims the world over are looking forward for the blessings of this great month. We all can feel it – the workplace, our homes, the markets, the social media on the net – the buzz is on about the upcoming arrival of this blessed month.
However, as we start to engage ourselves with the worship and festivities of Ramadan, let’s pause and ask ourselves whether our last year’s Ramadan was better than the one before it? How did we strive to make it any better? How are we going to make the one this year better than the one last year?
One may ask – why make it better? The answer is that there is no Ibadah (worship) like fasting and Allah’s rewards for this act of worship can be limitless.
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “You should fast, for there is nothing like it.” [Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.]
Hadith on Islam’s Five Fundamentals and Principles – Sahih Bukhari
For the hadith where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall reward for it…’”, Al-Qurtubi said: what this means is that the amount of reward for good deeds may become known to people, and they will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold, and as much as Allah wants, except fasting, for Allah will reward it without measure. This is supported by a report narrated by Muslim (115) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Every deed of the son of Adam will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold. Allah said: ‘Except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward for it’” – i.e., I shall reward it greatly, without specifying how much. This is like the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning” [Quran: al-Zumar 39:10]
From the above, it is obvious that the rewards for fasting are multiplied from 10 to 700 to potentially limitless as He wills. So, let’s think again – Ramadan and fasting provide us the potential and opportunity for Unlimited Rewards.
However, we will be rewarded based on our actions and our intentions. The better we make our worship, the more rewards we stand to gain. That’s why we need to strive more every year – yet another opportunity to make it better than the previous.
First, let’s do some “soul searching” in assessing our intentions. What is it that excites us in welcoming this month? What are we are looking forward to? Is it the socializing, the Iftar festivities, and the change of schedules or is it about our yearning for more rewards, the hope to seek forgiveness for our sins, and hence the prospects for a better life here and in the hereafter? Our clarity of intentions as we start this blessed month can make a big difference. Consider this hadith by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
“Actions are but by intention and each person will have but that which he intended.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1) and Muslim (1907).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim and hopes. Help from Allah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes and fears, and failure comes to them in like manner.”
Let’s heed to those reminders. Take some time to ensure that your intention is to seek rewards and forgiveness for your sins and you will observe a miraculous transformation in the nature of your actions as they will automatically get aligned to your intentions. If left uncalibrated through your sincere intentions, your actions will instead focus on the festivities and other distractions more than you getting closer to Allah, which should be your primary objective in this month. And that can’t happen unless you intend for it and take actions to realize those intentions.
Hadith on issues related to praying for women – Sahih Bukhari
Also, once we align our intentions to seek Allah’s pleasure alone (remember where Allah said that fasting is for me and I will reward for it), you will notice that ALL your actions will be for Him. You won’t leave any room for the devil to get in your heart to make you show off your actions. A man asked Tameem ibn Aws al-Daari (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘How do you pray at night?’ He got very angry and said, ‘By Allah, one rak’ah that I pray in secret in the small hours of the night is more beloved to me than praying the whole night long and then telling people about it.’
Consider this hadith of the prophet: “Whoever does the deeds of the Hereafter to gain some worldly benefit, will have no share of the Hereafter.” (Reported by Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2825).”
Another step you can take to make this Ramadan better is to make your worship more “goal directed” as that will help you focus on your acts of worship and will also force yourself to achieve those goals. Let’s ponder on what our pious salaf said about forcing ourselves to do more in our acts of worship. Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said: “I struggled against my own self for forty years until it became right.” Thaabit al-Banaani said: “I struggled for twenty years to make myself pray qiyaam al-layl, and I enjoyed it (qiyaam al-layl) for (the next) twenty years.” ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez said: “The best of deeds are those which we force ourselves to do.” ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Mubaarak said: “The souls of righteous people in the past used to push them to do good deeds, but our souls do not do what we want them to do except by force, so we have to force them.” Qutaadah said: “O son of Adam, if you do not want to do any good except when you have the energy for it, then your nature is more inclined towards boredom and laziness. The true believer is the one who pushes himself.”
So, for this Ramadan set some realistic goals for the amount of worship and for the levels of your sincerity and you will not only have something to strive for but you will feel more satisfied after Ramadan is over if you achieved what you set out for. And next year, you can raise the bar higher and set loftier goals – another step towards achieving unlimited rewards.
In summary, let’s pause for a few moments to straighten our intentions and ensure that they are not diluted by the typical “Ramadan distractions” such as socializing, Iftar parties, idle talk during late hours, late night TV, fashion shows, etc. Also, set some goals for this month and get set to achieve them.
Let’s pray that we get the maximum rewards possible this Ramdan.
Your feedback is welcome that you can share with all below !
Ramdan Mubarak!
Books on Dua and Quran
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Mashallah
Jazakullahu khair 😀 May Allah Allow us all to benefit from this Ramadan ameen
MashaAllah, Djazakallahu khayr! Ramadan is a great blessing for those of us who live to see it and pick its invaluable fruits!
It is a time of Taqwa!
May the blessings of Ramadan Mubarak shower on all the muslims of the world
and may Allah give us all the strength to benefit with the blessed month RAMADAN (Ameen)………….
with Allahs blessings
Ma salam…..
Jazakullahu Khair
thanks,it’s very nice,inshallah,
Jazakalahu khairan. May Allah enable us to reap the benefits of the this blessed month. Amin
May Allah help us to witness it, forgive our sins and give us rahmah.
Jazakallahu khairan may Al-maigty Allah reward you abandontly.
Salam To all
Most of the time when I set out to accomplish a goal, I am often side tracked by other events or occurrences. I blame myself for being weak. I would be grateful if someone could suggest how we can hold on to our vision and not fall prey to our weaknesses and the instigation of others.
Jazakallah khair to all
Wassallam
Mokhtar
jazakallahu khairan,May ALLAH the almighty guide us to be a better muslim and fulfil our duty one of them pasting during month of ramadan ameen!!
Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
I wish from allah ta ala that as much as possible are moved to correct and investigate their niyat and overcome their desires.
May Allah ta ala reward all who directly and undirectly helped with this useful and wise information coming from quran and sunnah.
May the Blessings and peace of Our Sustainer be upon The last messenger and his household and companions and all who seek allah’s pleasure and the hereafter rather then this world and all it contains. Ameen !Ramadan Mubarak!
Jazakumllahu khayran this is a very good reminder, in fact for us to witness this year s Ramadan is a test from Allah perharps we might make use of the opportunity to earn more reward from Allah by fasting and engaging in ibaadaat may Allah spare our lives to witness more of the month (Ameen).
salam alaikum, i get distracted by the environment and people around me very easily, so insha’Allah my aim is to not get distracted by worldly affairs and focus properly and purely on ramadan. May Allah make it easy for me and all muslims and make our intentions purely for your sake O Allah. ameen
Masha’Allah, this article has allowed me to think about setting my goals for Ramadan in order to get a higher reward than last year and insha’Allah will strive to achieve them. Jazak-Allah-u-khairan and Ramadan Karim.
Asslaamualiakum wa rahmatullah,,
i would lyk u guyz 2 achieve dis small goal which has good reward inshallah.
Try to by heart all 99 names of Allah in dis ramadan. If u learn atleast 5 names a day, inshallah you can complete it within 20 days inshallah . As it says in one of the hadith:
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.” (Please see Hadith No. 419 Vol. 8) (Book #50, Hadith #894)
JazakAllah khairan…
May Allah make it easy on us.
As salaam wa alaikum.
The hadith quoted by Muhammad(saws) where he says “actions are based on the intention behind them” is my main focus. Too often I make intentions to perform certain tasks only to get side-tracked, which ultimately ends up in me becoming lazy and stagnant. This year, as should be the intent of every muslim, I want to draw closer to Allah(swt) and not be like those who waste time. Ridding myself of procrastination and making my heart tender are my main goals this upcoming Ramadan, as well as learning more Qur’an and Hadith. Insha allah I will have a better frame of mind when Ramadan ends which I hope will carry over and continue up to the next Ramadan and beyond.
May Allah reward all who strive for his sake, even in the slightest.
As salaam wa alaikum.
very nice work and MAY ALLAH BLESSED YOU.MASSALAM.
salam alaikum
Ramadhan Kareem to all….pls do remember me in ur prayers…i pray that Allah Ta’ala be pleased with us in this month of Ramadhan n grants us all our duas and wishes..Ameen
salam alaikum
jazakAllah….i am waiting for this Ramadan because i need to ask for forgiveness for my sins and set a goal to be a changed person from now on. Allah is so great that i can feel him forgiving me just on my intention. ALLAH HU AKBAR!!
mashaallah……
It is very nice, May Allah bless you, me and all the Muslims in the day After (Qiamat) Ameen.
As salaam wa alaikum.
Masha’Allah,
After reading of this article I have been able to think about setting my goals for Ramadan in order to get a higher reward than last year and insha’Allah will strive to achieve them.
And I just want to write here that
“This should be the primary objective of every Muslim to enhance his all Ibadats in the month of Ramzan and he/she should himself/herself compare is all Ibadats which have been performed by hem/her in last Ramzan.”
“Allah said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall reward for it…’”,
Dear brother, you have given a very good quotation. Jazakallah.
Ramadan mubarak. May Allah SWT reward d writer of this article. It’s a very great reminder. May we all remain focus and be able to worship ALLAH. Ma salam
Shukran and have the most respectfully and merciful months of RAMADAN.
Ramadan Mubarak:)
Asalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Very well said mashallah, great reminder:)
Theres one hadith i will never forget is was said by Prophet Mohammed (sws), that difficulties are surrounded by heaven and desires are surrounded by hell. So whatever difficulties we may encounter this Ramadan thank Allah for it, cause your patience will be greatly rewarded:) Inshallah.
May Allah help purify our hearts and cleanse our souls this ramadan and help guide us on the right path, Ameen.
Ma salam
May Allah help us to witness it, forgive our sins and give us rahmah.
Ramadan Mubarak for all muslims in the world
Shukran for the article and inshallah may all muslims engage themselves in ibada RAMADHAN KARIM TO ALL
A very good and wonderful write up, may God Almighty reward the writer and all the contributors here in with abundance of rahma, Amin
It’s a very great reminder May Allah help us to witness it, forgive our sins and give us rahmah. Ramadan mubarak.
assalam aleykum to all the muslims reading this.
as mush as we feel that we know a lot its always good to keep reminding each other on doing good as we also gain from this! subhana-llah how linient is Islam as a religion.
I pray that we benefit from this Ramadhan and just a little reminder please read the Qur’an even if its only a page per day.
Ramadhan Kareem to all
Aslkm, Jazak Allahu Khairaa .. May Allah envelope us within His Mercy n grant us Maghjfirah
May Allah strengthen us to translate our intentions into deeds. May Allah Help us to get the maximum benefit during this Ramadan and the remaining ones. May Allah Grant maghfirat and the best reward in the hereafter to the writer of the article and all who read it and benefit from it. May Allah Grant maghfirat and the best reward in the hereafter to the ones who started this site and encourage Muslims to remain glued to the straight path-Ameen.
Jazakallah, Very nice written. After reading this article to the full and after reading all my brother’s and sister’s views I have also set some gaols for myself to perform during this blessed month of Ramadan. May Allah(swt) guide us to the straight path and make us his beloved servants Ameen.
Jazakallahukhair, for the article and inshallah may all muslims engage themselves in ibada RAMADHAN Mubarak TO ALL
May Allah bless us for our striving to conduct ourselves in the best way during this Ramadan, and for our work to maintain that level of striving afterwards throughout our lives. Ameen.
Alhamdulillah, Ramadhan has come definitely with his baraka and forgiveness, I pray Allah taala go accept all our act of ibadah and grant us the much-desired Al-janah Fridaos Amin. Here in Nigeria about an hour ago,Supreme council of Islamic affairs president announced that moon is sighted in the northern part of the country, we are commencing fasting Insha Allah.
Ramadhan Kareem to my Muslims brothers and sisters.
HAPPY RAMADAN to all brothers and sisters in Islam. Great Ramadan, being a month of forgiveness, let seek the opportinuty to forgive ourselfs, forgive your brothers, sisters, friends, co-workers, relatives, townmen, countrymen, humanbeing generally, muslim and nonmuslim so as to have a perfect forgiveness from ALLAH. Also Ramadan is a month of blessing, take the chance to have more blessing for yourself, your families and to all things , living and nonliving you are blessed with in other to have a very pleasant life. Intimate Ramadan, this is another golding opportinuty to get more close to your Creator through your true and clean devotion to Him, by your good conduct, sacrifice and good deeds which wiil asign you a certify life and a grand reward in here-after.
May Allah SWT reward the author and IqraSense for the realistic article. During this Ramadan may the Almighty strengthen our eemaan.
Blessed and peacefull Ramadan for all muslims in this world.
i feel blocked myself between 2 gates.. the religion in wich i was born( christian) and this new, light and open door for everyone- islam..its like a strugle… but i will not talk here about this.
i will try this year to fast same like all brothers in islam.. I hope God will help me and help everyone
Asselamu Aleykum Werehmetulahi Weberakatuh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alhamdulillah, Ramadhan has come definitely with his baraka and forgiveness i ask allah (s.w) to accept all our act of ibadah and grant us the much-desired Al-janah Fridaos Amin.
HAPPY RAMADAN to all brothers and sisters in Islam. Great Ramadan, being a month of forgiveness!!!!!!!!!
Wessalamu Aleykum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Asslamu alikkum my dear brothers.
This article is very good and i learnt sth new. May allah bless one who prepared it for us.
I’ll work hard this ramazan to get closer to my LORD insha allah.
Our beloved NABI saw has said like this that one who has not been forgiven in this month,is very unlucky.
So let’s ask forgiveness, read quran and send salat upon our beloved nabi, do goods deeds, pay charity, love people
and do all which allah loves and stay away from all which allah want us to stay away from.
Let’s pray that we can have this spirit and excitement throughout the year, ameen.
Plz remember me in your blessed duas
masha-ALLAH
mashallah is very nice!
it is a beautiful endeour towards convincing ibn e adam toward the true spirit of Ramadan. so good effort and Allah Taalah may reward you for the same. this is the month of Allah Subhanahu Taalah and Allah Taalah gives rewards for his own will which countless.
assalamalaikum to everyone reading this,
alhamdulillah we are so lucky to be muslims, we are so lucky to be given this opportunity to fast again. There were some brothers and sisters who were with us last year but they’re not this year..so we should thank allah swt for keeping us alive for another year and blessing us with this blessed month of ramadhan again. May allah swt help us all to get the most blessings out of this month. May all our duas get answered and all our sins forgiven..ameen
Ya allah paak, your the all knowing, the all forgiving, the most merciful, the most beneficial, please bestow your mercy upon us, please forgive us for all our sins and guide us towards the right path..please help us all to become good muslims..ameen.
Brothers and sisters, during this month of ramadhan, always remember those that are less fortunate than us, always do dua for them before doing dua for yourselves. Please also make dua for all the muslim brothers and sisters affected by the pakistan flooding.. may allah swt help them through this difficulty..may allah swt reward us all..ameen..
May allah swt reward everyone who updates and maintains this website and to everyone who had a hand in writing this article..ameen..
Please remember me in ur duas inshallah..i hope you all benefit massively from this month..ameen
Asc wr wb and Ramadhan kariim to all…..and may Allah accept each and every one of our dua’s during this Ramadhan insha allah. Once again Ramdhan Kariim
Jazakallah for your great mail.
As-salamu alaikum to my muslim brothers and sisters world over. It is indeed another given opportunity granted to us from the merciful of all merciful ones. poring through this piece has really spur me into action and it made me to ponder deeply into my actions from the last Ramadan. Regretably as it was i see no reason why i should NOT gear up my approach to the worship of ALLAH. personally i feel the best way we can get the best from this year sawm is by concieving the feeling that this will be our last fasting on earth. may Allah continue to crown all the members of this site and the entire muslim ummah world over with radiant and abundant health and may he keep our feet and tong to his remembrance. Mas-salam
Salam ‘alaikum Hi,
First of all, I would like to thank the team of this useful site. It actually shows what Islam is like. As for the blessed month-Ramadan- I must do all my best to change my life to be better, by worship, prayers, dua, and many other good things…I had a hard time last months; I faced many problems and obstacles in my work and the whole of my life. I think it was because I got far a way from some concepts of Islam, I forgot that
“ But whosoever turns away from My Message (the Qur’?n), verily for him is a straitened toilsome life, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.” (Holy Qur’?n, 20: 124) and I think Ramadan will be a good start for me. “And We send down (stage by stage) of the Qur’?n that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe …” (Holy Qur’?n, 17: 82)
Wish you a happy Ramadan!