Ramadan: Constructing a Plan
Ustadh Amjad Tarsin provides crucial insights into the significance of crafting a plan for Ramadan to maximize its benefits and offers guidance on how to do so effectively.
Ramadan holds a distinct significance in the yearly cycle. There is no other time quite like it. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) exemplified this by pushing himself, striving, and exerting extra effort during Ramadan, surpassing his usual dedication outside this blessed month. Particularly during the last ten nights of Ramadan, his efforts would intensify.
There is a notable emphasis on action during Ramadan. It’s a time to elevate your efforts and commitment, to step up your game, so to speak. It’s a period to increase your dedication, striving, and exertion in ways that may not be as prominent outside of Ramadan.
Three-Point Plan for Ramadan
A crucial aspect of our Ramadan plan involves adopting a mindset of increased dedication, where we commit to pushing ourselves further. This may entail eliminating certain distractions from our lives to enable us to exert greater effort. We may need to adjust our weekend activities, school or work schedules, and even our sleep patterns to optimize our time and energy. These adjustments can significantly impact our Ramadan experience.
As mentioned earlier, Ramadan is akin to a rigorous educational program and a marathon combined. It spans an entire month, and if observed during the summer, it can be physically demanding. However, what makes Ramadan unique is the remarkable ease that often accompanies fasting after the initial days. Moreover, Ramadan is infused with its own spiritual energy, a blessing from Allah (Most High).
Pace Yourself for the Long Run
Just as we would prepare for a marathon or an exam, we must pace ourselves during Ramadan. We should strategize, determining our speed for different phases of the month and allowing ourselves appropriate breaks. Consistency is key, as highlighted by the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said,
“The most beloved actions to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it’s a few.”
Thus, the essence of Ramadan lies not in overexertion followed by abandonment but in maintaining a steady and sustainable effort throughout.
Build for Consistency
Allah has prescribed fasting during Ramadan as a means for believers to increase in taqwa (God-consciousness). He (Most High) says,
“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you—so perhaps you will become mindful (of Allah˺).” [Quran, 2:183]
This month offers numerous spiritual opportunities, including immersion in the Quran, communal prayers, and seeking forgiveness for past sins. The Quran holds a central place in our lives, and Ramadan provides a unique chance for individuals and communities to reconnect with it through both personal recitation and congregational prayers like tarawih.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“Whoever fasts in Ramadan with faith, expecting and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all their previous sins are forgiven. And whoever stands in Ramadan with faith, expecting and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all their previous sins are forgiven.”
So, one of the aspects of Ramadan is the recitation of the Quran both individually and collectively in tarawih and reconnecting with it.
The Virtues of Recitation
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal had a dream of Allah, and because the dream is a spiritual vision, one can see Allah. Imam Ahmad had many dreams about Allah. In one of his dreams, he asked Allah:
“O Allah, what is the most beloved act to you?” And Allah said: “The recitation of My Book.” Then Imam Ahmed asked: “With understanding or without understanding?” And Allah said: “With understanding and without understanding.”
This doesn’t mean that understanding is as good as understanding. But there’s a virtue: even without understanding, we are reciting the Quran with reverence, love, and some sort of blessed intention, wanting something Allah. There’s great reward in that. For every letter, there are ten hasanat, and there are ten rewards. And then Allah multiplies that.
There was a woman who held a deep reverence for the Quran despite not being able to read Arabic. Sometimes, she would simply open the Mushaf and gaze at its pages, touching them with reverence. While this level of interaction should not be seen as the ultimate aspiration, her love and respect for the Quran were evident. She did not dismiss it just because she couldn’t understand it fully. Instead, she would admire its beauty and read whatever she could, displaying a profound reverence for the words of Allah (Most High).
Plan Beyond Ramadan
Coming back to putting this within our plan. We should devise a way to recite the Quran regularly for the rest of the year. That’s something that we have to put in our minds from the jump. One way to look at Ramadan is that it’s like a honeymoon with the Quran, but after it, you still have to keep the love alive. Now you’re here after the honeymoon. You’re tied together. You have that pact, and you have that union. You have to keep it alive; the way to do that is to maintain consistency in small things.
It’s easy to recite the Quran during Ramadan, and sometimes we recite great amounts of it, or we set goals for ourselves. Whether it’s one khatm or two khatms, but the goal that we should also have is that we should have a long term relationship with the Quran. It’s something that we need every single day of our lives. So we should build that relationship during the honeymoon that is Ramadan, and build it to last.
Qiyam al-Layl
Another aspect is standing in prayer. Subhan Allah, Qiyam al-Layl becomes so easy in Ramadan, and that is proof that it is blessed. If you told people to get up for Qiyam al-Layl any other month of the year even on sacred days like Ashura or the ten days of Muharram or the ten days of Dhu al-Hijja, or whatever it may be, it’s hard. But you tell them to do so in Ramadan, and it’s like: I’m here!
The soul is almost rejuvenated like, Habib Umar says:
“Even smelling the sweet breezes of Ramadan is a blessing.”
It is as if the soul is immediately rejuvenated when Ramadan enters. So coming together, increasing in our nafila, increasing in our extra acts of worship, as Habib Kadhim mentioned, is the way to increase our love for Allah.
We ask Allah for that, but the way that we do and take the means is by engaging in extra acts of worship. When one of the Sahaba asked the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) when the Prophet said,
“Ask me anything you want. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, I ask you for your companionship in Paradise. I just want to be with you in the Garden.” And the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “Help me against your nafs with a lot of sujud (prostration).”
So you have people in our great and illustrious history like our master Zayn al-‘Abidin, the great-grandson of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who was known to do a thousand rak‘at of sujud a day. and they called him Zayn al-‘Abidin: the adornment of worshipers, Allah be well pleased with him.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
If we want to get to the core of Ramadan, it’s a time when you just roll up your sleeves and get to work. You just get busy. Get up and pray some rak‘at. Recite the Quran. If you can’t do that – in the case of our sisters, at certain times of the month, they might not be able to – do those things, then make dua. Say: “la ilaha illa Allah.” Say: “Astaghfirullah.” Turn to Allah (Most High) with your heart. Listen to a good lesson. Keep yourself in good company. Even the duas that you made in those days are especially powerful. Do whatever keeps you busy with whatever good you can muster.
You can find the link for the full video here.
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