Preparing for Ramadan 2021

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Generous 

In sha Allah (God willing) in three months time, we will be witnessing the blessed month of Ramadan 1442/2021. It will be around middle of April, depending on the Moon sighting as our Hijri calender is based on Moon. Ya Rabbi, enable us to prepare and witness the sacred month. 

There is a saying that when we fail to plan, we plan to fail. So the question we all must ask ourselves is am I preparing myself for the great month? Are we ready to welcome Ramadan 1442/2021 

Our spiritual ancestors, specially the great companions (of our beloved Rasulullah sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) used to start their preparation six months ahead of the month. They truly understood the significance of this great month. When we embark on a journey, we prepare the provision for the journey. So what can we do to prepare for Ramadan? I have put together a list of activities I am trying to follow on a regular basis in sha Allah. My list is based on lessons with my respected teachers as well as books I have been reading to prepare for Ramadan.

So here are some activities to get us into Ramadan mode in sha Allah bi idnillahi ta'ala: 

1. Sincerity (Ikhlaas) is the key: Every action is judged by its intention. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala always looks at the state of our heart. He only accepts the deeds which are solely done for His sake, not for any other ulterior motive. So the first priority should be to purify our intention and do the activities only for His pleasure in sha Allah. He is the controler and changer of our hearts so let us supplicate to Him on a regular basis to change our hearts for His sake and purify our intentions. This is an ongoing process so we need to keep renewing our intentions in sha Allah till we meet Him. 

2. Fasting on a regular basis: Our beloved Rasulullah sallallahu alaihe wa sallam used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Fasting twice a week is quite doable. We can fast Mondays and Thursdays to get into fasting mode in sha Allah. If it is difficult then we can fast three days a month like our beloved, Rasulullah salllallahu alaihe wa sallam, who used to fast the middle of the months (Hijri calendar). Abu Dharr radiAllahu anha reported: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wa sallam said, “If you want to observe Saum on three days in a month, then fast on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of the (lunar) month.” [At-Tirmidhi] Fasting three days out of 30/31 days is very doable. Moreover, the reward for the three fasts is really great alhamdulillah. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-’As radiAllahu anha reported: The Messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta’aa, “Observing Saum on three days of every month is equivalent to a full month’s fasting.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] How generous is our Rabb! So let’s get into fasting mode in sha Allah! 

3. Connecting to the Qur’an (Allah swt's Words): Ramadan is regarded as the month of the Qur’an as the sacred Book was revealed to our beloved Rasulullah salllallahu alaihe wa sallam during the night of power (Lailatul Qadr). The goal of Ramadan is to connect to our Lord through His worship. By reading, reciting, studying, memorizing, reflecting on His Book on a regular basis, we can become more conscious of Allah subhanahau wa ta’ala. Our Ramadan 2021 can feel truly meaningful if we prepare for the month through daily connection to the Qur’an from now on. Let us work for that lofty goal in sha Allah. I am studying the Juz amma (30th part of the Qur’an) and suarh Al-Baqara with my amazing teacher mashAllah. Try to find a good teacher and sit with the teacher on a regular basis in sha Allah. We can also listen to tafseer by Sheikh Akram Nadhwi, Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, Mufti Menk, Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan, Sheikh Omar Suleiman, Imam Suhaib Webb and the list goes on alhamdulillah.

If you cannot find a teacher, try to team up with like-minded friends and sit together to listen to lectures by reliable scholars. Even if we can learn a single verse a day, by the time Ramadan approaches, we can increase our connection to the Qur’an in sha Allah. 

One of my beautiful teachers always remind us that Ramadan is not the month to start our worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala but the month to increase the various forms of worship and perform these worships with presence of heart (mindfulness). 

4. Studying the seerah: Studying the seerah (the biography of our Messenger sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) is also a great way to inspire us to get ready for Ramadan. The more seerah we can delve into, the better in sha Allah. The more we know about our beloved, the more we will be passionate to love him and follow him to please our Rabb. My personal favourite is Martin Lings’s Muhammad. It is quite a short, concise seerah and beautifully written mashAllah. We are reading the book as a family. Children are always excited to know what happens next. This year I am also hoping to complete reading the “Sealed nectar” (Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum) by Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri. I am blessed to be part of a seerah bookclub where we are reading the Sealed nectar quite thoroughly alhamdulillah.  Another beautiful seerah book worth reading is Muhammad: As if you can see him by ‘A’id al-Qarni. To prepare specially for the month of Ramadan, a beautiful book to read is The prophet’s Ramadahaan by Mufti Muhammad Khan Qaadri. 

These are just some suggestions I have come up with. Anything you can benefit from is from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and anything which is not of benefit is solely due to my own shortcomings. I hope and make dua that by His grace, we can truly understand the significance of this great month like our beloved Rasulullah (saw) and the blessed predecessors and He subhanahu wa ta’ala enable us to prepare for Ramadan and do our best to connect to Him, ameen! I hope to hear from you about how you are preparing for this great month in sha Allah. Please do share your thoughts on this topic. Jazakallah khairan katheeran for reading.