By now we've certainly heard all the Prophetic narrations on the blessings of this very special time; a time in which our righteous ones delight as the gates of Paradise are flung open, and in which our sinful ones breathe a sigh of relief and take time to reflect as the gates of Hell are locked up. So at this moment of clarity, where the stomachs, hearts, eyes, ears, tongue and mind are all enjoying their greatest moment of purity, let us all try and make sure that we profit from the following points gleaned from the advice of our Pious Predecessors. 1. Make sure that this blessed month becomes a period of accounting for your actions, a revision of your daily routine, an opportunity for the betterment of your life for all your years to come. To enter Ramadan not believing it to be so will be a total loss. Think about all those who were aiming for this month but found a dark grave instead. Reflect on all those who woke in the morning but found that their evenings never materialized. Consider for just a second as our scholars said: if you can't change your ways and gain at such a blessed time then at what time will you change?! 2. Try to make sure you perform all of the Taraweeh prayers in congregation for the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever prays with the Imam until he leaves, it is written for him that he prayed the entire night.” 3. Do not be wasteful or extravagant with your wealth, for not only is that impermissible, but you reduce the opportunities of giving more in charity for which you could be rewarded for. They said about the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he gave in charity especially during Ramadan like the one who didn't fear or even recognize poverty. 4. Commit yourself to continue after Ramadan that which you have prepared yourself to do during Ramadan. The Salaf would say: “The sign of one's fasting being accepted from him in Ramadan is the continuation of his good actions and character after Ramadan.” 5. Remember: this is a month of worship and hence action, not lethargy and sleeping. 6. Make your tongue habitual in the Dhikr of Allah so that you don't become from those: “… who do not remember Allah except little.” 7. When you feel the pangs of hunger, just remember how weak you actually are, how dependent you are upon food and other such necessities from the immense blessings of Allah, may He be glorified. 8. Make a concerted effort to permanently leave that which doesn't benefit you, but rather causes you harm. This is even more so when you are fasting. Maymun used to say: “The weakest of fasts is that in which only food and drink is left out.” 9. Remember: your actions are a trust from Allah so audit yourself like any successful company does; have you performed and fulfilled your deeds as is deserving of them? This obviously applies to all our actions such as prayer, Dhikr, manners but particularly fasting. Ibn Rajab said: “Our fasts need Istighfar to make up for their deficiencies, and good deeds to intercede for them.” 10. Hasten to seek forgiveness from those whom you have oppressed in any way, before they take from your (very few) good deeds. Don't forget, the greatest oppressive tool is the tongue so tether it as strongly as possible. Sha'bi narrated that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Fasting is not just refraining from food and drink, but refraining from lying, falsehood, backbiting and swearing (by Allah).” 11. Strive to feed the fasting one so that you can obtain a reward equal to his. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to always break his fast sharing with the poor; if any of his family tried to prevent him from that, he would refuse to spend the night with them. It was also reported from him that whenever someone would come to him asking for food, he would give them his share and then return home to find his family had eaten what was left of food in his house. He would not let on and would end his fasting day without eating anything. 12. Know that Allah is the Most Generous and that He is the Most Merciful. He accepts the repentance of the penitent, more so than ever at such a special time. 13. If you have committed a sin or done something wrong which Allah, may He be glorified, has concealed for you from the people, know that this is an opportunity for you to seek repentance for those mistakes. Hasten to seek forgiveness and make sure that you do not return back to that sin. 14. Try to increase your knowledge of the explanation of the Qur'an (Tafseer), the narrations of the Messenger, his biography (Seerah), and the principles of our religion – to seek such sacred knowledge is one of the highest forms of worship. 15. Stay away from such company and people which don't benefit you; try to accompany righteous good folk as much as you can. Good people always spread their blessings to others. 16. Going significantly early to the Mosques is a sign of great love and desire to please Allah; a sign that you are in need of him at all times, not just those times in which all the congregation are together. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Companions would often spend much of their fast in the Mosque so as to purify it (i.e. purify the fast itself from useless talk, gossip, backbiting etc).” 17. Pay attention to those who are under your authority such as your family, guiding them to that which will benefit them in their Religion, for they will far more willingly take their example from you than from other people. 18. Do not go to extremes by preparing many different dishes for the iftar meal. This leaves the women of the house no opportunity to benefit during the daytime of Ramadan such as reciting the Qur'an etc., especially if they are just busy cooking all day. 19. Reduce the amount of time you spend shopping in the night-time during Ramadan, especially the last 10 nights. This will prevent you wasting your time at such a precious and blessed period of your life. 20. Strive to spend these last 10 special nights of Ramadan standing in prayer. Remember: there is one particular night amongst these 10, known as Laylat Al-Qadr which is in fact greater than a thousand months of worship.
