“Prepare for Ramadan like an athlete”, says international coach, author, and speaker Mohammed Faris (Productive Muslim). You don’t stumble upon a marathon, you prepare for it in advance, mentally, socially, and physically.
“One should also check where one stands spiritually. Ramadan is here to uplift us spiritually, so if your baseline is good, it’s easier to achieve your goals in Ramadan,” he adds.
Let’s ask a few pertinent questions. Is your body fit for Ramadan? Are you eating the right kind of food that will give your body the energy to function well and feel light, to fast for long hours without feeling exhausted? And how about your sleep cycle, which Netflix and binge-watching culture seem to have destroyed; are you sleeping on time? Preparing to wake up for Tahajjud, Suhoor, Fajr and to not feel sloppy, clumsy and literally walk like a zombie requires training.
And of course, you do not want to be absorbed in thoughts about people you are not on good terms with, those that have wronged you and those you have wronged. Isn’t it better to fix things to start afresh this Ramadan?
It’s easy to think, “why break head now? when the month comes we’ll fix this then and there”. That might be exactly what shaitan and his party might cheer up to since that’s the first loophole to a vicious cycle that there is no escape from. So what really happens is, we enter Ramadan and then we realize that our sleep cycle, dua list, and goals are not in place.
And then the elaborate dawats and shopping spree exhaust the other half of our already distracted mind. By the time we start working on what we want to achieve in Ramadan, a portion of the month would have passed making us feel worthless and overwhelmed. One juz (portion) a day, becomes two juz a day and before we know it, it becomes 5 juz a day to complete our goal of completing the Qur’an.
Just like other areas of life, here too we get influenced by quantity watching others’ Snapchat and IG stories, not understanding that this month is here to bring a deep qualitative change in our lives and it never really was about quantity anyway.
With a lot of personal struggles and experience, here are some super practical tips to help you prepare for Ramadan.
1 Internalise the meaning and importance of Ramadan
One cannot make goals if one is not able to understand the importance of this month. Is Ramadan meant to fast or feast? Is it only to fast or to fast with taqwa? is it to make you a religious person at the beginning of the month and get back to your favourite songs on Eid or is it to bring a deep new found love for the Qur’an like never before. Is it to host an extravagant iftar party and be a part of your mama’s khalu’s cousin’s iftar or spend most of the Ramadan pondering, reflecting and re-establishing your connection with Allah. Is it to head to high-end designer boutiques and spend a fortune behind Eid clothes or learn the essence of Zuhd (detachment).
Also to remember that the month contains within itself the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) which is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).
Before we even start talking about preparing for Ramadan we should understand what this month is here for. How did the Prophet (SAWS), the Sahabas and the pious predecessors observe this month?
Also, ask Allah to help you witness Ramadan, for we are close, but there is no guarantee we will be seeing it. Remember the hadith where the Prophet (SAWS) clears the confusion of Talha (RA) on what he dreamt about the two men: one a martyr and the other who lived a year longer and passed away, the second entered Jannah first in the dream which amazed Talha (RA) to which the Prophet (SAWS) asks him, “didn’t he witness another Ramadan”, (which indicates that his fastings and other rewards made him enter Jannah first) and he (SAWS) also adds, “The difference between them is greater than the difference between the heaven and the earth.” – [Collected by Ibn Majah]
So remember, this is not just another month and not just another Ramadan. This might be your last Ramadan, your last chance to soar and hoard those rewards.
2 Checklists
How do we prepare for a wedding? Guestlist – check, what to wear on different days- check, accessories- check, commute plans and bookings- check, budgeted gifts- check. Such meticulous planning can put wedding planners to shame. Doesn’t Ramadan deserve a much better welcome, preparation and planning?
Finish all your pending work that would waste, gallop or consume your time in Ramadan, that Bermuda triangle like a closet that keeps sucking all the unsorted stuff in your room – sort that, those long daunting dentist appointments, deep cleaning of the house which might suddenly catch your attention in Ramadan. From spider webs to your curtains, anything that you’ve been putting off or are in the midst of, finish it so you don’t have to waste your precious time in Ramadan.
3 Always start with obligatory acts and then move to sunnah
It seems like as soon as one sights the crescent of Ramadan one wants to transform into their best possible self. But just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, we need to understand that our lives, routines, habits are a work in progress and thus we should start working on ourselves much before ‘the day’. Start with your fard salah, fard fasts and then move to sunnah to put you in the practice of Ramadan.
4 Start eating in moderation
“O Children of Adam! Dress properly whenever you are at worship. Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful.” (Qur’an, 7:31)
So an easy excuse to not meet your goals the first few days of Ramadan is all about the hunger pangs roaring loud. Start eating in moderation and eat superfoods to keep your energy high and your stomach light.
5 Make up your fasts
Ahmad (26022), Abu Dawood (2336), al-Nasaa’i (2175) and Ibn Maajah (1648) narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fast two consecutive months apart from the fact that he used to join Sha’ban and Ramadan.”
Another narration says that he would leave out the last few, which is great news for those who have missed fasts. Fast in the month of Shaban and attain the sunnah rewards. The bonus? your body will get used to the fasting cycle much before the onset of Ramadan.
6 Get done with Eid shopping
Who doesn’t want to celebrate the day of Eid with good clothes?
Muslims have no festivals apart from Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, because of the hadith narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah and the people had two days when they would play and have fun. He said, ‘What are these two days?’ They said, ‘We used to play and have fun on these days during the Jaahiliyyah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Allah has given you something better than them, the day of Adhaa and the day of Fitr.’”
There is no one stopping you from adorning yourselves with good clothes, but shopping in the month of Ramadan is a sheer waste of time. So, do it in advance. Save yourselves from tailor aunty making your sleeve tight and you going in again for an alteration request. Also, take it easy. You can spend less and still look pretty, and with that extra bucks, you save, buy a less fortunate person some new clothes this Eid. The smile on their face is priceless.
7 Dua list
Have you ever tried to make white sauce pasta? kept all the things ready from veggies to butter, flour to mixed herbs. and just when you were about to begin you realised you don’t have pasta itself? Well, a person who forgets to make their customised dua would be in the same spot. Everything ready but the main essence missing.
To help you here is an elaborate dua list. You could pick and choose from these and customise your own.
This by no means is meant to replace the duas from Qur’an and Sunnah. It is only to inspire to make a personally customised dua list along with the beautifully worded Sunnah and Qur’anic duas.
8 Ramadan feels – Environment
Let us not underestimate the power of what a well lit and sweet-smelling place can do. So bring out your fairy lights, bakhoor up your place. It’s okay, get your lanterns out and lit up those lights. Note, we are not trying to imitate people of other faiths, just cheering up the environment, making children feel it’s a different month and cheer up the mood. Lookup for Ramadan decor ideas. (Ref: IslamQA)
9 Grocery Shopping and quick fix
A known relative goes for elaborate grocery shopping, everything that might come in need in the month and makes sandwich spreads, pizza sauces ready before Ramadan. She makes some easy useful combinations like the date -tamarind, ones which could be used for chats, and many such easy hacks that could save a ton of time in Ramadan. Try them for easy and quick Iftar preparation this Ramadan. Youtube is full of such hacks.
10 Sit down for the talk
Not the kind of talk you are thinking but talk to your children, teens and tweens about this month, and its importance. Make goals for each member in the house or even better ask them to come with it. Have them registered for the Ramadan preparation workshop, let the family share the spirit. And very important, divide and assign duties.
Responsible adults are not made overnight, they are trained and fostered in a holistic and mindful setup. Assign your older children to wake the members of the house for suhoor (of course keep a backup: yourself), assign another child to assemble food in the dining area, one could be assigned to remind the dua/niyyah before fast etc.
11 Keep your Zakat and Sadaqah ready
Do you have more than 85 grams of gold? calculate 2.5% of all that gold and give it to the needy. Read more on how to calculate, and zakat related questions from Islamqa.com. Calculate all of your zakat, charity, interest amount you wish to give and keep ready. Try giving a small amount of charity on the last 10 nights, with the hope that one would coincide with Laylat al-Qadr and bring you immense rewards.
12 Ramadan Journal
Keep a Ramadan routine planner, your dua list, salah, sawm, goal tracker, ready. Make your Ramadan journal: don’t keep these for the last moment, frame it, fix it before Ramadan. Chart down your goals of praying on time, to memorize new duas and surahs in one place to track your progress.
13 Logout for good
We all know how our intensions of 5 minutes on IG or Facebook surfing becomes hours and hours of mindless surfing and browsing. Logout of these platforms so the notification icons don’t keep dragging your fingers unintentionally and unconsciously to check what you are missing out on (Forever FOMO). This will give you more time to sit with the Qur’an and do other productive stuff.
14 Carry Forward a Habit
Ramadan is a wonderful time to start a habit and carry it forward into our daily lives. Remember to do a small act and then carry it forward else Shaitan or your own nafs will make you feel overwhelmed and make you leave it as soon as Ramadan comes to an end, or even worse in the midst of Ramadan.
The importance of consistency in good deeds can be understood here: The Prophet (SAWS) said, “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small”. Here are few examples, you could memorise a dua from the Sunnah and add it in your tashahhud (the final sitting in Salah), or listen to Qur’an every day prior to going to sleep (attached is a link of 7 mins Qur’an and recitation along with the Urdu Translation), start practising the morning and evening adhkars with punctuality, or some dhikr, reading darood, astagfaar a few times without a miss, or bringing to life simple sunnah’s such as drinking water sunnah, tahajjud once a week, reading tahiyyatul wudu once a day or week, or a fixed small charity every month the options are many, it just takes that one strong step to start. Ask for Allah’s help and make du’as for it to be accepted and to be consistent.
On a side note: have you ever heard of any calculation which equates to 30+6=365? This is the offer from Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem. Just imagine, are we able to pray, give charity, do dhikr or do another deed for 365 days without any miss? This is an offer one shouldn’t miss it’s a great deal, just grab it. Fast the 30 days or Ramadan couple it with 6 days in Shawwal and grab the rewards of fasting the entire year. Make an intention now.
Like one of the eminent scholars said, we wait for Ramadan and then it goes in the blink of an eye, I will soon be telling the same about my life, and that’s the quality of time. It sure does pass so make the most of it before it’s the end of your time and life.
