In just a few days, we will be welcoming the blessed month, a dear guest that we eagerly await every year, bringing with it blessings and mercy. Like any honored guest, it requires preparation and readiness, both within ourselves and in our homes and schedules. The greater the status of the guest, the more extensive the preparations for its arrival. Thus the article explains the best ways a Muslim can use in preparing for Ramadan.
In the hadith of Tirmidhi: “May his nose be rubbed in the dust, a man for whom Ramadan comes and then goes before he is forgiven,” meaning he has failed and lost if Ramadan arrives and he is not forgiven. It is the month of blessings and mercy, where the gates of paradise are opened, the gates of hellfire are closed, and Allah emancipates His servants from the fire. Hence, it is essential for a Muslim to prepare for its arrival, as preparation for work and readiness for it is a sign of sincere intention and pursuit.
The importance of preparation stems from the significance of the blessed month to Allah and its profound impact on the servant. It is an intensive spiritual course in which Allah nurtures the servant in obedience, love, and satisfaction. The fruit of this course is for the believing servant to attain the quality of the righteous, which Allah sealed with the verse of fasting, stating: ‘[O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous] (Quran, Al-Baqarah: 183).
The goal Allah wants us to reach through fasting is to become righteous, the highest rank a believing servant can achieve. It creates a shield between him and Allah’s anger, displeasure, and punishment, manifested in performing acts of obedience and abstaining from prohibitions, seeking the pleasure of Allah. Taqwa (God-consciousness) is often mentioned after obligations to serve as an incentive for action or before them to serve as an incentive to abandon what contradicts it, as Allah says: [Indeed, the righteous will be in gardens and springs] (Quran, Al-Hijr: 45), and He also says: [So fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers] (Quran, Al-Baqarah: 24).
Taqwa is only attained by abandoning desires and prohibitions and engaging solely in acts of obedience to Allah.
We all know that Ramadan is a blessed month, where mercy descends, mistakes are forgiven, ranks are raised, and good deeds are multiplied. So how do we seize it?
How do we prepare for Ramadan?
How do we prepare for Ramadan?Any successful project starts with successful planning, and your success in the upcoming Ramadan is linked to your readiness and planning on how to invest in this blessed month. It is a season that visits us every year and departs, recharging your faith for a whole year and returning you to the straight path. Therefore, you should prepare for it from now to benefit from every second of it.One of the characteristics of Ramadan is that it naturally encourages you to organize your time. The consistency in the timing of suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (breaking fast) makes your day more manageable, allowing you to manage your day’s hours flexibly.