Ramadan is the most blessed month of all other months of Islamic calendar. It is the month of learning and practicing virtues we do no otherwise practice in other eleven months of the year. It would not be wrong to say that Ramadan teaches us self discipline to learn the patience to abstain from what is otherwise Halal to us including food, intimate relations with our spouses, restraining our anger and harnessing our tongue to abstain from using foul language. It also conditions us to stand for long hours offering Traveeh prayers at night and reciting Qur'an more than we recite otherwise.
With the end of the month of Ramadan, we suddenly revert to our habits, good or bad, of pre Ramadan months. But does this is the outcome of fasting for the entire months and exhibiting strict self discipline on us? Certainly not. Ramadan is in fact is a one month training camp for all of us to a strict practicing timetable to condition our behaviour for the rest of the eleven months. So what do we do?
Well, for one thing, let us stop abstaining ourselves from the Halal things and start to live our normal lives. Eat and drink during the day or even intimately meet our spouses. But that is all. Other than that, we must continue to practice the virtues learnt during the month. Some are given herein under:
The Suhoor, the food taken before the commencement of the fast of the day, every morning much before the pre dawn time, conditioned us to get up early morning, eat Suhoor followed by the pre dawn prayer (Fajr). This was normally followed by recitation of the Qur'an, usually one Juz /part every day. Now that the Ramadan is over and there are no Suhoor to taken, let us continue to offer the Fajr prayer if we were no regular in doing so before Ramadan.
Tarawih prayers coupled with the night prayer, Isha, attracted large number of believers who had otherwise never prayed the Isha prayer in the masjids. [Tarawih, (Arabic: تَّرَاوِيح, romanized: tarāwīḥ), are special Sunnah prayers involving reading long portions of the Quran, and performing up to 20 rakahs, which are performed only in the Islamic month of Ramadan.] Now let us continue to offer Isha prayer in the masjid and be punctual as we have been during Ramadan. This should bring about a phenomenal change in our lives with regard to offering Isha prayer in the masjid.
Continuing with the offering of the practice of Tarawih prayer which entailed standing for almost an hour to listen to the Qur'an being recited, let us change over the Tahajjud prayer, the late night prayer which was the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. this non obligatory prayer is of immense value and rewards as at late night of the hour, one is all alone communicating and talking to his Creator. The getting up for Suhoor should not be replaced with offering tahajjud prayer.
The fasting itself is a good concept that can now be correlated to the many health benefits of intermittent fasting. We are already tuned up after fasting for thirty days to abstain from eating and drinking. While we may not start fasting like that f Ramadan, we can reschedule our eating habits with long spells of food abstaining. This would be good for our health as we have experienced during Ramadan.
While in Ramadan we abstained from foul language or telling lies or expressing our anger on petty matters, why cannot we continue this healthy habit and remain happy, for foul language and anger is also hurting, may sometimes even lead to depression. So let us have a pleasant demeanor from now on and be happy and let others be so too.
In my reckoning, these are some virtues which we can easily adopt and continue with these for remaining part of the year, till next Ramadan. Try it, not difficult to achieve and be happy.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please consult our reference page: Ramadan - A month of fasting and Blessings, to learn more about Ramadan. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for our exclusive pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
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