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- Your Best Ramadan Yet
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
With Ramadan around the corner, it’s time to prepare for the greatest month of the year.
It’s reported that the salaf would start preparing months in advance, reflecting their reverence for starting this month well.
We’ve put together a guide so that you have everything you need to make this your best Ramadan yet, إِنْ شَ اءَ ٱللَّٰهُ .
Overview
Scholar, Osman Hamdi Bey (1878)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be God-conscious.
Deepen Your Understanding of Ramadan
When Ramadan ends, many of us look back with regret that we did not fully embrace this sacred month. The daily demands of our lives can sometimes feel like they're competing with our spiritual aspirations.
Understanding the profound significance of Ramadan – its role as a divine invitation to purification, renewal, and most importantly taqwa – can help us prepare our hearts and adjust our mindsets well before the first night of fasting.
In the 6th volume of The Revival, Imam Al-Ghazali covers not just the outward obligations of fasting, but also explains the inner mysteries of the fast. What does taqwa actually mean, and how does fasting lead us to it?
You can also get this at Mecca Books and the Zaytuna Bookstore.
Fons Vitae has also made a version for children. It can serve as an effective guide for you to teach your children about generosity, gratitude, honesty, and patience — not as abstract concepts, but through stories, metaphors, and illustrations children can intuitively understand.
This insightful series is perfect for preparing for, and enriching your Ramadan — a welcome alternative to watching TV shows or TikTok.
For example, in this video Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad explains how Ramadan is a sort of spiritual exercise which trains the human will to overcome lower ego & pride for the rest of the year.
In these short videos, Shaykh Abdussalam al-Shuway’ir teaches the objectives of fasting, through which we can measure the success of our Ramadan.
Utilize Sha’baan شَعْبَان
Usāma b. Zayd (RA) narrated “I asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Why is it that you fast more in Shaban than any other month?’ The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘That is a month neglected by the people between Rajab and Ramadan, and it is a month in which one’s deeds are raised to the Lord of the Worlds, so I love for my deeds to be raised while I am fasting.’”
Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) mentions that The Prophet ﷺ fasted almost all of Sha’ban as a means of glorifying Ramadan. The scholars mention using the sunan prayers as a preparation for the obligatory prayer, so perhaps we can treat fasting in Sha’ban a preparation for Ramadan.
For more on the virtues of Sha’ban, check out this blogpost from Yaqeen Institute.
Preparing Your Body for Ramadan
There are a few common issues that most of us run into at the beginning of Ramadan. Headaches, caffeine withdrawal, and disrupted sleep patterns distract us from worship during these precious early days.
Dr. Abud Bakri has put together a free guide that covers optimal health protocols for you to remain productive for work/school, be able to workout, and maintain enough energy to read the Qur’an & pray.
If you’re a coffee/chai addict enthusiast like me, check this video out so that you’re not waking up everyday with the fogginess that comes with caffeine withdrawal.
Dates
Speaking of health, stock up on your dates! The sunnah to open your fast with dates has good physiological reasons: they provide the body with nutrients that your body is depleted of during your fast.
Everyone loves medjool dates, but you want to be careful where you source them from. More than half of medjool dates on the market are from Israeli settlements, who even use misleading Arabic labels. You can scan brands at your grocery store with Boycat to be sure, or just find them on Muslim Hub!
Ramadan is not just the month of fasting, but also the month of the Qur’an.
As we empty ourselves physically and spiritually during the fast, it is imperative to replenish ourselves with the Speech of Allah ﷻ.
And while reciting the Qur’an is important, the most important thing is to understand and reflect on the Qur’an.
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf reported one his teachers, the Mauritanian scholar Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj to have said: “To memorize two lines is better than reading ‘two camel loads’. But to understand two lines, is better than to memorize two camel loads.”
For that reason, I’d recommend The Study Quran. Beyond a translation, it has extensive footnotes aggregating the wisdom of a wide range of classical scholars to explain each verse.
While it isn’t a proper tafsir, it gives you sufficient commentary to have a more holistic understanding of the verses you’re reading: occasion of revelation, context, accompanying hadith, and clarifying statements from exegetes.
However, if you’re looking for a straightforward Quran translation without diving into detailed explanations, check out our post:
Tafsir
On the flip side, if you prefer an in-depth, detailed study of the Qur’an, then you want to pick up a tafsir, or exegesis of the Qur’an.
The standard exegesis everyone defaults to is Tafsir ibn al-Kathir but it’s not necessarily the ideal choice. Here are 3 tafasir to consider this Ramadan:
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: a widely studied exegesis rooted in classical Islamic scholarship.
- Written by the medieval Egyptian scholar Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli and his student Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, it is renowned for its straightforward, and concise explanations.Tafheem-ul-Quran: a contemporary commentary offering perspectives for the modern Muslim reader.
- Written by the Pakistani scholar Abul A’ala Maududi, it’s known for its emphasis on sociopolitical themes, and how to integrate the message of the Quran as a complete system of modern life. This tafsir is also available on the popular Al-Quran app, that I highly recommend.Tafsir al-Tustari: the earliest surviving Sufi commentary on the Qur'an, explaining the mystical dimensions of the book.
- Written by Sahl al-Tustari, who maintained that the Qur'an contained several levels of meaning (beyond just the outward & inward) which he sought to make legible.
Learn the words of the Qur’an with Kalaam
One of the greatest obstacles to khushū (presence, an attentive humility) in our prayer is not understanding the meaning of what is being recited.
As Shaykh Ninowy says, we’re not paying lip service to Allah ﷻ — the sincerity of our recitation flows from comprehending the recitation.
During congregational prayers, it's natural for our minds to wander when the imam recites unfamiliar verses. Most of us haven’t memorized the entire Qur’an, but the good news is that you don’t need to, in order to grasp what is being recited, and therefore maintain presence.
To help with this, I recommend downloading the Kalaam App.
My favorite feature of the app is that you can select the chapters of the Qur’an you want to learn vocabulary from first. So you’ll instantly feel your heart connected in salah when you fully understand the meanings of the chapters you’ve already memorized.
While we’re on the topic, here’s a short video where Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ruhaylī advises us on how to attain khushu in prayer:
Memorize More with Tarteel
The emphasis on understanding the Quran's meaning shouldn't overshadow the profound importance of recitation and memorization – in fact, these practices strengthen each other.
To that end, I recommend Tarteel, an app designed to help Muslims in memorizing & properly reciting the Qur’an.
"We would learn ten verses of the Qur'an, not going beyond them until we understood their meanings and acted upon them. So, we learned knowledge and action together."
Tasbih from Rahatnook
Dhikr is mentioned alongside prayer by Allah ﷻ highlighting the paramount importance of remembrance. Rasul-Allah ﷺ was known to use the grooves on his right hand's fingers to count his adhkar. The misbaha has become a universally accepted tool for keeping track of this sunnah.
I have this exact tasbih from Rahatnook, and really enjoy the tactile feeling of a wooden tasbih.
Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “I was ordered to use the toothstick so often that I thought something of it would be sent down to me in the Quran or revealed to me.”
The Apostle of Allah ﷺ loved oral hygiene: there are countless ahadith of him using siwak to keep his mouth clean & his breath fresh. He would use it upon waking up, during wudhu, before prayer, after isha — Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also mentioned that it was the first thing he would do when he entered his home.
There are many stores where you can get miswak: I’d recommend going to your local Islamic general/lifestyle store. You can click the link below to see a bunch of stores that sell miswak on MuslimHub.co, or just ask the Muslim Hub chatbot!
Abu ‘Amr Shaibani reported that a man asked The Messenger of Allah ﷺ: which of the deeds are liked by Allah ﷻ ?
The Prophet ﷺ responded: “Prayer at its proper time.”
He asked “what next” — He ﷺ replied: “Then goodness to the parents”.
He again asked “what next” — He ﷺ replied “then jihad in the cause of Allah ﷻ”.
Here are a few recommendations from Muslim Hub to ensure that you don’t miss the time of the prayer:
Check out more options to ensure praying at the proper time, by clicking the link below:
While worship requires dedication & toil, Allah ﷻ has not prescribed hardship for its own sake - if you have the means to make your worship more comfortable, there's Prophetic wisdom in doing so.
Allah ﷻ says regarding the fasts in Ramadan:
يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ
Allah intends ease for you, not hardship.
For the long nights of tarawih, consider investing in a prayer mat with a backrest to support your back. A great gift for your parents, or elders in your life!
Use MUSLIMHUB for 20% off for anything on Deenin.com
You can also get them at your local Islamic lifestyle store, or at IslamicBookstore.com.
Before children can articulate the faith, Ramadan teaches it to them through immersion.
By including them in the spiritual atmosphere and festivities of Ramadan, we can help them develop a deep appreciation for this blessed time that Allah has chosen for our community.
Noor Kids has a great Ramadan Camp every year, and the live aspect with other children also makes it a social activity for kids.
Naturally, people want to beautify their homes during this festive month, and MuslimHub.co has you covered! Head over to this page where you can find a wide variety of vendors selling Ramadan & Eid decor:
Here are two ideas for your Ramadan decor this year:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was even more generous during Ramadan when Jibril would meet him."
Deeds are multiplied in Ramadan, so this is the perfect time to be charitable.
The reason I enjoy giving through LaunchGood is that I only have to put in my credit card details once, and then I can sprinkle the amount I want to give across many different charities & campaigns. It’s also a great way for me to discover campaigns, instead of going through Google.
LaunchGood has recently created “Daily Giving” so that you can attain the blessings of charity every single day. You can choose a set amount that is donated to either the choice of your charities (Giving List) or you can let LaunchGood choose what campaign it goes to based on need.
Abu Huraira reported that The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”
Some argue that automating your giving might weaken its intentionality. But setting up a system to ensure your intention is fulfilled is simply planning in good-faith. The intention is the same whether you go out and distribute food yourself on foot every day or establish a waqf to do so in perpetuity. Setting up an automation to ensure that a well-formed intention reaches its destination is no different. Structuring your donations across every night of the last ten, in hope of Laylatul Qadr, is itself a deliberate and sincere act of will.
May this Ramadan guide serve as a beneficial resource for you on your journey - any goodness in it comes solely from Allah ﷻ , while any shortcomings are my own.
I pray that Allah ﷻ grants us all our most spiritually enriching Ramadan yet, accepting our fasts, and granting us taqwa.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
اللَّهُمَّ أَهِلَّهُ عَلَيْنَا بِالْأَمْنِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَالسَّلَامَةِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ وَالتَّوْفِيقِ لِمَا تُحِبُّ وَتَرْضَى رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكَ اللَّهُ
O Allah, bring it over us with safety and faith, security and Islam, guidance to what You love and is pleasing to You. Our Lord and your Lord is Allah.
Ramadan Nights by Mohammad Racim