2 Weeks Before Ramadan: "Increase Your Efforts and Allocating Zakaat and Sadaqah Week"

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Spend more time than you already are reading and understanding the Quran.

2. Focus even more on your Salah.

3. Increase the number of Rakat you pray for Qiyam ul Layl and tahajjud.

4. Increase the amount of time you are spending on tasbeeh and Istighfar.

5. Allocate your zakat if you are due to pay it.

6. Allocate the amount you want to pay for sadaqah in Ramadan and set it aside. As you do so, make an effort to read about the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves. This will have the two fold effect of making you grateful for what you have and wanting to do more for charity.

Wasalaam!

3 Weeks Before Ramadan: "Night Prayer and Charity Week"

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Things To Do 3 Weeks Before Ramadan:

1. If one of your weak points is getting up for Fajr, now is the time to get this right by going to bed early and setting the alarm for Fajr time.

2. Start to pray Qiyam-ul-Layl after Isha. (2 rakats minimum after the Isha prayer).

3. Start getting up for Tahajjud; you only need to wake up half an hour before you normally would for Fajr. (2 rakats minimum before Fajr time begins.)

4. Agree with a friend or family member to wake each other up for Tahajjud.

5. Think of ways you can benefit your community and the Ummah with charitable acts. Be imaginative, try and involve as many people as you can and remember that even the smallest act of kindness counts as charity.

Wasalaam!

4 Weeks Before Ramadan: "Fasting and Quran Week"

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Things To Do 4 Weeks Before Ramadan, Inshallah:

1. Start making up the Qadah of the missed fasts from previous Ramadans.

2. Once you have made up all your Qadah fasts, start fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. It is Sunnah to fast on these days.

3. Involve your family and friends by encouraging them to fast as well.

4. Fix a certain amount of Quran to read each day and ensure that you do it.

6. Get an English translation and a tafseer (commentary) book or app to help you understand the Quran better. Make a habit to read these regularly.

Wasalaam!

How to Pray Salaat-ul-Tasbeeh

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught this namaaz (Salaat-ul-Tasbeeh) to his uncle Hazrat Abbas (ra).

 He (saw) told his uncle that by performing this prayer, all past, present, old, new, small and big sins would be forgiven, inshallah.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) also stressed that this namaaz can be prayed everyday, once a week, once a month, once a year or even at least once in a lifetime.

Method: Firstly, make the niyyah (intention) that I am praying 4 rakaats Salaat-ul-Tasbeeh for the sake of Allah and I am facing towards the Holy Kabah, then say Allah-u-Akbar.

Then, men fold their hands on the navel whilst women fold their hands on their chest, and then say the prayers as per the following chart with this tasbeeh which will be recited 75 times in every rakaat.

For more information about Salaat-ul-Tasbeeh, click here.

Wasalaam!

Evaluation

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

He who does not work shall have no reward. 

It is reported that a man of Bani Israeel worshipped Allah the Exalted for 70 years. Allah intended to test him before the angels, so He sent him an angel to tell him that he did not merit Paradise even with this worship.

When the angel informed him of this, the worshipper replied:

We are created for worship and we can but worship Him.

The angel returned saying:

O my God, you know best what he said.

Allah, the Exalted said:

Since he did not turn away from worshipping Us, then with grace We shall not turn away from him. O my angels, bear witness that I have forgiven him.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

Evaluate your works before you are asked to account for them. Weigh your works before you are evaluated.

Ali (ra) said:

Those who think they can achieve their aims without work are dreaming, and those who think they will attain their goals through exertion alone are over-confident and consider themselves self-sufficient.

Hasan (ra) said:

Seeking and demanding Paradise without actions is a sin from amongst the sins ... The sign of attaining reality is in giving up regard for work, not in giving up the work.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

The wise man is he who judges himself and works for what is after death, and the fool is he who pursues his desires and (vainly) longs for Allah, the Exalted.

(Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali)

Wasalaam!

5 Weeks Before Ramadan: "Heart Focus" Week

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Things To Do 5 Weeks Before Ramadan:

1. Make Tawbah Nasooha - repent sincerely to Allah for all your sins.

2. Listen to Islamic lectures. Choose a scholar and topic that you feel will motivate you and get your heart into the right state.

3. Read Islamic books about self-development and purifying the heart.

4. Do your very best to pray all your Namaaz on time.

5. Ensure that you pray the sunnah-al-muakkadah rakat with your five daily fardh prayers.

6. Actively focus on improving your concentration in Namaaz by spending more time on it and focusing on what you are saying.

7. Allocate time to doing tasbeeh and istighfar especially after Namaaz.

Wasalaam!

6 Weeks Before Ramadan: "Wake Up Call" Week

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Things To Do 6 Weeks Before Ramadan Begins:

1. Recite the following dua to make it to Ramadan. Do this repeatedly throughout the day and every day leading up to Ramadan:

Allahumma baarika lana fi Rajab wa Sha'ban wa ballighna Ramadan

2. Write down specific targets, no more than five, of things that you want to achieve this Ramadan.

3. Start to read books about Ramadan. This will help you get into Ramadan mode and you will also learn about the do's and don'ts of fasting, which is important if you want to derive maximum benefit from it.

Wasalaam!