Are you prepared for Ramadan 2022? Because we’re excited, blessed and looking forward to basking in the glories of this holy month and want you all to join in. Ideally, it is wise to start preparing your mind, body and soul for Ramadan a month before, however, it’s never too late to jump on track a week before.
He (PBUH) used to prepare in advance for the holy month of blessings! It makes all the sense in the world as well. You see, fasting doesn’t refer to just abstaining from food. Rather, you should think of it as a refresher course that tweaks your character back to a refined version. The acts, the deeds which help you celebrate Ramadan in proper spirit!
So here are 8 ways that you can practice and share to prepare yourself for Ramadan 2022 in just one week.
PRACTICE QIYAM-UL-LAYL / TAHAJJUD
“The best prayer after the obligatory prayers is the night prayer.” (Sahih Muslim) – Therefore we can not even begin to explain the important of this prayer.
The term ‘Qiyam-ul-layl’, in the most literal sense, means to ‘stand during the night’. It is a voluntary prayer which is offered between the time of Ishaa prayer and the Fajr prayer (before dawn). But the most preferred time is before sunrise, in the last third of the night. It is also more commonly known as ‘tahajjud’, ‘witr’ and ‘Taraweeh’ and holds great rewards and blessings for any Muslim who sacrifices his/her sleep to stand in front of Allah (SWT) and pray to Him
1. Performing Ablution before sleeping at night .
2. Reciting the night Zikr while in bed before sleeping.
3. Making earnest dua to Allah SWT.
4. Apology to Allah: Sincere and genuine atonement is one of the fundamental decorums of Istikhara.
5. Sleep early. If you are in the habit of staying up late at night then you need to retune your body clock so that you can go to bed early. Otherwise you will not be able to wake up for tahajjud prayer.
6. Set up the Alarm clock and place it at a distance from the bed.
GIVE ZAKAT
Although the donation is not bound by a specific time or month, but we tend to donate more in the holy month of Ramadan. And the reason is simple, everyone wants to double the blessings and the promised rewards on offer in return for charity! So give as much as you can from food to clothes or even shelter.
ADOPT GOOD HABITS
Ramadan is the ideal time to cultivate and create healthy habits that will last throughout the year, in addition to forming excellent religious routines. Some of the good practices are enjoying each meal by offering grace to Allah, being polite with others, taking time to offer prayers to the creator, performing charity, and thinking before speaking.
PRACTICE LIGHT EATING
Fasting throughout the month of Ramadan is a mental and physical challenge. Therefore, maintaining a well-balanced diet before and during Ramadan is essential. The components of a balanced meal work together to keep the blood sugar constant and give plenty of energy. Therefore, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, yogurt, eggs, and nuts should be included in one’s diet before and during Ramadan.
Recommended Ramadan dishes: Oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts, bread with a boiled egg and a piece of fruit, and a bowl of vegetable soup, a piece of whole-grain toast, and a glass of low-fat milk. (sourced)
INVOLVE THE KIDS
As parents and other family members, involving your kids in an activity such as preparing for Ramadan is perhaps the greatest life-long gift that we can give them so they can learn to live, learn and appreciate the bounties of what Ramadan holds and become better versions of themselves.
PRACTICE VOLUNTARY FASTING
Ideally the holy month of Shaban that precedes Ramadan is the time to self-discipline yourself by voluntary fasting on the important days as well as by making up for the ones you missed last year. So, even though you have time, you still fast to prep your mind and body for 30 days of Ramadan.
SEEK FORGIVENESS
We sin, we repent and then we sin again.
We humans take Allah’s mercy for granted because we sin and repent and He forgives us. And we’re so busy with and in our lives that we hardly appreciate or evaluate the fact that Allah is so benevolent for accepting our forgiveness. Ramadan is a great opportunity that we all should avail and take time to change our ways and learn from our mistakes by seeking forgiveness in a way not to repeat ourselves and instead become exemplary.
RECITE THE QURAN
We recite the Quran and reflect on it to draw closer to Allah Almighty. The good deed done before the holy month by reflecting on the Quran is highly rewarded by the almighty Allah in Ramadan. Every time one reads the Qur’an, they will discover new meaning and its usefulness in this life (and not just in Ramadan).
