Apart from fasting and praying to make the most of Ramadan, there are others areas of focus also. From your improving your personality to your relationships and even strengthening your faith, these last couple of years and the tough situations we face everyday are a sign that we need to affirm our faith and get closer to Allah. And Ramadan is a great way to instill and carry on new habits.
What does it mean to spiritually strengthen your faith?
The Prophet Muhammad (S) said: “Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts (Mustadrak al-Haakim).
Our faith is not always as sound and strong as we want it to be as it often fluctuates according to life circumstances. There are several causes for weakening faith such as; committing sins, neglecting sunnah, finding difficulty in remembering Allah. Regardless of the cause, it is crucial for all of us to keep a check on our faith and if we feel it is faltering in any way then we should take measures to restore it.
So here are a few ways on how you can learn, re-learn and strengthen your faith spiritually during Ramadan.
- Provide food for breaking of fast for a fasting person is a spiritual act of worship.
- Wake up to to Pray 2 rakat of tahajjud (night prayers)
- Repeat Istaghfar at all times to constantly ask for forgiveness for your sins and errors
- Supplicate to Allah sincerely when breaking your fast because He listens.
- Spend 30 minutes reciting and reading the Quran daily – recite, reflect, read the translation/ tafseer and take lessons from it.
- Memorize one verse each day (e.g surah Al-Mulk with 30 verses) is a great thing to do.
- Invite someone to Islam or at least talk to someone who might not have a strong belief
- Teach the Glorious Quran to someone.
- Listen to a beautiful recitation of the Quran for 30 minutes.
- Offer a total of 12 nawafil of optional prayers throughout the day.
- Memorise 3 of 99 names of Allah ; remember and reflect upon the names and use in your supplications and prayers.
