What after Ramadan ?
Praise be to Allah Who has guided His believing servants to do acts of obedience and has made the ways of good and righteous deeds easy for them
The blessed month of Ramadan has already ended. (May Allah accept all our prayer, fasting, du’a, and good deeds , ameen!)
How should we, as Muslims, act now?
Allah says, in surah Baqarah, that Ramadan was prescribed on us in the hope that we could gain taqwa. Did we achieve that goal during fasting on Ramadan?
If you already felt the increase in spirituality and the beauty of faith during Ramadan and you wish to continue having that same spirit even after Ramadan, then you could do so by observing what the the prophet (PBUH) used to do after Ramadan.
Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) said:
“Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days from Shawwal, it is as if they fasted the entire year.” (Sahih Muslim)
The actions most beloved to Allah and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are those good deeds done most consistently
Yes, we might get tired and lazy. We also get busy with life , work and studies. Nevertheless, always turn to Allah. Always ask Him to help you stay steadfast and to help you continue what you have already achieved in Ramadan.
You should know that the sign of the acceptance of a good deed by Allah is that you follow it with another good deed, and the sign of rejecting good deeds by Allah is that you follow it by committing sins.
“..And establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.”
[Surat Al-Ankabut, verse 45]
In Ramadan, think about the all actions most believers who fasted also did :
- Prayed in jama’ah/congregation
- Prayed Qiyaam Al-Layl
- Fasted. Every day.
- Gave charity.
- Reached out to our family.
We can continue all these deeds after Ramadan:
- Don’t pray 5x a day yet? Start. Improve yourself. Add just one prayer to what you pray now.
- Don’t pray qiyaam? Start. Pray two short rakahs right after Isha, and gradually make it longer and later and larger in quantity.
- Don’t fast any extra fasts? Start. Aim for three times a month (the White Days), or every Monday, or every Monday and Thursday.
- Don’t give sadaqah outside of Ramadan? Start. Give sadaqah, even if only a dollar once a week.
- Don’t have a good relationship with some of your relatives? Fix it. Talk to your family, especially distant relatives. The best way to keep family ties If someone has wronged you, dont wait for an apology to forgive.Forgive them regardless.
- Don’t read the Qur’an regularly? Start. Read something every day. Start with just one page a day, but read it with tafseer.
Why 6 days of shawwal?
❝Another benefit is that fasting in Shawwal and Sha’ban is like the regular optional prayers before and after the fardh prayers - for they make up whatever defects and deficiencies took place in the fardh prayers. (...)
And most people have some deficiencies in their obligatory fasts (in Ramadhan), so they are in need of the actions which will make up for those and patch them up. It was for this reason that the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade any person to say: ‘I have fasted the entire Ramadhan,’ or ‘I have done all of the night prayers.’❞
- Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali رحمه الله
❝Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime.❞
- Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
[Muslim & Ibn Hajah - https://sunnah.com/urn/1271190]
In other narrations a year!
Just like you can’t quit smoking ( smoking is forbidden in Islam because it’s harmful to our bodies ) today and run a marathon tomorrow, you can’t change full-force in a short amount of time it’s best to Syart slow, and improve yourself until you become a much better person than you are.
May Allah allow us to seek the true, long-term benefits of Ramadan and better ourselves as people.
The question : were we Fasting during the day and feasting during the night or were we engaged in praying, supplicating , getting closer to Allah sincerely which will continue trough the whole life .
the supplications of Ibrahim pbuh. The Almighty says,
رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ
“my Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.” (Ibrahim: 40).