Can you believe that it's almost that time of year already for Ramadan? We are currently at the tail-end of the Islamic month of Syaaban, marking few days to go before Ramadan begins!
As everyone know, the holy month of Ramadan will be a much-needed reprieve for Muslims everywhere, as we seek to have a fulfilling month that brings us closer to our Creator. Also to help us all get into gear, here are some handy tips to get ready for Ramadan!
The underlying principle to most of the tips proposed in this list relates to easing into the good habits you want to do during Ramadan, rather than going from zero to a hundred. Implementing change isn't an overnight process because it takes practice, consistency and discipline.
As we head towards Ramadan, it is a great time to set our niat for the holy month ahead and begin implementing more acts to help us ease change for the better.
- Repent and pray for a good Ramadan | Repentance to God is a constant and consistent thing that we all need to do. Repentance is a staple in our daily acts of worship both big and small (from the prayers and duathat we make down to the istighfarwe say during zikir). As we enter Ramadan, it makes sense to amplify our acts of repentance.
Do not forget to make repeated dua to have this holy month and make you changes for the better, always make good habits, do extra prayers and good deeds as well as self-reflective.
- Extra acts of worship | Why not spend this whole Ramadan by make voluntary and sunnah practices by read more of the Al-Quran, do extra prayers and increase your zikir.
Many Muslim take advantage during Ramadan to complete a reading of Al-Quran in its entirely.
Not only that, you also can read and memorize any of the shorter surah, read and seek knowledge about the meaning of the surah or verses or make a routine to read Al-Quran a page a day.
While for prayers, may this month encourage you to do more sunnah prayers such as before and after obligatory prayers for example Dhuha, Tahajjud and Hajat.
After the prayers, it is always good to increase your remembrance of Allah to reciter zikir more often, even with simple recitation of the tasbih, tahmid and takbir.
- Increase the quality of your acts of worship | Always make time to improve on the fundamentals of our obligatory prayers, for example by not delay the prayers, reading a longer surah when praying and be more concentrated during the prayers.
- Sleeping patterns | Some of us may face problem with sleep patterns throughout Ramadan. Sometimes it’s not always easy to stay awake after sahur and gets on with the day. Many of us may feel sleepy and hard to nod off during the day. To be helpful for your Ramadan routine, you can start sleeping earlier if possible and be disciplined about time to go to bed and wake up as well as to get good quality sleep.
- Medical conditions | If you’re having high blood pressure, diabetes or other illness, please make sure to check in with your doctor to know your condition and any possible effects of fasting.
- Set your goals, intentions and reflects on the purpose of Ramadan
Think of a specific and achievable goals which you would like to do along this Ramadan and also throughout this year. After that put efforts into what you are doing as it will bring you closer to where you want to be.
Also do not forget to take time to reflect yourself on the significance of Ramadan and always strive to get closer to Allah SWT and aim to be better Muslim and ummah.