Ramadan Returns

Subhanallah this is the enhanced status that has been given to this month and needless to say that all of us should try to make the most of this blessed month. These are all things however that we are already aware of! I guess the purpose of this piece is simply to get us to think about the actions we adopt within this month and what we can learn from each and everyone of our Ramadan experiences. 

Ramadan is a month of many changes, there is a surge of heightened spirituality and the mosques are overflowing with worshippers ready to engage in prayer. Whilst all this is well and good it is quite sad to see that this is lost once Ramadan is over and the changes that people were so eager to make whilst in anticipation of Ramadan have suddenly, well have suddenly been forgotten.  I guess this is like the example of a person who has sewn a shirt and then destroyed it, what would we say about the person who did this? I leave this open to you! In this way this analogy can be applied to the person who spends Ramadan in obedience to Allah and in the engagement of righteous actions but then leaves all this once Ramadan is over.

 It has been said that one sign that a person’s Ramadan has been accepted is that there is a continuation of the good deeds that one had engaged in during Ramadan in one’s life when Ramadan is over. It is noted here that good deeds are not solely for the month of Ramadan these are things that we should try to adopt in our lives everyday for example reading and contemplating on the Qur’an is not just an action for Ramadan but for all times! And standing in worship in the form of Tarawih prayer during Ramadan may have ended but we still have the nights for voluntary prayer! Again needless to say that this would apply to all actions that people may have engaged in during Ramadan such as being less argumentative, more charitable etc...  

In light of all this Ramadan can be used as a ‘month of transformation’ whereby we can start afresh and change for the better. The key thing though is that we benefit as fully as we can in this month and allow any seeds planted within this month to continue to grow and become fruitful for us in the 11 months outside Ramadan! May Allah accept yours and my Ramadan, give us the ability to fully benefit from this blessed month and to continue our good deeds once Ramadan is over..!