Intro

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, the month of fasting and the month of the Qur’an but what does that really mean?

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ١٨٥

“Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the decisive authority. So whoever is present this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺. Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful.” — Qur’an 2:185

All things in creation have been written in the preserved tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz). Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an — it is when revelation began.

بَلْ هُوَ قُرْءَانٌۭ مَّجِيدٌۭ ٢١

فِى لَوْحٍۢ مَّحْفُوظٍۭ ٢٢

“In fact, this is a glorious Quran, ˹recorded˺ in a Preserved Tablet.” — Qur’an 85:21-22

Laylat al Qadr is when revelation began, it is also when the Qur’an was sent down from preserved tablet to this world for Jibreel to begin narrating it to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The rest of the Qur’an was then revealed over the next 23 years of the life of the Prophet (ﷺ).

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ١٨٣

“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those before you, so that you may become mindful of God.” — Qur’an 2:183

Fasting is a great test of our discipline but the ultimate goal of fasting is to remind us of Allah. The primary focus of Ramadan is drawing closer to Allah, being mindful of Him and growing in taqwa (mindfulness of Allah).

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ “.

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said:”Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.”

Ramadan is a great chance to have our sins erased. The immense honour and status of this month comes from the immense opportunity for: forgiveness, earning of good deeds and our ultimate aim of drawing closer to Allah.

قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ” رُبَّ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ الْجُوعُ. وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ السَّهَرُ ” .

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: “There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer except sleeplessness.”

How can we make sure we’re making the most of this blessed month? How can we make sure we are going above and beyond just being hungry while fasting?

In this piece I’ll explore some of the ways in which we can endeavour to really achieve some sort of presence and nearness to Allah this Ramadan in shāʾ Allāh.

1 – Prayers

1.3 – Ishraq & Duha prayers

النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: “يصبح على كل سلامى من أحدكم صدقة: فكلتسبيحة صدقة، وكل تهليلة صدقة، وكل تكبيرة صدقة، وأمر بالمعروف صدقة، ونهي عن المنكر صدقة، ويجزئ من ذلك ركعتان يركعهما من الضحى”. ((رواه مسلم)).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “In the morning, charity is due on every joint bone of the body of everyone of you. Every utterance of Allah’s Glorification (i.e., saying Subhan Allah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of His Praise (i.e., saying Al-hamdu lillah) is an act of charity and every utterance of declaration of His Greatness (i.e., saying La ilaha illAllah) is an act of charity; and enjoining M’aruf (good) is an act of charity, and forbidding Munkar (evil) is an act of charity, and two Rak’ah Duha prayers which one performs in the forenoon is equal to all this (in reward).” [Muslim].

Every bodily faculty we have, every working bone, every functioning organ is a reason for us to be grateful to Allah. We owe Him our gratitude. As mentioned in this hadith, one of the best ways in which we can try to repay this charity is by praying the Duha prayer.

In short this consists of a minimum of 2-rakaat prayed in the mid-morning. This can be any time from 20 minutes after sunrise, to just before duhr prayer. (More info on the Duha prayer and how to pray it here: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/ishraq-chasht-awwabin-prayers/)

This quick and easy sunnah is a great way for us to be thankful to Allah and to punctuate our mid-morning with prayer. In practical terms if we’re sleeping after fajr and waking up after sunrise this can easily be prayed as the first thing we do when we wake up. Likewise during Ramadan this 5 minute prayer easily fits into the mid-morning “coffee break” that many of us would normally take and is a great chance for us to enrich our mornings with gratitude and prayer.

1.2 – Tahajjud

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “أفضل الصيام بعد رمضان: شهر الله المحرم، وأفضل الصلاة بعد الفريضة: صلاة الليل” ((رواه مسلم)).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The best month for observing Sawm (fasting) next after Ramadan is the month of Allah, the Muharram; and the best Salat (prayer) next after the prescribed Salat is Salat at night (Tahajjud prayers).” [Muslim]

One of the best prayers we can pray is tahajjud – the night prayer. Considered the next best prayer after the 5 daily obligatory (fard) prayers. This is an immense source of blessings and a great way for us to endeavour to bring blessings into our lives.

This can be prayed at any time after isha until fajr (more details on how to pray and the best time to pray can be found here: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/tahajjud-prayer-description-merits/ ). In short however it is a minimum of 2 rakaats to be prayed in the night, after isha and before fajr.

One easy way we can fit this into our Ramadan schedule is if we finish eating our morning meal (suhoor/sehri) a few minutes early and we pray 2 rakaat before fajr comes in. In this way we take advantage of the fact that we’re already awake to fulfil an incredible sunnah and in shāʾ Allāh this is a habit we can establish throughout Ramadan and beyond.

1.3 – Taraweeh Prayer

Finally a hallmark of Ramadan for many Muslims is the taraweeh prayer specifically:

“The Tarawih prayer during the month of Ramadan, consisting of 20 cycles of prayer, is a sunna of the Prophet ﷺ” — Shaykh Jamir Meah, SeekersGuidance

Most mosques and community spaces will offer taraweeh prayers after isha. This is normally 20 cycles of prayer during which the Qur’an is recited allowing for all to benefit from. (More information about taraweeh and how to pray it can be found here: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/is-it-necessary-to-perform-tarawih-prayers-in-the-mosque/)

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، يرغب في قيام رمضان من غير أن يأمرهم فيه بعزيمة، فيقول: “من قام رمضان إيمانًا واحتسابًا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه” . ((رواه مسلم)).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to urge (the people) to perform (optional Tarawih) prayer at night during the month of Ramadan. He did not order them or make it obligatory on them. He (ﷺ) said, “Whosoever performs (optional Tarawih) prayers at night during the month of Ramadan, with Faith and in the hope of receiving Allah’s reward, will have his past sins forgiven.” [Muslim].

Taraweeh prayer is a confirmed sunnah and can be offered at the mosque or it can be performed privately in one’s own home.

Conclusion

Every prayer is a chance for us to show our humility and submission to Allah. The very act of taking time out of one’s day to pray is an act of servitude — it demonstrates that we prioritise Allah over what else we are doing. 

Through the prayer we physically submit ourselves to Allah and through our dua we accept our reliance on Him alone. 

In dua we thank Allah for all He has given us, this is a reminder to ourselves of how blessed we are and how He always provides for us. As we ask Allah for more we admit our helplessness, our powerlessness, and our complete reliance on Allah alone for all things.

Next time we will look at more actions we can perform throughout Ramadan: 

• 1 – Prayer – Ishraq, Tahajjud & Taraweeh
• 2 – Reading and memorising the Qur’an 
• 3 – Dua, tawbah, dhikr, salawaat & clear intentions (Prayer, Repentance, Remembrance of Allah and His Messenger & making a clear intention before all actions)
• 4 – Serving others, being patient and striving to improve our character
• 5 – Striving to learn more about the Deen
• 6 – (bonus) – fulfilling our Fard (obligatory actions) e.g: fasting, prayers & zakat (charity)