In Part-1 we looked at the virtue of praying. We explored the basis for some prayers on top of our mandatory (fard) prayers:

• Tahhajud before Fajr
• Ishraq & Duha prayers in the morning
• and finally Taraweeh after Isha

In Part-2 we looked at strengthening our relationship with the Qur’an through numerous means:

• 2.1 Reciting the Qur’an in Arabic
• 2.2 Reading the Qur’an in a Language One Understands
• 2.3 Further Explanation of the Qur’an and Qur’anic exegesis (Tafsir)
• 2.4 Apps & Websites To Help us Read and Explore the Qur’an
• 2.5 Memorisation of the Qur’an

Part 3 we looked at regular prayers we can do, dhikr and tawbah:

• 3.1 Intention, making a firm intention before all actions
• 3.2 Dua, prayer through times of ease and hardship
• 3.3 Dhikr & Salawaat – remembering Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ)
• 3.4 Tawbah – Repentance 

Finally we will look at the virtue of good character and continual learning:

Part 4 – Serving Others, Being Patient and Striving to Improve our Character

Ramadan is a time for selflessness and good character

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” إِنَّ مِنْ أَخْيَرِكُمْ أَحْسَنَكُمْ خُلُقًا

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, ‘The best among you are those who have the best manners and character.’ [Sahih]

4.1 The Emphasis of Good Character in Islam

قَالَ ‏رسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “‏ مَا نَحَلَ وَالِدٌ وَلَدًا مِنْ نَحْلٍ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ أَدَبٍ حَسَنٍ ‏”

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A parent can give a child no greater gift than beautiful manners.” [Tirmidhi]

Working on one’s character is an especially big aspect of the month, refraining from sins, swearing and any form of speaking ill.

وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

Cooperate with one another in goodness and righteousness, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment. — Quran 5:2

The Prophet (ﷺ) has told us to honour even the smallest acts of kindness to one another:

-قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: ” لا تحقرن من المعروف شيئاً ولو أن تلقى أخاك بوجهٍ طليق” ((رواه مسلم)).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother (Muslim) with a cheerful face”.

Ultimately the goal of Ramadan is taqwa (mindfulness of Allah). The Prophet (ﷺ) told us that taqwa goes hand in hand with good character and kindness to others:

، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ أَكْثَرِ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّاسَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَالَ ‏”‏ تَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ”‏‏

The Prophet said, “What enables people to enter Paradise more than anything is piety and good character.” [Tirmidhi]

Kindness and gentle character were always the way of our noble exemplar, the Prophet (ﷺ) as this is the completeness of faith:

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ إِنَّ مِنْ أَكْمَلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا وَأَلْطَفُهُمْ بِأَهْلِهِ ‏”‏ ‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The most complete in faith are those best in character and kindest to their families.” [Tirmidhi]

What does this look like? How specifically do we embody this noble message in our own lives?

4.2 Serving Others – Helping Others Wherever Possible

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ”اللَّهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَوْنِ أَخِيهِ“

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah is in the aid of His servant as long as His servant is in the aid of others.” [Sahih]

Serving others is not just a good deed that we do. As members of a community we owe others their rights as our fellow humans:

رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ لاَ يَظْلِمُهُ وَلاَ يُسْلِمُهُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي حَاجَةِ أَخِيهِ كَانَ اللَّهُ فِي حَاجَتِهِ وَمَنْ فَرَّجَ عَنْ مُسْلِمٍ كُرْبَةً فَرَّجَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِهَا كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَنْ سَتَرَ مُسْلِمًا سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ “

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“A Muslim is the brother of a fellow-Muslim. He should neither commit oppression upon him nor ruin him.

He who meets the needs of a brother, Allah would meet his needs.

He who relieved a Muslim from hardship Allah will relieve from him the hardships to which he will be put on the Day of Resurrection.

He who does not expose (the follies of a Muslim) Allah will conceal his follies on the Day of Resurrection.” [Sahih Muslim]

This especially applies to those who may need our help such as the elderly and the sick.

‏ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏: ‏‏ “‏ما أكرم شاب شيخًا لسنه إلى قيض الله له من يكرمه عند سنه‏”‏‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A young man never honours an old man due to age but that God sends someone to honour him when he reaches that age.” [Tirmidhi]

4.3 Feeding others

Ramadan is a time of community. A great way to engage with our friends, family & neighbours is through shared food:

عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: “من فطر صائمًا، كان له مثل أجره غير أنه لا ينقص من أجر الصائم شيء”

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He who provides a fasting person something with which to break his fast, will earn the same reward as the one who was observing the fast, without diminishing in any way the reward of the latter.”

Ramadan is a great opportunity to offer our friends and neighbours some extra food.

‏ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “‏لَيْسَ الْمُؤْمِنُ الَّذِي يَشْبَعُ وَجَارُهُ جَائِعٌ‏”‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A believer is not one who eats his fill while his next door neighbour goes hungry.”

When Eid comes around it is a chance for us to buy them sweets, a beautiful way to help those around us to enjoy the celebrations.

4.4 Good Treatment of Others

An important part of dealing with others is that we never consider ourselves better than them.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ مَنْ عَيَّرَ أَخَاهُ بِذَنْبٍ لَمْ يَمُتْ حَتَّى يَعْمَلَهُ ‏”‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever faults his brother for some wrong shall not die before doing it himself” [Tirmidhi]

Even when we see someone engaged in wrongful acts, we never know what forgiveness they may attain in the future, and how Allah may turn around and ennoble their lives. Likewise even if we think we are doing well in the present we never know how our own lives may change in the future.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ حَيْثُمَا كُنْتَ وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا وَخَالِقِ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ “

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Keep God in mind wherever you are; follow a wrong with a right that offsets it, and treat people courteously.”

Simply we should treat others with the respect that all people deserve, and the respect we would like to receive ourselves:

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏ “‏أَحِبَّ لِلنَّاسِ مَا تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ”‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Love for humanity what you love for yourself.”

4.5 Patience in the Face of Trials

وعن أبى هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رجلاً قال للنبى صلى الله عليه وسلم: أوصنى قال: “لا تغضب” فردد مراراً، قال: “لا تغضب”. ((رواه البخارى)).

A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) to give him advice, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Do not get angry.” The man repeated that several times and he (ﷺ) replied (every time), “Do not get angry.” [Al- Bukhari].

Allah tell us Himself in the Qur’an about the importance of patience:

إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ٢

إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ٣

“Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss, except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance (patience in the face of trials).” — Qur’an Chapter 103 – Surah Al-Asr

As humans we are all bound to slip, we are all in a state of loss. Our way out of this is through our faith, and continuing todo good deeds and have patience in the face of adversity.

5 — Aiming to Learn More About The Deen

It’s important to keep learning and growing, so that hopefully we can continue to benefit ourselves and those around us.

As we’re trying to grow in taqwa, ultimately we’re aiming to grow in love for Allah and His messenger (ﷺ). It may take us a lifetime but we aim to know and love Allah so deeply that we can’t help but see Him in all things.

5.1 – Studying the Seerah

We aim to love the Prophet (ﷺ) so deeply that we are always reminded of his perfect character; striving to emulate his ways. Does the lover think of any other than their Beloved?

How though can we love someone when we don’t know them? This is our aim through studying the seerah (the Prophetic biography) — to slowly come to know and love the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ); his life, his journey, his character, his miracles, his family, his companions and so much more. It’s a life long journey, but provides the context of the revelation that reaches us today; it is the cradle of our Islamic tradition.

When first studying the seerah, it can feel like a multitude of names, dates and places, very few of which are familiar to begin with. There are many introductory books, lectures and podcasts though that all aim to make the seerah easy to understand. A few that come to mind and have also been recommended by friends are:

• Qalam podcast (23 episodes) – “The Chosen One” by Mufti Hussain Kamani – short and concise but still very moving and aims to capture the emotion of the journey.
• Qalam podcast (200 episodes) by Sheikh Abdul Nasir – Much more detailed and thorough — exploring the emotions and the reality of the Seerah in depth. An amazing series.
• Qalam podcast – “Heartwork: The Messenger” – Beautiful and touching podcast by Ustadh Abdel Rahman Murphy. Very accessible and engaging, aimed at students and young professionals. (Also available on Facebook+ Youtube)
• “In The Footsteps of the Prophet by Tariq Ramadan” – Engaging and concise book on the seerah aiming to capture the emotion of the journey and the key events. Very accessible for people reading the Seerah for the first time
• “Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings” – a detailed telling of the Seerah based on early sources from the Islamic tradition. Presented in modern English, well written and easy to read. Very detailed and informative but can be a bit hard to keep track of all the details.
• “The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad by Tariq Ramadan” – “Really straightforward to understand and insightful at the same time. Encourages you to reflect on the different aspects of prophetic character” recommended by my good friend Dr Haroon
• “Revelation: The Story of Muhammad by Meraj Mohiuddin” — A compilation of other texts of seerah, this book is an excellent study companion that brings a multitude of well-produced diagrams and appendices. Provides an excellent text-book and study companion when reading other texts.

Each, teacher and author I’ve mentioned above aims to convey the emotional and human aspect of the Prophetic biography, capturing the human side to the journey and not just the names, dates & facts.

At its heart the seerah is a story of love and trust between the Prophet (ﷺ) and Allah. We see over the course of 23 years how the Prophet (ﷺ) continuously trusts in Allah’s plan and His promise.

5.2 – Studying the Deen generally

Nowadays with the internet it’s even easier than ever to access great material with organisations such as SeekersGuidance, Cambridge Muslim College, Yaqeen Institute and Qalam-Institute providing so much excellent content online for free.

When we’re not able to consistently learn and study new content it’s beneficial to keep up regular reminders of what we already know insha’Allah. This can come in the form of books, articles, Islamic talks, podcasts, the Friday khutbah or even regular study circles at our local mosque & community space.

Reminders continue to reinforce positive messages in our lives. Often we have already heard a pertinent hadith or we have grappled with similar tests in our lives but we forget the key messages and advice when they may be helpful and comforting to us again.

Through continued reminders we hope to better our memory. So that throughout our day whenever we face a test, a trial or even a blessing we remember the lesson and seek Allah appropriately. In times of blessings we aim to be thankful to Him and in times of hardship we aim to be patient and seek help from Him.

6 – Fulfilling our Fard (obligatory actions)

Allah tells us in an authentic hadith:

مَا تَقَرَّبَ إلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ

“My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the (fard) religious duties I have obligated upon him.”

In this hadith-qudsi (related to us from the Prophet telling us what Allah has said directly) — Allah tells us Himself that the best way for us to draw closer to Him is through the fard, religious duties enjoined upon every Muslim. Through doing this we hope to achieve a state of ihsan, and such mindfulness (taqwa) of Allah that we constantly see Him in all things we do.

“أَنَّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم فَقَال: أَرَأَيْت إذَا صَلَّيْت الْمَكْتُوبَاتِ، وَصُمْت رَمَضَانَ، وَأَحْلَلْت الْحَلَالَ، وَحَرَّمْت الْحَرَامَ، وَلَمْ أَزِدْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا؛ أَأَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ”

“A man questioned the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: “Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in Ramadan, treat as lawful that which is halal, and treat as forbidden that which is haram, and do not increase upon that [in voluntary good deeds], then I shall enter Paradise?” He (ﷺ) replied, “Yes.” [Sahih]

The obligatory fasting throughout Ramadan requires great discipline in itself and is a great place for us to start our journey back to Allah. At the same time we should make sure we are also completing our other obligatory (fard) actions such as:

• Praying our five daily prayers on time.
• Zakat – paying our annual alms (charity). National Zakat Foundation makes it really easy to calculate how much we owe before we pay. (https://nzf.org.uk/)

Fasting ideally involves refraining from any other bad habits and vices. As Imam Al-Ghazali eloquently describes:

“It should be known that there are three degrees of fasting: ordinary, extraordinary, and perfect.

Ordinary fasting means abstaining from food, drink, and sexual satisfaction.

Extraordinary Fasting means keeping one’s ears, eyes, tongue, hands and feet – and all other organs – free from sin.

Perfect Fasting means fasting of the heart from unworthy concerns and worldly thoughts, in total disregard of everything but Allah, Great and Glorious is He. This kind of Fast is broken by thinking of worldly matters, except for those conducive to religious ends, since these constitute provision for the Hereafter and are not of this lower world.” — from the Ihya of Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad al Ghazali. Translation by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Summary and Closing Thoughts for Ramadan

In summary we have looked at 5 ways we can have a meaningful Ramadan. Ultimately none of these are time-bound to Ramadan but are in fact great habits we can carry with us throughout the year.

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. Learn about Islam and practicing it in our lives
6. (bonus) – Fulfilling our Fard (obligatory actions) e.g: fasting, prayers & zakat (charity)

I pray that Allah grants all of us a successful and uplifting end to Ramadan, may He grant us nearness to Him and forgiveness for any shortcomings and may He make us of those who earn His pleasure and are guided to the straight path.

As Ramadan draws to a close let us reflect on the ways we can continue to work on ourselves and improve. If we’re able to add night prayers to our bedtime, or pre-fajr, routine that may become an immense source of blessings for us:

All of the things we have focused on during Ramadan we can continue to carry forward in the rest of our lives.

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَتَحَرَّى صَوْمَ الاِثْنَيْنِ وَالْخَمِيسِ .

Aishah narrated: “The Prophet used to try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays.” [Tirmidhi]

Ramadan may be leaving us but Allah never leaves us.