Prep For Ramadan! | 7 Things To Do

Ramadan is around the corner! A year goes by so fast, it feels like yesterday when I fasted for Ramadan 2019. I believe that Ramadan is the one month every Muslim is always waiting for. The serene that you feel while doing your ibadah during Ramadan, knowing that the reward will be more than usual, is out of this world. I'm supposed to spend my Ramadan this year at uni but considering that the semester is postponed (read: COVID-19), for this year, I get to spend it with my family at home again which I'm very grateful of. In preparation for Ramadan, there are 7 things that I want to do and I recommend everyone else to do as well.

01. Finish qada (replace) the days I missed fasting from previous years

This is no stranger to us, especially the ladies. I finished my qada already, Alhamdulillah, but since there are more than two weeks more before Ramadan starts, I'm thinking of fasting some more just in case I forgot any day that I missed. Don't delay it anymore, people. And if you have fidyah debt you should pay, don't forget to pay it!

02. Start practising some sunnah especially sunnah (voluntary) fasting

Aisyah reported: I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha’ban. (Al-Bukhari)

It was reported that Rasulullah PBUH fasted more in Sha'ban because it is a month in which the deeds are taken up to the Lord of the worlds, and he likes that his deeds be taken up when he is fasting (Al-Nisai). Besides this reason, I believe that fasting the month of Shaban can serve as our training for Ramadan, both spiritually and physically. Same goes to other sunnah deeds; if we start doing it earlier than Ramadan, we will be more used to it and it's not really hard for us to do it during Ramadan. We can also start to stop doing all the lagha (useless) things we usually do in our daily life. We don't need to stop doing it abruptly, slow progress is more than okay as long as we try. Allah SWT doesn't just see the result of something we do but also our efforts in doing it.

credit

03. Revise my prayer and Quran recitations

It was much easier when I was in secondary school because there are a lot of ustazahs that I could find to ask for help in fixing my tajweed and pronunciation of my prayer as well as Quran recitations. It is often neglected and I understand that not many people realize how crucial it is to get your recitations recited correctly. It was said that incorrect ways of recitations will cause your prayer to not be accepted, which of course, cause us to sin. I believe that Allah is the Most Merciful because like I said in point number 2, Allah sees our effort and I believe we'll get rewards for that and He will be generous in giving His forgiveness. However, Allah loves His servants that keep trying to improve in every way and we are all trying to get His love, right? Revising our recitations is one of the ways to get His love. We can always find a class that can help in fixing our recitation or in now situation, I think social media can help us a lot.

04. Prepare a Ramadan TBR

In case if you're not familiar to book talk, TBR means to-be-read. As someone who loves books so much, Ramadan, for me, is one of the most wonderful time to read. I don't really know why, but it just is. Last Ramadan, I spent the whole month finishing The Shadowhunter Chronicles, which has 11 books and it was fantastic. However, this year I got an idea of preparing a special TBR list for Ramadan; if you can get rewarded by doing something you enjoy, why not do it right? The books can be fiction and nonfiction, as long as you think it'll help you self-reflect and improve in any way. I personally prefer religious books but if you want to do this, you can put anything that you think is suitable for your TBR.

If you're interested in what I'm going to read during Ramadan, do follow me on my Instagram account at @nerdbilla. I'm planning to write a Ramadan TBR post on my blog as well but who knows if I'm actually ever gonna post it. I usually update my TBR on my Instagram so do follow me there.

05. Prepare a Ramadan Podcast Playlist

Podcasts are something I'm really liking these days. I've been listening to crime podcast, self-help podcast but the ones I really love are the religious podcasts. I started listening to Mufti Menk's podcast a year ago and I really loved it. Since his podcast is recorded during a real talk with audiences, it feels like I'm there in the event, listening to his talk. One of my goals for each Ramadan is to lessen the amount of music I listen to and I think that podcasts will be a great substitute. Podcasts by Mufti Menk, Yasmin Mogahed and Nouman Ali will be up there in my Ramadan Podcast Playlist but some other podcasts that I've been loving lately are the ones by Ustaz Addien and Dr Zulkifli Mohammad Al-Bakri. I'm definitely gonna put some self-help podcasts too in the playlist. If you're interested in making one, you can try making it on Spotify or Castbox. You can also download Syok! app and play Naura Sharing podcasts, they're very great too! You just can't make a playlist using their playlist but they're a very good option too.

06. Start my Ramadan Quran recitation

I think some of my fellow ladies are starting their Ramadan Quran recitation earlier too and we all know exactly why. To khatam (finish) the whole Quran is one of every Muslim's main Ramadan goals and I think almost everyone knows how to divide the Quran pages to make sure you khatam the Quran on time/as many times you want. Most ladies, however, are unable to use that dividing technique (read: menstruation) and more often than not, I'm one of those people. Some ladies even get their period twice a month, which is frustrating not just because the amount of fasting they need to replace but also the ibadah they could've done during Ramadan but can't. One of the options available for us ladies to khatam the Quran before Ramadan ends is to start earlier and if we're lucky and persistent enough, we can even khatam more than once!

07. Find a women-only usrah

Having an usrah circle was one of the best things everyone can do during Ramadan. It enables you to socialize and have a heart-to-heart talk with your circle, do some sharing, learn something from your circle member and you can also do the khatam together thing (divide pages to everyone in your circle to make sure all of you get to khatam the Quran). During this pandemic time, it's unadvised to go out for usrah meetings but social media can play a huge role to make it possible. With WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, if even akad nikah can be held, why don't we have usrah meetings through social media? If you're with your family during this time, you can also do it with your family members. After all, usrah literally means family. Do all the activities you can do in usrah groups but with your family! It will be fun and rewarding, I promise.

I hope all of my fellow Muslim can prepare well to meet our very missed and precious month, Ramadan. During this time of distressing pandemic, this Ramadan might not feel like our usual Ramadans. Since the Restricted Movement Order (RMO) is extended, Taraweeh can't be held at mosques anymore and there will be no trips to bazaars at all. Even then, our spirit to celebrate Ramadan should not fade. I pray that all of us will be safe, well and healthy to greet the upcoming Ramadan with full spirit. Stay safe, take care, practise good hygiene and social distancing and please stay home.