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Imam Zijad’s Corner: PREPARING FOR RAMADAN: GOALS

Rasulallah (S) said: “Allah does not need the fast of one who does not abandon false speech or acting according to his false speech.” (Bukhari)

Rasulullah (S) said: “There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character.” (Tirmidhi & Abu Dawud).

Five Goals for Ramadan

1. Eat, drink and be moderate:

Let’s try to stick to the Prophetic rule on eating. Al-Miqdam (r.a.) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.” (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, IbnMajah )

2. Memorize 1 new Surah each week of Ramadan:

Memorizing the Quran often seems like a daunting task. But the key is doing it in small bites. Since there are four weeks in Ramadan, try to memorize one new Surah a week. Start off with a short, easy one. Once you’ve started, you’ll build momentum and may even want to memorize a longer one the following week.

3. Stop swearing and/or backbiting – with a special box:

It’s hard not to shut our mouths off when someone upsets us. Whether we utter those indecent words or backbite about someone to our family and friends, we know this isn’t the God-approved way of letting off steam. In Ramadan, when we want to build our spirituality, we’ve got to wage Jihad against our bad habits. Try this: get a box and every time you catch yourself swearing/getting angry or backbiting put some money in it. It could be a buck or less. The point is to choose an amount that makes it feel like punishment. At the end of the month send the money to a charity or buy a gift for the person whom you’ve backbitten the most against.

4. Go on a technology diet:

Even if you work in the IT industry, you can do this. Avoid checking personal email and surfing the web constantly during your fast. After Iftar, instead of plopping yourself in front of the screen, go to Tarawih. The same goes for the television. The point is to try to give our full attention to spiritual elevation this month.

5. Forgive everyone who has hurt you:

Still got a festering wound from the fight with your friend last year? Still upset about something your spouse said during a heated argument? Or are you still bitter about the way your parents sometimes treated you as a kid? Let go of the anger and pain this Ramadan and forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiving someone is not only good for the body, but it’s also great for the soul.

And in Ramadan, ten days are devoted to Allah’s forgiveness…shouldn’t we human beings forgive too? If you find it very difficult to forgive everyone who gave you hard time, forgive at least three people.

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Rasulallah (S) said: “Allah does not need the fast of one who does not abandon false speech or acting according to his false speech.” (Bukhari)

Rasulullah (S) said: “There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character.” (Tirmidhi & Abu Dawud).

Five Goals for Ramadan

1. Eat, drink and be moderate:

Let’s try to stick to the Prophetic rule on eating. Al-Miqdam (r.a.) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.” (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, IbnMajah )

2. Memorize 1 new Surah each week of Ramadan:

Memorizing the Quran often seems like a daunting task. But the key is doing it in small bites. Since there are four weeks in Ramadan, try to memorize one new Surah a week. Start off with a short, easy one. Once you’ve started, you’ll build momentum and may even want to memorize a longer one the following week.

3. Stop swearing and/or backbiting – with a special box:

It’s hard not to shut our mouths off when someone upsets us. Whether we utter those indecent words or backbite about someone to our family and friends, we know this isn’t the God-approved way of letting off steam. In Ramadan, when we want to build our spirituality, we’ve got to wage Jihad against our bad habits. Try this: get a box and every time you catch yourself swearing/getting angry or backbiting put some money in it. It could be a buck or less. The point is to choose an amount that makes it feel like punishment. At the end of the month send the money to a charity or buy a gift for the person whom you’ve backbitten the most against.

4. Go on a technology diet:

Even if you work in the IT industry, you can do this. Avoid checking personal email and surfing the web constantly during your fast. After Iftar, instead of plopping yourself in front of the screen, go to Tarawih. The same goes for the television. The point is to try to give our full attention to spiritual elevation this month.

5. Forgive everyone who has hurt you:

Still got a festering wound from the fight with your friend last year? Still upset about something your spouse said during a heated argument? Or are you still bitter about the way your parents sometimes treated you as a kid? Let go of the anger and pain this Ramadan and forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiving someone is not only good for the body, but it’s also great for the soul.

And in Ramadan, ten days are devoted to Allah’s forgiveness…shouldn’t we human beings forgive too? If you find it very difficult to forgive everyone who gave you hard time, forgive at least three people.