Making the Utmost Benefit of Ramadan

      

Indeed, Ramadan is a great chance for every Muslim to draw himself closer to Allah by a sincere repent (tawbah) and performing as many good deeds as he can. This also applies to Muslim families.

Helping you, and each Muslim family, to get the most benefit of Ramadan we can offer the following schedule:

First of all, your family members should have a good deal of knowledge on Ramadan and its merits and blessings so as to have the motivation to gain these benefits. You can do so by encouraging them to read on Ramadan either in books or on sites such as ours. You can, also, hold a kind of family discussion on that topic, for which you should be pre-prepared with all the knowledge they may require.

Then, after providing the motivation, you can hold a brain storming meeting in which you can reach a kind of agreement for a program or a schedule of what should be done in Ramadan and post-Ramadan.
Mind that their participation in setting the program would be a great motivation to achieve it.
As for the program itself, we can suggest some points which may be of interest to you:
1- Firstly, get prepared with a strong sincere intention (neyyah) that all acts or deeds would be for the sake of Allah Almighty to achieve sincerity (ikhlas).

2- Try hard to be strict and punctual in all your deeds, especially prayers – as times pass quickly; as soon Ramadan starts, you will find yourself near the end.

3- It is important to contact the nearest mosque or Islamic centre, as you may find useful programs or events of the community during Ramadan that are of interest for you.

4- Everyone has to desert all kinds of sin trying hard to avoid the people and places of these sins.

5- You should make good use of each hour, minute, and second by engaging in dhikr, reciting the Qur’an, and the like.

6- A good way of benefitting from time is to listen to khutbas or Qur’an on cassettes or CDs or online while being at work or driving, if possible.

7- Do not neglect the family and kinship ties in Ramadan, as it is very important in Islam; you can strengthen the relation with relatives even by telephone calls, chatting, CMS messages, or emails.

8- Gathering all the family members for breakfast, suhur, or an act of worship such as tarawih prayer or night prayer (tahajjud) is a considerable means which has many benefits.

9- Do not forget to pay Zakat Al-Fitr and offer some charity (sadaqah) for the poor.

10- Do not forget, also, to set some activities for children, if you have any in your family.

11- A good last point is to set widen this program to include as many families as you can, which would strengthen the ties of families through the community.

12- At the end of Ramadan, you can set together a program for `Eid that can include `Eid Prayer, for sure, and many activities such as picnics, visits, barbeques…etc.

We call Allah Almighty to guide all Muslim families and individuals to make the utmost benefits of Ramadan.

Allah Almighty knows best.