The holy month of Ramadhan (day 18)

In the name Allah.

All praise belongs to Allah alone and blessings and peace be upon the final prophet, Muhammad Sallahu alaihi wassalam.  Alhamdulillah, we've all reached the 18th day of Ramadhan 1432hijr. Praise be to Allah that I have, so far, not missed any of my fasting days, Alhamdulillah :))

Ramadhan, for me, I believe, is a training ground for Muslims to flourish our Imaan tree. I heard somewhere that, Imaan is the root and the tree of Imaan blooms through our actions. It is very true indeed, that it is the perfect month to train ourselves towards being real Muslims. To tell the truth, it is the month that I started to cover my aurah fully. It was back in 2008 when I started to wear socks and loose clothes when going out. It is not something I am used to, but Allah is the ultimate Creator, the most Powerful.

...Glory be to Allah.He simply says to it "Be!" and it comes to be. 19:35

It is in the month of Ramadhan that it is  the easiest to make changes within yourself, provided that you give yourself a chance to taste the sweetness of Ramadhan. I am not an expert in the area, but I believe that one has to make the first effort towards the Almighty.  Remember that if we take one step towards Allah, He will make ten steps towards us.

And those who strive in Our cause, We will certainly guide them to Our paths, for everily, Allah is with those who do right. 29:69

Pull yourself together, your Imaan and actions, towards the path of Allah. There is a need to be active for the sake of Allah, if one wants to taste the sweetness of Imaan in this world. It doesn't matter which area in you that you want to change, but it is important to be isitqamah.

Istiqamah isn't an easy thing to do (personal experience). However, in the holy month of Ramadhan, syaitaan is not around, so it's the perfect time to make such changes.No one is around to bring you down except yourself. Therefore it is the best time to really evaluate yourself and your actions.Start with the littlest thing that you think can do. Use your strength. I am early bird, and when I first started to make these small changes, I started by going to the mosque for fajr prayers.

One of the hardest thing to contain is one's 'verbal responses'. I admit that it is also one of my weaknesses, but Alhamdulillah, I think I have been able to improve my spoken words throughout the many Ramadhans that I have practised in, praise be to Allah. Again, it is good to remember and reflect, that in this holy month, there is no syaitaan, thus the bad things that we choose to resort to, is our real self. It is the dark spots within us, that directs our actions towards the path of syaitaan.

A friend has once said that, syaitaan has trained us well in the other 11 months of the year, that we could only see the outcome of his 'hard work' in the holy Ramadhan. It is to say that, we can see our true self in this month, because there is no syaitaan in this month (they are chained). Only our true self.

Allah the Almighty is most merciful and the month of Ramadhan is the month of mercy and forgiveness. It is only human to make mistakes and get drifted with all the worldly matters.  The most important thing to always return to Allah and repent with the niat to not repeat the same mistake. In one hadith, the prophet PBUH said that the month of Ramadan is a month whose beginning is mercy, middle is forgiveness and the end, is freedom from hell fire. This makes it a great time to ask for Allah's forgiveness.

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were reach the clouds of the sky and you then, ask for My forgiveness, I will forgive you. O son of Adam, if you come to me with sins nearly as great as the earth and you then face Me, ascribing no partner to me, I would bring you forgiveness, nearly as great as it is.

Hadith Qudsi as narrated by at-Thirmidhi

To add after asking for Allah's forgiveness, it is also the best time to let go of the grudges and bitterness and forgive our friends and foes. May Allah bestow upon us the will and power to do so, insyAllah.

Let's reflect on the remaining 12 days that we have in Ramadhan. There is still hope and time to make changes in ourselves. Never give up on Allah's mercy!