Firstly I would like to start by praying that Allah blesses you all and accepts your good deeds during the Holy month of Ramadhan. Ameen.

Eid Mubarak to you all and I pray that you’re making the most out of these few days and spreading the joy to all those around you.

While celebrating and experiencing the joy of Eid, we often forget the purpose of the whole month that came before it and its struggles. Not only is Ramadhan a month of blessings, but is also a month long opportunity to learn more about yourself and your weaknesses, it is a month dedicated to self-accountability and assessment.

God, Almighty, says in the holy Quran:

“You who believe,

fasting is prescribed for you,

as it was prescribed for those before you,

so that you may be mindful of Allah.”

–

“It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong”.

After reading the above verses, one would ask themselves “Why, out of all months, does Ramadhan make me mindful of Allah? And the fact that the Qur’an was revealed in this month, as guidance, surely implies that this is THE month of guidance, but how would it guide me?”

The answer is very simple:

Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be well pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When the month of Ramadan enters, the gates of heaven are opened, the gates of hell are shut, and the devils are shackled.” [Bukhari]

Putting the bove verses and Hadith into context and linking them, one would conclude that God, Almighty, has given people the chance to hold themselves accountable and test their ability to resist their inner desires and temptations without the external influence of (Devils) Satans. Therefore, all actions committed by people during this Holy month come form their inner selves and not from the devils. This, therefore, allows people to assess the strength of their faith and their discipline. And only by assessing your performance, would you be able to make use of the guidance referred to in the above verses.

Now that this month is over, one should look back at their performance during Ramadhan and ask themselves which category they fall into:

1. Those who were better in Ramadhan:

– These people need to work on overcoming the influence of Satan on them by maintaining the healthy Ramadhan habits, which they don’t practice during other times of the year.

2. Those who are usually good but didn’t improve in Ramadhan: these are the people who’s barrier is themselves and so, must overcome themselves and push themselves that extra step towards God during the rest of the year.

3. Those who had bad habits throughout the year and didn’t change in Ramadhan: these are the easy targets for Satan. They must overcome themselves as well as Satan’s whispers.

Q: After figuring out the answer to the above question, what must one do to improve or build on what they already have?

A: The answer is in the second Quranic verse above: Once you know your self, your abilities, your strengths and you weaknesses, the next step is to build on what you have and fix whatever is wrong by strengthening your relationship with the Qur’an, as it was sent as guidance and a clear message to distinguish between right and wrong. Hence the very strong link between Ramadhan and the Holy Qur’an.

In summary: Ramadhan is a month of self accountability and getting to know youself better, and the Qur’an was sent in Ramadhan as a solution to help you overcome all obstacles which get in your way of becoming a better person. But you must first hold yourself accountable, figure out where your weaknesses are and then overcome them using the Qur’an.

We must also remember that even though we may have struggled during the day in Ramadhan, we always had peace of mind, knowing that we can afford a meal in the evening. There are millions across the world who don’t eat, not because they’re fasting but because they have nothing to eat. So let’s be generous to them in charity during the rest of the year. To stress the importance of caring for the poor, God (Almighty) has set a compulsory (Zakat) charity which is to be paid at the end of Ramadhan, and paying the Zakat-ul-fitr (the cost of a meal for one poor person) is one of the conditions for the acceptance of one’s deeds during Ramadhan. The importance of Zakat is further manifested in the Qur’an: Zakat is mentioned around 30 times in the Holy Qu’ran, and in 27 of these 30 times, it is mentioned alongside with establishing the Prayer (salat).

Now that Ramadhan is over, after assessing our performance during the holy month, we must all set the following targets:

  1. To maintain the healthy Ramadhan habits.
  2. To work on any shortcomings
  3. To build a strong relationship with The Holy Qur’an
  4. To be generous and give a share of their wealth to the poor
  5. To let go of any grudges they may have against anyone, forgive all those who may have harmed you in anyway and to seek forgiveness from all those who you may have brought harm/oppression to in anyway

We should try to fulfill all of the above during the year ahead of us and assess our performance in the next Ramadhan to see how much we’ve improved.

Allah knows best