Consolidating the Gains of Ramadan

Each year as we begin Ramadan, we have great hopes of using the month to grow our souls and increase our level of submission. We strive to read more Quran, be more God-conscious, do more righteous works. God willing, during the month, we are able to achieve those goals, so that at the end of the month, we have raised the bar for ourselves. But what happens as we get into the next month and the month after that? Do we maintain that new level of piety and faith, or do we get complacent and allow ourselves to slack off and let our heightened God-awareness wane?

If we find the time to read the Quran for an extra 15 minutes every day during Ramadan, why is it so hard to find that same time a month later? If we remember to recite zikr in the morning and/or the evening during Ramadan, why can’t we continue that routine all year? If we are more charitable in donations of food or time to the poor during Ramadan, why shouldn’t we carry on that practice every day?

Ramadan isn’t just a month to be set aside for worshiping God. It’s preparation and practice for the way we should live our lives every single day year round. God has given us this opportunity to focus on ways to grow our souls.

Fasting takes us out of our normal routine and makes us very conscious of God and His commandments. It’s a time to concentrate on the one thing that is most important—coming closer to God. [73:8] You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.

So as we come to the final days of Ramadan, let’s all of us strive to keep hold of the ways in which we strengthened our submission this month. Hang onto the gains we made and the growth we achieved. It’s like going through locks in a canal. We entered Ramadan at one level. We used the month to glorify, praise and commemorate God and thus gradually raised ourselves up. As we exit the month, we are standing at a higher level. We now can choose to move forward maintaining this new level of submission, or we can gradually allow ourselves to be pulled backwards to the previous level. Let’s choose to consolidate our gains and keep moving forward.

[15:98-99] You shall sing the praises of your Lord, and be with the prostrators. And worship your Lord, in order to attain certainty.

[33:41-42] O you who believe, you shall remember GOD frequently. You shall glorify Him day and night.

Anthony

Letter from Prisoner

I’m very thankful for the Quran that was sent from the Masjid. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Since I received the Quran, I made it my duty to study and meditate on the word of God daily. All of the material you sent has helped me more than what you know. We all have our own problems that we’ll have to deal with, but if you pray to Allah and ask for support during hard times, then that should give you the comfort that you’ll need to keep going. I appreciate the staff at the Tucson Masjid for taking time out of their day to make sure that I have the proper literature to continue my walk with Allah. Thank you for your time and I will keep my brothers and sisters in my prayers.

As-Salaam Alaikum,

Cameron

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[Ed. note: To help spread the message, we send Submitters Perspectives to prisoners free of charge and we also distribute Qurans when requested by prisoners. May God guide and bless those who are eagerly seeking His message. Their incarceration may be a great blessing in disguise, if it brings them closer to God.]