21 Jun How to remain steadfast after Ramadan
Ramadan is a beautiful time. A time when we can ponder over ourselves. Delve into our souls and realise those areas wherein change is required. And this is somewhat easier to do in Ramadan than outside of it, due to the fact that the shayateen are locked away. Hence, trying to bring about change is also easier, during that time. However, when Ramadan ends, and the shayateen are released again, how does one continue the good which was done in Ramadan?
In ayah 185 of Surah Baqarah, Ramadan is mentioned, along with the obligation of fasting. Straight after this ayah, something beautiful and profound is mentioned. Allah says:
“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.”
The fact that right after the verse concerning fasting and Ramadan, Allah makes mention of His closeness and du’a is worth pondering over. We are not strong enough to entrust ourselves to ourselves. In Ramadan, the shayateen were locked away and we experienced a spiritual high. Now, the shayateen are free again, they try to influence our every decision to try to do good. So, we need to take time to converse with Allah. We need to raise our hands and sincerely make dua to Him, cry over our weakness to Him, ask Him to strengthen us. Without Him, we are unable to do anything. Therefore, in order to be protected from the whispers of shaytaan, we must ask Allah to help us against shaytaan. This will help us stay steadfast even after Ramadan, because through du’a, we will, insha’Allah, gain the divine aid of Allah against the devils.
Furthermore, the Prophet (pbuh) said,
“Take on only as much as you can do of good deeds, for the best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little.”
In Ramadan, we may have tried to do some extra good deeds such as trying to increase in our charity or daily recital of the Qur’an. This little effort to do a bit of extra good should continue. Insha’Allah through them we will earn the mercy of our Lord. Since the 30 days served as a period of time in which we could have built good habits, rather, it should be easier to continue that effort. Despite the fact that the devils are free, our habits should be well grounded from the 30 blessed days of Ramadan. Therefore, one way by which we can continue to remain steadfast after the passing of Ramadan is to make the conscious effort to continue the good actions we carried out in Ramadan. This will be easier when the first and fundamental step of making du’a for ease and tawfeeq is made.
Surprisingly, one of the ways to stay steadfast after the passing of Ramadan is to pay due attention to our eating habits. Gluttony leads to laziness. And laziness is extremely dangerous in our journey to Allah. We have to be active believers. However, our greed for food often has a negative effect on our spiritual state as well as our physical state. And this is part of the reason why we are incapable of doing such worship. We not only eat so much, but we also eat the wrong foods. We should try to adopt healthier options as this will revitalise not only our bodies, but also our spiritual state as we will be eating food which is more similar to the food of the pious people of the past. We should pay special attention to the foods mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan and hadeeth, and try to incorporate them into our diet also. Before meals, we should have the intention of eating in order to revitalise our souls and physicals bodies in order to do beautiful worship. Through this the act of eating itself will becomes a means of reward insha’Allah. And at the end of every meal, we should endeavour to praise our Sustainer who provided us with such delicacies. Who knew food could have such an effect on the spiritual self? The more we learn, the more our knowledge broadens and helps us in our journey to our Beloved Allah.
Furthermore, we must try to incorporate a dhikr routine in our schedule. It is said that those whose hearts are alive are those whose hearts are constantly thinking about their Creator, those who remember Allah constantly. And those who have dead hearts are those who are neglectful of this. This dhikr doesn’t have to be extensive to begin with. In order to get ourselves into any habit, we must take baby steps. We can start with a simple tasbeeh of the 1st kalimah and tasbeeh e faatimi (Allahu akbar x34 Subhaan Allah x33 Alhamdulillah x33) before sleeping. This can then increase slowly. Tasbeeh e faatmi itself is something which takes away tiredness. Hence why it was taught by our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) to his daughter Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her. When tiredness goes, and after paying attention to our eating habits, when laziness departs, we will feel full of energy and will increase in our ibaadah, endeavouring to make it beautiful. So, we will want to increase our adhkaar, our du’as, our Qur’an recitation, our voluntary prayers, etc. By adding this simple dhikr routine into the schedule, we will gain so much insha’Allah, not only physically, but most importantly, spiritually! It will help us a great deal in our journey to Allah.
These are just a few ways by which we can try to remain steadfast upon the good we did in Ramadan, after the passing of the Blessed month. Evidently, it can be seen that if the right steps are taken, then our spiritual high can remain even after Ramadan. Yes, it will take dips, but by adopting certain measures, we can ensure we are still progressing after Ramadan. As long as our true purpose in life (worshipping Allah) is at the forefront of our actions, then, by the will of Allah, the shayateen will fall short in trying to divert us from our path. There will be times when we will also fall short, but as long as we constantly think about our purpose, as long as our tongues are flowing with the remembrance of Allah, as long as our hearts are alive with the thoughts Allah, we will find our way to Him once again, insha’Allah.
Noor Ul Islam Aalimah Department
If you found this useful, please consider making a donation to Noor Ul Islam. We rely on our community to fund our progress. Now is as important as ever for you to continue supporting your Masjid.
The Prophet (Pbuh) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small.