Rajab and Sha'ban are the months in which we should prepare for Ramadan. This is so that we can take full advantage of it and not be devoid of its blessings. Allah ta'ala meets the believer every night in Ramadan. Thus, we should prepare ourselves in a unique way.
Which preparation are we in need of through which we can maximise our time in Ramadan?
Purifying the inner self.
Most of us welcome Ramadan with voluntary worship. This is a necessary preparation - an external one performed via the body. However, during this month we are aiming to connect ourselves with Allah ta'ala. He desires our inner selves to be purified before entering Ramadan. In reality, it is this type of preparation which grants success.
When our inner self is purified, our external actions and worship are also accepted. If our inner self is impure, then our external worship remain full of defects.
Our good deeds will assist us and prove useful, but only when our inner self is purified as Allah ta'ala only accepts a pure heart. Therefore, our deeds will be weighed upon the cleanliness of our soul.
This life is a test for us. We have come here to prepare for the next phases of our journey. If we pass this test, we will be given a great afterlife according to how we passed the test in this world. Thus, our condition in the Hereafter will depend on how we spent our time in the world.
Unfortunately, we are immersed in wasteful activities instead of focusing upon the Hereafter. It is within a believer's natural disposition to recognise Allah ta'ala, however, we seek to forget and reject this recognition. When we remember Allah ta'ala, we become detached from worldly enjoyments which is why we seek to forget Him.
Ramadan is a month to help us prepare for the Hereafter by purifying our inner selves, as the state of our inner self is very important. In the Hereafter, Allah ta'ala will assess the state of our hearts.
Nabi ﷺ questioned the companions asking, "Who is the poor person?" The companions said, "The one who has nothing to his name." Thereafter, Nabi ﷺ replied, "Real poverty is based upon the Hereafter. A poor person is he who will come in the Hereafter bearing many acts of worship, but when his time of reckoning comes, those whom he oppressed will present themselves and will take this individuals good deeds. Thus, each of you should save yourself from this wretched consequence."
Such a person in this situation, did not strengthen his deeds through purifying his inner self.
We should not waste this Ramadan. We may welcome this month with worship, however, we should have our inner self purified alongside. To protect and seal our deeds, we must have a pure heart. Others should not harbour any complaints regarding us. We should not have violated anyone's rights, otherwise our deeds will be transferred to the oppressed and we will gain their sins. We must not be unjust with others. We should put our pride aside and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged and disobeyed.
Allah ta'ala will forgive the Faraaid which we lack in, however, we are required to seek individual forgiveness from those whom we have wronged. It's a shame that we become complacent in our deeds whilst we sin alongside.
How to prepare our inner selves?
It is Fard Ain upon every believer to perform Tazkiyah. To pray Tahajjud and prostrate all night is easy. To keep fasts all year long is easy. However, to remove the habit of backbiting and hatred for others is difficult. This is because these habits are embedded within us and require a person to work his entire life to get rid of them.
Allah ta'ala knows it is difficult, however, He recognises our sincere effort of purifying ourselves. If we strive, He will accept it and admit us to Paradise. On the other hand, those who fail in their preparation are not accepted by Allah ta'ala.
Most of us commit sins even during Ramadan and that is because we have not prepared our inner selves prior to it.
The more our inner state is purified, the more we are able to fulfil the rights of others. We must assess regarding those we have oppressed and those whose rights we have violated as fulfilling the rights of society is a very important factor.
The only thing which will benefit us in the Hereafter is Tazkiyah Nafs and Tafsiyah Qalb - rectification of the soul and purification of the heart. Our nation is destroyed today because we waste our time and we avoid these two practices.
We should begin preparing for Ramadan two months in advance so that we can enter it whilst we are habitual of controlling our nafs and purifying our inner selves. This will enable us to benefit and succeed completely in Ramadan.
Ramadan is for eradicating sins which is why it is stated that, one who curses and backbites, his fasting will not be accepted. To improve our inner state is not an easy thing, yet the basis of success relies on our inner state. We must try our utmost best to purify our inner selves by removing backbiting, malice and refrain from wronging others. We must fight with our inner desires as well as Shaytan. Whoever co- operates with his desires and Shaytan has failed.
We must take hold of three actions:
1) Search for a WaliAllah who will improve you as a human being and cure your inner diseases. Have a sincere intention and ask Allah ta'ala to guide you to him. You must have belief and trust in the Sheikh's words and connect your heart to his. You will not benefit and gain blessings without belief. When you follow him wholeheartedly, Allah ta'ala will make your actions beneficial and positive due to your belief.
2) Dhikr of Allah ta'ala. The company of the teacher will instil the light of dhikr within you and you cannot learn dhikr without a teacher. Nothing can purify the heart like dhikr.
3) Muraaqabah - this is the highest status for a student through which he receives the splendour of Allah ta'ala in his heart. Every moment a believer is improved due to it. Muraaqabah takes a person to the level of Ihsaan whereby He can feel Allah ta'ala's presence all the time. He does not sin as He is conscious of Allah ta'ala.
Our inner state will be purified through these three things. If one lacks in any of these three, he cannot advance further. He must excel in all three. If we make the right intention to practice, we will be successful. If we depart this world, we will be forgiven.
Allah ta'ala enabled the Sheikh to improve and correct society and they revive the concept of fulfilling the rights of society. They are not sent for worship. If you find a teacher and your inner self is not being improved, he is not a true Sheikh. The objective of dhikr is that it leads to self improvement.
The right of the Sheikh is very high as he connects a person towards Allah ta'ala. Thus, we should not criticise him. We must pay attention to his words. We must work hard and make effort to purify ourselves through this connection otherwise, we have failed as a student. We must work hard in order to develop the awareness of sin and the capacity to accept it as such.
We shouldn’t deceive the waliAllah in order to earn the world and become famous. We should not visit him with insincere intentions, for example, with no actual desire to become better, but going or the sake of worldly advancements. If we go with correct intentions, Allah ta'ala will make us a better person.
How to develop a connection with the Sheikh?
Plead to Allah ta'ala in Tahajjud to develop good qualities within you. Ask Allah ta'ala for the blessings of your Sheikh. Strengthen your love and belief in him.
A person only receives light and success when he performs the work of the deen with sincerity and only for the sake of Allah ta'ala.
Rajab and Sha'ban are the months in which we should prepare for Ramadan. This is so that we can take full advantage of it and not be devoid of its blessings. Allah ta'ala meets the believer every night in Ramadan. Thus, we should prepare ourselves in a unique way.
Which preparation are we in need of through which we can maximise our time in Ramadan?
Purifying the inner self.
Most of us welcome Ramadan with voluntary worship. This is a necessary preparation - an external one performed via the body. However, during this month we are aiming to connect ourselves with Allah ta'ala. He desires our inner selves to be purified before entering Ramadan. In reality, it is this type of preparation which grants success.
When our inner self is purified, our external actions and worship are also accepted. If our inner self is impure, then our external worship remain full of defects.
Our good deeds will assist us and prove useful, but only when our inner self is purified as Allah ta'ala only accepts a pure heart. Therefore, our deeds will be weighed upon the cleanliness of our soul.
This life is a test for us. We have come here to prepare for the next phases of our journey. If we pass this test, we will be given a great afterlife according to how we passed the test in this world. Thus, our condition in the Hereafter will depend on how we spent our time in the world.
Unfortunately, we are immersed in wasteful activities instead of focusing upon the Hereafter. It is within a believer's natural disposition to recognise Allah ta'ala, however, we seek to forget and reject this recognition. When we remember Allah ta'ala, we become detached from worldly enjoyments which is why we seek to forget Him.
Ramadan is a month to help us prepare for the Hereafter by purifying our inner selves, as the state of our inner self is very important. In the Hereafter, Allah ta'ala will assess the state of our hearts.
Nabi ﷺ questioned the companions asking, "Who is the poor person?" The companions said, "The one who has nothing to his name." Thereafter, Nabi ﷺ replied, "Real poverty is based upon the Hereafter. A poor person is he who will come in the Hereafter bearing many acts of worship, but when his time of reckoning comes, those whom he oppressed will present themselves and will take this individuals good deeds. Thus, each of you should save yourself from this wretched consequence."
Such a person in this situation, did not strengthen his deeds through purifying his inner self.
We should not waste this Ramadan. We may welcome this month with worship, however, we should have our inner self purified alongside. To protect and seal our deeds, we must have a pure heart. Others should not harbour any complaints regarding us. We should not have violated anyone's rights, otherwise our deeds will be transferred to the oppressed and we will gain their sins. We must not be unjust with others. We should put our pride aside and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged and disobeyed.
Allah ta'ala will forgive the Faraaid which we lack in, however, we are required to seek individual forgiveness from those whom we have wronged. It's a shame that we become complacent in our deeds whilst we sin alongside.
How to prepare our inner selves?
It is Fard Ain upon every believer to perform Tazkiyah. To pray Tahajjud and prostrate all night is easy. To keep fasts all year long is easy. However, to remove the habit of backbiting and hatred for others is difficult. This is because these habits are embedded within us and require a person to work his entire life to get rid of them.
Allah ta'ala knows it is difficult, however, He recognises our sincere effort of purifying ourselves. If we strive, He will accept it and admit us to Paradise. On the other hand, those who fail in their preparation are not accepted by Allah ta'ala.
Most of us commit sins even during Ramadan and that is because we have not prepared our inner selves prior to it.
The more our inner state is purified, the more we are able to fulfil the rights of others. We must assess regarding those we have oppressed and those whose rights we have violated as fulfilling the rights of society is a very important factor.
The only thing which will benefit us in the Hereafter is Tazkiyah Nafs and Tafsiyah Qalb - rectification of the soul and purification of the heart. Our nation is destroyed today because we waste our time and we avoid these two practices.
We should begin preparing for Ramadan two months in advance so that we can enter it whilst we are habitual of controlling our nafs and purifying our inner selves. This will enable us to benefit and succeed completely in Ramadan.
Ramadan is for eradicating sins which is why it is stated that, one who curses and backbites, his fasting will not be accepted. To improve our inner state is not an easy thing, yet the basis of success relies on our inner state. We must try our utmost best to purify our inner selves by removing backbiting, malice and refrain from wronging others. We must fight with our inner desires as well as Shaytan. Whoever co- operates with his desires and Shaytan has failed.
We must take hold of three actions:
1) Search for a WaliAllah who will improve you as a human being and cure your inner diseases. Have a sincere intention and ask Allah ta'ala to guide you to him. You must have belief and trust in the Sheikh's words and connect your heart to his. You will not benefit and gain blessings without belief. When you follow him wholeheartedly, Allah ta'ala will make your actions beneficial and positive due to your belief.
2) Dhikr of Allah ta'ala. The company of the teacher will instil the light of dhikr within you and you cannot learn dhikr without a teacher. Nothing can purify the heart like dhikr.
3) Muraaqabah - this is the highest status for a student through which he receives the splendour of Allah ta'ala in his heart. Every moment a believer is improved due to it. Muraaqabah takes a person to the level of Ihsaan whereby He can feel Allah ta'ala's presence all the time. He does not sin as He is conscious of Allah ta'ala.
Our inner state will be purified through these three things. If one lacks in any of these three, he cannot advance further. He must excel in all three. If we make the right intention to practice, we will be successful. If we depart this world, we will be forgiven.
Allah ta'ala enabled the Sheikh to improve and correct society and they revive the concept of fulfilling the rights of society. They are not sent for worship. If you find a teacher and your inner self is not being improved, he is not a true Sheikh. The objective of dhikr is that it leads to self improvement.
The right of the Sheikh is very high as he connects a person towards Allah ta'ala. Thus, we should not criticise him. We must pay attention to his words. We must work hard and make effort to purify ourselves through this connection otherwise, we have failed as a student. We must work hard in order to develop the awareness of sin and the capacity to accept it as such.
We shouldn’t deceive the waliAllah in order to earn the world and become famous. We should not visit him with insincere intentions, for example, with no actual desire to become better, but going or the sake of worldly advancements. If we go with correct intentions, Allah ta'ala will make us a better person.
How to develop a connection with the Sheikh?
Plead to Allah ta'ala in Tahajjud to develop good qualities within you. Ask Allah ta'ala for the blessings of your Sheikh. Strengthen your love and belief in him.
A person only receives light and success when he performs the work of the deen with sincerity and only for the sake of Allah ta'ala.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen