بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
We are approaching the month of Ramadan; the month of forgiveness of sins, of fasting, of Taraweeh, of being elevated in ranks with Allah, of being redeemed from the Hellfire. A month which contains a night wherein worship is better than worship in 1000 months.
We don't find these blessings in any month other than Ramadan, so it's important that we prepare for this month in advance.
How do we prepare for it? With faith.
Many people begin this month occupying themselves with buying food and drinks, and end this month planning for Eid, and their vacations. They enter and leave the month without it having any effect on their hearts.
We need soft hearts to enter Ramadan. The soft heart is the heart in which faith can increase. But if the hearts are hardened, no matter how much people hear about Allah and Eeman, it won't affect them. Because their hearts are busy with the Dunya, so it has no space for the hereafter.
What are the most important means of softening our hearts? To know:
1) The reality of this world we're living in
2) The reality of the Day of Judgement; the day we'll meet Allah.
3) about Allah, His Names, Attributes, how He deals with His believing slaves, how He deals with His enemies, etc.
We have to constantly review the information we're learning.
How can we prepare ourselves for Ramadan?
Beware of evil companions.
We need to be wary of the people around us. Bad companions could be in our homes, at work, they could be anywhere. And they're one of the means of hardening our hearts, decreasing our faith, or causing us to lose it completely.
They adorn the Dunya in your heart, make it appear valuable in your eyes, until it makes you compete with them for it. Their only concern is the Dunya. We have to protect and maintain our إيمان and stay away from these people, because they'll have an effect on our hearts.
E.g. If the believer misses out on صلاة الوتر he'll be very upset with himself.
The people of the Dunya will tell him, "So what? You missed it today, tomorrow you can pray it. It's not a big deal"
But the believer knows and is afraid that missing one prayer is considered a deprivation. He's deprived from standing before Allah at night, and it could be because of a sin he committed.
So you'll find him begging Allah in Sujood not to prevent him from it, to forgive his sins, etc.
This is the attitude of the true believer. But the people of the Dunya are only concerned about their worldly affairs, they don't care if they miss a prayer or any virtuous matter in Allah's sight.
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
كُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيبٌ أَوْ عَابِرُ سَبِيلٍ
“Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler along a path.”
Living like this is a matter of your heart. It doesn't mean you can't eat or buy, but the state of your heart should be one that's always concerned about the hereafter; your final destination. Because you know that this life isn't the real life.
If you live like this, you won't be excessively depressed during any calamity nor would you excessively rejoice for any blessing.
Why? In [57:23]:
The believer is always stable in his emotions, reactions, way of thinking. He isn't driven by the matters of the Dunya.
Let your concern be to adorn yourself for the رب العالمين; for when you meet Allah. Not for the people. So in order to prepare for Ramadan, try your best to stay away from evil associates.
You may say that all your friends are good. But there is one evil companion that accompanies us day and night, even when we go to our bed, even when we eat. And that's our mobiles. Our hands are never empty from it. And it's causing us to lose our faith. Scholars called the mobiles a فتنة, and yet we're unaware, although it's caused so much harm.
We miss out on a lot of worship because we spend hours on this machine. We just say we want to send one message, and one message leads to another, and we end up spending the whole night on it.
Don't enter the month of Ramadan while being addicted to social networks.
You won't lose anything if you aren't on these devices. And don't say you want to send reminders to people - do so before Ramadan. What happens is when you send messages, even if they're good, the person will open it, read it, see other messages, get distracted, and end up spending hours on their phone. Don't be a cause of wasting other people's time.
In [5:2]:
... ۘ وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ...
Ramadan's a very precious month, every second is valuable. And we know that we're weak. So start training yourself from now to stop looking at these sites, sending excessive messages. Whatever you do, don't let yourself lose this special month.
The Month of Sha'ban
We are in the month of Sha'ban, which is also a great month. Whatever you do in this month will help you increase in faith and enter Ramadan with high faith.
1) The Status of Sha'ban with the Prophet ﷺ
There are many Hadiths which narrate that the most beloved month for the Prophet ﷺ to fast, was in the month of Sha'bah.
Ayesha رضي الله عنها narrated, "The month that was most beloved to the Prophet ﷺ to fast in was the month of Sha'ban" [An-Nasaa'i]
If the Prophet ﷺ loved it, then we should love it as well. If we really love what the Prophet ﷺ loved, we'd fast like him. This is the criteria with which you can judge your love.
And Allah said in [3:31]:
The more you act upon the Sunnah, the more you're fulfilling the Shahadatain. The more you follow the Sunnah, the more it indicates your love of the Prophet ﷺ.
2) The Deeds are Presented to Allah
Narrated Usamah bin Zayd: I said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I do not see you fasting in any other month like you do in Sha'ban"
The Prophet ﷺ said, "That is a month to which the people do not pay attention (or neglect it or forget it) between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are raised to the Lord of Alamin. I love that my deeds be raised up while I am observing fast" [An-Nasaa'i]
Ask yourself how you want your deeds to be raised to Allah. While you're a sincere person, a fasting person, a student of knowledge - or a lazy person, lax in doing good deeds?
So hasten towards performing good deeds as much as you can, before your deeds are raised to Allah.
3) Show shyness towards Allah
This is based on point 2.
We don't want our deeds to be raised to Allah while they are deficient, full of defects, shortcomings, lack of sincerity, full of الرياء; nor do we want sins to be raised up to Allah.
Shyness towards Allah will make us perfect our deeds. How can I perfect my deed?
-> Have الإحتساب before you do any good action.
-> While you're doing that good deed, renew your intention. Don't let the Shaytan or your self distract your heart or confuse you. Fight against it and keep your intention on track.
-> After you finish the deed ask Allah to accept it and forgive you, and don't let pride or self-conceit ruin your deed.
Follow this cycle with every single good deed. If you do this with every single عبادة, imagine how you'll enter Ramadan. And the more you perfect your deeds, the more your reward will be perfected for you.
In [55:60]:
The month of Sha'ban is the month of preparation. So start this perfection with your prayer. Bring all the Hadiths and verses stipulating the reward of the deed you're performing to your intention, and hope for it when you start the act of worship. You'll enter the month of Ramadan trained and ready to perfect your acts of worship.
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
"من صام رمضان إيمانا و احتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه"
"Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and hoping the reward (from Allah) will have his previous sins forgiven" [Bukhari]
And he ﷺ said,
"من قام رمضان إيمانا و إحتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه"
"Whoever stands in prayers during the night in Ramadan with faith and hoping the reward (from Allah) will have his previous sins forgiven" [Bukhari]
4) The month of Sha'ban is the month of forgiveness of sins.
Mu’adh ibn Jabal narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Allah turns to his entire creation on the fifteenth night of Sha’ban and forgives all of them except one who ascribes partners to Him and one who harbors enmity in his heart." (Recorded by Imam Tabrani in his Mu’jam al-Awsat hadith 6776 and mu’jam al-Kabir vol.20 pg.108-109)
Allah will not forgive two kinds of people:
1) المشرك
2) A person who had a conflict with another person and bears malice in his heart against the other.
We have to purify our hearts from all sicknesses, sins, and hatred towards other Muslims before Ramadan.
Note: This is the only authentic Hadith which has been narrated on the 15th of Sha'ban. Those who establish the night of the middle of Sha'ban with special fasting, prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, are doing innovations based on weak and baseless Hadiths. The middle of Sha'ban has no significance, except that Allah will forgive the sins of the people.
It's alright if you fast the 13th, 14th, and 15th, because you're fasting it for the white days - but particularizing the 15th solely because it's the 15th of Sha'ban is an innovation.
5) Fasting in this Month
Narrated by Ayesha رضي الله عنها, "I never saw Allah's Messenger ﷺ fast a complete month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more in any month than he did in Sha'ban" [Agreed upon]
The Prophet ﷺ used to fast the entire month except a little, in order to not resemble it to Ramadan. So we should try to fast the entire thing, except a few days. Do your best according to your circumstance.
And the married woman needs to take her husbands permission before she fasts. If he doesn't allow her to, she'll have double reward - the reward for obeying her husband, and the reward for the intention she had.
6) It is recommended to make good use of time when people tend to be negligent by doing acts of worship.
When the Prophet ﷺ was asked why he particularized the month of Sha'ban with fasting. He said, "That is a month to which the people do not pay attention (or neglect or forget it) between Rajab and Ramadan......"
During Rajab people are busy doing good deeds because it's a sacred month, and in Ramadan as well because it's the month of fasting, elevation in ranks, forgiveness of sins, etc.
This makes many people forget the month of Sha'ban, thinking that it doesn't have much merits, and they become negligent in this month.
From this we learn that the reward of the deed which is performed in the time when people are heedless and unaware is greater in Allah's sight. This is why the companions and the Salaf used to establish the Sunnah prayers between Maghrib and Isha - because during this time most people are busy with their Dunya. It's a time which is wasted. If you remember Allah and pray it's more rewarding.
E.g. Another time when many people are negligent in remembering Allah is in the marketplaces.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever enters the market and says:
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ ، يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَهُوَ حَيٌّ لَا يَمُوتُ ، بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
"None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner, to Him belongs all sovereignty and praise. He gives life and causes death, and He is living and does not die. In His hand is all good and He Omnipotent over all things."
..Allah will wipe a million bad deeds from his record and grant him a million good deeds, and will elevate him a million degree (of virtue)- ([and will build him a house in paradise] in another narration)." [Tirmithi, Ibn Majah]
Why? Because in marketplaces especially the people are busy with selling and buying items, and their hearts have been taken by these shops.
Check if you're heedless and negligent in this month or not. Be attentive all the time.
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