The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to strive hard (in worship) during the last ten days of Ramadan in a way that he did not strive at any other times. [Muslim, 1175, from Aishah] Among the things he did were secluding himself in Itikaf and seeking Laylat al-Qadr during this time. [Al-Bukhari, 1913; Muslim, 1169] In al-Sahihayn it is reported from the hadith of Aishah that when the last ten days of Ramadan came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would stay up at night, wake his family and gird his loins. [al-Bukhari, 1920; Muslim, 1174] Muslim added: he strove hard and girded his loins. Her phrase girded his loins is a metaphor for his preparing himself to worship and strive hard in worship, more than usual. It has the meaning of rolling up ones sleeves to worship (i.e. getting ready to make a great deal of effort). As we fast approach the end of Ramadan we must evaluate ourselves & think to ourselves what we have learnt about ourselves & what good habits we have acquired and what evil and bad habits we have left behind. We must NOT stop doing the good we aqcuired throughout Ramadan as soon as it finishes. We should continue reciting the Quran & making long sincere duas. We should continue guarding our eyes, ears, tongue and privates away from sin & harm. We should continue to strive to please Allah & get closer to him. We should continue to make effort on our imaan (faith). We must NOT let go of the good habits we acquired & instead go back to our old ways again. Allah knows our intentions and what is in our hearts and If we go back to the way we are before Ramadan then how can we expect our good deeds and efforts to be accepted? The very purpose of Ramadan is that doing good becomes easier & so it gives us a wonderful opportunity to be able to train ourselves to become better & stronger Muslims. It enables us to let go of the bad habits & to acquire good ones instead. It enables us to strengthen our imaan (faith). Best of all it enables us to get closer to Allah If we leave all of the good we acquired as soon as Ramadan ends then we will in effect just throw away our Ramadan & risk our good deeds & efforts not being accepted. This is our chance to change our lives for the better FOREVER. So we must NOT miss this opportunity for we may not be alive next Ramadan. Therefore let us continue the good we acquired during Ramadan throughout the year & never go back to our old ways. May Allah enable us to make the necessery changes this Ramadan and for us to continue that way throughout the year. Ameen.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 10:49:19 +0000