As days fly like lightning and years pass swiftly, we feel lost not only in the crowdedness and gloom of existence but also in the roads of the world and its seditions. Worse, we become enslaved by excessive materialism, pleasures, and conventions; not taking care of our souls, not trying to nourish our hearts, and not worshipping Allah as we should.

Muslims must consider Ramadan as a yearly training session; an opportunity to deepen faith, improve Taqwa, acquire patience during obedience, avoid sin, and always turn to Allah. Hence, we should plan to make preparations ahead of time in order to forge our determination, reinforce our responsibility, optimise our spiritual gains and reap the benefits of Ramadan through a daily routine.

As the Holy Prophet Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him said, Do good things properly, truly, and sparingly. Always take a middle, reasonable, and steady path to your destination (heaven).” [Bukhari].

While doing good might be casual and irregular, planned good deeds are more spiritually beneficial. Hence, Muslims must plan out their good deeds for the blessed month, whether it’s trimming an elderly neighbour’s grass every two weeks, calling distant parents once a week, or even teaching someone one verse of the Quran over the phone every three days.

Inviting your neighbours, coworkers, friends, Muslims, and non-Muslims, to join for the Iftar meal, and to educate them about the month and its bounties is another great deed to earn countless rewards. Besides, we must be extra kind to the poor and needy during this time by offering them as much charity as we can since Ramadan is the month full of kindness, charity, and generosity.

Moreover, we must also have a real desire and commitment to make the most of this fortunate month by refraining from committing any sins and making true repentance as we can get a lot more out of our fasts and prayers if we do so.

Muslims should be cohesively celebrative in society, without having to sacrifice their beliefs and convictions, and to continually be a driving force of good values, therefore the showcase of being a good Muslim should be one that takes place throughout the year, rather than just during Ramadan. Even if we believe we have given it our all, we should know that there is always room for improvement.

With just a few days before the best of all months arrives, we must prepare our heart and soul to benefit from the whiffs of Ramadan to start a new clean and pure page with Allah and with the people around us. InshaAllah!