Ramadhan: How I prepare

The month of Ramadhan is drawing nearer (less than ten days). Fasting (Saum) is one of the Pillars of Islam and its purpose during Ramadhan is to spiritually cleanse oneself. The month of Ramadhan has many blessings and through fasting we gain self control, not only of our eating habits, but also things such as gossiping and lying. We fast for the sake of Allah (swt) and this can be seen in the intention "I intend to fast today for the sake of Allah. O Allah, make it easy for me and accept it from me".

Ayah's and Hadith's regarding Fasting during Ramadhan:

"...whoever witnesses the Month of Ramadan should fast through it..." Q(2:185)
"Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwaa." [2:183]
‎"Ramadan is the (month) in which the Quran was sent down, as a guide to mankind and a clear guidance and judgment (so that mankind will distinguish from right and wrong).." (Q 2:183)
"Indeed We have revealed it (Qur'an) in the night of Power. And what will explain to you what the night of Power is? The night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein descends the Angels and the Spirit (Jibreel) by Allah's permission, on every errand: (they say) "Peace" (continuously) till the rise of Morning!" Q(97:1-5)
“Whoever does not give up lying and evil actions, then Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink” [Saheeh al-Bukhari]

When I prepare for Ramadhan it includes:
- Cleaning and tidying up all my stuff, so that it's out of the way.
- Replacing music on my mp3 with Quran Recitation and nasheeds.
- Returning all my library books before Ramadhan starts.

This year, I'm also going to 'ban' myself from random shopping and buying unnecessary items during Ramadhan, including makeup and clothes. This means I'll be at home more (rather than shopping on the High Street), and it also means that when Westfield Stratford opens (September 13th I think), I will have an opportunity to treat myself!

Some preparation is also done including the rest of the family, which includes:
- Food which can be stored in the freezer, for easy cooking during Ramadhan. This ensures that during Ramadhan we're not spending a huge amount of time cooking for Iftar, and that this time can be used for Ibaadat.
- Cleaning the whole house. Again so that items which aren't needed can be stored out of the way.
- Make sure all shopping (apart from the fresh products such as milk and fruit) is done prior to Ramadhan.

InshaAllah I plan to make the best use of time this Ramadhan.

Also, I'm considering having an Eid giveaway at the end of Ramadhan. Let me know in the comments if you think this is a good idea (and what should prizes be) =D

How do you prepare for Ramadhan?

2 comments:

Unknown25 July 2011 at 20:01
I prepare in similar ways to you. I also try and cut down my internet usage and try to read more and spend more time doing good things rather than wasting the days away.
Asmaa28 July 2011 at 10:39
I think cutting down internet usage is a good way to prepare. It's not something that I do purposely, but when the time is taken up with other things, then the internet is sort of ignored (most of the time anyway. =)