Ramadan is almost over my friends. The month of spiritual cleansing is about to come to a close. Blog post after blog post has discussed about how Ramadan prepares you for change, that Ramadan is just a time for training, the rest of the year is when you’re supposed to bring that training into action.

To cut a long story short, the habits and ways that we adopted to avoid sins and accumulate good deeds during Ramadan now need to be continued for the rest of the year.

But do we really have it in us to continue? To live the rest of the year like its Ramadan?

From what I have seen… the answer is No Way!

Forget about what happens after Ramadan, many people begin slacking off during the second half of Ramadan. This is clearly visible by the way the rows during taraweeh are seen steadily decreasing in number.

And of course once the ‘Eid ka Chaand’ is sighted, all the good habits we picked up in Ramadan are dropped like, well like a ‘bad’ habit! The rows in ‘isha prayers number no more than one or two, and the rows in fajr prayers… well, often times there isn’t even a complete row!

However the markets are full! And the roads jam packed with cars and blaring music.

This, my friend is the ugly truth. It happens every year and we all know it!

How about a Change?

This year let’s do things differently!

Let’s not be the ones who give up on the good habits they have adopted. Let’s not be the ones who are Muslim during Ramadan only. This year, let’s make a firm resolution: I am a worshipper of Al Rahman, not of Ramadan!

Here are a few tips to help you keep the spirit of Ramadan even after this beautiful month is over…

Continuous Dua

Making dua is the most important thing to guarantee help from Allah during your struggle to stay the course. There is an excellent dua for staying steadfast on the path of spirituality: 

Allahumma, ya Muthabbit al-qulub, thabbit qalbi ala deenik

‘O Allah, O You Who makes hearts steadfast! Make my heart steadfast in adhering to Your religion.’ [Ibn Majah]

Have a Schedule

This is very important if you want to stick to your commitment. A schedule will remind you of what needs to be done on a daily basis. Prepare a plan that requires you doing at least 30% of what you achieved in Ramadan. So if you stood for 20 rakaat of taraweeh in Ramadan, commit to praying 8 rakaats of Tahajjud. If you chose to pray 8 rakaat of taraweeh, then make a habit of praying 4 rakaat of tahajjud every night.

Join a weekly religious gathering

This has multiple benefits:

  • Religious gatherings constantly remind you of Allah and the after life
  • You stay in good company and meet good religious people
  • They keep you busy so you do not incline towards the sins that you kept away from during Ramadan

May Allah guide us to perfect our worship and our actions during the rest of this Ramadan and follow it up with an even better year, Ameen!