Some may be feeling close to Allah and very excited and prepared for the arrival of Ramadhan.
But perhaps you are feeling quite distant from Allah. Maybe you are worried that your sins are too great for Allah to forgive. Maybe you are feeling too ashamed or even embarrassed to return to Allah because of these sins.
These negative thoughts come from the Shaytan! He wants you to lose hope in the mercy of Allah.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
[Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 53]
Allah also says in the Qur’an:
فَأَمَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًۭا فَعَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُفْلِحِينَ
As for those who repent, believe, and do good ˹in this world˺, it is right to hope that they will be among the successful.
[Surah Al-Qasas, Verse 67]
Alhamdulillah we are very close to reaching Ramadhan 1443 and this is a beautiful chance from Allah for us to ask Him for forgiveness, to change our ways and let go of our bad habits.
It was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadhan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s reward, then all of his past sins will be forgiven.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 38]
Here are a few acts of worship and good habits we can build in this blessed month to develop our connection with Allah:
- Aim to pray the five daily prayers on time.
- Set aside a minimum of 5 minutes each day to read the Qur’an, either in Arabic or the translation.
- Start making your daily adhkar (remembrance) in the morning, evening, and before sleeping. The adhkar can be found here: https://sunnah.com/hisn
- Attend beneficial talks and lectures in your local masjid or Muslim center, or watch beneficial Islamic lectures online.
- Start reading the tafseer of the Qur’an:
– If you are memorising a specific Surah, you could start by reading its translation and Tafseer - Make du’a to Allah in the last third of the night before Fajr:
– It’s one of the best times to simply ask Allah to help you have a stronger relationship with Him and to forgive you.
No matter how far astray we think we have gone, Allah is still willing to accept our sincere repentance, and Ramadhan is the perfect opportunity to start building our connection with Allah.
May Allah accept our good deeds from us in this blessed month, aameen