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May Allah help
us in spending our time wisely this Ramadan and help us in avoiding
these mistakes. Ameen!
1. Taking
Ramadan as a Ritual
For many of us
Ramadan has lost its spirituality and has become more of a ritual than a
form of Ibaadah. We fast from morning to night like a zombie just
because everyone around us is fasting, too. We forget that it's a time
to purify our hearts and our souls from all evil. We forget to beseech
Allah SWT to forgive us and ask Him to save us from the Hell-Fire.
Surely, we stay away from food and drink but that's about it.
Although the
Prophet (s.a.w.w.) said: Jibra'eel said to me, 'May Allah rub his nose
in the dust, that person to who Ramadan comes and his sins are not
forgiven,' and I said, 'Ameen'. Then he said, 'May Allaah rub his nose
in the dust, that person who lives to see his parents grow old, one or
both of them, but he does not enter Paradise (by not serving them) and I
said, 'Ameen'. Then he said, 'May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that
person in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send
blessings upon you,' and I said, 'Ameen." [Tirmidhi, Ahmad and others.
It is classified as Saheeh by al-Albaani]
2. Too
much stress on food and drink
For some people,
the entire month of Ramadan revolves around food. They spend the eintire
day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking only about food, instead of
concentrating on Salah, Quraan and other acts of worship. They think so
much about food that they turn the month of 'fasting' into the month of
'Feasting'. Come Iftar time, their table is a sight to see, with the
multitudes and varieties of food, sweets and drinks.
They are missing
the very purpose of fasting, and thus, increase in their greed and
desires instead of learning to control them. Besides, it leads to
wastage of food and extravagance. ...and eat and drink but waste not by
extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who
waste by extravagance) [Qur'an, al-Araaf :31]
3.
Spending all day cooking
Some of the
sisters (either by their own choice or forced by their husbands) are
cooking all day and all night, so that by the end of the day, they are
too tired to even pray Ishaa, let alone pray Taraweeh or Tahajjud or
even read the Qur'an. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So
turn off that stove and turn on your Imaan!
4. Eating
too much
Some people
stuff themselves at Saher until they are ready to burst, because they
think this is the way to not feel hungry during the day and some people
eat at Iftaar, like there is no tomorrow, trying to 'make up for the
food missed'. However, this is completely against the Sunnah. Moderation
is the key to everything.
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach;
for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back
straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for
drink and one-third for air.' [Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah. Classified as
saheeh by al-Albaani]
Too much food
distracts a person from many deeds of obedience and worship, makes him
lazy and also makes the heart heedless. It was said to Imam Ahmad: Does
a man find any softness and humility in his heart when he is full? He
said, I do not think so.
5.
Sleeping all day
Some people
spend their entire day (or a major part of it) 'sleeping away their
fast'. Is this what is really required of us during this noble month?
These people are also missing the purpose of fasting and are slaves to
their desires of comfort and ease. They cannot 'bear' to be awake and
face a little hunger or exert a little self-control. For a fasting
person to spend most of the day asleep is nothing but negligence on his
part.
6. Wasting
time
The month of
Ramadan is a very precious time, so much so that Allaah SWT calls this
month 'Ayyamum Ma'doodaat' (A fixed number of days). Before we know it,
this month of mercy and forgiveness will be over. We should try and
spend every moment possible in the worship of Allah so that we can make
the most of this blessing. However, there are some of us who waste away
their day playing video games, or worse still, watching TV, movies or
even listening to music to occupy their mind so that they won't feel the
hunger pangs. Subhaan Allah! Trying to obey Allah by DISOBEYING Him!?
7. Fasting
but not giving up evil
Some of us fast
but do not give up lying, cursing, fighting, backbiting, etc. and some
of us fast but do not give up cheating, stealing, dealing in haraam
activities, buying lottery tickets, selling alcohol, fornication, etc.
and all kinds of impermissible things without realizing that the purpose
of fasting is to not stay away from food and drink; rather the aim
behind it is to fear Allaah, to increase our Taqwa.
'O you who
believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)' [Qur'an, al-Baqarah
:183]
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and
ignorance, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.' [Bukhaari]
8.
Skipping Saher (sehri)
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'Eat Saher for in suhoor there is blessing.' [Bukhaari, Muslim]
and he (s.a.w.w.) said: 'The thing that differentiates between our
fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating suhoor.'
[Muslim]
9. Not
fasting if they missed Saher
Some people are
too scared to fast if they miss Saher. However, this is an act kind of
cowardice and love of ease. Missing a few morsels in the morning will,
insha'Allah, not lead to death. Remember, obedience to Allaah overcomes
everything. Saying the intention for fast out loud or saying a specific
dua'a to start fasting are bid'ah. The intention is an action of the
heart. We should resolve in our heart that we are going to fast
tomorrow. That is all we need. It is not prescribed by the Shari'ah for
us to say out loud. Also, there is no specific dua'a to be recited at
the time of starting the fast in the Sunnah. Whatever 'dua'a' one may
see on some papers or Ramadan calendars, etc. is Bid'ah.
10.
Delaying opening fast
Some people wait
until the adhaan finishes or even several minutes after that, just to be
'on the safe side'. However, the Sunnah is to hasten to open the fast,
which means opening fast whenever the adhaan starts, right after the sun
has set (and not before). Aa'ishah (RA) said: This is what the Messenger
of Allaah (s.a.w.w.) used to do. [Muslim]
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to
open the fast.' [Bukhaari, Muslim]
Determine to the
best of your ability, the accuracy of your clock, calendar, etc. and
then have tawakkul (trust) on Allaah SWT and break your fast exactly on
time.
11. Eating
continuously until the time for Maghrib is up
Some people put
so much food in their plates when breaking their fast and continue
eating, enjoying dessert, drinking tea, etc., until they miss the
Maghrib prayer. That is obviously not right. The Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
was that once he broke his fast with some dates, them he would hasten to
the prayer. Once you are done with the prayer, you can always go back
and eat some more if you wish.
12.
Missing the golden chance of having your Dua'a accepted
The prayer of
the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of breaking
fast.
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the
prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler.' [al-Bayhaqi,
classified as saheeh by al-Albaani]
Instead of
sitting down and making Dua'a at this precious time, some people forego
this beautiful chance, and are too busy frying samosas, talking, setting
the food, filling their plates and glasses, etc. Think about it...Is
food more important than the chance to have your sins forgiven or the
fulfillment of your Dua'as.
13.
Fasting but not praying
The fasting of
one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. This is because not praying
constitutes kufr as the
Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
said: 'Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up
prayer.' [Muslim]
In fact,none of
his good deeds will be accepted; rather, they are all annulled.
'Whoever does
not pray 'Asr, his good deeds will be annulled.' [Bukhaari]
14.
Fasting and not wearing Hijaab
Not wearing the
Hijaab is a major sin as it is obligatory for Muslim women. (See Surah
Nur, Surah Ahzaab). So fasting and not wearing hijaab certainly takes
away, enormously, from the rewards of fasting.
15. Not
fasting because of exams or work
Exams or work is
not one of the excuses allowed by the Shariah to not fast. You can do
your studying and revision at night if it is too hard to do it during
the day. Also remember that pleasing and obeying Allaah is much more
important than 'good grades'. Besides, if you will fulfill your
obligation to fast, even if you have to study, Allaah will make your
studies and other activities easy for you and help you in everything you
do. 'Whosoever fears Allah, He will appoint for him a way out and
provide for him from where he does not expect, Allah is Sufficient for
whosoever puts his trust in Him. [Qur'an, Surah at-Talaaq :2-3]
16. Mixing
fasting and dieting
Do Not make the
mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the
biggest mistakes some of us make (especially sisters). Fasting is an act
of worship and can only be for the sake of Allah alone. Otherwise,
mixing it with the intention of dieting may become a form of (minor)
Shirk.
17.
Praying only on the night of the 27th Ramadan
Some people pray
only on the 27th to seek Lailat ul-Qadr, neglecting all other odd
nights, although the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) said: 'Seek Lailat ul-Qadr among
the odd numbered nights of the last ten nights of Ramadaan.' [Bukhaari,
Muslim]
18.
Wasting the last part of Ramadan preparing for Eid
Some people
waste the entire last 10 days of Ramadan preparing for Eid, shopping and
frequenting malls, etc. neglecting Ibadah and Lailatul Qadr. Even
though, the
Prophet (s.a.w.w.)
used to strive the most during the last ten days of Ramadan in worship
[Ahmad, Muslim] and not in shopping. Buy whatever you need for Eid
before Ramadan so that you can utilize the time in Ramadan to the
utmost.
Aa'ishah (RA)
said: 'When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allaah (s.a.w.w.)
would tighten his waist-wrapper (i..e., strive hard in worship or
refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and wake his
family.' [Bukhaari and Muslim]
19. Iftaar
parties
Although
inviting each other for breaking fast is good and encouraged, some
people go to extremes with lavish 'Iftaar parties' with all sorts of
disobedience to Allah, from flirting, mixing of the @@@es and hijaab-less
women to show-off and extravagance, to heedlessness to Salaah, and
Taraweeh to even music and dancing. It's not too late to rectify ones
mistake and do good for the sake of Allah.
Inform My
servants that I am the Forgiver, Most Merciful. [Qur'an, al-Hijr:49]
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