Prayer during Ramadan: The Key to Success
Who’s excited about the arrival of the Month of Mercy? Less than a week to go till Ramadan graces us with its beautiful, blessed and boundless presence! Our homes and our communities – in the physical realm and the online one – are awash with the anticipation of and preparations for this month. Our minds and bodies are gearing up to meet the best versions of ourselves in the best month of the year in the Islamic calendar. This is truly a wonderful thing – may we continue to be inspired to make the most of Ramadan.
Our excitement is not misplaced. Ramadan is called the month of Mercy for a reason. The reward for every good deed is multiplied by 70; the gates of Heaven are kept open and the gates of Hell, closed. These are indicators of Allah’s Mercy in his intent to admit His creation into Jannah, subhanAllah. Worship in its every form somehow becomes more invigorating too, doesn’t it? Take fasting for example. Fasting outside of the month of Ramadan can feel challenging and draining but because Muslims around the world, as one entity, are fasting together in Ramadan, though still challenging, the prospect of fasting is different; heightened and healing at the same time. So, it is mercy after mercy that embraces us in this month.
Our community here is built around prayer, our yearning to be better at prayer and reap its benefits. While we are all on different legs of our prayer journeys, our pillars are built with the same mortar and cement. What we want us to take away today is two things:
i. Striving to keep up with our prayers
ii. Grace to focus on what we can achieve and reflect on what is challenging
Goal Getting
We always love sharing this example passed down to us by a beloved teacher. Which gear do you begin with as soon as you start a manual car? Gear 1, right? Then you move it along to 2, then 3 and so forth. Starting the car in a higher gear will stall the car. Apply this same logic to Ramadan. The energy a person breathes at the beginning of Ramadan feels infinite and inexhaustible, but just like a car being driven in the wrong gear, an individual will also eventually stall. Why? Simple - because they have not commenced their preparations before
Ramadan.
Do not be alarmed though. Prevention lies in a simple solution.
Set your goals. Setting these goals before Ramadan would be the ideal of course, but there is no time restraint on personal goals (generally speaking!). Set them today; tomorrow; next week; or whenever you are inspired. The most important thing is that you set those goals.
What do you want to fulfill? What do you want to treat and heal? What habit do you want to carry into the months post-Ramadan? Nothing fancy is required to do this but jot something down. Remind yourself that you are human. There is no Marvel superbeing that needs to conquer an entire world; just a mortal-being trying their best to conquer their soul and spirituality little by little.
What else? For those of us who struggle with consistency in the five daily prayers, think of Ramadan as the season of change. Like Spring which brings with it new growth, Ramadan is the season for the formation of good habits and elimination of bad ones. In relation to prayer, the first step forward is reconstruction of perspective. Allah orders us to prostrate before Him only as a mercy to us because it is Allah that we need for every single thing in our lives. Our ability to blink; relieve ourselves; the unconscious beating of our hearts; everything, absolutely everything is under His command. So when He has commanded us to prostrate before Him, His mercy dictates that each prostration is an opportunity to be forgiven. The simple truth is, salah doesn’t need us. We need salah!
Secondly give space to accountability. Keeping a salah tracker is one way of doing this. The physical act of ticking something off can bring immense satisfaction! But more than that, you will have access to a physical record that forces you to face the truth of your prayers. Perhaps you tune in with friends and family who are on the same journey as you and ask each other about your prayers that day. 'I prayed Fajr, Maghreb and Esha easily today but Asr was truly a challenge!’ This will facilitate a healthy discussion about the ‘whats’ and the ‘why's thereby enabling growth and change to flourish.
Let’s talk about the Taraweeh prayers too. This is the exclusive Ramadan prayer in which a longer recitation of the Noble Qur’an is offered in congregation. The number of rakat of Taraweeh differs according to different School of Thoughts BUT the thought of this prayer can feel overwhelming, especially if one is fatigued after a long fasting day. What are our three biggest tips we can share to help us get the most out of this prayer?
i. When we know something is exclusive or rare, our need to own it and experience it is increased. This is based on the scarcity principle in Psychology. Apply this same logic to Taraweeh – it comes once a year and is exclusive to Ramadan. Hands up if after previous Ramadans you’ve been assailed with feelings of not having made the most of the blessed month? Yes, us too – you are not alone! An action point here is to keep the special and exclusive nature of Ramadan at the forefront of our minds. This will insha’Allah inspire us to challenge ourselves as much as we can in the short time that we have.If you are reading in congregation, then choose a mosque where you love the recitation of the Qur’an. Did you know Taraweeh is actually derived from theArabic word ‘to relax’? Allah intends for this prayer as a form of meditation for us, so actively and consciously choosing your place of meditation will increase your enjoyment and insha’Allah excitement. Study some verses of the Qur’an that might interest you. Imagine your excitement when you can comprehend what is being recited in the Taraweeh prayer. This will truly embody what it means to converse with Allah in your prayer or be regaled with the wonderful and eye-opening stories that Allah tells so beautifully in the Qur’an.
ii. Whether you pray your Taraweeh at home or at the Mosque, you could involve
family and friends? Make your worship something you can share with your loved
ones if this is something that can motivate you. Standing by yourself on the prayermat can be isolating especially when Ramadan feels more family and community centred. Create the best environment for you. Sometimes though, the best environment is in quiet solitude as was the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). There are many of us who will not have family and friends around us so
praying by ourselves with the intention of this sunnah will be sweetly rewarding.
Grace Giving
Having determined your goals, begin the laying process by first making dua for strength and help from Allah, then start practicing your intended habit straight away. Don’t wait for Ramadan though. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Just start. That’s what every self-help book will tell you. The key to starting a good habit is simply just starting.
For some of us, it might be more a matter of maintenance. You’ve set the habit but motivation levels and will-power keep depleting. Completely and utterly natural. How to pick yourself up again? Firstly, start with dua. The impossible becomes possible with the help of our Creator.
Secondly, create friction and then remove some. What do we mean by this? Let’s imagine that you are trying to cut down on your consumption of sweets. What you need to do is create some friction. Put the sweets out of reach or perhaps do not purchase them at all during your weekly shop. What you have done here is created a sort of resistance; every time you feel like caving, you will have to reach just that little bit higher or go to the store. This ‘friction’ will remind you of your goal of reducing your sweet consumption. The same can be applied to prayer. An example of removing friction for prayer is always being in a state of wudhu. This will remove one layer of challenge from performing your prayer as you will not have to make a fresh wudhu.
Very importantly, if things don’t go to plan don’t beat yourself up. Reflect but don’t regress. Recognise what went wrong, what all the different variables at play were and then find the best step forward as you might do in other aspects of your personal and professional life. Ramadan is a month of compassion. Show this compassion to yourself in a way that is healthy, healing and produces the results you are looking for. And one last time, don’t underestimate the power of your duas. Supplicating for yourself is in its own right, a type of self-care and self-love. Sometimes we aspire to be better versions of ourselves but do not feel worthy or do not see ourselves as deserving of it. Asking Allah for help and guidance is a sign that you accept who you are, you love the person Allah has created and you see the potential for improvement. On that note, please find the link below to access our free Minara Ramadan Daily Cards to make a Dua Board. We modelled it off the concept of a vision board except this one acts a like a bank of sorts for the duas you make/want to make. What’s extra special about it though is that they have been designed to record the dua you wish to make for others. As mentioned in a hadith sahih reported by Abu Darda, “No Muslim supplicates for his brother behind his back but that the angel says: And for you the same.” [Muslim] In some strange way, it can be easier sometimes to pray for others out of your love for them and we can use that to our advantage by having the same goodness wished for us, all in one breath. How beautiful is our deen? You get good deeds for making a dua for someone and the angels make that same dua for you!
Our sincere prayer for you is that Allah Almighty allow you to reach Ramadan, the Month of Mercy, in good health and faith so that you may see your goals and visions come to life.
Ameen.
Minara Ramadan Daily Cards
For a limited time, you can access the Minara 2023 Daily Ramadan Cards to deepen your spiritual connection! Each of the 30 carefully crafted cards features an uplifting verse from the Quran, a hadith sahih, a dua, an affirmation, and a daily challenge to nourish your soul. And the best part? They're completely free! Click on the link below and signup for our waiting list for our upcoming launch. The cards will then be emailed to you.
Click here -> Send me the Ramadan Cards
p.s. We have a special Ramadan content series – with daily posts of duas, Quran verses andhadith references. Follow us for daily little spiritual gems!