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EsinIslam
Ramadan
Ramadan Explorer It was Allah who gave you the
ability to keep the good habit in Ramadan, and only He can help you maintain
it afterwards. Make Dua that Allah helps you not only keep the habit, but that
He accepts it and makes it a way for you to grow in closeness to Him. If you want to keep good
habits, you've got to make sure they remain part of your daily schedule. For
instance, fasting. Did you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) encouraged fasting on Mondays and Thursdays? He said: A man's deeds are
reported (to Allah) on Mondays and Thursdays and I prefer that I should be
fasting when my deeds are reported (Tirmidhi). This is
a great way of maintaining the habit so you're not rusty by next Ramadan.
Or for example, were you extra generous during Ramadan? Well,
maybe you can portion out a set amount of your weekly or monthly paycheck to a
charitable cause to maintain the habit of giving. Make
the habit part of your daily and weekly schedule. The point is to keep the
action in practice, and of course gain rewards from Allah. Evaluating
ourselves, our intentions, words and actions, every night is a very good way
to maintain good habits (see a sample self-evaluation form).
Self-evaluation doesn't only help you see where you are and
where you've got to go. It's also a great reminder of what you were supposed
to do and didn't. Add a question or two (or three or
four) about your specific habit into a daily self-evaluation questionnaire.
Ask yourself, for instance, how often did I pray today? What was the quality
of my prayer? Did I pray on time? etc. These serve to remind you to keep up
the habit and do better next time. This helps you see
the bigger picture. You'll be able to evaluate on a more long-term level how
well you've been keeping your habit in practice. You can do the same thing on
a monthly and yearly basis. For those who are really
into the technical aspect of self-evaluation, maybe you can make a graph to
help you chart how well (or not so well) you've been keeping up with your good
habit. What are friends for
anyway? If you've got a close friend you feel you can share your new habit
with, let them join you in keeping up with it and keeping tabs on you while
they're at it. This will not only encourage you, but Insha Allah, it'll deepen
your brother/sisterhood as well. Alternatively, look
for groups where you can maintain the habit. If, for instance, you memorized
Quran regularly in Ramadan and want to keep the habit, join an Islamic study
circle focused on memorization.
The beauty of Tawbah (repentance) in Islam, is that Allah blesses us with this
opportunity to return back to Him after doing something wrong. We should
remember that we are humans and that we will err. Only Allah is Perfect.
This is why, for instance, if we were able to pray on time all
through Ramadan, but become slack afterwards, we must realize it, seek Allah's
forgiveness sincerely, and try our best to get back on track, asking Allah to
help us. We should not give up trying to pray on time
just because we have missed doing so on a couple of occasions. Niyyah
or intention is a key to Allah's acceptance of our good deeds. If we developed
a habit to impress others, for instance, we may be able to keep the momentum
for a while, but most probably it'll wear out afterwards.
But if we maintained a habit sincerely for the sake of Allah,
Insha Allah, not only will we be rewarded for it, but our intention will help
us maintain the necessary motivation to continue to do good. If you were
ready to spring out of bed in anticipation for Fajr during many of the days of
Ramadan, but find yourself barely waking up for the prayer afterwards, don't
be surprised, but don't become slack either. Good
habits are often easy to maintain in Ramadan, the blessed month. The hard part
is doing so after the "high" of Ramadan. This is where you'll have to work
hard to force yourself to maintain your habit, whether it's waking up for Fajr,
not smoking, eating less, being more patient, etc. Be
thankful when you're able to maintain your habit and think about practical
things you can do to keep it up on a regular basis. Aisha reported that
Rasulullah said: Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and
remember that you shall enter Paradise only through Allah's Mercy, and also
remember that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is regular and
constant even if it is little (Bukhari). The wisdom in
this Hadith is tremendous and it is one way of keeping up good habits you have
picked up in Ramadan. For example, let's say you were
motivated to read Quran for half-an-hour on a daily basis in Ramadan. But now
that it's over, you feel sluggish, lazy and want to give it up. Yet, you had
wanted to maintain this habit after the blessed month was over. If you keep up this 'five minutes a
day' habit, Insha Allah, you will see the amount of Quran you read will
increase slowly but gradually, perhaps even surpassing your Ramadan maximum in
the long-term, Insha Allah! What makes
you get up for work in the mornings, no matter how tired you are? What makes
you drag yourself out of a warm bed on a cold morning to get ready for school?
It's the fact that you have no option, and you know that there are negative
consequences to not going to work (you'll be fired) or school (you'll fail).
Use the same kind of psychology on yourself when it comes to
maintaining your good habit. Tell yourself, for instance, that Allah will be
very angry with you if you do not pray Fajr, no matter how cold your room is
on a frosty December morning. That in turn can lead to more bad deeds, which
could lead to decreased faith, and a downward spiral in your life. And Allah
can punish you in various ways in this world as well as the next for not
praying. You could lose your job; you could have a family crisis, etc. |
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