30 Days of Barakah: How to Maximize Ramadan Properly

The Ramadan of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Part One: Fasting, Not Feasting

What did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ eat in Ramadan? What food did he consume? Because for you and me, as the month draws near, that is the first thing on our mind. Because for many of us, Ramadan is a month of feasting, not the month of fasting. It's not the month of i'tikaf, it's a month of eatikaf.

And so for many of us, in many cultures, when Ramadan comes, there are special food dishes that are reserved for Ramadan. Special fried objects, special fritters, special sweet dishes, only for Ramadan. Ramadan has become a feasting festival. A month in which we meet lots of people, we eat, we fill our bellies, we get too exhausted for taraweeh.

The Prophet ﷺ, his norm when it came to eating was that nothing would be cooked in his house for months on end. Three months, four months, five months might go by and the fire — the stove in the house of the Prophet ﷺ — would never be lit. He would wake up on some days and ask his wife Aisha, is there any food at home? She would say no, and he'd say, I'm fasting today. And this is outside of Ramadan.

What did he live on? What was the main staple diet of the Prophet ﷺ? Al-aswadan — dates and water. So this is the first thing. The Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ — food and feasting was not a part of it. But it is a part of our Ramadan.

So there's a challenge I give all of you, especially the fathers and especially the heads of the household. It's called the one meal challenge. Every day in Ramadan for iftar, try not to have more than one meal prepared. One dish — one rice dish, one curry, one pasta dish, whatever — one dish. Because what happens when you have 16 dishes on the table? Who spends the vast majority of their time cooking in the kitchen rather than worshipping Allah? All the focus, all the emphasis, becomes the food.

When we learn about the Prophet's Ramadan, food is not even mentioned. What did he eat? Where did he eat? Because it was not even a point of concern for him. But for us it's the first point of concern.

Part Two: The Qur'an Should Have a Visible Impact

The second is the relationship of the Prophet ﷺ with the Qur'an. In the hadith of Ibn Abbas, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, he says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3554)

The Prophet ﷺ was the kindest, most generous, and most lovely of people — but he was even more lovely, even more generous, even more sweet, even more kind when it came to Ramadan. Why? Because Jibreel ﷺ would come to meet him on a daily basis. They would study the Qur'an together — he would recite from his memory and Jibreel would check it. Or in some narrations, يُعَارِضُهُ الْقُرْآنَ — he would present what he had memorized to Jibreel, and Jibreel ﷺ would check it and present back to him.

So on a day-to-day basis in the Prophet's Ramadan ﷺ, the focus is on nurturing that relationship with the Qur'an. But there's something very interesting here — the effect of the Qur'an on the Prophet ﷺ is visible. People can see that this man has been spending every day with the Qur'an because he's different. We know the Prophet ﷺ was the greatest of people, but he was even greater in Ramadan. Why? Because of the impact the Qur'an would have on his heart. The Qur'an would enhance his generosity. The Qur'an would increase his kindness. The Qur'an would increase his sincerity.

So you and me — every day we open the Qur'an to read our juz'. We treat it like a chore. We treat it like a ritual. We want to get rid of the pages, get to the end of the pages. And if you ask a non-Muslim colleague at work: do you see any difference in Abdurrahman this month? Do you see any difference in Muhammad, in Fatima, in Maryam this month? Or are they the same as they are outside the month of Ramadan? You know what they'll say? "Actually, yeah, there's a big difference this month — Muhammad is more irritated. Muhammad has a short temper. Fatima has snapped at me three times today. And when I ask what's up, they say, well, I'm fasting."

So fasting becomes the excuse for us to become worse in our character. To become more harsh, more short-tempered, more quick to answer back, more quick to cut people down. But the Prophet ﷺ, his closeness to the Qur'an in Ramadan had a visible impact. People could see the difference in him. And the way they described the difference, they said his generosity and kindness in Ramadan was like the pleasant breeze.

You know — a gentle wind, when it passes on a hot day, and you feel that coolness. You feel the leaves ruffling. You hear the chirping of the birds. Everybody loves that gentle breeze on a hot day. When the Prophet ﷺ had a daily connection with the Qur'an and his Qur'an teacher Jibreel ﷺ, it made a difference in every moment of his life, and it touched everyone around him.

As Ibn Abbas says — he was even more sweet and pleasant than the beautiful breeze. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3554)

You and me, this Ramadan — a non-Muslim should be able to tell the difference in you and me this Ramadan. They should be able to say, I don't know what's got into him or her, but this person has started to behave with extreme patience, extreme kindness — so punctual, so generous, so soft-spoken, so pleasant to be around, like the pleasant breeze. That is the sunnah, that is the Ramadan our Prophet ﷺ lived. People could not tell he was fasting because he was agitated and angry and irritated. They could tell that daily he was taking from the light of the Qur'an, and that light was spreading everywhere in his behavior.

And the way you can check is that every day when you recite or reflect or memorize the Qur'an in Ramadan — whatever your goal is with the Qur'an — you have to ask yourself: has the Qur'an affected my behavior today? Or has it just gotten stuck in my throat?

The Prophet ﷺ, when criticizing some people, said:

There will be reciters of the Qur'an, but the recitation will never go past their throats. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7562; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1066)

Is the Qur'an for you and me just something nice to recite? To make some nice sounds with? Or is there a visible impact on your behavior? Ask your mum, ask your father, ask your friends, your housemates, your cousins — can you see any difference in me? If not, this is not the Prophet's Ramadan. This is not the way the Prophet ﷺ lived the Qur'an. He lived the Qur'an. He didn't just recite it — he lived it.

Allah tells us of what the Prophet ﷺ will say on the Day of Judgment:

The Prophet will complain on the Day of Judgment: Oh Allah, my people abandoned the Qur'an. He will complain about you and me. We abandoned the Qur'an. Because abandoning the Qur'an is about not acting on the Qur'an — not letting it change you, not letting it impact your mind and your body — and just sufficing with the recitation alone. I'm not saying that you are sinful by reciting, but I'm saying it's not enough. That is not the way the Prophet ﷺ engaged with the Qur'an. We have to act on it. It has to show in our actions, in our behavior.

Part Three: Seclusion — I'tikaf and Khalwah

The third and last thing I want to mention about the Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ is seclusion — الاعتكاف. The Prophet ﷺ lived for 9 Ramadans. In 8 of these Ramadans, during the last 10 nights, he would live and stay in the Masjid. And in the last year of his life, it was for 20 nights.

Those who are working — try to get the last 10 nights off and try to practice this part of Ramadan: living in the Masjid for 10 nights, secluding yourself. Those who can't practice it, make your last 10 nights — and make this Ramadan — not a social thing, not a social phenomenon. When we think of Ramadan, we think about all the places we're invited to, the people we're going to meet, the restaurants we're going to eat at, the nice food we're going to order in. For us, Ramadan is a festival — some kind of eating and socializing festival. For the Prophet ﷺ, Ramadan was about seclusion, about stepping away from people, about being on your own.

Today, if you go to a restaurant, if you go to the hospital, if you look at people in the waiting line — no one can be on their own with their thoughts anymore. We need to look at our phones. We cannot sit by ourselves without any stimulation for 5 minutes. You can't do i'tikaf in the Masjid? Do i'tikaf from your phone. Seclude yourself from social media — deactivate the socials, get away, uninstall WhatsApp for 10 days. What's going to happen? Those who really need you are going to call and SMS you — don't worry, you're not going to disappear. But practice al-khalwah — practice being by yourself.

Because when you are on your own, this is when the most sincere du'a comes from your heart. When you're on your own, this is where the most deep contemplation of the Qur'an happens. When you're on your own, you might weep from the fear and the consciousness of Allah. But when you're always with other people, it's a sign you're not comfortable being on your own. You're scared of your thoughts, you're agitated. Being on your own brings a calmness. Imagine 10 days and nights in the Masjid, secluded from everybody else — just you and your Qur'an and your prayer mat.

Practice that from day one, not just the last 10. Practice a bit of seclusion every day — one hour where you are in your corner, away from the eyes of people, away from the crowd — it's just you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And this is why — can anyone tell me — how many times did the Prophet ﷺ pray Taraweeh, the night prayer, in congregation? Two times? According to some scholars, three times? For many of us, we can only imagine Taraweeh in the Masjid. Try it once on your own. Because the Prophet ﷺ would pray the night prayer on his own. Coming to the Masjid was the exception — it was not the norm. Try it on your own, in the corner of your house, in the darkness — and you'll hear your own sobs out of the fear of Allah and the connection with Allah. Because there's nobody else; you're not relying on an Imam, on someone else's recitation — it's just you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Try it once.

Summary: Three Pillars of the Prophet's Ramadan

So we said: fasting, not feasting. We said: the Qur'an should have a real-life impact on your behaviour — not just its recitation. And lastly: seclusion. Practice being alone — in the night, in the day — not just socializing and jama'ah, which is all good as well, but practice some time that is just for you and Allah, nobody else.

Quality time. One-to-one time.