Preparing For Ramadan: Lessons From The Prophet And Companions

Preparing for the Month of Ramadan

At any event or any occasion that we have, we prepare, we plan, we make a schedule. If we're going on a trip, we'll prepare in advance. We'll make an itinerary, we'll make a plan, we'll make a schedule of what we will do — so that we do not waste our time. Even when we have weddings, look at how many months in advance we prepare for these weddings. As minute as a job interview, we still prepare. Many students — we were all students once upon a time — we all know, for exams, how many days in advance we would start preparing.

Similarly, this sacred month is a special time. We need to start preparing for this. And we should start preparing from now, as soon as possible. Whenever we get the opportunity, we should start right now preparing, so that we are ready to maximize the benefits of the month of Ramadan.

The Prophet's Practice of Preparing Two Months in Advance

The Prophet ﷺ would start making du'a as soon as the moon of Rajab would be sighted — two months in advance, prior to the month of Ramadan. He would make du'a to Allah: "O Allah, bless us in this month of Rajab and Sha'ban, and grant us the ability to witness — let us reach — the month of Ramadan."

The Prophet ﷺ was making du'a from two months in advance, two months prior to the month of Ramadan. He was concerned about this.

The Companions' Practice of Preparing Six Months in Advance

It is mentioned in Lataif al-Ma'arif that some of the Sahaba would make du'a six months in advance:

(Lataif al-Ma'arif, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali)

They would make du'a to Allah from six months prior to the month of Ramadan, saying: "O Allah, let us reach this month of Ramadan." And then after Ramadan, they would spend the next six months asking du'a, making supplication to Allah: "O Allah, accept our deeds that we have done in this month of Ramadan."

This is the concern. This is how the Sahaba were. This is how the people we should be following used to act.

Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that if you were to follow anyone, follow those who have passed away — and he refers to:

The companions of the Prophet ﷺ. So the Prophet ﷺ, the Sahaba, and the past predecessors — prior to the month of Ramadan — they would start preparing for it.

How to Prepare: Two Key Actions

First: Begin Fasting Now in Sha'ban

There are many ways, many aspects to Ramadan, and many ways we can start preparing from now. First and foremost, we know that the month of Ramadan is about fasting — and it might be exhausting to many people. We are not used to it.

This week was the first of Sha'ban. The month of Sha'ban has already commenced, and there are only a few weeks till Ramadan. In the month of Sha'ban, the Prophet ﷺ would fast a lot. It is mentioned that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Prophet ﷺ would fast the most in the month of Sha'ban other than Ramadan. From the other eleven months, the most that he would fast would be in the month of Sha'ban — most of the month, except for a few days. So he would get used to fasting.

We know that if we were to take up a new skill, we're not able to do it right away. I don't know how many of us go to the gym. But if I were to start running for a marathon right now — many people who run marathons will tell you, they start practicing and preparing months in advance. I probably couldn't even run a mile right now. I would need to start with less than a mile, slowly build up to that goal, reach 20 miles or whatever it may be. I have to slowly, slowly reach up to that. I have to build that stamina.

With anything in life, to reach a certain goal, we need to build the stamina for it. Many of us have experienced Ramadans in the past and may have seen this pattern — we just wait till the beginning of Ramadan and see how it goes. But if we were to start fasting from now, if we were to start practicing and getting our body used to fasting, so that when Ramadan actually starts, our body will be accustomed to it, then we will be able to spend the rest of our time in ibadah, in good actions and good deeds, as the Prophet ﷺ has encouraged us.

In the month of Ramadan, when we do a nafl (voluntary) action, that nafl action receives the reward of a fard (obligatory) action. And when we do a fard action, we receive its reward seventy times over. There are many other benefits we know of the month of Ramadan.

So firstly, we should start from now, in this month of Sha'ban, to fast as much as possible. At minimum, we should try to fast on Mondays and Thursdays — which is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ — and on the full moon days: the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the month. Then, whatever else we can manage, we should try to build our bodies up to it, get used to it, and build the stamina.

Second: Increase Recitation of the Quran

The month of Ramadan is the month of the Quran:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2008; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

Whoever stands in the month of Ramadan with iman (belief) and with ihtisab (hope of receiving reward from Allah), then Allah will forgive all his sins.

So if we pray our Taraweeh salah — we pray our salah at night — the purpose of it is to listen to the Quran. And we do it with the goal of listening to as much of the Quran as possible.

The Prophet ﷺ himself, in his last year, completed the Quran twice in the month of Ramadan. And the Sahaba have narrated that they asked the Prophet ﷺ how many times one should recite the Quran. Outside of Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ said that at minimum, one should complete the Quran once a month. So one Sahabi said, "I can do more than one completion." The Prophet ﷺ then said, "Do it in seven days, do it in one week." So outside of Ramadan, some scholars of the past would regularly complete the recitation of the Quran in seven days. Then when the month of Ramadan came, they would do even more — completing the Quran in three days. Some completed the entire Quran in a single day.

Now, we must ask ourselves — could we even do that? Even for those who have memorized the Quran, that is difficult without the stamina for it. It is mentioned that Imam Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) used to recite 60 khatms — 60 completions of the Quran — in the month of Ramadan.

A Personal Account: One-Night Taraweeh Khatm

I was once in South Africa when I was studying. One Ramadan, I decided to stay back instead of going home. I went to a neighboring institute — very similar to this — where they had many scholars, students, and a main Taraweeh that would complete in 27 nights in the main masjid. They also had other halls where it would be done in 10 nights, in 15 nights, and various classrooms where students would hold their own Taraweeh.

Me and a few friends planned to go to one of the rooms and have our own khatm — we were planning to complete it in 10 nights. As we were going to the masjid, the driver who was with us said, "I'll join you tomorrow." I asked him what was happening that night. He said, "Every year I pray Taraweeh here, and I go pray behind one of the teachers who completes the entire Quran in Taraweeh in one night."

Growing up, we had experienced Taraweeh many times. In the 90s — many of you would know — Ramadan was in winter, and 10-day Taraweeh was very common. But to hear of a one-night Taraweeh — one whole Quran in one night — was surprising. So I told the other brothers that I wanted to experience this as well, and suggested we delay ours and go pray there.

When we went, the scholar leading the salah was over 70 years old. It was winter, so we started around 7:30. He began from Surah al-Baqarah. The person who spent every year there said they do approximately one juz per rak'ah. I thought, okay. But in the first rak'ah, he finished Surah al-Baqarah, and then finished five ajza. I thought, maybe he'll do ten. He finished ten, and I was praying right behind him — he wasn't even moving. He was just standing there, reading, reading. After ten ajza, I saw people start sitting down beside me because they couldn't stand any longer. They would sit, then stand back up. Some got tired of even sitting down. Then 15 ajza — and I thought, he is not going to stop.

He finished the entire Quran in the first rak'ah. And in the remaining 19 rak'ahs, he recited other surahs as well. He finished at 5 o'clock, and Suhur was at 5:30.

I thought to myself, I can't do that. And many of us would think the same. But he was a person who had been teaching the Quran for many years. He had the love for the Quran. So for him, standing was nothing — he made only two mistakes in that entire time. It was because he had built his body and his inner self to be able to read so much.

Conclusion: Set Your Goals Now

If there is anything I can leave you with, it is this: try to prepare for Ramadan by these two things.

First, start fasting right now in this month of Sha'ban, prior to the month of Ramadan. And second, start reading as much of the Quran as you can right now — not only listening to it in Taraweeh, but reading it, understanding it, and sitting in talks of tafsir of the Quran — so that when the month of Ramadan starts, we have a goal, we have an objective. We will try to read at least one juz, or however much we can. We have that in mind, and we can try to fulfill that goal.

Announcements

Please pass the donation box from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

Parking: No curb parking. Do not park on the curb behind the seminary building or on the Swift Highway. Additional parking spaces are available in the used car lot.

Weekly Programs:

— Team Fajr will be held tomorrow (Saturday). Iqamah will be at 6:00 a.m.
— Bukhari Dars will be on Mondays after Isha as usual.
— Tuesday Tafsir will continue with Surah al-Mu'minun after Isha salah.
— Weekly Salawat Gatherings on Thursday after Isha salah.
— Sisters' Bi-Weekly Youth Program — Soulful Chats will take place next Friday, March 3rd, insha'Allah. We invite sisters to spend an evening in the environment of the masjid with young sisters, where we will experience a unique opportunity to bond and discuss the challenges that our youth face today. Age limit: 13 to 21 years old.

Iqamah Relief Fundraising: Please join Iqamah Relief on March 4th for their annual banquet. Get your tickets now at iqamahrelief.org/chicagobanquet. Their team is also outside to pass out flyers.

Visiting Jamaat: There is a visiting group of brothers from Saudi Arabia. There will be a talk tonight after Isha salah, insha'Allah. We humbly request all brothers to participate.

Du'a Requests:
— Please make du'a for Sheikh Omar Hussaini, who will be undergoing surgery early next week.
— A family is requesting du'a for their young brother who is undergoing cancer treatment.
— A family is requesting du'a for an elderly sister who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
— Zahir Siddiqui is in the ICU and is in a critical state after surgery. He is recovering but needs many prayers and du'as.
— Atifa Maiman had a stroke and is currently under observation at the hospital. Please make du'a for her.