I went into this Ramadan with an intention to make it better than previous Ramadan’s. Too often had I gone through the month sleeping the day away, making it down to the table for iftaar five minutes before Maghrib, and spent what time I was awake simply passing time from screen to screen.
I’d heard once that the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used to prepare for the month of Ramadan 6 months before the beautiful month arrived. 6 months. This is how much they treasured and appreciated the blessings of Ramadan and the countless opportunities it provided for rewards, forgiveness and growth. Yet here I was failing to make the most of the month, simply making sure I made it from dawn to dusk, failing to truly understand the spirit of the month.
Ramadan is not just abstaining from food and drink – but refraining from all other desires we so often indulge in throughout the year. The kind of self-discipline it takes to go without food and water is supposed to permeate so many other aspects of our daily lives in the hope that we can continue this after the month is over. For me, now I look at Ramadan as a reminder of how we should be striving to live the other 11 months of the year – refraining from bad habits and desires just as we aim to do during Ramadan.
So this year one of the focuses of my efforts to make Ramadan more productive was aiming to memorise more Qur’an and actually understand the verses I was reciting. Every year I had focused on simply trying to finish the Qur’an which, although is something to be encouraged, wasn’t really impacting me the way I wanted it to. Every year in taraweeh prayers I often found myself drifting and my concentration waning, whilst I witnessed others in the congregation being moved to tears upon hearing the recitation of the Quran. It was this experience which motivated me to make a conscious effort to memorise more Qur’an and understand what I’m reciting in my prayers. Because how can we pray to Allah, reciting his beloved words and not take the time to understand what he is telling us. The Qur’an is a guide for us – but we have to take the steps to know it better.
I wanted to share some reflections on one of the surah’s I’ve been trying to memorise this Ramadan, a surah that I have been trying to learn on and off for a long time now. Surah Al A’la. Over the years, hearing the Imam recite this surah in the Witr prayer, I began to gradually learn parts of the Surah. But what better time to finally memorise this beautiful Surah than in this month! Having finally been able to memorise it in full, there were a few reflection I took from pondering over the translation.
• Ayah 14 – “He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself”
• Ayah 15 – “And mentions the name of his Lord and prays”
Pondering over these ayahs made me reflect on the importance of the prayer and remembering Allah. When I take a step back and think about the state of my salah, I find so much room for improvement. On too many occasions have I left my prayer mat having not really prayed, having not connected with Allah. In these ayahs, Allah is saying that the successful ones are those who purify themselves through mentioning their Lord and praying. This is real success; the type of success we should be trying to attain. And this is what made me think about what I prioritise in my life and how I should be making an extra effort to perfect my Salah – as Allah has told us, this is the mark of a successful believer.
• Ayah 16 – “But you prefer the worldly life”
• Ayah 17 – “While the Hereafter is better and more enduring”.
But isn’t this so true? We can all claim that we prefer the hereafter but do our actions really show this? Pondering over these ayahs prompted me to evaluate my own self. Do I prefer the worldly life or the hereafter? Because if I want to be successful, surely I would strive to be a believer who prioritises earning the pleasure of Allah and his rewards, knowing that the hereafter is indeed better.
These were just a few ayahs that resonated with me. My aim this Ramadan was to make an effort to understand more about what Allah is saying in the surah’s I recite in my prayer. So that I can truly say I am connecting with Allah’s book and taking time to understand the lessons and guidance in it. So Insha’Allah maybe the next time I recite surah Al- A’la in my Salah, the reflections I have taken from knowing the translation will help me feel more connected with my Lord in prayer.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“The likeness of the one who reads Qur’an and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have two rewards.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)