The Other Side Of An Unbroken Mirror

To-do Prompt

26th April, 2020

As-salaam alaykum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakaatuh! Ramadhaan Mubaarak to you, my beloved readers.

Every year, the Lord of the Mighty Throne sends down to His slaves, a Month of Mercy. In this month, the sincere and devoted worshippers are promised Forgiveness and Mercy from their Lord. But in spite of this, we find that we still struggle to keep up with rewarding acts of worship because, even though the big shayaatin are chained, the small ones are still scattered about the earth, wrecking havoc, misleading mankind and either stealing from their rewards or making them do deeds that will completely deprive them of any reward.

In this holy month when Allah azzawajal descends His Mercy all day through and all night long, the mu'min's ultimate goal is to plant as many seeds as possible so he can harvest all year round until the next ramadhaan bi-ithniLlah.

Because of my immense love for you, a love that is nourished deeply in this heart for the Sake of Allah, I implore you to pay close attention to these reminders. May Allah make it beneficial to me and you. Aameen.

RAMADHAAN TO-DO PROMPTS

First, the Qur'an:

There are many benefits attached to the Qur'an in this holy month, because this was the month in which the Qur'an was first revealed to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Hence the virtues of every deed linked to the Qur'an cannot be overrated.

The question is: what actions surround the Qur'an that may make one harvest as much reward as possible in this month?

1. Read the Qur'an daily. This target should be for everyone. The one who has learnt to read in its Arabic form should do this dedicatedly and those who haven't learnt to read should read the transliteration prior to when he or she learns to read, for in the reading of the Qur'an is Mercy, Guidance and a great blessing.

2. Memorize the Qur'an. One could choose to do this as his target deed for this holy month. For the one who has learnt to read the Qur'an fluently, he could dedicate to memorizing surah by surah, having a target in mind. The key is to set a realistic goal, one that is achievable. A good instance is to memorize surah al-Baqarah in this blessed month.

This said, it is virtuous to know your limit and choose your surah accordingly in order to sustain the interest. Remember, Allah loves the deed that is consistent, no matter how little it is.

Ponder over the meanings. Na'am. One's goal could be to read the meanings of the entire Qur'an and ponder over their meanings in this holy month. This seemingly little deed has a miraculous way of softening the heart and making one feed attached to the Qur'an and to Allah, bi-ithniLlah.

But remember this rule: whatever you find confusing must never be interpreted by you. Never conclude the meanings of unclear verses until you have looked up the tafseer on them.

Download "tafseer Ibn Kathir" from Play Store to make your learning experience more fun and authentic, bi-ithniLlah.

4. Learn Qur'an Tafseer. Learning the tafseer of the Qur'an is a beautiful act. It helps you acquire knowledge of Seerah and hadith. It helps you know which information is authentic and which is not. Most importantly, it helps you gain deep insight as to the events surrounding the revelation of a surah and the verses.

Pick a surah and learn its tafseer this ramadhaan. Remember, knowledge is power but authentic knowledge is guidance.

5. Learn to read the Qur'an. If you are yet to perfect your Arabic recitation of the Book of Allah, this is the month you may start this journey, bi-ithniLlah.

Remember, this is the Book of Allah, your Rabbit! How shameful is it that you can read every other book fluently but in this, you stammer! Does it not hurt your heart?

You can do this, bi-ithniLlah. Start from the very beginning; the rules of tajweed. Get a teacher if you must. Every step you take towarda knowledge makes knowledge endearing to you.

Second, Tahajjud.

If, on other days, Allah loves the worshipping slaves who desert their beds at night to seek the Pleasure of their Lord, how beloved would such slaves be in this holy month if they perform the same deed?

Have you experienced that serenity that defines the third part of the night? Have experienced the sweetness of ibaadah in these moments? Have you prostrated to your Lord in this moment and feel the reluctance in your heart to stand back? Have your tears and sweat drenched your garment and your point of sujjud, while your heart heave in love and in tawbah? Have you experienced the sweet ecstasy of eemaan at this pure hour and in ramadhaan?

Try it tonight, in shaa Allah. How beautiful is it to feel lighter and know that while you rise from sujjud, your sins fall off your shoulders! Allahu Akbar.

Third, charity:

Allah loves that his slaves give out of that which He has provided for His slave. In many places in the Qur'an, He reassures us that charity does not reduce wealth. In practice, the one who truly believes, when he feels the need for increase in his wealth, he gives out more to the needy and truly, his income becomes more blessed and increases.

It is easy for us to listen to the whispers of the shaytan when he tells us that we need that which we want to give. But when we fight our lower nafs and successfully defeat it, we experience the sweet pleasure of its aftermath.

And do we deceive ourselves when we link charity with financial give-outs? Na'am. Kindness is charity. Smiling at a fellow Muslim is charity. Forgiving a wrong done against one is charity. So even when one lacks the financial means, let him substitute with something no one can buy, making the intention.

What reward do you think await the one who gives in the month of ramadhaan? Think!

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The deeds are numerous. I can only mention but this few. I hope you will reflect and find this very beneficial, even though this isn't an update of our ongoing book😁

Love you all for the sake of Allah. BarakAllahu feekum wa JazaakumuLlahu khayran💞🌷❣️💖💕