Note: This is an Islamic article. Skip this article if you are not interested about Islam.

To my brothers and sisters in Islam,

There are Muslims who have passed away, and last year was their LAST Ramadan. But here I am… here we are, breathing…  our hearts still beating. Allah is giving us chance after chance to come back to Him, to better ourselves. All praises be to Allah (The God).

Since most of Malay Muslims are born Muslims, we have the knack to see Ramadan as part of our culture. We fast for a month and after that, we celebrate Hari Raya.. and this happens like clockwork. For some of us who are brought up in a non-practicing Muslim family OR the parents are pious but DOES NOT SHARE any Islamic teaching to their children, there is no value in your Ramadan and you will see it only as a month of hunger and thirst.

So let me take this opportunity to explain to you what Ramadan is all about and what is expected of you as a Muslim.

Ramadan is VERY DIFFERENT from any other month so treat it differently.
The time you spent during Ramadan should be VERY different from the days in any other months. It’s not business as usual. You cannot go to school, do your home work, play your Xbox, spout profanity with your friends on the phone, listen to music on your mp3 player, waste endless hours on Facebook and after that, break your fast, watch TV and go to sleep. If you think that is how its gonna be, you might as well don’t fast.

You see, throughout the past 11 months, we have been sinning day and night. Some of us watch haram videos as often as they drink water. Some of us have the habit to spout profanity; no sentence goes out of the tongue without a curse peppered here and there. Some of us can’t even tweet with cursing. While some of us indulge in major sins like fornication and adultery. The list goes on and on.

The goal of Ramadan is NOT to see which Muslim can slim down the most. The goal of Ramadan is for you to LEAVE THE HARAM (sinful deeds). Since your stomach is fasting, you must also fast your eyes by not watching any sinful videos, fast your ears by not listening to gossip, fast your tongue by not engaging in foolish, evil talk.

Repentance
Ramadan is a month of repentance. This is the time to give up, to leave the sins that you have been committing. You have to be honest with yourself, tell Allah that you commit such and such sin and promise Allah never to return to that sin. Look at how Islam works- If you are a sleeping Muslim who neither pray nor dua, you will continue to commit sin without ever thinking of changing your ways. Ramadan is a whole month dedicated just for that change to take place. If you take your Ramadan seriously, you will inshallah, experience the change to be a better you.

Read your Quran
Never ever be the Muslim who claimed he is Muslim, but during his lifetime, did not pick up the Quran and read even ONE verse. This is no exaggeration. The Quran is not a book for you to read when death comes to the family. You are supposed to read it on a daily basis.

If you don’t own a Quran, you gotta go to Darul Arqam at Geylang and buy yourself a copy. Get the one with the English translation. The enemies of Islam are BURNING the Quran because they detest Islam (type: “burn Quran” on Youtube) and here is the Malay Muslim who says the shahadah but got no Quran at home? When will this end?

When you are confused over any verse in the Quran, write it down and go to a GOOD scholar to explain to you the meaning. One of the reasons the Ummah is weak because everybody have their own interpretations.

And lastly, keep the Quran where it is VISIBLE. Place it beside your computer monitor if you are always in front of the PC. If you chuck your Quran in a shelf somewhere, IT WILL be forgotten.

I want you to read one whole chapter that will last you 3 hours everyday. Haha. NO. All you gotta do is read a verse a day. That is the most minimal you can do. And that would just take a few minutes of your time. If you can read a page a day that’s even better! You spend more than an hour on Facebook, you can’t spend 5 mins or less reading a VERSE from the Quran. What’s your excuse?

Perform your Prayers
There are some Muslims who fast but does not pray. There are some Muslim who only prays during Friday Prayers. And there are some who prays once a year, and that is the prayer in the morning of Hari Raya. How could you fast and not pray a single rakaat during Ramadan? For those who have neglected the prayers, there is no better time than to start performing your prayers. If you do not know how to pray, get a knowledgeable, HUMBLE Muslim friend or relative who can teach you. NOBODY from this ummah, who decides to pray one day, and suddenly is able to pray 5 times a day without fail. These things take time but you have to start now.

I have heard husbands praying without their wives and wives praying without their husbands. If you are a praying Muslim and your family does not pray, you need to explain to them about Islam and invite them to prayer. And have patience while doing so cause it’s gonna take time.

If you are always on the PC, download the Athan software and the Athan will sound when its prayer time when you are working.

Download from Download.com
Download from IslamicFinder.org

Get serious and watch yourself
Ramadan is a serious matter so treat it seriously. Don’t let external factor like sports, non-pious friends, endless entertainment hinder you from getting your rewards on Ramadan.

To me, Ramadan is like a bonus round. It’s like watching the game show, Supermarket Sweep, where you are given a limited amount of time to grab everything you want in the shopping center.

1.34- Instead of scrambling for groceries, you are scrambling for hasanat (good deeds).

In my opinion that is exactly like how Ramadan is. You are trying your best to grab all the hasanat you can for the whole month. The time where Maghrib hits and Ramadan enters YESTERDAY EVENING, the Bismillah you utter is worth 70 times more. So do more prayers, dhikir, Quran reading and good actions as much as you possibly can because that is the currency being used in the grave and hereafter.

Ramadan Kareem to you and your family,
Brother Zul