Ramadan Is Here! What Should I Do?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Exactly 2 weeks left before my final examination. I'm so sorry for leaving this blog hiatus for quite some time. Anyway, today is the second day of the month of Ramadan and Alhamdulillah we are still here to taste the ni'mah of Ramadan. It's not too late to start listing down your Ramadan resolutions, as what people always say 'Better late than never', and I'm sure most of you who are reading this post will start speaking inside, reminding your heart what your resolutions are. It can be anything. From waking up for sahoor, helping the needy to standing a part of the night for tahajjud.

But those are not the only thing about Ibadah(s). 

Ibadah is a word with one meaning (worship), which has a few branches and broad classifications as it is not only confined to the pillars of Islam, but also comprises a lot of other good deeds and behaviours. Ibadah or worship is not restricted to fasting, prayer, going to the mosque and taking a part in a charity event, as we can even turn the daily activities such as eating, sleeping, doing homework into an act of worship by having a good intention. Whenever we do something, think the act of doing it, whether it is beneficial or not and correct our intention. Don't do something JUST because you want to be known, or to be seen as a good person, but do it because of Allah. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do something in public as to be honest, I myself usually aspired from these people, especially those who prove humanity is still exist in this world. But, never have a mindset that people should know everything I do (telling them I do this and I do that), so that they will acknowledge I'm a good person. Certain things are meant to be kept between you and Allah.

Have a list of resolutions, if not on a piece of paper or in the note app in our handphone, at least in our mind. Here's a list I've made for myself. It's more like a daily checklist rather than a do-once-is-enough list.. 

1. Pray on time. Stop whatever I'm doing, take wudhu' and pray. 
2. Read the entire Quran. Read 4 pages after every prayer, InshaaAllah I can finish reading it in a month. If you thought of reading the entire Quran twice, then read 4 pages before prayer and 4 pages after prayer. As simple as that! 
3. Pray tawareeh.
4. Perform Tahajjud. 
5. Offer other voluntary/sunnah prayers. Ie; before or/and after daily compulsory prayers, Ad-duha, At-taubah, etc. 
6. Dhikr. You can dhikr even when you're studying, jogging, etc. Here's an example of dhikr for our tongue to utter. 
   
7. Make du'as. Don't forget to make du'as for others as well as according to hadith, The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “The supplication of a Muslim for his brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Everytime he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel appointed for this particular task says: `Ameen! May it be for you, too’.” [Muslim]. 
8. Read Al-Kahf on Fridays. 
9. Read Al-Mathurat every morning and evening.
10. Give or involve in a charity. 
11. Turn off the radio and tv and use the internet wisely. But, it's not wrong to watch/hear Islamic talks though :)
12. Read at least one verse of hadith every day. I downloaded Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and transferred them to iBooks application in my phone. 
13. Help parents doing chores. Sidai baju, sapu rumah, betulkan itu ini etc.
14. Prepare iftar for the family.
15. Quit and leave bad habits.

etc.

Just as a reminder, this is only a list I can think of right now. There are a lot of other good deeds that we can do. In this holy month full of barakah, make it as a motivation for us to start, continue or keep doing something good and beneficial, to other people and of course, to ourselves as well. This is a month where many people strive and struggle to become better, and it might be a life-changing moment for us too, who knows. But of course, it comes with efforts. 

If you have that one resolution that you always wanted to do, do it now! Don't wait for tomorrow as we don't know when is our last day here in this world. So make the best of it.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Quran [2:21]

SAHIH INTERNATIONAL 
O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -

MALAY 
Wahai sekalian manusia! Beribadatlah kepada Tuhan kamu yang telah menciptakan kamu dan orang-orang yang terdahulu daripada kamu, supaya kamu (menjadi orang-orang yang) bertaqwa.

Lets make our Ramadan resolutions last for a lifetime. 

Lets struggle for the sake of and to please Allah.
Lets be a better self, a better person, and a better Muslim, InshaaAllah. 

Ramadan Mubarak everyone! :)