Ramadan (Khatib Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
The month of Ramadan is only a few days away from us, and this is the time of the year when we give our best. Every single year, we are constantly trying to improve ourselves. Every single Ramadan, we are trying to do better than the last one. But, how can we expect ourselves to do better than before if we don't plan for it in the first place? How can we achieve things that we haven't achieved before if we don't have a clear goal in our mind?
This is a smaller issue within a bigger issue: what is our ultimate goal for this life? The answer is simple, we want to get to Jannah, we want to be successful in the Hereafter. We have a clear goal, but what have we done to prepare for it? What have we prepared for tomorrow? What have we prepared for Ramadan?
Allah says in the last few verses of Surah Al-Hashr [59:18]:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ
O you who believe! Be mindful of Allah and let every soul look to what deeds it has prepared for tomorrow.
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
And fear Allah, for certainly Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
Allah uses the word غد (tomorrow), because this life is so short and the Judgement Day is so near that it is just like tomorrow. It could also be the actual tomorrow for many of us, because none of us can expect to still live tomorrow. Allah is reminding us to look at what we have prepared for the future, and he also immediately tells us the best way to prepare for it:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
Fear Allah. Having Taqwa, fearing Allah is the best thing we should do to prepare for tomorrow. This is also mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah:
وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ
Take necessary provisions (preparations, precautions) for the journey—surely the best provision (preparation, precaution) is righteousness. [2:197]
Whenever we are planning to travel somewhere, there must be things that we prepare for, and there are things that we cannot take with us everywhere. When we board unto an airplane, there are things that are allowed and things that are forbidden. The journey of this life is the same: only the things that the One who made the rules has given permission are allowed, which are our good deeds.
None of us can be confident enough to say that our good deeds are enough for the Hereafter. In fact, our Prophet (SAW) told us:
“Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds alone can never make you enter Paradise”
Then the companions asked: “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?”
He said: “Not even myself, unless Allah grants me His mercy. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular even if it were little.” [Sahih Muslim 2818]
This is to remind us to be humble. This is to remind us that no matter how much good deed, how much preparation a person does, he can never be arrogant enough to say that ‘this will be enough’. Even the Prophet himself is not an exception to this. This is an encouragement for us to keep on working and improving ourselves.
No one can truly be fully ready and confident in their preparation. There are always, without any exception, room to improve and better ways to prepare ourselves for a certain task. It does not mean that we should simply give up and not do anything because there is no ending in the preparation, but because when the time comes, when it’s time to execute our plan, all we have is the previous efforts that we have gathered through the process of planning. All we have at that moment are the things that we have prepared beforehand.
Almost every single important thing in our life, we have plans for them. We prepare for our exams at school, we prepare for job interviews, we prepare for our food, we prepare for our retirement, we prepare for our children, we prepare for our travels, and of course, we need to prepare to meet Allah.
Of course, there needs to be a balance in our preparations for this life and the Hereafter. Allah did not tell us to give up on everything in this life and only care about the Hereafter, nor did He tell us to only care about this life. Allah says in the Qur’an:
فَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَـٰقٍۢ
There are some who say, “Our Lord! Grant us the good in this world,” but they will have no share in the Hereafter. [2:200]
وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
But there are others who say, “Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.”
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا كَسَبُوا۟ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
It is they who will receive a reward for the good they have done. And Allah is swift in reckoning. [2:202]
Therefore we should seek both the good in this life and the Hereafter, we have to try our best both for this life and the next by planning our goals.
And, in order to effectively accomplish any task according to the Sunnah, there are a few steps we can take to plan out our tasks:
1. Understand what we are good at and what we are bad at. Know the advantages we have that others don’t have and the disadvantages we have that others don’t have. If we don’t understand our own abilities, then there is no way we can improve them in the first place. The Prophet (SAW) said: “A strong believer is better and dearer to Allah than a weak one, and both are good.” (Sahih Muslim 2664) Allah has made each person unique and special and every single one of us has his own strengths and weaknesses, so what we need to do is maximize the strength that Allah has given us and avoid using our weaknesses to compete with others.
2. We need to have the desire and intention to improve, which means we need to have a clear vision and goal. We shouldn’t simply remain the same and think that our lives are just going to be the same. We need to change that situation ourselves. Allah says in the Qur’an:
ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ
Allāh will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. [13:11]
When we have a clear goal, we have motivation. The Prophet (SAW) also said: “Think frequently about the thing that destroys all pleasures (death)” (Sunan Ibn Majah 4258) When we understand what is at the end, we will have more motivation to put in the effort.
3. Ask for Allah’s help. Even for the smallest of things, we should seek help from Allah. He is the One who decides what to happen and what not to happen, so we have to be sincere with Allah and to ourselves and remind ourselves that everything we do is for His sake.
4. Be consistent and do not give up. The Prophet (SAW) said: “O people! You have to be moderate (balanced). Verily, Allah will not give up on you unless you give up.” (Sunan bin Majah 4241) We shouldn’t push ourselves to our limit in an extreme manner that we cannot afford, and we should try to make the process smooth enough for us to keep ourselves on track to the goal.
5. Have Tawakkul and accept Allah’s plan. We have to remind ourselves that ultimately, it is Allah who decides whether our plans succeed or not, and whether they succeed or fail, we have to trust in Allah that it is all good for us.
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know. [2:216]
May Allah grant us patience and steadfastness. May Allah bless us and allow us to reach the month of Ramadan and accept our good deeds.