Handling the Ramadan Dip

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Handling the Ramadan Dip

When Ramadan started, most of us were very excited and had planned to fully exert themselves in the worship of Allah Azza Wajal. However, now that it's been a few days, a lot of us, or rather most of us, are now feeling lazy and so are very unproductive.

However, we need to realize that we have to make a difference this Ramadan because Ramadan is a month of blessings and if we aren't able to get those blessings now, then when will we?

Here are a few tips to help us all. However, keep in mind that you do not exert yourself too much because you have to sprint in the last ten days, inshallah, and remember to focus on the Quran as Ramadan is the month of Quran.

1. Make sure you're doing it for the sake of Allah Azza Wajal!
It could be that your intention isn't sincere so you're not getting as much help from Allah Azza Wajal as you were expecting. If that is actually the case, and no one can claim that it might not be, get yourself in situations where the intention that you think you have won't let you do a certain action and then force yourself to do that action for the sake of Allah Azza Wajal.

2. Pray to Allah Azza Wajal to help you!
No one can do anything at all without the help of Allah Azza Wajal. Ask Azza Wajal frequently, in simple words beg, to help you make the most out of Ramadan and to help you get out of this Ramadan dip.

3. Make sure that you do more than you usually do!
If you were already doing an action which would gain you rewards, do not forget to increase, at least in this month. For those good actions which you weren't practicing at all, start practicing them.

4. Constantly review yourself!
Keep on going over what you did and and what you didn't do and correcting yourself. If you miss out on something accidentally, make sure you review yourself even more carefully. It might be that Allah Azza Wajal made you miss this action because of something else.

5. Don't let yourself do anything unexpected!
There are some things which you can actually take care of but yet you do not. An example of this would be sleeping. Sleeping a lot would be unexpected, at least in Ramadan. Make sure you occupy yourself in activities which would not allow you to sleep. Moreover, you could ask people who you know would be awake at that specific time to wake you up.

6. Write a plan for yourself!
It might be that you plan to do a few things. Yet you end up being lazy and you disrupt your plan. Make sure that you write it down on a paper and put it somewhere where you won't forget about it so that you know what you really have to do and you force yourself to it.

7. Don't eat too much!
Remember to eat enough to keep yourself active, not more and not less, but make sure that it doesn't exceed more than 1/3rd of your stomach's capacity. Same goes for every other thing related to your body unless it gets you rewards if you do more.

8. Do a lot of dhikr!
Dhikr is one of the most powerful tools to get you close to Allah Azza Wajal. You do not have to get a prayer bead or a dhikr counter. Just do it whenever it's possible even if it is during work.

9. Keep thanking Allah Azza Wajal!
Remember that whatever you did was because Allah Azza Wajal enabled you to do it no matter whether it was less than what had planned.

Here's a video lecture by Muhammad Alshareef:

Also, visit ProductiveMuslims's Ramadan website at ProductiveRamadan for great tips which will, inshallah, be very helpful. Here are the titles of a few popular articles that are available there.