Preparing for Ramadan with Sh Abu Ishaaq (2017)

The list of things we love about Ramadan is endless; anything from the good food, the good company and the sweet taste of our soul being fed with mercy, forgiveness and blessings are at the top of the list. And so the countdown begins; one month becomes a week. A week becomes two days, and the next thing you know, here it is.

Yet anticipations and excitement for the nights of mercy and the days of virtuous rewards are not enough. The holy month requires action, activity and most importantly, planning. It’s all about altering our busy schedules to fit the commands of Allah – which in turn, will carry us successfully through the journey towards the akhirah, inshAllah.

This year, Ramadan has come at a time where our stress levels are at its peak and where every second person we say salaams to, is sick. Restraining oneself from food and water is, at the very least, conceptually impossible to imagine; with the average uni student going through at least twenty cups of coffee each day. So how do we prepare for our spiritual revival?

Sh Abu Ishaaq, a teacher at Markaz Imam Ahmed College, discussed how preparing for Ramadan should begin months beforehand. He stated that, “Rajab is the month for planting the seeds, Sha’ban for watering, and Ramadan for reaping the crops and picking the fruits.” In other words, look at the year in its entirety as a tree – begin your worship in the months of winter so that you may reap the blessings in spring (i.e. Ramadan). The wisdom behind this, Sh Abu Ishaaq said, was that “Ramadan is a month of tests. And a student would not go into an exam hall without studying. So improve your relationship with Allah and the Quran now, so that the holy month is an ease for you.”

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When we think about fasting, the first thing that comes into mind is abstinence from food and drink. But the Sheikh reminded us that the concept of fasting isn’t as black and white as we may like to think it is. He explained how abstaining from food and drink is only the first level to fasting. The second, more conceptual level is the abstinence of the mouth, ears, eyes, legs and hands. In other words, it is abstinence from the actions that are deemed haram and/or mahrukh.

We must remember that Ramadan is about breaking bad habits – not putting them on pause. So for permanent change we clearly need to have commitment and implementation of practices. But most one of the things we often forget, is that breaking bad habits comes from having takwa. Ali RA described takwa as feeling the greatest fear of Allah, to act upon the Quran and Sunnah, and to be satisfied with the little things Allah has given us by remembering that this worldly life is only temporary.

But let us not beat around the bush. We’re all university students going through exam period with piles of assignments right by our bedside. And so comes the question of balancing our studies with worship. Sure, you can schedule your hours with a passion planner, or write up a goals list. But perhaps the answer is much simpler than that.

One of the many gifts Allah has given the Ummah is the elevation of habits into acts of worship through our intentions. By giving meaning to every day actions such as waking up for uni, walking to that class on the other side of campus or even studying for an extra hour will transform a simple act into a lasting reward. Scholars have described this as ashes flipping into gold, but a better description is: “a ticket into Paradise.”

And so we leave you with this piece of advice: treat this Ramadan like your final one and make it a month of spending time with your Creator because there’s nothing that pleases Him more than a worshipper full of sins coming back to Him.
As Ibn al Qayyim said, “It is enough of an honor for you that you are His worshipper, and it is sufficient glory for you that He is your Lord.”