Ihsaan Magazine May 2020 Issue - Living your best Life | Page 26

the word “may”. In comparison, look at these
verses which appear in Surah Al Mu’minoon:
“Certainly, the believers will be successful.
Those who offer their prayer with Khushoo.”
(23:1-2)
Through these two verses, we learn that
there is a component of our prayer called
“Khushoo’”. This refers to our level of focus and
concentration during our prayer – something
that we all naturally struggle to maintain.
However, here are a few tips that may help us
to improve our Khushoo and aid in our success:
Praying at a measured pace and not rushing
Thinking about the small words of
remembrance that we say in the different
positions of prayer and their meaning
Reciting surahs for which we have an idea of
its meaning – this helps us to focus while we
pray
If we only know a handful of surahs, then
study those and familiarize ourselves with its
meaning
Thinking that Allah SWT is watching us
directly, personally, while we pray
Imagining that this is our last pray
Upgrading Our Actions with Qur’an
Allah SWT only mentions the word “Ramadan”
once in the entire Qur’an. In doing so, He could
have described Ramadan in any way – a month
of fasting, a month of patience, a month of
change – anything. Instead, Allah SWT said
that this was the month in which the Qur’an
was revealed. This is the identity of Ramadan
– Qur’an. Therefore, the onus is upon each of
us to honour this blessing of the Qur’an during
this month. These are some tips to help us:
• Divide our goal of reading Qur’an into
smaller bits – decide how much we plan to
read each day, or after each prayer
• If we cannot read Arabic, then at least read
the English translation as well
• Even if we can read Arabic, we should make
time to sit and read some of the translation
as well. The blessing of the Qur’an lies in its
message, not simply in the Arabic.
• Reflect and ponder upon the words of the
Qur’an as Allah SWT told us to do (See
Qur’an, 38:29)
• Listen to the Qur’an in our free time instead
of other things like music and talk shows
• Watch some short videos explaining parts
of the Qur’an
• Share a verse of Qur’an each day on Social
media
Dua
This is a month in which we raise our hands
and appeal to Allah SWT more than any other
time during the year. Allah SWT mentions
Ramadan in Chapter 2, verse 185, and then in
the very next verse, He talks about how ready
and willing He is to answer our duas:
“And when My servants ask you, [O
Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I
am near. I respond to the invocation of the
supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them
respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me
that they may be [rightly] guided.” (2:186)
Here are a few simple ways that we can
improve our dua in this month:
• Know that Allah SWT answers all duas. He
responds to all requests. Even if we have
never asked of Him before, or even if we
(wrongly) feel that we are the worst person
alive – Allah SWT listens and responds
to every single dua. No exceptions. No
technicalities.
• Learn the meaning of the dua – we
sometimes know duas for a long time
without actually knowing its meaning. If we
learn this (or even just have an appreciation
for what it means generally), then it will
make help our dua to come more from the
heart.
• Repeat your dua every day; this will
increase the chances of it being accepted.
Final Thoughts
If this is to be our last Ramadan, then we have
to make it different. This is exactly what Ali r.a.
said in his statement:
“Don’t let the day you fast and the day you don’t
fast be equal”.
If we make our days in Ramadan different,
then we will emerge from Ramadan a different
person. We all want to be better versions of
ourselves, and Ramadan is the platform for
that.
Finally, if this is to be our last Ramadan, then