YOU AREN'T MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR RAMADAN IF...

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't reading Qur'an daily.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't helping anybody.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't praying the Qiyam Al Layl.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't seeking forgiveness for your sins and mistakes.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you are sleeping half of the day.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't giving charity.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't forgiving others.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't getting rid of your bad habits or you do not stop complaining.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you can't stop fighting, criticising others and behaving badly with others.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you can't stop the obscenity and stop wasting your time.

You aren't making the most of your Ramadan if you aren't planning to know more about Allah.

You AREN'T going to make the most of your Ramadan if you don't make a sincere intention that you really want to make a change and

you AREN'T going to make the most of your Ramadan if you didn't seek help from Allah to make your goals of this Ramadan possible.

We aren't going to achieve what we want this Ramadan if we don't stop worrying about other people, their success and the materials they have. What needs cleansing and nourishment is our hearts which have been rusted with constant suppositions about people and their lives; the constant niggling about someone and somebody you don't even know!

What needs more is the constant remembrance of our deaths to remove the desire of the worldly materials.

What needs more is the constant remembrance of you aakhirah, your hisaab kitaab (accountability) and your deeds.

What needs more, is that pain in our hearts for other people who haven't been blessed with Islam yet or the pain for people who don't have enough knowledge as you yet.

What needs more is the steadfast of our good deeds and regularity in them.

What needs more is the changing of our lazy lifestyles into something productive.

What needs more is the removal of selfish motives we have built for ourselves and our own families.

May Allah help us all to achieve what we really intended to do and make us successful. Ameen

Start little by little with constant duwas and excel in them and be constant in them. We aren't perfect but we can aim to be close to perfection in sha Allah! 

Jazakumullahu khairan for reading. Make sure you rate, share, comment and follow me. 

Ask me anything regarding this topic here.Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views. 
- Manal Mirza

PROPER WAY TO READ QUR'AN IN RAMADAN

Assalamualaikum Warahmatuallahi Wabarakaatuhu

Disclaimer: This post is not going to teach you on how you should read Qur'an with proper Tajweed. It is only going to show you the proper way to read Qur'an this Ramadan without rushing or feeling the need to finish it without understanding. 

Ramadan is a month of blessings and Qur'an is that biggest blessing that we muslims have received. What a mercy it is to us! SubhanAllah!
Before Ramadan begins we all make the intention of reading more Qur'an and try to finish it. But little to we care about pondering upon the ayats of Qur'an let alone finding out what it means.
Qur'an is a speech of Allah. It is something which we need to understand its value and try to recite it properly with etiquette and manners.

But If I asked you what Qur'an is, would you be able to answer it?
Qur'an literally means something that is read and collected whereas linguistically it means the revelation of Allah's ayats to Jibreel upon our Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu alaihiwasallam which begins from Surah Al Fatiha and ends with Surah An Naas which was revealed for the entire mankind.

Here are some simple and few steps on how to read the Qur'an in Ramadan. Just follow the pictures below.

Some of the best ways is to first take five to ten verses of the Qur'an and understand its meaning. Divide the Qur'an to understand but do not divide your time. (you have lots of time) The best translation according to me is the Sahih International. It's simple and clear and doesn't have difficult vocabulary. If there is any ayat that you fail to understand, then you may open the books of Tafseer to understand it even better. The best one out there is Ibn Katheer. Both the translation as well as the tafseer is available online for free. 
Then there are couple of things that you need to follow up through your recitation of Qur'an .  
1. understand the ma'rifat (recognition) of Allah through His names
2. absorb the rulings and commands by Allah
3. ponder upon the qualities of a mo'min and of a disbeliever
4. take lessons from the prophetic stories
5. understand the difference between Tawheed and Shirk,
6. understand the vision of heaven and hell 
7. get a clear idea about the aakhirat and fear of it severity
8. memorize any duwa that comes along the surahs and make them for yourself

If you've read the Qur'an this way, then in sha Allah you will taste the sweetness of Iman. :D

Ramadan is not about rushing over to finish the Qur'an and get rid of it quickly and not taking the benefit and blessings from it. Rather we must read it slowly and understand the meaning of what your Lord wants to speak to you and gain all the reward and the blessings from it.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "He who recites the Qur'an in less than three (days), he does not understand it." (Jami At Tirmidhi: Vol 1, Book 43, 2949)

But if you read slow, struggling and are demotivated then this hadith is for you. :) 

It was narrated from Aisha that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: "The one who is proficient with the Quran will be with the noble and righteous scribes (the angels), and the one who reads it and stumbles over it, fining it difficult, will have a double reward." Graded Sahih: Sunan Ibn Majah 3779

Qur'an was sent to us as an admonition, cure, guidance and mercy but little do we take heed from this beautiful book. 

"O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers." Surah Al Yunus- 57

Let us all take heed from this beautiful Kalaam Ullah and seek forgiveness from Allah for reciting any verse wrong by mistake and pray that Allah gives us the tawfeeq to act upon what we learned from the Qur'an.   

Jazakumuallahu khairan for reading. Make sure you rate, share and follow my blog for more updates. 

Ask me anything regarding this topic here. Thank you for reading. Please feel free to send me the link of your blogs and comment below if you have similar views.

- Manal Mirza