#ramadan1441

my dearest sister,

your efforts are still valid. ramadan still remains just as blessed as when you were praying. please don’t let this precious time pass you by. seize every opportunity.

here are some ideas to (hopefully) help:

azkaar- just because you can’t pray or read the quran doesn’t mean you can’t engage in lots of azkaar and durood upon nabi ﷺ

duasss- this is the perfect opportunity to make all the duas you forget to make when you’re praying. in place of taraweeh, spend an hour and a half asking Allah ﷻ for every little thing you can think of

cleaning- if you can get it done when you aren’t praying, that’ll leave more time for other ibadah when you are. plus, cleaning is a huge part of faith, so you’re still receiving rewards!

cooking- or any type of meal prep. if you can’t fast, still reap the reward of fasting by giving someone else food or drink by which they may break their fast. as the hadith goes, whoever breaks someone else’s fast receives the full reward, without taking away anything from the fasting persons reward (‏أو كما قال ﷺ )

studying- ramadan is the month of the quran. just because you can’t touch the quran doesn’t mean you can’t keep a connection with it. brush up on some tafsir, or if you’d rather, delve into a new aspect of islamic knowledge

quran- and on that note, your ears aren’t impure. you can definitely listen to lots of recitation and get a feel for which qiraah style you are most drawn to

work/school- if you have assignments that will be due within the next few weeks, just knock them out now rather than have to stress about end of semester projects and deadlines during the last ten nights of ramadan

good character-this isn’t a break from trying to be your absolute best self. keep up with the good habits you’ve been trying to instill within yourself and try your best not to revert back to any bad habits just because you aren’t fasting

Bertebaran Bukan Berserakan

Kebaikan itu diminta untuk bertebaran, bukan berserakan. Kok gitu?

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Benar adanya jika Allah akan menguji manusia pada titik (ter)lemahnya. Misal aku suka nulis ini itu di grup pribadi WhatsApp, tapi juga suka kelupaan untuk mencadangkan pesan atau menyalin ke media lain. Ndilalah berkali-kali WA-nya harus diatur ulang dan semua pesannya hilang. Setelah 2 tahun berwacana menata tulisan berserakan yang lebih sering sok puitis nan menye itu, akhirnya mau juga memulai tumblr ini.

Ya, meskipun lebih sering menye dan melankolis, tentu satu manusia ini tetap berharap ada hal baik di dalamnya. Yang kemudian tidak hanya untuk diri pribadi. Hal yang diharap baik tidak berserakan begitu saja di ruang obrolan, tetapi dapat membantu si penulis menunaikan salah satu tugas dasar manusia; menebar kebaikan semampu dan semaksimalnya.

Bagiku, kebaikan itu diminta untuk bertebaran, bukan berserakan? Kok?

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‘Menebar kebaikan’ menjadi ungkapan yang akrab kita dengar. Berbeda dengan ‘menyerak kebaikan’, asing bukan? Ibarat saudara kembar, kata ‘bertebaran’ dan ‘berserakan’ itu serupa tapi tak sama.

‘Bertebaran’ dalam Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring (kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id) berarti bertaburan; tersebar. Kata ‘bertebaran’ mengingatkan pada Alquran Surah Al-Jumuah:10. Manusia dipersilakan untuk bertebaran di bumi Allah, melakukan beragam aktivitas kebaikan selepas menunaikan salat Jumat.

“Apabila telah ditunaikan salat, maka bertebaranlah kamu di muka bumi, dan carilah karunia Allah dan ingatlah Allah banyak-banyak supaya kamu beruntung.”

Berbeda dengan kata ‘berserakan’ yang diartikan berantakan; porak poranda; terletak tidak beraturan. Seringkali digunakan untuk menggambarkan situasi dan kondisi yang tidak tertata. Misal, muatan truk yang terbalik itu berserakan di lokasi kejadian.

Sederhananya nih, keduanya menggambarkan hal yang terpisah-pisah, tidak jadi satu. Hanya saja, bertebaran terkesan lebih alus. Meski terpisah, tapi lebih tertata. Bahasa agak kerennya, berkonotasi positif dibandingkan dengan ‘berserakan’ yang konotasinya negatif.

Lalu mengapa kebaikan harus bertebaran bukan berserakan? Seperti kata Ali bin Abi Thalib r.a, “Kejahatan yang terorganisir akan mengalahkan kebaikan yang tidak terorganisir dengan baik”. Hal baik yang tidak terorganisir atau berserakan akan kalah dengan kejahatan atau keburukan yang ditebar dengan sangat rapi dan tertata.

Mungkin kita suka terlena dengan kalimat bahwa ‘kebaikan pasti akan menang’. Tetapi lupa bahwa dunia ini memiliki dua sisi. Sekalipun itu dalam diri seorang manusia yang dititipi dua potensi; yakni dapat beramal baik pun berbuat dosa. Maka untuk hal-hal baik yang diyakini, ditata adalah salah satu kunci.

Sesederhana mengumpulkan tulisan yang berserakan di ruang obrolan WhatsApp untuk ‘dirumahkan’ dan ditebar di satu media. Dibuatkan jejak digitalnya yang lebih rapi. Ditambah dari hari ke hari. Syukur jika dg mengumpulkan kepsyen-kepsyen yang biasa hilir mudik di status WA itu, bisa jadi kebaikan bagi teman-teman yg berkenan baca. 

you made a mistake. you knew it was wrong, but you didn’t control your nafs. something inside you whispered it was wrong but you ignored that little voice. you’ve committed a sin. what now?

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

say, "o My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. indeed, Allah forgives all sins. indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." {sura zumar: aya 53}

our Lord ﷻ is most Forgiving, so fret not! all one has to do in order to seek Allah’s ﷻ mercy and forgiveness is tawbah.

what is tawbah?

tawbah literally means to return back, because by repenting we are essentially turning back to Allah ﷻ after turning away from Him ﷻ whilst choosing to sin.

how does one perform tawbah?

it has been reported that abu bakr ‏رضي الله تعالى عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ: “there is no one who commits a sin, then purifies himself and stands in salah and offers two raka’at and seeks forgiveness, except that Allah ﷻ will forgive him.”

tawbah consists of the salah and dua. 2 rak’ah nafl with the intention of tawbah followed by a sincere dua asking Allah ﷻ to forgive you and keep you in His ﷻ mercy is all you really need

there are three main requirements:

stopping the sin- you can’t ask for forgiveness for something that you are still involved in. cut the sin off from its core so you make be more firm in your repentance

sincere repentance-that guilty feeling you feel that won’t let you go? that’s a blessing. feeling remorse means Allah ﷻ wants to forgive you, all you have to do is reach out

a firm intention to never, ever commit that sin again- even if you’ve promised yourself this a hundred times, DO IT AGAIN! believe in yourself and ask Allah for His help in keeping your promise. deep down, we should believe that we won’t ever do anything to displease Allah ﷻ ever again

also, if the sin you want to repent from involved someone else’s rights, you must seek their forgiveness first. for example, if you stole from someone, you need to return the item before you can ask Allah ﷻ for forgiveness, otherwise you’re still oppressing your brother, and how can Allah ﷻ forgive the one that oppressed His ﷻ servants? however, if the sin was such that revealing it to the person now would cause them harm, conceal the sin and make abundant dua for your brother. for example, if two brothers backbite a third in complete privacy, it may be best not to reveal this to the third brother, especially if it will hurt him. rather, we can make sincere dua that Allah ﷻ places forgiveness in his heart for us and that Allah ﷻ also forgives our brother just as we want him to forgive us.

this is the most complete manner of tawbah that i know of. this is required when committing a major sin, like leaving salah on purpose or listening to music.

i pray this suffices the interested party.

اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do. -SURAH AL ‘ANKABUT: 45

there comes a point in our lives when we realize our spiritual connection to our Creator ﷻ has become severed. of course our Lord ﷻ is most loving and has granted us ample opportunities to find our way back to Him ﷻ.

salah- salah. salah. salah is the answer to so many questions because it truly embodies the essence of islam: complete and utter submission to Allah ﷻ. in salah, the most fundemental aspects of being human are cut off: no food, no drink, no speech, even our mind is told not to wander. if we begin to feel far from Allah ﷻ, the first place we must look is to our salah. are we praying 5 times a day? on time? in an excellent manner? do we understand what we are saying or are we just rushing through to get it done and mark it off our list for the day? the time you allocate to salah is your chance to unplug from the sorrows of this dunya and connect to the One who can take care of them for you. when you are in sajdah, imagine yourself before the throne of the Almighty ﷻ, glorifying and beseeching Him ﷻ

qur’an- as the saying goes, “the qur’an is a love letter from the Creator ﷻ to the creation.” if we recite the qur’an with concentration, our hearts will find limitless proof of our Lord’s immense love for us. even if the only qur’an you read throughout the day is that which is part of your salah, be sure to pay attention to the meaning of what you read, so your heart can be more affected by the words. still, you should engage in some tilaawah (recitation) outside of salah, even if just one verse, for the qu’ran is such that it even purifies the heart that reads it heedlessly.

zikrullah ﷻ- in order to gain love for someone, mention them frequently. this is exactly what zikr is: mentioning Allah ﷻ. any zikr will suffice you in becoming closer to ArRahman ﷻ, but it would benefit us all to keep a certain routine of azkaar that we do daily. (ex: ‏استغفر الله 100x, لا اله الا الله, ‏لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله)

seerah- if you want someone to love you, connect with the people he loves.

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“Say: if you love Allah, then follow me: He will love you and forgive for you your sins; and Allah is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

If you want to connect to Allah ﷻ, follow His beloved Muhammad ﷺ. You can build a connection with Nabi ﷺ by studying his seerah (life) and following in his blessed footsteps ﷻ.

5. durood- similarly, send abundant salutations and blessings on Allah’s beloved ﷺ and Allah ﷻ Himself will bless you and draw you nearer to Him ﷻ.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever sends Salah upon me once, Allah will send Salah upon him ten-fold, and will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status.” {Nasai #1297}

6. contemplation- tafakur and tadabur: in order to understand the greatness of the Sublime ﷻ, we can look to His ﷻ creation. spend some time each day pondering over the creation of the skies, the earth, gravity, humans and our anatomy, and every other worldly being that indicates the perfection of the Creator ﷻ. when you love someone, you think about him or her a lot; some lovers go as far as to say that they see their beloved in every aspect of their lives. that’s how Allah ﷻ should be for us: ever present in our minds and hearts.

7. dua- if qur’an is a love letter from Creator ﷻ to creation, dua is your chance to speak candidly to Allah ﷻ. you have deep conversations with the one you trust and love. so pour your heart out to Allah ﷻ. tell Him ﷻ your hopes and dreams, your greatest fears, tell Him ﷻ what you are too afraid or embarrassed or shy to tell others. He ﷻ already knows but loves to hear it from you because it gives you a chance to release your burden and confide in Him. so tell Him ﷻ everything and pray for anything, now matter how small. if you do this, you’ll start to see your reliance in Allah ﷻ increase, as well as your closeness to Him ﷻ.

one thing to note is that every other aspect mentioned can be found within salah. that is how truly profound the act is. no wonder it is the second pillar of our religion and of course Allah ﷻ loves salah so much He ﷻ made it obligatory on us 5 times a day.

there are many more ways to improve one’s relationship with his Maker ﷻ, however i have sufficed on these essential seven with the hopes that each may be implemented during this most blessed month.

every ramadan has many important lessons to teach us individually, but this year we’ve all learnt some collective lessons. here are the three that i feel deserve to be the most preserved and internalized:

Allah ﷻ does not reside in the masjid nor in the haram, but He ﷻ is with the believer

a major reason why we feel absolute euphoria when visiting the kaba is because it’s the first time in a long time that our sole focus is our relationship with Allah ﷻ. we pray, read His ﷻ quran, and make every dua that finds its way to our heart.

but Allah ﷻ isn’t only in the haram, nor is He ﷻ confines to the masjid. the reason we feel closer to Him ﷻ in these places is because entering them is the only time we attempt to put aside all of our worldly worries to focus on building a connection to Allah ﷻ. this ramadan, we learnt that Allah ﷻ is as much in our homes as He ﷻ is the masjid. in fact, He ﷻ is wherever we may be when we call upon Him ﷻ.

life becomes blissful when we adopt a mentality of, “Allah ﷻ has planned it out best for me”

much of our day to day stress comes from planning out the future and get rattled when things don’t go according to plan. some of us had travel plans. others were supposed to be getting married. some even lost their jobs or a loved one.

so much has happened in these last few months, but ramadan was our opportunity to reconcile all of our worldly plans with Allah ﷻ perfect predestination. internalizing the thought that, “had it happens the way i had wanted, i would have suffered or lost out on something better” or even better, “i got this because it’s the absolute best for me” is the key to unlocking a more content life. suddenly, stress melts away and tawakul in Allah’s ﷻ perfect plan replaces it.

the best deeds are those that are performed in difficulty

regardless of how much of an impact the worlds current state has had on your individual life, we can all agree that a great burden has taken hold of humanity. the healthy are now sick, the financially self-sufficient are now struggling, and the most social of men and women are trapped in their homes without any gatherings to attend.

this calls for gratitude for whatever state we may be in, and seizing every opportunity because well never know when our condition might change. however, it also teaches us the value of deeds that are performed in spite of adversity. the charity you give when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from. the salah you pray when your feeling sleepy. fasting at a time when everyone else is emphasizing the need to stay hydrated. we might overlook these obstacles, but Allah ﷻ doesn’t. He ﷻ sees and values and appreciates and records.

‏ربنا ‏زدنا علما

first thing’s first, it happens. beating yourself up now won’t change what’s already been done (or hasn’t been).

secondly, know that Allah ﷻ is the most forgiving, so if He ﷻ wants, He ﷻ can choose to overlook all the mistakes you’ve made and turn them into good deeds, so never👏🏻loose👏🏻hope

now, the most important thing is that you still have time. ramadan isn’t over yet. let’s work on making the absolute most of whatever’s left.

wrote down your goals- this will make them more tangible and once you place them somewhere visible, it’ll serve as a reminder of what you ought to be doing. be realistic about how big you make your benchmarks, but don’t completely dismiss your ability to give it your all once you get down to it (inshaAllah ﷻ)

make a plan- so, you know you want to recite the entire qu’ran this month, and you don’t have a full 30 days to do it anymore? that’s ok, plan out how much you can recite daily in order to complete your goal. similarly, have an approach for each individual goal so you’re not left wondering how to achieve them.

hold yourself accountable- this varies widely for different people. some like to use a chart or app to ensure they stay on track whilst others need a buddy to check in with. some need a variety of methods. figure out what works best for you and then commit to not letting yourself slide anytime you fail to complete an intended task

time is everything- as stated in sura asr, man is at a loss with time. it’s truly the one thing we can never get back. try to keep this in mind for the rest of the month, so that as soon as you feel you’re about to waste time on an app or doing something unnecessary, you snap yourself out of it. there are only 720 hours in ramadan, and out of that, you need time to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom. after that, every hour counts and we can’t afford to waste even one.

lastly, turn to Allah ﷻ for help- make dua to Allah ﷻ to help you make the most of this ramadan and keep firm faith in your ability to do so. if you have hope in Allah ﷻ’s mercy, He ﷻ will definitely take care of you.

a major element of ramadan is the nightly prayer known as taraweeh and many of us are accustomed to praying together in the masjid. however, this year, with the masaajid closed and no one to lead us at home, we’re on our own. you may find it difficult, but here are some tips to (hopefully) help:

staying motivated:

one of the most difficult parts about praying alone is finding the drive to actually get started. there are two major ways to combat this:

holding yourself accountable- if you know that you’re going to have to report back about whether or not you prayed taraweeh, you’re more likely to pray them. either have a taraweeh buddy who you text/call once you’re done (or even as you complete 2 rakaat) or choose a family member to pray alongside you. alternatively, you can be your own enforcer by keeping a log of how much you prayed that you review daily.

rewarding yourself once you’ve completed your goal- this may sound childish, but there was a reason our parents would treat us when we did well as kids: it works! set a particular personal reward for yourself that will drive you to complete your prayers. it doesn’t have to be something positive like getting to eat ice cream (although that’s certainly motivating me right now🤤). in fact, you can go the negative route, like no screen time until i have prayed all of my salah. this is a great way to get rid of distractions as well.

which bring us to our next point,

focus and concentration:

a major difficulty in praying for so long is remaining attentive throughout. we want to not only be concerned by quantity, but also the quality of our salah. get rid of distractions like your cell phone and laptop. focus on the meaning of what you’re saying. and take your time. there’s really no way to concentrate on the salah when you’re trying to set a world record for fastest qaari.

it’s not a competition:

it’s not a quran competition to see if you can recite all of surah baqara. if the only surahs you know are the last ten of the 30th juz, that’s perfectly perfect. in fact, those are some of the most profound and beautiful surahs of the quran. it hurts my heart to know that some people look down on reciting surah ikhlaas in salah just because of its length. surah ikhlaas is one of the most beautiful surahs in the quran.

Aisha ‏رضي الله تعالى عنها narrarares that:

The Prophet ﷺ sent (an army unit) under the command of a man who used to lead his companions in the prayers and would finish his recitation with ( Sura Ikhlaas): 'Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, the One." ' (112.1) When they returned (from the battle), they mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ. He ﷺ said (to them), "Ask him why he does so." They asked him and he said, "I do so because it mentions the qualities of arRahman and I love to recite it (in my prayer)." The Prophet ﷺ; said (to them), "Tell him that Allah ﷻ loves him" {Sahil Al-Bukhari: Volume 9: Book 93: Hadith 472}

similarly, many of the smaller surahs have a beautiful meaning, and if we were to understand and ponder over the meaning, we would never underestimate their value.

converse with Allah ﷻ

remember, this time is precious and this is a chance for you to build up your relationship with Allah ﷻ in a way that you won’t be able to do for the rest of the year. regardless of how many rakaat you pray, it’s imperative to rectify one’s intention consistently.