Ramadan is knocking!

Assalamu alaykum (peace and blessings upon you)

Ramadan is just around the corner! I couldn't be more excited for it :)

We have less than a month before Ramadan begins, it is essential to start preparing for it from now to get the most out of this blessed month.

I find that in the past few years we learn so much about Ramadan during the actual month...unfortunately that means by the time we get into a routine and we are motivated to read Quran and pray, Ramadan is about to end :(

I want this year to be different, so let's start from now! The companions of the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to prepare for Ramadan 6 MONTHS BEFORE IT CAME!

Ramadan is the month of the Quran, many people try to complete the Quran within the 30 days of the month. From my own experience, unfortunately, I've seen many people fail at this. If you do not regularly read the Quran on a daily basis before Ramadan, it will be near to impossible for you to complete the Quran in one month. So start from now, and if you already read on a regular basis then increase the amount you usually read.

Ramadan is also all about controlling your desires and abstaining from food and drink. If you wish to make this easier on yourself during the month so that you do not feel fatigued and exhausted in the first few days, try abstaining from over eating in the coming days. For those who are addicted to coffee and NEED their coffee to survive, try slowly reducing your intake of coffee from now so you can stay strong in Ramadan!

Don't forget that Ramadan is also all about giving and becoming more aware of those who are less fortunate in the world. Start thinking about which charities you wish to donate to throughout Ramadan, and how much you wish to give on a daily basis. Perhaps go out and buy yourself a nice money collection tin and start putting your loose change in it from now.

A MAJOR part of Ramadan is prayer, in Ramadan there is SO much more prayer involved, with tahajud and taraweeh. There is no point in involving yourself with these nafl prayers if your 5 daily fard prayers are not perfected. ensure that your currently dedicating enough time for your 5 daily prayers, pray on time and take your time. Think about what you are reciting in the prayers and sit after each prayer contemplating and doing some dhikr. I found a great app on iPhone called "Did You Pray" it reminds you to pray and rates your prayer, I have been using it lately and I recommend it for everyone seeking to improve their praying habits!

My final advice would be to purify our intentions, we want the most rewards out of the coming Ramadan. So sit with yourself and ensure that all the ibaadah you do is purely for Allah's sake. Don't forget that actions are judged based on your intentions.

May Allah allow us to gain the most reward out of this Ramanda, may he make it easy on us and guide us to the best way to approach it; may He keep us on his right path and forgive all our past and future sins AMEEN!

Wasalam

Welcome!

Asalamu Alaykum (may peace be upon you)

Welcome aboard the Jannah express, where we find the easiest and fastest way to go through the road to paradise. The road to paradise can be a bumpy one, with many crossroads before reaching the end. We all need constant reminders to keep us on track, otherwise we may find ourselves on a completely different road!

I'm here to help myself before helping you to make the right decisions at the crossroads and to stay on track. So that inshaAllah we may one day reach Jannah together and see the fruits of our efforts.

In this blog you will find small reminders about our daily lives that can make a huge difference to our scale of deeds, you will also find some interesting ahadeeth(words of the prophet may peace be upon him) and ayat (words from the Quran) that may have inspired me and I felt important to share with you.

Before we begin, I feel it is important for the reader to know a little bit about the author, so here's a little general Information about myself:
My name is Aseel Sammak, I am from Australia about to commence my university studies in Bachelor of Law/Arts as well as a Bachelor in Islamic arts alhamdulilah. I have 2 role models, one being Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) as she was an amazing woman, not afraid to voice her opinion and was a HUGE support to the prophet (peace be upon him) if it wasn't for her we wouldn't know a lot of the daily sunan (non compulsory acts that we do to follow the example of our prophet). My other role model is my mother, as I feel she is always sincere in her work and is never afraid to take on new challenges, the state of this ummah is always a heavy burden on her heart and I admire her for that.

So that's all about me for now, I hope you enjoy the blog and gain some knowledge and hasanaaat out of it. 
I ask Allah to make this blog useful for those who are seeking to please Him and stay on the right path, AMEEN!

Wasalam (peace be upon you)