The following is a modification of Practical Way To Benefit From Ramadhaan— a Mustafa George lecture.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, his Companions and his family members and all those who follow them until the Last Day.
Practically benefitting from Ramadhaan should be divided into two categories: goals, and preparations.
I. Preparations–Daily Planner
- Each person should make a daily planner for Ramadhaan.
- Here is an example:
—– FAJR SALAAT —–
Pray fajr in congregation in the month of Ramadhaan [Dad and boys].
[Mom/Girls: Clean up. Get things ready for reading Quran or another book when dad returns.]
After returning, dad sits down with his family, either his wife and kids or with his parents and siblings and read the Qur’aan together. Each person reads one page or two pages. *See Family Reading Time Tip and Normal Attention Span of Children below.
Dad goes to work.
—– WHILE DAD IS AT WORK —–
[Plan this time now for mom and children to include: reading the Qur’aan, or memorizing some du’as from the Sunnah which they are not familiar with, lunch for those not fasting, naptime, other educational activities, etc.]
—– DAD RETURNS FROM WORK —–
Dad naps up to 30-45 mins. Its important that we don’t sleep the whole time from ‘asr till maghrib so as to make use of this time with our families inshaAllah.
Afterwards, he reads again with his family. If he read the Qur’aan at Fajr, then read a different book like Riyaad us-Saaliheen. Each person can read a few ahaadeeths. Then ask everyone, “What did you benefit from that hadith?”
This questioning is done as a way of teaching and this was also the way of Prophet Muhammad sallalahu ‘alayhe wasallam with his Companions.
It will also make everyone think about some of the benefits derived from the the reading. And other family membrs can add other benefits to make this more fruitful inshaAllah.
—– IFTAAR —–
Parents can ask their kids to invite friends over. This will achieve several things bi’idhnillah.
- Reward of feeding those who are fasting
- Parents will know who their kids keep company with (i.e. who are their friends)
- It can be said to the kids, “Let’s sit together since this is the month of Ramadhaan and read a book on fasting or any other beneficial book, or some ahaadiths”
- This will motivate visiting kids to do this at their homes. And the hosting parents earn the reward of helping others, and earn a copy of their good deeds.
—– TARAWEEH —–
If the family usually does this at home, take the initiative to take the whole family to the masjid. This way everyone realizes that this is the month of Ramadhaan where we have to do extra worship [including Taraweeh] to get closer to Allah.
—– AFTER TARAWEEH —–
Come home. Work on one’s personal connection with Allah.
- Think, o Slave of Allah, of the many blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you.
- Has He not guided you to the Sunnah and has made your feet firm upon it?
- Has He not chosen for you Islaam, out of so many people who are still wandering in the darkness of disbelief?
- Why did Allah choose you? When in fact, He is in no need of your worship. So remind yourself that this guidance is a blessing from Allah and its a gift that He bestows upon whomever He wills.
- Remind yourself that Allah has chosen for you the path of knowledge, such that He has placed the love of following the Qur’aan and the Sunnah according to the way of the Sahabah in your heart. Is this not a blessing from your Lord upon you?
- Remind yourself that it could be that He wishes for the path of Jannah to become easy for you so He has made the path of knowledge open for you.
- Remind yourself of all the blessings that He has given you in terms of good health.
—– SLEEP —–
Get some rest so that it becomes easy for you to wake up for Tahajjud inshaAllah.
—– LAST 10 DAYS —–
It’s a good idea to make a list of things that you want in the dunya and in the Next life. And then ask Allah for those things. Indeed, He gives without any measures. *See printable below.
Continue to follow [your schedule] throughout the month of Ramadhaan so that Your Day in Ramadhaan is not Like the Day when you are Not Fasting.
Please feel free to share other ideas which are beneficial inshaAllah.
Barak Allahu feekum
Your Assignment:
Involve your family in planning your family’s Ramadhan Days both individually and as a family.
Develop and write down a rough draft of your family’s Ramadhan schedule in your notebook or use a printable planner (see link below). Have the children do the same for themselves if they are old enough.
Don’t schedule beyond what you have the ability to accomplish.
Printable Planners
The main Ramadhan Planner site has all types of planners. You will find them {HERE}. Choose what suits you the best.
Need Help Making Plans?
Read this Muslimah’s Example on her blog; it is very helpful.
Planning Tip: Normal Attention Span of Children
Keep all tasks and assignments age appropriate. Here are some attention span guidelines from the Children’s Physician Network:
- “A normal attention span is 3 to 5 minutes per year of a child’s age. Therefore, a 2-year-old should be able to concentrate on a particular task for at least 6 minutes, and a child entering kindergarten should be able to concentrate for at least 15 minutes. (Note: A child’s attention span while watching TV is not an accurate measure of his or her attention span.)”
Previously, Practical Way To Benefit From Ramadhaan Part 1: Goals
Up Next, more on setting goals
rplanfamily.wordpress.com 