11 days down, 18 or 19 more to go.
One third of the way through, and this is where the excitement and buzz of Ramadan starts waning. Well, for everyone but those who know its virtues.
Everyone who was talking a minute ago about the immense reward on the Day of Judgement, and the pleasure in this life of coming closer to Allah SWT, has reverted to posting food pictures of their iftar; it’s getting tough now for you too as old habits come calling and you slip back to doing tawaf around the same 3 apps you spend your life on.
Your lack of sleep is majorly starting to catch up, and everyone around you is going about their day like normal, as if we weren’t all just attending preparatory talks, buying planners, and making dua lists like yesterday.
Where did all of the excitement go?
If you need some mid-Ramadan motivation, think, at the end of this month,
‘Will I deserve Eid?’
When we wake up on Eid day, by the permission of Allah, and see those around us celebrating and feeling accomplished, we’re going to want to feel like that as well. We won’t want the guilt of partaking in all of the good stuff after not having quite deserved it. And the truth is, most of us will still enjoy Eid, even if we didn’t work for it.
But all of us know that it would have been sweeter had we sweat more.
To avoid those pangs of regret, it’s time to pull up our socks, refuel our tanks, and get back in the game.
The gates of Hellfire that shut at the start of Ramadan are still shut.
The gates of Jannah that opened at the start of Ramadan are still open.
Let’s take a closer look at this famous hadith about Ramadan:
“On the first night of the month of Ramadan, the devils are chained and the jinn are restrained, the gates of Hellfire are closed and none of its gates are opened, the gates of Paradise are opened and none of its gates are closed, and a heavenly caller announces: O seeker of good, come near! O seeker of evil, stop short! Allah has those He saves from the Hellfire, and that is during every night.” (Sunan al Tirmidhi 682)
Here are a few key takeaways from this hadith that can refuel us, insha’Allah.
1. “Scholars who have interpreted this hadith say that “the gates of Paradise” refers to all of the gates, not just the gate “Ar-Rayyan” – the gate for those distinguished through their fasting. That is to say that there are so many, different ways of earning Allah SWT’s mercy in this month, including through fasting of course.
Practical tip: If you’re struggling with staying consistent with your acts of worship, take a look at what you’re good at and increase in it as much as you can, and perhaps that will be your way of attaining Allah SWT’s mercy.
2. If we take a look at the last part of the hadith, the Prophet SAW said “Allah has those He saves from the Hellfire, and that is during every night.”
Every. Single. Night.
Practical tip: We’ve got a good bunch of nights left still, insha’Allah (including the last 10), so put away those excuses because it’s not over yet, my friend.
There is still time to earn some serious reward. And still time to make sure you earn, as far as you are able to, that Eid we’re all waiting for.
May Allah SWT allow us to exert ourselves in His way, and allow us to see the end of this month in a state where all our sins are forgiven.