Ramadans here again and Im sure most of you have lots of things you want

to achieve in this month. For example, some might want to finish reading the
whole of Quran by the end of the month. Some might also want to be
involved in a charity program or volunteerism.
I dont know about you but I find myself feeling overwhelmed by the whole
thing. I admit that I had never been that productive in the previous
Ramadans. (You know, I was one of those who thought that it was like any
other month except for the fact that you cant eat and drink for about half
the day.) So, to have those kinds of big goals staring in my face this time, I
just feel like fainting and giving up.
But then I remembered that Allah SWT mentions in the Quran:
Then shall anyone who has done an atoms weight of good, see
it!
(Surah al-Zalzalah, verse 7)
See, no matter how small or simple our deed is, Allah knows it and will
reward us for it. So, for those of you who are feeling stressed up and are on
the verge of giving up (myself included), dont fret. Dont think that because
you cant manage to volunteer in a charity program, you cant do any good
deeds. There are many other simple, little deeds that you could do this
Ramadan, such as;
Be kind to your parents
Have you ever noticed that during Ramadan, your parents (especially your
mum) have to wake up super early to prepare for your sahur? And that your
mum has to make sure dinner is ready early so you can break fast on time?
Not only that, in between those two, she has to sweep and mop the floor,
throw out the trash, wash the dishes, wash your clothes, take care of your
brothers and sisters and the list goes on.
Why not, this Ramadan, you try to wake up early and help your mum prepare
for sahur? In addition, why not help your parents wake your brothers and
sisters up from their sleep? Besides that, help clean up the house a bit for
example, by cleaning up the table and washing the dishes after youve
finished eating. Maybe you can even help to take care of your brothers and
sisters by reading a story about Prophet Muhammad SAW to them (while
refreshing or maybe adding your own knowledge about him at the same
time).

Plus, if you havent already, it is always fun when you and the whole family
help out to prepare the meal for break-fasting. So, do that. Try it. It is indeed
fun when everybody do their part and help out in the kitchen.
Besides that, try your best to not be spiteful to your parents in any way
either through your words or actions (a reminder for myself too).
Allah SWT mentions in the Quran:
Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that
ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old
age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel
them, but address them in terms of honour.
(Surah al-Isra, verse 23)
Give salaam to fellow Muslims
We are all aware that we have to give salaam to fellow Muslims, but do we
actually do it? Be honest, when you walk into your classroom or office or the
mosque, do you give salaam to the fellow Muslims you meet? I myself have
to admit that I dont always do it. Maybe sometimes okay, most probably
once in a blue moon. Most of the time, I just, er, ignore them and pretend like
I dont see them. Sometimes I even pretended like I didnt hear it when a
fellow Muslim gave salaam to me. And that is so wrong.
Allah SWT says in the Quran:
But if ye enter houses, salute each other a greeting of
blessing and purity as from Allah
(Surah an-Nur, verse 61)
When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a
greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy.
Allah takes careful account of all things.
(Surah an-Nisa, verse 86)
Rasulullah SAW was quoted as saying, You will not enter paradise until you
believe, and you will not believe until you love one another: spread salaam
(the greeting of peace) among you. (Reported by Muslim)
When a man asked the Prophet about the best actions, the Prophet SAW
replied, Feeding the hungry, and saying salaam to those you know and
those you dont know. (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

So, dont take giving salaam for granted. Even if it is just a simple deed, it is
considered one of the best actions by Prophet Muhammad SAW!
Stop gossiping and think positively
I used to think that I tend to gossip because I have shaytan whispering sweet
nothings into my ear and encouraging me to gossip by telling me its okay
because it is a normal thing to do and it is somehow therapeutic. (It is NOT
by the way. I never feel better after a gossip session. I always end up feeling
worse. To make things more worse, I find myself digging up other peoples
faults to gossip about more often and therefore, never feel at peace.) But
then I still find myself gossiping even during Ramadan, a shaytan-less
month. Why is that so?
I have now learned that even when shaytans are chained during Ramadan,
we still have our nafs and habits. I will always have the nafs to backbite
others. Plus, like any other habits, gossiping will be hard to be kicked
because, well, it has become a habit. But since we have an advantage this
Ramadan with shaytans out of the way, insya-Allah, it will be easier for us to
kick the habit and control our nafs if we really want to (because the only
thing standing in our way is our own selves).
One of the ways to avoid gossiping is by avoiding negative thoughts and
suspicions. Instead, think positively. When we think positively, we would find
ourselves not finding other peoples faults anymore instead, we would see
others behaviours in a positive light. For example, when we see a young
couple holding hands at the shopping mall, if we think negatively, we might
suspect that they are just boyfriend and girlfriend and what they are doing is
haram and there is a high chance that we might proceed and gossip about
them with our friends. In contrary, if we think positively, we would think that
they might be a married couple and what they are doing is halal, so there is
nothing to gossip about.
Allah SWT mentions in the Quran:
O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds some
suspicions are sins. And spy not neither backbite one another.
Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You
would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah, verily, Allah is
the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.
(Surah al-Hujuraat, verse 12)
If you havent already noticed, all of the deeds above are mentioned in the
Quran, so by doing them, we are not merely remembering or reading what

Allah tells us to do through the Quran. Instead, we are actually PRACTISING

them. Yay us! Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah
Besides them, other simple deeds that we could do this Ramadan
include refraining ourselves from getting angry, treating our less
fortunate friends dinner (break fast) and watching beneficial TV
shows which can give us knowledge like 30 Minit Ustaz Don and the
Madrasah series on TV Al-Hijrah.
It has to be noted that no matter how big or small, complex or simple your
deeds are, in the end, it is the NIAT (intention) that counts. If you are sincere
in doing your deeds (by making your intention right which is to do
everything for Allah SWT), then, insya-Allah, Allah will accept your deeds. But
if your intention is wrong for example, you do a good deed just to show
everyone that youre being productive this Ramadan then, your deed will
just be a waste.
So, dont worry if you cant do it all. Just do your best. Nonetheless, we have
to try and take full advantage of this blessings-filled and shaytan-less month.
But no matter what, always remember that everything we do, our life, our
death, are for Allah, the All-Loving, Most Merciful, our Creator. Insya-Allah,
Allah will accept all our deeds for Him. Amin.
Wallahu alam.
- Artikel iluvislam.com