Assalamualaikum everyone! I can't believe we have entered the last ten days of Ramadhan, which also means this is my final post for my Ramadhan Kareem Series. It feels like yesterday I posted, Ramadhan Daily Cheklist

This Ramadhan has been so beautiful yet the quickest one I've ever experienced. We have been through the past 21 days constantly worship Allah SWT, now it's time to level up and speed-up our deeds in shaa Allah. There are not much I would like to write or share, but in a nutshell, I would say that I do better compared to previous Ramadhan Alhamdulillah. Consistency is the key!

I may not be the best person in sharing some tips but below are what I would practice in the last ten days of Ramadhan:

1. Solat taubat before going to sleep

For someone who isn't constantly able to wake up for Tahajjud, this I would do. Before I go to sleep, I would perform solat Taubat, just in case if Lailatul Qadar lies on that night, with the biggest hope, forgive all my sins, Ya Rabb Aamiin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

Dosa setiap orang yang menghidupkan malam "Lailatul Qadar" akan diampunkan oleh Allah.

Dari Abu Hurairah, Rasulullah SAW bersabda:

مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ

“Sesiapa melaksanakan solat pada malam lailatul qadar kerana iman dan mengharap pahala dari Allah, maka dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu akan diampunkan.”

(Hadis Riwayat Bukhari r.a.)

2. More time with al-Quran

If we spend reciting al-Quran for 15 mins after we perform our prayers for the past 21 days, now it's the time to make it one hour or more after every prayer. 

I am just so lucky that I am on my mid-semester break already that I don't have to be engaged with anything else, at least for now. Therefore, I need to use the time wisely in shaa Allah.

3. Put RM1/RM5 in moneybox before going to sleep

This is what I was taught for years, and this time around, I prepared my own moneybox. Before we go to sleep, my parents would ask us to put RM1 inside our Tabung Subuh then my dad would put the money inside tabung surau on the next morning. 

Tips: Letak duit dalam tabung masjid/surau pada malam hari ganjil.

4. Make lots of dua

 Recite this as many as you can every day. As for me, I would recite more than ten times after I perform my prayers because I know, I am in need of His forgiveness and mercy.

When I say make lots of doa, I really mean it guys. Doa la apa pun, mintak la apa pun dekat Allah SWT sebab Dia pasti bagi. If possible, specifickan lagi doa, perbanyakkan lagi doa before nak berbuka in shaa Allah.

5. Zikir and selawat

Perbanyakkan istighfar agar Allah SWT ampunkan segala dosa-dosa kita dan selawat sebanyak mungkin. Buat lah masa untuk semua ini, sebab mungkin ini Ramadhan yang terakhir buat kita, maka lakukan sebaik mungkin.

It’s okay if the last 21 days was plain, and inconsistent, make use the last ten days of Ramadhan to worship Allah SWT. Who knows, mungkin kita antara yang dipilih Allah SWT untuk memperolehi, Malam Lailatul Qadar in shaa Allah Aaamiiin.

I don't dare to write something that I wouldn't do, I hope this helps a little bit. Every little effort counts!

How time flies that we are now heading to the last ten days of Ramadhan. I pray that everyone is doing great, and even better each day in shaa Allah. 

I had a crazy hectic week, another 5 long days to go before so-called mid-semester and Raya break  In all fairness, everything goes well for me so far, as long as I am able to tick off my Ramadhan daily goals then I’m all good.

Ramadhan is also the month; we are able to see many people do charity to those who are in needs. It’s not that charity is only specific to be done during Ramadhan, but it’s just extra special – the feeling that we get when we help others. 

 

All these days, I thought - whenever I help someone, Allah SWT will reward me with something bigger, and that is not in term money solely. My thought goes this way - He makes it easy for me in my studies, He gives me good friends, He blessed me with amazing teachers, that’s what my humble opinion about rezeki.

Something crazy happened to me in the first week of Ramadhan, I never wanted to share this story with anyone, except for my family and close friends but then I thought this would be a great way to inspire others to always help everyone around us.

Then one day, I wanted to check how much money do I have at the moment because I wanted to do some Raya online shopping.

The moment I checked; 

my heart stopped for two seconds. 

How is it possible my savings is more than what it should be? I quivered a bit. 

It is possible if my parents did bank in some money for me then they forgot to tell me and that would be odd because my parents always give money in hand.

 Then I asked my parents if they happened to do so and I was right, they didn’t.

I knew I must have done something right so I decided not to even think about it. 

Logically, it doesn’t make sense at all yet there is nothing impossible to Allah SWT. I believe my life is kind of blessed now in shaa Allah Aaamiin or perhaps as a way of a test from Him to see whether I will continue to do good to others.

and I pray that I will remain to do good to everyone around me.

Ever since, I knew, the more I give, the more He will give in a way that I would never expect.

Indeed, كُنْ فَيَكُونُ - Kun Faya Kun

(Qs Yasin: 82)

I'm not going to brag how generous my parents are, but they both are one of the nicest people I've ever known. I honestly think my dad taught me well. Babah suka sangat memberi, terlalu pemurah yang sampai tak pernah takut kalau takde duit.

I wanna be like that.

Hence, I am making this Ramadhan as a practice for myself to always treat my friends, tak kesah la berapa banyak walau sekecil mana pun. Yang penting setiap hari tangan tu sentiasa memberi.

Rasulullah shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda:

من فطر صائما كان له مثل أجره ، غير أنه لا ينقص من أجر الصائم شيئا

“Orang yang memberikan hidangan berbuka puasa kepada orang lain yang berpuasa, ia akan mendapatkan pahala orang tersebut tanpa sedikitpun mengurangi pahalanya.” 

(HR. At Tirmidzi no 807)

I get happy whenever I see my friends happy. I pray that I am able to help everyone around me especially those who are not as lucky as myself. I need to stay humble and grounded because there are days where I forgot that everything that I have isn't mine, they are all Allah SWT's.

Those good clothes I am able to put on, that good food I am able to eat, that money I spend on unnecessary things, they are not mine. 

 I am privileged that my fate was set to be a good one, I have amazing parents, a stable financial background, I get what I want most of the time, and supportive friends around me, in a word, I would say blessed. 

Or maybe, my fate was set to be a good one, for me to help others, and not to enjoy whatever I am blessed all by myself. Now that I am an adult, Ramadhan for me is a time of self-reflection and being thankful for what I have in my life.

لاَ تُوكِي فَيُوكى عَلَيْكِ

"Janganlah engkau menyimpan  harta (tanpa mensedekahkannya). Jika tidak, maka Allah akan menahan rezeki untukmu.”

Sebagaimana Allah Ta’ala berfirman,

,

وَمَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ

"Dan barang apa saja yang kamu nafkahkan, maka Allah akan menggantinya dan Dia-lah Pemberi rezeki yang sebaik-baiknya.” (QS. Saba’: 39)

Allah Ta’ala juga berfirman:

إِنَّ الْمُصَّدِّقِينَ وَالْمُصَّدِّقَاتِ وَأَقْرَضُوا اللَّهَ قَرْضاً حَسَناً يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ وَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ

“Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang bersedekah baik laki-laki maupun perempuan dan meminjamkan kepada Allah pinjaman yang baik, niscaya akan dilipat-gandakan (ganjarannya) kepada mereka; dan bagi mereka pahala yang banyak.” 

(Qs. Al Hadid: 18)

Janji Allah itu pasti, yang penting niat yang ikhlas sebelum melakukan sesuatu perkara. Dalam setiap rezeki kita pasti terselit rezeki buat orang lain. Semoga di akhirnya, takkan ada rasa sedikit berkira pun ketika membantu. Semoga cerita ini mampu memberi inspirasi untuk semua dalam melakukan kebaikan In shaa Allah Aamiiin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

We take this opportunity to get closer to our Creator, become the better version of us, and mainly we seek for guidance and blessings from Him. It is the month we want to ensure we benefit from it and do as many worships as possible.

Today marks the 7th day of Ramadhan, how is it going so far? I hope everyone is doing well and still constantly following your Ramadhan routines in shaa Allah Harus tetap semangat guys!

One week has passed by, where did the time go, you tell me. Undeniably, this Ramadhan has been really different for me, perhaps this time around I welcomed Ramadhan with hope - in becoming a better servant of Allah SWT, be a better daughter, student and friend or maybe, I am in need of Allah’s forgiveness in this month.

Ramadhan Kareem - as I mentioned in  the previous post, one of my goals is to memorize Juz Amma and Alhamdulillah the progress is pretty impressive. I finally find a way on how to ensure that I won't forget those surahs I've remembered - which is to perform solat Terawih.

8 rakaat - you get to read different surahs for 8 times, see I'm just so smart.

Ever since Ramadhan begins, I make more time with al-Quran. I would memorize any surah after Subuh, recite a page of al-Taubah after Zuhur, al-Waqiah after Asar, al-Kahf after Maghrib and al-Mulk before going to sleep. I wonder how I am able to do that every day despite the hectic schedule that I have. It is one of my humble way of making sure that I will always recite al-Quran. I believe you guys can do better.

I realized that the more time I make for Him, the more time He gives for me. Lately, I feel as if time is always there for me. Whenever I look at my To-Do-Lists every day; it would be a long sigh I swear, it seems impossible for me to juggle between studies and; memorizing or recite al-Quran, but I told myself – takde sikit masa pun yang membazir kalau kita buat untuk dapat redha Allah.

There are just way too many things need to be done at so little time tapi Ramadhan pun setahun sekali je datang and I don’t want to be among the lost (golongan yang rugi)

We never know if there will be another Ramadhan for us next year and there’s no guarantee for that.

Ramadhan is so special because it is the month of Quran, Syahrul Quran. We went through 11 months not making Al-Quran as our best friend, what makes us so confident to still not sparing some time for Al-Quran during Ramadhan?

Firman Allah dalam Surah al-Baqarah ayat 185:

"Bulan Ramadhan yang diturunkan padanya al-Quran sebagai hidayah (petunjuk) kepada manusia dan keterangan-keterangan tentang petunjuk dan pemisah antara yang hak dan yang batil"

I don’t know why but the verse from Surah Al-Baqarah somehow hit me in certain ways as if it gives me hope, and faith to whatever worries and burdens I have to face – that I am not alone, and there will always a way out of every difficulty. Allah Mus’ta an.

Doesn’t matter if you are not able to khatam al-Quran in this month, as long as there is progress and you will continue to make time for Al-Quran even after Ramadhan ends that matters. Let’s make this holy month as a medium for us to turn back to Allah SWT – do what He has permitted and leave what He has forbidden. Take this chance to improve ourselves especially in regaining our spiritual health.

Nabi s.a.w telah bersabda:

" Puasa dan al-Quran memberi syafaat kepada para hamba pada Hari Kiamat. Puasa berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku aku telah menhalangnya daripada makan dan minum serta mengikut syahwat pada siang hari, maka izinkanlah aku memberi syafaat kepadanya". Al Quran berkata: " wahai Tuhanku, aku telah menghalanginya daripada tidur pada malam hari, maka izinkan aku member syafaat kepadanya, lalu diterimalah syafaat keduanya"

(Hadis riwayat Ahmad, Ibnu Abi dunya, al-Tabrani dan Hakim)

You are never too late to start spending time with Al-Quran. Kita bukan hamba Ramadhan, tapi kita hamba Allah SWT - we make use of this holy month as a channel for us to make changes in becoming the better version of ourselves. 

They say the birthday month is our favourite month, we somehow forget that Ramadhan is supposed to be our favourite month. We are only a few hours away from our first Tarawih of Ramadhan 1440H, and I have prepared my goals, and checklist since two weeks ago because masyaAllah I don't know why I am excited, impatient and keen for Ramadhan this year.

اَللّهُمَّ بَلِّغْنَا رَمَضَان

I always get excited when it's Ramadhan because it is the month of forgiveness, syurga opens its doors, neraka closes its doors and syaitans are chained. Also, the month whereby our deeds are multiplied by 10/70/100 - you never know, but Allah SWT has promised that any good deeds that we do during Ramadhan will be tripled, decuple or even higher.

Dari Abu Hurairah, Rasulullah shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam bersabda,

“Setiap amalan kebaikan yang dilakukan oleh manusia akan dilipatgandakan dengan sepuluh kebaikan yang semisal hingga tujuh ratus kali lipat. Allah Ta’ala berfirman (yang artinya), “Kecuali amalan puasa. Amalan puasa tersebut adalah untuk-Ku. Aku sendiri yang akan membalasnya. Disebabkan dia telah meninggalkan syahwat dan makanan karena-Ku. Bagi orang yang berpuasa akan mendapatkan dua kebahagiaan yaitu kebahagiaan ketika dia berbuka dan kebahagiaan ketika berjumpa dengan Rabbnya. Sungguh bau mulut orang yang berpuasa lebih harum di sisi Allah daripada bau minyak kasturi.” (HR. Bukhari no. 1904, 5927 dan Muslim no. 1151)

I honestly think that each and every one of us must have objectives - on what to be achieved in Ramadhan, doesn't matter if you only have one or two goals to be achieved, as long as there is any so that we are driven to constantly do good deeds throughout 30 days and fully utilized every second, minutes and hour of Ramadhan in shaa Allah.

As a student, it's normal that our schedule is always packed with assignments and tests yet at the same time, we still want to multiply our deeds because we never want Ramadhan to be just another normal month that we go throughout the whole year. I always tell myself that the more I spend time with Him, the easier He will make for me in some ways that I will never imagine.

Just like previous years, I have sorted out my goals for Ramadhan this year, since I've been gaining quite a number of readers over the past months, so I would like to share with everyone a simple checklist that I did last Ramadhan, and I did improvise some part for this upcoming Ramadhan.

1. Ramadhan Planner

I never had a Ramadhan planner before, so I thought I really need one, and I knew the person whom I asked for; will help me. Then I asked Iffah, my lovely junior in TGB for her daily routines, what to do, any tips in Ramadhan. I was right, then she sent me this beautiful Ramadhan planner, you guys can download it here, 

Ramadhan Planner

I printed it out and made it as a booklet. I am all set and ready for Ramadhan.

2. To memorize Juz Amma (Juz 30)

This was what I did last Ramadhan, but I was halfway done only and I am very determined to memorize the other half this year, I have to get it done. #AMUST, to be honest, this is the part that I enjoyed myself the most because instead of spending time with a book, I spent time memorizing surahs. Those surahs that I used to remember then I forgot, I was able to memorize them once again and in shaa Allah I pray that I will remember them forever. I wanted to memorize not merely for pahala but for myself as well and mainly Lillahi Ta'ala.

Tips: You can skip those surahs you have memorized, perhaps ada like 10 surahs you already have in mind, at least. so just skip them and continue with the rest that you haven't. Hafal lepas Subuh, then ulang the surah the whole day which means; recite them in your prayers for the whole day. Trust me, esok confirms in shaa Allah dah hafal. 

3. Recite al-Quran after prayers

I started to recite surah Al-Waqiah after Asar, Al-Kahf after Maghrib and recite Al-Mulk before sleep every day for the past two months and I want to make it part of my life and my daily routine in shaa Allah. As for now, one of my goals is to completely have those three beautiful surahs stored in my mind the entire time. As long as you recite al-Quran after your prayers that should be okay, any surahs will do, most importantly, you recite al-Quran after solat.

4. Sadaqah

I want to treat any of my friends every day. Alhamdulillah, I am blessed with a stable financial background that I don't have any problem when it comes to money. The least that I can do is to share my rezeki with my friends. So, anyone who doesn't have enough money for berbuka, you are always welcome to ask from me okay? Don't be shy!

Also, get yourself a tabung, and put coins/RM 1 every day after Subuh. Even 10 sen is sufficient enough because we want to collect pahala as many as we can while, practising ourselves to always help others, those who are in needs, especially. At the end of Ramadhan, pada 10 malam terakhir, put them in tabung masjid.

5. Spend wisely

This is the crucial part of all, you have to spend wisely and please avoid food wastage. Control your own nafsu, I am glad that I am never a food hunter, I loove to eat but I am somewhat picky. I only eat what I want. There it shows why my weight is 44kg. #brag

If you ever want to buy so many foods/kuih for breakfast, think twice, I repeat, think twice! Because deep inside you knew; you won't able to finish them all in a night. Instead, you buy the other food that you want on the next day. I swear man, this is the only time you are able to save your money.

6. Less time on social media

I deactivated my Instagram last year but I ain’t gonna do that this year. I thought of sharing my favourite ayat, or any surahs on my story every day in shaa Allah. In fact, I have them on my phone already and can't wait to share with everyone.

If you ever thought of taking a break from social media, this is the time. You will have more time with Al-Quran, your day will become more productive, and you'll definitely live in reality. Discipline is that we need because syaitan is chained, and what left is ourselves and nafsu, that's that.

7. Pray on time, make doa before berbuka, wake up early for sahur

These are all those cliché things that you hear at any Ramadhan lectures, but they are indeed significant. Force yourself to pray on time. Make doa before berbuka because doa orang yang berpuasa adalah doa yang mustajab, dan waktu sebelum berbuka adalah antara waktu yang mustajab untuk berdoa, take all these opportunities to ask from Allah SWT, anything that you want, repeat them as many as possible. 

Dalam sahur ada keberkatannya, so if possible jangan terlepas sahur. If you have a good sahur, drink enough water, eat kurma, in shaa Allah you'll be happy for the whole day, and as energetic as ever. I did try the last two weeks and I didn't feel that I was fasting though. :')

Those are some little deeds that I wanted to share; you guys can add more if you want. I am just giving suggestions, and hopefully, give inspiration to anyone who reads this blog post to continually do the good deeds in shaa Allah.

I went for a ceramah in conjunction with Ramadhan a few days ago in UiTM, and I am glad I was there to listen. Up till this day, whatever the Ustaz was saying, they managed to touch my heart. 

Ustaz mentioned about golongan orang-orang yang celaka dalam bulan Ramadhan (pardon me that I write in Malay because I believe it is the easiest way to convey the message)

Diriwayatkan dalam hadits sebuah hadis; 

“Dari Abu Hurairah: Rasulullah Shallallahu’alaihi Wasallam naik mimbar lalu bersabda: ‘Amin, Amin, Amin’. Para sahabat bertanya : “Kenapa engkau berkata demikian, wahai Rasulullah?” Kemudian beliau bersabda, “Baru saja Jibril berkata kepadaku: ‘Allah melaknat seorang hamba yang melewati Ramadhan tanpa mendapatkan ampunan’, maka kukatakan, ‘Amin’, kemudian Jibril berkata lagi, ‘Allah melaknat seorang hamba yang mengetahui kedua orang tuanya masih hidup, namun tidak membuatnya masuk Jannah (kerana tidak berbakti kepada mereka berdua)’, maka aku berkata: ‘Amin’. Kemudian Jibril berkata lagi. ‘Allah melaknat seorang hambar yang tidak berselawat ketika disebut namamu’, maka kukatakan, ‘Amin”

(HR Ibnu Khuzaimah dishahihkan oleh Albani )

وَرَغِمَ أَنْفُ رَجُلٍ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَمَضَانُ ثُمَّ انْسَلَخَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُغْفَرَ لَهُ

"Amat merugi/hina seseorang yang Ramadhan masuk padanya kemudian Ramadhan pergi sebelum diampuni dosanya." (HR. al-Tirmidzi, Ahmad, al-Baihaqi, al-Thabrani, dan dishahihkan Al-Albani dalam Shahih al-Jaami', no. 3510)

We have to be the better version of ourselves after Ramadhan ends. It doesn’t need to be the big deeds at one time, persistent is the key. Slowly but surely, because we want to make changes and not jumping our lives. Leave all your past behind, and make this holy month as a turning point to a brand new you, and one step closer to Allah SWT. I want to have a fresh start and with that, do forgive me if I have wronged you in any way, intentionally or unintentionally. Beribu ampun dan maaf saya pinta, dan semoga Ramadhan kali ini adalah Ramadhan yang paling bermakna untuk kita semua. Aamiin Ya Rabbal Alamin.

Ahlan Wa Sahlan, Ya Ramadhan.