On your marks, get set... Photo:SimonRedwood

Ramadan is only 30 days away and now is the best time to start preparing in order to make the most of this blessed month.

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may that you may attain taqwaa.” (Quran 2:183)

The month of Ramadan is not like any other month: its purpose is to rid man of those habits which he has accumulated throughout the rest of the year.

It is a month that prepares us for the remaining eleven months by teaching us discipline and self control. If we can control our desire to eat and drink in this month, which are usually permissible for us, then we should be able to control ourselves from other desires which are not permissible throughout the remaining months.

But we can’t flick a switch and expect discipline ourselves overnight –  furthermore – to expect the switch to remain on after the month.

Perhaps this may work in the short term – for a few days – but in the long run, you will be more likely ‘burn out’.

We see this too often – people are really excited at the beginning, get a bit lazy in the middle and then try and cram in as much as possible in the last 10 days.

While I do believe that extra things can be done in Ramadan, I think the challenge for us is to do things that we will continue with after Ramadan.

The solution is therefore to prepare. But, the emphasis I would like to make about the preparation is that it doesn’t need to be something big, rather something sustainable.

The point is that preparing for Ramadan does not have to be some magnificent, enormous, extra-special thing that needs to be done at a certain time of the day. Many of your daily actions can be turned into Ramadan preparation actions – with only a sincere intention….

Your comments and thoughts will be appreciated.

[Ramadan Preparations Part 2]