The holy month of Ramadan this year is going to start at the end of May. That’s almost three and a half months from now. This is the first time in my life that I have seriously started planning and writing down my plans for Ramadan ahead of time. I got a lot of help to structure my planning from Amirah Mauthoor‘s “Recharge your Faith: How to make your Ramadan Oustanding”, an ebook which you can find for free here.
This ebook leads the reader through a series of written exercises which are designed to build your planning muscles so that you can carry out those plans with dedication when the time to bring them to life arrives. First, there is the challenge to write what a good Ramadan would be like, but it doesn’t stop there. We are further challenged to come up with what a great Ramadan would be like, ending with thinking up what an outstanding Ramadan would be like.
The most useful part of the ebook, in my opinion, is the “heartwheel”, where core aspects of religion are arranged on the wheel and we are made to score ourselves on how well we are doing in each one. The heartwheel comprises of “Salah”, “Dhikr chunks”, “Chastity”, “Avoiding distractions”, “Daily Sadaqah”, “Upright character”, “Fasting” and “Night prayer”. After scoring ourselves truthfully, we are supposed to write down how we can improve in each sector. If you really commit yourself to honestly racking your brains and coming up with practical ways to improve each point, you will be surprised at how much you can think up regarding this. I didn’t expect much from myself when I began the exercise, but I ended up writing half a page of a close-lined notebook for most of the items.
The other exercises in the ebook are setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound) and assigning a purpose and action plan for each goal. We end up with a checklist of things to do before Ramadan begins, and then “my ultimate dua list”.
I had a nice, thoughtful time filling out my answers to each section and now I’m just left with making my ultimate dua list. Then I will be all set for this Ramadan, with the grace of Allah. What are you waiting for? Grab the ebook for free from here and let’s get this planning party started. See you at fast-breaking time!
Sounds like a real prep journey mashaAllah. I can’t believe it’s nearly Ramadhan time again. May Allah bless us all with the best Ramadhan, Ameen
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Ameen! Yes, time flies past so quickly!
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Jazakallahu Khairan sis for this! I need to improve each Ramadhan… this year being my second. I was aiming to get one of those Muslima Planners but they are soooooo expensive.
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Wa iyyakum dear sis. I hope and pray that you have a wonderful Ramadan. I got a Ramadan Journal one year and the other years I just used my own notebook. Have you heard of bullet journaling? You can get some nice layouts online, particularly if you search on Tumblr or Pinterest. So if you really want a nice planner without buying one, get a nice blank journal and mark it up according to the way you like, and ta-da, you have your very own personalized Ramadan Planner 🙂
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This looks good ! I am actually expecting to give birth in the middle of Ramadan this year inshallah so i may not be fasting. I will try and use this to still participate without the actual act of not eating. Also makes me think maybe we should try to worship this way all year round not just ramadan … may you be rewarded for your efforts ! :).
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Thank you, and may you be rewarded for your good intentions regarding your Ramadan, and may Allah make those intentions into accepted actions in your book of deeds. I hope and pray that your Ramadan goes well even without fasting, the blessing is still there for everyone to grab!
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Sounds good..Making dua list is a good idea…we need to prepare more before Ramadan each year..we must plan good deeds to improve our Ramadan….
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Nicely Written. Thanks for Sharing.
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You’re welcome!
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I love this post! Ramadan is round the corner, like you say! I am slightly anxious this year it’s only my 3rd Ramadan (2nd year as a Muslimah Alhamdulillah) & this year life will be different that I might be fasting a majority of the month alone. (Due to work commitments) I’m not sure yet but I am sure that this planner will help me abundantly. I’m going to download, share this post everywhere to help others, too.
Jazak Allah Kheir!
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Wa iyyakum! Have confidence that your Ramadan will be accepted and do what you can. With the grace of Allah, it will be a wonderful experience.
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I love ebooks! Definitely going to check this one out!
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I daresay you’ll like this one 🙂
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This is such an amazing post. Thank you for writing this and sharing it with me. I seriously have to up my Ramadan skills this year inshallah
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You are welcome. In sha Allah.
May Allah grant us a wonderful Ramadan that is accepted from us. Ameen
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Thankyou for sharing this.
Gonna check the e-book right now.
Preparing for ramzaan is always a good thing to do!❤
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I have just printed it. Jazakallah for sharing.
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Wa iyyakum 🙂
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