Every year, Allah (Swt) gives us a chance to earn His forgiveness, to purify our souls and to gain a position in the hereafter, that was before that impossible. That is the chance and the opportunity given to us in the month of Ramadan.

One of the duas the early Muslims used to read when they would sense Ramadan approaching, they would say, “Allahumma Ballighna Ramadan” which means  oh Allah! Deliver us to Ramadan.

Allow us to live to witness Ramadan, allow us to be living and breathing and able to reap the rewards that are offer in Ramadan.

The Prophet (Pbuh), he told us. He said, When the the month of Ramadan enters, then three things happen: Number one, the gates of Paradise are flung wide open, and number two, the gates of Hell fire are closed, and number three, the Devils are chained up.

It is as if the prophet (Pbuh) is saying that this is your chance to give up your bad habits And it makes sense because In Ramadan, you’re fasting and you’re thinking about Allah more often because every time you’re hungry, every time you’re thirsty, you remind yourself, Why am I doing this? Why am I suffering?

I’m suffering for the sake of Allah. And if I can say no to basic things like food and drink, I can say no to watch indecent things. I can say no to waste my time. I can say no to being rude to my parents. If I can control my hunger, I can control anything in my life. And that is a Ramadan becomes like a training program to nurture your soul and to make you more disciplined person.

Of all the things that Ramadan is known for, it should be known as the month of the Quran. That is the month in which the Prophet (Pbuh) received Revelation when he was inside the Cave of Hira and the angel Jibreel visited him, and revealed to him;

Read [O Muhammad!] in the name of your Lord who created. (96.1) the first five verses of the Quran that happened in the month of Ramadan. In fact, the night that that occurred is known as laylatul qadr.

The Prophet (pbuh), he said, The most beloved good deeds to Allah are the ones that are regular, even if they are small. So this Ramadan plan to run the marathon, not a race. Every day, set yourself goals that you know you can achieve and slowly build up to greater goals towards the end.

Because the Prophet (Pbuh) said, The good deeds are judged by the ending. So if you start great and your end poor, that’s not good. But if you start steady and slowly increase your stamina and your worship and you end big, in sha Allah, this is a sign that Allah has accepted all of your Ramadan.