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How to Welcome Month of Ramazan

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is giving us another opportunity in our life to witness the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a great time of Allah’s blessings and His mercy. Every Muslims should take full advantage of this time. We should get ready now to welcome this month and receive it with happiness. Following are some ways to welcome this month:
1. Special Du’a: Pray to Allah that this month reaches you while you are in the best of health and safety so that you can fast and do all your acts of devotion (‘ibadat) with ease and enthusiasm. It is reported by Anas bin Malik that the Prophet – peace be upon him - used to say from the beginning of Rajab in his prayers:
"O Allah bless us in Rajab, bless us in Sha’ban and bless us in Ramadan." (Musnad Ahmad, 2228)
When he used to see Ramadan’s crescent, he used to pray:
"O Allah, make this crescent to shine on us with safety, faith, security, Islam and good fortune to do what is beloved and pleasing to our Lord. Our and your Lord is Allah." (Al-Darmi 1625)
2. Thanks and Happiness: When the month comes, then you should be thankful to Allah and show happiness. The Companions of the Prophet – may Allah be pleased with all of them - used to greet each other on the beginning of Ramadan. The Prophet – peace be upon him - used to say:
The Prophet – peace be upon him - said giving the good news of the month to his Companions, "The month of Ramadan has come to you. It is a blessed month. Allah has made obligatory on you to fast during this month. The gates of heaven are opened in this month and the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained. In this month there is a night that is better than one thousand months. Whosoever is deprived of its blessings is indeed deprived." (Musnad Ahmad 8631)
3. Planning and Determination: You should make a good plan for the whole month about how you are going to organize your days and evenings during Ramadan. Plan special schedules for your work so that you can pray on time, read the Qur’an and take Sahur and Iftar on time. Have sincere intention and determination to take full advantage of this time. Also have a full determination and commitment that you will not do any sin or anything wrong during this time. Make sincere repentance and seek the forgiveness of those whom you might have offended. In this way you can benefit much more from your fasting and prayers.
4. Learn about the Rules of Fasting: Fiqh of fasting is very important so that you do not do anything that will spoil your fasts. Learn the way of Prophet Muhammad in fasting. That is the best way. Fast is not spoiled only by eating and drinking during the fast, but also by speaking bad words and doing wrong things. The Prophet – peace be upon him - said, "Whosoever does not give up bad words and bad deeds, Allah has no need in that he leaves his food and his drink." (Al-Bukhari 1770) You can learn it from here.
5. Charity, Generosity and Kindness: The month of Ramadan is the month of kindness, charity and generosity. Plan to invite your neighbors, co-workers, friends, Muslims and non-Muslims to have Iftar with you. Let your non-Muslims friends and neighbors know about this month and its blessings. Be more generous and help the poor and needy. Plan to give your Zakat and Sadaqat at this time and help others as much as you can. It is reported in a Hadith:
The Prophet – peace be upon him - was the most generous person, but in Ramadan he used to be more generous when Jibrael(a.s.) used to meet him. Jibraeel(a.s.) used to see him during Ramadan every night and he used to read the Qur’an with him. The Prophet –peace be upon him - was then more generous with goodness than the blowing wind." (Al-Bukhari, 5)

The Characteristics of the True Believer
Al-'Allaamah 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Naasir As-Sa'dee
From the book: Essential Q&As about Eemaan (p.58-63)

[ In the Name of Allaah, the All-Merciful... ]

What are the characteristics of the believers that make them distinct from the disbelievers?

This is a great question indeed. By knowing the difference between the believers and other people, the difference between the Truth and falsehood becomes distinctly clear, as does the difference between the people of eternal happiness and the people of eternal misery.

Know that the true believer is the one who believes in Allaah and all of his Names and Attributes that are found in the Book and the Sunnah, upon their proper understandings. They must be fully acknowledged. Furthermore, the believer exalts Allaah, declaring Him free of anything that contradicts the perfection of His Names and Attributes. Thus, his heart becomes full of Eemaan, knowledge, conviction, serenity, and becomes totally concerned with Allaah.

The believer repents to Allaah alone, performing acts of worship for Him that He has legislated upon the tongue of his Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), with sincerity to Allaah, hoping for His Reward and fearing His Punishment.

The believer is thankful to Allaah in his heart, with his tongue, and with the actions of his limbs. He is thankful for Allaah's Blessings and the great amount of goodness that Allaah has given him, those that he enjoys at all hours of the day. The believer is thankful and utters phrases of Allaah's remembrance, and he does not see any blessing greater than what Allaah has given him, nor any token of generosity greater than what has come from Allaah.

The believer scoffs at the materialistic fancies of this worldly life, as he is focused on the delight of repenting to Allaah, and turning completely to Him alone. With this, he takes an ample share of worldly delights and enjoys them, but not as the disbelievers or heedless ones do. He indulges in them in a way that assists him in establishing the Rights of Allaah and the rights of His servants.

By contenting himself in this way and hoping for the reward from Allaah, the believer fulfills his desires, his heart rests peacefully, and he finds tranquility. He does not become saddened if some affairs reach him that he does not like. With this, Allaah has combined for him the happiness of this worldly life and the happiness of the Hereafter.

As for the heedless disbeliever, then his affair is not like this. He denies the presence and perfection of His Great Lord, that which is established by way of both intellectual and textual proofs, as well as scientific facts and findings. He does not pay any mind to these things.

As he cuts himself off from Allaah by not acknowledging Him and not worshipping Him, the disbeliever attaches his self to things found in nature and worships them. Thus, his heart becomes similar to the hearts of grazing animals.

The disbeliever has no concern other than gathering and enjoying material things. His heart is always in a state of unrest, afraid that he may lose the things he loves, afraid that affairs he does not like will reach him. He does not have the Eemaan that makes facing difficult things easy and lightens the weight of calamities.

The disbeliever has been deprived of the delight of Eemaan, the sweetness of drawing close to Allaah, and the fruits of Eemaan in this life and the Next.

The disbeliever does not hope for any reward from Allaah, nor does he fear any punishment. His only hope and fear is connected to the cravings of his lowly, materialistic, worldly desires.

From the characteristics of the believer is humbleness when submitting to the Truth, and humbleness when dealing with others as well. He is sincere to the servants of Allaah no matter what their status or position. This sincerity is found in his statements, actions, and intentions.

However, the disbeliever has pride and looks down upon the Truth. He looks down upon other people, too. He is amazed at himself, and does not make a practice of being sincere to anyone.

The believer has a clean heart that is free of deception, rancor, and jealousy. He loves for the Muslims what he loves for his own self, and he hates for them what he hates for his own self. He dedicates himself to working in their best interests. He carries the burden of being harmed by them, and does not oppress them in any way.

The disbeliever's heart is boiling with rancor and jealousy. He does not want any good or benefit for anyone else, unless there is some worldly goal in it for his own self. He does not mind oppressing others when he is able, while he is the weakest of them in bearing their harms that reach him.

The believer has a truthful tongue and interacts with people in a good manner. He is gentle, calm, peaceful, merciful, patient, and trustworthy. He is easy to be around and a good host to his guests.

The disbeliever is rash, harsh, and full of worries and dismay. He lies and is not trustworthy. He is quarrelsome with an aggressive temperament.

The believer does not render himself completely to other than Allaah. Both his heart and face have become safeguarded against submitting fully or rendering themselves to other than their Lord. He is virtuous, strong, brave, and generous. He has integrity, and chooses what is good.

The disbeliever is upon the opposite of that. His heart is attached to the created beings. He fears their harm and hopes to benefit from them, expending all of his energies for them. He is not virtuous, nor is he strong or brave, unless it is to achieve his lowly motives. He has no integrity, nor does he care if what he earns is pure or filthy.

The believer combines seeking after the means that benefit him and placing his trust in Allaah, relying on Him, and seeking help from Him in all his affairs. He finds that Allaah the Most High helps him.

The disbeliever knows nothing of tawakkul, nor does he look to other than his own weak, humiliated self. Allaah has given him abilities that he uses only to benefit his self, and thus caused them to become useless. If he attains some things that he loves, then he is only being led into a gradual punishment.

The believer meets all blessings that come his way with thankfulness, and he uses them to benefit himself in a way that will cause more good to come.

The disbeliever meets blessings with exuberance and pride, busying himself with the blessing rather than the One who gave it to him, and thus does not offer any thanks. He uses the blessings for his lowly goals. With all his exuberance, his blessings are quick to part from him.

The believer meets calamities with patience and counts on Allaah's Reward, hoping for Allaah to remove the difficulty. The goodness and the reward that Allaah gives him in place of his loss is greater than the beloved thing he lost or the hardship he endured.

The disbeliever meets calamities with dismay and worry, and thus his calamity increases and he is hurt both outwardly and within his heart. He has no patience or hope for any reward. How severe is his loss and how great is his sadness!

The believer worships Allaah by having faith in all of the Messengers. He honors them and loves them more than he loves the rest of the entire Creation. He acknowledges that all goodness that reaches the Creation until the Day of Standing is only the result of their work and by their guidance. He knows that any evil that reaches them is a result of their opposition to the Messengers. He further knows that they are the greatest of all the Creation, in terms of the goodness they spread, especially their imaam and final seal, Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), the one that Allaah made as a mercy to all the Creation and sent him with every kind of righteousness, to correct and guide the people.

The criminal disbelievers are upon the opposite of that. They sanctify the enemies of the Messengers and honor their statements. They mock what the Messengers came with, just as their predecessors did. This is the biggest evidence of the absurdity of their intellects and the extreme lowliness of their manners.

The believer worships Allaah by loving the Companions and the imaams of the Muslims, the imaams of guidance.

The disbeliever is upon the opposite of that.

The believer performs deeds for the sake of Allaah and behaves well with the servants of Allaah, due to his complete sincerity to Allaah.

The disbeliever only works to achieve his own lowly goals.

The believer's chest is expanded, full of beneficial knowledge, sound Eemaan, turning to Allaah, remembering Him, and kindness to others. His chest is free of lowly characteristics.

The heedless disbeliever is upon the opposite of that, since he has not taken any measures to expand his chest in such a way.

WAYS TO ATTAIN JANNAH

من لقي الله لا يشرك به شيئاً دخل الجنة -البخاري
1. Whoever meets Allah without ascribing anything to Him will enter Jannah. [Bukhari]
من آمن بالله وبرسوله ، وأقام الصلاة ، وصام رمضان ، كان حقاً على الله أن يدخله الجنة – البخاري
2. Whoever believes (has emaan) in Allah and His Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), and establishes the prayer and fasts the month of Ramadan, it is incumbent upon Allah that He enters him in Jannah. [Bukhari]
من بنى مسجداً يبتغي به وجه الله بنى الله له مثله في الجنة -البخاري
3. Whoever builds a masjid seeking by it the Pleasure of Allah, Allah will build for him a similar place in Jannah. [Bukhari]
من صلى البردين دخل الجنة – البخاري
4. Whoever prays the two cool prayers (Asr and Fajr) will enter Jannah. [Bukhari]
من غدا إلى المسجد وراح أعدَّ الله له نزله من الجنة كلما غدا أو راح- البخاري
5. Whoever goes to the masjid (every) morning and in the afternoon (for the congregational prayer), Allah will prepare for him an honorable place in Jannah with good hospitality for (what he has done) every morning and afternoon goings. [Bukhari]
من يضمن لي ما بين لحييه وما بين رجليه أضمن له الجنة -البخاري
6. Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Jannah for him. [Bukhari]
من صلى اثنتي عشرة ركعة في يوم وليلة بُني له بهن بيت في الجنة – مسلم
7. Whoever prays 12 raka’at in the day and night, a house in Jannah will be built for him. [Muslim]
من سلك طريقاً يلتمس فيه علماً سهّل الله له به طريقاً إلى الجنة – مسلم
8. Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Jannah. [Bukhari]
من قال مثل ما يقول المؤذن من قلبه دخل الجنة – أبو داود
9. Whoever repeats after the mu’adhdhin from his heart (i.e., sincerely) will enter Jannah. [Abu Dawud]
ما من أحد يتوضأ فيحسن الوضوء ويصلي ركعتين يقبل بقلبه ووجهه عليهما إلا وجبت له الجنة – أبو داود
10. There is not one of you who perfects his wudu and prays two raka’at setting about them with his heart as well as his face except that Jannah would be mandatory for him. [Abu Dawud]
من قال رضيت بالله رباً ، وبالإسلام ديناً ، وبمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم نبياًّ وجبت له الجنة – أبو داود
11. Whoever says: “I am pleased with Allah as my Rabb, and with Islam as my Deen, and with Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) as my Prophet, Jannah would be mandatory for him. [Abu Dawud]
من كان آخر كلامه لا إله إلا الله دخل الجنة- أبو داود
12. Whosoever last words are: laa ilaaha il Allah, will enter Paradise. [Abu Dawud, Saheeh]
من قال سبحان الله العظيم وبحمده غرست له نخلة في الجنة – الترمذي
13. Whoever says “SubhanAllah al-Adheem wa biHamdihi, Glorified and Exalted is Allah, The Great, and with His Praise”, a date-palm will planted for him in Jannah. [Tirmidhi]
من مات وهو بريء من ثلاث : الكبر ، والغلول ، والدّين دخل الجنة- الترمذي
14. Whoever dies and is free from three: arrogance, grudges and debt will enter Jannah. [Tirmidhi]
من عال جاريتين دخلت أنا وهو الجنة – الترمذي
15. Whoever raises two girls, he and I will enter Jannah. [Tirmidhi]
من أذن اثني عشرة سنه وجبت له الجنة ابن ماجة
16. Whoever calls the adhan for 12 years, Jannah will become mandatory for him. [ibn Maajah]
من سأل الله الجنة ثلاث مرات قالت الجنة : اللهم أدخله الجنة الترمذي
17. Whoever asks Allah for Jannah three times, Jannah will say: “O Allah, enter him into Jannah.” [Tirmidhi]
من عاد مريضاً أو زار أخاً له في الله ناداه مناد أن طبت وطاب ممشاك ، وتبوأت من الجنة منزلاً – الترمذي
18. Whoever visits an ailing person or a brother of his to seek the Pleasure of Allah, an announcer (angel) calls out: `May you be happy, may your walking be blessed, and may you be awarded a dignified position in Jannah’. [Tirmidhi]
إن الصدق يهدي إلى البر وإن البر يهدي إلى الجنة -البخاري
19. Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness and indeed righteousness leads to Jannah. [Bukhari]
تكفل الله لمن جاهد في سبيله لا يخرجه إلا الجهاد في سبيله وتصديق كلماته بأن يدخله الجنة – البخاري
20. Allah guarantees him who strives in His Cause and whose motivation for going out is nothing but Jihad in His Cause and belief in His Word, that He will admit him into Jannah. [Bukhari]
أيها الناس ، أفشوا السلام ، وأطعموا الطعام ، وصلوا والناس نيام ، تدخلوا الجنة بسلام -الترمذي
21. O people, spread the salaam (greetings), feed the hungry, and pray while the people are asleep, you will enter Jannah in peace. [Tirmidhi]
العمرة إلى العمرة كفارة لما بينهما ، والحج المبرور ليس له جزاء إلا الجنة – البخاري
22. (The performance of) Umrah is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the previous Umrah; and the reward of Hajj Mabrur (i.e., one accepted) is nothing but Jannah. [Bukhari]
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسماً مائة إلا واحداً ، من أحصاها دخل الجنة- البخاري
23. Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Jannah. [Bukhari]
لقد رأيت رجلاً يتقلب في الجنة في شجرة قطعها من ظهر الطريق كانت تؤذي الناس- مسلم
24. I saw a man going about in Jannah (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims. [Muslim]
اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت ،خلقتني و أنا عبدك، و أنا على عهدك و وعدك ما استطعت، أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت ، أبوء لك بنعمتك عليَّ وأبوء لك بذنبي فاغفر لي ، فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت . من قالها من النهار موقناً بها فمات من يومه قبل أن يمسي فهو من أهل الجنة ، ومن قالها من الليل وهو موقن بها فمات قبل أن يصبح فهو من أهل الجنة -