Momentum After Ramadan
How do we keep our Ramadan momentum going?
4/1/20262 min read
Our question after Ramadan, and sometimes after Shawwal if we've held on better, is how do I keep the momentum, the habits, still going? How do I ensure I am able to continue performing additional acts of ibadah and fostering my relationship with Allah the way I was during Ramadan?
For the majority of us, we return to very similar versions of ourselves after Ramadan concludes. We lose focus and our mentality shifts back to worldly matters.
Shaykh Abdullah Oduro speaks on this in his video for Yaqeen Institute. We've broken his advice down into 3 key components. 3 key steps to follow to ensure we keep up with our habits of Ramadan.
LETS FOCUS
He begins by explaining that when we look at the statement "la illaha illa Allah", the statement meaning that there is nobody worthy of worship except Allah, we identify this as the ultimate statement of focus. Focus is knowing what to say "no" to so that we are able to say "yes" to what is most important.
This is about prioritising what is most important in our life. Our shahadah means that there is no-one worthy of worship except Allah, Allah is the goal and the sole object of worship and therefore we need to distinguish our actions and identify which are the ones which bring us closer to Allah. It is important for us to see which actions require our focus so we may turn back to the true meaning of the statement "la illaha illa Allah".
START SMALL
Small managable habits is how we start. If it is not feasible to do something everyday, we can start by doing things in small increments for example making it a goal to pray witr during the weekend or to read a few lines of Quran each day.
The hadith of the Prophet Muhammed SAW says that "the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little" - Sahih al-Bukhari #6465. The small acts are still beloved and we should not belittle the little. We should focus on building managable habits that we can incorporate into our lives. Consistency in these small acts and deferring what is less important are the keys to establishing good habits after Ramadan.
BUILD ON IT
Once these smaller, more managable acts have been established in our lives and we can perform them easily, we can slowly incorporate another gradual habit so we can build in our iman consistently and beautifully. For many of us who read Quran during Ramadan, we find that we pick it up less and less after Eid, however setting goals such as reading a page a day and slowly building on this is a great way to stay engaged. We can implement alternative, different habits to avoid burnout. Things like volunteering or even setting up small donations are beautiful ways to keep your Imaan high while also wiping sins.
