By Shaykh Rashid Khan
14 February 2025

﷽

All praise is due to Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. We seek His guidance, forgiveness, and blessings as we approach the sacred month of Ramadan. This is a time of immense opportunity, a time to renew our faith, purify our hearts, and turn back to Allah with sincerity. Ramadan is not just about refraining from food and drink; it is a training period for the soul, a month in which we strive for spiritual elevation and draw closer to our Creator.

Allah commands us:

The question we must ask ourselves is: are we truly preparing for this blessed time, or are we waiting until the first night of Ramadan to begin? The wise believer understands that preparation starts now, in the days of Sha‘ban.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ urged us to seize the opportunities granted to us before they slip away.

Seize five things before five others:

Your youth before your old age,
Your health before your illness,
Your free time before you become busy, 
Your wealth before your poverty, 
And your life before your death.

[Narrated by Al-Hakim]

This hadith is a powerful reminder that time is a gift, and our ability to worship, seek forgiveness, and perform good deeds should not be taken for granted. Before we know it, our health may decline, responsibilities may increase, and our ability to fast and pray may become more challenging. The time to act is now.

One of the key themes of Ramadan is self-discipline. The Prophet ﷺ advised us to take advantage of what he called Nafahaat – special moments where Allah grants mercy throughout the year. He said:

Do good throughout your time and expose yourself to the breaths of Allah’s mercy, for indeed Allah has certain moments of mercy which He bestows upon whomever He wills.

[Narrated by Al-Tabarani]

These moments are not restricted to Ramadan itself; rather, they begin beforehand, in the days leading up to it. Sha‘ban is a month in which our deeds are raised to Allah, and what better state can we be in than one of fasting and worship when this happens?

Allah describes the righteous as those who:

This verse teaches us that those who succeed in Ramadan are the ones who train themselves to seek goodness before the month even arrives. If we wish to maximise the blessings of Ramadan, we must start now by increasing our acts of worship, giving in charity, seeking forgiveness, and purifying our intentions.

A lesson we learn from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ is that they would begin preparing for Ramadan six months in advance, making du’a that Allah allows them to witness it. Then, for the six months following Ramadan, they would ask Allah to accept their efforts. Their hearts were deeply connected to this blessed time, recognising it as a period of unmatched mercy and opportunity.

The Prophet ﷺ would increase his fasting during Sha‘ban, more than in any other month outside of Ramadan. This was not merely an act of devotion but a way to prepare physically and spiritually for the upcoming fasts. Fasting in Sha‘ban softens the heart, allows us to adjust to the discipline of Ramadan, and helps us enter the month in a state of readiness. For those who have missed obligatory fasts from previous Ramadans, this is the perfect time to make them up, ensuring that we begin the month without any outstanding obligations.

Ramadan is also a time of forgiveness. The Prophet ﷺ warned us about the danger of letting this month pass without seeking Allah’s forgiveness. Responding to the companions as to why he said “ameen” in a famous hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ explained:

Jibreel (AS) came to me and said: ‘May he be disgraced, the one who reaches Ramadan and is not forgiven.’
I said: ‘Ameen’

[Narrated by Ibn Hibban]

Imagine the severity of this statement – the one who fails to seek forgiveness in Ramadan is truly in loss. We must not let this be us. Now is the time to purify our hearts, mend broken relationships, and seek forgiveness from both Allah and our fellow human beings.

The month of Sha‘ban is a bridge to Ramadan, a time to increase our acts of worship and prepare ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. The Prophet ﷺ described Sha‘ban as his month, and Ramadan as the month of Allah. This tells us that Sha‘ban holds a special status – it is a time of anticipation, a moment to ready ourselves for the greatest guest that will soon arrive.

It is also important to remember that Ramadan is not just about personal worship. It is a time for community, for supporting one another in acts of goodness, and for increasing our generosity. The Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of people, and in Ramadan, his generosity would reach even greater heights. We should strive to embody this by giving to those in need, whether through financial support, food distribution, or acts of kindness that strengthen the bonds between us.

Let us not wait until the first night of Ramadan to begin our efforts. If we want to experience the full blessings of this sacred month, we must start now. Let us cleanse our hearts, renew our intentions, and enter Ramadan prepared, with a spirit eager to worship and a soul yearning for Allah’s mercy.

May Allah allow us to witness Ramadan in good health, grant us the ability to worship Him with sincerity, and accept our deeds.
Ameen.

---

Help us complete our Phase 3 expansion for the new prayer halls!