Salam!
Bismillah
I weekly attend a halaqah (sort of study group) with several ladies at my local masjid. We share with eachother the things that we have learned. One of the ladies challenged us this week to create a list of our objectives for Ramadhan this year so that we can mark our progress and really keep ourselves focused on bettering ourselves for the pleasure of Allah subhana wa ta'ala!
I was thinking of saving this post until two weeks before Ramadhan, but I think the sooner we all start thinking about it, the better ;-)
Okay so the following will be a list of my goals for this Ramadhan, inshaAllah. This will be my first Ramadhan and could very well be my last Ramadhan so I hope to make it worth it, inshaAllah. Also who even knows if we will make it to Ramadhan... so I'm trying to start now on these goals as well.
If you have goals that you are planning on, or if you do a post about this as well please let me know because I definitely would like input on this!!!!!
1. complete all 5 fard prayers PROMPTLY on time
2. pray/incorporate sunnah prayers into my day
3. give at least $1 to charity per day
4. spend at least one Saturday working at our local soup kitchen
5. memorize one of the longer surahs
6. help provide food for iftar at our masjid at least twice (mashaAllah our masjid does iftar every day during Ramadhan!)
7. try to cultivate real friendships with women who will help me grown in my deen (thanks to all of you bloggers out there who already help me with this!!!!!!)
8. avoid gossip and television
9. attend Arabic class every day with the intention of learning so that I might read and understand the Qur'an in order to worship Allah better (I will be taking Arabic 1 at university in the fall, inshahAllah)
10. not eat too much at iftar, try to be moderate
11. get in the habit of saying "bismillah" with the intention that everything I do will be in the sight/will of Allah
12. attend as many tarawih prayers as possible at the masjid
13. try to give dawah
14. try to incorporate niqab: I admire the modesty and believe it is better for our hearts. If I believe it is better, why do I not do it? (Please let me know what you think of this one sisters, because I'm not 100% yet!)
15. keep my home and myself as clean as possible
These are what I have come up with so far! Please comment and let me know what you think.. additions, subtractions, general thoughts, etc.
I pray that we all make it to Ramadhan this year in order to worship Allah during that holy month!! Ameen
27 comments:
Masha'allah lovely goals. May u reach all of them and remain steadfast on them. Ameen.
Oh and abt niqab...well if u think it helps you get closer to Allah and that u might be ready for it..i say go for it. Usually i'd say (especially for a convert) to 1st feel comfortable in their hijabs and get used to them. But still choice is upto you. You may wanna do istikhaara since it requires a lot of imaan to wear niqab in the west. You may wanna try it out for a few days if you like.
wow this list is amazing. I think this is a great start and inshaallah you will reach each goal!!! a couple of those are on my list as well!!!
SALAAM!!
Assalaam o Alaikom sister,
MashaAllah, lovely goals! May you achieve them all, and more, ameen. Re. niqaab, I don't think an istakhaara is appropriate in this case.
great goals! i will make a list of my own iA
inshaAllah sis, you'll accomplish all of this. about niqaab, you should be sure about it. i want to wear niqaab as well, but i think you should be certain and know more about the Mothers of Believers (they wore niqaab) and know about their manners and things like that. i think it's important. inshaAllah, we'll both wear it someday. i've already posted my own list but it's not as long as this one, mashaAllah. i just can't do a lot of things because of my family, they are still shocked (they've been like that for almost 4 years) and i've not been having so good experiences... psychologists, psychiatrists, etc... but alhamdulilah for everything. inshaAllah, i may go to Egypt this year, just to learn more about Islam and, maybe, have a course about it, inshaAllah. take care sis
The reason why i asked to do istikhaarah is "not" to decide whether you should "do it or not do it AT ALL". The point is to decide whether to do it "now" or build up some more imaan and do it in future.
@ Hebayeb: Yes I thought this is what you meant, and thanks for the clarification! I appreciate your advice and I think that you're right. I think it would be good to have some divine guidance on the issue of should I do it *now*. It may cause me or someone else more harm than good right now, so inshaAllah we will see.
@ Dedra: Salam! Lol thanks!! InshaAllah I will check our your list sometime soon. :-D
@ Umme Yusuf: Wa alaikum a salam
Ameen. Jazakillah Khair!
@ Fatimah: Okay excellent!! InshaAllah I will come read them :-D
@ Safiyah: InshaAllah. Yeah it is rather long... I was actually debating the list, but some of it are things that I do now and just want to make sure that I am pushed toward having the right intentions, you know? You are right about learning more, and inshaAllah I will take the time that is left to do that. I don't have class or kids or husband or anything, so alhamdulillah I have some free time. InshaAllah I hope you make it to Egypt and find it a fulfilling experience sister!!!
The #1 on your list... is something I find extremely difficult to do. Especially in Ramadhan! It has been about 5 years since I went for tarawih, although the mosque is just walking distance away from my house.
InsyaAllah, you will achieve all these goals. Everything looks very achievable, in my opinion.
Salam Nashe!
yeah... astaghfirullah I get started with something and the *promptly* part just flies out the window.
You should try to go this year! I've never been to one in my whole life, lol.
InshaAllah, thanks for the encouragement!
May Allah helps you to improve your din during this Ramadan mashallah this is your first one!! I am very hasty to share your first experience of this blessing month with you!!
Salam sis,
Wow mashAllah this is a lovely list!
The first one hit me like a bolt of lightening!!!
I better start reading my Salah on time! my bad habit! :(
Niqaab !!!
I am really astounded by this move of yours!
MashAllah
Sister I tell ya take it slowly, but U will never go wrong if u do wear the veil!!! Its FANTASTIC !!!
There is nothing more better than concealing your beauty!
Just too beautiful in itself, as you will feel so honoured and really LIBERATED in the true sense! This is liberation !
Islam protects WOMEN !!!
That's a lot of stuff to do! Although it's all great, don't burn yourself out though. Newbie burnout is unfortunately all too common :(
Really good list of goals! I will take parts of this to put on my list. I have to say though, I don't feel able to have as much as you do on mine, but goals are goals... As long as we better ourselves, right? It's so nice to have everyone getting excited and ready for Ramadan on the blogs. It's really a motivator to be better :)
About niqab, if you believe if would be better for you to wear it, then I think you should try it. No need to make yourself a full-time niqabi just now, but it can be done little by little or stay a "part-time" thing. If you don't believe it's obligatory, then why feel the need to always have it on...
I feel about niqab though that it's not what is best for every woman, even if I do think it's Islamic (but not obligatory). But you did mention you thought it was better, so if it's better for you it could be a good idea!
Salam walaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu! What a great list mashaAllah. We have a lot of common goals. :-) I would love to wear niqab part time too, and I am thinking of buying one for Ramadan inshaAllah. I haven't actually seen any munaqabas in my city though lol so I'm a little nervous! But we'll see inshaAllah. :-) And also, the biggest one for me is offering all the prayers exactly on time - as soon as prayer time enters! It's easy to develop a habit of putting it off an hour or two, but Allah ta'ala prescribed the times for a reason alhamdulillah.
I just love your blog! :-)
May Allah ta'ala give you the ability to complete all of your goals and accept your fast this Ramadan! Ameen!
@ Malizea: :-D Jazakillah Khair sister! I went to your Simply Ramadhan blog and mashaAllah there were so many good things!! InshaAllah I will print off the checklist or making something similar. What a great idea!
@ Rayyan: Salam ukhti!! Thanks again for your words sis, mashaAllah you're so good at encouraging!! :-D
@ Rahma: Yes, inshaAllah I won't burn out. I'm just so excited!! Lol, I will try to be moderate when the time comes, inshaAllah and not take on more than I feel I can at the time. These are just things I would really LIKE to do :-P
@ Candice: It does seem like a lot when you look at all the words, but a lot of it is just reminding myself to have the right intentions, so InshaAllah I will start now and it won't be too much. I'm excited about reading your list, inshaAllah!!
@ Amirah: Wa Alaikum asalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatu!! Your comment made me all warm and fuzzy inside, Jazakillah Khair!!! I'm glad that you like it. I keep thinking that if I got everyone I knew from blogs who wanted to try niqab to move here, we could all do it together, lol. I think it might be easier this way... but InshaAllah we will find the courage and iman to do it on our own! Ameen, inshaAllah. For you too!!!
Salaam alaikum!
Mashallah, this is definitely a good list. I did the exact same thing for my first Ramadan last year. But don't feel like you need to accomplish all these things in one month (but if you do, Mashallah that's great!) I remember hearing a hadith where Muhammad (saw) said that small things done consistently is better than doing big things only once in a while (I hope this is the gist of it, Astagfirullah if it isn't). My goals this year are to actually be able to fast without fear of being caught (you know about my situation) and to read the entire translation of the meaning of the Qur'an (I still haven't read it all in English). Inshallah, may your Ramadan and the Ramadan of all Muslims be full of baraka and our relationship with ALLAH will grow even closer and dearer!
Also about niqab: I do not wear niqab right now, but if you feel that wearing it will strengthen your iman and you have the right intentions (only seeking the pleasure of ALLAH and NOT doing it for other humans), then go for it. Be prepared for hostility from others, though, especially your family (who might think that you are taking on too much too soon).
Wa alaikum asalam Anne
Ameen and thanks for your wishes!
Really I think I just want to at least *try* niqab, because I do think it is better for you ultimately. We will see though, inshaAllah as it is still not for sure. I will be fasting, inshaAllah and I live at home, so this could be the most difficult part of my Ramadhan because my dad still doesn't know I converted. I just don't know how to bring it up...
Anyway, Jazakillh Khair for your comment, sis. Hope to hear from u again soon!
Wow, I really admire your iman sis.
I think you have made a really good list. The other ladies are right that it is a lot of things, but I think that overall it should be doable.
Start with the everyday ones like praying on time, sunnah prayers, and avoiding TV and gossip, then work your way into the longer ones like Quran memorization as the month progresses.
I admire your wanting to try niqab. I don't think that I would ever choose to wear it unless I was living in a place where it was part of the prevalent culture. I have read the argument for and against though and do understand why you would want to wear it.
Give it a try here and there and let us know.
Tarawih prayers as the masjid are really beautiful. I hope you will get to know some other ladies in your community InshaAllah.
Have the best first Ramadan ever!
Asalamu Alakyam
MashAllah you have quite a list! That's awesome, they were very helpful. I have a lot of the same goals as well :). I actually wrote a post about it after reading yours. Also I'm at a stand still with the niqab. I thought about wearing it and everything but now not so much. It can be very uplifting I just feel if I'm observing proper hijab (no make up, modest clothes). Than I don't really need it. But of course thats just my opinions of on it. I'm so happy for you! InshAllah all goes well hun!!
Ramadan Kareem! Wa Alakyam salaam!
MashaAllah! I love seeing motivated Muslims.
InshaAllah you will meet all of your goals, and then some more.
@ Stacy: You know, I always love love love your comments. From the first one you ever wrote on my first post, all the way to this one, you always say the best things, mashaAllah. Always practical, but sweet at the same time. Seriously, I both admire and appreciate you sis!! InshaAllah, I will let you know how everything goes :-D
@ Light: Wa Alaikum Asalam, I read your list and it was just great sis! InshaAllah you will reach all of your beautiful goals this Ramadhan!!!
@ Maryam: Jazakillah Khair! InshaAllah I will and so will you!!!!!
You're so sweet! I'm glad you started a blog so we could be friends in this funny online world.
:-D ME TOOOOO!
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