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On Spirituality in Ramadan (Q & A Session)

Dina Mohamed Basiony
05 June, 2017

Asalamu Alaikum brothers and sisters,

With the month of spiritual feasting and physical fasting here, we are offering a live session to address all your questions and concerns about the spiritual dimension of Ramadan.

Have all your questions on spirituality and drawing nearer to Allah in the holy month answered in our next live session with Ask About Islam counselor and Spirituality Editor at Productivemuslim.com, Dina Mohamed Basiony.

Join us Thursday, June 8th, from  7-8 PM GMT  (10-11 PM Makkah) (2-3 PM Chicago)

Can’t make it to the Live Session? Don’t worry. You can email your questions in ahead of time to [email protected]

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Thursday, Jun. 08, 2017 | 22:00 - 23:00 GMT

Session is over.
DISCLAIMER
Views expressed by hosts/guests on this program (live dialogue, Facebook sessions, etc.) are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.  

If you only had time to read one juz of the Quran during Ramadan with full understanding, which one do you recommend to come closest to understanding the spirit of the month and also achieve better spirituality?



Salam Sister,

Wow, SubhanAllah, what a question! Interesting, may Allah reward you.

Well, alhamduliAllah that we are not restricted like that and that we do have time to read the entire Qur’an throughout the month at least once; this is not at all a difficult task. And I would certainly advise you to allocate half an hour every day to read one Juz’ and aim to finish reading the whole Book—why restrict yourself if Allah didn’t restrict you. 🙂 

The entire Qur’an is filled with messages, and you never know which ayah (verse) Allah will use to penetrate your heart and fill it with light and transform your condition. It was Ramadan years back that I was reading Surat Al Nur (Light) and then I couldn’t finish it until I made the decision to veil myself upon reading the instructions and seeing how they link with actualizing a woman’s light and accentuating the light in her heart.

So, my answer is, you never know … you never know which Surah and which verse Allah will use to heal and transform you. Allah speaks to us each according to our own conditions.

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I would say, if your intention is to increase in spirituality and closeness to Allah, then by Allah, any Surah and any Juz’ you will read will help you achieve that. If you are sincere, this is certainly what you will get. As the Prophet said,  verily actions are by their intentions, and each person will get the rewards for what he/she intended.

As for understanding the spirit of the month in terms of fasting, Qur’an, and taqwa, then that’s mentioned in Surat Al Baqarah and we have explained that in answers I will link for you below.

I advise you to use this time to read as much as possible from the Qur’an and finish it as much as you can at least once. Every letter you read will earn you at least 10 rewards, as per the hadith:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘[Whoever recites a letter] from Allah’s Book, then he receives the reward from it, and the reward of ten the like of it. I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter.’ (Jami` at-Tirmidhi)

Imagine 10 rewards for each letter you read from the Qur’an, and you actually read the entire Book! That’s gigantic thawab, and everyone needs it.

In addition to that, good deeds in Ramadan are multiplied so the reward for reading would actually be multiplied more than that, so this is a massive reward that we should do everything possible to get. Use every free moment you have to read. Read, read, and read. As much as you can, whenever you can. How else will you be able to get a minimum of 10 rewards of 10 good deeds per second, upon uttering each letter?

As for understanding and contemplation, well, you have a lifetime to do that! If you will, specify one Surah that you love, and listen to tasfeer for this particular Surah while commuting or before you sleep or whenever you can across the day. Read or listen to tafseer of Nouman Ali Khan of Juz’ Amma for example, it is quite beneficial.

But do not miss on the opportunity of reading the Qur’an this month and ask Allah to increase you in knowledge and light and wisdom and closeness to Him, and His Words will most certainly do that, whatever you read. If this is your intention, this is what you will get.  

What Is Better in Ramadan: Reading Qur’an or Tafseer?

How Can I Make This Ramadan Memorable?

What Is Taqwa and What Is Its Reward?

What Is The Best Way to Spend My Time in Ramadan?

I am very happy to fast. I know some people don’t like that. But I do al-ham-dililah. But my problems come in when I have to pray long prayers at night. I have some sickness that makes me tired to start and it is difficult to stay late and pray and then this makes the fasting harder and makes more pain in my body for me. What should I do?



Salam dear questioner,

Not sure if this is a brother or a sister, but, in any case, if you have a medical condition and you are facing this difficulty, then just focus on your Fardh prayers (obligatory prayers) and try to perfect them. The night prayers are beautiful and rewarding, but they are not mandatory and there is nothing on you if you weren’t able to perform them.

If you are a sister, you can try praying few brief –yet sincere and heartfelt- units of prayers alone at home in your bedroom at night.

It doesn’t have to be for long hours or keep you staying up late, even if you prayer two rak’aas with 10 verses of the Qur’an after Isha prayer, it will be counted as night prayer for you.

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

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If anyone prays at night reciting regularly ten verses, he will not be recorded among the negligent; if anyone prays at night and recites a hundred verses, he will be recorded among those who are obedient to Allah; and if anyone prays at night reciting one thousand verses, he will be recorded among those who receive huge rewards.

So, attempt to simply do a few rak’aas on your own. Enjoy them and make dua. You can then diversify the acts of worship you do at night in your free time; you can make dhikr, read Qur’an, make dua, learn something about the deen … etc.

Take it easy and make a lot of dua to Allah. Dua itself is worship. Just do what you can, focus on the obligatory acts like the 5 prayers and fasting. And then, as for the extra acts, you can do what you can. But they’re not mandatory upon you and you don’t need to risk your health for them.

The points of all of these extra acts of worship in Ramadan is that we want to reap as much fruits as possible from this blessed month, and we want to maximize the time we spend with Allah subhananhu wa Ta’la.

We spend 11 months focusing on ourselves and our lives, but we have this month to dedicate to Allah and revive our faith. This is why we want to invest as much time doing that and spend every minute thinking about Allah, or making dhikr, or praying and remembering His words from the Qur’an, etc. so we can increase in taqwa (God consciousness) which is the purpose of Ramadan.  

I hope his helps. Please keep in touch. Salam.

Salam, thank you for offering these sessions. My question is about taraweeh. I often go to pray in congregation in the masjid for the nightly prayers in Ramadan and I feel so great and close to my community and really feel the Ramadan spirit, but there is a bigger problem. When I pray in congregation, I get very distracted in my salah. What should I do? Should I pray at home or just fight through the distractions and continue praying in congregation?



Walaykum Asalam,

Upon reading your question, I remembered this hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings upon him) who said:

Whoever stands with the Imam until he finishes, it is equivalent to spending the whole night in prayer. (Sunan Ibn Majah)

So, it is better for a man to pray in the masjid in congregation because the reward is greater.

We’re not sure exactly what the reason for the distraction is. Have you tried praying in another masjid, for example, to see if the problem persists? If it is possible, you may try finding another masjid with a sheikh who has beautiful, humble and soothing recitation of the Qur’an in a place that is more comfortable for you in terms of the masjid settings.

But the prayer of the man in congregation in the masjid is better than his prayer at home.

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You may catch the taraweeh prayer with the Imam at the masjid, then when you go back home, you can allocate some time before fajr prayer to pray few rak’aas on your own peacefully with utmost concentration, if this makes you more connected with Allah Almighty. This way, you don’t lose on any reward and you get both the congregation and the prayer alone rewards.

I hope this helps. Please keep in touch. Salam.