Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
With the approach of the month of Ramadan, the Muslim is supposed to start a new leaf with Allah, his fellow human beings as well as all his surroundings. On this new leaf, he should first declare sincere repentance from all sins committed in order for him to be eligible for Allah’s reward in the blessed month of Ramadan.
Responding to the question, Dr. Sano Koutoub Moustapha, Professor of Jurisprudence and its Principles at the International Islamic University, Malaysia, states:
Let us keep praying to Almighty Allah to bless us in the month of Shaban and give us the chance to fast the month of Ramadan.
For a better preparation for the holy month of Ramadan, I propose the following:
- Keep praying daily that Allah gives us the chance and grants us good health that will enable us to fast the holy month.
- Start repenting and seeking the forgiveness of the Almighty for all our wrongdoings before Ramadan.
- Seek the strength from Allah to fast in the way that He likes and wants.
- Seek forgiveness from all members of your family, workmates, neighbors, and relatives for any wrongdoing against them.
- Refrain from backbiting, slandering, and unlawful mixing with people.
- Clean your heart and soul from envy, jealousy, hypocrisy, arrogance, and all heart diseases.
- Seek the blessings of your parents, if they are alive, and their forgiveness for your shortcomings towards them.
- Increase your duaa and commitment to your daily duties and obligations.
With this, I think, we will be able to achieve the main goals of fasting.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.