Here are the Eighteen Common Mistake we made During the Month of Ramadhan.
(Let us all Try to Rectify all the Below Mistake. Inshaallah)
1. TAKING RAMADAN AS A RITUAL:
Ramadaan
has become more of a ritual than a form of Ibaadah for most of us. We fast like
a zombie,Coz everyone around us is fasting, too. We forget to purify our hearts
and our souls from all evil. We forget to beseech Allah SWT to forgive us and
to save us from the Hell-Fire. Surely, we stay away from food and drink but
that’s about it. Although the
Prophet Muhammad(saw) said: Jibra’eel
said to me, ‘May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person to who Ramadan
comes and his sins are not forgiven,’ and I said, ‘Ameen’. Then he said, ‘May
Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person who lives to see his parents grow
old, one or both of them, but he does not enter Paradise (by not serving them)
and I said, ‘Ameen’. Then he said, ‘May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that
person in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send blessings upon
you,’ and I said, ‘Ameen.” [Tirmidhi, Ahmad and others. It is classified as
Saheeh by al-Albaani]
2.
TOO MUCH STRESS ON FOOD AND DRINK:
For
some people, the entire month of Ramadan revolves around food. They spend the
ENTIRE day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking only about food, instead of
concentrating on Salah, Quraan and other acts of worship. They think so much
about FOOD that they turn the month of ‘fasting’ into the month of ‘feasting’.
Come Iftaar time, their table is a sight to see, with the multitudes and
varieties of food, sweets and drinks. ( Search ''Iftar'' on google images and
see what find ) They are missing the very purpose of fasting, and thus,
increase in their greed and desires instead of learning to control them.
Besides, it leads to wastage of food and extravagance.
"...
and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes
not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)" [Qur’an, al-Araaf :31]
3.
SPENDING ALL DAY COOKING:
Some
of the sisters (either by their own choice or forced by their husbands) are
cooking ALL day and ALL night, so that by the end of the day, they are too
tired to even pray Ishaa, let alone pray Taraweeh or Tahajjud or even read the
Qur’an. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So turn off that stove and
turn on your Imaan!
4.
EATING TOO MUCH:
Some
people stuff themselves at Suhoor until they are ready to burst, because they
think this is the way to not feel hungry during the day and some people eat at
Iftaar, like there is no tomorrow, trying to ‘make up for the food missed’.
However, this is completely against the Sunnah. Moderation is the key to
everything.
The Prophet (saw) said: ‘The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than
his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his
back straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for
drink and one-third for air.’ [Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah. Classified as saheeh by
al-Albaani]
Too
much food distracts a person from many deeds of obedience and worship, makes
him lazy and also makes the heart heedless. It was said to Imam Ahmad: Does a
man find any softness and humility in his heart when he is full? He said, I do
not think so.
5.
SLEEPING ALL DAY:
Some
people spend their entire day (or a major part of it) ’sleeping away their
fast’. Is this what is really required of us during this noble month? These
people are also missing the purpose of fasting and are slaves to their desires
of comfort and ease. They cannot ‘bear’ to be awake and face a little hunger or
exert a little self-control. For a fasting person to spend most of the day
asleep is nothing but negligence on his part.
6.
WASTING TIME:
The
month of Ramadan is a very precious time, so that Allaah(swt) calls this month
‘Ayyamum Ma’doodaat’ (A fixed number of days). Before we know it, this month of
mercy and forgiveness will be over. We should try and spend every moment
possible in the worship of Allah so that we can make the most of this blessing.
However, there are some of us who waste away their day playing video games, or
worse still, watching TV, movies or even listening to music to occupy their
mind so that they won’t feel the hunger pangs.
7.
FASTING BUT NOT GIVING UP EVIL:
Some
of us fast but do not give up lying, cursing, fighting, backbiting, etc. and
some of us fast but do not give up cheating, stealing, dealing in haraam
activities, buying lottery tickets, selling alcohol, fornication, etc. and all
kinds of impermissible things without realizing that the purpose of fasting is
to not stay away from food and drink; rather the aim behind it is to fear
Allaah, to increase our Taqwa.
‘O
you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)’ [Qur’an, al-Baqarah
:183]
The
Prophet (saw) said: ‘Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it,
and ignorance, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.’ [Bukhaari]
8.
SKIPPING SUHOOR (sehri):
The
Prophet (SAW) said: ‘Eat suhoor for in suhoor there is blessing.’ [Bukhaari,
Muslim].
And
he (SAW) said: ‘The thing that differentiates between our fasting and the
fasting of the People of the Book is eating suhoor.’ [Muslim]
9.
STOPPING SUHOOR AT 'IMSAAK'
Some
people stop eating Suhoor 10-15 minutes earlier than the time of Fajr to
observe ‘Imsaak’.
Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: This is a kind of bidah (innovation) which has no basis in
the Sunnah. Rather the Sunnah is to do the opposite. Allah allows us to eat
until dawn:
"..and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to
you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night)" [Qur’an,
al-Baqarah :187]
And
The Prophet Muhammad(saw) said: ‘….eat and drink until you hear the adhaan of
Ibn Umm Maktoom, for he does not give the adhaan until dawn comes.’
This
‘imsaak’ which some of the people do is an addition to what Allaah has
prescribed, so it is false. It is a kind of extremism in religion, and the
Prophet (SAW) said: ‘Those who go to extremes are doomed, those who go to
extremes are doomed, those who go to extremes are doomed.’ [Muslim]
10. DELAYING OPENING FAST:
Some people wait until the adhaan finishes or even several minutes after
that, just to be on the safe side. However, the Sunnah is to hasten to open the
fast, which means opening fast whenever the adhaan starts, right after the sun
has set (and not before). Aa’ishah (RA) said: This is what the Messenger of
Allaah Muhammad(saw) used to do. [Muslim]
The
Prophet Muhammad(saw) said: ‘The people will continue to do well so long as
they hasten to open the fast.’ [Bukhaari, Muslim]
Determine
to the best of your ability, the accuracy of your clock, calendar, etc. and
then have tawakkul (trust) on Allaah(swt) and break your fast exactly on time.
11.
EATING CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL THE TIME FOR MAGHRIB IS UP:
Some
people put so much food in their plates when breaking their fast and continue
eating, enjoying dessert, drinking tea, etc., until they miss the Maghrib
prayer. That is obviously not right. The Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) was that
once he broke his fast with some dates, then he would hasten to the prayer.
Once you finish prayer, you can always go back and eat some more if you wish.
12.
MISSING THE GOLDEN CHANCE OF HAVING YOUR DUA'A ACCEPTED:
The
prayer of the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of
breaking fast.
The
Prophet (saw) said: ‘Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father,
the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler.’ [al-Bayhaqi,
classified as saheeh by al-Albaani]
Instead
of sitting down and making Dua’a at this precious time, some people forego this
beautiful chance, and are too busy frying samosas, talking, setting the food,
filling their plates and glasses, etc. Think about it… Is food more important
than the chance to have your sins forgiven or the fulfillment of your Dua’as.
13.
FASTING BUT NOT PRAYING:
The
fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. This is because not
praying constitutes kufr as the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) said: ‘Between a man and
shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.’ [Muslim]
In
fact, NONE of his good deeds will be accepted; rather, they are all annulled.
‘Whoever
does not pray ‘Asr, his good deeds will be annulled.’ [Bukhaari]
14.
NOT FASTING BECAUSE OF EXAMS OR WORK:
Exams
or work is NOT one of the excuses allowed by the Shariah to not fast. You can
do your studying and revision at night if it is too hard to do it during the
day. Also remember that pleasing and obeying Allaah is much more important than
‘good grades’. Besides, if you will fulfill your obligation to fast, even if
you have to study, Allaah will make your studies and other activities easy for
you and help you in everything you do.
‘Whosoever
fears Allah, He will appoint for him a way out and provide for him from where
he does not expect, Allah is Sufficient for whosoever puts his trust in Him.
[Qur’an, Surah at-Talaaq :2-3]
15.
MIXING FASTING AND DIETING:
Do not make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the
biggest mistakes some of us make (especially sisters). Fasting is an act of
worship and can only be for the sake of Allah alone. Otherwise, mixing it with
the intention of dieting may become a form of (minor) Shirk.
16.
PRAYING ONLY ON THE NIGHT OF 27TH RAMADAN:
Some
people pray ONLY on the 27th to seek Lailat ul-Qadr, neglecting all other odd
nights, although the Prophet Muhammad(saw) said: ‘Seek Lailat ul-Qadr among the
odd numbered nights of the last ten nights of Ramadaan.’ [Bukhaari, Muslim]
17.
WASTING THE LAST PART OF RAMADAN PREPARING FOR EID:
Some
people waste the entire last 10 days of Ramadan preparing for Eid, shopping and
frequenting malls, etc. neglecting Ibadah and Lailatul Qadr. Even though, the
Prophet Muhammad(saw) used to strive the most during the last ten days of
Ramadan in worship [Ahmad, Muslim] and not in shopping. Buy whatever you
need for Eid before Ramadan so that you can utilize the time in Ramadan to the
utmost.
Aa’ishah
(RA) said: ‘When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allaah (saw)
would tighten his waist-wrapper (i..e., strive hard in worship or refrain from
intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and wake his family.’ [Bukhaari
and Muslim]
18.
EXTREME IN IFTAAR SHARING OR PARTIES:
It
is good practice to contribute and share food towrds IFTAR. Although inviting
each other for breaking fast is good however encouraged, some people go to
extremes with lavish ‘Iftaar parties’ .
It’s not too late to rectify ones mistake and do good for the sake of Allah.
May Allah(swt) Forgive all of our sin.
Inform
My servants that I am the Forgiver, Most Merciful. [Qur’an, Al-Hijr:49]
