During Ramadan, I was heart and soul mindful of Almighty Allah. I would offer supererogatory acts of worship, feeling the sweetness of faith while doing so. I would read the Qur'an a lot, stop gazing at unlawful things, and was keen on observing Prayers in congregation. But this has changed after Ramadan. I no longer feel the sweetness of worship. I have lost my keenness on observing supererogatory acts of worship or reading the Qur'an. I am no longer even keen on observing Prayers in congregation. Many times I have missed observing Fajr Prayer in congregation. Can I find a solution or treatment for this problem?

The hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever relieves a believer of some of the distress of this world, Allah will relieve him of some of the distress of the Day of Judgement. Allah will help His slave so long as the slave is helping his brother." (Saheeh Muslim).  
Praise be to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whomever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

"O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah." [Aal 'Imraan 3:102 - interpretation of the meaning]

"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you." [al-Nisaa' 4:1 - interpretation of the meaning]

"O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds, and will forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement." [al-Ahzaab 33:70 - interpretation of the meanin

The question in point reflects your deep desire to seek Allah's pleasure, though your perseverance in that regard has weakened and needs to be stimulated so that you return to the right path stronger in faith than before. Do not worry. There are many ways that can get you to your lofty destination.

Responding to your question, the well known Saudi scholar Sheikh `Abdullah Ibn Jibreen states: 

  Dear brother, here are ten means of keeping on doing good deeds after Ramadan:

  1. Seek Allah's support, beseeching Him Almighty to guide you to the right path and help you remain steadfast in faith. Allah Almighty has praised the supplication of those who are of sound instruction when they (have ) said: [Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after Thou hast guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Thy Presence. Lo! Thou, only Thou art the Bestower.] (Al `Imran 3: 8)

  2. Be keen on being in the company of the righteous and attending dhikr meetings such as religious lectures or visiting a righteous friend to make dhikr (remembrance of Allah) together.

  3. Acquire knowledge about the biographies of the Prophet's Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) and the righteous believers by reading books and listening to tapes. This will stimulate you to keep firm in faith and follow in their footsteps.

  4. Listen to tapes that deal with religious admonitions and righteous speeches.

  5. Be keen on observing the obligatory acts of worship.

  6. Keep on offering supererogatory acts of worship; do what you are most inclined to and can do regularly, even if it is little. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O people! Do only those good deeds which you can do, for Allah does not get tired (of giving reward) till you get tired, and the best deeds to Allah are the incessant ones, even though they may be few."

  7. Start learning Allah's Book by heart. Recite what you have learned during Prayer and keep reciting the Qur'an as much as you can.

  8. Perform dhikr a lot and ask Almighty Allah for forgiveness. This may seem a tiny good act, yet observing it regularly increases faith and strengthens the heart.

  9. Keep away from every thing that may cause your heart to divert from the right path such as bad people, indecent television programs, pornographic pictures, and love songs.

  10. Last, but not least in importance, truly repent to Almighty Allah and be keen on not deviating from the right path again. Allah Almighty rejoices when His bondman returns to Him Most High in true repentance.

  Dear brother, do not be one of those who do not pay heed to Allah Most High except in Ramadan. The righteous predecessors said about them, "Woe to those people who do not become mindful of Almighty Allah but in Ramadan!"

  May Allah help you be steadfast in the right path until you reach the following Ramadan in best health and condition.

  You can also read this:-

  The Lord of Ramadan is the Lord of the Whole Year.
   I have a simple question. Why we find that mosques are filled with Muslims during the month of Ramadan while remaining empty save for few Muslims for the whole seasons of the year? What do you have to say on this?
  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 the very beginning, we would like to say to you that Islam spares no pains in elevating the morals of a Muslim and cares much about the spiritual training of the soul. This training continues for all parts of the year not just for Ramadan. It is true that Ramadan, being a season for repentance and worship, has special merit. However, a Muslim is commanded to worship Almighty Allah in all times and lose no chance in drawing near to Him. 

  As regards your question, we would like to quote for you the words of Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, which we find relevant to this issue:             

    We do not worship Allah only in Ramadan. We have to worship and serve Him throughout our life. We must live righteous life always, every day and every moment of our life. Some pious people used to say: "Try to be a Rabbani (belonging to Allah always), do not be a Ramadani (only worship Allah during Ramadan). 


    Muslims have to do good deeds always. Brother! Observe your daily prayers, fast during Ramadan, give Zakat, make Hajj if you can afford it. Speak the truth, be honest, and treat each other and all human beings with courtesy and kindness. Remember that the good deeds lead to more good deeds and the bad deeds lead to more bad deeds. It is said: "One of the rewards of good deeds is more good deeds after that, and one the chastisement of evil is more evil deeds after that." 

    When people do something good and then do more good things, it means that they really benefited from their good actions and Allah accepted their good deeds. But when someone prays, fasts, does some acts of charity, and then he/she stops doing these things, this means that from the beginning his/her intention was not good. He was not sincere in his/her good deeds. 




    It is worth stressing that Allah accepts only those actions that are sincere. Almighty Allah says: (Verily it is We Who have revealed the Book to you in Truth: so serve Allah, offering Him sincere devotion. 3- Behold, the sincere devotion belongs to Allah .) (Az-Zumar: 2-3) 

    Almighty Allah also says: (And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being True (in faith); to establish regular Prayer; And to practice regular Charity; and that is the Religion right and Straight.) (Al-Bayyinah: 5) 



    Islam is the religion of purity and sincerity. This applies to all the seasons of the year and not only to Ramadan. On the Day of Judgment Allah will not count our deeds, but He will weigh them. 

    In a Hadith Qudsi, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said reporting from Allah: "For the person who fasts there are two joys: when the fast ends, he/she feels happy; and when he/she will meet the Lord, will feel happy because of his/her fast." (Reported by Al-Bukhari) 



    So, dear questioner, it's clear in the light of the above-mentioned facts that Allah the Lord of Ramadan is the Lord of the whole year, thus we shouldn't confine our acts of worship to the month of Ramadan, rather we should seize every chance to show humbleness, devotion and sincerity to Almighty Allah, at all times, so that we may gain His pleasure. 



    We pray to Allah to help us stand firm on the straight path! Amen!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤