Tips for Ramadan!

Assalaamu' Alaykum,

Insha' Allah I hope everyone's Ramadan is going well, if not do not despair insha' Allah we have time to make it better :D. I listened to a lecture called Fasting and the Furious by Muhammad Al-Shareef an Islamic motivational speaker and founder of Al-Maghrib Institute, and here are few tips for Ramadan that I was able to gather (insha' Allah I'll post more soon).

*NOTE* these tips were inspired by Br. Muhammad but I have added my own input and thoughts into these tips, so all of this does not reflect his ideas.

Tips for Ramadan
1) Stay away from the opposite of Ramadan. Look forward to Ramadan so that you can have a successful one. Remove the negativity from your life.

2)Do not waste time, time is precious. The Quran was revealed during this month so lets use the time we are given to give much attention to the Quran and strengthen our iman and deen.

3) Fasting is not just physical, its also spiritual (main point). Instead of us making "new years resolutions" this is our time to make resolutions to become better Muslims and to keep these new habits/ character that we are trying to make during Ramadan for the rest of our life time.

4) Make goals that are actually practical and make a plan to achieve them. Ex: Go to the masjid early so that I can make my sunnah, limit television viewing, remove negative speech, be nicer to my parents, read more Quran, give charity more, make all my salaahs, make more dikhr, and etc.

5) Make sure to eat suhur right before Fajr. Do not neglect suhur for its neglecting the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhim wa salaam. Bring food and water to your bed side so as soon as you wake up you can start consuming food so that at least your able to get something in your stomach without having to head to the kitchen :P. Also eat properly, don't eat junk food which will not benefit your body and soon have you extremely hungry.

6) Have Taqwa- realize that Allah is always watching. By doing this insha' Allah you'll abstain from bad behavior and what you do is for yourself. Meaning that for all your actions there will be a consequence. Side note* Having Taqwa comes with being in tune with the Quran and surrounding yourself with which is halal. Your awareness can diminish when you keep company or surround yourself with things and people who are not following the straight path.

7)Pray right on time. Do not delay Maghrib because your still eating, bring food with you to where ever you are so that when its time to break fast you can do so and make your salaah on time. Insha' Allah you'll have time to eat more after maghrib and can actually take the time to chew and enjoy your food instead of scarfing it down your throat. Also do not over eat, during Ramadan we are not suppose to gain weight. We're suppose to actually loose some weight due to our fasting, just because we're fasting does not mean we can pack on the pounds at iftar, doesn't make sense.

8) Eat foods with fiber, foods high in fiber will keep your digestive system regulated and keep you fuller longer.

9) Realize that you'll be weak the first few days of Ramadan, your body is beginning to flush out all the junk and waste in your body the first few days. On the 4th or 5th day (if one is eating properly) your body will begin to become more energized, so be patient with your body.

10) Our hearts fluctuates quite often so we should check it often and see where we are with Allah. Go to and download your own 30 day heart tracker for free! Courtesy of Muhammad Alshareef.

Okay that's all for the moment, insha' Allah I'll post more soon. Ramadan Mubarak everyone!