We are now at the last ten of Ramadan, Alhamdulillah for the journey so far, may Allah see us through the entire period. (Amin).
However, it is quite essential for us to nurture the minds of our wards and reawaken their spiritual consciousness during this period. With this, they will genuinely appreciate and internalised the lessons of Ramadan while also looking forward to another Ramadan Insha Allah.
Immorality they say, is generated by idleness. Prophet Muhammad (saw) said there are two blessings of which many people are careless of, which are: good health and free time.
As students enjoy their second term holiday during this fasting period, it is a better time to encourage them towards attaining taqwa, by not limiting them to the routine of waking for sahur but consciously observing their tahajud, supplicate to Allah and observing their obligatory salawats.
Allah says in (Q23 v115-116) “Did you think we had created you in play without any purpose, and that you would not be brought back to us, so exalted is Allah, the sovereign, the truth.”
Dear mothers, wouldn’t you rather earn yourself an additional reward in this life and in the hereafter by consistently reminding your wards of their duties to Allah, as the majority of our Muslim teens are unaware of dos and don’ts of this holy month. They engage in different unwarranted activities on social media to while away their time, rather than focusing on spiritual purifying acts.
Therefore, hasten them towards reading and memorizing the Quran, listening to Tafsirs, and reflecting on the stories of the prophets and meanings of surahs, among other rewarding acts.
it is imperative our wards outlive the lessons of Ramadan, as it will no doubt, shape their lives positively, both inwardly and outwardly. May Allah make it easy for us to raise righteous kids. (Amin)
Ramadan: Time for spiritual seclusion
At this point of the holy month, when the last ten days are rolling in, every Muslim should deepen himself in the acts of ibadah. The most important part of Ramadan is said to be the last 10 days. The revelation of the Qur’an, the night of majesty, the blessings, among others, had been perfected in it.
The last 10 days should be spent in prayers, seeking Allah`s mercy and asking for His forgiveness, observing I’itikaf, searching for Layalat-ul-Qadr, doing good deeds, reflecting on your actions, reading of Holy Qur’an and supplicating to Allah.
This is a tradition which has been in Islam from the first days of the revelation and is also something known and recognised as the practice of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and ordained by Allah (SWT).
“And when We made the House a pilgrimage for mankind and a (place of) security, and said ‘Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the standing-place of Ibrahim (Maqama-Ibrahim).’ And We enjoined Ibrahim and Ismail saying: ‘Purify My House for those who visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion, those who bow down (and) those who prostrate themselves.’ Q 2:125
The act of confining oneself to the mosque for some period for the sake of Allah is meritorious. You will be detached from worldly affairs and get closer to Allah. You also have the advantage of seeking the Night of Majesty as you will have the opportunity of having no distraction from family members and worldly affairs.
Although there is no specific number of days for Itikaf, it can be one, three, five, seven or more according to the intention for doing that. But the last ten days will be more appropriate if to seek the Night of Majesty.
If we don’t have the opportunity of doing Itikaf in Masjid Haram, we can observe it in our local mosque. A number of mosques in various cities have put in places measures and facilities to do that. The National Mosque, Abuja which used to host several hundreds of Muslims in the past had in a statement before the commencement of Ramadan suspended Itikaf this Ramadan due to further renovation work going on.
It is not late however to embark on Itikaf, Sururatudeen Mosque Igbogb road, Ikorodu, Alausa Central Mosque, Lekki Central Mosque among other mosques in Lagos still open for any intending Mu’takiff.
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