The blessed month of Ramadan has left us, leaving a melancholy sense of sadness and (in many cases) regret.

The days we spent fasting and feeling an instant sense of responding to Allah’s call. The evenings spent looking forward to Taraweeh. The occasional night (or more!) when we stayed up the night. The intense and incredible feeling of community that came with Iftar gatherings. The beautiful feeling of family and silatul rahim (maintaining kinship ties) is now in the past.

These are moments of intense devotion that leave the heart wanting more. And for many of us, there is almost instantly a worry – that we won’t be able to replicate these feelings beyond Ramadan. That our schedules will catch up to us, making us fall back into our old routines and habits.

It doesn’t have to be this way, nor should this feeling be overwhelming, if we plan consciously to engage with the year to come. If we take some time to think through how we won’t just let it be the “same old”, and ensure that the time to come is the best year we have yet, beyond the blessed month of Ramadan. 

Here are some important tips in that regard – beginning with the inspiration, and then the practical element. 

1. The mindset

Mindset is crucial to any pursuit in life. It makes a real, tangible difference to the attainment of any outcome, and that includes making the time beyond Ramadan as good as possible. 

What sort of mindset should we approach this “challenge” with?

The Lord of Ramadan is the same Lord of every other month! Find comfort in Allah (SWT) by cultivating your relationship with Him and increasing in many optional acts of worship which are ALWAYS there. 

You found great solace in fasting. In prayer. In community. 

Which of these are not available outside of Ramadan? None! 

Almost every single act that we perform in Ramadan can be done outside of it, with the exception of the special formula that is the Taraweeh prayer. But that too has close cousins that we can access for reward (the longer night prayers and special nawafil prayers in the evenings).

So it first begins with a mindset shift: that we can indeed increase in good deeds and bring our best selves to bear on Ramadan, provided we earnestly try. 

2. Be realistic in your self-expectations

Sometimes we expect too much from ourselves. Sometimes we subliminally expect to be sinless and perfect from Ramadan onward until the day we die.

And when it doesn’t happen, we lose hope and fall back into our old lifestyles. 

Be realistic and set high goals for yourself. But don’t be too hard on yourself when you don’t always attain those goals. You are human. You will err, you will make mistakes, and you will grow from each experience. Focus on being your best, not on being perfect. At the end, if you sincerely try your best, Allah will forgive the rest.

The Prophet  (ﷺ) said, “Be deliberate in worship, draw near to Allah, and give glad tidings. Verily, none of you will enter Paradise because of his deeds alone.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Not even me, unless Allah grants me mercy from himself. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is done regularly even if it is small” (Bukhari).

3. Focus on doing small deeds with consistency

That brings us to consistency!

The Prophet (ﷺ) famously said: “Take on only as much as you can do of good deeds, for the best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little” (Ibn Majah).

Ramadan shows us how much Ibadah we are capable of on a daily basis, so even if we don’t devote as much time to worship or read as much Quran as we do in Ramadan, we should still strive to develop small spiritual habits.

Whether it’s a daily recitation of a particularly emphasised Surah, doing Dhikr every morning and evening, or 2 extra Nawafil during the day, we need to do what is manageable, and then be consistent with it. 

Try to bring more and more Deen into your life, slowly but consistently. The great Imam Al Shafi’i famously said these inspiring words that should give every Muslim reason to hope: “If you are on the path towards Allah, then run. If it is hard for you, then jog. If you get tired, then walk. And if you can’t, then crawl, but never go back or stop!” 

Profound words with big lessons for us in the time ahead. Let’s do what we can consistently and do it well, insha Allah!

4. Make the most of Shawwal

Shawwal is the 10th month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar and begins its first day with Eid Al-Fitr. Many of us know it as the month after Ramadan and often don’t think much about it aside from Eid. However, there are also many opportunities for reward in it.

The 6 days of Shawwal are voluntary fasts one can observe in the month. Doing so holds immense rewards, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime” (Muslim).

In turn, being the month straight after Ramadan, Shawwal is also a time to reflect on and continue the good habits we’ve built in the blessed month. To strengthen those habits, as well as our hearts and minds, for the months ahead.

You can build on any Shawwal fasting momentum you build to fast more voluntary fasts during the year as well. 

You can easily do so by developing a habit of fasting 3 days every month (the White Days) and on Mondays and Thursdays. The Prophet  (ﷺ) said: “Deeds are presented [to Allah (swt)] on Monday and Thursday, and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting” (Tirmidhi).

5. Making our Salah a key priority

During the month of Ramadan, many of us spend more time in prayer. We do our Fardh prayers and go further through the Sunnah prayers perhaps more often than we usually would. 

One way to keep the Ramadan spirit alive and well throughout the year is by prioritising your prayers as a key priority.

For example, if you usually pray late, start praying on time. 

If you don’t pray regularly, make it a point to stick to the obligatory five. If you find yourself distracted during prayer, try being more present when you kneel in devotion to God. 

The prayer has to be a focus for all of us if we are to build post-Ramadan momentum. So don’t think this matter lightly, for it is the first thing we’ll be asked about on the Day of Judgement, and to focus on it earnestly is not a “small” thing – it is indeed a weighty priority, so prioritise it with pride!

6. Making du’a often – especially for repentance

We’ve potentially spent more time than we usually do asking Allah for all we need in this blessed month. But making dua isn’t exclusive to Ramadan, nor are the supplications that are recommended to use during it. 

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.” [Tirmidhi]

The act of du’a is one we must make a regular habit for ourselves beyond this month. 

And one type of du’a that we need to frequent is that for tawbah (forgiveness and repentance) because we are constantly in need of it. 

We all make mistakes. We all fall into sins. We all have our faults. The difference between a righteous person and an open-sinner is not the lack of sin. It is the concealment of sins and consistent repentance. After Ramadan, you may fall back into some sin or another that you had before Ramadan.

When this happens, do not lose hope. When this happens, do not give up. When this happens, do not let Shaytaan win. Get back up and try again. 

Repent, and never lose hope. Because you worship Al-Ghafoor (The Most Forgiving), Ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful).

And what more inspiration do we need than the hadith where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul, if you were a people who did not commit sin, Allah would take you away and replace you with a people who would sin and then seek Allah’s forgiveness so He could forgive them” (Muslim).

So make du’a and make tawbah regular habits beyond Ramadan, just as we increased them within Ramadan.

7. Build Your Relationship with the Qur’an

Another things many of us have no doubt invested a lot more into is our relationship with the Qur’an: through Taraweeh, through qiyaam, and through general recitation.

Keep up your recitation, reading, memorisation and reflection of the Qur’an post-Ramadan. It really is a crucial part of the post-Ramadan commitment.

Don’t let a day pass by you without reciting the Speech of Allah. It is the paragon of virtue; it honours its reciters, intercedes for its companions and blesses those who learn and teach it. What better way is there to draw closer to Allah than by His Perfect Speech? This should be the thinking behind its recitation. Regardless of our faults and weaknesses, it creates a barakah effect whose impact we don’t know or realise, but experience. 

And for inspiration? 

Our Prophet (ﷺ) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’an: ‘Read and Rise, and recite as you used to recite in the [previous] world, for your status will be according to the last verse that you recite” (Tirmidhi & Abu Dawood).

He (ﷺ) said: “Recite the Qur’an, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite it” (Sahih Muslim).

And he (ﷺ) said: “One who is proficient in reciting the Qur’an is associated with the noble, pious (angel) scribes. As for he who stammers when reciting the Qur’an and finds it difficult for him, he will be granted a double reward” (Sahih Muslim).

8. Make Charity a Regular Habit

Ramadan is very much also the month of charity, as no doubt your email inboxes will attest (at least depending on how many charities have you on their subscribers list!)

The Prophet (ﷺ) was the most generous during this blessed month. But his generosity didn’t stop at Ramadan, and nor should yours. 

Giving charity holds special significance in Islam with the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: “The believer’s shade on the Day of Judgement will be his charity” (Musnad Ahmad).

As we live in increasingly challenging times and in a world where the level of human suffering is unprecedented, a small amount of charity could go a long way for someone in need.

A great way to give to charity all year round is by finding a cause that you’re passionate about and setting up a regular monthly donation, even if it’s just $2.

9. Bring it together on Fridays! 

One final tip we have is something that works well for a lot of people, and you may want to consider it too. 

One of the great parts of Ramadan is that it is something we anticipate, which we then mourn when it departs. 

But there are other moments and discrete times in the Islamic calendar that are similar – and there is one huge blessing that we are given every week that we do not take advantage of: The blessed day of Jumuah!

Consider some incredible facts: 

• The ahadith mentioning its virtue are incredible – see below! 
• Some scholars even debated whether the weekly Jumuah was more virtuous or the day of Arafah is more virtuous (and this is despite the fact that the narrations on its greatness are very clear) – such was is the reward associated with Jumuah and taking advantage of it
• Scholars throughout our history treated Friday as a day around which the whole week – indeed one’s how life – should be based.

It is no wonder that in Muslim countries Friday is a day off work. Even though the general piety of our societies has decreased, nonetheless there is a residual tradition they carry onwards even today.

Make Fridays a day that you anticipate with the same gusto as Ramadan. Dress well during it, apportion times for worship, for Qur’an, for giving, and the immense du’a during the blessed hour of Friday. If we do these, this is a way of supercharging our week, cleansing ourselves from sin, and recharging for the week ahead. 

Consider these beautiful narrations, act on them, and watch your week flourish. 

We ask Allah to give us the tawfiq to make what comes ahead beyond Ramadan our best year yet, and the fruit of Ramadan itself! 

The Prophet said, ’We are the last (to come) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection, though the former nations were given the Scriptures before us. Then, this was their day (i.e. Friday) that was prescribed for them, but they differed about it. So Allah gave us the guidance for it (Friday) and all the other people are behind us in this respect” (Muslim)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The Promised Day is the Day of Resurrection, and the one witnessed is the Day of ’Arafah, and the witness is Friday. The sun does not rise nor set upon a day that is more virtuous than it. In it, there is an hour in which no believing worshipper makes a supplication to Allah for good, except that Allah answers it for him, and he does not seek Allah’s protection from evil, except that He protects him from it” (Tirmidhi).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. Adam was created on Friday and on it he entered Paradise and on it he was expelled from therein. The Hour will not be established but on Friday” (Muslim).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “No Muslim passes away on Friday, or its night, but that Allah will protect him from the trial of the grave.”

After reading all of the above ahadith, it will be completely unsurprising to you that the Prophet (ﷺ) outright called Friday the master of all days. The rank of Fridays is so vast that it outweighs the virtues of other days and this even includes the days of Eid.