Things to avoid during Ramadhan

These are common  mistakes we normally make in Ramadhan. I post this as a reminder to myself and to all my friends out there. Let's make sure not to repeat the same mistakes again this year, Insya-Allah.

May all our ibadahs be accepted as complete by Allah S.W.T. Ameen.

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Taking Ramadhan as a ritual

Come Ramadhan, we refrain ourselves from food and drink, but we fail to increase our ibadah and dua. We fast only because everyone around us is fasting too. In other words, Ramadhan becomes more of a ritual than a form of ibadah.



Distraction from ibadah

Some of us automatically link up the month of Ramadhan with activities related to food. We spend the day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking about only food, instead of concentrating on prayers, reading Qur’an and other acts of worship. We make sure our tables are full with varieties of food, sweets and drinks. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So turn off that stove and turn on your Imaan!

".....and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)"

[al-Araaf :31]

Sleeping all day

Some of us spend the entire day (or a major part of it) sleeping. We move less for fear we’ll be exhausted at the end of the day. We miss the purpose of fasting and are slaves to their desires of comfort and ease. If this is how we spend our days in Ramadhan, we get nothing but negligence on our part!


Wasting time

We tend to waste our time watching TV, playing video games or listening to the music, as if this is another ordinary month. The month of Ramadhan is precious, for it is the month of Allah Almighty. 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.


Skipping sahoor

Because we ate too much at iftaar, we feel too exhausted and sleepy, our stomachs are full and therefore reluctant to get out of bed for sahoor.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 

"Eat sahoor, for in sahoor there is blessing." (Bukhaari, Muslim).

And he (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"The thing that differentiates between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating sahoor." (Muslim)

Not fasting if we missed sahoor

What is the big deal if we missed a few morsels of food? It is not like we are going to die. Remember, obedience to Allah overcomes everything.


Organizing iftaar ceremonies

Although inviting each other for breaking fast is something good and encouraged, we sometimes go too extreme, with lavish Iftaar parties that cause disobedience to Allah, from flirting, mixing of the sexes, hiiab-less women, showing-off and extravagance and music, that we do not regard our prayer and dua seriously.


Delaying breaking fast

Some of us wait until the adhaan finishes or even several minutes after that to break fast. However, the Sunnah is to hasten to break the fast, which means breaking fast whenever the adhaan starts, right after the sun has set.

Aishah (RA) said:

“This is what the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to do”. (Muslim)

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to break the fast." (Bukhaari, Muslim)

Eating too much

Some of us eat too much during sahoor, because we think this way will not make us go hungry during the day. And some of us eat too much at iftaar, as if we’ve not eaten anything at all for months. Why? This is completely against the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam! Eating too much will only distract us from ibadah, makes us feel lazy and heavy and also makes the heart heedless.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) 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. saheeh by al-Albaani).

Eating continuously until the time for Maghrib is up

The sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) was to break his fast with some dates, then hasten to the Maghrib prayer. As for us, we tend to put so much food in our plates when breaking our fast and continue eating, enjoying dessert, sipping nice drinks, and so on until we miss Maghrib. Why can’t we follow the sunnah? Once done with the prayer, we can always go back and eat more as we wish.


Missing the golden chance of having our dua accepted

The prayer of the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of breaking fast.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) 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, saheeh by al-Albaani).

Instead of sitting down and making dua at this precious time, some of us forego this beautiful chance, and are too busy eating, talking, and drinking. Think about it....Is food more important than the chance to have our sins forgiven or the fulfillment of our duas?


Fasting, but not praying

The fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED because not praying constitutes kufr.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) 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.

Fasting but not giving up evil

Why fast when we can’t give up lying, cursing, fighting, backbiting, cheating, stealing, dealing in haram activities, gambling, selling alcohol, fornication, etc. Have we forgotten that the purpose of fasting is to not only stay away from food and drink, rather the main aim behind it is to fear Allah?

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink." (Bukhaari)

Fasting, but not wearing hijab

As we all know, not wearing the hijab is one of the major sins in Islam as it is obligatory for Muslim women. So if we fast but at the same time we do not wear hijab, certainly an enormous reward of fasting will be taken away from us.


Mixing fasting and dieting

Oh dear sisters! DO NOT make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the biggest mistakes some of us make. Fasting is an act of worship and can only be for the sake of Allah alone.


Wasting the last part of Ramadhan preparing for Eid

This is common all over the world. We tend to waste the last 10 days of Ramadhan preparing for Eid, shopping and frequenting malls, etc. neglecting our ibadah and the Lailatul Qadr. Buy whatever you need for Eid before Ramadhan so that you can utilize the time in Ramadhan to the fullest.

Aishah (RA) said:

“When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam)) 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).

I would like to thank Al-ustaz Adil ibn Manzoor Khan for sharing this with me. JazakAllahu khairan.