RAMADHAN HALF TIME REFLECTION: WHEN YOU FEEL YOU HAVEN'T QUITE "DONE YOUR BEST"

As we pass through the halfway mark through this blessed month, it's time to take a good reflection of ourselves and how we have done so far:

If - like me 😣 -  you feel that you have been lacking in your ibadah performance this Ramadhan and haven't quite stretched the best you can, here are three reminders to lift our spirits, get back in the game and look forward for the remaining days: the best is yet to come, insha Allah!

🔓 1. EVERY NIGHT IN RAMADHAN, ALLAH FREES SOME OF HIS SELECTED SLAVED FROM THE HELLFIRE

As said by the Prophet ﷺ:
"إنَّ للهِ تعالى عند كلِّ فطرٍ عُتَقاءَ من النارِ ، و ذلك في كلِّ ليلةٍ"
(Narrated by Sahih Al-Jami' of Al-Albani, graded hasan)

Every day in Ramadhan, Allah is so Pleased with the efforts of some of His slaves that He selects them to be saved from the Hellfire : and this happens every day of Ramadhan.

So if we feel that perhaps we may have "slacked" in the beginning and potentially "missed" this opportunity, let's be optimistic: this opportunity is still available today. And tomorrow. And the days after that, up to Shawwal.

🏁 2. FORGET WHAT HAS PASSED. WHAT TRULY MATTERS IS THE ENDING: HOW WE FINISH

The Prophet  ﷺ  said,
وَإِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ ‏
"Verily all deeds are only judged by their endings (i.e. how they end)"
(Al-Bukhari)

Don't get disheartened or demotivated - What has passed, has passed us by. If we buck up now and strive to improve, perhaps our best opportunities still await us in the future.

So let's get back in the game, and finish on a high! 

🌌 3. LAYLATUL QADAR - AND THE BEST TEN NIGHTS OF THE YEAR - STILL AWAIT US!

The night better than a thousand months is still yet to come, إن شاء الله . The Prophet ﷺ said:

تَحَرَّوْا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِي الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ
"Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadhan"
(Al-Bukhari)

And that is why he himself - towards the final ten nights - would ramp up his efforts even greater and move his family to do so too.

كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ‏

"With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

If this was the practice of the Prophet - whose sins are forgiven entirely and promised Paradise - then how much more are WE in need of putting on a serious effort towards the end of Ramadhan?

As they say: in a hundred meter sprint, it is the last ten meters that makes all the difference whether you win or you lose.

So let's make it count ✊🏼

BarakAllahu fikum