By Haruna Razaq

One of the ways a Muslim can carry out the commandments of Shari‘ah properly in the blessed month of Ramadan in a country like Nigeria where vices are common is by fully preparing for the month before its arrival. It is the habit of the righteous Muslims from the period of the first Muslims to prepare for the month about six months to the month.

Many of us do not usually prepare properly for the blessed month of Ramadan, as a result, we become unable to perform the religious duties properly during the blessed month. Therefore, in order to be able to prepare fully here are some acts we can put into practice a few weeks before Ramadan.

These include: Niyyah (intention) by determining to carry out the dictates of Shari‘ah properly in the blessed month of Ramadan and starts to put them into practice before the arrival of the month. Iman (faith, belief):

affirms your iman in Allah and His Prophet (SAW) Salat: Perform your obligatory Salats such as five daily Salats and non-obligatory prayers; Tahjud; Duha (Nafilah before noon); Istikharah (Nafilah for seeking divine guidance), etc. in accordance with their rules and at their proper time.

(iv) Tilawah (recitation) of Qur’an: Start your tilawa of Qur’an by reading a certain portion (e.g. Jizu or Hizbu) of the Qur’an daily. (v) Du‘a (supplication): Start to supplicate before the arrival of the month. (vi) Da‘wah:Guide people to the correct practice of Islam through physical approach, giving them Islamic books, cassettes, CD and programmes (vii) Fasting: You may fast from the beginning of Sha’ban to the middle of the month and to use the second half to rest.

(viii) Taqwallah: In order to display fear of Allah which is the essence of Ramadan fasting as stated in Qur’an 2 verses 183, one needs to involve in acts that increases in the fear of Allah. Others include: beautification/purification of mosque and house; welcoming visitors of mosque; avoid fixing ceremony in the month of Ramadan; show kindness to all classes of people; set aside some properties such as money, cloth, books as charity and prepare the body, medically by ensuring medical checks and applying preventive and curative measures where necessary.