How To Keep Up With Faith After the Blessed Month of Ramadan is Gone

And when my slaves ask you o Muhammad concerning me, then answer them I am indeed near. I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. — Quran 2[Al-Baqarah]:186

It’s no longer news that the month of Ramadan has come and gone. In fact, to some, it’s as if it never came. While some others must have felt its absence as a huge vacuum. Ramadan is a special period in which we ascertain the uniqueness of Allah to attain consciousness through connection with him. It’s an opportunity for you to build a personal relationship with Allah and continue on the journey even beyond Ramadan. This is why the verse that enjoined fasting upon the believers concluded by stating that: the goal is to attain piety.

So in order to keep up our faith after Ramadan, we have to embark upon a spiritual journey. This expedition is one which drives us toward building a lasting relationship with Allah. It requires three key components: commitment, consistency, and patience. Commitment because the goal is golden and it’s worth the struggle. Consistency is a key practice towards attaining excellence in anything. And patience is required because you will falter out of your imperfection, therefore never give up.

With every difficult voyage, there’s a need for motivators to propel you toward berthing at your destination. The motivators that will push you toward building a relationship with Allah are the fear of Allah, hope in Allah, and the love of Allah. The most noble of them is the love of Allah for it’s intended for what it is. As for the fear of Allah, it only takes you into paradise. All fear ends at the gate of Jannah. And as for hope, it also ends once you see the face of your Lord. This is the greatest pleasure for the people of Paradise.

However, the love of Allah abides with you in Jannah and it’s everlasting. You can’t stop loving Allah for saving you from hell and hosting you in His garden of bliss. Therefore, the love of Allah is the most important motivator and driving force to Him. It’s through this love that you can build a personal relationship with Him. The love of Allah gives meaning to eeman, motivates your limbs, and gives you hope of earning His love in return.

So where does this all begin? It’s in the heart. A heart that connects to Allah will demonstrate unshakeable thabaat— firmness. It wouldn’t sway to give up good deeds and return to evil even when Ramadan is gone. This is why the prophet peace be upon him said:

…beware there lies within the body a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound. And if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Verily, this piece is the heart. — Muslim

The reality is after Ramadan, many of us struggle as we transition into fatigue mode. If this is the case with you, then pay attention to the following key points on how to escape this matrix. These three ideas will help you on the path journeying toward your Lord:

1. Knowing who Allah is: It’s quite unfortunate to say that many of us do not know Allah. And this is why we underestimate his might or chose to worship Him more in Ramadan and abandon Him after Ramadan departs. Know that He’s Allah and there’s no deity worthy of worship except Him. Know that He’s unseen and uneasy to phantom, hence it suffices you to believe. The only way to know Allah is through At-Tauhid. This is the unity of His Lordship, Worship, including His Names and Attributes. When you know who Allah is, you’re conscious of Him wherever you are. You know He is The All-Seeing, The All-Hearing, The All-Knowing. You strive to follow His injunctions and stay away from His forbidden. And whenever you fall short, you seek repentance knowing fully well that you have a Lord who is All-Forgiving and Ever-Merciful.
2. Doing extra acts of worship: Ibaadah can be literally translated as worship and this is the sole purpose of our creation. Worship alone is not sufficient to build a personal relationship with Allah. You have to mix it up with love and humility. Love Allah, love these acts of worship, and humble yourself before your Creator while doing them. So when love mixes with humility, it turns into beautiful worship. One of the signs of accepted Ramadan is that you’re able to continue with your good deeds even after Ramadan is gone. Therefore, keep up your five daily prayers on time and continue giving to charity. Follow up your Ramadan with the six days of fasting in Shawaal and earn the reward of a lifetime. Substitute your tarawih with qiyamu layl to continuously enjoy the sweetness of the nightly prayers. And remember Allah’s promise:

Is there any reward for goodness except goodness? So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? — Qur’an 55[Ar-Rahman]:60–61

3. Following the Sunnah: The sunnah is Islam and Islam is the sunnah, there’s no disparity between the two. One beauty of the sunnah is when you do it sincerely for the sake of Allah, it translates into worship and earns you rewards. A Muslim is not true to acknowledging his shahadah if he fails to uphold the sunnah. Another jewel you derive from following the Messenger is that it earns you the love of Allah and His forgiveness. Allah said:

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” — Qur’an 3[Al-’Imran]:31

So, when you step your foot on this path toward Allah, what do you get in return?

Allah The Most High never lets the effort of His servant go in vain. Here are some of the benefits you get in return when you explore this quest toward The Merciful Lord:

• You become His beloved: This was well depicted in the following hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “When Allah loves a servant, he calls Gabriel and he says: Verily, I love this person so you should love him. Then Gabriel loves him and makes an announcement in the heavens, saying: Allah loves this person and you should love him. Thus, the dwellers of the heavens love him and he is honored on the earth.” — Bukhari and Muslim
• Your prayers are answered: In another narration by Abu Hurayrah as well, he mentioned: The Messenger of Allah (upon whom be Allah’s blessings and peace) said: “Allah the Almighty has said, ‘Whoever has mutual animosity with a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war upon him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory work such that I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.” — Bukhari
• You will die in a state of tranquility: The true servant of Allah knows at the point of death his final abode based on the angels surrounding him. This is why Allah said:

Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allâh (Alone),” and then they stand firm,1 on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised! — Qur’an 41[Fussilat]:30

May Allah grant us the zeal to be able to keep our faith glowing beyond Ramadan. We equally ask Him to save us from backsliding into our evil ways after having been forgiven. Amin!

PS: Success comes only by the will of Allah! If you find this piece beneficial, it’s by Allah’s Grace. It’s no scholarly work and we accept our mistakes. Suggestions are welcomed in making this effort better as well. You are free to share by any means for enlightenment purposes. Kindly give a “click-clap” to enable other readers on Medium to see this post. We ask Allah to keep us guided and steadfast upon the right path. Kindly subscribe to Jum’ah Nugget so as to get our next publication in sha Allah!

Yaumul Jum’ah 7th Shawaal 1444H // Friday 28th April 2023.