Preparing For Ramadan 2024 – 12 Tips To Help You Make The Most Out Of Ramadan

Allah, the Most High, says in the Quran:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ

‘It was in the month of Ramadan that the Quran was revealed…’ (Surah Baqarah: verse 185)

He (SWT) also says,

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

‘You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be mindful of God.’ (Surah Baqarah: verse 183) -Abdul Haleem translation

The blessed month of Ramadan is just around the corner. Pilgrim have put together a detailed article on how Muslims around the world can prepare for Ramadan: body, mind and soul.

1. Prepare the Body

  • Start fasting now

Start fasting now by making up any missed fasts or keeping nafl fasts. You can fast on Ayam ul Bayd, the white days, which are on the 13th, 14th and 15th of each Islamic month.

It is also sunnah to fast every Monday and Thursday.

  • Eat healthy foods to boost energy for Ramadan

Work on being energised with healthier eating habits: Eat a healthy breakfast and eliminate snacks slowly, leading up to the month of Ramadan.

muslim man eating balanced meal during ramadan

  • Exercise regularly

Get some form of light physical exercise such as going out for a walk a couple of times a week. Do this because our bodies are an amanah and taking care of them with gratitude in itself is a form of ibadah (worship).

  • Pay your doctor a visit

Check with your doctor if you’re on any medication, to find out if you can take your doses after breaking your fast.

  • Be regular with the sunnah of the bedtime

Adjust your sleeping pattern now, to get used to the Ramadan sleep routine. Try to sleep immediately after Isha and wake up a few minutes before Fajr.

  • Reduce your caffeine intake gradually from now

This will ensure that the lack of your morning coffee or afternoon tea doesn’t make you sluggish during the first few days of Ramadan.

2. Prepare the Soul

  • Read the Quran

Make it a habit to read the Quran on a regular basis. By doing this you will hopefully build up a strong routine of reading the Qu’ran during Ramadan and be able to carry this on after the blessed month. Begin with small steps.

Start by reading one page a day, and once you feel like you can start reading more, once it gets easier for you, start increasing the amount of pages per day. Do this until you are able to read the whole Qur’an during the month of Ramadan.

muslim man reading the Quran during ramadan

  • Pray Salah on time

Pray as soon as you can and build a habit of praying the sunnah prayers.

  • Beautify your salah

Practice more regular adhkar, longer ruku, and sujood while increasing dhikr and other nafl acts of worship.

    Doing so will not only help you to enter into Ramadan better equipped and prepared, but also act as a pillar to hold on to in the event of any unforeseen circumstances.

  • Fiqh of fasting

Learn about the Fiqh of fasting through books, articles and lectures.

3. Prepare the Mind

  • Try to have the best intentions

Make the intention to have a productive and spiritual Ramadan experience.

  • Empty your mind of unnecessary things

Do a brain dump and list everything that is clogging your mind. The acting of writing things helps you to clear your mind and organise your thoughts.

Take care of long-standing commitments and plan to fulfil them, to minimise distractions when you are fasting.

Additional tips to prepare for fasting:

  1. List and plan all that needs to be done before Ramadan, during Ramadan and shortly after Ramadan. Plan on doing majority of these tasks before Ramadan.
  2. Plan life events such as exams, house moves, family wedding, vacation, etc. taking place right after Ramadan. Plan accordingly so that you are prepared for these events before Ramadan starts and they don’t take time away from your worship.
  3. Do breathing exercises before every recitation and during adhkar during the day.
  4. Ensure that you are not backbiting, slandering or talking about useless things.
  5. Develop a maintenance cycle of house chores.
  6. Practice delegating and not feeling guilty about asking for other’s help.
  7. Cut down your social media time to make more time for ibadah.

Ramadan Checklist:
To help you and your loved ones make the most out of Ramadan, we’ve created these downloadable Ramadan checklists for you to print:

-Children: Download pdf here

-Adults: Coming soon, InshAllah!

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