Asalamu ‘alaikum!
What a beautiful month in which we can come together and build our salat. Ramadan Mubarak! We ask Allah to accept all our deeds from this blessed month and to give us the tawfeeq to push ourselves in pleasing Him, Subhana. To begin our journey, we remind ourselves of the saying our our beloved Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam; may not be directly related to prayers, nonetheless it is important:
“Seek out that which benefits you, seek help only from Allah and never say you can’t do it…” – Saheeh Muslim
GEMS
- If you are sincere and you want to really increase the quality of your salat – seek out the means of doing so!
- Don’t forget that help comes only from Allah…so trust in Him and Him Alone
- Having trust in Allah means working, rolling up your sleeves, and grinding it out
- You can increase the quality of your prayers, know you can, regardless of the obstacles that stand in your way
A basic rule: You cannot reach your destination if you don’t know where you are! How are you going to get to Toronto if you don’t where you’re starting from? Therefore, follow the steps below to get yourself started on this journey.
Step 1: Take the time right now to give yourself a rating from 1-10 on the quality of your salat.
Step 2: Brainstorm factors (~10) which are necessary for you to attain ihsan in your prayers. For example:
- fard prayers
- sunnah prayers
- punctuality
- concentration
- praying in masjid w/ congregation
Step 3: Give your self a rating from 1-10 on each factor.
Step 4: From the list, choose 2-3 factors you want to work on for the next two weeks
Step 5: Monitor these factors and your overall quality of salat frequently until you reach your g17oal.
Don’t brush this off as nothing! If you are committed and sincere…do the exercise now…work comes with the territory.