As many khutbahs and reminders we hear about not becoming strangers to the Quran for 11 months of the year, only to dust it off in Ramadan, the truth is that for many of us it’s not always easy.
But the best of days are upon us, and just as the weight of our deeds is increased in the month of Ramadan, so too do our deeds increase in magnitude in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.
So what can you do to reconnect with the book of Allah in these blessed days and in the year ahead?
Here are just a few small but powerful tips:
Use the power of moments
Time is a major crutch for most people.
Work, studies, family commitments, all get in the way of the relationship with the Quran you’ve always wanted.
But here is the harsh truth; nobody has time!
Chances are, your schedule in Ramadan was just as busy as the rest of the year.
The same work, the same school and university deadlines, the same family matters.
The difference is that you made time for the Quran.
The same applies in these blessed ten days of Dhul Hijjah, and for the year ahead.
You have to choose your priority in those spare moments you find in the day.
Whether it’s listening to it on your daily commute to work, reading a few pages on the bus home from school or university, reciting before you go to sleep etc.
Be intelligent with those smaller moments, and you will find more opportunities to recite than you realized.
Take advantage of the Sunnah
Many of us have this idea that reading the Quran has to always be a cover-to-cover effort, as if just reciting it off from memory or opening up a random page isn’t the same.
But why is that? Does reciting a surah you know already not count?
There are moments throughout the week tied in with specific passages and verses of the Quran, that we know carry major reward.
So make the intention to recite those too:
Abu Sa’id al Khudri narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever recites Surah al Kahf on Friday, a light will shine for him between this Friday and the next.”
[Bayhaqi]
Make Surah Kahf a part of your jummah routine! At the very least the first 10 verses.
Likewise take advantage of reciting the Quran in the mornings and evenings, and make it a consistent habit over these ten days.
Jaabir reported that the Prophet ﷺ would not sleep without reciting Surah as-Sajdah and Surah al-Mulk [Tirmidhi]
Focus on consistency
Another major trap people can fall into is setting unrealistic expectations for themselves.
Maybe you found yourself reading 10 pages, 20, a whole juz a day during Ramadan, and though you are trying to find that same energy now, it may not be as easy.
The important thing is consistency.
As you push yourself to read more, try to focus on what is achievable and what you can maintain beyond these ten days.
Set a daily wird; a daily devotional, that you can confidently maintain no matter your circumstances, and make the intention now to commit to it.
As the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”
[Musnad Imam Ahmad]
Make du’a for it
The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are a time for increased supplication, especially the day of ‘Arafah.
So if you are serious and determined to make the Quran your companion for life, then make intense du’a for it as your build these habits.
One beautiful du’a from the Prophet ﷺ relating to this is:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاءُكَ أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، وَجَلاءَ حُزْنِي ، وذَهَابَ هَمِّي
O Allah, I am Your slave, the son of Your male slave, the son of your female slave.
My forehead is in Your Hand (i.e. you have control over me). Your Judgment upon me is assured, and Your Decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself with, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation, or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You, to make the Quran the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my sadness, and the reliever of my distress.
[Hisnul Muslim]
In these blessed days, may Allah make the Quran the spring of our hearts and the light of our chests.
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