Ramaḍān is (almost) here.
And though we largely neglect to prepare for this great month, (“Prepare? Oh we don’t eat much any way” …), I thought of putting forth a brief emergency plan – for those who like myself were enamoured by Dunyā and genuinely neglected to draw up a plan of action when time was on our side.
The Plan:
The plan is based on how the ṣaḥāba would recite the Qurʾān; they would recite with Tadabbur (which should be our focal point) and they would recite for the sake of reciting (in order to gain the blessings that come with it) and consequently were able to do numerous khatmas.
Consider the months leading to Ramaḍān as practise months, practise reading Qurʾān, familiarise yourself with its words (yes words; do Qurʾānic words roll off your tongue easily?) and, of course, the meanings.
And when Ramaḍān comes you’ll be ready(-ish). Hey, still better than having an exorbitant pantry but an empty heart.
To put it plainly, step one would be to pick up your Muṣḥaf and dust it off. 🙂
Try to read at least a page a day. Or five, one after each ṣalāh. Honestly it hardly takes 2.5 minutes to recite a page if you do it Muʿaiqlī style (about 5 if you do it Ḥuṣarī style) either way, that’s not much.
This would be good practise in order to do a smooth khatma in Ramaḍān.
Also, if you’re memorising or have memorised the Qurʾān, this’ll be an excellent form of revision. (Although if you’re a ḥāfidh then you should be revising a minimum of one juz ʾ per day and even that is called “Revision of the Lazy” in circles of Qurrā ʾ.)
The second step involves understanding the meanings of the Qurʾān. And this is what will help you with Tadabbur. Tadabbur or to reflect on the verses of the Qurʾān – explained here in greater detail – is one of the main purposes of the revelation of the Qurʾān, Allāh says,
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. –Ṣād:29
I would suggest reading a page a day of tafsīr, starting from today. Here I have recommended some books of tafsīr. (Note: if you understand Arabic and would like to read something concise in Arabic, then let me know and I’ll suggest some good tafsīr books.)
When Ramaḍān comes, supposing that you’ve managed to read the tafsīr of 30 pages from the Qurʾān (a realistic number).
You’ll focus on reciting + reflecting on those 30 pages, as you somewhat understand those, along with holding a separate recitation only session in which you’ll do a khatma, bi ʾdhni Allāh.
The reason why I suggest this is because if you were to focus on reciting with understanding only you’d very likely cover a small portion of the Qurʾān. Keep in mind that you might not even spend time to reflect on the āyāt. And if you were to focus solely on reciting without understanding and reflecting then you’re missing out on one of the great purposes of the Qurʾān.
Ramadan is the month of the Qurʾān, we need to make the most of it – in every single way possible.
You know your schedule better, make a timetable that takes your other responsibilities into consideration.
In the end, whatever goals you set – in these practise months and in Ramaḍān – make sure they are realistic and doable.
Wallāhu Walīyut Tawfīq. (And Allāh is the grantor of success.)
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