It is crucial to tie your emotions to your ʿibādāt.
(Remember, the pillars of worship are three: love, hope, and fear—all of which are emotions.)
For this reason, scholars say that it is essential to anticipate the month of Ramaḍān with feelings of happiness, joy, and hope of earning the blessings of this month.
We cannot meet any favour of Allāh with denial, and first step towards denying a favour of Allāh is to undervalue it.
You undervalue the month when you are indifferent to it, when you are not bothered to keep a daily wird of the Qurʾān, when you neglect to dedicatedly pray a portion of the night, or worse, when you dread having to do that; when you dread the long hours of fasting, and the short summer nights resulting in lack of sleep, when you dread your time away from entertainment, when you dread waking up early for suḥūr, or of compromising your daily routine…
Let your first step towards preparing for this month be happiness and anticipation.
For a moment—for a month—forget about all the worries that burden you, put those aside and let all your energy be focused on one thought: How can this month be a means of drawing closer to Allāh; how can this month be a means of washing away sins.
﴾قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴿
﴾Say, “In the bounty of Allāh and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.”﴿
Yūnus:58
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