Which acts of worship are recommended to perform during Ramadan?
Aside From Fasting, Which Worship Should We Perform During Ramadan?
Recommended Acts of Worship during Ramadan
For each letter of the Quran read in Ramadan, is written thousands of thawab
Ramadan is the month of the Holy Quran. In addition, other holy books were also sent down in Ramadan.
While ten thawabs (rewards) are given for each letter of the Quran at other times, thousands of thawabs are given for each Quran letter in Ramadan.
Every Ramadan, Gabriel used to read Quran throughly and our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to listen. Then Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to read in Masjid to Sahabas and Gabriel used to accompany him.
He who performs tarawih prayer (night prayer) during Ramadan will be cleansed from his sins
“Allah (swt) has made Ramadan fasting obligatory. I have made the night prayer (tarawih) sunnah. He who fasts and observes night prayers believing the virtues and seeking his reward from Allah (swt), He will be saved from his sins as a newborn baby.” (Nasai)
“When it is the first night of Ramadan; the doors of skies and the Paradise are opened. And This continues until the last night (of the Ramadan). Whoever (man or woman); for every sajdah that he makes one of the nights of Ramadan, one thousand seven hundred hasanah (rewards) will be recorded. A palace made of red ruby will be built for him and each of its doors will have two wings embroidered with red ruby.” (Al-Ghunyat’ut-Talibin)
“During Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Abu Bakr (ra)’s time tarawih prayers were being performed individually and this continued until the beginning of Umar’s (ra) caliphate. Upon the order of Umar (ra), tarawih prayers have been started to be performed in congregation led by Ubay bin Ka’ab (ra). Therefore, performing Tarawih prayer in congregation is called “the sunnah of Umar (ra)” (Kutub Al-Sittah)
To seek forgiveness (Istighfaar) herewith the Ramadan fasting is a means to enter Jannah without queries and questions
Kab narrates that;
“He who spends Ramadan fasting and promises himself (his nafs) for not to rebel against Allah (swt) after Ramadan, he will enter Paradise without queries and questions.” (Commentary of the Holy Quran with Hadiths, Ibn Kathir)
Spending the Ramadan nights in worship (particularly the last ten nights) in Ramadan (particularly at the last ten nights of Ramadan) is a means of forgiveness for the previous sins
“Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari)
Narrated Aisha:
With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers.
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Religious scholars say it (tightening his waist belt) is an allusion that Beloved Prophet (pbuh) used to abandon his wives (used to remain apart from them) during the last ten days of Ramadan.
The superiority of the Fridays of Ramadan is like the superiority of Ramadan to other months
Jabir (ra) narrates;
“The superiority of Friday -in Ramadan- over other months is like the superiority of Ramadan to the other months.” (Daylami)
According to Hadith, each word of the All-Wise Quran has ten merits; each is counted as ten merits and will yield ten fruits in Paradise. While during Ramadan, each word bears not ten fruits but a thousand, and verses like Ayat al-Kursi thousands for each word, and on Fridays in Ramadan it is even more. And on the Night of Power, each word is counted as thirty thousand merits.
Indeed, the All-Wise Quran, each of whose words yield thirty thousand eternal fruits, is like a luminous Tree of Tuba that gains for believers in Ramadan millions of those eternal fruits. (Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Letters)
Performing itikaf brings two hajj and two umrah thawabs
Ibn Abbas narrates:
Prophet (pbuh) said stated about the person who performs itikaf:
“He fastens the sins and it he is given beneficence as though he made all good deeds.” (Al Kutub al-Sitta)
“He who observes the ten days Itikaf during Ramadan will obtain the thawaab of two Hajj and two Umrah.” (Bayhaqi)
The one -who wants to perform Itikaf- should perform in last ten days of Ramadan.
Performing umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to hajj in terms of thawab
The Umrah performed in Ramadan is equivalent to hajj (in Reward). (Tirmidhi)
“Whoever reaches Ramadan in Makkah and fasts and performs the tarawih prayer as much as he can, Allah (swt) will give him a hundred thousand thawabs of Ramadan (except that Ramadan) and He (swt) will give him as much thawab as he freed a slave for each day. He (swt) will give him as much thawab as he freed a slave for each night. For each day, he obtains as much thawab as he gave alm as much as a horse’s load. Thawab for everyday and thawab for every night..” (Ibn Majah)
“A month of Ramadan spent in Madina is better than a thousand Ramadan months spent outside of it. A Friday spent in Madina is better than a thousand Fridays spent outside of it. (Tabarani)
“A month of Ramadan spent in Makka is better than a month of Ramadan which is spent in another place.” (Bazzar)
He who quenches the thirst of a fasting person won’t be thirsty on the day of Judgement
“Whoever quenches the thirst of a fasting person, Allah (swt) makes him drink from my pond such that he will never feel thirsty again until he enters Paradise.” (Bayhaqi)
He who gives iftar (fast breaking meal) to fasting people, Gabriel performs musafaha with him
In one of the narrations of Abu Shayh, Ibn-i Hıbban, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that;
“Whoever offers iftar to a fasting person out of one’s halal (lawful) income in the month of Ramadan, on all the nights of Ramadan, the angels pray for him and at Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power) the Gabriel performs ‘musafaha’ (shaking hands) with him. With whomever Gabriel performs musafaha, his heart becomes tender and tears in his eyes increase.”
The narrator says:
When I asked “O Messenger of Allah! If he does not have anything to offer iftar to the fasting person, what should he do?”
He (pbuh) said:
“A handful of food is also enough.”
When I asked “What if one does not have a morsel of bread?”
He (pbuh) said:
“Then he should offer milk blended with water.”
When I asked “What if one does not have it, either?”
He (Pbuh):
“A sip of water.” (Bayhaqi)
Whoever offers meal to a fasting person, he will be bestowed as much thawabs (rewards) as the fasting person, moreover nothing becomes less of the thawabs of the fasting person.” (Tirmidhi)
The charity (sadaqa) given in Ramadan is regarded as the most virtuous charity
Hadrat Anas (ra) narrates;
“The most virtuous sadaqa (charity) is the one given in the month of Ramadan.” (Salim ar-Razi)