Rerouting – Setting attainable goals

In our first exit we discussed how Ramadan is a month of blessings. Today we move on with the famous question: ” What is your goal for Ramadan this year?” This question seems to be the center of every influencer’s post. A wonderful question, however does the answer have to be fancy and long or can it be short and sweet. Let’s see what kind of goals we need to have in Ramadan.

Consistency is Sunnah:

Prophet SAW preferred that a good deed be done regularly. It could be something very short and small but if it is done regularly it is the best.

What should my Ramadan goals list look like?

The goals list should first and foremost include all obligations. So :

1. 5 daily prayers on time
2. Fasting in Ramadan if able to do so (as in not ill etc.)
3. Personal Obligations (Halal): Work, school, children, family etc.- many people have these obligations they have to meet no matter what. It is important to keep in mind that any obligation you have to meet as a responsibility and happiness of Allah it is a reward. 

Now after this point – we can go ahead and add extra goals. How do we pick and choose the goals?

Ramadan Goal Guidelines:

1. Choose an area of growth. For some of us it maybe even praying all 5 salahs. For others it maybe increasing dhikr and Quran recitation or increasing charity. It may be picking a sunnah we can follow everyday- for example saying Salam first or doing miswak before each Salah.
2. Don’t compare yourself with others. It takes away the essence of spirituality. Others around us have compared us so much in life that we think spirituality is a competition. Everyone has a different lifestyle. If someone is able to finish Quran multiple times a month or pray more nawafil etc. maybe they do not have a full time job or a family to take care of. Allah gave each one of us our own story to live and we need to accept it. Allah will not compare us to others when rewarding us. His measures of success are beyond that.
3. Not all ibadah is nafl prayer or Quran recitation. If you are volunteering that is an ibadah, if you are earning an halal income for your family it is an ibadah and if you are taking care of your family it is an ibadah. All acts done with the intention of making Allah happy are ibadah. It is not a one size only situation.
4. Remember every action counts. Reading Quran and then being rude to someone doesn’t make it rewarding. Allah’s rewarding criteria is not based on quantity of action but rather quality of character.

Stay on this lane…. Exit 3 coming up … by now we should be thinking of our blessings and some attainable goals!