Important Actions to Take Before the End of Ramadan:
Before Ramadan ends, it is essential to remember and perform a few significant acts to conclude this blessed month with full and proper benefit. These actions help compensate for shortcomings and deficiencies, leading to Allah’s pleasure and the acceptance of our fasting and other Ramadan worships.
Allama Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah protect him) recommended three actions in one of his sermons during the last days of Ramadan, saying:
1. Gratitude:
The first action is gratitude—being thankful that Allah Almighty granted us the opportunity to experience another Ramadan. Many of our friends and loved ones who were with us last Ramadan are not among us this year. They long for the chance to have witnessed this Ramadan and to have their good deeds recorded in their book of deeds.
We should also be grateful for the ability to engage in worship, such as reciting the Quran, fasting, performing Tarawih prayers, and other righteous deeds. There are many who remained heedless of these acts of worship and were unaware of how Ramadan began and ended. Therefore, we should sincerely thank Allah for granting us the ability to perform these acts of devotion.
2. Seeking Forgiveness (Istighfar):
The second important action is seeking forgiveness. We must repent for not fulfilling the rights of Ramadan as we should have. In fasting, prayers, and Quran recitation, we may have had shortcomings, and we must seek Allah’s forgiveness for them while also being grateful for the divine opportunity to worship Him.
3. Sincere Repentance (Tawbah):
Allama Usmani (may Allah protect him) further stated that the third action to take is sincere repentance. A Muslim should sincerely pray:
“O Lord! Ramadan is coming to an end, and I repent wholeheartedly from all my past sins.”
Repentance is essential because if Ramadan passes and our sins are not forgiven, we risk falling under the warning in a hadith of the Prophet (PBUH). In one of his sermons, the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“As I stepped onto the pulpit, I said ‘Ameen’ three times. After the sermon, the Companions asked why. The Prophet (PBUH) replied: ‘On the first step, Jibreel prayed: May the one who hears your name and does not send blessings upon you be ruined. I said: Ameen. On the second step, Jibreel prayed: May the one who finds his parents in old age but fails to attain forgiveness through serving them be ruined. I said: Ameen. On the third step, Jibreel prayed: May the one who witnesses Ramadan but does not have his sins forgiven be ruined. I said: Ameen.’”
This means that if someone cannot seize the opportunity for forgiveness in Ramadan—a month of mercy, fasting, Tarawih, and blessed moments of iftar—they are truly unfortunate and at a great loss.
To avoid this warning, we must give special attention to seeking forgiveness and repentance before Ramadan ends. Repentance is not a difficult or complicated act; we simply need to sincerely seek Allah’s forgiveness with remorse for our past sins and make a firm commitment not to return to them. If this repentance is accompanied by two units of prayer, it will have an even greater effect.
Furthermore, Eid al-Fitr is also a time of divine forgiveness. We must be cautious not to taint our celebrations with sin and disobedience. We should not become so engrossed in entertainment and joy that we lose all the spiritual gains we earned during Ramadan.
May Allah accept our acts of worship and keep us all protected from sins.
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