5 Quick Tips to Stay Motivated After Ramadan Umm Jamaal ud-Din
After Ramadan it is almost like an anti-climax. Here are some things to help you stay strong:
1. Sincere determination to stay strong and willingness to take the steps to stay steadfast. Think about the lessons learnt from Ramadan, the greatest of which is taqwa. "Take provisions, the greatest of which is taqwa". And in this journey of life, the greatest provision we can take is that of taqwa. So when we say goodbye to Ramadan, we don't say goodbye to the lessons we learnt. We may not feel the sweetness of reciting the Quran as you did in Ramadan, or the sweetness of praying that you felt in Ramadan, but hold tightly to the lessons you learnt in Ramadan and in time, Allah will reward you with the sweetness of eeman that you get through striving to worship Allah upon patience.
2. Mujahadatun nafs - struggling against yourself. Allah mentions the state of the nafs in Surat Yousuf. The natural state is that it inclines you towards procrastination, towards following your desires. You have to constantly go against your nafs and not give in to your nafs. Staying steadfast is not going to be easy. You have to fight against your nafs and fight against the negative forces around you, but in sha Allah if you keep on fighting, Allah opens up His paths for you. "Those who strive for Our sake, We open Our paths for them". Realize that there is no true rest for the believer in this life. Imam Ahmad was once asked, when can I take a rest? He said, when you place your first foot in jannah. That is when a believer gets to take a rest. Don't think it is going to be that easy for us as believers. There are many times when it is not going to be easy for us to practice Islam. But in sha Allah when you keep on striving for Allah's sake, Allah will be with you and will make it easy for you.
3. Place yourself in good company. It is important that you choose good company for yourself, attend lessons in the masjid, learn Quran, attend halaqat al-Ilm (gatherings of knowledge), and try to be with those who motivatr you and push you to be better and not those who are driving you backwards. Even the salaf mention how they would feel low in their eeman. One of them mentioned when he would feel he would slack in his deen, he would go and look at his scholar and his teacher, and whenever he would look at his face and see his righteousness, that is what would give him the energy to keep striving for another week. So be with the righteous people, it helps you to stay motivated.
4. Focus on doing the small consistent deeds. Often, we think about doing all or nothing. But what Allah loves from us is to do small, consistent deeds. The Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam tells us that the most beloved to Allah are those that are the consistent deeds, even if they are small. And I want to ask you all what was it that caused the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam to hear the footsteps of Bilal ahead of him in jannah? When he asked Bilal, what was it that caused me to hear your footsteps before me in jannah, Bilal said the only thing I can think of is that whenever I do wudhu/ghusl, I pray rakatayn (2 rakat sincerely for the sake of Allah). How simple is that deed, and that is the status that he reached through doing that small deed consistently for the sake of Allah.
5. Always ask for the help of Allah. We cannot stay strong without the help of Allah. And it is amazing that when Umm Salamah was asked what was the one dua the prophet used to say? She said the one dua he used to always say is, "O Turner of Hearts, keep my heart firm on your religion". The Prophet used to say this dua and he is the Prophet, and he is asking Allah to keep him steadfast. So if this is how much the Prophet said this dua, how much more are we in need to make this dua? In your sajdah (prostration), make this dua to Allah.
We have always imagined at the time of our death, and we think it is so easy to say the words La ilala illa Allah at that moment. But we need to realize that it is only with the help of Allah that we will be able to say these words. When you are on your deathbed, you are not in your normal state of mind at all. It is only by the help of Allah that you will be able to say these words. If you are one of those who used to remember Allah and be with Allah in your times of ease, then Allah remembers you at the time of shiddah. As the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam told us, know Allah in your times of ease and then Allah will know you in your times of hardship. And one of your greatest hardships is going to be that moment of our death when our soul is leaving our body. May Allah allow us all to have husn al-khatimah, the best ending in sha Allah, and dying upon La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad ar-RasoolAllah.