Six Easy Ways to Maximize the Barakah in Ramadan

With our countless responsibilities and the never ending demands of everyday life, many of us struggle to find the time to achieve our goals in Ramadan. We feel overwhelmed and the lack of time leaves us disappointed at the end of each day. Nonetheless, a simple yet profound concept has the potential to transform our Ramadan and entire life around!

It is Barakah. But what is Barakah? It is not about having more, rather the ability to do more with the less that you have. Barakah is Allah  granting us immense blessings in what we have, bestowing upon us exponential increases in our time and rizq. Generating outstanding results with the minimalist of efforts; that is the essence of Barakah! And what better time to start implementing this life-transforming concept than in Ramadan, the month of Barakah and the month wherein the most blessed book was sent down?

1)   Maximize Your Intention

Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:

I heard Allah’s Messenger saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended…” ¹

This is the secret formula by which Allah  would magnify our rewards beyond imagination! Think of two people performing wudhu’: one is doing it with the intention of praying, whilst the other adds to that the intention of cleansing himself of every misdeed committed by his limbs, getting closer to Allah by purifying himself both physically and spiritually as well as performing a sunnah of the beloved . Which of these two will receive an abundant reward? Without a doubt, it is the person who had multiple intentions for this one single deed. Bountiful rewards await such a person due to the power and magnitude of the intention; an effortless deed that many of us are heedless to.

We must revive this beautiful teaching during Ramadan for greater Barakah in our actions. Whether you are reciting the Qur’an or cooking iftar in the kitchen; be sure to maximize your intention, because every seemingly small deed carries magnanimous rewards!

2) The Qur’an

“And this [Qur’an] is a Book We have revealed [which is] blessed, so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy.” ²

Allah  describes the Qur’an as blessed, and this is a fact that every reader would testify to. I have personally experienced this myself, the more I recite from the Qur’an, the more barakah there is in my time, the more I can achieve with the exact same hours that I have every single day. How many of us would wish for extra hours during the day to complete unfinished tasks? With this blessed book, you won’t need them.

Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an, where our daily recitations increase and where we reflect and ponder upon the words of Allah. Simply reading a few more pages will grant you unimaginable barakah in your time and innumerable hasanat for every letter you recite, leaving you with a heart filled with peace and tranquility.

3)   Utilize the Morning Hours

Narrated Sakhr al-Ghamidi:

The Prophet said: “O Allah, bless my people in their early mornings.” ³

The morning hours after fajr are a treasure for every human being. These hours are especially blessed by Allah and those who do not utilize them are indeed in great loss. It is in these blissful hours that one is able to have clarity of thought, away from all distractions, by which they are able to complete a number of tasks that would have otherwise taken up an entire day. This is a fundamental aspect of productivity that all experts call for; these are the golden hours that we cannot forsake. Whether you are a student with multiple exams, a young mother with little children who expend most of your time and energy, or a student of the Qur’an striving to memorize a new surah, this is the ideal time for you to start working, try it and watch how your day unfolds!

4)   Less Screen Time

Spending our precious time on petty matters such as the latest updates on social media platforms should be the last thing on our minds during Ramadan. Try to make this a screen-free month, except for checking important messages and beneficial posts, thereby making time for the revival of your heart and the purification of your soul with minimal distractions.

We claim to be spending only five minutes on our devices, but it is never just five minutes. Our time is a gift from Allah, a gift that we will be held accountable for, and every passing minute is one that we will never be able to get back. You will be astonished by the time that will be freed up for you with less technology; you will find greater barakah in it, thus a chance to increase your credit of good deeds.

5)   Fill Your Time Gaps

One must be conscious of their daily tasks to be able to fully utilize the gaps during their day. If you are a student commuting then you can spend the few extra minutes you have to read the Qur’an, or if you are waiting for a meal to be cooked, you can utilize the minutes of delay for dhikr and istighfar by which your reward will be increasing perpetually. We must train our tongues to be continuously remembering Allah during the blessed hours of fasting so as not to be from the people of heedlessness. Fill your time gaps with sunnah acts that are inherently engulfed by immense Barakah: Start every act with bismillah, be consistent with the morning and evening adhkar, express gratitude to Allah and He will increase you, these are all ways to significantly magnify the Barakah in your day, simple deeds yet promising mountains of rewards!

6) Seek the Blessed Times for Dua’

Especially during Ramadan, our tongues should become moist with dhikr and dua’, and although we should be making dua’ at all times, there are certain hours that cannot be missed. These would include:

• The last third of the night,
• Between the adhan and iqama,
• Before breaking your fast,
• In sujood

These timings are of infinite blessings, where Allah  promises to answer our dua’s, so how can we abandon them and instead busy ourselves with trivial, unimportant matters?

The ultimate source of barakah in our lives is Allah , hence, we must constantly be making dua for barakah in our time and deeds. The following dua is asking Allah for barakah in what we have already been given; it is part of the well-known Dua Qunoot and a beautiful one to beseech Allah  with:

{وبارك لي فيما أعطيت}

“wa baarik lee feemaa ‘a’atayta”

“and bless me in what You have bestowed”

A Point for Reflection

Imam Al-Bukhari, the great Muhaddith, had memorized and compiled over 600,000 hadiths in his Saheeh. Imam an-Nawawi, another great scholar, began seeking knowledge at the age of 19 (which is considered quite late), and he passed away at the age of 40. However, within this short span of time he was able to leave behind a tremendous legacy and inspirational books that are referred to until this very day. Where did they get the time to accomplish these things you might wonder? It must have been Barakah!

The blessed month of Ramadan is engulfed with remarkable virtues and blessings, it is the month where every soul races to attain the mercy and forgiveness of the All-Mighty . In it, hearts are rectified, souls are cleansed and thoughts are purified by the mercy of Allah. The ideas outlined in this article are very simple yet enormously impactful if we consistently implement them. Let’s dedicate our time this Ramadan to strengthen the bond with our Creator and climb up the ladder of spiritual growth!

May Allah allow us to witness this long-awaited month and shower upon us His infinite mercy and forgiveness! Ameen.

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