Spend The Last Half of Ramadhan With Lots of Quran

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

We are into the last half of Ramadhan and soon Ramadhan will be over. If we think of Ramadhan as the month of fasting, iftar, food, sahur and more food, and haven't been learning, memorizing, reading and listening to a lot of Quran, then we have lost a lot.

Allah wants us to think of Ramadhan as the month of the Quran, the month of celebration of Muslim identity as people of Quran. The purpose of fasting is taqwa (to protect oneself from Hellfire).

Allah Most High says,

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٨٣

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - (183) [Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:183]

The purpose of Ramadhan is different than fasting. It is to make it easy for us to build taqwa with the guidance of the Quran.

Allah Most High says,

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. (185) [Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:185]

Allah wants ease for us and He does not want hardship for us. How come fasting got harder and Allah says He wants to make it easy? Fasting builds taqwa and taqwa is what will give us guidance. Allah Most High says in the Quran,

ذَ‌ٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٢

This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah (people who have taqwa)- (2) .

The more you fast the more taqwa you have. The more taqwa you have the more ready you are to take in this guidance. Allah wants guidance to come to you easily but you need a lot of taqwa to get guidance easily. You have to fast a lot to have a lot of taqwa. So this Ramadhan, you fast during the day and build your taqwa, and read and listen to lots Quran day and night to get guidance. You need a proper regimen to build relationship with the Quran.

Allah promises ease in this life and the next for people who have taqwa. He has made taqwa easier for us and through taqwa He has made the access of guidance easier for us in the month of the Quran.

And so we can declare the greatness of Allah based on how He guided us. This is how we declare Allah's greatness -- by fasting and committing ourselves to Quran. And so that, hopefully, we become grateful. Grateful for what? We should be grateful for having been given the gift of the Quran. On top of that we should be grateful that Allah gives us a month in which the one thing that we need most in life -- guidance.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.

Wassalaam