Life Hack: Ramadhan Edition

Asalaam aleykum warahmatullah😄

Today being the 24th day of this beautiful month of Ramadhan, first I’d like to wish you all a happy, beneficial, life changing and productive last ten days of Ramadhan in shaa Allah. Secondly, I think you can all agree with me on the fact that time has already stolen this precious month from us. And before soon we’ll be looking back on it and say,

Photo Courtesy: Unknown

May Allah make us among those who benefit from each and every second of existence in this month, Ameen. 

With that said, I have been thinking about having a proper guide or like the title, a Ramadhan life hack for these precious times of this month. So I decided to do it myself well, because it’s Ramadhan (them ajirs man) and also since procrastination becomes a myth more easily in this month if you decide it to (two words: Ball and Chain. Hello Shaytaan. God I love this month).

So I did as much researching as I could, surfed through for productive ideas and tips and collected as much info as I could and came up with this article. My only regret is that I didn’t do this earlier. But, In shaa Allah if I do get more info and other productive tips, I will share it on my Facebook over the course of these few days in shaa Allah so be sure to follow me there (the link is on my blog site menu. If you’re using a mobile phone, click the “view web version” at the bottom of the page and all will be made clear).

Disclaimer: I focused more on the tips and hacks because I believe that each and every one of us is aware of how great and precious this month is. And alhamdulillah, we’ve got awesome daa3is and khaatibs who are doing great work in actualizing this to us maa shaa Allah tabaarakallah.  And because of them we make resolutions to sour through this month with the ‘I’m gonna climb Mount Everest as I dominate the realms of dhikr while reciting the whole 30 juz of the Qur’an backwards’- hype, then end up burning out by the end of the first ten days. So I’m hoping these tips will curb this and give you the “How” of it all for these last days in shaa Allah.

Ok, let’s go!

1. Having a guide for what you want to do.

 I’ve talked to enough people and myself to realize that, we have all these great activities and deeds, projects even that we would like to accomplish and/or start over this Ramadhan period but, we have no idea how we are going to “find the time” for them. Instead we end up using most of our time wrong and before we know it, its whatsapp inbox overload with Eid messages and memes. 

The hack that I came across almost goes around this float. It‘s a checklist I discovered a few years back. It was made by a muslimah deen nasiha youtube channel called ‘Dust 2 Diamonds’ and maa shaa Allah it has it all. It’s so detailed you don’t have to do everything. It has both daily and weekly activities and even special columns for every Friday in Ramadhan; but since it was made 4 years ago, I suspect it will be a bit off on the days. 

D2d Checklist

D2d Checklist

Click here to download the checklist for printing or reference.

Just by using this checklist, you can have your day planned out for you. All you have to do, is comply.

2. Everything Productive.

Time waits for no man…unless you are a productive one. Of all the resource out there, this to me, is the cherry on the tip of this ice-cream. We are down to the last ten days now. In other words, we are down to constantly living with anxiety for ten days of doing our best that haunts us every now because we have no guide in doing so. 
To hack this, Productive Muslim designed a 30- day E-book called 30 tips for a Guilt Free Ramadhan. Six days left though 😑 .  I know, where were you? Where was I? 😜 Well, we are here now so, let’s use the most of it. Besides, they’ll come in handy next season in shaa Allah.

View of the E book

It’s so convenient for the whole month inclusive of the amp up required for these last 10 days, designing it in a simple, practical and efficient way. 

Beginning of the last 10 Days

And let’s not get into how short it is. It’s like basically reading one slide, per day: a little gift for our short attention span 😝

Day by Day Guide

Download it here and make time wait for you. Be productive.

Ps, here’s a pic I came across giving you a beautiful summary of habits to develop on these tenfold of days. Save it from this site. 

Photo Courtesy: Unknown

3. Qur’an

If there’s anything that brings more lucidity to what your month was all about, it’s this five letter word, Quran. Talk about Al-Bayyinah (clarity) right? By now, the number of juz you are in should give you a hint of how much time you’ve invested in the Qur’an; you know, with it being the Month of the Qur’an and all; no judgment. But not to worry, although I did not find a hack that can make you finish the Qur’an in one night, but what I found is worthwhile.

Sheikh Omar Suleiman, may Allah have mercy on him, created a 30 on 30 juz playlist last Ramadhan that entails brushing over one juz each day for all the thirty days of this month. With each summary lasting an average of 30 minutes, it’s really convenient since he explains the flow of the ayaats, the reason for revelation and how all the juz transcend the message from the beginning to that juz, and more.

Click here for the videos

The awesome part about these videos though is that, like Sheikh Omar’s intention, they are meant to prepare you for each day’s Taraweh prayers. If you are fortunate enough to perform these the good old one-juz-per-day—fashioned way, this will be a blast for thee. 

You know how the imam speeds through the verses so that he may finish at par with the month, and you end up just hearing arabic words fly by until you zone out or worse(doze off 😂) while still standing? Yeah, this is the soup for you. With this, you know what the Arabic words talk about and if you understand Arabic just a little bit, you will have the pleasure of actually enjoying Taraweh prayers because at night, the Qur’an hits home.

I do realize that Youtube isn’t cheap and downloading those sessions can be an economical nightmare for many, so if you don’t have internet connection at home or isn’t a student like me (campus wi-fi), then try cyber café. They are reasonably cheap and are available almost everywhere.

Ps, keep on reading that one juz or more every day, no matter how far behind you are. And if you can, throw in some translation into the mix. Disappointment in Islam is not having done something (good deeds of course), but not doing it after you realize you should have. So just do it! 💪😛


4. Food: Happiness or Death trap?

Photo Courtesy: Unknown

It’s almost impossible to talk about food when it comes to Ramadhan. Wait, nope, it’s impossible.  I haven’t really planned on making enemies by ranting about how Ramadhan is supposed to reduce the budget for food or how cold drinks and oily foods be like petrol to your diesel engine body while fasting so, let’s save it for another day. Besides, most of the times we are our own enemies. 

Anyways, food is part and parcel of this blessed month and for the sake of spicy samosas, meaty kebabs, barbecued mshikakis and everything covered in sugar, we’ll accept them all as important ingredients to our survival and more so, a proper iftar for our day long fasts. In other words, we’ll go easy on them.

When you fast, you give your body a chance to detoxify and rid itself of the accumulated chemicals and fatty poisons residing in your blood streams. This is good, like air after an asthma attack or fajr after a horrid nightmare. Refreshing. Unfortunately, this only lasts until iftar arrives…..It’s a one man standing match, man vs. everything edible. I believe this is why we have extraordinary cases of people weighing more after Ramadhan than before. #R.I.P logic. 

Photo Courtesy: Unknown

After any activity or exercise, one becomes tired and sour. Any activity after that is torture. Now picture one from a One Man Standing showdown attending Taraweh Prayers….Sometimes you feel bad for them and sometimes for yourself too when you standing at Taraweh sweating like the water works in Dubai and you ain’t even thirsty. Maybe Ramadhan is the only time you get to eat such delicacies. Maybe fasting is your hardest ibaadah to accomplish; husnul dhanna is Sunnah you know #feelingyourpain.

Photo Courtesy: Unknown

Another struggle is proficient during fasting. This is one of those days that the sun becomes too hot it fries and all your muscles are on strike just opening you eyelids after blinking becomes tiresome just thinking about it. All this is related to food intake. And not the one you missed taking after sleeping over suhoor (sehri) time. 
So below are the hacks I came across that ensure you enjoy such pleasures and still be on the safer side.

Ø Have your Iftar at the mosque:  By opening your fast at the mosque, you’ll have to carry a reasonable amount of food there. This means no over doing it and also getting Maghreb prayer in totality with concentration as a bonus. 

Ø Always eat samosas and family after the main meal: After praying Maghreb, get down with the main meal and chow down all of them nutrients. Afterwards, the snacking doors are open for your liking. By doing so, you’ve taken care of your body’s needs for proper upkeep. Do it well, and you can have all the kebabs you want man. Win the Hunger Games😛.

Ø Drink A-lot of water: When I say a lot, I mean A LOT of H2O—Swish swashing sound coming from your tummy a lot. Your body needs it to detoxify and keep you hydrated, especially after the half month mark.

Ø STAY AWAY FROM FIZZY DRINKS. NO ONE WOULD WANT A PACKET OF SALT FOR IFTAR. FIZZY DRINKS ARE PACKETS OF SALT. DON’T DO IT. IT’S NOT WORTH IT.

Ø Take whole grain foods and/or rice for suhoor: Their carbs provide sufficient energy throughout the day and ensure you can blink with ease.

Ø Take a spoon full of plain yoghurt every time you consume oily foods at sehri time: Plain yoghurt has the awesome ability to wash down the cholesterol from oily foods of which cause lethargy and sluggish feel when consumed in large amounts or taken as suhoor for fasting. N/B: Notice that I have stated PLAIN yoghurt. Flavoured yoghurt are impostors. Even salt looks like sugar you know 😑.

Ø Eat Bananas: Bananas contain potassium that prevents you from experiencing thirst. This is golden for fasting with at sehri time so, get peeling.

Ø Oh Napping: Fajr time is so near to suhoor time. Napping after finishing suhoor not only promotes indigestion and minimum absorption of nutrients by your body, but also causes laziness, sluggishness, missing most, all or the whole fajr jamaat completely. DON’T DO IT. Instead, get ready for fajr prayers by going to the masjid early and getting a head start on that day’s juz.

Ø Dates and Milk: Be sure to incorporate dates and milk to your suhoor diet plan. They are perfect for nourishing the body with energy for demanding works and also acts as natural relaxers. They are also a Sunnah of the Prophet aleyhi salatu wa salaam.

PS, if you liked these tips, be sure to check out my other article on food here. It's a real bitter sweet war of an article that one. Bone appetite 😁


Finally, I’d like to take this moment to recognize our mothers, sisters and daughters for making this Ramadhan the tastiest one yet. They have worked double time with cooking for us amidst their day to day lives, every day, 30 days a month. May Allah have mercy on them, Ameen.    

Photo Courtesy😍: sadly, Unknown😔 

For their awesome courage, I dedicate this site to them so that they can get more time for their selves and their Lord. It features easy make and slow furnish meals that all you and your beautiful and skilled hands can choose from depending on the time you have to spare. 

Photo Courtesy: the Huffington Post

Click here to cook with no despair 😋

It’s not much compared to your efforts but, I do hope it gives you time for some rest, as well as time to indulge in ibaadat. Allah bless you generous beings, Ameen.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow in shaa Allah. Until then, Ramadhan Mukaram.