As Ramadan comes to a close, I want to write a brief post to serve as a reminder for myself first and foremost. Perhaps others will benefit too.
I am considering three things as we exit the month:
1) Time spent in Ghaflah (heedlessness) must be reduced. Ibn al-Qayyim in Madarij as-Salikeen differentiates this from Nisyaan (forgetfulness) as the latter is accidental and not intentional. Even if just one hour or 30 mins less of scrolling a day or being more conscious of time in general. Allah ﷻ says in Surah al-‘Araf: “Remember your Lord inwardly with humility and reverence and in a moderate tone of voice, both morning and evening. And do not be one of the heedless.”
2) One thing from the month must be taken forward even if not at the same pace. For e.g., if someone did a khatm of the Quran in Ramadan, then try to continue doing a khatm perhaps not in a month but over two or three months. But maintain something from it.
3) The Ramadan goals that we would like to achieve should be considered from now. Again, if someone did a khatm of the Quran in Ramadan, then next year perhaps they may want to aim for two or three khatms. The goal should be an improvement in quantity and quality ideally, or at the very least an improvement in the latter (but be wary of using that as an excuse to purposefully do less).
And Allah knows best.
May Allah ﷻ make our Eid a blessed and happy one, and may He grant us His Mercy, accept all of our good deeds, and forgive all of our sins and shortcomings. Ameen.