One week down. The pace of Ramadan shifts now — what felt slow at the start suddenly accelerates. Make full use of what remains.
A quick note on the dhikr of Ramadan before we begin. Scholars from Tarim combined two narrations — one about the four things to repeat in Ramadan, and Sayyidatuna Aisha’s question about what to say on Laylatul Qadr — into a single formula:
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah. Astaghfirullah. Nas’alukal jannata wa na’udhu bika minan nar.
Repeat this as often as you can throughout the month — after prayers, while waiting for iftar, in quiet moments. It covers everything: testimony, repentance, hope, and protection.
Shaitan Can See You. You Can’t See Him.
“He and his gang can see you from where you cannot see them.”
This is sobering. The enemy has full visibility. We have none. Which means our protection cannot come from observation — it has to come from consistent spiritual practice. Morning and evening adhkar. Daily Quran. This is not optional maintenance. It is armour against an enemy we cannot see.
Many of my teachers like, Sheikh Ahmad Mamduh, Habib Kadhim, and others have said the same thing independently: if you cannot do anything else, do your morning and evening adhkar. That is the minimum. That is the protection.
And if you find even the full adhkar too much to manage right now, Sheikh Ahmad Mamduh gave three short supplications — morning and evening — to start with. Build from there.
The Army of Shaitan Has Two Divisions
Shaitan, the army of Iblis, comes in two forms. The unseen — the jinn we cannot perceive. And the visible — human beings who beautify evil and invite others toward it.
The second category is worth an honest look. Because sometimes, without realising it, we moonlight in that role. The friend who convinces you to skip Taraweeh. The voice that says the night is long, iftar was light, surely one more gathering won’t hurt. Good intentions, perhaps. But the effect is the same — drawing someone a step further from where they should be.
Be careful not to accidentally serve on the wrong team.
