How can we maintain our spiritual enthusiasm after Ramadan is over?

The Holy Prophet ^sas said:

When Ramadan arrives, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of hell are locked up and satans are put in chains.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 59, Hadith 86; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 1)

If satans are put in chains when Ramadan arrives, then will satans be released when Ramadan ends? The answer is: Yes, to an extent. The special blessings of Ramadan enhance our motivation to do good deeds in a way that is not present in the remaining months; the Holy Prophet ^sas said:

There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month… In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months; whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.

(Sunan an-Nasa’i, vol. 3, Book 22, Hadith 2,108)

Also, the special discipline of Ramadan protects us from falling into sin in a way that is not present in the remaining months; Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra said:

Man trains in abstaining from that which is haram for eleven months, but in the twelfth month, he trains in abstaining not from that which is haram, but from that which is halal.

(Tafsir- e-Kabir, vol. 2, p. 380)

There is no doubt that after Ramadan, we become more vulnerable to sin than we were during Ramadan, and there is a risk that we may lose the spiritual progress we made during Ramadan. However, this is not cause for despair, in fact, being aware of this phenomenon is the first step to preventing it from catching us off guard. It is ignorance of this reality that leads to the despair that can cause us to lose the spiritual progress made during Ramadan.

Being ignorant of the different standard of spirituality we have during Ramadan, as opposed to the remainder of the year, can lead us to fall into dangerous spiritual pits during the eleven months after Ramadan. There is a similarity between the blessings of the presence of Ramadan and the blessings of the presence of the Holy Prophet ^sas that can help us understand how seriously we can falter when we misgauge the effects our spiritual environment has on us. Some orientalists object that the Holy Prophet ^sas brought no lasting change because Muslims started fighting soon after his demise. However, Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV ^rta explained that this is not a correct comparison. The condition of the Muslims during his lifetime was the result of the special blessings of his ^sas holy presence. If an honest comparison is to be made, we have to observe the difference between the standard of the Arabs before his ^sas coming and their standard after his ^sas demise. It is unfair to compare the high standard they were kept at under the blessings and discipline of his supervision with their standard in his absence. Hudur ^rta explained that the Arabs were like a spring that had been stretched by the Holy Prophet ^sas. When he ^sas left them, it was inevitable that the spring would retract after it was released; however, it did not retract anywhere close to its original position. Thus, the low of inhumanity that the Arabs were capable of falling to before his ^sas coming was incomparable to the morality and civility that was found in them after his ^sas demise.  To disregard the standard of the Arabs before the coming of the Holy Prophet ^sas and to only compare their standard during his ^sas life with their standard after his life is a flawed comparison that overlooks the great revolution he ^sas brought about in their spirituality and character (Question Answer Session, July 30, 1984).

The presence of the month of Ramadan is similar, and the flawed comparison we sometimes make between our condition during Ramadan and our condition afterward can overlook the great revolution that Ramadan brought about in our spirituality and character. After Ramadan, we sometimes start thinking that Ramadan brought no lasting change in us because our spiritual state falls after it is over. However, this is not a correct comparison and this mentality creates despair. Our standard during Ramadan is the result of the special blessings and discipline of this holy month. If we wish to make an honest comparison, we have to observe the difference between the standard of our spirituality before Ramadan and after Ramadan. During Ramadan, we are like a spring that has been stretched, and when Ramadan ends, it is inevitable that the spring retracts after it has been released. However, we must remember that the spring does not retract anywhere close to its original position. Thus, the low that our spirituality can fall to before Ramadan is incomparable to the low it can fall to after Ramadan.

Being unaware of this reality can pull us into despair and ingratitude. This miscalculation on our part causes us to overlook the great spiritual progress we made, and when we hold ourselves to an unreasonable standard, we set ourselves up to spiral downwards. Just as orientalists fail to appreciate the great change the Holy Prophet ^sas brought about in the Arabs because of their flawed comparisons, for similar reasons, we sometimes fail to appreciate the great change Ramadan brought about in us because of our flawed comparisons.

It is important that we not just concentrate on the best we are able to do, like observing tahajjud, but also the least we are able to do, like observing our obligatory prayers. If a person continuously feels guilty about how he is no longer as regular in tahajjud as he was in Ramadan, this negative mentality can make him despair to the point that he may even start missing his obligatory prayers. On the other hand, if a person is continuously grateful that he can observe his obligatory prayers with greater punctuality than he did before Ramadan, this positive mentality can motivate him to become as regular in tahajjud as he was in Ramadan. If we wish to make an honest analysis of the great change that the Holy Prophet ^sas brought about in the Arabs, we have to look at how low they would fall before the Holy Prophet ^sas and how their standard had dramatically improved in the lows they fell to after the Holy Prophet ^sas. Similarly, if we wish to appreciate the great change Ramadan brought about in us, we have to look at how low we would spiritually fall before Ramadan, and how our standard has dramatically improved in the lows we spiritually fall to after Ramadan. To temporarily fall back after Ramadan is inevitable, what defines our success in recovering is how prepared we are to handle that spiritual fall when it comes.

The question remains, how can we maintain our spirituality after Ramadan? Ramadan itself teaches us this lesson. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra described two types of Lailatu’l-Qadr (the Night of Destiny), one is the Collective Night of Decree (Ijtema’i Lailatu’l-Qadr) and the other is the Individual Night of Decree (Inferadi Lailatu’l-Qadr). About the Individual Lailatu’l-Qadr, he ^ra writes:

On whichever night Allah Almighty decides about a believer that, “From now on, he is certainly our heavenly servant,” that is his Lailatu’l-Qadr, and Ramadan is not a prerequisite for this night. At any time during the year, a person’s Lailatu’l-Qadr can happen. Allah Almighty is Gracious and Merciful, and these two attributes of His are always manifesting themselves.

Thus, aside from the appointed times of the special blessings of Allah Almighty, it was necessary that there be another system of blessings that manifests itself at every moment, and that is the system of individual blessings. The Lailatu’l-Qadr of different believers happens on different days, and in this way, the blessings of Allah Almighty descend daily on his servants throughout the whole year.

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, vol 9, p. 328)

About the Collective Lailatu’l-Qadr, he ^ra writes:

Then, once during the year, in memory of the revelation of the Holy Quran, the blessings of Allah Almighty collectively descend on the whole umma in one night during the last ten days of Ramadan, and that is the major Lailatu’l-Qadr.

(Tafsir- e-Kabir, vol 9, p. 328)

The lessons that we learn searching for the Collective Lailatu’l-Qadr during Ramadan teach us how to search for the Individual Lailatu’l- Qadr during the other eleven months. For example, in the last ten days of Ramadan, one lesson is that we search for the Collective Lailatu’l- Qadr with a sense of urgency, knowing that time for finding it is quickly running out. Another lesson is that we search with a feeling of certainty, knowing that these are blessed days and Allah Almighty will definitely reward our efforts. Unfortunately, after Ramadan, these feelings of urgency and certainty are often replaced with feelings of laziness and doubt. Thus, forgetting these critical lessons we learned in Ramadan ends up holding us back daily during the eleven months that follow. To find the Individual Lailatu’l-Qadr, we have to search using the same lessons we learned in Ramadan while searching for the Collective Lailatu’l-Qadr—with a sense of urgency and certainty. The search for the Collective Lailatu’l-Qadr ends with Ramadan, but it teaches us the importance of creating a sense of urgency and feeling
of certainty throughout the next eleven months in our search for the Individual Lailatu’l-Qadr.

Another lesson Ramadan teaches us is resilience. During the year, sometimes we feel spiritually high (bast), and sometimes we feel spiritually low (qabdh). As a result, we sometimes spiritually progress in bursts; when we are in a state of bast, we feel motivated and make strides forward, and when we are in a state of qabdh, we can sometimes despair and our discipline can spiral downwards, and we wait for the next state of bast to try again. However, during Ramadan, no matter how low we feel spiritually, we observe fasts on a daily basis. Even if a person falters and misses tahajjud, and sehri, and even Fajr, if he made the intention to fast, he still keeps his fast and does not allow his fail- ings to disturb his Ramadan discipline of fasting daily. No matter how low our motivation drops, Allah Almighty maintains a base level of discipline in us that weathers every storm of satanic attack. This is a valuable lesson to hold on to during the remainder of the year. After Ramadan, when our spirituality inevitably falls back, we must have a baseline of discipline that we refuse to back down from no matter how low our motivation falls. Ramadan teaches us that no matter what the circumstances, we must keep certain good deeds that we do as a bare minimum to maintain our spirituality when we need it the most.

Ramadan itself gives us training on the principles of sustaining the spiritual progress we gain during Ramadan. To avoid the pitfalls that come after Ramadan, we must not just be aware of the most we can do but also the least we can do so that we are saved from ingratitude; the Holy Prophet ^sas said:

Look at those who are inferior to you and do not look at those who are superior to you, for this will keep you from belittling Allah’s Favour to you.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55)

We must maintain the sense of urgency and certainty that Ramadan taught us, and continue striving with steadfastness for the remaining eleven months. In his sermon on October 28, 2005, Hudur ^aba said that it is the requisite of prayer that it is made with patience and not haste. Hudur ^aba said that the condition is that patience is not abandoned after Ramadan. The first step to overcoming the trials that come after Ramadan is to be aware ahead of time that spiritual trials will indeed come after Ramadan. The spiritual progress we gain during Ramadan can then be put into perspective and help us to further progress during the rest of the year.