Avoid This ONE Mistake Post-Ramadan

Assalamu’alaikum,

The biggest mistake you can make post-Ramadan is not what you might expect. It's not missing a prayer on time, forgetting to read the Quran, giving up on fasting, or falling back into old bad habits and sins. No, the biggest mistake you can fall into post-Ramadan is falling into despair.

It's easy to feel like you're not good enough, not strong enough, not [blank] enough. You might think you'll never be better, improve, or evolve into the 2.0 version of yourself. This is Shaytaan's trick during the post-Ramadan period—he wants us to give up on our resolutions and self-improvement plans. He wants us to despair and revert to our pre-Ramadan state, or worse.

So, how do we avoid falling into despair post-Ramadan?

1. Reject an ALL-OR-NOTHING mindset: If you promised yourself that you'd recite a juz of the Quran each day or five pages daily, but you've been unable to pick up the Quran for days, don't give in to the all-or-nothing mentality. Instead, pick up the Quran for a few minutes and do your best to recite what you can.

2. Celebrate small victories: If you've given up on your goal of fasting the six days of Shawwal but managed to fast one or three days this month, celebrate those achievements! Don't beat yourself up or devalue the effort you've put into fasting for at least one day this month.

3. Learn to pick yourself up again, and again, and again: You missed Fajr this morning? Get up, pray Fajr, and set 3 alarms for tomorrow. You committed a sin that you promised Allah you'd never do again? Make wudhu, pray two rak'ahs, ask Allah for forgiveness, give some charity, and engage in sincere istighfar.

The art of becoming a better person post-Ramadan lies in learning how to avoid despair and pick yourself up repeatedly until you are firmly on the straight path toward your Lord.

I hope this helps. Stay strong!

Sincerely,