[The blessed days of Ramadan are passing so quickly. The special days of Allah's great mercy, forgiveness and favours are going; therefore, everyone should evaluate the efforts he exerted in Ramadan before it is too late. Ramadan is a ripe time for gaining Allah's mercy, forgiveness, and salvation from Hell-fire.
No one knows whether or not he has gained the mercy and blessings of Almighty Allah before the end of the first third of Ramadan. We should all be faithful and honest when evaluating our success in gaining Allah's mercy and favours in the first part of this blessed month. We should realize our shortcomings in order not to miss out on the blessings of the few days that remain.
Now we are favoured with the second third of the blessed month of Ramadan. Are we ready to work for gaining Allah's forgiveness during it? Have we prepared ourselves to be forgiven by Almighty Allah? It is our great opportunity to repent, to return to Almighty Allah, and to seek His forgiveness and blessings. It is a precious time that we should not miss out on. If we fail to gain the forgiveness of Almighty Allah during the days of forgiveness, when would our sins would be forgiven?
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), his Companions, and the righteous Muslims throughout the ages used to pay due attention to Ramadan and the blessings it contains. Wise people should never miss the merits of every single day of Ramadan.
Here, the important question is: How should we seek the forgiveness of Almighty Allah during these blessed days?
Below are some tips that we may consider and implement:
1. Everybody should sincerely repent to Almighty Allah, seeking His forgiveness,
2. Wrongdoings and prohibitions should be avoided,
3. One should offer more optional acts of worship such as tahajjud (night prayer), charity, dhikr, and Qur'an recitation.
4. Obligatory acts of worship such as the five daily prayers should be carried out properly and faithfully, and
5. One should earnestly make du`aa' to Almighty Allah to bless him with His favors and forgiveness.