All praise is due to Allah, and may endless blessings be upon His Beloved Messenger Muhammad, his Kin, and his Companions.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, made the dua,
"O Allah bless us in Rajab and Sha’aban, and let us reach Ramadan."

The Companions and the pious predecessors throughout this Ummah’s long history have always given this month their all. These are some excerpts taken from the book "Kanz Al-Najah wa Al-Suroor" (The Treasures of Success and Happiness) as well as from the book by Al-Habib Muhammad Al-Haddar, may Allah have mercy on him, "Al-Nafahat Al-Ramadaniyya" (The Spiritual Breezes of Ramadan) that encourage certain beneficial acts to maximize one’s benefit in Ramadan.

This is a long hadith which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said at the end of Sha’aban, right before the start of Ramadan. It is on the authority of Salman Al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him:
"O people, a great and blessed month has cast its shade over you! A month in which there is a night that is better than one-thousand months! Allah has made fasting in it obligatory, and rising in prayer [at night] a great act of obedience. Whosoever performs an small act of good in it, it is as if he has performed an obligatory act, and whosoever performs an obligatory act is as if he has performed 70 obligatory acts in any other month. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise. It is the month of consolation. It is a month in which a believer’s provision increases for him. Whosoever feeds someone fasting, that [act] will cause forgiveness from his sins, he will be freed from the Fire, and he will have the same reward as the one who fasted without taking any reward away [from the one who fasted]."

The Companions said, "O Messenger of Allah, not all of us have enough to feed someone fasting." He, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, "Allah gives this reward to someone who gives a fasting person a date, or a drink of water, or even a sip of milk. It is a month of which its beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its end is salvation from the Fire. And whosoever lightens the load upon his slaves, Allah will forgive him and save him from the Fire.
"In this month, make excess of 4 things: two of which you please your Lord with; two of which you will always need. The two things with which you will please your Lord are pronouncing the testimony of La ilaha illa Allah and asking Allah for forgiveness (istighfar). As for the two things of which you will always need to do – they are asking Him for Paradise and seeking refuge in Him from the Fire. And whosoever quenches the thirst of a fasting person, Allah with quench him [with water] from my basin [on the Day of Judgment] – a drink after which he will never be thirsty."

Many people incorporate the four recommended acts mentioned by the Beloved, peace and mercy be upon him, into one long dhikr/dua:

Transliteration: "Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, Astaghfirullah, As’aluka al-Jennata wa ‘aoothu bika min al-nar."

Translation: "I testify there is no god but Allah, I seek Allah’s forgiveness. I ask you for Paradise, and I seek refuge in you from the Fire."

There are 3 things which the scholars urge during this month:

1. Fasting
This means to refrain from the outward, bodily limitations related to fasting such as eating, drinking, etc. In addition, this also means to avoid sins related to the inward. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said,"Five things break one’s fast ( i.e. make it void of the promised reward): lying, backbiting, calumny, falsely swearing (i.e., saying, "wallahi" and lying), and to look at someone (who is not your husband/wife) with passionate desire."

2. Qiyam (Night Prayer)
Broadly, this means to give life to the night through different types of good works. One can rise in the night and pray extra prayers, read Qur’an, attend gatherings in which Allah is remembered, or attend gatherings in which sacred knowledge is being taught. Whoever prays ‘Isha in congregation and then Fajr in congregation, then that person has received a large portion of Qiyaam during Ramadan, and this is especially important during the last ten nights in order to reap the benefits of Laylat Al-Qadr. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said, "Who prays ‘Isha in congregation it’s as if he prayed half the night; who [then] prays Fajr in congregation it’s as if he prayed the entire night."

3. Preparing yourself to be freed from the Hellfire
Whosoever fulfills the preceding two acts of worship and avoids being disobedient to their parents, cutting of ties with their relatives, arguing, and drinking alcohol will be freed from Hellfire. In a hadith, the Angel Jibreel made a dua, telling the Prophet to say "Ameen." The dua was, "Whosoever reaches Ramadan and does not [succeed in] having his sins forgiven, may Allah distance him! Say ‘Ameen.’" The Prophet, peace and mercy be upon him, then said, "Ameen."

As many of us know, this is the Month of the Quran, so we should all attempt to become intimate with the Book of Allah – read it, reflect on it, allow the glory and beauty of Allah’s words to reach your heart.

Insha’Allah, another [post] will be sent out in the following days focusing particularly on the recommended acts and duas to perform. May Allah put tremendous blessing in these last days for you all, your families, and the rest of the Muslims. Please remember the whole Ummah in your duas. Jazakum Allah khair.

NOTE: In order to be concise, the exact strength of certain hadiths have not been mentioned. It is agreed upon by the vast majority of scholars to use weaker hadiths to encourage people to do extra acts of worship and goodness.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post was written by Sidi Amjad Tarsin and was originally posted on Facebook. Please see Sidi Amjad’s other posts about the blessed months of Rajab and Sha’aban.