Well not so secret anymore is it.

You need a Ramadan routine.

And if you think you don’t, then you will find time slipping through your hands.

You ever have that regret thinking you could’ve done more?

Yeah who hasn’t been there. I have and that’s why I made myself a Ramadan Planner over 5 years ago.

Before we begin:

RAMADAN IS LESS THAN 11 DAYS AWAY. If you haven’t yet this is your last chance to grab the Ramadan planner. Thousands of Muslims rebuy this every year for one reason:

It works.

It keeps you focused.
It keeps you consistent.
It keeps you from wasting Ramadan again.

Get yours here.

Also… I’m doing something I’ve never done before.

I want this planner in as many homes as possible.

So here’s the deal:

If you grab the Community Bundle (10 ramadan planners)
you get 1 month inside The Muslim Creative for FREE.

Are you an ex or present TMC member?
You get 2 months FREE.

So you get to gift your loved ones, earn rewards, and learn how to build a business so you have more time to worship and serve the fam! How beautiful is that.

After you buy them, reply to this email and I’ll sort your access in sha Allah : )

Ok let’s get back to it:

This month gives us a once in a year chance to effortlessly attain taqwa (fear of Allah, God-consciousness).

While God-consciousness is a general translation of taqwa, it actually goes deeper.

Taqwa comes from the root word “waqa” which means to protect or to shield.

The concept of taqwa involves protecting oneself against wrongdoing and shielding one's soul from sin by being conscious of God's presence and commands.

It’s about living in a state of awareness and mindfulness to protect oneself from what displeases Allah.

Some scholars define taqwa as placing a protective barrier between yourself and Allah’s punishment.

Fasting during Ramadan opens avenues to change our lives to a more God-centric one.

Only for those who seek it.

When you can fast from the halal (food, drink), then fasting from the haram becomes easy.

It secretly builds a mental power you won’t find anywhere else.

And if you can take advantage of this blessed month you will notice that Ramadan provides us with a sacred routine.

A routine that’s built for success in this life and the next.

We start to realize we have so much more potential than we thought.

You need 5 habits this Ramadan:

They are all intertwined.

If you’re not engaging with the Qur’an, not giving charity, not repenting over past sins, not praying on time, not taking care of your health so you can do those things every day during Ramadan… then what’s your focus?

Seriously? What could be more important than these during Ramadan?

Isn’t everything else merely a distraction?

Don’t you feel like you’re ignoring the blessings of a month that you’re not even guaranteed to see next year?

A month that saves people from the Hell-Fire?

Have you reflected on the true contentment that comes from these habits when compared to temporary pleasures?

Real enjoyment is found in progress, in the journey of becoming better servants of Allah.

The satisfaction you’ll find during spiritual development is far greater than any short-term pleasure.

I’m going to give you some suggestions for setting goals around behavioral changes that can lead to lasting spiritual improvements in your life.

Fardh (Mandatory): This is a NON-NEGOTIABLE. What’s the point of fasting if you don’t pray? It literally doesn’t make sense. Try to perfect your Fajr now if you usually have trouble with it. If you do have trouble with it, it is most likely do to your sleep.

You should be scheduling your entire life around the 5 prayers.

Sunnah (Extra): Aim to perform the 12 raka’at of Sunnah prayers regularly.

Duha (Pre-noon): Good habit to start in Ramadan. Some people call it the “lazy tahajjud”.

Taraweeh (Evening): Don’t sacrifice Isha for Taraweeh. Your goal here is to stay mentally present, not physically exhausted. Praying in congregation is the best for that but you can do it alone too.

Witr (Night): Follow the imām in Taraweeh to include Witr.

Tahajjud (Late Night): Especially in the last 10 nights for Laylat al-Qadr. Try to make it a practice to continue outside of Ramadan.

Nafl (Voluntary): Pray extra whenever you feel like it.

Reading (Arabic): Even without full understanding, it's beneficial and rewarding. Plus you get to familiarize yourself with the language and it will reduce resistance over time.

Understanding: Read the translation to understand the words of your Lord. Because if you don’t understand anything you’re reading... then what’s the point? You can get the Juz 30 Quran journal if you want to make understanding the last Juz easier. Read translation of exactly what you recite, even if it’s just a page.

Listening: Passive exposure still counts. Listen to a recitation daily. I usually have the Makkah live broadcast on throughout the day. Keep it playing while cooking, resting, or driving but pay attention i.e. don’t be scrolling or talking when the Qur’an is playing.

Memorizing/Reviewing: Ramadan is a great time to memorize or review what you've learned. Although, some scholars note that reading the Qur’an should be given more precedence over memorizing for this month only.

Du’a (supplication): Make lots of du’a. Allah answers those who call Him. I love using the Master Du’a list in my planner. And it’s literally so so cool to see which du’as were answered from last year!

Dhikr (remembrance): Keep up with daily dhikr. It will lower your baseline anxiety. Do the morning and evening adhkar at the minimum.

Tafakkur (contemplation): Ponder the creations of Allah. Ponder the verses of the Qur’an. Ponder death. Ponder your habits. Ponder the gap between who you are and who you’re meant to be.

I'tikaf (seclusion): Spend the last 10 nights in the mosque if possible. If not, do your own version at home but note this won’t be considered i’tikaf. Nonetheless, seclusion is always beneficial for the soul.

Drinking water: Drink 2.5-3L of water during the eating window of Maghrib and Fajr. Dehydration leads to headaches and sluggishness and irritability and cognitive fatigue.

Sleeping well: Adjust your schedule to get enough sleep. Don’t skimp on your sleep but don’t oversleep either. Nap midday (even a 10-15min nap at work does wonders, I used to do it at my 9-5s) and sleep early as possible after Taraweeh.

Eating right: Eat the right foods for suhoor and iftar. The optimal iftar order?

1. Water
2. Dates (1–2)
3. Soup or protein
4. Main meal
5. Fruit last

And you want to avoid: Sugary drinks, white bread overload, fried foods as the base. But 1 or 2 here or there won’t kill you (in sha Allah).

Staying active: Keep up with light exercise. Right before iftar is a good time (for me at least).

Family Time: Have iftar with family. There is blessing in eating together.

Reverts: With an influx of new Muslims, be a welcoming guide. Reverts might feel overwhelmed, so offer your support and understanding.

Helping others: Volunteer or help those in need. There are a lot of ways you can help without money like babysitting for a tired mom, volunteering at a masjid, etc.

.

.

P.S. For those with teams:

Managing people can be chaotic.

2025 was my first year I had 7 people under my supervision.

Going from reporting to HR to being HR is a switch no one prepares you for lol.

Your work systems should be clean and intelligent (like you).

This is one of the better tools I’ve seen doing that.

Clicking the link below supports my work at no cost to you.

“When I first opened Attio, I instantly got the feeling this was the next generation of CRM.”
— Margaret Shen, Head of GTM at Modal

Attio is the AI-native CRM for modern teams. With automatic enrichment, call intelligence, AI agents, flexible workflows and more, Attio works for any business and only takes minutes to set up.

Join industry leaders like Granola, Taskrabbit, Flatfile and more.

👉 Start for free today

.

.

.

According to Imam al-Ghazali, there are 3 levels of fasting:

Ordinary: Abstaining from food, drink, and sex during daylight hours.

Extraordinary: Keeping one’s ears, eyes, tongue, hands and feet and all other organs–free from sin.

Perfect: Focusing your heart solely on Allah, not letting worldly thoughts distract you.

Sadaqah (charity): Give more than the required zakat. Small, daily giving rewires scarcity thinking.

Iftar hosting: If you have the ability, provide iftar for others. Do not let these turn into extravagant parties with backbiting and gossip.

Paying zakat: If you haven’t paid it for the lunar year yet, do it now. Calculate and give your zakat properly. If you ever want to be rich, you NEED to purify your wealth. It’s one of the 5 pillars of islam.

Zakat al-Fitr: Don't forget to give this before Eid. As a woman, the head of the household (often your mahram) pays for this.

Self-improvement: Work on your character.

I like to believe fasting exposes personality flaws.

For example:

If you get angry quick = unregulated impulse
If you’re impatient = entitlement
If you complain a lot = lack of acceptance

You should choose your worst trait and just work on that for the month.

How do you know what your worst trait is?

Think about what triggers you in others.

Please keep in mind that what works for me may not work for you.

This routine is the result of much experimentation over the past few years to find the right balance for my lifestyle.

I have noticed (not surprisingly) it has changed slightly after I’ve left the 9-5. I have more time for worship, more flexibility for naps, and the likes.

So I do encourage you to take inspiration from it and adapt it to fit your own needs, especially around prayer schedule and personal commitments.

This is what I am planning for this year:

My day begins with at least 2 rak’at of Tahajjud (night prayers).

The du’a made at Tahajjud is like an arrow that does not miss the target.

Eating Suhoor (the pre-dawn meal) is a sunnah and there is blessing in it.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Take Suhur as there is a blessing in it.” (Bukhari 1923)

I focus on hydration and consuming foods that will sustain me throughout the day.

I also love making nabeedh. It’s a Prophetic drink where you can soak dates in water overnight. I do 7 ajwa dates. Then I blend the dates in a smoothie after.

After the Fajr prayer, I make sure I do my morning adkhar (for protection from devils, jealousy, envy, black magic etc.) There is so much demonic energy out there rn. I feel it seeping through the screens.

Then I dedicate time to the Qur’an. I first review my memorization portions. Then I recite in Arabic and read the English translation of what I just read. This takes me about 3 or so hours in total.

Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an. I make it a goal to do at least one khatm each year.

This year’s Ramadan planner spread makes it so easy! Alhamdulillah.

Post-Fajr, I immerse myself in deeep work, for my creative projects.

What would normally take you days to get done, gets done in an hour during this time.

Following the Prophetic practice, I take a midday nap to rejuvenate my body and mind for the rest of the day's worship.

I find when I don’t do this I feel lethargic for taraweeh prayers.

When I was working though, alhamdulillah my job was kind enough to give me a flexible schedule during Ramadan, so I would start later and nap a bit after Fajr (I was working remotely).

But when I was on-site at the hedge-funf job, I would literally go to the private gym locker rooms and nap for like 15 min lol.

I spend the afternoon with family, doing light activities that don't drain energy reserves.

I’m in the kitchen for about 1-2 hours or so preparing a mindful meal for iftar. During this time I am also playing Qur’an recitation or listening to a Tafsir lesson.

I dedicate about 30 minutes here for social media management as I run my business(es) on here.

Before breaking the fast, I take some time out to do a gentle workout (walking outside, light exercises, going up and down the stairs for ten minutes). I am not really a gym addict but I love getting movement otherwise I feel so stiff.

I do my evening adkhar and make du’a.

I read more Qur’an if I have time leftover before iftar.

Iftar is a time of gratitude.

I break my fast keeping the following hadith in mind:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight. But if he must (fill it), then one third of food, one third for drink and one third for air. (Sunan Ibn Majah)

Also how crazy is it that iftar is at 5PM?!

I attend Taraweeh prayers at the masjid (it’s only a block away from me).

Afterwards (which should be around 9:30PM this year), I dedicate some time to more Qur’an.

Before sleeping, I reflect on the day and fill out my ramadan planner. I also use it to plan for the next day's acts of worship and productivity.

I’ll usually read an Islamic book here to relax my mind and fall asleep.

This is my routine that helps me nurture the habits I mentioned earlier (I didn’t mention any charity related things as it’s better for your soul to keep it a secret but now that I’m telling you guys here… I feel like I exposed myself…)

Please note that my routine will definitely change to a more night-centric one during the last ten nights.

I’ll write about that in the upcoming letters in sha Allah.

I hope sharing this gives you some ideas to create your own.

I’m actually quite curious to know about the ramadan routines that work well for you!

If you’re willing, I’d love to hear about them, so feel free to reply back with your experiences.

P.S. even if I don’t reply (I get so many emails, may Allah bless you all) I read each and every one of your letters.

Thanks for being with me on this journey.

Until next time.

مع حبي (with love)

— Saufiyah ♡

The Muslim Business Launchpad
Step-by-step systems to build your first halāl income stream.

The Muslim Creative Community
A private mentorship circle for Muslim entrepreneurs combining strategy, design, and spirituality.

Eternah
Intentional Islāmic tools. Qur'ān journals, du'ā books, and visual guides to live with barakah.