Hzma, you are definately in my prayers! Everyone is in my prayers as a matter of fact. I think that is what is needed during Ramadan....that we all pray for our brothers and sisters.

I understand what you mean about it being easier with prayer and other things when younger, and i do think it is because there is less "donia" around us. I've JUST started realizing that it is more of a shame to not admit that I can be better a person than to actually come out and admit this to better myself....meaning, I admit that I get sucked up into life, and have never khatamt el Qur'an, and my Arabic is weak.... but it took me a long time to admit this to not only people, but to myself. I realized it wasn't enough to just be active and fight, to listen and memorize, but also to understand it the key element.

When the first verse came down in our holy Qur'an "Read", it wasn't just the physical meaning of "read" but rather "understand" or "aquire knowledge." i think not only through prayer and fasting during ramadan do we get our hearts back where they used to be, but through our quest for knowledge and to better ourselves.

so far i am reaching my goal....trying not to forget i have classes too, of course, lol, but....i am determined that this Ramadan will be the one where I akhtem Qur'an once and for all. and from on forth, hopefully my understanding will begin, not just my reading and memorizing.

May Allah guide us ya rab to always keep our eman and hearts guided in the right way and remain strong. Amen.

Some more things to share that have affected me:

1. The Prophet (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wasallam) passed by a woman who was weeping beside a grave. He told her to fear Allah and be patient. She said to him, "Go away, for you have not been afflicted with a calamity like mine." And she did not recognize him. Then she was informed that he was the Prophet (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wasallam). So she went to the house of the Prophet (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wasallam) and there she did not find any guard. Then she said to him, "I did not recognize you." He (Sal-allahu- aleihi-wasallam) said, "Verily, the patience is at the first stroke of a calamity."
--Sahih Bukhari Vol 2372 of Sahih Bukhari.


2. The Prophet (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wassallam) said: "Allah accepts the repentance of a man so long as he is not at the point of death".


3. Go to: www.road-to-heaven.com this is a beautiful site

"The person who lends to Allah, a good lending will receive many times more". (Al-Baqarah: 245)

"Once when the Prophet urged them to give sadaka, Umar bin al Khattab brought half of what he owned, but only to find that once again Abu Bakr had outdone him by giving away all that he had".

I'm thinking maybe helping give something to the poor people affected by the earthquake in Pakistan is one venue...for those interested to find out more:
www.islamic-relief.com

muslima, Yaaaaaa rab ameen we be 7ata 1/4 of them...kaman! 60 times....and yes, it would be good encouragement to share together.

hossam, 4-5 times. i need akhtem mara... w insha'Allah it will be THIS Ramadan. those are good ideas u have about motivation and memorizing. i will have to try them.

To be fair, I'll answer my own questions....

-I haven't khatamt Qur'an yet, and I feel so bad about it, but I'm going to do it insha'Allah this Ramadan - I'm determined! No matter how busy, I can't be more busy when it comes to the best book in the world.

-I've memorized (alhamdulilah) all of Goz2 30, until Surat Abasa.

-I cry everytime I listen to AlQiyama, AlTauba, and Maryam. Surat AlNisa' and AlInsan have really made me think very much.

-My main goal is to akhtem el Qur'an insha'Allah. I also want to be more active with the MSA here on my campus this year as I was last year....with organizing Halaqas and FastaThon to tell others about Ramadan.

-I cannot read Arabic very fast, especially Qur'an because even those who are 100% good in Arabic sometime have problem reading Qur'an, so I listen to tapes and mp3s while reading. My friends and I also created a "ramadan" blog so we can encourage each other, and we are also holding a Qur'an reading competition.....with the intention of seeing how much we can read, memorize, and not so we can "win" but to help and learn together.

Subhan Allah, I was just reading about how the companions of the prophet would read the Qur'an a lot during Ramadan...some finishing it once a day! - such as Sayedna Uthman (ra). Al-imam alshafe3i was reported to recite it 60 times during Ramadan.

Ya rab neb2a 7ata nosohom...ameen insha'Allah :)

Masha'Allah Sarah, great topic. Maybe we can all share a surah each day that got our attention in some way, or made us reflect on it as we're reading the Qur'an in Ramadan insha'Allah.

Barek Allahu feeki :)

i did khatamt el Quran 4-5 times. the most aya the influenced me is in 50: 16-35 (soret Kaf). goal is to collect as much hasanat as possible because the hasanat equal to 70 times in Ramadan. the best time to memorize the quran is before the time of the Fajr. and the best way to memroize it is to read it while praying. and what keep me motivated is remembering death.