IBTILA'A (HARDSHIP)

Assalam Alikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatouh

Are you sad because of your serious illness?
Are you sad because you wish to get married but the right man hasn’t come yet?
Are you sad because you don’t have enough money to be able to live comfortably?
Are you sad because your husband is mistreating you or cheating on you?
Are you sad because you can’t see your kids?
Are you sad because you got divorced?
Are you sad because your son or daughter is sick with a serious condition?
Are you sad because you lost an important loving person in your life?
Are you sad because you can’t find a job?
Are you sad because your children are not pious and you lost control over them?
Are you sad because you lost everything you had?

We all have our shares of ibtila’a in this world….today I want to put a smile on your face and show you how to be happy and content despite what you are going through.

When you see the Ibtila’a (hardship) coming….you should say welcome to the sign of Saliheen….you will be holding the flag of Saliheen!! Ibtila’a is the legacy of the Prophets of Allah as they had the biggest share.
The one, who has no share of ibtila’a, has no share of the legacy of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah……. Are you smiling already ?

Once you see the Ibtila’a coming towards you, you should know the following things:

1. That you are in the company of Allah SWT.

2. That this Ibtila’a is not the worse…..Yes, I have ibtila’a in my rizq but I am still healthy, Yes my husband is mistreating me but I have beautiful loving children, Yes I have ibtila’a in my health but I still have my rizq, Yes I lost a loving person but I still have more people who I love, I still can breathe, I still can see, I still can give…. When the companion of the Prophet PBUH Orwah may Allah be pleased with him lost his leg as it had to be amputated, he cried, the other companions of the Prophet PBUH said: How could you cry from destiny of Allah….he said Wallahi I am not crying because my leg is amputated but Allah SWT is the only one who knows that this leg did not walk anywhere except to build the houses of Allah (Masjids) and to take care of the orphans and the poor…but Oh Allah if you took a little from me, you still left me a lot so how can I thank you!! (Subhana Allah)

Yes he lost one leg, but he still has the other leg, has eyes, he has hands, he can breathe…can you think like Orwah?

3. You should be happy that the ibtila’a is not in your deen because the ibtila’a that has no compensation is the ibtila’a in your deen but the matters of dunia are always changing….Money comes and goes, health comes and goes.

The scholars say if 40 days pass you without having ibtila’a, review your accounts with Allah….something must be wrong…..A true believer is the one who sees the ibtila’a as a ne3ma (blessing) and the ne3ma as ibtila’a…..how?

After Ibtila’a only ease could come your way but after ne3ma there is ibtila’a…..today I am healthy….but tomorrow I might not be…..And if I am sick today ….I will live and pray with hope to become healthy….and waiting for ease to come from Allah is also considered Ibadah.

4. When the Ibtila’a comes, sit and feel the Mercy of Allah SWT…..the moaning of the sick when they say Ah, Ah, Ah…..to Allah SWT is like the sound of the people who do tasbeeh…our scholars told us that the angels when they hear the sound of the sick when they say Ah, Ah, Ah, they hear it as Allah, Allah, Allah….so you are considered doing thikr despite the fact that you are moaning and in pain.

When the Khalifa Abu Bakar was ill towards the end of his days, the companions of the Prophet PBUH said: we should get you a doctor…..he said: the doctor came to me…..they said: when, we didn’t see any doctor, he said: he told me: I am the Effecter of what I intend (from surat Al Burooj)ayah 16.

Al Shafie when he was sick, he said: they called a human doctor for me and I called the doctor of the heavens…two doctors….one to give the medicine and the other one to put to make it work.

5. Remember one thing….as much humbleness and humility you go to Allah with…as much as he will give you….how?

Look at Prophet Musa PBUH when he ran away from Egypt and reached Madian, he was so tired, he had nothing, he had no job, no home, no family…

Allah (SWT) says: ( And when he came to the well of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering [their flocks], and he found aside from them two women driving back [their flocks]. He said, "What is your circumstance?" They said, "We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is an old man.") (28:23)

(So he watered [their flocks] for them; then he went back to the shade and said….(28:24)

What did he say?

If you were in his place what would you say?

May be: Oh Allah grant me a job, Oh Allah grant me a home to stay….But Prophet Musa PBUH did not say that….instead he said:

My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good you would send down to me, in need."

This means, I am in in-need and I don’t know what are the things I need so I can be satisfied ….he did not specify…he said I am poor and you are the rich and I need every good from you…

What did Allah SWT give him?

Read surat Al Qassas and see….

He gave him a job as the father of the two girls asked him to work for him, he also gave him a home, he gave him a wife and he give him Prophecy (SWT)

In our time, someone in Prophet Musa’s circumstance will be the last one to be considered to marry as he had no home, no money…simply nothing…..but look at the greatness of Allah SWT….as much humbleness and need you go to Allah with as much as he will give you, so go to him with extreme and complete humbleness, need and patience.


The baby in his mother’s womb is completely helpless…..but look at the Mercy of Allah…he gave him an umbilical cord which provides him all his nourishments…if you ask him about hunger…he will not know what it means……
When he is born that umbilical cord is cut so he loses his source of food…but Allah grants him double sources (his mother’s breasts)….here, he starts to have some ability of sucking and his mother helps him ….so some external help is intervening …Now he knows hunger and he cries when he feels hungry then his mother helps him….

After two years he loses the two sources (his mother’s breasts) but Allah SWT grants him double that so he gets four, two drinks, water and milk and two foods meat and vegetables…and now his hardship starts…He has teeth to eat with, legs to move around and as he grows, he starts thinking of his rizq and how he is going to get it and as much as he does that as much as things get more complicated and difficult. Allah SWT says: (No! [But] indeed, man transgresses (96:6) (Because he sees himself self-sufficient (96:7)

So what do we learn from this my dear brothers and sisters?

We must have complete faith in Allah SWT and go to him with extreme and complete humbleness and need. Try it and you will see how your life will change and how you will enjoy look at things differently.

Love you for the sake of Allah….smile …. Allah loves you

The Secrets of Surat Al Fatiha

Translated from the book Khawater Qura’ania by Dr. Amr Khaled

What is the secret of this Surah? Why did the Qura’an start with this surah? Why is it called the (the mother of the Qura’an)? Why do we read it a minimum of 17 times in a day and night? Why a prayer cannot be right without it?

One of the companion of the prophet PBUH said : the prophet PBUH said to me:"I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Qur'an, before you leave the Masjid." Then he got hold of my hand, and when he intended to leave (the Masjid), I said to him, "Didn't you say to me, 'I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Quran?' He said, "Al-Hamdu-Lillah Rabbi-l-Alamin (i.e. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds) which is Al-Sab'a Al-Mathani (i.e. seven repeatedly recited Verses) and the Grand Qur'an which has been given to me." (Sahih Al Bukhari).

The secret of Surat Al Fatiha :

It contains the all the meanings of the Qura’an. You will find the goals of the whole Qura’an in Al Fatiha. How?

The Qura’an covers three main meanings which are required from the Muslim or the reader of the Qura’an :

1. Beliefs (In who do we belief?).
2. Acts of worship (How do we worship who belief in?).
3. Life methods (The method that Allah wanted for us).
Surat Al Fatiha covers all these three goals.

When you read (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds. The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense) Tawheed and belief in the Day of Judgment is the belief of the Muslim.

When it comes to the act of worship, you read إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (It is You we worship and You we ask for help).

And when it comes to life method, you read اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ (Guide us to the straight path - The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray) and the whole Qura’an after surat Al Fatiha is elaborating those three main meanings.

Surat Al Fatiha reminds us of the fundamentals of Islam:

1. Allah’s blessings الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

2. Sincerity with a word إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ, means we only worship you , we ask your for help وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ.

3. Asking for good companion اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (6) صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ.

4. Warning from bad companion غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ.

5. The names of Allah, with the focus of the two names of Allah الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. The root of Allah’s relation with humans is Rahma (Mercy) that is why it came twice ( the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful).

6. Straight path اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ.

7. The Day of judgment and preparing for it مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ and اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيم.

8. The importance of making dua’a and the etiquette of making dua’a, the surah ended with a dua.

9. Our Ummah (Nation) is one … that is why you find all the verses in this surah came in the form of plural even if the person is praying alone in his room, he still must use the plural form, so he knows he is part of one Ummah not alone in this Universe.

Manners and etiquette with Allah:

This surah teaches us the manners and etiquette with Allah, it is divided into two, the first part is tribute and compliment to Allah and the second part is the Dua. Whenever you pray you must start with tribute and compliment to Allah by calling him with his best names and thanking him for all the blessing then we ask for whatever we want. The amazing part in this surah is, the number of letters in the tribute is equal to the number of letters in the dua.

The dialogue with Allah

Allah, the Exalted, said, `I have divided the prayer (Al-Fatihah) into two halves between Myself and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.' If he says,

[الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ] (All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence.)
Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.' When he/she says,

[الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ ] (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.)
Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me.' When he/she says,

[مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ] (The Owner of the Day of Recompense.)
Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me,' or `My servant has related all matters to Me.' When he/she says,

[إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ] (You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.)
Allah says, `This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he sought.' When he/she says,

[اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ - صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّآلِّينَ ] (Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom You have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray),
Allah says, `This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked for.').''

So you feel when you are reading Surat Al Fatiha that Allah SWT is responding to you, what an honor?
Omar Ibn Abdul Aziz used to read Al Fatiha and after each ayah he pauses for a while, when people asked him for the purpose of that pause, he said: So I can listen to my lord’s answer.

Can you feel the importance of this Surah? Ibn Al Qayem said: Allah revealed 104 books, he collected the meaning of all those books in three books: The Torah, The Gospel or the Einjeel and the Qura’an and he collected the meanings of those three books in the Qura’an and he collected the meanings of the Qura’an in Surat Al Fatiha.

Why was it named Al Fatiha?

1. The simple meaning is because it started the Qura’an as it is the first surah in the mus-haf.

2. The deeper meaning, it is the key of the meaning of the Quran.

The prophet PBUH him said: ليس للعبد من صلاته الا ما عقل منها , this means Allah accepts from your prayer what read with understanding and concentration. None of us want to pray and gain nothing from it by being absent minded or not understanding so from now on let read surat Al Fatiha with a full understanding have a beautiful conversation with our creator, the creator of all Universe.

How we can get maximum Benefit in Ramadhan.

Salah :
Make a goal of performing every fard prayer at its prescribed time. The best tip to help you in this regard is to prepare for the salah a little before the adhan goes on. Add sunnah and voluntary prayers with each fard prayer that you perform (where applicable). Perform different extra voluntary prayers such as Duha and Tahajjud.
Qur’an :
Recite a quarter of a juz’ after every prayer. As you recite take out a few minutes to read and understand the tafsir of the ayah that you just recited. Work on your Arabic knowledge by identifying new words in the ayah and studying their syntax and morphology. Corpus Qur’an is an excellent website to study Arabic grammar. Another resource for understanding root words is Project Root List. Here you can search Arabic words by their root letters and find their meaning. Next time when a similar word appears you will have an idea of what it means.
Dhikr:
Keep your tongue moist with dhikr throughout the day. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) taught us morning and evening adhkar that are beneficial for the dunya and in the hereafter. Besides the morning and evening adhkar do astaghfar as much as you can. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) sought Allah’s forgiveness and repentance more than seventy times a day. Sincere repentance is our key to Jannah and a means for increase in provision. Don’t ignore it.
Dua :
Prepare your dua list in advance. Write down everything that you really desire in your life, no matter how insignificant or silly it may appear to you. Memorize the masnoon duas. Understand their meaning so that when you recite the dua, you do so with full khushu’ and sincerity. Be creative and make dua cards for yourself and your family. Hang or place them around your house so that you are reminded to recite them.
Sadaqah:
Besides the obligatory zakat keep some allowance for sadaqah. Give your time, your company or sincere advice to someone, is also a sadaqah. Look for opportunities to volunteer your time and skills.
Gaining and Sharing Knowledge:
Work on your tajweed or help a friend in improving theirs. Along with studying the tafsir, take out time to study the sahih ahadith books. Start from Sahih al-Bukhari. Purchase or download awe-inspiring and motivational books to strengthen your iman. Kalamullah.com is a resourceful website that offers free books, lectures and articles. Share your knowledge with others. Teach the tafsir that you learned with at least one more person; do so either verbally, through a Facebook status, a text message or an email. Teach a hadith or masnoon dua to your family. Ask them the lessons they can derive from it. Improving Akh’laq (conduct) Utilizing the knowledge that you have acquired, start working on your character, righteousness and integrity. Commit to leave one bad habit and seek sincerity from Allah (glorified and exalted be He).
Avoid gossiping and backbiting:
Do not concern yourself with other’s private matters but concentrate on cleansing your soul. Now that we have identified the areas we can work on to extract maximum benefit, let’s plan a schedule: Morning Wake up for Tahajjud by reciting the masnoon dua for waking up. Wash yourself and use the siwak. Perform Tahajjud in a quiet place seeking Allah’s love and forgiveness. Complete your prayer by asking dua for your concerns and worries. Prepare or help the family in setting up suhur. Pick nutritious food and thank Allah for His blessings. Perform Fajr as early as possible. Recite a portion of the Qur’an and study its tafsir. Make morning adhkar, read one hadith and perform Duha. Get ready to start your day. Keep reciting adhkar or astaghfar as you dress up for work or school. Listen to a lecture during your commute. Try to talk less and do more dhikr throughout the day. Afternoon Perform Dhuhr. Recite a portion of Qur’an along with its tafsir. Recite five masnoon dua’s and do astaghfar. If you are not at work try to squeeze in a power nap for 15 – 20 minutes i.e. qailulah. This will give you the energy to stand up during Qiyaam-ul-Layl. Evening Before the Asr prayer take out a book and improve your Islamic knowledge by reading a page or two. Perform wudhu and get ready for the prayer. Recite the Qur’an portion for Asr along with its tafsir. Recite five masnoon dua’s and do astaghfar. Give sadaqah either through money, giving food to a poor person or removing something harmful from the path. Exercise Help the family with preparations for iftar while keeping your tongue busy with adhkar. Late Evening When the time for Maghrib approaches go into seclusion, take out your dua list and earnestly pray for whatever you want. Make dua loudly at the iftar table so that if there are any young children at home they too can pick it up from their elders. Recite the masnoon dua for breaking fast. Start with dates and thank Allah for your provision. Do not eat too much and consume food in moderation. As you wait for the Isha adhan, sit with your family and share an ayah that you learned today or a hadith. Ask them what they learned or a good deed that they performed during the day. Share with them stories of the Prophets and how they used to worship Allah (glorified and exalted be He). Recite the fourth part of the juz’ before you leave for Isha prayer. Night Start preparing for the exclusive worship of Ramadan i.e. the Taraweeh prayers. Take your family along if there is an arrangement for women as well. Pray the Witr praye, recite Surah Mulk and go to bed in a state of ablution. Set an alarm for Tahajjud and recite the masnoon dua for sleeping. Contemplate on your life in this world, the Day of Judgment and the hereafter. Make dua to Allah (glorified and exalted be He) to accept your good deeds, and give you the strength to perform better. The deeds dearest to Allah (glorified and exalted be He) are the ones that are done consistently. Stay committed to your goals and do not become a “Ramadan Muslim” only!

Conditions To Fulfill for your Dua To Be Accepted And Granted

Many of us say: I prayed but Allah did not grant me what I prayed for!!? Or did not accept my dua

Have you ever asked yourself why?

Do you know for dua to be accepted and granted you must fulfill four conditions?

1. Yaqeen or (certainty) that Allah will answer your call

This is when you are praying and deep inside you, you don’t have the yaqeen or you are not certain that Allah will answer your call.

According to the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah: “Make dua’ to Allah when you are certain of a response.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’

So pray to him with determination and belief, tell him (Ya Allah give shifa to my child, Ya Allah grant me a pious husband, Ya Allah grant me rizq halal, Ya Allah I know you will not let me down, Ya Allah I have no one to help me and lift my pain except you……….)

Talk to him with your heart, you don’t have to use Arabic words, use your language and plead and beg and complain to him…….You spend hours complaining and telling your stories to friends and strangers and in the end they give you a look of remorse and there is nothing they can do for you, some even use it against you when they feel like it…..so why not take your story and your complaint to the one who can make a change, the one who can give you the solution?!

How can you pray and doubt the acceptance? Who are you doubting? And why are you doubting?

He is the creator of the whole Universe….the one who says to something Koun fa yakoun (Be and it shall be).

Clear the fog from your belief my dear sister and brother and know that he is the only one who can grant you what you wish for…..no one else…..NO ONE

“And your Lord says: Make duaa (supplicate) unto me, and I will respond and accept your duaa”. (Surah Ghaafir: Ayat 60)

“I respond and accept the duaa of the one who supplicates unto me”. (Surah Al Baqarah: Ayat 186)

“Make duaa unto Allah with humility and secret”. (Surah Ale Imraan: Ayat 55)

“Verily, Allah is modest and noble. He feels ashamed that a servant lifts up his hand in supplication and he is returned empty handed”. (Abu Dawood)

He is telling you all this to comfort you and give you the guarantee…….so do you still have doubts?


2. Khoushou3 or concentration while making the dua….. Pray with your heart and focus on what you are saying.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Know that Allah does not answer a dua from a distracted heart.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3479; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 245.

Focus and talk to him, tell him all your problems and issues and he will lift them in shaa Allah.

3. Not having patience when making dua

The Prophet PBUH said: “One of you may be answered so long as he is not hasty and says, ‘I said dua’ but I got no response.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6340; Muslim, 2735.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH), "The supplication of every one of you will be granted if he does not get impatient and say (for example): `I supplicated my Rubb but my prayer has not been granted'.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The narration of Muslim is: "The supplication of a slave continues to be granted as long as he does not supplicate for a sinful thing or for something that would cut off the ties of kinship and he does not grow impatient.'' It was said: "O Messenger of Allah! What does growing impatient mean?'' He (PBUH) said, "It is one's saying: `I supplicated again and again but I do not think that my prayer will be answered.' Then he becomes frustrated (in such circumstances) and gives up supplication altogether.''

The one who pray and have no patience for their dua, is like the one who plants a seed and water it for few days, the plant starts to grow slowly under the soil but it has not reached the surface yet and just before it comes out, he gives up and stops watering it…..so it dies before it even comes to light.

Don’t be hasty….keep making dua….keep repeating it and you will see the response very soon just be patient and never stop. Even if Ramadan finishes, continue and in shaa Allah before the next Ramadan you will have what you asked for.

4. Eating Halal ….. your rizq must be halal if you want your dua to be accepted…you can’t eat haram and expect your dua to be accepted….they don’t go together.

Prophet SAW said, “…a man having been on a long journey is all disheveled and dust-coated and he stretches his hands upwards for du’a (saying): ‘ 0 my Lord! 0 my Lord!’ while his food is haram (unlawful), his drink: haram, his dress: haram, and he himself was brought up on the haram - how then, could his du’a become worth accepting?” (Reported by Muslim)

So Make sure your earning is halal if you want your dua to be accepted.



Finally I add to these beautiful conditions the etiquette of the Prophet PBUH in making dua:
Saeed Ibn Al Musayab said: With these in shaa Allah your dua will for sure be accepted.

1. Take Wudu.

2. Face the Qibla

3. Start with Istighfaar.

4. Address and ask Allah with his Asma’a Al Husna (Names) …. Ya Kareem, Ya Raheem, Ya Mujeeb, Ya Qareeb….etc.

5. Thank Allah SWT and Salli Ala Al Rasoul.

6. Insist and repeat your dua with concentration and humiliation.

7. Be certain at the end of your dua that Allah SWT will accept your dua.

8. Finally, when you finish your dua, go look for a poor person and give them sadaqa to purify your money and lift the sorrow of someone else.

And in shaa Allah after all this your dua will not be rejected.

Finally I remind myself and you my dears of the following hadith

“Allah becomes angry upon the one who does not make duaa”. (Ahmed)

So please make dua and never give up.

Misconceptions in Ramadhan.

Very important notes and misconceptions in Ramadan.

What does Al Neyya mean

It means the intention of the heart.

Is it a must to have the intention every night of Ramadan or is it enough to have an intention done once at the beginning of Ramadan?

According to the Jumhoor (majority) of the scholars, you should have the intention or the neyya every night before fajr for fasting in Ramadan. While in fasting of sunnah das you don’t have to have the intention at night, you can have the intention any time during the day as long as you did not eat or drink or have intercourse.

Do I have to say the neyyah?

The intention is an action of the heart. We should resolve in our heart that we are going to fast tomorrow. That is all we need. It is not prescribed by the Shari'ah for us to say out loud, "I intend to fast", "I will fast tomorrow" or other phrases that have been innovated by some people. Also, there is no specific dua to be recited at the time of starting the fast in the correct Sunnah. Whatever 'dua' you may see on some papers or Ramadaan calendars, etc. is a Bid'ah.

How to have the neyyah?

Have the neyya in your heart that you will fast Ramadan seeking from Allah to forgive you and accept your tawbah and raise you higher in his ranks.

How do I start Ramadan?

Start your act of worship gradually in Ramadan. The beginning of Ramadan is not like the middle and not like the end. So start with your prayers on time, nawfil, thikr and Quran and do it gradually and keep increasing so you don’t lose interest in the middle or towards the end. It is important to have a plan and to focus on achieving it.

Work like this is your last Ramadan, you don’t know whether you will be in this dunia next Ramadan or not.

Keep praying to Allah to guide you and give you thabat and strength to complete Ramadan in a way which pleases him.

Avoid eating continuously until the time for Maghrib is up

Some people put so much food in their plates when breaking their fast and continue eating, enjoying dessert, drinking tea, etc., until they miss Maghrib. That is obviously not right. The Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) was that once he broke his fast with some dates, them he would hasten to the prayer. Once you are done with the prayer, you can always go back and eat some more if you wish.

Don’t Miss the golden chance of having your Dua accepted

The prayer of the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of breaking fast.

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler." (al-Bayhaqi, saheeh by al-Albaani).

Instead of sitting down and making Dua at this precious time, some people forego this beautiful chance, and are too busy frying samosas, talking, setting the food, filling their plates and glasses, etc. Think about it....Is food more important than the chance to have your sins forgiven or the fulfillment of your Duas.

What is the dua to be said before Iftaar?

You say: (Thahaba Al Dama’a wa ebtallat Al Ourouq wa thabata Al Ajr in shaa Allah)
(ذهب الظمأ وابتلت العروق وثبت الأجر ان شاء الله)

Bismillah
(Allahuma laka Sumna wa ala rizqikaka aftarna, wa bika Ama’ana, wa alika tawakalna)

(اللهم لك صمنا وعلى رزقك أفطرنا وبك آمنّا وعليك توكلنا)

Then ask Allah what you wish for…..make a list of the things you wish for and repeat them every day and in shaa Allah before the coming Ramadan you will have them all or better.

Don’t Skip Suhoor

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "Eat suhoor for in suhoor there is blessing."(Bukhaari, Muslim).

And he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "The thing that differentiates between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating suhoor." (Muslim)

Fasting but not praying

The fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. This is because not praying constitutes kufr as the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer." (Muslim)

In fact, NONE of his good deeds will be accepted; rather, they are all annulled.
"Whoever does not pray 'Asr, his good deeds will be annulled." (Bukhaari)

Fasting and not wearing Hijaab

Not wearing the Hijaab is a major sin as it is obligatory for Muslim women. (See Surah Nur, Surah Ahzaab). So fasting and not wearing hijaab certainly takes away enormously from the rewards of fasting, even if does not invalidate it.

Mixing fasting and dieting

DO NOT make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the biggest mistakes some of us make (esp. sisters). Fasting is an act of worship and can only be for the sake of Allah alone. Otherwise, mixing it with the intention of dieting may become a form of (minor) Shirk.

Fighting over the number of Raka'ah of Taraweeh

There is no specific number of rak'ahs for Taraweeh prayer, rather it is permissible to do a little or a lot. Both 8 and 20 are okay. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said: "No one should be denounced for praying eleven or twenty-three (raka'ah), because the matter is broader in scope than that, praise be to Allaah."

Praying ONLY on the night of the 27th

Some people pray ONLY on the 27th to seek Lailat ul-Qadr, neglecting all other odd nights, although the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: "Seek Lailat ul-Qadr among the odd numbered nights of the last ten nights of Ramadaan." (Bukhaari, Muslim).

Wasting the last part of Ramadaan preparing for Eid

Some people waste the entire last 10 days of Ramadaan preparing for Eid, shopping and frequenting malls, etc. neglecting Ibadah and Lailatul Qadr. although, the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to strive the hardest during the last ten days of Ramadaan in worship (Ahmad, Muslim) and not in shopping.

Aa’ishah (RA) said: “When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam)) would tighten his waist-wrapper (i.e., strive hard in worship or refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and wake his family.” (Bukhaari and Muslim).

Iftaar parties

Although inviting each other for breaking fast is something good and encouraged, some people go to extremes with lavish 'Iftaar parties' with all sorts of disobedience to Allaah, from flirting, mixing of the sexes and hijaab-less women, to show-off and extravagance, to heedlessness to Salaah, and Taraweeh.