Ramadan is the special month in which Allah’s abundance blessings, forgiveness and reward are abound for all men to benefit - (Q44: 1-6). As such one need to decide to exploit the period towards one’s success and for a sensible wise person, it is not a matter of negotiation, but a deliberate choice for Allah’s pleasure over phone excitement. Therefore, one must be solely and fully occupied for Allah and not for tech frivolity.

Phone addiction can damage Ramadan fast, making one to lose large percent of its rewards. It can even cause one to commit serious sin. So, this is the period of high sensitivity to one’s deeds and to largely neglect phone activities, the irrelevant fun and sport. One should bear in mind that phone can make or mar one’s Ramadan fast, but on the other hand, Ramadan can make you ever phone disciplined if you choose to give Allah His deserved esteem and Ramadan its prescribed ethics – a matter of serious mindset.

Specifically, for one who has ‘glued hand’ on phone or someone who is ‘nomophobia’ characterized by certain habits, such as when he terminates his solat, the first thing is to pick phone and start browsing instead of the recommended adhkar; one, who while waiting for solat in the mosque used to play with phone instead of reading Quran or Hadith; the kind of people who has little or no regard for Allah in His house and can’t reason why not to turn mosque into phone-fun space; and the like who is obsessed to operate all apps on phone instead of the needed few that preserves his time and privacy; people who place their joy on game, sport and film instead of Allah’s words and righteous deeds etc., need to consciously and thoughtfully check all this, else, there is high tendency to lose big chunk of Ramadan rewards.

Social media on phone tend to hijack time of many people from memorizing verses of the Quran, even since last Ramadan. Some hardly do appreciable and reasonable dhikri, recommended or voluntary; waking up for the tahajjud is a forgotten practice to many people; reading religious text and listening to great scholar tafsir have been neglected, all due to phone addiction. This must be undone during this Ramadan.

Create time from your ‘phone-time.’ Time to read and memorize plenty of Quran, time to observe many nawafil, time to do many adhkar, time to listen to many tafsir, time to reflect deeply on the trend of your life with Allah’s command and time to digest many hadith and good books. Yes, it is the very time you spend on checking the needless things on phone, unnecessary chat and ping, meaningless browsing for fun and sport, and careless calls etc. All must be put on hold! It is either this trivialities or Allah’s reward. Likewise, one need to spend as much/little money as God has given. Use your money to help and feed the needy and get the everlasting reward and forgiveness of your Lord and not to buy needless data/credit for useless call and wasteful browse for temporary joy of frivolities.

It is Ramadan time when brain and mind must be reset to the reality and what will truly raise one’s eminence and actually benefit real self, not what will debase one further. And the reality is that, good life, happiness and success are not attached to phone abuse and that adkhar can be done at all positions and time we abuse phone. The Prophet has said ‘Allah has no need of a man’s fast who does not abandon falsehood during Ramadan’. He also said, ‘He who lost Allah’s forgiveness during Ramadan will never gain it.’ Obviously, too much attachment to phone/social media can lead one to falsehood and Allah’s wrath. So, what is the essence of life during Ramadan if Allah’s mercy and forgiveness is lost? Let us therefore be phone disciplined to avoid our Ramadan efforts becoming futile.