Acceptance in Ramadan: Showing Up for Allah as We Are

As we approach the last ten nights of Ramadan, many of us may feel a sense of regret. Twenty nights have passed, and perhaps we feel we haven’t done enough—we haven’t prayed enough, made enough dhikr, or sought enough forgiveness. Maybe distractions took over, or our hearts didn’t feel as present as we had hoped. It’s easy to feel like we have fallen short, like we should have done better.

But Allah does not measure us by perfection. He measures us by our return to Him. True worship is not about having done everything right from the beginning but about continuing to turn back, no matter how many times we feel we’ve strayed. The door to Allah’s mercy is still open. The best nights of Ramadan are still ahead of us. And Allah, in His infinite love, accepts us as we are—flawed, imperfect, but sincere in our longing for Him.

Allah tells us in the Quran:

“Say, ’O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’”

(Quran 39:53)

This is the acceptance we must learn—to see ourselves as we are and to believe that Allah, in His mercy, accepts us where we are. Worship is not about arriving at a state of perfection but about continually returning, continually seeking, and continually surrendering.

So in these final nights, let us not be held back by feelings of unworthiness. Let us not dwell on what we didn’t do but instead embrace what we can do now. Let us show up for Allah, just as we are, with whatever we have to give. Because He is always ready to receive us.