Shaykh Sālih al-Fawzān (may Allāh preserve him) said:
"The condition of the Salaf (the righteous predecessors), as documented in the books transmitted with trustworthy chains of narration from them, was that they would ask Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to allow them to reach Ramadan before it arrived. They would supplicate to Allah to grant them the opportunity to witness the month of Ramadan due to their knowledge of the immense goodness and abundant benefits it contains. Then, when Ramadan began, they would ask Allah to aid them in performing righteous deeds during it. And when Ramadan ended, they would ask Allah to accept it from them, as Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, states: "
And those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will return to their Lord—it is those who hasten to good deeds, and they are foremost in them."
[Al-Mu'minūn: 60-61]
They would strive diligently in their actions, and then, after performing their deeds, they would be overcome with concern about whether their deeds would be accepted or not. This stemmed from their awareness of the greatness of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and their understanding that Allah only accepts deeds that are performed sincerely for His sake and correctly in accordance with the Sunnah of His Messenger. Thus, they refrained from praising themselves and feared that their actions might be rendered void. Their longing for their deeds to be accepted was even greater than the effort they exerted in performing them, because Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, says:
"Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous."
[Al-Mā’idah: 27]
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