[The Best Deeds in the Month of Ramadan]

So the answer — and from Allah comes success — was:
That the best deeds for the questioner are calming the situation and reconciling between people, because the best deeds after the obligatory acts differ from one person to another, and from one time to another. So when the questioner was a person of standing, influence, and impact among people, and the situation was tense, the guidance was directed toward reconciliation among people and calming the situation as being the best deeds of goodness in this noble month.
- And had the questioner been among the people of wealth and affluence, and not among the people of standing and influence, the legal opinion would have been directed toward him that the best deeds of goodness in this noble month are consoling the poor, the needy, and those in need with whatever amount of wealth is made easy.
- And had the questioner been among the poor, the legal opinion would have been directed toward him that the best acts of righteousness after the obligatory duties in this noble month are recitation of the Qur’an, remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and supererogatory prayers. If the questioner does not recite the Qur’an, we would say to him: supererogatory prayers, and remembrance of Allah the Exalted through glorification, praise, declaring His oneness, magnification, and so on.
- And if the questioner has parents who are incapacitated and in need, we would say to him: your care for your parents and fulfilling what they require is the best of deeds after the obligatory acts.
- And had the questioner wives and young children in need of financial support, we would say to him: your striving for your family, providing their needs, what satisfies their hunger, and what covers their nakedness, is the best of deeds in your case. And thus should the questioner be given a legal opinion in this matter.
If it is said: What then is the best of good deeds in the month of Ramadan absolutely, meaning without consideration of the questioner?
It is said — and Allah knows best — that recitation of the Qur’an in the month of Ramadan may be in the foremost rank of virtue after the obligatory acts. And evidence for that is:
1. That Allah the Exalted revealed the Qur’an in the month of Ramadan: “The month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and the Criterion; so whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it” [Al-Baqarah:185].
2. That Jibril (peace be upon him) used to review the Qur’an with the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) during the month of Ramadan.
3. That recitation of the Qur’an includes remembrance of Allah the Exalted in its various forms, and within it is seeking knowledge, and knowing many rulings, and within it are admonitions, lessons, and so on.

Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.3