Welcoming the Arrival of Ramadan
we
are in the month of Ramadan, the month of Mercy, Forgiveness, and
blessings. So, I copied a useful article from an Islamic website hoping
that we share the benefit and feel with the significance and matchless
opportunity that we have in this holy month.
I'm going to divide
the topic into some parts so that it can be easily read. I am going to
put some titles above each part which are not stated in the original
copy of the article.
May Allah bless you!
Welcome to the Best Month
The
month of Ramadan has arrived again, the month of fasting and prayer. It
is the month that provides an opportunity for forgiveness from Allah
and emancipation from our sins. It is the month for performing good
deeds and giving in charity. It is the month when the gates of the
heavens are opened and the rewards for our deeds are magnified many
times over. It is the month wherein prayers are answered and the status
of the worshipper is elevated. It is the month wherein sins are
forgiven.
The month of Ramadan has arrived again, the month of
fasting and prayer. It is the month that provides an opportunity for
forgiveness from Allah and emancipation from our sins. It is the month
for performing good deeds and giving in charity. It is the month when
the gates of the heavens are opened and the rewards for our deeds are
magnified many times over. It is the month wherein prayers are answered
and the status of the worshipper is elevated. It is the month wherein
sins are forgiven.
Allah bestows so many blessings upon his
servants in the month of Ramadan. This is the month of fasting that is
one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him)
fasted during this month and directed his followers to do the same. He
told us that whoever fasts this month with faith, seeking Allah’s
reward, will have all of his past sins forgiven. He likewise informed
us that whoever stands in prayer throughout this month will have all of
his past sins forgiven.
The month of Ramadan contains within
it a night that is superior to a thousand months. Whoever is denied the
goodness of that night is indeed deprived.
We should welcome
this month and embrace it with happiness and joy. We should have the
truest resolve to observe the fasts and the prayers and to compete in
doing righteous deeds. During this month, we should ardently repent for
all of our sins and encourage each other to engage in virtuous deeds
and call to what is right and forbid what is wrong. In this way, we
will succeed in attaining the blessings and the great rewards of
Ramadan.
The fast provides us with many benefits and is full
of wisdom. It purifies and strengthens our hearts. It rids us of our
baser tendencies like exuberance, arrogance, and stinginess. It
reinforces our good traits like fortitude, clemency, and generosity. It
supports us in our inner struggle to please Allah and attain nearness
to Him.
Fasting teaches us about ourselves and our needs. It
shows us how weak we are and how truly dependent we are upon our Lord.
It shows us how much Allah has blessed us. We are reminded of our
brethren those who are less fortunate and are inspired to treat them
well. We are compelled to thank Allah and to use the blessings He has
provided us in obedience to Him.
Allah draws attention to
these many benefits when he says: “O you who believe, fasting is
prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who were before
you that you may learn self-restraint.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 183]
In
this verse, Allah makes it clear that he prescribed fasting in order to
purify us. Fasting is a means for us to learn self-restraint and
cultivate our piety. Piety is to observe the commandments and
prohibitions of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) sincerely
out of our love and reverence for Allah, and to avoid His punishment
and anger.
Piety Seekers
& Benefits of Fasting
Fasting
is a great act of piety in itself and a great means of increasing our
piety in all aspects of our religious and worldly lives.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) pointed out one of the benefits of fasting when he said: “O
young people, whoever among you has the wherewithal to marry should do
so, because it assists us in lowering our gazes and safeguarding our
private parts. Whoever cannot do so should fast, because fasting
diminishes sexual power.”
The reason that fasting has
this effect is because Satan flows like blood through our veins.
Fasting constrains this flow while and acts as a reminder of Allah and
His greatness, thereby reducing Satan’s influence over the fasting
person while at the same time his faith strengthening. He naturally
starts engaging in more acts of obedience and fewer acts of sin.
There
are many other benefits of fasting that we can discover with a little
thought and reflection. Fasting is good for bodily health. It gives the
body a chance to purify itself of accumulated poisons, a fact which has
been confirmed by numerous doctors.
The sacred texts speak
quite extensively about the virtues of fasting in the month of Ramadan
and about it being a duty upon the believers. Allah says: “O
you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it has been
prescribed for those who were before you that you may learn
self-restraint. Fasting for a fixed number of days… The month of
Ramadan in which the Qur’ân was revealed, a guidance for the people and
clear proofs of guidance and the criterion. So whoever witnesses the
month should fast it. And whoever is sick or upon a journey should fast
the same number of days (later on). Allah wishes ease for you and he
does not wish hardship upon you. He wants that you should complete the
period and that you should exalt Allah for that to which he has guided
you that perhaps you may be thankful.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 183-185]
The
Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Islam is built upon five things:
testifying that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying Zakâh, fasting the
month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the House. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî
and Sahîh Muslim]
When the angel Gabriel asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about Islam, he replied: “Islam
is to bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to pay charity, to fast
the month of Ramadan, and to perform pilgrimage to the House if you are
able to make the journey.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]
Gabriel then said: “You have spoken the truth.” Then he said: “Tell me about faith.”
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) replied:
“It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Messengers, the
Last Day, and divine decree, both the good and bad of it.”
He said: “You have spoken the truth. Tell me about excellence in faith.”
Allah’s Messenger replied: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you do not see Him, you know that He sees you.”
He said: “You have spoken the truth. [Sahîh Muslim]
This Hadîth is of considerable importance and deserves serious thought and consideration
Virtues of Fasting and Ramadan
Once Mu`âdh b. Jabal said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Tell me about some deed that will admit me into Paradise and distance me from the Hellfire.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “You
have asked about something great, yet it is very simple for one for
whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything
with him in worship. Establish prater, pay Zakâh, fast the month of
Ramadan, and undertake the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to
do so.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him added: “Should I not inform
you about the gates of goodness? Fasting is protection. Charity
extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]
Fasting
is a most virtuous act with a reward commensurate with its greatness.
This is especially true in Ramadan, since Allah has made fasting
therein an obligation upon the believers and a means of their attaining
salvation.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Every
deed of the human being is for himself and its reward is multiplied for
him from ten to seven hundred times. Allah says: ‘Except for fasting,
for truly it is for Me and I alone will reward it, for verily he
abandoned his desires, his food, and his drink for my sake.’ The one
who fasts experiences two joys, one upon breaking his fast and one when
he meets his Lord. Surely the breath of the fasting person is sweeter
to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When Ramadan commences, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are bound in chains.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]
The Prophet (peace be upon him said: “On
the first night of Ramadan, the devils and rebellious jinn are bound in
chains, The gates of Paradise are opened until not a single gate
remains closed. The gates of Hell are bound shut until not a single
gate remains open. Then a caller calls out: ‘O seeker of good, go
forth! O seeker of evil, restrain yourself! Allah is emancipating
people from the Fire every night’.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]
On the eve of Ramadan, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave a sermon and said: “O
people! A great and blessed month is coming upon you, a month
containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah has made
fasting in its days an obligation and observing prayer in its nights a
voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in this month through
any virtuous act will be like one who carried out a religious
obligation at another time, and anyone who performs an obligatory act
of worship in this month will be like one who performed seventy such
acts at another time. It is the month of patience, and the reward for
patience is Paradise.” [Sahîh Ibn Khuzaymah
A Pause for consideration before Ramdan
We
must seize the opportunity presented to us in this blessed month and
appreciate the greatness of this time by engaging in all the worship
that we can. We must hasten to perform good deeds. Allah has made this
month a time for worship and for competing with one another in
righteousness. We must increase our prayer and our spending in charity.
We must busy ourselves with reading the Qur’ân. We must hasten to help
the poor, the needy, and the orphans. The Prophet (peace be upon him)
was the most generous of all people and he was even more generous in
Ramadan. We must follow the good example of our Prophet (peace be upon
him) by redoubling our efforts in this month.
We need to
safeguard the blessings of our fasts from our sins and our
shortcomings. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever does not
leave off false speech and false conduct, Allah has no need of his
leaving off food and drink.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]
The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said: “When any one of you is observing the fast
for the day, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor raise
his voice. If someone insults him or quarrels with him, he should say:
‘I am fasting’.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]
We must
beseech Allah for forgiveness in this month and do all that we can to
take advantage of this precious time. We must avoid committing any
offence against the fast that will diminish its blessings and invoke
Allah’s anger. Therefore, we must not be negligent of our prayers or
stingy with our Zakâh. We must not consume interest or the property of
the orphans. We must not steal, oppress anyone, or disrespect our
parents. We must not spurn our kinfolk. We must avoid backbiting,
slander, lies, and falsehood. We must eschew false oaths and claims. We
must not shave or trim our beards or leave our moustaches to grow. We
must not listen to song and musical instruments. Women must not make a
wanton display of themselves and men should not mix with them. These
sins are forbidden throughout the year, but in Ramadan they are even
more forbidden and more sinful.
We must fear Allah and avoid
what Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have prohibited us. We
must be upright in our obedience in Ramadan and throughout the rest of
the year. We should call one another to this and by doing so attain the
success and salvation that this month promises us.
Sheikh `Abd al-`Azîz b. Bâz
The End
موضوع: Welcoming the Arrival of Ramadan 
