Reaping the opportunities in Ramadan
by Iman Badawi
In the name of Allah, the source of Mercy, the Mercy-giving
Reaping the opportunities in
RamadanThe Prophet's (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
companions used to say, "Let not the day that you fast and the day that
you do not fast be equal." It is important that one's behaviour, attitude
and outlook should not be the same on the day that one is fasting and when one
is not fasting. There should be a change, as one is trying to worship Allah
more, so one's fasting should have an effect.
Lesson 1: Gaining taqwa (fear of Allah)
Allah legislated fasting for gaining taqwa, "O you who believe
fasting has been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those
before you, so that you may attain taqwa." (meaning of Sooratul Baqarah
(2):138) Tawqa in this case means, to make a shield between oneself and Allah's
anger and hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, 'Has
this fasting day made us fear Allah more ? Has it resulted that we want to
protect ourselves from the hellfire ?'
Lesson 2: Drawing us closer to Allah
This is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur'an during the
night and the day, attending the taraweh prayers, remembering Allah, sitting in
circles of knowledge and for those who can, making umrah. The Prophet (may
Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"An umrah in the month of
Ramadan is equal (in reward) to performing a hajj." (Ahmad & Ibn
Majah). Also for those who can, making itikaf (seclusion) in the last ten days
of Ramadan, so to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself in a masjid
just thinking of Allah, this brings us closer to Allah. When one sins, one
feels distant from Allah. That is why one might find it hard to read and
reflect on the Qur'an and come to the masjid. However, the obedient worshipper
feels closer to Allah and wants to worship Allah more, because Allah forgives
and is merciful.
Lesson 3: Acquiring patience and strong
will
Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'an and
has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one
fasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital sexual relations
for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. This ummah needs men and
women that are strong willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of
Allah and not waver in front of the enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional
people, who raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon
something firm, they cannot do so, they waver.
Lesson 4: Striving for ihsan
(righteousness & sincerity) and staying away from riyaa’ (showing off)
Ihsan means to worship Allah as if one sees Him, for if one does not see
Him, He sees all. Hasan al-basri said,"By Allah in the last twenty years,
I have not said a word or taken something with my hand or refrained to take
something with my hand or stepped forward or stepped back, except that I have
thought before I have done any action,'Does Allah love this action ? Is Allah
pleased with this action ?' " So when one is fasting, one should gain this
quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyah (showing off).
That is why Allah said in a qudsi hadith, "..Fasting is for Me and I will
reward it.." (Bukhari) Allah singles out fasting from all other types of
worship saying, "..Fasting is for Me..", because no one knows whether
you are fasting or not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or
giving charity or making tawwaf, one can be seen by the people, so one might do
the action seeking the praise of the people.
Sufian at-thawri used to spend the nights and the days crying and the people
used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah ?",
he said,'No.', they said,"Is it due to the fear of the hell-fire ?",
he said, 'No. It is not the fear of Allah that makes me cry, what makes me cry
is that I have been worshiping Allah all these years and doing scholarly
teaching, but I am not certain that my intentions are purely for Allah.'
Lesson 5: Refinement of manners,
especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
said,"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah,
the Mighty and the Majestic has no need that he should leave his food and
drink." (Bukhari) And the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace
upon him) said,"It may be that a fasting person attains nothing but hunger
and thirst from his fast." (Ibn Majah) What we learn from this, is that we
must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"I was sent to perfect good
manners." (Muwatta) So we must check ourselves, are we following the behaviour
of the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him). For example,
Do we give salam to those we don't know and those we do know? Do we follow the
manners of Islam, by telling the truth and only telling the truth? Are we
merciful to the creation?
Lesson 6: Recognising that one can
change for the better
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"Every
son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn
Majah) Allah provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His
forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient.
Lesson 7: Being more charitable
Ibn Abbas said,"The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon
him) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to be more so in
the month of Ramadan when Gibreel used to meet him on every night of Ramadan
till the end of the month. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace
upon him) used to recite the Holy Qur'an to Gibreel." (Bukhari) The
Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who
gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same
reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person's
reward." (Tirmidhi )
Lesson 8: Sensing the unity of the
Muslims
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,
"...Those of you who will live after me, will see many differences. Then
you must cling on to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khalifah.
Hold fast to it and stick to it.." (Abu Dawud) It is possible for Muslims
to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to
Allah and His Messenger. One senses unity, because the Muslims pray and fast
together.
Lesson 9: Learning discipline
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Bilal
makes the adhan, while it is still night; therefore, eat and drink until Ibn
Umm Maktum makes the adhan." (Bukhari) The Prophet (may Allah send His
blessing and peace upon him) made us adhere to this strictness. Similarly one
cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be accepted
by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their lives, because they
are people of an important message, which they mould their lives around.
Lesson 10: Teaching the young to worship
Allah
It was the practice of the people of Madinah, that during the fast of Ashura
(which is now a recommended fast of one day) to get their children to fast with
them. When the children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would
distract their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The
children would break their fast with their parents. (mentioned in Bukhari) So
the young should be brought to the masjid and they should pray with their parents,
so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming worshippers of Allah.
If one does not encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find
it very difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why
the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,
"Command your children to pray at the age of seven and beat them at the
age of ten (if they do not pray)" (Hakim)
Lesson 11: Caring for one's health
Fasting teaches Muslims to take care of their health and to build strong
bodies. The Prophet (may Allah send his blessing and peace upon him)
said,"A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak
believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim)
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" La ilaaha illallaahu, nas-taghfirullaaha,
nas-alukal jannata, wa na'oozubika minannar."
"Allahumma Aghfirlee Zunoobee Ya Rabbal Aalameen"
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May Allah guide us to Siraat-e Mustaqeem, and grant us the taufeeq to utilize
this merciful and ever so forgiving Ashra of the Most Holiest of the Holy
Months. May Allah accept our fasts, sujood o qayaam and tauba, for indeed His
mercy prevails over his wrath, and indeed we are sinners in dire need of that
mercy.
Aameen.
