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Written by Azeem
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Saturday, 01 October 2005 |
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Al-hamdo Lilla-he NahmaduhuWanastaeenohu Wa Nastaghfiru-hu WaNauoozu billa-hee min shoroore anfosena
Maiy-yah-dehiLaahu faLaa mudil-lala-hu
wa maiy-yudlilLaa-hu faLaa ha-deya la hu
wa ash-hado allah illa-ha illala-hu wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa rasoolu
All Praise is for Allah. We praise and glorify him and seek His help and forgiveness. And seek refuge from the evils of our desires. Whomsoever Allah gives guidance none can mislead him. And whomsoever Allah misleads none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his servant and apostle.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, the Holy Month of Ramadan is quickly approaching. We may or may not enter this month with the proper mindset. But we definitely will quickly find out where we stand and we will come to know what activities exist in our lives that should not. Because while we are fasting, we may be about to say or do something improper, and we might remember, Oh I am fasting, I shouldn’t be doing this. But how can we get a head start on this?
Inshallah we want to get the most out of this month. Lets look at how Prophet Muhammad (S) viewed the approaching of this month. In the month of Shaban he said:
"O People ! Indeed ahead of you is the blessed month of Allah. A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month which with Allah is the best of months. Its days, the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath you take glorifies him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered. So, ask Allah, your Lord; to give you a sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite his book, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah's forgiveness during this great month. Remember the hunger and thirst of the day of Judgment with your hunger and thirst; give alms to the needy and poor, honor your old, show kindness to the young ones, maintain relations with your blood relations; guard your tongues, close your eyes to that which is not permissible for your sight, close your ears to that which is forbidden to hear, show compassion to the orphans of people so compassion may be shown to your orphans. Repent to Allah for your sins and raise your hands in dua during these times, for they are the best of times and Allah looks towards his creatures with kindness, replying to them during the hours and granting their needs if he is asked ...
When pondering upon the nature of this month, we should ecstatic , our hearts should be filled with Joy, since once again we have lived to experience this month
Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran:
Ya AyuHal Lazeena Aaminu Kuthiba Alaikumus Siyyamu Kamaa Kutiba Alalazeena min Qablikum La-allakum TataQoon
O Believers! Fasting is ordained for you, as it was ordained for those before you, that you might attain Allah-consciousness (2:183)
The reason we fast is because we have been commanded to. This is one of the Pillars of Islam, on which it stands. We fast everyday throughout this Month. We have to be very clear on our intentions and goals going into this month.
There is a hadith in Bukhari which says:
“The person who fasts with perfect sense of devotion to faith and accountability, Allah will pardon all the sins which he may have committed in his previous life” (Bukhari)
The condition to having all your sins forgiven is to be sincere
As we know 'Actions are judged only by intentions and everyone shall have what he intended.' (Bukhari, Muslim.)
The intention must be made before fajr and during every night of Ramadan. This point is based on the hadith of Hafsah which reported that the Prophet (S) said: "Whoever does not determine to fast before fajr will have no fast" (that is, it won't be accepted). This is related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, at-Tirmizhi, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah. Ibn Khuzaimah and Ibn Hibban have classified it as sahih.
This goes to show us, that we can not just fly through this month, Our efforts, need to consciously undertaken.
There are a tremendous amount of benefits that we can attain during the course of this month. Just take a look at some of the things told to us by prophet Muhammad (S):
There will be a special gate to enter heaven for those who fasted. On the Day of Judgment your fasts will make intercession for you! Prayers made at Iftaar time by one who fasts are never refused!
In another ahadith we are told:
“Every good deed of a man is granted manifold increase, ten to seven hundred times, But Allah says: Fasting is an exception; it is exclusively for me, and I reward for this as much as I wish” (Bukhari, Muslim)
What an opportunity! The gates of heaven are opened! And the gates of hell have been closed! Shaytan and his henchmen are locked up, and the weight that your good deeds carry have been elevated to an astounding level.
So use this month to rid yourself of any bad habits, and deeds which are serving as a barricade between you and your creator!, And adopt all those good deeds into your lives that you may be lacking: Going into this month, we should all sit down and evaluate ourselves to see what we are lacking in our lives and in our Relationship with our Creator and Sustainer.
A Question which we all are probably asking our self is:
What activities should we partake in during this month?
• Praying at the Masjid
• Standing In Tharawih prayers
• Reading the whole Quran
• Repenting to Allah
• Reciting the Quran & understanding it
• Making Nafl and Tahajjud prayers
• Doing Islamic work, organized collective effort
• Helping the Needy
• Providing food to those who are fasting, there is much reward for doing so
• Doing Ihtikaaf in the last 10 days
• Making extra prayers searching for Laylatul Qadr
• Doing Dawah
Use Ramadan as a tool to introduce Islam to others
• Stand around in your lobby and greet people and just slip these three words into your conversation. I’m fasting today. And that’s all you need to start up a question. Automatically this person will be intrigued and will keep asking you questions about Ramadan, and Islam.
• Address Miconceptions
o So you don’t eat for an entire Month?
• Your coworkers, and friends will be wondering why you aren’t eating during your lunch break, they will ask you, so tell them about Ramadan, and use this opportunity to Introduce Islam to them,
These are definitely the things which we all should participate in, But many of the Ibadaat which we perform have become purely mechanical, and have lost their effectiveness. In order to have our efforts accepted we must meet certain requirements that Allah (S) has set for us.
I want to share 2 hadith
“If one does not give up speaking falsehood and acting by it, Allah does not require him to give up eating and drinking.” (Bukhari)
“Many are the people who fast but gain nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst; and many are those who stand praying all night but gain nothing except sleeplessness” (Da’rimi)
When you fast you are being told to abstain from not only especially what is haram, but also things which are normally halal!
You can not eat even 5 minutes after the time for suhoor has past. And you can not eat even 5 minutes before sunset. What this does is build Patience, and trains you to be in the habit of being totally obedient to Allah (S).
We have also been told to hasten to break the fast, this illustrates the fact that the true spirit behind fasting is not to starve oneself, but it is to learn how to become a true slave of Allah. Who is totally obedient to him.
After this month we can determine if we took advantage of this opportunity or if we let another Ramadan pass us by. If we observe fasts with the intention of becoming Allah conscious, we will continue to love and fear him, and that should result in a tremendous change in our lives. If we fail to approach this month properly, then you can expect for us to return to following our whims and desires, and will welcome back Shaytan with open arms on the Eid day.
Fasting is one type of the various Ibadaat which we have been given to us, which will help prepare us to carry out our mission. Some other Ibadat include The daily salat, performing Hajj. All these forms of Ibadat can be seen as ‘Rest stops’ on the highway of life. This is where we stop to get ourselves together, if we are lost, we look over our guide (The Quran), so that we can once again get back on the highway, heading in the right direction, after being full rejuvenated.
If you compare the amount of time spent in Ramadan, which is used for getting close to Allah, with performing salat, and making hajj. You will see that performing salat takes a few minutes, Hajj a few days, But the rest stop of Ramadan is not just a rest stop, it’s a month long engagement! It serves as the ultimate training program, but like any other effort, those who put more into it, will get more out of it.
In the sports of Soccer, and Ice Hockey, they have something called a penalty shot, or penalty kick, When you take this kick or shot, your adversaries (the shayateen) are cleared from your path, And you have an opportunity to capitalize, The only thing between you and the goal is the goalie who symbolizes your own willingness and determination. You will either go through this month and score a goal or you can miss your shot.
As Muslims we should remember that all Ibadaat we perform are directly related to our duty as being Allah’s vicegerent on this Earth.
Surely we will attain many blessings and rewards in the next life during the course of this month, But the effects of this month should have a tremendous impact on us in this life! Right here, in this world!
Fasting in the month of Ramadan should help to equip us with obedience, discipline, patience and courage, which will help us to fulfill our duty as Muslims. We want to come out of this month transformed as a Mu’min… a Mu’min who is ready to be a Da’ee, and a Mujahid.
If you take this month as a spiritual Cocoon, remember that when a caterpillar goes into a cocoon, he goes through a transformation process, and this process turns him into a beautiful butterfly.
You will be decreasing the amount of meals you eat in a day by 66% so if you end up gaining weight at the end of this month that is a really bad indication! Do not expect to spend your entire month reading quran, while your spouses spend the entire month in the kitchen. This is not a month of feasting it is the month of fasting, which are total opposites! And if you eat too many pakoray you will not be able to stand in tarawih for very long.
Don’t spend this month in Hibernation, overeating, and oversleeping instead be more active and willing to sacrifice in the way of Allah (S), Sacrifice your time, money, energy, resources for the sake of Allah. Evaluate yourself, see where you stand, Evaluate yourself to see what you need to add and subtract from your life. And remember that the goal is to gain Taqwa, so that we may be able to do all the things, that which Allah (S) demands of us.
We should always be conscious of why we are performing certain actions. I am going to conclude with this beautiful verse of the quran:
Qul Inna Salatee Wa Nu su Key Wamah Yaa Ya
Wa Ma Maa Thee Lil lahee Rabbil Alimeen
Say: Surely my Prayer, all my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are for Allah alone, the Lord of the whole universe (6:162 Qu’ran)
Subhana kalla humma wa bi hamdik Ashaduallah illaha illa ant astughfiruka wa athoo bu ilayk
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