Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The month of Ramadan in which
was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear
proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong).
So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month
(of
Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts)
that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days
which
one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days.
Allaah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things
difficult for
you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days),
and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar:
Allaah is
the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful
to Him.” [al-Baqarah 2:185]
It
is a great month, a noble season, a month
in which hasanaat (rewards for good deeds) are multiplied and in
which committing sayi’aat (bad deeds) is more serious than at other
times. The
gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the
sinners’ repentance to Allaah is accepted. It is a month whose
beginning is
mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is redemption from the
Fire.
So
give thanks to Him for the season of
goodness and blessing that He has bestowed upon you, and for the
means of bounty and various kinds of great blessings for which He has
singled you
out. Make the most of this blessed time by filling it with acts of
worship and forsaking haraam things, so that you may attain a good life
in
this world and happiness after death.
For
the sincere believer, every month is an
occasion for worship and his whole life is spent in obeying Allaah,
but in the month of Ramadaan he has even more motives to do good and his
heart
is even more focused on worship, and he turns even more to his Lord.
By His grace, our generous Lord bestows His bounty upon the fasting
believers
and multiplies the reward for them on this blessed occasion, so He
gives abundantly and rewards generously for righteous deeds.
Time passes quickly
Days
pass so quickly, as if they were mere
moments. We welcomed Ramadaan, then we bade it farewell, and only a
short period of time passed and we are welcoming Ramadaan again. So we
should
hasten to do good deeds in this month and strive to fill it with
that which Allaah is pleased with and with that which will help us on
the Day
when we meet Him.
How can we prepare for Ramadaan?
We
can prepare for Ramadaan by taking stock
of ourselves and recognizing our shortcomings in living up to the
Shahaadatayn, or our shortcoming in fulfilling our duties, or our
shortcomings
in not keeping away from the desires and doubts that we may have
fallen into…
We
should set ourselves straight so that in
Ramadaan we will have a higher degree of faith. For faith increases
and decreases. It increases through obedience to Allaah and it decreases
through disobedience and sin. The first act of obedience that a
person should achieve is that of being a true slave of Allaah and
believing that
there is none that is rightfully worshipped except Allaah, so he
directs all kinds of worship to Allaah and does not associate anyone
else in
worship with Him. Each of us should realize that whatever has
befallen him could not have missed him, and whatever missed him could
not have
befallen him, and that everything happens by the will and decree of
Allaah.
We
should avoid everything that could
undermine our commitment to the Shahaadatayn. This means keeping
away from bid’ah (innovations) and things that have been introduced into
the
religion. We should also follow the principle of al-walaa’
wa’l-bara’ (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and enmity), by taking
the believers
as our friends and by regarding the kaafirs and hypocrites as
enemies, and we should rejoice when the Muslims gain a victory over
their enemies.
We should follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and his companions and adhere to the Sunnah of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the way of
the Rightly-Guided Khulafa’ who came after him. We should love the
Sunnah
and love those who adhere to it and defend it, in whatever country
they are and whatever colour or nationality they are.
After
that we should take stock of ourselves
and recognize our shortcomings in doing acts of worship such as
praying in congregation, remembering Allaah (dhikr), paying attention to
the
rights of neighbours, relatives and the Muslims, spreading the
greeting of salaam, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil,
urging one
another to follow the truth and be patient and steadfast in doing
so, being patient in avoiding evil actions and in doing good deeds, and
accepting the decree of Allaah with patience.
Then
we should take stock of ourselves and
our sins and our following whims and desires. We should stop
ourselves from persisting in that, whether the sin is great or small,
whether it is a
sin of the eye, by looking at that which Allaah has forbidden; or by
listening to music; or by walking to things of which Allaah does not
approve;
or by using one's hands to srike in a manner with which Allaah is
not pleased; or by consuming things that Allaah has forbidden such as
riba
(usury) and bribes, or any other means of consuming people’s wealth
unlawfully.
We
should never forget that Allaah stretches
forth His hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who
sinned at night, and He stretches forth His hand at night to accept the
repentance of those who sinned during the day. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And
march forth in the way (which leads
to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the
heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious).
Those who spend (in Allaah’s Cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men;
verily, Allaah loves Al-Muhsinoon (the good‑doers).
And
those who, when they have committed
Faahishah (illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with
evil, remember Allaah and ask forgiveness for their sins; — and none can
forgive
sins but Allaah — and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done,
while they know.
For
such, the reward is forgiveness from
their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath (Paradise),
wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent is this reward for the
doers
(who do righteous deeds according to Allaah’s Orders)” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:133-136]
“Say:
“O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have
transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)!
Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins.
Truly,
He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”[al-Zumar 39:53]
“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself
but afterwards seeks Allaah’s forgiveness, he will find Allaah Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Nisa’ 4:110]
By
taking stock, repenting and seeking
forgiveness, this is how we should welcome Ramadaan. “The smart man
is the one who takes stock of himself and strives to do that which will
benefit him after death, and the helpless one is the one who follows
his own whims and desires and engages in wishful thinking, (assuming
that
Allaah will forgive him regardless of what he does and that he does
not need to strive to good deeds).”
The
month of Ramadaan is the month of great
gains and profits. The smart trader is the one who makes the most of
special occasions to increase his profits. So make the most of this
month by
doing lots of acts of worship, praying a great deal, reading
Qur’aan, forgiving people, being kind to others and giving charity to
the poor.
In
the month of Ramadaan the gates of
Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut. The devils are
put in chains and a caller cries out each night, O seeker of good,
proceed, O
seeker of evil, desist.
So,
O slaves of Allaah, be among the people
of good, following the path of your righteous forebears who were
guided by the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon
him), so that we may end Ramadaan with our sins forgiven and our
righteous deeds accepted.
The month of Ramadaan is the best of months
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Another of example of that – i.e., of the differentiation between the things that Allaah has created – is the fact that the month of Ramadaan is superior to all other months, and the last ten nights are superior to the other nights.” Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/56
This month is superior to others in four
things:
1 – In it there is the best night of the
year, which is Laylat al-Qadr. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’aan)
down in the Night of Al‑Qadr (Decree).
And what will make you know what the Night
of Al‑Qadr (Decree) is?
The
Night of Al‑Qadr (Decree) is better
than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allaah in that night is
better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4
months).
Therein descend the angels and the Rooh
[Jibreel (Gabriel)] by Allaah’s Permission with all Decrees,
(All that night), there is peace (and
goodness from Allaah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn” [al-Qadar 97:1-5]
So worship on this night is better than
worshipping for a thousand months.
2 – In this month was revealed the best of Books to the best of the Prophets (peace be upon
them). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the
guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)” [al-Baqarah 2:185]
“We sent it (this Qur’aan) down
on a blessed night [(i.e. the Night of Al‑Qadr) in the
month of Ramadan — the 9th month of the Islamic calendar]. Verily,
We are ever warning [mankind that Our Torment will reach those who
disbelieve
in Our Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of worship].
Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments.
As a Command (or this Qur’aan or the Decree of every matter) from Us. Verily, We are ever
sending (the Messengers)” [al-Dukhaan 44:3-5]
It
was narrated by Ahmad and by al-Tabaraani
in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer that Waathilah ibn al-Asqa’ (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said:
"The Scriptures of Ibraaheem were sent
down on the first of the month of Ramadaan. The Tawraat was sent down on
the
sixth of Ramadaan. The Injeel was sent down on the thirteenth of
Ramadaan. The Zaboor was sent down on the eighteenth of Ramadaan, and
the Qur’aan
was sent down on the twenty-fourth of Ramadaan." (Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1575)
3 – In this month the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the
devils are chained up.
It
was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“When Ramadan comes, the gates of
Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils
are put in chains.” (Agreed upon).
Al-Nasaa’i
narrated from Abu Hurayrah that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said:
“When Ramadaan comes, the gates of mercy are opened and the gates
of Hell are shut, and the devils are put in chains.” (Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 471)
Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah and Ibn
Khuzaymah narrated in one report:
“When the first night of the
month of Ramadaan comes, the devils and rebellious jinn are chained
up and the gates of Hell are closed, and not one gate of it is opened.
The
gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a
caller cries out: ‘O seeker of good, proceed; O seeker of evil, desist.
And
Allaah has those whom He redeems from the Fire, and that happens
every night.” (Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 759)
If it is asked, how come we see many evil actions and sins committed in Ramadaan, for if the
devils are chained up that would not happen?
The answer is that evil actions become less
for those who observe the conditions and etiquette of fasting;
or that the ones who are chained up are some
of the devils – namely the rebellious ones – not all of them;
or
that what is meant is that evil is reduced
in Ramadaan, which is a proven fact. If evil happens at this time,
it is still less than at other times. Even if all of them (the devils)
are
chained up, that does not necessarily mean that no evil or sin will
happen, because there are other causes of that besides the devils, such
as
evil souls, bad habits and the devils among mankind. (Al-Fath, 4/145)
4 – There are many kinds of worship in Ramadaan, some of which are not done at other times,
such as fasting, praying qiyaam, feeding the poor, i’tikaaf, sadaqah, and reading Qur’aan.
I
ask Allaah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to help us all to do that and to
help us to fast and pray qiyaam, and to do acts of worship and to avoid
doing evil. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Source
1 comments:
JazakAllah khair..
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