The holy month of Ramadan is an absolute blessing from our Lord and a sign of enormous mercy towards mankind. Imagine for a moment that Allah, Ar-Rahmaan, decreed a month for us where HE made all the arrangements so that we may boost ourselves to a higher standard in this continuous battle with our greatest enemy of all time, Iblees.
In order to train us for Ramadan, what arrangements does Allah make? From numerous ahadeeth of our beloved messenger Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wasallam, we have come to know that Allah imprisons the devils. Picture yourself in a football match without any opponents. How many goals would you be able to score? As many as you want! On the other hand Allah says that He made fasting obligatory for us so that we may attain taqwa (consciousness). Ramadan is like that match, where Allah has taken away our opposition so that we can maximise our goals and gain as much taqwa as possible.
Now imagine that you are passing by an air conditioned room and its door is open, what will you feel? Coolness. Then what about when Allah opens the doors of jannah and closes the doors of jahannam? This is exactly what Allah does during the first night of Ramadan. As our Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wasallam said, “When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.” [Bukhari] Irrelevant of what you may be doing or not doing, Allah is the All-Knowing, Al-Aleem. He knows when you do and when you do not do something. Only Allah is truly aware of my fasting and whether or not it is only for Him. Imagine the reward you will have for doing something which is ONLY for Allah. The interesting part is that Allah has not mentioned what we will receive for fasting. The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) told us that our good deeds will be multiplied by 10 to 700 times. But as Allah has not mentioned anything about fasting, we can hope it will be more than 700 times at the very least. To achieve that, we must fast with all sincerity, keeping in mind to make sure none of our acts or manners cause our reward to be diminished.
Think for a moment. The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned in a Hadith Qudsi, “Every (sinful) deed can be expiated; and the fast is for Me, so I will give the reward for it; and the smell which comes out of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [Bukhari]
All of us have something in common. We want our wishes to be fulfilled. What would you do if I were to tell you that every single day during iftar, at least one of your wishes will be accepted? Let me tell you what I would do. I am going to make as many wishes during iftaar as possible because it is not an opportunity to be missed. Ponder upon what the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “There are three people whose supplications are not rejected. The fasting person when he breaks his fasting, the just ruler and the supplication of oppressed.” [Tirmidhi]
In another hadith, he (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned, “Indeed there is something for the fasting person when he breaks his fast; a supplication which will not be rejected.” [Ibn Maajah]
The time of iftar is a moment of joy for whoever is fasting. It is not just due to having food after a period of fasting and fulfilling the commandment and obligation of fasting, but also due to knowing that Allah will accept the dua at that moment. Even in a hadith Allah Himself stated that it is a moment of joy. He added something interesting. The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Allah said: ‘Every deed of the child of Adam is for himself, except for fasting. It is for Me and I shall reward it.’ Fasting is a shield, so if it is a day of fasting for any one of you, then he should engage in no obscenity or shouting. If anyone belittles him or fights with him, he should just say ‘I am a person who is fasting’. I swear by Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, the smell of the fasting person’s breath is sweeter to Allah on the Day of Judgment than that of musk. The fasting person has two occasions for joy, one when he breaks his fast because of his breaking it and the other when he meets his Lord because of the reward for his fast.” [Sahîh Muslim (1151)]
Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said that fasting is a shield from the fire of Hell. He (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) also said, “there are two pleasures for a fasting person; one at the time of breaking his fasting and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord. And the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [Bukhari]
We will be rewarded with another joyful moment- the moment we meet Allah, inshaAllah. Imagine the value of this particular reward! Priceless.
O Allah, please make us one of them, Ameen.
Did you know that Allah, Al-Ghafoor and Al-Ghaffaar, will forgive all of your sins due to sincere fasting or sincere qiyaam (the night prayer) during Ramadan? Our sincere fasting can be the reason for our sins to be forgiven, as the Messenger of Allah, (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), said, “Whosoever observes fasting during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” [Bukhari] And he (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) also said regarding the prayer during the nights of Ramadan, “Whosoever prays during the nights of Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, all his past sins will be forgiven”. [Bukhari]
The last third of the month of Ramadan contains a night which is better than a thousand months. This profound month is called Lailatul Qadr and it is the best of all nights. The night when the Qur’an was revealed. It is one of the reasons that Ramadan has a far higher status in comparison to the other months. We were commanded by the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) to search for it in the odd nights from the last 10 days of Ramadan and to get ourselves busy in worshiping. He (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “…..there is a night [during this month] which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is really deprived [of something great].” [Ahmad, An-Nasa’i and Al-Bayhaqi]
We should search for this blessed night and make the best use of its every moment.
O Allah, do not make us among those who will miss the goodness of this night, Ameen!
One of the most beloved acts of worship to Allah is the night prayer. In many ayaat from the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah, Allah and His messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned about the virtues of Qiyaamul-lail (night prayer). How will the reward and status of this act of worship be multiplied during Ramadan? Let us look at what our prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said. ‘Amr ibn Murrah Al-Juhanee (radiAllahu anhu) said: “A man came to the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, if I testify that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, and I observe the five daily prayers, and I pay the Zakaah, and I fast and stand in prayer at night [Qiyaamul-lail] in Ramadan, then amongst who would I be?” He (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said: “amongst the true followers of the prophets and the martyrs” [Ibn Hibban in az-Zawa’id: Its Isnaad is Saheeh]
Imagine the status of a man who worships like this!
Umrah itself is a huge act of ibaadah. What do we know about performing umrah in this blessed month of Ramadan? The prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) compared it as if you are performing hajj with our beloved Prophet himself!
Ibn ‘Abbas (radiAllahu anhuma) narrated, “When the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) returned after performing his Hajj, he asked Umm Sinan Al-Ansaariyyah (radiAllahu anha), ‘What forbid you to perform Hajj?’ She replied, ‘Father of so-and-so (i.e. her husband) had two camels and he performed Hajj on one of them, and the second is used for the irrigation of our land.’ The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said (to her), ‘Perform Umrah in the month of Ramadan, (as it is equivalent to Hajj or Hajj with me in reward).’”[Al-Bukhari]
Our ultimate destination is jannah. There are several gates of jannah through which Allah will let people enter. Among those people of jannah, there will be women whom Allah will allow to enter through any gate she chooses. Who are these women? Ibn Hibban narrated that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “If a woman prayed the five prayers, fasted in Ramadan, protected her honour and obeyed her husband; then she will be told (on the Day of Judgment): “Enter the Jannah through any door you wish.” [Ibn Hibban]
Lastly, there is a warning for all of us. It is a dua that was made by the most honourable angel Jibreel (alaihissalaam) and the most honourable Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said “Ameen” to it. Think about the seriousness of this dua. Abu Hurairah (radiAllahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) stepped up on the mimbar and said: “ameen [O Allah grant it], ameen, aameen”. So it was said, “O Messenger of Allah, you stepped up on the mimbar and said : “ameen, ameen, ameen”? He said :”Jibreel came to me and said, ‘Whoever reaches the month of Ramadan and does not have his sins forgiven and so enters Fire, then may Allah distance him’. So I said “ameen”. [Ibn Khuzaimah, Ahmad and Al-Bayhaqi]
O Allah! Please give us tawfiq so that we can boost our taqwa this Ramadan. O Allah! Indeed we are sinful. Do not let Ramadan finish while we are still in the list of the sinful and heedless. Please forgive us all as there is no help other than Yours.
O Allah! Guide us, accept us among the people of jannah and save us from the Hellfire, Ameen!
