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The Holy Month of Ramadaan
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This
article was published on Islam, Sufism and the Sufi Tradition of Chishti Qadhiri |
The Holy Month of RamadaanBismillahirrahmanirraheem wassalatu wassalamu ala rasoolihil kareem! It is Allahuta'la's greatest mercy that He has bestowed on this ummath, the holy month of Ramadaan (variants are Ramadhan, Ramzan, Ramazhan, Ramadan). Syedina Ali RA said that if Allah had the intention to put even a single person of this ummath in the hell, He wouldn't have offered this holy month to this ummath1. Scholars say that it is due to Allah's love for His beloved Prophet Muhammad saw that resulted in this month being bestowed on us. Allah wanted to make His habeeb (beloved) happy by giving a chance to his followers to cleanse themselves of all their sins and become purified. We should all be very happy about this and continue praying to Allah that we attain His blessings completely during this month of Ramadhan and we use this holy month to the full as Allah and His Prophet wanted us to. I remember a scholar saying a hadith which states, "who ever feels a sense of joy before the month of ramadhan that the holy month is approaching, all his sins would be forgiven". The basis of this saying being that Allah rewards even a believer's good intentions. We are happy about the approaching Ramadhan with an intention that all our sins will be forgiven due to our fasting as Allah has promised. So, we feel a source of joy and Allah records this intention as a good deed! Subhanallah! May Allah make us among those whose sins have been forgiven. How does the Prophet Muhammad pbuh stress Ramadan's importance? The Prophet Muhammad pbuh used to pray "Allahumma baariklanaa fee rajabi wa sha'ban wa ballignaa shahra ramadhan" right from the month of Rajab. The prayer means, "Oh Allah! bless us in the holy months of Rajab and Sha'ban and make us attain the holy month of Ramadhan". That the prophet prayed for the month of Ramadhan two months before its arrival, speaks of the importance of this holy month. Moreover, in a different saying our Prophet Muhammad pbuh has said that if a man knows the real worth and greatness of Ramadhan, he would want every month to be Ramadhan. Our Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) Khutba (sermon) on the last day of Sha'ban Ibn Khuzaima reported on the authority of Salman al-Farisi that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered a Khutbah on the last day of Sha'ban saying: "O people: You are about to enter the shadow of a great blessed month. A night therein is better than a thousand months. Allah (swt) made fasting during this month an obligation and encouraged people to perform extra prayers during its nights. Seeking nearness to Allah (swt) through a good deed would be considered like performing an obligatory act of worship. In turn, performance of an obligatory act of worship during this month would be rewarded seventy times more than during any other month. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Jannah. It is the month of comforting others, and the month during which believers would enjoy plentifulness. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) went on to say: " Make sure you frequently do four things, two of which would please your Lord and the other two are indispensable for your salvation in the Hereafter. As for the two things that would please your Lord, they are: testifying to the oneness of Allah (swt) [by reciting the kalima 'Laa Ilaaha Illallaah'] and seeking repentance. And the other two are: asking Allah the favour of entering Jannah (heaven) and seeking refuge in Him from the Hell Fire." The above hadith lays stress and throws light on the following: Lailathul Kadhr (The night of power) What does disrespect to this month mean? Islam is submission to Allah and His will. We will have to respect what Allah has ordained us to. Once Allah asks us to respect a person or thing, one shouldn't look for reasons or logic. It was Shaithan (Iblees) who looked for reasons and didn't respect Adam AS when Allah asked the angels (and him) to prostrate as a respect for Adam AS. Allah has asked us to respect the holy month of Ramadaan. The best way to respect the month of Ramadaan is to do everything what Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have asked us to do during this holy month. Not adhering to them with out excuse would mean a great loss for us. In a popular hadith, it is said that the Prophet saw said, "Amin" to a prayer by Jibraeel AS (Archangel Gabreil) which goes like this: "Let woe be on those who haven't safeguarded themselves from the hell, even after attaining the holy month of Ramadhan" (Aw kamaa kaal). One should remember that Jibraeel AS wouldn't say anything without the order of Allahu ta'ala and all the prayers of our Prophet pbuh are undoubtedly accepted. May Allah save us from being one among them. Footnotes:
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