Ramadan - A month of Bounties

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen. Wasalaatu Wassalam u Ala Rusulihil Kareem.

My dear respected brothers, elders and sisters in Islam,

Assalam o allaikum

In the name of Allah SWT who has blessed us with great bounties, One who eases our difficulties when no other can console us, one who is Ar-Rahman, the merciful, and who is Ar Raheem, the compassionate and salutations upon His last messenger, Mohammad SAW who was sent as a Hadi , as a Rahmatulil Aalimeen, one who taught us the meaning of the words of Allah SWT, who showed us the practice of the true path by his sunnah.

My Dear brothers in Islam, Allah SWT has blessed us once again with the great month of Ramadan, a month that is full of barakah and full of opportunities for us. It is a month that is an Eid in its true meaning for us, a celebration, and not only that, Allah SWT has made it easier upon us by restricting the shayateen in this blessed month, so that we can achieve more and get closer to Allah SWT.

There are three things that can give us a feeling to be near to our creator in this month. The first are the Ibadaat that are given to us by Allah SWT. Then we see how Allah SWT rewards us for these Ibadaat which is many folds. The salaat and the dhikr during this month increases these rewards many times but there is another ibadah that is not graded by reward and that is Fasting.

Allah has made this fasting obligatory upon us , as He says in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-


Abu Umamah RA asked the Prophet Mohammad SAW, O Messenger of Allah! Tell me of an action that can take me to paradise!. Rasulallah SAW replied, ‘Adopt Fasting!, there is nothing like it!’

Rasuallah SAW is reported to have said:

"Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, 'Except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will give recompense for it, he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.' For the fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk." [al-Bukhaaree]

The second thing that makes us feel closer to the being of Allah SWT is our effort during this month. Rasuallah SAW is reported to have said that when a slave goes a palm length towards Allah SWT, Allah SWT comes an arms length towards him.

The effort to get close to Allah SWT starts from a small action in the day by the niyyah to keep the fast for one’s creator, and then it moulds into a bigger action of controlling the physical desires and internal desires and disciplining oneself towards the slavery of Allah SWT. This effort to a human seems useless, as to why one has to keep themselves hungry for long hours, why one has to deprive oneself from the worldly joys but in the eyes of Allah SWT, the giving up of these desires is a supreme sacrifice and that’s why Allah SWT rewards those who follow his commands in a supreme way.

Sahl ibn Sa`d said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "Indeed there is a gate of Paradise called ar-Rayyaan. On the day of Resurrection those who fast will enter through it; no one enters it except for them, and when they have entered, it is closed so that no one enters it, so when the last of them enters it, it is closed, and whoever enters it drinks, and whoever drinks never becomes thirsty." [Ibn Khuzaimah, Saheeh].

This very act of Fasting will become a means of Nijaat for us on the day of Judgement when we will be held accountable for our deeds. This Fasting will plead to Allah SWT on our behalf as mentioned in one of the hadeeth:

On the Day of Judgement, "Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food an desires so accept my intercession for him." [Ahmad, al-Haakim and Abu Nu'aim, Hasan]

So we should take this ibadaah in high regards for it can become a source of our success in the hereafter.

The third thing that makes this month a means of closeness to Allah SWT is that Allah SWT restricts the movement of Shayateen in this month. Shayateen who are the main source of our distractions from our creator in our daily life are locked up during this month. In other words, our Nafs that is more prone to be attacked by Shaytan out of Ramadan is now more in our control and it comes down to us how we groom it during this month. It is an opportunity to change our desires, from that of the worldly to that of being slave to One Creator. It is due to this fact that it is said Ramadan is a precursor to changing one’s life. One’s life cannot just change because he lives through Ramadan. One’s life will have changes in effect if he lives through Ramadan with all the protocols that this month demands from us.

Some of us, we spend this month by keeping us hungry all day and sleeping or watching TV to pass the time until iftar. This is exactly what Fasting is not about. Fasting is about suppressing your inner desires and focusing on the bigger goal, of Ma`arifa , companionship of Allah SWT during this month.

So my dear brothers and sisters, particularly those who are my younger brothers, promise to yourself that this Ramadan will be the one where you actually make the change, the change that you have been thinking about for so long, the change that is in your mind, but has not been materialized. Shun the activities that take you away from the remembrance of Allah SWT during this month and focus on Dhikr and focus on your ibaadah and focus on getting closer to your Creator.

May Allah SWT give us all, the tofeeq to be the slaves of Allah in its true meaning.

Wa akhiru Da`waana Annilhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen.
September 22, 2006