Soon inshAllah, the graceful month of Ramadhan will be upon us. It is the month chosen by Allah as a month of fasting. He favoured this month over all other months by making it the month of mercy and reverence for all the believers. Indeed, Ramadhan is the most superior of all months: the one in which Allah commenced His final revelation - the Qur'an.
In the month of Ramadhan we read the Qur'an everyday and recite it at length during the Taraweeh. But do we understand and practice this Qur'an? Aisha (ra) described the Prophet's character as being the walking Qur'an. Do our characters reflect the message of the Qur'an? Do we implement it in our lives? Do we feel its weight on our shoulders?
Allah says:
"Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and split asunder (crumbling) by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables that We put forward to mankind that they may reflect." [Al-Hashr, 59:21]
Allah reveals to mankind that had He sent the Qur'an upon a mighty mountain many times the size of a man it would crumble in the fear of Allah ! Do we, in our petty and insignificant stature, then feel humbled by the Qur'an, which was revealed to us and not the mountains? Do we live by the commands and prohibitions that Allah has laid down in the Qur'an, His final revelation?
If Allah Wills, we will fast this month, but will we be alive to see the next Ramadhan? Will this be our last chance to taste the Mercy of Allah within this blessed month? We should assess our behaviour and actions and reflect whether the Day we meet Allah will be our best Day or will it be a Day of disaster? Every one of us will meet Allah alone; with no parents to protect us and no wealth to save us. Allah has revealed:
"That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, And from his mother and his father, And from his wife and his children, Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others." ['Abasa, 80:34-37]
We will only have our actions in this life. So let us look back to the year that has passed and reflect. Let us look at what we did right according to Islam so we can continue doing them, and look at what we did wrong so that we can ask Allah for forgiveness and strive not to repeat them again. The Prophet said:
"If comes Ramadan, the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of hell are locked, and the devils are chained." [Bukhari "> in all actions of life without exceptions, whether we are at the masjid or in the school, whether we are at home or at work, whether we are buying a house or selling a car. In short, we must follow Islam in all aspects of our lives.
Ramadhan is also a great opportunity to seek Islamic knowledge and increase our awareness of the Islamic culture. The more we are aware of Islam the better chance we have to run our lives according to it. Allah revealed:
"Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants, who have knowledge." [Al-Faatir, 35:28]
In the month of Ramadhan, the Prophet used to study the Qur'an every night with the Angel Jibreal. Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, had said: "The Prophet was the most generous of people. He used to be the most generous in Ramadhan when he would meet with angel Jibreal and study the Qur'an with him. Angel Jibreal would meet with the Prophet every night in Ramadhan to teach him the Qur'an. The Prophet was so generous when he met with Jibreal, more generous than the wind that brings rain." Imam Ah-mad added to this narration: "And nothing he was asked for but he would give it." Furthermore, Al-Bayhaqi reported that 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, had said, "When Ramadhan would start, the Prophet would release all prisoners of war and fulfil the need of every person who would ask him for something."
Let us seek knowledge in this blessed month by studying the meaning of the ayat of the Glorious Qur'an. Let us read about the life of the Prophet and his companions (ra): how they lived their lives, how they sacrificed life and limb to make the Word of Allah supreme. Let us remember Musab ibn Umayr (ra): the sahabi who went from being the richest man to the poorest - so poor that when died he did not own enough clothes to cover his own body. Why did he face such a situation? Because he realized the promise of Allah is true. Let us read about the rules of interaction in Islam whether in trade, finance, agriculture or others. Let us see what Islam says about the relationships between men and women, family and children. Islam is a complete way of life and in this blessed month let's make the sincere intention to cover some parts of Islam that we lack knowledge of.
Let us use this opportunity to extend the bridges of brother-hood and earn rewards by inviting Muslims for Iftar as the Prophet has said:
"He who feeds a fasting person will gain the same reward as he will, without decreasing from the fasting person's rewards." [Ahmad]
The month of Ramadhan in the time of the Prophet was a time of purification, enjoining the good, forbidding evil and striving hard with one's life and wealth to make the word of Allah the highest. After the death of the Prophet, Muslims carried this Sunnah on and Allah the Majestic used the believers to affect the course of history.
Ramadhan was a time of intense activity, spending the day on the saddle and the night in prayer, while calling upon Allah for His Mercy and Forgiveness. This was the spirit of Ramadhan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges.
So let us make this month of Ramadhan the month of prayer, the month of worship, the month of recitation of Qur'an, the month of giving Zakah, the month of strengthening the relations between our relatives, the month of generosity and goodness to the needy, the month of being aware of our speech and actions, the month of re-invigorating our relationship with Allah and purifying our hearts, the month of increasing our knowledge of Qur'an, Sunnah and Fiqh, and the month of engaging in the da'wa to implement the Qur'an and the Sunnah on earth.
May Allah the Most Glorious One make us that generation of Muslims who lay the proper foundations of the Islamic rule for the coming generations and make us of those who carry out our Islam during Ramadhan and beyond.
"To the righteous soul will be said: 'O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back thou to thy Lord, - well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter thou, then, among My devotees! Yea, enter thou My Heaven.'" [Al-Fajr, 89:27-30]
Source: crafty-witch.blogspot.com
