All praise belongs to Allah the Most High, who created both life and
deathas a test to see who is foremost in deed. ThroughHis infinite
mercy He blessed mankind with selected times and seasonsin which the
best deeds are made obligatory and the reward for good deedsis
multiplied. Allah, the Most Wise, prescribed the third pillar of
Islam, fasting, in the second year after the hijrah of the final
Messenger (peace be upon him). Fasting is obligatory upon every sane
Muslim adult, Allah the Most High says,
"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for
you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain
taqwa." [1]
Taqwa is defined as "the consciousness of the soul to fulfil what
Allah the Most High has commandedand abstain from what He has
prohibited" [2] . Fastingis therefore a means towards achieving a
level of self-restraint. The scholars of tafsir (exegesis)mention
various behaviours that are restrained by fasting including eating,
drinking, fulfilling one's desires, being angry and disobeying Allah
the Most High in general. Sufyan Al Thawri said,
"The reason for the title muttaqin (those who havetaqwa) is that they
leave that which is not left".
Ibn al-Qayyimsaid
"The objective behind fasting is to restrain the soul from desires
(for food,drink, and sexual relations), divert it from itsnormal
circumstances, tame the strong desires, prepare it to attain the
happiness and benefits (from fasting), and purify itfrom its untamed
state. By experiencing the intensity of hunger and thirst, one
isreminded of the condition of the hungry stomachs of needy people."
[3]
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
said "On the first night of Ramadan, the devils and rebellious jinn
are bound in chains; the gates of Paradise are opened until not a
single gate remains closed. The gates of Hell are bound shut until not
a single gate remains open. Then a caller calls out, 'O desirer of
good, go forth! Odesirer of evil, restrain yourself! Allah is
emancipating people from the Fire every night'." [4]
On the last day of Sha'ban, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave a
sermon and said
, "O people! A great and blessed month has approached you, a month
containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah has made
fasting in its days an obligation and prayer in its nights a
(recommended) voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in
this month through any virtuous act will be like one who carried out
an obligatory act at another time (outside of Ramadan),and whoever
performs an obligatory act in this month will be like one who
performed seventy such acts at another time. It is the month of
patience,and the reward for patience is Paradise. It is the month of
equality, the month in which the wealth of the believer is
increased..." [5]
With the reward for obligatory acts multiplied, one must exert to
performthem in the best of manners, and with the reward for voluntary
acts multiplied one must hasten to perform good deeds. Ramadan is
withoutdoubt a golden opportunity for the one who seeks to be absolved
from the Hell fire and the one who yearns to dwell in Paradise,
wherein they will have all that they desire.
Many Muslims assume thatwhen Ramadan comes they will endeavour to
become obedient Muslims and do the maximum possible good deeds for the
whole month. If you imagine the reality as a graph, what happens is
that you start off with a peak and then the influx ofdeeds becomes
difficult forso many reasons, so you trough or lull for much of this
precious month. You then try a bit harder at theend to try to catch
laylat-ul-Qadr (the night of decree), but even then youmay sleep some
nights and even miss some obligatory prayers! This approach to Ramadan
is not correct will repeatedly fail. The Messenger (peace be upon him)
and his companions would pray, fast, and be obedient to Allah all year
round. In Ramadan, like other special times in the year, they would
maximise theirefforts to excel in good deeds.
Ramadan should be used as a platform to change lives, every day should
get increasingly better, the case being even more so each and every
year. Allah the Most High loves those deeds that are done with
consistency, because they represent a Muslim's personality, and they
are the deeds that will pave the path to Jannah (paradise). Prior to
Ramadan, Muslims must perform the obligatory acts, otherwise they will
be punished for their negligence after this life. The obligatory acts
should be supplemented with voluntary acts that are part of one's
daily routine. Once Ramadan arrives then that is the time to exceed
beyond your :->
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