Ramadan Articles - Be Grateful for Witnessing Ramadan

Although the days of one's life pass quickly justas those ofRamadan,
onefeels this quick passage especially inRamadan, because its days are
very short. The truth is, all of one's days are limited and short even
though a person does not feel it.
Allaah The Almighty has opened for you a new month ofRamadan. Having
pledged the last year to be better this year, in terms of
drawingcloser to Allaah The Almighty, having greater love for Allaah
The Almighty, and more sacrificing and striving for the sake of Allaah
TheAlmighty, this is the time to realize all those covenants. Suppose
you have been seized by Allaah The Almighty before reachingRamadanin
which you placed your hope, you would have neither received
forgiveness in the lastRamadan, nor reached thisRamadan. You have seen
how manyof your brothers and sisters in faith have been seized by
death, which makes no difference between the young and the old.
Another point which frightens one today, is that having seen one's
lethargy and laziness, and known that he neither takes the matter
seriously, nor cares for the forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty, nor
sacrifices anything for that, Allaah The Almighty may deprive him of
forgiveness. He may say: since you do not like it; you are too lazy
to do anything for it; you sacrifice nothing for it; and you do not
appreciate it in the manner that is due, then,you have been deprived
of it.
However, if one has strong determination today, now, it is time for
him to act accordingly. Allaah The Almighty has opened for him this
year the gates of forgiveness; and he, in turn, still has hope in His
generous countenance that He would not deprive him ofit, nor close His
gate in his face. Having entered with this wish, he should insist on
realizing this hope in Allaah The Almighty.
The following are some of the duties of the believers inRamadan:
1-ThankingAllaah The Almighty for the blessing of reaching the month ofRamadan
2-Sacrificing one's property, effort and time
Reaching the month ofRamadanis a great blessing that requires
continuous thanks to Allaah The Almighty. This was the way of the
righteous predecessors. If any of them was granted success by
AllaahThe Almighty to stand )in prayer( one night, then, in the
morning, he wouldobserve fasting out of gratitude to Allaah The
Almighty. Gratitude is one of the causes which increase these
blessings as confirmed by Allaah The Almighty in His Saying )what
means(:}And ]remember[ when your Lord proclaimed,"If you are grateful,
I will surely Increase you ]in favor[; but if you deny, indeed,
Mypunishment is severe."{]Quran 14:7[This causes Allaah The Almighty
to increase you in favor, draw close to you and provide for you.
TheHadeethnarrated on the authority of Talhahclarifies well the
blessing attained by reaching the month ofRamadan. In his vision, he
saw as if there were three men inJihaad)armed struggle in the cause of
Allaah The Almighty(, two of whom were martyred, and the gates of
Paradise were opened to them, and they saw theHoor)celestial maidens(
and although the third was awaited by his wife from among theHoor, he
did not fall as a martyr in the cause of Allaah The Almighty. She
said, "May Allaah disappoint you! What have you done in order not to
rise up to that rank?"A year later, he saw in a vision the third one
who died naturally and did not fall as a martyr in the cause of Allaah
The Almighty in a degree higher than that of his two fellows who had
fallen martyrs in the cause of Allaah. He related that to the
Messenger of Allaah,, who said:"Has he not prayed to Allaah six
thousand Rak'ahs? Has henot observed the fast of Ramadan?"Allaah The
Almighty caused him to survive this year that delayed him from his
fellows who fell as martyrs, and because of his prayers and fasting
during this year, he rose to a rank higher than that of the martyrs,
and became higher in position than those who were martyred in the way
of Allaah The Almighty, due to his righteous deeds, including, of
course, witnessingRamadan. Let us consider how one should praise his
Lord because He has granted him this great opportunity.