Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and undoubtedly one of the holiest and blessed times of the year. It's the month of fasting and is also the month in which the first verses of the Qur’aan were revealed. There’s such an indescribable atmosphere in our homes and in our communities. Muslims unite to break their fasts together; more people attend the masjids to pray with congregation; more recitation of the Qur’aan; Alhamdulillah for this wonderful time of the year.
Do we know the value of Ramadhan?
It’s reported (although a weak narration) that at the approach of the month of Rajab, which is 2 months prior to the month of Ramadhan, the prophet ﷺ used to make the following dua:
‘Allahumma baa-rik-lanaa fi rajaba wa sha’bana wa bal-lig-naa shah-ra ramadhaana
‘O Allah, make the months of Rajab & Sha’baan blessed for us, and let us reach the month of Ramadhan’
Now let’s take a moment to think about this. Rajab was the month of Al ‘Isra wal mi’raj - The night Journey/ascension in which the prophet ﷺ went to the seven heavens beyond which no other being has crossed and was blessed with the vision of Allah in a manner which only he and Allah know best.
Now having been so close to Allah, and having attained the greatest gift ever imaginable and achievable, and the very thing each soul innately longs for, how could anyone want to be anywhere but back there? The prophet ﷺ wasn’t attached to this world and longed to be with his Creator, yet when the month of Ramadhan approached, it was the only time that the prophet ﷺ is reported to have asked Allah for an extension of his life in this world so he could experience the blessed month. The prophet ﷺ was happy to sacrifice being close to Allah and instead would want to experience Ramadhan.
Why?
Perhaps it was because he really understood its value and the benefits that can be derived from this month in order to gain an even greater closeness in proximity to our Creator. A month where the unfathomable mercy of Allah descends upon the Earth. A time when the veils are lifted between Allah and the supplicant. His compassion holds no bounds, His forgiveness is attained with very little effort and His infinite love for His obedient worshipers is experienced and penetrates deep within their hearts and souls. This is a mere fraction of the value of Ramadhan and this is why we really need to embrace this month wholeheartedly and reap from its many benefits.
Why do we fast?
When we are asked why Muslims fast, we often respond with ‘so we can feel what it’s like to be poor and feel the hunger that they go through’ etc. And no doubt this is something that we inevitably think about when fasting. But I would ask you to consider this. The very same poor and hungry people (if Muslim) have also been commanded to fast. So why would they need to fast if they feel that hunger on a daily basis anyway? This is because feeling the hunger of the poor is not the main reason for fasting in the month of Ramadhan.
Below, I will be focusing only on the primary objective of Ramadhan inshaa'Allah.
So let’s take a look at what Allah says in the book of guidance for mankind, the Holy Qur’aan.
‘O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous (attain taqwa).’
The Holy Qur'aan - Surah 2 Verse 183
Allah has prescribed or ordained fasting for us so that we become righteous. Allah says ‘La allakum tattaqun’ so we become Al-Mutaqun – the pious/righteous - people of Taqwa.
Taqwa in itself is vast. In essence it’s to fear Allah and be God conscious realising His presence. It is to be aware of Allah’s knowledge at every time, every place, every situation and therefore to act accordingly.
So in short, what is Ramadhan?
‘The spirit of Ramadhan is the birth of consciousness of our duties and responsibilities to Allah, Glorified & Exalted be He & His creation’
Ramadhan is a time to re-ignite this consciousness and bring forth the essence of who we are and that being that we are the slaves of Allah.
Why do we need to work on ourselves?
There are two types of people
- The ones who’s nafs overcome them and lead them to ruin having obeyed their impulses and desires.
- The one who has overcome their nafs and made it obey their commands.
The nafs can be at 3 stages.
- Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' (The Soul which Commands/urges to do evil):
This is the nafs that brings punishment to itself. By its very nature it directs its owner towards disobedient/sinful action. No one can get rid of its evil without the help of Allah.
- Nafs al-Lawwama (the Soul that Blames):
This nafs is conscious of its own imperfections. This nafs will blame itself and say things like 'Did I want this? Why did I do that? Was that a wrong thing to do?’
- Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Soul at Peace):
This nafs is tranquil as it rests on the certitude of Allah. It is the tranquil and believing soul.
"Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me."
Al-Ghazali
Ramadhan is a training ground to re- cultivate our inner selves; to train our nafs (our psyche, our ego, our heart or mind), as the only way of attaining taqwa is to purify and cleanse our souls and our nafs.
‘And who is more astray than the one who follows his own desire?’
The Holy Qur'aan – Surah 28 Verse 50
So the primary objective for fasting being ordained for us, is so that we learn to discipline ourselves, learn self restraint and control and overcome our desires, making us righteous and obedient slaves of Allah.
Ramadan is an example of how Allah wants us to live our lives. Allah has commanded us to go without some of our innate desires, during the daylight hours, for the period of one month and we train ourselves to be obedient to Allah’s commands for that period.
Allah has commanded us to refrain from many things in our everyday lives and to bow down to Him in worship, and if we do this we are promised an eternity of peace & tranquility.
So why is it that we can’t do this all year round??
Well, we don’t have the self-restraint, the patience or the mindset. We want to indulge in our desires and impulses now and can’t wait for jannah. Ramadan shows us that when we have patience and have waited for something there is so much more satisfaction once we receive it.
‘Those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure’
The Holy Qur'aan – Surah 39 Verse 10
Allah is Al-Alim (The All Knowing) and is fully aware of our weaknesses. As humans we have been made fallible so are prone to making mistakes. All year around we may not have prayed our salah and may not have followed the commands of Allah, so Allah has blessed us with the month of Ramadan, this ‘taqwa training’, to help us become more conscious of our Lord, learn self-restraint, patience and discipline. It’s a chance to better ourselves and an opportunity to stop the bad in our lives and adopt the good. Once we have developed this discipline we then need to make efforts to remain steadfast, so we can be obedient to our Creator all year round.
The prophet ﷺ said:
‘None of you truly believes until his desires are in accordance to what I have brought.’
(Related by Al-Maqdidsi in his Book of Hujjah)
By becoming conscious of our duty to Allah we will automatically re-evaluate our lives. Our likes will coincide to the likes of Allah and our dislikes will be in conformity to the dislikes of Allah.
The concept of taqwa is always linked to ibaadah (worship) in the Qur’an. 'Ibaadah can be defined as: to do what Allah has commanded and to avoid what He has prohibited. 'Ibaadah has also been defined as a concept that includes all actions that Allah loves and approves of, whether they are actions of the heart, the tongue or the limbs. So taqwa is linked with doing what is correct and avoiding that which is wrong. Taqwa is the fruit of doing the actions of 'Ibaadah. In other words, if one does what Allah has commanded him to do, and abstains from that which he has been forbidden, he will achieve taqwa.
So Ramadhan is about increasing our servitude to Allah by spending more time in ‘ibadaah, and by fulfilling more of the commands of Allah. This will all bring at the forefront of our lives, the objective and purpose of our existence…
‘And I did not create the jinn and man except to worship Me.’
The Holy Qur'aan – Surah 51 Verse 56
This will re-establish our connection and closeness to Allah and will re-affirm the covenant that we once took in order to accept the religion of Islam, our declaration of faith, the shahadah, which i declare before you:
'I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone with no partners and I bear witness that Mohammed is His servant & Messenger.' ﷺ
Ramadhan is a time to renew our contract and agreement with Allah by fulfilling the duties and responsibilities we have as Muslims. And not to stop there, but to go on to upgrade our contract with Allah, by adding extras, optional ‘Ibadaah, to show Allah just how much we love Him.
Is it not an injustice that we feed our physical bodies for eleven months of the year and go without food for one month of Ramadhan, whilst our souls are starved of any nourishment for eleven months and we reluctantly and with difficulty replenish it only for one month?
We need to really embrace the blessed month of Ramadhan and nourish our souls with the worship of Allah. Our souls are starved of ‘ibaadah and a real closeness to Allah all year round, so let’s give our souls the enlightenment that they need and continue it after Ramadhan.
‘Prostrate and gain closeness to Allah’
The Holy Qur'an - Surah 96 Verse 19
May Allah give us all the ability to develop self-restraint, discipline & righteousness.
May Allah help us to take full advantage of the blessed month of Ramadhan and may we gain His qurb (closeness) through it.
May Allah give us the strength to maintain our levels of taqwa and consciousness even after the blessed month has passed.
I ask Allah, Al-Ghaffar - The Most Forgiving, for His Mercy & Compassion and ask Him to forgive me for anything that I may have said that was not correct. Anything praiseworthy in this article was from Allah alone, and any shortcomings were that of my own.
'Verily never will Allah change the condition of people until they change the condition themselves.'
The Holy Qur'aan - Surah 13 Verse 11
Attique Qamar