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| Reaping the Benefits of
Ramadan Ali Al-Timimi Adapted from a lecture In the month of Ramadaan it is very
important that we spent a few moments to understand some of the wisdoms
and lessons that we can learn from this month of fasting. Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this
month and they are as a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Let it not be that the day that you fast and the day that you break
fast be equal." Meaning, one's behaviour, attitude and outlook are
the same whether one fasts or not, i.e. fasting has no effect upon that
person. This is why we need to reflect on some of these lessons. LESSON 1: Gaining Taqwaa Allaah legislated fasting for gaining
taqwaa, "O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as
it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain
taqwaa." (meaning of SoraatulBaqarah (2):183) Taqwaa in this case
means to make a shield between oneself and Allaah’s anger and Hellfire.
So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, ‘Has this fasting
day made us fear Allaah more? Has it resulted that we want to protect
ourselves from the hellfire or not? LESSON 2: Drawing closer to Allaah This is achieved by reciting and reflecting
on Al-Qur’aan during night and day, attending the taraaweeh prayers,
remembering Allaah, sitting in circles of knowledge and, for those who
can, making `umrah. Also for those who can, making I`tikaaf (seclusion) in
the last ten nights of Ramadaan, so as to leave all worldly pursuits and
seclude oneself in a masjid just thinking of Allaah, so as to bring
oneself closer to Allaah (SWT). When one sins, one feels distant from
Allaah. That is why one might find it heard to read the Qur’aan and come
to the masjid. However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allaah and
wants to worship Allaah more, because he is not shy from his sins. LESSON 3: Acquiring patience and strong
will Allaah has mentioned patience more than
seventy times in the Qur’aan and has commanded patience in more than
sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one’s food and
drink, and one’s marital sexual relations for those hours, one learns
restraint and patience. This Ummah needs man and women that are strong
willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver
in front of the enemies of Allaah. We do not need emotional people, who
just raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon
something firm, they cannot do so, they waver. LESSON 4: Striving for Ihsaan
(righteousness and sincerity) and staying away from riyaa’ (showing off) Ihsaan means to worship Allaah as if one
seeks Him, and even though one does not see Him, He sees all. Hasan al-Basree
said, "By Allaah, in the last twenty years, I have not said a word or
taken something with my hand or refrained to take something with my hand
or stepped forth or stepped back, except that I have thought before I have
done any action, ‘Does Allaah love this action? Is Allaah pleased with
this action?' So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of
watching oneself and also staying away from riyaa’ (showing off). That
is why Allah said in a hadeeth qudsee, "Fasting is for Me and I
reward it." (al-Bukhaaree) Allaah singles out fasting from all other
types of worship saying, "Fasting is for Me", because no one
knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allaah. For example, when one
is praying or giving charity or making tawaaaf, one can be seen by the
people, so one might do the action seeking the praise of the people.
Sufyaan ath-Thawree used to spend the nights and the days crying and the
people used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of
Allaah? He said, ‘No.’ They said, "Is it due to the fear of the
Hellfire?" He said, ‘No. It is not the fear of Hellfire that makes
me cry, what makes me cry is that I have been worshipping Allaah all these
years and doing scholarly teaching, and I am not certain that my
intentions are purely for Allaah.’" LESSON 5: Refinement of manners, especially
those related totruthfulness and discharging trusts. The Prophet (may Allaah send His blessing
and peace upon him) said, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word
and action, then Allaah (SWT) has no need that he should heave his food
and drink." (al-Bukhaaree) What we learn from this, is that we must
pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allaah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "was sent to perfect good
manners." (Maalik) So we must check ourselves, are we following the
behaviour of the Prophet (may Allaah send His blessing and peace upon
him)? For example: Do we give salaam to those we don’t know and those we
do know? Do we follow the manners of Islaam, by telling the truth and only
telling the truth? Are we sincere? Are we merciful to the creation? LESSON 6: Recognizing that one can change
for the better The Prophet (may Allaah send His blessing
and peace upon him) said, "Every son of Adam sins and the best of the
sinners are those whorepent." (Ibn Maajah) Allaah provides many
opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was
disobedient they can become obedient. LESSON 7: Being more charitable Ibn `Abaas said, "The Prophet (may
Allaah send His blessing and peace upon him) was the most charitable
amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadaan
when Jibreel used to meet him on every night of Ramadaan till the end of
the month…" (al-Bukhaaree) The Prophet (may Allaah send His
blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who gives food for a fasting
person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without
nothing being reduced from the fasting person’s reward." (at-Tirmidhee) LESSON 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims The Prophet (may Allaah send His blessing
and peace upon him) said, "…Those of you who will live after me
will see many differences. Then you must cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah
of the rightly guided khaleefahs. Hold fast to it and stick to it." (Aboo
Daawood) In this month we sense that there is a possibility for unity,
because we all fast together, we break fast together, we all worship Allah
together, and we pray Salaatul-`Eid together. Therefore we sense that the
unity of Muslims is possible. It is possible for Muslims to be a single
body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allaah and
His Messenger. LESSON 9: Learning discipline The Prophet (ma Allaah send His blessing
and peace upon him) made us adhere to discipline and strictness,
strictness that does not lead to fanaticism or going outside the bounds
that Allaah has laid down. One cannot knowingly break the fast before the
sunset, as this will not be accepted by Allaah. Muslims should learn to be
very strict in their lives, because they are people of an important
message, which they mold their lives around. LESSON 10: Teaching the young to worship
Allaah It was the practice of the people of
Madeenah, that during the fast of `Aashooraa (which is now a recommended
fast of one day) to get their children to fast with them. When the
children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would distract
their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The children
would break their fast with their parents. (as mentioned in al-Bukhaaree). So the young should be brought to the
masjid and they should pray with their parents, so that they are able to
get into the habit of becoming worshippers of Allaah. If one does not
encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find it very
difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why the
Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,
"Command your children to pray at the age of seven and beat them at
the age of ten (if they do not pray." (Haakim) LESSON 11: Caring for one’s health Fasting has many medical benefits and it teaches Muslims to take care of their health and too build strong bodies. The Prophet (may Allaah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim) Source:
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