In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
PREPARING FOR THE MONTH OF RAMADAN
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord and the Cherisher of the Universe.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the holy prophet, Muhammad
(PBUH), his household, companions and the followers of the right guidance
till the Day of Judgement.
Islam teaches that every person is born sinless, that there is nothing
like inherited or original sin. That every person will be responsible for
his/her sins and that sin and righteousness are not transferable. Allah,
the Exalted, says:
"Did you (Muhammad) observe him who turned away, he gives a little then
hardens (his heart)? What! Has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can
see? Or is he not acquainted with what is in the books of Moses. And of
Abraham who fulfilled his engagements? NAMELY THAT NO BEARER OF BURDENS
(SINS) CAN BEAR THE BURDENS (SINS) OF ANOTHER; AND THAT MAN CAN HAVE
NOTHING BUT WHAT HE STRIVES FOR; That (the fruit of) his striving will
soon come in sight; Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete; That
to thy Lord is the final Goal." Q53:33-42.
"Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil it
is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His
servants." Q41:46
Allah is Merciful, He knows that human beings are weak and not perfect, He
knows that mankind is surrounded by evils of satan and that mankind can
fall into errors and sins. Therefore, Islam teaches Muslims many ways of
seeking forgiveness of Allah. One way is by sincere repentance as Allah
commands: "Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord and for a
garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth
prepared for the righteous. And those who having done something to be
ashamed of or wronged their own souls earnestly bring Allah to mind and
ask for forgiveness for their sins and who can forgive sins except Allah?
And are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have
done."Q3:133&135. Other ways include performance of Umrah, Hajj and
fasting particularly in the month of Ramadan.
Today is the 5th of Ramadan (8th Islamic month). This is the month before
Ramadan. We should start preparing for Ramadan right now. Those of us that
missed some days of fasting during last Ramadan, particularly women,
should repay the missed days before another Ramadan. Those of us who
completed last Ramadan can do sunnah of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in this
month. He used to fast the first 15 days of Shaban after which he used to
abstained from fast till the beginning of Ramadan. In ahadith, we read:
Abu Salamah reported: I asked Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) about the
fasting of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). She said: He used
to observe fast (at times so continuously) that we said: He has fasted
(never to break), and he did not observe fast till we said: He has given
up perhaps never to fast, and I never saw him observing (voluntary fasts)
more in any other month than that of Sha'ban. (It appeared as if) he
observed fast throughout the whole of Sha'ban except a few (days). (Muslim
2581).
The Prophet never fasted in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban.
He used to say, "Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not
get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing
religious deeds) " (Bukhar 3.191)
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: When it is the night of
Sha'ban observe the prayer during the night and observe the fast during
the day for Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, descends to the heaven of the
world as the sun sets and says: Is there anyone who seeks forgiveness so
that I may forgive him? Is there anyone who seeks sustenance so that I may
provide for him? Is there anyone in trouble so that I may relieve him, and
so on and so forth till the dawn breaks. (Tirmidhi 1308)
We should plan our schedule very well so as to maximize the benefits of
Ramadan like reading the Qur'an, observing Tarawih (prayer after Ishai
prayer in Ramadan) and Tahajjud (Prayer in the night), etc. We should
remember that the reward of good deeds in the month of Ramadan is many
times the reward in any other month and that the Qur'an was revealed in
Ramadan. Fasting is obligatory on every matured and sane Muslim except
those exempted for one reason or the other, this category of people will
be discussed latter, insha Allah. Below is a sermon of prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) on the last day of Shaban to his companions:
"A great month, a blessed month, a month containing a night which is
better than a thousand months has approached you people. Allah has
appointed the observance of fasting during it as an obligatory duty, and
the passing of its night in prayer as a voluntary practice. If someone
draws near to Allah during it with some good act he will be like one who
fulfils an obligatory duty in another month, and he who fulfils an
obligatory duty in it will be like one who fulfils seventy obligatory
duties in another month. It is the month of endurance and the reward of
endurance is Paradise. It is the month of sharing with others, and a month
in which the believer's provision is increased. If someone gives one who
has been fasting something with which to break his fast it will provide
forgiveness of his sins and save him from Hell, and he will have a reward
equal to his without his reward being diminished in any respect." We
remarked to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) that not all of us have
the means to give one who had been fasting something with which to break
his fast. He replied, "Allah gives this reward to him who gives one who
has been fasting some milk mixed with water, or a date, or a drink of
water with which to break his fast. Anyone who gives a full meal to one
who has been fasting will be given a drink from my tank (Hawd) by Allah
and will not thirst till he enters Paradise. It is a month whose beginning
is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is freedom from Hell.
If anyone makes things easy for his slave during it, Allah will forgive
him and free him from Hell." (Tirmidhi 1965)
May Allah count us among the people that will witness the coming Ramadan
and accept all our acts of worship.
Peace be on you
Surajudeen.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
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