A Few Important Historical Events in Ramadan
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
The topic of tonight’s reflection is: “A few important historical events in Ramadan.” Many Muslims think that Ramadan is a time to go slow, and hence they avoid exerting themselves. This is not right. Ramadan is not a time for Muslims to go slow. Ramadan is the time we should be busy reading and understanding the Quran, studying our faith, trying to improve our knowledge and our character, and trying to do as many good deeds as possible. It’s a time of spiritual revival. It is a time for improving our body, mind and spirit. There are so many important events in our history that took place in Ramadan. Let me share with you some of these events.
The Qur’an was revealed
The greatest event that took place in Ramadan was the revelation of the Qur’an. As mentioned in Surat al-Baqarah,
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآَنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ
“Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the standard to distinguish between right and wrong.”(al-Baqarah, 2:185). The beginning of the 23 years of the Prophet’s missionary life began with the revelation of the first five verses of Surat al-‘Alaq, in the month of Ramadan in the cave of Hira located on top of a mountain called Jabal an-Nur about 3 miles from Mecca. This is the greatest event history has ever recorded. Every time Ramadan comes around, it reminds us of the revelation of the Qur’an upon the Prophet (S).
The eminent mufassir and historian – Ibn Kathir (1301-1373) wrote in his book Al Bidaya wan Nihaya that, the four heavenly books: Taurat, Zabur, Injil, and the Qur’an, were all revealed during the month of Ramadan.
The Battle of Badr was won
It was in Ramadan, two years after Hijrah, when the Battle of Badr took place. The Muslim army consisted of only 313 unarmed and ill-equipped men, while the Meccan army consisted of one thousand strong. The battle took place on the 17th of Ramadan and has been passed down in Islamic history as the first decisive victory for the Muslims. That’s why in the Qur’an this day has been termed as ‘Yaumul Furqan’ (the decisive day). Hence every time this day comes around it reminds us of the glorious battle. The Qur’an tells us:
وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُون
“And indeed, Allah helped you at Badr, when you were weak. So, remain mindful of Allah and be grateful.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:123)
The Conquest of Makkah
The peaceful and bloodless conquest of Makkah occurred in the eighth year of Hijrah in the month of Ramadan. This conquest signaled the end of idol worship and paganism in the Arabian Peninsula and the return to the worship of the One True God. It was a historical event that changed the lines of events in the world until today. The Qur’an celebrates the event thus:
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُبِينًا
“We have opened the way for you to a clear victory.” (al-Fath, 48:1)
The people of Taif accepted Islam.
In the 9th year of Hijrah in the blessed month of Ramadan, the Tribe of Thaqeef from the city of Taif came to accept Islam after twenty years of animosity with Islam and the Prophet (S).
The Battle of Tabuk
The Battle of Tabuk took place in the month of Rajab of the 9th Hijri. But some of the events of the Battle of Tabuk took place in the month of Ramadan of the same year. This battle was the last attempt of the disbelievers and hypocrites of Arabia against Islam. The main reason for this was the preparation of a joint force of the disbelievers of Rome and Arabia. When the Prophet (S) returned from Madina after the conquest of Mecca, he received news that, the Roman emperor Heraclius was preparing to invade Madina.
For this purpose, the Romans had deployed a large force on the Syrian and Arab borders. Rome was the greatest power in the world at that time. The Prophet (S) decided that the Muslims themselves would attack the Roman army without waiting from them to do so. He ordered all the Muslims of Madina to take part in this war. The Roman forces withdrew without fighting from the fear of Muslims.
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah:
The battle of al-Qadasiyyah took place in the month of Ramadan, in the 15th year of the Hijrah between the Muslims under the leadership of Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas (RA) and the Persians under the leadership of Rastum Farrokhzad. The number of Muslim soldiers in this battle was 36,000 while the army of the disbelievers was 200,000 well-equipped Persian forces. As a result of this battle, this region became a part of Iraq and all obstacles to the spread of Islam there were removed. After the war, four thousand Persian soldiers converted to Islam. In addition various tribes and groups of priests living in Iraq came to Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) and announced their conversion to Islam.
Salahudeen defeated the Crusaders.
In Ramadan of 1187 CE, Salahudeen Ayyubi encountered and defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. This battle signaled the end of the Crusaders’ hopes to wage war against the Muslims and also paved the way for Salahudeen to soon conquer Jerusalem.
The Mongols were defeated.
The first and most notable defeat of the Mongols was by the Mamlukes of Egypt led by Sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut on the 15th of Ramadan in 1260 CE. This defeat effectively halted the western advance of the Mongols.
These are only very few of the many significant events that took place in the month of Ramadan. Thus we see that the holy month of Ramadan is a month of action and not inaction.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
وَصَلَّ اللهُ عَلَى خيرِ خَلقِهِ مُحمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِه وأصْحَابِه أجْمَعِين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين
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Some passages have been excerpted and paraphrased from the book “Thirty Lessons for Those Who Fast” by Aa’id Abdullah al-Qarni.
