Welcoming Ramadan

 Transcript of the Talk delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on June 11, 2014 at AMDA Masjid

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

Brothers and Sisters! We are in the month of Sha’ban, preparing ourselves to welcome Ramadan. Let me share some thoughts with you on some the unique aspects and features of Ramadan so that we are prepared physically, mentally and spiritually to meet and greet it when it arrives. Let us seize the opportunity to make the most out of the approaching month of Ramadan.

In His infinite wisdom, Allah (SWT) has made certain people, certain objects, certain places, and certain times more holy and blessed than others. The prophets of Allah are the best of human beings.  The Book of Allah is the loftiest and profoundest of books. The city of Mecca is the holiest of cities. The day of Jumu’ah is the most honored day of the week.  The two Eids are the most blessed days to rejoice and celebrate. Likewise, the month of Ramadan is the most precious of all the months.

What makes this month so special?  It is a month of infinite blessings from Allah. It is a month of patience. It is a month of charity and generosity. Most importantly it is a month of opportunities, which are not available throughout the year.  It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed. Hence this is the month to rediscover the Qur’an.

The purpose and timing of the revelation pertaining to fasting has to be understood in the backdrop of the difficult situations the sahaba of the Prophet (SAW) had to encounter at Mecca before their hijrah to Medina. After the hijrah, the believers had to be made ready for further challenges. They had to be organized into a Jama’ah that could bravely and successfully engage with the polytheists of Mecca who had evicted them and deprived them of their homes and belongings.

There was no general practice among the pagan Arabs to fast. While there were bits and pieces of some rituals of hajj, umrah, and tawaf present with them from the days of Ibrahim (AS), fasting was absent from their lives. However, they knew what fasting involved. They used to make their horses fast in the scorching heat of the desert in order to train them to endure long hours without eating and drinking during battles.

Initially, fasting was introduced as a voluntary act.  It was not mandatory, and it used to be only for a few days. After the hijrah to Medina, the ayah pertaining to obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadan was revealed in Surat al-Baqarah.

فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ

“Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month, should fast.” (al-Baqarah, 2:185)

Al-Siyam literally means to restrain and to abstain from something. As a term in the Shari’ah, Siyam means to abstain from food, drink, and spousal relations from dawn to sunset with the purest of intentions just for the sake of Allah. It is one of the pillars of Islam and a very special mode of worship.  Why is it special?  If you look at any other worship, Allah orders you to do something.  In fasting you are ordered not to do something for a specified time; something which you are allowed to do and accustomed to do. Siyam or fasting has been ordained upon every sane, mature and adult Muslim who is able to fast. What is the objective of fasting? As the ayah of Surat al-Baqarah suggests, it is to attain taqwa or piety and God-consciousness.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be conscious of God.” (al-Baqarah, 2:183)

So fasting and taqwa have a direct relationship. Fasting provides an opportunity for every believer to draw closer to Allah. It is also a source for the forgiveness of sins. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with faith and hoping for its reward shall have all of his previous sins forgiven for him.”

We are all aware that we are often unjust to ourselves in the sense that we often subject our bodies and souls to excesses.  Fasting in Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to attain physical and spiritual healing. According to a hadith Qudsi, Allah says, الصيام لي، وأنا أجزي به “Indeed, fasting is for me, and I will give reward for it.”  There is no calculation or limit with respect to the rewards of fasting.  So, after hearing this hadith, we should be motivated to do as many good deeds as possible during the month of Ramadan.

May Allah make us among those who are able to take advantage of the opportunities provided to us in the month of Ramadan; to make us among the people of taqwa, to accept our good deeds, to forgive us, to keep us safe and protected from the hell-fire and to make us all enter into Jannah. Allahumma Ameen.

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

Wassalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

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