Dr. Bilal A Bhat, Intizar Ahmad
Praise and thanks to Allah who has made us reach the blessed month of Ramadan yet again this year. He made it a month of mercy, forgiveness, du’a and multiplied rewards.Every night of this blessed month, He invites the fortunate ones who witness it, to race and compete with each other in doing righteous deeds. The holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “On the first night of the month of Ramadan, the devils are chained, the jinn are restrained, and the gates of Hellfire are closed and none of its gates are opened. The gates of Paradise are opened and none of its gates are closed. A caller announces: ‘O seeker of good, come near! O seeker of evil, stop short! Allah will save them from the Hellfire and that is during every night of Ramadan’.” (At-Tirmidhi,682) Ramadan is a golden opportunity for all of us who hope to be saved from the Hell fire and yearn to dwell in Paradise. This is not a month of socializing and feasting even though it is common to see this around us. This is a month of competing with each other in improving our relationship with our Creator, a month where we ignore all distractions and race to Him by doing lots of good deeds. Allah says, “And vie one with another for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who ward off (evil).” (Qur’an, 3:133) The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There has come to you the month of Ramadan, a month of blessing, in which Allah covers you with grace, sending down mercy, forgiving sins and answering supplication.
Allah looks at your competition in doing good therein, and boasts of you before His angels. So show Allah goodness from yourselves, for truly the wretched person is the one who is deprived of the Mercy of Allah during this month.” (At Tabarani)The month of Ramadan is one of the most beloved and blessed months in the Islamic calendar. The rewards that a Muslim can reap are manifold and the chance to commit a sin decreased – because no barriers can exist between man and his Lord. Ramadhan is one of the greatest blessings of Allah (SWT) upon the Ummah of his beloved Prophet (saw). In the Quran it is stated ‘Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an as a guide to mankind, also Clear Signs for guidance and judgment between right and wrong.” (Suratul Baqara, 2:185). This is especially an important month for muslims across the world; in an era in which we are constantly struggling with the idea of up keeping the Remembrance of Allah, due to complications of modern day life. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said ‘O People! The month of Allah (SWT) has come with His mercies and blessings. This is the month that is the best of all months. Its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, its hours are the best of hours’. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said ‘When there comes the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained’. (Al-Bukhari). In Ramadan the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is invited to receive the honours from Allah, the Merciful. Every breath taken has the reward of Tasbeeh and good deeds are rewarded in abundance. A person who does not receive the mercy and benevolence Of Allah (SWT) is most unfortunate. Such are the blessing of this month, that Allah (SWT) declared: Anybody who does not annoy others in this month will be safe from His anger on the day of Judgement; Anybody who treats well his relatives in this month will receive the mercy of Allah on the day of Judgement. Whoever offers Sunnah prayers in this month, will be saved from Hell. Whoever, in this month, offers one wajib prayer, the angels will write the rewards of seventy such prayers that were offered by him in other months. Whoever recites salawat often, Allah will keep the scales of his good deeds heavy. Whoever recites in this month, only one ayat of the Holy Qur’an, he will be rewarded in a manner as if he had recited the entire Qur’an in other months. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said ‘Whoever is prevented from food that he likes, because of his fast, Allah will feed him from the food of Heaven and from its drink.
A further blessing is on the evening of the 27th day of the month, when Muslims celebrate the The Night of Power (Lailat-ut Qadr) or the Night of Blessing (Lailat-ul Mubarak). It is believed that on this night the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) first received the revelation of the Holy Qu’ran. According to the Qu’ran, this is the night when Allah determines the course of the world for the following year. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said ‘he who passes Lailat al- Qadr in prayer with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.’ (Bukhari and Muslim). The deed in this night is better than the rewards of deeds of 1,000 months (about 83.3 years). The night of Power is also mentioned in the Qur’an where it is declared “Indeed We have revealed it (Qur’an) in the night of Power. And what will explain to you what the night of Power is? The night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein descends the Angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand: (they say) Peace” (continuously) till the rise of Morning!”(97:1-5) In another hadith, reported by Abu Hurairah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has said: “My ummah has been given five characteristic honours in the month of Ramadan which have not been given to any other ummah before. (a) The smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk. (b) Fishes (in the water) keep praying Allah to forgive the fasting persons until they make iftar. (c) In every day of Ramadan, Allah decorates the Jannah and addresses it saying, “It is not too far that my righteous servants shall throw away the burdens (of the worldly life) and shall proceed towards you.” (d) The rebellious satans are shackled in this month, and they cannot do in it what they do in other days (i.e. instigating men and women to commit sins). (e) In the last night of this month, they (the fasting persons) are granted amnesty.” In a hadith narrated by ‘Ubadah ibn al Samit (radhyAllahu ‘anhu), the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is reported to have said: “Ramadan has come to you. It is the month of blessing in which Allah envelops you (with His kindness). He makes His mercy descend upon you, He forgives your sins and accepts your prayers. Allah witnesses you when you race one another (in virtuous deeds) in this month and becomes proud of you before His angels. Therefore, show Allah the best of deeds from your side, because unfortunate is that person who deprives himself from Allah’s mercy in this month.
Fasting is also seen and proven as being healthy for the human body, I remember watching a documentary which explained the benefits of intermittent fasting; some of the benefits included losing weight and body fat, helps reduce Insulin resistance, lowering your risk of type 2 Diabetes and decreasing heart disease. There is flexibility within the religion as there are exemptions from fasting such as when people have a long term illness; old age; and women who are pregnant or breast feeding. People who cannot fast are expected to make up for their fast at a later date however if a person’s illness is chronic then they have to pay or provide food for a needy person. During Ramadan we should tend to follow the examples set by the prophet Mohammed pbuh by doing as many good deeds as one can to gain lots of reward and self-contentment. This can be seen when Muslims offer money to charity which known as their annual Zakat. This is also one of the five pillars of Islam and is an obligatory act which balances the system by giving a bit of your wealth to the poor, as a way of giving back to the wider community. Muslims will also share their food with neighbours family and friends. However, it is always best not to overindulge and keep a balance to stay healthy and well. Muslims are always sad when Ramadan ends as it is such a glorious month full of rewards and so sacred, however the beauty of it is that it ends with a joyous celebration of Eid Ul Fitr. In conclusion, the blessing of this great month of fasting are too many to be counted. Besides the countless spiritual rewards to be gained, there are great physical and mental rewards also. The month of Ramadan teaches mankind the principle of sincere love. It equips mankind with a creative sense of hope. It indoctrinates mankind in patience, self-assurance and self-control. It is an effective lesson in willpower. Fasting also provides mankind with a transparent soul, a clear mind and a light body. It shows mankind a new way of wise savings and sound budgeting. It originates in mankind the real spirit of social belonging, unity and brotherhood, of equality before Allah (SWT) as well as before the law. Ramadhan strengthens Taqwa, which is the belief in Allah. May Allah (SWT) give us all the strength to gain the wealth of blessings from this holy month of Ramadhan. Ameen!
( The authors write regularly on Islamic topic exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. Views are their own)