(Those who dispense their charity
with their hearts full of fear, because they will return to
their Lord; it is these who hasten in every good work, and
these who are foremost in them.)
(Al-Mu'minun 23:60–61)
When the end of Ramadan approached, these feelings would be
expressed by many of the sayings and deeds of the Salaf. Below
are examples of their manners at the turn of Ramadan.
Mu`alla ibn Al-Fadl said about some of the Salaf, "They
would supplicate Allah for six months so that He may let them
live until they witness the month of Ramadan, and then [after
Ramadan] they would supplicate Allah for six months so that He
may accept [their deeds in] it."
Wahb ibn Al-Ward once saw some people laughing carelessly on
the day of `Eid; he then said, "If the fasting of those
people was accepted, then such is not the conduct of the
thankful, and if their fasting was unaccepted, it is not the
conduct of the afraid."
`Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him) once
went out on the day of `Eid and said in a sermon, "O
people, you have indeed fasted for 30 days and performed
supererogatory Prayers for 30 nights for the sake of Allah, and
today you have come out asking Allah to accept it from
you."
One of the Salaf would look sad on the day of `Eid, and when
it was said to him, "It is a day of joy and delight,"
he answered, "This is true, but I am a slave who has been
commanded by his Lord to do some work for His sake, and I am not
sure whether He will accept it from me or not!"
It was also reported that Al-Hassan Al-Basri said,
"Indeed Allah has made the month of Ramadan a racecourse in
which His creatures compete in worshipping Him to win His
Pleasure. Hence, some people gained precedence and thus they
won, while others lagged behind and therefore they lost."
It was reported that `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud would say on the
day of `Eid, "Who are those whose deeds were accepted, so
we may congratulate them? And who are those deprived [of
acceptance of deeds], so we may console them? O man of accepted
deeds, blessed are you. And [as for] you who were deprived [of
acceptance], may Allah relieve your affliction."
This is how some of the righteous Salaf reacted to the end of
Ramadan. It is beneficial to feel like them, react like them,
and — above all — worship Allah like them.
