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The
Meaning of Ramadan
By
Khalid Baig
Fasting
during Ramadan was ordained during the second year of Hijrah. Why
not earlier? In Makkah the economic conditions of the Muslims were
bad. They were being persecuted. Often days would go by before they
had anything to eat. It is easy to skip meals if you don’t have
any. Obviously fasting would have been easier under the
circumstances. So why not then?
The
answer may be that Ramadan is not only about skipping meals. While
fasting is an integral and paramount part of it, Ramadan offers a
comprehensive program for our spiritual overhaul. The entire program
required the peace and security that was offered by Madinah.
Yes,
Ramadan is the most important month of the year. It is the month
that the believers await with eagerness. At the beginning of Rajab -
two full months before Ramadan - the Prophet Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him, used to supplicate thus: “O Allah! Bless us
during Rajab and Sha`ban, and let us reach Ramadan (in good
health).”
During
Ramadan the believers get busy seeking Allah’s mercy, forgiveness,
and protection from Hellfire. This is the month for renewing our
commitment and re-establishing our relationship with our Creator. It
is the spring season for goodness and virtues when righteousness
blossoms throughout the Muslim communities. “If we combine all the
blessings of the other eleven months, they would not add up to the
blessings of Ramadan,” said the great scholar and reformer Shaikh
Ahmed Farooqi. It offers every Muslim an opportunity to strengthen
his Iman, purify his heart and soul, and to remove the evil effects
of the sins committed by him.
“Anyone
who fasts during this month with purity of belief and with
expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have his
previous sins forgiven,” said Prophet Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him. “Anyone who stands in prayers during its
nights with purity of belief and expectation of a reward, will have
his previous sins forgiven.” As other ahadith tell us, the rewards
for good deeds are multiplied manifold during Ramadan.
Along
with the possibility of a great reward, there is the risk of a
terrible loss. If we let any other month pass by carelessly, we just
lost a month. If we do the same during Ramadan, we have lost
everything. The person who misses just one day’s fast without a
legitimate reason, cannot really make up for it even if he were to
fast everyday for the rest of his life. And of the three persons
that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, cursed, one
is the unfortunate Muslim who finds Ramadan in good health but does
not use the opportunity to seek Allah’s mercy.
One
who does not fast is obviously in this category, but so also is the
person who fasts and prays but makes no effort to stay away from
sins or attain purity of the heart through the numerous
opportunities offered by Ramadan. The Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, warned us: “There are those who get nothing from
their fast but hunger and thirst. There are those who get nothing
from their nightly prayers but loss of sleep.”
Those
who understood this, for them Ramadan was indeed a very special
month. In addition to fasting, mandatory Salah, and extra Tarawih
Salah, they spent the whole month in acts of worship like voluntary
Salah, Tilawah (recitation of Qur’an), Dhikr etc. After mentioning
that this has been the tradition of the pious people of this Ummah
throughout the centuries, Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi notes: “I have seen
with my own eyes such ulema and mashaikh [scholars and men of
religious knowledge] who used to finish recitation of the entire
Qur’an everyday during Ramadan. They spent almost the entire night
in prayers. They used to eat so little that one wondered how they
could endure all this. These greats valued every moment of Ramadan
and would not waste any of it in any other pursuit…Watching them
made one believe the astounding stories of `Ibadah and devotion of
our elders recorded by history.”
This
emphasis on these acts of worship may sound strange - even misplaced
- to some. It requires some explanation. We know that the term `Ibadah
(worship and obedience) in Islam applies not only to the formal acts
of worship and devotion like Salah, Tilawah, and Dhikr, but it also
applies to worldly acts when performed in obedience to Shari`ah and
with the intention of pleasing Allah. Thus a believer going to work
is performing `Ibadah when he seeks Halal income to discharge his
responsibility as a breadwinner for the family. However a
distinction must be made between the two. The first category
consists of direct `Ibadah, acts that are required for their own
sake. The second category consists of indirect `Ibadah - worldly
acts that become `Ibadah through proper intention and observation of
Shari`ah. While the second category is important for it extends the
idea of `Ibadah to our entire life, there is also a danger because
by their very nature these acts can camouflage other motives. (Is my
going to work really `Ibadah or am I actually in the rat race?).
Here the direct `Ibadah comes to the rescue. Through them we can
purify our motives, and re-establish our relationship with Allah.
Islam
does not approve of monasticism. It does not ask us to permanently
isolate ourselves from this world, since our test is in living here
according to the Commands of our Creator. But it does ask us to take
periodic breaks from it. The mandatory Salah (five daily prayers) is
one example. For a few minutes every so many hours throughout the
day, we leave the affairs of this world and appear before Allah to
remind ourselves that none but He is worthy of worship and of our
unfaltering obedience. Ramadan takes this to the next higher plane,
providing intense training for a whole month.
This
spirit is captured in I`tikaf, a unique `Ibadah associated with
Ramadan, in which a person gives up all his normal activities and
enters a mosque for a specific period. There is great merit in it
and every Muslim community is encouraged to provide at least one
person who will perform I`tikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan.
But even those who cannot spare ten days are encouraged to spend as
much time in the mosque as possible.
Through
direct `Ibadah we “charge our batteries”; the indirect ones
allow us to use the power so accumulated in driving the vehicle of
our life. Ramadan is the month for rebuilding our spiritual
strength. How much we benefit from it is up to us.
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