“For He will pay them their reward nay He will give them (even) more out of His Bounty; for He is Oft-Forgiving Most Ready to appreciate (service).” Qur'an 2 verse 197.
Glory be to God as many as His creatures. Praise be unto Him to the extent of His pleasures. Yet again, another Ramadan is here. Monday 1st of August 2011 is the 1st of Ramadan 1432. There commences the auspicious month of uniqueness. We are blessed with this month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its ending is salvation.
The Prophet of Mercy, Muhammad (peace be upon him) and he knows this month truly well, said: “O People! (Ramadan)…is the blessed month of Allah. A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month which is the best of months with Allah. Its days, the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath you take glorifies him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered.” (Baihaqi)
How do one start to prepare for such a beautiful and most rewarding month? Yet, the Shaytan whispers into our hearts to divert us from preparation. He reminds us of the long days of hunger and thirsts, of the hardship and the impossibilities. Why worry when Allah does not need our perfection. He simply wants our efforts, devotion, sincerity and our permanent spiritual migration towards Him. This is the purpose of Ramadan. It is a month to teach us to reach Him through reading and understanding his words (the Qur'an), through feeling the hunger pangs that many live permanently with and feeding the poor, through making efforts and sacrifices against our desires and purely for unselfish reasons. This is why “Ramadan is for Allah and only Him will reward for it.”
Everything we can do to take advantage of this month is worthy of our consideration. Please request for the two-paged documents which helps to set-up targets for Ramadan. Set some targets for yourself and see how you measure up. Do this sincerely so that Ramadan can work for you in this life and in the hereafter.
The purpose of Ramadan is to re-format your system. Please allow it. Remember, your task is easy because the instructions are simple and straightforward: you have been “…commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in Faith)…" (Qur'an 98 verse 5).”
- Contributed by Shamsideen AbuSuad, UK.
Salaam Alaikum, thank you for the reminder. I look forward to reading your daily posts. May the Almighty accept our acts of worship and starve us not of the blessings of this holy month.
ReplyDeleteAsalaamu Alaikam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh brother in Islam
ReplyDeleteRamadhan karim and joyous blessings of this most sacred month to you and your loved ones. May Allah give you a supreme reward for the brevity, impact and beauty of these articles that are truly motivating Ameen.
Wonderful, please keep them coming.
Superb.
Jazak'Allahu khairan