Fasting during Ramadan, the Muslims holy month, 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, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa
sallam, 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 (Mujaddad Alif Thani). 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, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. "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, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam
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, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam,
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
Salat, and extra Travih Salat, they spent the whole
month in acts of worship like voluntary Salat, Tilawa
(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 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 Ibada 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 Ibada (worship and
obedience) in Islam applies not only to the formal acts
of worship and devotion like Salat , Tilawa, and Dhikr,
but it also applies to worldly acts when performed in
obedience to Shariah and with the intention of pleasing
Allah. Thus a believer going to work is performing Ibada
when he seeks Halal income to discharge his
responsibility as a bread-winner for the family. However
a distinction must be made between the two. The first
category consists of direct Ibada, acts that are
required for their own sake. The second category
consists of indirect Ibada --- worldly acts that become
Ibada through proper intention and observation of
Shariah. While the second category is important for it
extends the idea of Ibada 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 Ibada or am I actually in the rat race?). Here
the direct Ibada 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 Salat (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 Ibada
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 Ibada 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.
