WELCOMING RAMADAN

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest.

O, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them.

O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.

The holy month of Ramadan is the month of goodness, love and mercy. The Prophet (peace and blessings odf Allah be upon him) said:

"Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven."

And he also said:

"Whoever establishes prayers during the nights of Ramadan faithfully out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards (not for showing off), all his past sins will be forgiven."

In order to fast and pray as Allah wants and likes, I advise you to do the following:

1- Be prepared to Ramadan before its coming by repentance, asking for Allah’s forgiveness, night prayer, and paying charity, as we prepare for months before starting a new job or buying a house, so isn’t the month of forgiveness worth preparedness? The Prophet (peace and blessings odf Allah be upon him) said:

“May Allah rub his nose in the dust, that person who Ramadan comes and his sins are not forgiven,”

The righteous salaf used to invocate to Allah for six months that they would reach Ramadan, and then they invocated for six months for Allah to accept their worship in Ramadan, as if all their life was Ramadan.

2- Don’t leave what is lawful only in Ramadan, but leave what is prohibited first, because it does not make sense to leave things that are lawful out the time of fasting such as food and drink and do what is unlawful in Ramadan and outside Ramadan such as gazing at women, lying, or treasury. Leaving what is unlawful is more prior.

3- Performing the congregational prayer in the mosque especially Al-Fajr and Ishaa’ prayers then remembering Allah after Al-fajr prayer in the mosque and reciting the Quran till Duha time to perform Adduha prayer if we can as the prophet said:

“Whoever prays Fajr in congregation then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, then prays two rak’ahs, will have a reward like that of Hajj and ‘Umrah, complete"

4- Reciting a juz’ (part) of the Quran everyday thoughtfully.

5- Duaa’ (invocation) at sunset time before eating, eating some dates first, and performing Maghrib prayer before eating because this has great spiritual and health benefits.

6- Performing taraweeh prayer and trying to stay with the imam till he finishes in order to have the full reward.

7- Keeping the athkar that the prophet (PBUH) used to say especially in the morning and evening

(Keep your tongue wet by remembering Allah)

8- Paying a charity everyday as the prophet (PBUH) used to be more generous like the wind in Ramadan.

I ask Allah to make us reach Ramdan, to accept our fasting and prayer and to help us to fast, do nightprayer, lower our gaze, and control our tongue to set us free of Hellfire.

LET’S WELCOME RAMADAN

Every year when the month of Ramadan starts it seems as if the last one has just ended. One year has passed quickly and as time passes sometimes we lose the direction in our lives, getting caught up with day-to-day affairs, forgetting what we were created for and what is the purpose of our existence.

Therefore, we should greet the month of Ramadan and consider it as an opportunity to reflect on our lives and to reconsider our ways.

One of the scholars advising Muslims on how to welcome Ramadan said: “I do not know of any specific way of welcoming Ramadan, but the Muslims should welcome it with joy and happiness and thanking Allah for enabling them to reach Ramadan, for he has caused him to be among the living who compete in doing righteous deeds. Reaching Ramadan is a great blessing of Allah. Hence the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to give his companions the glad tidings of the arrival of Ramadan and explain its virtues, and the great reward that Allah has prepared for those who fast and who spend the night in prayer. It is prescribed for the Muslims to welcome this blessed month with sincere repentance and preparations to fast and pray qiyaam, with a sound intention and sincere resolve.”

Fasting is obligatory for all Muslims, except those who have a valid excuse. It is prescribed by Allah for the Muslims and the fasting during the month of Ramadan is considered the fourth pillar of Islam.

The main blessing of fasting during the month of Ramadan was explained by the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"Whoever observes fast during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven."

We need to welcome the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith and we need to hope for reward from Allah for our fasting and our good deeds. The month of Ramadan is not about being hungry and thirsty during the day or about refraining from bad habits we are accustomed to during the rest of the year.

Fasting involves the heart, faith and belief in Allah. If we do not appreciate and welcome Ramadan as a chance for a new start in our lives; as a chance to develop faith and taqwah through our fasting and behavior change; we will not be able to derive much benefit from this blessed month.

There are many who fast but earn nothing except that they remain hungry and thirsty. Many people abstain from eating and drinking, but they forget that their hearts and tongues also need to have the impact of fasting. They nurture hatred in their hearts for other Muslims and speak ill of them.

If observing fast does not change your behavior; if it does not make you feel the pain of the Muslim Ummah, not only in this country but all over the world and if it does not put sympathy in your heart for those who are less fortunate, then there is something wrong with your fast. Then one should understand that it is just abstaining from eating and drinking and not the fast that elevates a person spiritually.

Fasting will bring us closer to Allah and it will increase our taqwah, our respect for Allah, but only if we allow it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whosoever does not leave bad words and bad actions, Allah does not care if he leaves his food and drink.”

Ramadan is the month of great blessing and rewards from Allah if we are ready for it. The reward for all good deeds during this month is multiplied many times. The gates of paradise are opened, the gates of hell are closed and the Satan is chained during this month. Allah makes it extremely easy for us during this month to follow His orders and His Prophet (peace be upon him) and to change our lives.

By fasting during the month of Ramadan in a proper way — with our body, our heart and our soul — we learn to discipline ourselves for Allah and we follow His way and His law. All the time it should be in our mind that we have to obey His command. Let this Ramadan be the month to understand that we have to follow the orders of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace be upon him) all the time, not only one month every year.

May Allah accept our fasting, our prayers and all our good deeds.