All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet, his household and companions.
Allah has selected from the calendar seasons for righteous deeds. He selected some days, nights and hours out of His favour and kindness. Each time the moon of Ramadan is sighted, days of blessings and its fragrance return to Muslims, for Ramadan is a month in which fasting Muslims live in the horizons of purity and wipe off their foreheads the toils of this life.
Ramadan is received while it fills the minds of righteous men in light and happiness. It is a source of joy for devoted worshippers. An hour of acceptance that a man attains in that month may elevate him to the pleasure of Allah. Fasting is a secret act of worship between the person and their Creator, which they observe sincerely the abstention of food and lawful lusts.
In a Hadith Qudsy, the Messenger of Allah narrated that Allah says, “Every act of man is for him except fast. For it is for me and I am going to reward him for it.” In fasting, man learns the lesson of sincerity of purpose by which he can perform other acts of worship, far from hypocrisy and showing off.
The fast reforms the heart, encourages commendable deeds and prevents corrupt deeds. It removes sins and increases reward. The Prophet said, “Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan with faith and hoping to be rewarded by Allah, all his past sins will be forgiven him.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The month of Ramadan is that of righteousness, acts of worship, kindness, forgiveness and mercy. The Prophet said, “When Ramadan comes, gates of the heaven are opened, gates of Hell are closed and devils are chained down.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The Nights of Ramadan are blessed ones. In Ramadan,
is a night which is the mother of all nights; it is Lailatul-Qadr; is better than 1000 months. Whosoever wakes up and prays on that night faithfully and hoping for the reward of Allah, all his past sins will be forgiven for him.
It is a month in which the Muslim patiently bears the pains of hunger and thirst and in which he denied his soul of its desires. The reward of the fasting Muslims would be entrance into Paradise through a gate that none except them will be allowed to enter. Fasting reminds one of the conditions of the poor and destitute who suffer the pain of hunger throughout the year. Fasting removes the gap that is between the poor and the rich, for all is fasting, seeking the forgiveness of his Lord, abstaining from eating and drinking and breaking the fasting at the same time. They are equal in all these so that the word of Allah, “And I am your Lord, so fear Me.”, may be actualised.
The Glorious Quran, the foundation of Islam, the symbol of Prophetic Message, and the soul of human life was revealed in the greatest of all months, the month of Ramadan. Allah says, “Indeed, We have revealed it (the Quran) in the Night of Decree.”
There is in its revelation in this month a covert directive for Muslims to recite it and reflect over it and recite it in that month. The Angel Jibreel used to descend from the heaven in that month and would study the whole of the Quran with the Prophet. And in the year in which he died, Jibreel studied the Quran with him twice.
Some righteous predecessors would completely recite the Quran every three nights, some would recite it completely every seven days and some every ten days. Imam Malik would devote himself to the recitation of the Quran and leave Hadith aside, whenever Ramadan entered.
Let your sayings and deeds be righteous. Believing hearts’ love for voluntary good deeds increases the scope of generosity. Generosity and charity do not impoverish. It is rather a good loan that is guaranteed with Allah. Allah says, “And whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah’s Cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of Providers.” (Saba’ 34:39)
Allah multiplies the reward of good deeds in this world and rewards it with Paradise in the Hereafter. The Prophet said, “There is not a single day in the life of man except that two angels descend on the earth. One of them says, ‘O Allah! Give replacement for the one who spends’ and the other says, ‘O Allah! Destroy the wealth of the stingy.'” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Look for the homes of the poor, the destitute, the widows and orphans. For that will remove sorrow from you and avert affliction from you. The Messenger of Allah was the most generous of all people. He used to give generously and abundantly and he would give like the one who never fears poverty. He received Ramadan with generosity and would be more generous, giving like the wind. Try, therefore, to emulate the Prophet by being generous through the month of Ramadan. For wealth can never be retained by covetousness and stinginess, as it can never be removed by spending in the right cause.
Ramadan nights is the crown of all nights. Its darkness is precious. Its hours are the purest and it is then that meditation is most enjoyable. The Prophet said, “The best prayer after obligatory ones is the night prayers. Whoever prays behind the Imam until he finishes, the reward of night prayer will be recorded for him.” Whoever does not subject his soul to patience over acts of worship and subjects it to the love of Allah, he will be afflicted by subjecting it to sins and their humiliation.
Every night, the doors of acceptance of deeds are opened fro the heaven. Ask, then, Allah for His bounties and beseech him to have mercy on you, for this month is that of gifts and mercy. The weakest person is the one who cannot invoke Allah.
Days are pages of life and the prosperous is the one who does best deeds. Whoever Allah removes from humiliation to the honour of obedience to Allah, he will enrich him without any money. Peace of mind lies in committing few sins. There are in this blessed month in which the Quran was revealed great opportunities to seek for Allah’s forgiveness, perform righteous deeds, making a lot of invocation and carrying out many acts of worship. However, there is a loser for every season. Some people use their Ramadan nights in watching TV programs, engaging in illusionary thinking and aspiring for imaginary happiness. And at the end of Ramadan, such people gain nothing world-wide and achieve nothing for their Hereafter.
Women are snares of Satan and they are the greatest fuel of Hell. In order to save herself from Hell, she must multiply her good deeds and she should fear Allah in this blessed month ad not go out of her house except under pressing needs. It is better for her to observe her Taraweeh prayer at home, for doing so is better than to observe it in the two Sacred Mosques. The Prophet said, “Woman’s prayer at home is better for her than her prayer in the mosque.”
When she however does go out, she should go out fully dressed without exposing anything of her beauty. She must remain modest and fear her Lord.
Righteous women are promised the Pleasure of Allah. A woman’s adherence to her religion and her pride in her hijaab respect her and give her honour in the society. Such a righteous woman is a source of pride for her society, a crown of chastity, a jewel of life and a model for other women. Allah says, “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who were before you that you may have piety.”
Fellow Muslims! Remedy for heart diseases lies in five things: recitation of the Quran with reflection over its meaning, freedom of the stomach from excess food, performing prayers in the night, invoking Allah with humility in the dark of the night and keeping the company of righteous men.
Let there be for you in Ramadan good deeds, night prayers and recitation of the Quran. Take an opportunity to perform ‘Umrah in Ramadan, for that is equivalent in reward to Hajj. It was part of the Prophets guidance to do I’tkaf in Ramadan; for that which is to stay in the mosque for the purpose of worship. It also means, to devote one’s heart to Allah alone, to shun the world and to preoccupy oneself with acts of worship and recitation of the Quran. Abstain from things that invalidate fasting. Keep away from attacking the honour of Muslims and guard your tongue, ears and eyes against forbidden things.
Imam Ahmad said, “The fasting Muslim should protect his fasting from the evil of his tongue and he should not argue with people. When the righteous predecessors fast, they would remain in the mosque and would say, ‘We shall protect our fasting and shall not backbite anyone.’ Whoever is wronged by an ignorant person should not reward that with another wrong.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Fasting is a protection. On the day of your fasting, you should not say obscene thing nor should he rage; and if anyone should abuse or insult him he should say, ‘I am fasting.’ ” (Al-Bukhari)
Let your month of fasting be that of continuous struggle against desire and of devotion for acts of worship and of study for verses of the Quran and sincere night prayers.
Ramadan is a season for repentance. The gate of acceptance of repentance and that of infinite divine blessing are open in this month. When will the one who has committed excessive sins repent if he does not repent in the month of Ramadan? When will he return to Allah, if he does not return to Allah and ask for His Forgiveness?
Keep away from competing with different kinds of food and drink. For seasons of good deeds deserve better and more useful deeds. Make use of your month in acts of worship and righteous deeds.
Use the opportunity of these few blessed days in good deeds. Do not waste them with pastime, fun and useless things. For you do not know when you will be returned to Allah. You do not know whether you will live till next Ramadan or not. The wise person is the one who ponders over his condition, reflect over his faults and reforms himself before death suddenly but surely comes.
May Allah SWT allow us all to benefit the most from the blessing of the Holy month of Ramadan and accept our all good deeds.. Ameen.