The Meaning of Ramadan
- Categories: Fiqh of Fasting -
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.
Contributed by: Khalid Baig