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Fasting during Ramadan 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.
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