Keeping To The Acts of Worship
EsinIslam
Ramadan
Ramadan Explorer
Dr. Amin ibn 'Abdullah Al Shaqawy
Praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
him). I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner with
Him. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.
From the grace and favor of Allah (Glory be to Him) to His Servants that He
facilitated for them the doing of righteous deeds during this month. He
supported them and helped them to abandon sins and desires; therefore, the
hearts would be attracted to do righteous deeds during that month more than
any other month.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) said: ''When it is the first night of Ramadan, the
devils and the tyrant Jinn are chained, the gates of Hell are locked and none
of its gates are opened, and the gates of Paradise are opened and none of its
gates are closed. A caller will say: O people who want to do righteous deeds,
come forward. O people who want to do evil deeds, stop and retreat. There will
be people who are expiated from Hell and that is every night of Ramadan.''[1]
Asking oneself to do the same acts that it used to do during Ramadan is a
difficult request because the reasons that facilitate that matter during
Ramadan are not present in any other month. However, two matters should be
noted:
First: When the month of Ramadan is over, some people return to their first
condition such as, leaving some obligatory duties or doing some sins and evil
matters. Those sins of those evil deeds in Ramadan are grievous, but that does
not mean that the sin is overlooked in other months because a person is
commanded to do good and avoid evil all the time.
Abu Tha'labah Al Khushani (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Allah (the Exalted) has laid
down certain duties, so do not neglect them, and has put certain limits, so do
not transgress them, and prohibited things, so do not approach them.''[2]
Allah (Exalted be He) says: ''O you who believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that
He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should
be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die
not except in a state of Islâm [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allâh)].''
[Surat Al Imran: 102]. He also said to His Prophet (peace be upon him): ''And
worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (i.e. death).'' [Surat
Al Hijr: 99].
Al Hasan Al Basry said: "Allah did not fix a certain limit for the believers'
deeds but death.'' Jesus (peace be upon him) said: ''And has enjoined on me
Salât (prayer), and Zakât, as long as I live.'' [Surat Maryam: 31].
Sufyan ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked the
Messenger of Allah to tell me about Islam a thing that might dispense with the
necessity of my asking anybody after you. He said: ''Say I affirm my faith in
Allah and then remain steadfast to it.''[3]
The scholars said: The meaning of integrity is: keeping to Allah's Obedience.
Of those sins: Abandoning Salah in Masjids, negligence in offering Salah in
congregation, stop reciting the Glorious Qur'an which the people were reciting
during Ramadan, and watching the satellite channels that view series,
prohibited songs, and pornography... To Allah we complain!
Second: Negligence in offering the supererogatory Salah. It is recommended for
a Muslim not to abandon them in any other month. Fasting, voluntary night
Salah, charities, and doing of good are enough to fill the spare time and to
make a person always connected with Allah. 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased)
narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do good deeds properly,
sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter
Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and
constant even though it were little."[4]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to forbid his Companions to stop doing
the righteous deeds. 'Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with
him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to me, "O
'Abdullah! Do not be like so and so who used to offer Salah at night and then
stopped the night Salah."[5]
Of those supererogatory acts that take place after Ramadan are the
following:
• Observing the fast of six days of Shawwal: Abu Ayyub Al Ansary (may Allah be
pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)
said: ''He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six
(fasts) of Shawwal it would be as if he fasted perpetually.''[6]
• bserving the fast on the Day of 'Arafah: Abu Qatada (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)
was asked about observing fast on the Day of 'Arafah, he said: ''It atones for
the sins of the preceding and the coming years.''[7]
• Observing the fast of three days of each month: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: My friend (the Prophet (peace be upon him)) advised me
to do three things and I shall not leave them till I die, these are: To fast
three days every month, to offer the Duha (the Fore noon) Salah, and to offer
Witr (Odd unit Salah) before going to sleep.[8]
• Observing the voluntary night Salah all year long: Abu Harayrah (Allah be
pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)
said: ''The most excellent fast after Ramadan is God's month. Al Muharram, and
the most excellent prayer after what is prescribed is prayer during the
night.''[9]
• Giving away charities: ''Those who spend their wealth (in Allâh's Cause) by
night and day, in secret and in public, they shall have their reward with
their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.'' [Surat Al
Baqarah: 274].
Moreover, there are many gates of good which Allah opened for His Servants all
the time.
A servant does not know when his life will end, so the reasonable person is
the one who prepares himself to meet his Lord and is not deceived by the long
hopes. Allah (Exalted be He) says: ''O mankind! Be afraid of your Lord (by
keeping your duty to Him and avoiding all evil), and fear a Day when no father
can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the
Promise of Allâh is true: let not then this (worldly) present life deceive
you, nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allâh.'' [Surat
Luqman: 33].
Allah (Exalted be He) says about groups of people who had long hopes, but
their actions were bad and forgot about their Lord: ''How much would those who
disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims [those who have submitted
themselves to Allâh's Will in Islâm i.e. Islâmic Monotheism? this will be on
the Day of Resurrection when they will see the disbelievers going to Hell and
the Muslims going to Paradise]. * Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be
preoccupied with (false) hope. They will come to know!'' [Surat Al Hijr: 2-3].
Therefore, the world is not a place for survival. How lucky is a person who
knew its reality, took the best out of it: taking advantage of its times and
taking provision to the other life. Allah (Exalted be He) says: ''And this
life of the world is only amusement and play! Verily, the home of the
Hereafter — that is the life indeed (i.e. the eternal life that will never
end), if they but knew.'' [Surat Al 'Ankabut: 64].
O Servants of Allah, know that every person is going to die. Allah (Exalted be
He) says: ''Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection
shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the
Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world
is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).'' [Surat Al Imran:
185].
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah send His peace and
blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
[1] Sunan At-Tirmidhy (3/67) No. (682).
[2] Hilyat Al Awliya' (9/17).
[3] Sahih Muslim (1/65) No. (38).
[4] Sahih Bukhari (4/184) No. (6464) and Sahih Muslim (1/541) No. (783).
[5] Sahih Al Bukhari (1/350) No. (1121) and Sahih Muslim (4/1927) No. (2478).
[6] Sahih Muslim (2/822) No. (1164).
[7] Sahih Muslim (2/819) No. (1162).
[8] Sahih Al Bukhari (1/364) No. (1178), and Sahih Muslim (1/499) No. (721).
[9] Sahih Muslim (2/821) No. (1163).
EsinIslam
Ramadan
Team
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments