Ramadan Between Two Images
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Ramadan
Ramadan Explorer
In The Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings of Allah
be upon the most Honorable of all Prophets and Messengers.
People in Ramadan are in various types, they differ greatly. Anyway, they are
mostly either wasteful and negligent or striving and keen. Perhaps we should
stop by both images and mention some of their attributes.
The first image:
When people hear that Ramadan is close, they rejoice and regard its coming as
auspicious. Why is all that joy? It is the delight of worship... the delight
of the intimate discourse with Allah... the delight of fasting. They are fully
aware that Ramadan is the month of the Quran, so they recite it without being
bored. They know that it is the month of repentance and forgiveness, so they
stop to call themselves to account for their deeds, and ask for forgiveness;
they return back, repent and do not become arrogant. They do not admire their
deeds; they do not postpone or procrastinate. They know that they are
delinquent and sinners... Perhaps there are sins and ordeals that they did not
count for, there are errors and slips they forgot but Allah did not {Allâh has
kept account of it, while they have forgotten it.} [Al-Mujaadila 58:6]
{ أَحْصَىٰهُ ٱللَّـهُ وَنَسُوهُ}
المجادلة: 6
Transliteration: ahsahu Allahu wanasoohu
There are some acts of disobediences which they performed and considered as
small sins but were recorded in a book that leaves no sin whether small or big
{And the Book (one's Record) will be placed (in the right hand for a believer
in the Oneness of Allah, and in the left hand for a disbeliever in the Oneness
of Allah), and you will see the Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists, sinners,
etc.), fearful of that which is (recorded) therein. They will say: "Woe to us!
What sort of Book is this that leaves neither a small thing nor a big thing,
but has recorded it with numbers!" And they will find all that they did,
placed before them, and your Lord treats no one with injustice.} [Al-Kahf
18:49]
{وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ فَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا فِيهِ
وَيَقُولُونَ يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَـٰذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً
وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا ۚ وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا ۗ وَلَا
يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا}
الكهف: 49
Tranlsiteration: WawudiAAa alkitabu fatara almujrimeena mushfiqeena mimma
feehi wayaqooloona ya waylatana ma lihatha alkitabi la yughadiru sagheeratan
wala kabeeratan illa ahsaha wawajadoo ma AAamiloo hadiran wala yathlimu
rabbuka ahadan
Yes, they call themselves to account for their deeds. Every time they hear
someone giving advice or preaching to remind people, they take it that they
are meant by this speech. They always call themselves to account and ask for
forgiveness. The example in this is the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, who has said: "O people, repent to Allah and seek His
forgiveness. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day."
[Reported by Muslim]
«يا أيها الناس، توبوا إلى الله، فإني أتوب في اليوم إليه مائة مرة»
رواه مسلم
They know that Ramadan is the month of giving away and charity. So, they spend
money in charity more than once a day, once for a charitable organization,
another for breaking the fast of a Muslim. They spend over and over again all
day and at the time of every prayer, using their money for good things.
These are chances and prizes. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him, has said: "Whoever gives away food for breaking the fast of a
Muslim, will have an equivalent reward, however, the reward of the fasting man
will not be reduced a bit." [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi and authenticated by Al-Albani]
«من فطر صائما كان له مثل أجره ، غير أنه لا ينقص من أجر الصائم شيئا »
رواه الترمذي وصححه الألباني
They totally realize that it is the month of fasting, the month of prayer and
of approaching to Allah, so they would not miss the Tarâwîh prayers or the
late night prayers for whatever reason. They know the Hadith reported by At-Tirmidhi:
"If the man prays with the Imam till he leaves, a night in prayers and
remembering Allah will be written for him." [Authenticated by Al-Albani]
«من قام مع الإمام حتى ينصرف كتب له قيام ليلة»
رواه الترمذي وصححه الألباني
They contemplate about this multiplied reward, and wonder how could some
people neglect or miss it... Allah is the greatest; these are not compensated
for golden chances. However, if they were earthly matters, most people would
have rushed for them and come from every direction. Glory be to Allah, could
negligence reach so far! This is the month of Ramadan, the month of
repentance, the month where devils are fettered, the gates of Paradise are
opened and the gates of Hellfire are closed... the month of salvation from
Hellfire... the month of hard work and worship... the month of heroic actions
and sacrifices... it is the month where there is a night better than a
thousand months (worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping
Him a thousand months)... so they are not seen but reciting the Book of Allah,
spending in the way of Allah, praying to Allah, submitting to Him, realizing
the meaning of fasting... their tongues are fasting from saying prohibited
words... their eyes are fasting from seeing prohibited things... and all their
senses are fasting from prohibited things.
This is an image we see. Praise be to Allah, these are the people of the
bright image who exploited every merit and attribute of Ramadan, and every
moment of their times.
These are the people whom Allah has bestowed His pertinence and appositeness
upon them, Allah took them for his obedience. We ask Allah to accept our deeds
and theirs.
The other image
This is a much seen image, May Allah help us. I will mention some of their
conditions. They vary in their negligence from low to high...
1. Some work hard in the beginning of Ramadan. You see them reciting the Quran,
and praying. Days later, they start losing their enthusiasm, till they quit
what they used to do in the early days of Ramadan.
2. Some of them do not even feel Ramadan. They only know that they cannot eat
or drink from dawn till sunset, and then it is over. So, they are in a strange
bizarre state. They spend the night watching prohibited things, hanging around
in markets, or playing and gossiping till the call to dawn prayer. Then, they
sleep till noon, they perform prayers or they do not, and complete sleeping
till the afternoon. Some keep sleeping till sunset, and then wake up to eat
and drink. They start breaking their fast by watching the prohibited; they
have lost their minds by sleeping much.
3. Some of them are in a very saddening state. You may not know about them, so
I will tell you some things about their condition. They go with their family
to the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to perform 'Umra (Lesser Pilgrimage), and stay
there most of the month. The father spends most of his time in the Mosque, so
does the mother; but where are the children? Their father knows nothing about
them but that they are home and they bring him breakfast at sunset. Except for
that, he knows nothing about them. I will tell you what they do to spend their
time. They stay late at night, hang around in markets. The son goes out by
himself or with some companions. So, you may see groups of young men, looking
for troubles with anyone. One would say bad words; others would wink, slander
and hurt the slaves of Allah in the markets. They try to make improper
advances to girls. Some of them are looking up to watch the windows of
apartments, and Allah only knows what is behind these windows. They remain in
such a state till dawn. There is no need for telling more of this painful
situation.
If you ask about their day; it is a continuous sleep. They waste their prayers
despite the fact that they are beside the House of Allah. As for the girls,
they do not differ much, without going into further details.
The question is: who is responsible for these children?
Is it the neglecting father, or the wasting mother?
It is a question which needs an answer. And the answer is left for you.
This is an image of a painful reality of a group of our youth. It happens in
the month of Ramadan, the month of worship. Do not be surprised if you are
told that crimes increase in Ramadan more than in the remaining months. The
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Verily some
fasting men would get only hunger and thirst out of their fasting, and some
standing men for prayers would get only alertness out of their standing at
night." [Reported by Imam Ahmad, and Al-Albani said: Sahih due to supporting
narrations]
«رب صائم حظه من صيامه الجوع والعطش ، ورب قائم حظه من قيامه السهر»
رواه الإمام أحمد وقال الألباني: صحيح لغيره
Finally: O beloved ones: we must fear Allah concerning ourselves and our
children. We must accept the truth; we should not seek excuses for ourselves
or evade the truth...
I ask Allah the Most High, the Most Great to guide the stray Muslims; and to
forgive and pardon us and them. I ask Him to accept our fasting and standing,
Allah is the Guardian and the Able to do this.
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and
companions.
Ibn Khuzayma House
Nawwâf ibn 'Ubaid Ar-Ra'wajî
Revised to agree with authentic hadith
Translated by Wathakker.info website
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