Fruits of
Ramadaan
From ad-Dawal ila-Allah
Allah - the
Most High - has favored us with countless blessings, the
greatest
of them being Islam itself. Within the religion of Islaam there
are
many favors; one is the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth
month of the
Islamic calendar. However, many of us overlook this
bounty and are thus left
with an incomplete depiction of Ramadan,
often viewing it as a month to get
oneself into shape!! Or rigidly
describing it as a training program teaching
self-restraint. Most
importantly Ramadan is an act of Ebadah (worship), the
fulfillment
of Allah's commandments and one of the great mercies of Allah to
His
believers for both this world and the next. lbn al-Qayyim [1] wrote
in
his famous book 'Zaadul-Ma'aad 2/8587 :'From the Mercy of the
Mighty and
Most Merciful is that He prescribed for them fasting
which will cut off the
excesses of eating and drinking and empties
the hearts of its desires which
divert it on its journey to Allah
-the Most High. He prescribed it in due
proportion as will be
appropriate and will benefit the servant with regard
to this world
and to the Hereafter; and it will not harm him, nor damage
what is
beneficial for him.”
The Virtues of Ramadaan
a) The
Hellfire is locked and the gates of Paradise are opened
Prophet
Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “When Ramadaan
comes
the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of the Fire
are locked and
the devils are chained...” [2]
All praise
is for Allah Who out of His infinite Mercy locks the gates of
Hell,
chains and shackles the devils and opens up the gates of Paradise
in
this month for His servants, making it easier for them to
devote this
special time to His worship. It makes it harder for
the evil jinn to corrupt
the people as they usually do, because
Insha'Allah the Muslims will be
occupied with fasting, engaged in
reading the Qur'aan, busy with extra
prayers and in doing other
righteous actions which help clean and purify
their hearts.
b)
Sins are Forgiven.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
explained to his Ummah that
Ramadaan has such a high station that
even if a Muslim's sins were as much
as the foam upon the sea,
they would be forgiven through fasting in this
month.
He
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “He who fasts in Ramadaan
due to
eemaan and hoping for reward from Allah then his previous
sins are
forgiven.” [3]
Furthermore, in this month people
are freed from the Hellfire every day and
night, due to Allah's
extreme Mercy. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) told us
in this regard that:
“There are in the month of Ramadaan in
every day and night, those whom Allah
grants freedom from the
Fire, and there is for every Muslim a supplication
which he can
make and it will be granted.” [4]
This supplication,
which is never rejected occurs at the time of breaking
the fast.
(See Sunan ibn Maajah, 1/557)
c) Lailatul-Qadr
Another virtue
of this blessed month is that in it falls the night that is
better
than a thousand months, in which descends the angels and the
Rooh,
[5] and in which if one is standing in prayer out of faith
and seeking
reward, then his previous sins are forgiven. This is
the Night of Decree -
Lailatul-Qadr [6].
The Virtues of
Fasting:
Fasting itself is an action which has many virtues and
rewards, Allah - the
one free from all imperfections - revealed in
His Book “..and fast, it is
better for you if you did but
know.” [Soorah al- Baqarah (2) : 184]
To try and help us
understand just how valuable it is, the Messenger of
Allah
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) informed us that it is a shield
against
the Hellfire, a protection against desires, a cause to
enter Paradise and a
gate from the gates of Paradise has been
particularized for it, as well as
other merits.
A) A shield.
He
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: 'Fasting is a shield with which
a
servant protects himself from the fire.” [7]
Fasting
weakens and cuts off desires and since it is desires which lead
to
the fire, it can be seen how fasting acts as a protection
against them, as a
barrier, a shield, between the fasting person
and the fire. It safeguards
one from indulging in foul speech,
quarrels and fights. It also develops the
habit of self-control
and restraint.
It is for this reason that the Messenger of Allah
(sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam), ordered the men who are unable to
marry, to practice the act of
fasting. Fasting will cut off the
sensual desire by diminishing the vigor of
the body, calming and
constraining it.
“ 0 youths, whosoever amongst you is able to
marry then let him do so, since
it restrains the eyes and protects
the private parts, and he who is unable,
then let him fast because
it is a shield for him.” [8]
b) A Cause for Entering
Paradise.
Since fasting distances one from the fire, it brings one
closer to Paradise.
The Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
was asked by his Companion Abo
Umaamah (radhi allahu anhu): “0
Messenger of Allah tell me an action by
which I may enter
Paradise.” He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: “Take
to
fasting, there is nothing like it.” [9]
c) An Immense
Reward
Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold rewards,
each good deed
receiving ten times its like, up to seven hundred
times. Allah the Most High
has said: “Except for fasting, for
it is for Me and I will recompense it, he
leaves of his desires
and his food for Me. For the fasting person there are
two times of
joy; a time of joy when he breaks his fast and a time of joy
when
he meets his Lord, the smell coming from the mouth of a fasting
person
is better with Allah than the smell of Musk..”
[10]
The main virtue of fasting, as with any action, is that it is
done purely
for the sake of Allah. The difference with fasting is
that it is an act
completely hidden from others so it is done
merely for the pleasure of Allah
(unlike for example: Prayer, Hajj
etc.) and so Allah rewards His servant for
it specially.
d) An
Intercession
Another great virtue of fasting is that it will act
as an intercessor with
Allah on the Day of Judgement - a day when
we will be in need of
intercession.
He (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) said: “Fasting and the Qur'aan intercede
for a
servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: “0 my Lord
I
prevented him from food and desires so accept my intercession
for him” and
the Qur'aan will say: “I prevented him from
sleep at night, so accept my
intercession for him” So their
intercessions will be accepted.” [11]
e) An Expiation for
Various Sins
Allah - the Most High - has also made fasting an
expiation for certain sins.
This means if someone commits one of
these sins then he can atone for it by
fasting a fixed number of
days. Fasting is an expiation for:
(i) Shaving the head while in a
state of ihraam [i.e. while one is
performing the rites of Hajj or
Umrah.] due to some illness][Soorah
al-Baqarah (2) :196]
(ii)
One who is unable to carry out the obligatory sacrifice during Hajj
-
[Soorah al-Baqarah (2) : 196]
(iii) Accidentally killing one
of the people with whom you have a treaty -
[Soorah an-Nisaa (4) :
92]
(iv) Hunting game while in a state of ihraam - [Soorah
al-Maaidah (5) :95]
(v) Violating an oath - [Soorah al-Maaidah (5)
:89]
(vi) Dhihaar [This is the saying of husband to his wife: “You
are to me like
the back of my mother (i.e. awful to me) ] -
[Soorah al-Mujaadilah (58) :
3 - 4]
f) Ar-Rayaan is for the
Fasting People
Finally, Allah - the One free from all
imperfections - has particularized a
gate from the gates of
Paradise for those who fast. Narrated Sahl:
The Prophet said,
"There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those
who
observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and
none
except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where
are those who
used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none
except them will enter
through it. After their entry the gate will
be closed and nobody will enter
through it." [12]
“The
status of fasting and its place in lslaam should now be clear to us,
by
Allah's permission, and also the great rewards awaiting the one
who fasts
seeking the pleasure of Allah. The rewards can, however
increase or decrease
depending upon how close it is upon the way
of the Messenger of Allah
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). Therefore
we must know the characteristics of
his (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) fast, together with its obligatory duties,
its manners
and the relevant supplications and then put that into practice.”
“
May Allah - the Most High grant us the ability to do that which allow
us
to capture the fruits of this month and make us amongst those
who enter His
Paradise through the gate of
Ar-Rayaan.”
FOOTNOTES
[1] Ibn al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah (691-75). He was born in Damascus. He is one
of great
scholars of Islam: a muhaddith and a faqeh and the foremost
student
of Shaikhul Islam Ibn Taimeeyah. Among his famous books
are Zaadul-Ma'aad
and Ilaam ul-Muwaqqi'een and his length of poem
on the tenets of faith,
al-Qasida an-Nooniyyah.
[2] Bukhari
Eng, v.3, # 123) & Muslim eng, v..2, # .2361 from Abo
Hurairah,
radhiAllahu anhu.
[3] Narrated by Aboo Hurairah and
collected in Saheeh al-Bukhari (Eng.
Trans. Vol.3, no.125) &
Saheeh Muslim (Eng. Trans. Vol.1, no.1664). The
hadeeth applies to
one who affirms the obligation of fasting in Ramadaan and
hopes
for the reward of doing it, being pleased with it, not
feeling
aversion to it, nor thinking that standing in its night is
a hardship.
[4] Saheeh - Narrated by Jaabir and collected in
Musnad Ahmad and al-Bazzar.
[5] See Soorah al-Qadr (97): 4. In
reference to Ar-Ruh , it is said that
here it means the angel
Jibril. therefore, the wording of the Ayah is a
method of adding
the name of the distinct object (in this case Jibril)
separate
from the general group (in this case the angels)[Tafsir
Ibn
Kathir].
[6] See the article titled 'The Night of Qadr' for
more details on this
special night.
[7]Saheeh - Jaabir in Ahamd
3/241,296.
[8] Narrated by Ibn Masood & collected in Saheeh
al-Bukhari (Eng. Trans.
Vol.3, no.129)
[9] Saheeh - an-Nisaaee
(4/165), al-Haakim (1/421) and others. Authentic by
Shaikh
al-Albanee in Saheeh al-Jamee. (no.4044).
[10] Reported by Muslim
from Aboo Hurairah (Eng. Trans. Vol.2, no. 2567).
[11] Hasan-
Ahmad (6626), al-Haakim (1/554) & Aboo Nu'aam (8/161)
from
Abdullah Ibn Amr.
[12] Bukhari eng. Volume 3, Book 31,
Number 120, Muslim eng. V.2, # 2569
from Sahl ibn
Sa'ad
radhi’Alaahu anhu.
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