Bidding farewell to an honourable guest

At the end of this blessed month we say “O Allah, forgive me. My Lord, I could have done more but I did not, so forgive me. My Lord, excuse my shortcomings and blemishes, You are indeed oft -Forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me.” Istighfaar, or seeking forgiveness, at the end of every […]

At the end of this blessed month we say “O Allah, forgive me. My Lord, I could have done more but I did not, so forgive me. My Lord, excuse my shortcomings and blemishes, You are indeed oft -Forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me.”
Istighfaar, or seeking forgiveness, at the end of every good deed, not just bad deeds, is the way of the righteous. We need forgiveness to patch the holes we created in our fasting due to our faults and mistakes, or at least for falling short on fulfilling the full rights of hospitality to the guest. After all, arriving with a batched record is better off than arriving with no records at all.
Omar ibn Abdulaziz, the Umayyad ruler famous for his justice, may Allah have mercy on him, used to send his deputies around the country with the command to round up the deeds of Ramadan with Istighfaar and charity. Let us have a moment of remorse, and excuse ourselves by seeking forgiveness from the Lord of Ramadan.
Our guest deserves the best farewell party, the Eid prayer. We decorate our lives and go out of our way for this party. We take a shower, we come early, we dress nicely, we take different routes back and forth to spread the news of his departure and we bring to the party all people. We bring out our families; our wives and children, the old and young even the most shy maidens and women with legal excuses. It is a procession of goodness, which no one can afford to miss. It is a final token of appreciation. It is a way to say to our dear guest, thank you.
In order not to show our departing guest any sign of sadness on that day, we show him deliberate happiness. Therefore, we eat few dates prior to our arrival at the party site, the prayer area. He now knows that we accept his inevitable departure, we just broke our long time fast.
Anas may Allah be pleased with him narrated: “The Messenger of Allah would not leave for Eid-ul-Fitr until he eats a few dates, and he used to eat them in odd number.” (Bukhari) It saddens our beloved guest not to follow the example of Muhammad salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Not breaking the fast until we come back from the Eid prayer is indeed a sign of fake piety.
As we prepare for the party, we make sure that everybody around is happy and satisfied. All should participate in this party and no one should be left behind. That was the reason why our guest had come visiting us for anyways, he came to teach us how to care and share. Our guest should not leave us seeing anyone unhappy or dissatisfied. We feed the hungry and keep Ramadan’s legacy alive. We give Zakat’l-Fitr.
Ibn Omar may Allah be pleased with him narrated: “The Messenger of Allah obliged the payment of Zakat’l-Fitr, the amount of Sa’ (four cupped hands) of dates, or barley. This should be paid on behalf of every male and female, free or slave and adult or young, from all the Muslims.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
Escorting the guest out with chanting and du’a until he is out of sight is an Islamic etiquette of honoring the guest. And there is no guest who deserves it more than our beloved Ramadan. Once the announcement of his departure is delivered, as we sight that gesture at night -the hilal (crescent), we start making our du’a and chanting our takbeer until the party next day is over.
Allah subhānahu wa ta’āla (glorified and exalted be He) says: “He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him (in takbeer) in that He has guided you, and perchance you shall be grateful.” (al-Baqarah 2:185)
Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him says: “It is an incumbent duty on all Muslims, when they see the crescent for the beginning of Shawwal, to start their chanting with takbeer until they are done with their Eid prayer.”
Ali b. Abi Talib may Allah be pleased with him once said, “Be concerned more over the acceptance of your deeds than over the deeds themselves for Allah does not accept deeds except from the righteous. Didn’t you read Allah’s statement: ‘Verily, Allah accepts only from the Muttaqeen -Righteous.’ (al-Ma’idah 5:27)”
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “The pious predecessors used to spend their efforts on completing their deeds perfectly and precisely. They then, concern themselves over their acceptance, fearing it might be rejected. Those are the people about whom Allah says: “And those who dispense their charity with their hearts full of fear, because they will return to their Lord.” (al-Mu’minnoon 23:60)
So here we are in a moment of muhasaba and self reckoning. We remember the days we spent with our guest, how much good did we do? And how much of what we did we can count on as a sincere act of hospitality?
It’s time to prepare our presentation for the angels to see and report to Allah. How professional do you think our presentation will look? This is the time when you need all the skills of du’a and invocation you have learned so far. And if you feel it’s too late to prepare for this presentation, then know that Allah accepts from the deeds their ends. Therefore, make your last deeds the best of all deeds.
We ask Allah to accept from us the little, regardless of how much it was, of what we offered from acts of worship during this blessed month of Ramadan.
How can we keep loyal to Ramadan? And how can we stay in touch with him?
Obviously, Ramadan and the reminiscences of Ramadan should remain in our hearts. Then we keep loyal to him and in touch with him, by keeping our deeds, which we had established with him, continuous. Because of this blessed guest, we were able to establish a new way of life, a life of regular fasting, night prayers, recitation of the Qur’an and other Ramadan deeds. Moreover, as loyal friends of Ramadan, even long after his departure, we shall keep in touch with him by keeping alive what we have learned from him. We sure love Ramadan.
Aisha radiyAllāhu ‘anha (may Allāh be pleased with her) narrated the Messenger of Allah sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “The most beloved deeds to Allah, are the continuous ones even if they were little.” Once the Messenger of Allah establishes an act of worship, he used to maintain it continuously. Therefore, follow the example of your beloved Messenger and keep in touch with Ramadan. Continue the good work; continue fasting.
In a final moment of showing our gratitude to our beloved guest and how much we were honored with his presence, we raise our voices with thanks and praises, with shukr and takbeer to Allah. Allah subānahu wa ta’āla (glorified and exalted be He) says: “He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him (in takbeer) in that He has guided you, and perchance you shall be grateful.” (al-Baqarah 2:185).
Abu Ayyoub al-Ansaari may Allah be pleased with him narrated the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan and then followed it with six days of Shawwal, it would be counted for him as if he had fasted the whole year.” (Muslim) We do not want to stop thinking of him and from that point onward, we will keep in touch and join his fans club, club Ar-Rayyan.
As Ramadan announces his departure never lose hope of the mercy of Allah, celebrate the end of Ramadan with another act of worship, with Istighfaar and do not forget to pay your Zakat-ul-Fitr. Make your concluding act with Ramadan perfect, pray Eid on time in a perfect, halal style. Celebrate the departure of Ramadan with takbeer, dhikr and du’a, you definitely need your deeds be accepted. Stay in touch with Ramadan, continue the good work and start with the sequel event of the six days of Shawwal. Finally, keep the beautiful memories of Ramadan; they will always come in handy and will always be a source of inspiration.