Ramadan: The shield that is Fasting
It is narrated that the Prophet(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “The month of Ramadan has come to you as a blessing, in which Allah covers you with His Mercy, remits sins and answers supplications. Allah sees your competition in good deeds and takes pride in you over His angels. Thus you should show Allah’s goodness in […]
It is narrated that the Prophet(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “The month of Ramadan has come to you as a blessing, in which Allah covers you with His Mercy, remits sins and answers supplications. Allah sees your competition in good deeds and takes pride in you over His angels. Thus you should show Allah’s goodness in yourselves since a miserable one is he who is deprived Allah’s Mercy during this month.”
The beginning of this month (Ramadan) contains mercy, the middle of it contains forgiveness and the end of it contains deliverance from the Hellfire. Thus, you should be keen to foster four qualities as much as you can: two qualities with which you will please your Lord and two qualities that are indispensable to you. As for the first two qualities, it is to testify that there is no god but Allah and to seek is forgiveness.
The second two qualities are to ask Allah for Paradise and seek His Refuge from Hellfire.
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever observes fasting, in reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven,” also “whoever prays the nights of Ramadan, out of faith and in anticipation of Allah’s reward will have all previous sins forgiven.”
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said: “Fasting is like a shield on the day one of you is fasting he should avoid obscenity and clamour. If anyone insults him or abuses him he should say: ‘ I am fasting.’
Jabir bin Abdallah (RA) said: “If you fast, let your hearing, sight and tongue observe fasting from lying and sin. You should desist from harming your neighbour, and be distinguished by solemnity and calmness on the day on which you break your fasting and the day you fast the same (in behaviour).
The statements above describe the desirable behaviour of Muslims in Ramadan, which can be elaborated as follows:
First: To have the pre-dawn meal (Sahur) to support fasting during the day. It is preferable to have it shortly before dawn. It is also preferable to break the fast immediately after sunset, for people will continue to be good as long as they break their fast immediately after sunset, and delay their Sahur to the time just before Fajir.
Second: To avoid all words and deeds or acts leading to that which breaches or invalidates one’s fasting.
Third: To perform supererogatory night Prayer, especially Tarawih to the best of one’s ability until the Imam concludes and offer any number of Raka’at at the latter part of the night. One may take a nap during the day to be physically to able to perform supererogatory night prayer , enthusiastically.
Fourth: To avoid staying awake until late at night spending time doing things other than devotion for this eliminates the blessings of this special time and deprives man from many good aspects of using the time well and lead to committing sin.
Fifth: To spend time in doing great acts of devotion such as reciting the Holy Qur’an, asking Allah’s forgiveness, remembering Allah, making supplication, inviting people to do good, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, as well as giving support in word and deed to others to do all these things.
Thus, man can be a good example and obtain a reward equal to the reward of all those who follow him.
Sixth: To be keen to provide food for the fasting people both at the time of breaking fast and for the Pre-dawn meal; to encourage them, to support them in doing good and to patiently bear their bad behavior; to abstain from directing harm to others and to be benevolent to people, seeking Allah’s pleasure and anticipating His abundant forgiveness and great Benevolence, Blessing and Generosity.
Fear Allah, O’ servants of Allah Guard against acts that result in misery and deprivation of AIIah’s Mercy and those that lead to Hellfire. Try hard to achieve the requirements of Allah’s Unlimited Mercy in the month of Ramadan in which he gives so many rewards for even the smallest deeds and remits many slips and errors for whoever is sincere and hastens to repentance. Ramadan is a month in which the reward for good deeds is doubled.
Congratulations to the pious fasting Muslims for the profitable trade with Allah and the unquantifiable forgiveness, remittance of sins and pardon we receive.
So be well prepared to fast in Ramadan and to perform supererogatory night prayer (Tarawih) during it and to compete in righteous deeds. Open yourselves to the gifts of the Generous Lord during the day in Ramadan. Perhaps an hour spent in pleasing Allah (SWT) raises man to the status of the close servants of the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and what is beyond it.
Allah says which translates as: “Such is the Bounty of Allah, which he bestows on whom He will; and Allah is the Lord of the highest bounty.” (Al-Jumaah: 4).
May Allah enable to benefit from the Qur’anic verses recited in the month of Ramadan.
I seek Allah’s forgiveness for you and myself from all sins. Muslim brothers and sisters seek His forgiveness that He may forgive you, for He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Benevolent.
DSP Kutubi wrote from Zone 7 Police Headquarters, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja