Fasting during Ramadan was ordained
during the second year of Hijrah. Why not earlier? In Makkah
the economic conditions of the Muslims were bad. They were
being persecuted. Often days would go by before they had
anything to eat. It is easy to skip meals if you don’t have
any. Obviously fasting would have been easier under the
circumstances. So why not then?
The answer may be that Ramadan is not
only about skipping meals. While fasting is an integral and
paramount part of it, Ramadan offers a comprehensive program
for our spiritual overhaul. The entire program required the
peace and security that was offered by Madinah.
Yes, Ramadan is the most important month
of the year. It is the month that the believers await with
eagerness. At the beginning of Rajab --- two full months
before Ramadan --- the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi
wa sallam, used to supplicate thus: "O Allah! Bless us during
Rajab and Sha’ban, and let us reach Ramadan (in good
health)."
During Ramadan the believers get busy
seeking Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, and protection from
Hellfire. This is the month for renewing our commitment and
re-establishing our relationship with our Creator. It is the
spring season for goodness and virtues when righteousness
blossoms throughout the Muslim communities. "If we combine
all the blessings of the other eleven months, they would not
add up to the blessings of Ramadan," said the great scholar
and reformer Shaikh Ahmed Farooqi (Mujaddad Alif Thani). It
offers every Muslim an opportunity to strengthen his Iman,
purify his heart and soul, and to remove the evil effects of
the sins committed by him.
"Anyone who
fasts during this month with purity of belief and with
expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have
his previous sins forgiven," said Prophet Muhammad,
Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. "Anyone who stands in prayers
during its nights with purity of belief and expectation of a
reward, will have his previous sins forgiven." As other
ahadith tell us, the rewards for good deeds are multiplied
manifold during Ramadan.
Along with the possibility of a great
reward, there is the risk of a terrible loss. If we let any
other month pass by carelessly, we just lost a month. If we
do the same during Ramadan, we have lost everything. The
person who misses just one day’s fast without a legitimate
reason, cannot really make up for it even if he were to fast
everyday for the rest of his life. And of the three persons
that Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam cursed, one is the
unfortunate Muslim who finds Ramadan in good health but does
not use the opportunity to seek Allah’s mercy.
One who does not fast is obviously in
this category, but so also is the person who fasts and prays
but makes no effort to stay away from sins or attain purity
of the heart through the numerous opportunities offered by
Ramadan. The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, warned
us: "There are those who get nothing from their fast but
hunger and thirst. There are those who get nothing from their
nightly prayers but loss of sleep."
Those who understood this, for them
Ramadan was indeed a very special month. In addition to
fasting, mandatory Salat, and extra Travih Salat, they spent
the whole month in acts of worship like voluntary Salat,
Tilawa (recitation of Qur’an), Dhikr etc. After mentioning
that this has been the tradition of the pious people of this
Ummah throughout the centuries, Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi notes: "
I have seen with my own eyes such ulema and mashaikh who used
to finish recitation of the entire Qur’an everyday during
Ramadan. They spent almost the entire night in prayers. They
used to eat so little that one wondered how they could endure
all this. These greats valued every moment of Ramadan and
would not waste any of it in any other pursuit…Watching them
made one believe the astounding stories of Ibada and devotion
of our elders recorded by history."
This emphasis on these acts of worship
may sound strange --- even misplaced --- to some. It requires
some explanation. We know that the term Ibada (worship and
obedience) in Islam applies not only to the formal acts of
worship and devotion like Salat , Tilawa, and Dhikr, but it
also applies to worldly acts when performed in obedience to
Shariah and with the intention of pleasing Allah. Thus a
believer going to work is performing Ibada when he seeks
Halal income to discharge his responsibility as a
bread-winner for the family. However a distinction must be
made between the two. The first category consists of direct
Ibada, acts that are required for their own sake. The second
category consists of indirect Ibada --- worldly acts that
become Ibada through proper intention and observation of
Shariah. While the second category is important for it
extends the idea of Ibada to our entire life, there is also a
danger because by their very nature these acts can camouflage
other motives. (Is my going to work really Ibada or am I
actually in the rat race?). Here the direct Ibada comes to
the rescue. Through them we can purify our motives, and
re-establish our relationship with Allah.
Islam does not approve of monasticism.
It does not ask us to permanently isolate ourselves from this
world, since our test is in living here according to the
Commands of our Creator. But it does ask us to take periodic
breaks from it. The mandatory Salat (five daily prayers) is
one example. For a few minutes every so many hours throughout
the day, we leave the affairs of this world and appear before
Allah to remind ourselves that none but He is worthy of
worship and of our unfaltering obedience. Ramadan takes this
to the next higher plane, providing intense training for a
whole month.
This spirit is captured in I’tikaf, a
unique Ibada associated with Ramadan, in which a person gives
up all his normal activities and enters a mosque for a
specific period. There is great merit in it and every Muslim
community is encouraged to provide at least one person who
will perform I’tikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan. But
even those who cannot spare ten days are encouraged to spend
as much time in the mosque as possible.
Through direct Ibada we "charge our batteries"; the indirect
ones allow us to use the power so accumulated in driving the
vehicle of our life. Ramadan is the month for rebuilding our
spiritual strength. How much we benefit from it is up to us.