Ramadan: The best way to attain piety
Aubaid Ahmed Akhoon
The month of Ramadan is a great blessing of Allah Almighty. In this month there is a flood of light and blessings from Allah Almighty and His blessings rain down like torrential rain, but we are not aware of the value and status of this blessed month. Because all our thoughts and struggles are for materialism and worldly business. This blessed month is appreciated by those whose thoughts are for the Hereafter and whose focus is after death.
You may have heard this hadith from Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the month of Rajab came, the Holy Prophet (Pbuh ) used to ask for this prayer -Translation “O Allah, bless us in the months of Rajab and Sha’ban and bring us to the month of Ramadan, ie prolong our life so that we may have the month of Ramadan
(Explanation of shobul Emaan 3/375)
Consider that two months before the arrival of Ramadan, there is a longing and longing for Ramadan, and prayers are being offered for its attainment.
The meaning of Ramadan
“Ramadan” is an Arabic word meaning “scorching”. The month was named because when it first appeared in Islam, it was in the scorching heat. But some scholars say that in this month Allah, glory unto Him, by His special mercy burns and forgives the sins of the fasting servants, so this month is called “Ramadan”. (Explanation of Abi Dawood for the purpose of 1/9)
Ramadan is a special month of mercy
Allah Almighty has bestowed this blessed month because man stays in the fog of the world for eleven months due to which negligence is created in the hearts, spirituality and closeness to Allah Almighty is diminished. He can remove this deficiency by removing the neglect and rust of the hearts by worshiping Allah, so that by getting closer to Allah Almighty, a new beginning of life can begin, just like after using a machine for some time, its service and cleaning can be done. In the same way, Allah Almighty has fixed this blessed month for the purification and service of man.
In order to attain piety, fasting of one month in a year was imposed on this last Ummah and the time of fasting was kept from sunrise to sunset. In terms of exercise and training is a very suitable and very moderate period and time.
Then the month was fixed for him in which the Holy Qur’an was revealed and in which there is a night of innumerable blessings and blessings (Shab-e-Qadr). Obviously, this blessed month could have been the most suitable and suitable time for him. At the same time, in addition to the fasts of the day, a special and general system of worship has been established at night in this month, called Taraweeh, which further enhances the lightness and effectiveness of this blessed month.
And in the ahaadeeth of these two acts of worship, it is narrated that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: وَِّحِتَصَابًا غُفِرَ لَهَ مَاتَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِہ (Sahih Bukhari 2/3, Sahih Muslim 1/2) Translation: Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan in the state of faith and hopeful reward, his past sins will be forgiven In the state of faith and hopeful reward, his past sins will also be forgiven.
The purpose of fasting in Ramadan
The main purpose and subject of the ritual of fasting is to make the brutality and cruelty of man a sign of obedience to the commands of Allah Almighty and obedience to the rules of faith and spirituality. And make it a habit to suppress the requirements of lusts, and since this is one of the special purposes of Prophet hood and the Shari’ah, fasting has been prescribed in all the first Shari’ahs, although the duration of fasting and some other detailed rules there was a difference between the special circumstances and needs, (Al-Baqarah verse 183) translation: O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous.
Because it is certain that the nafs afflicts man with sin, disobedience and brutality /beastliness demands only when he is hungry and thirsty. On the contrary, if he is hungry, he lies down and then does not feel sinful, fasting. The purpose of this is to keep the nafs hungry and to prevent it from exercising its material and sexual needs so that the urge to take action on sin becomes sluggish and this is “taqwa”.
In the same way, it can be said that the pure creatures of the heavens (angels) do not eat, drink or have wives, while fasting (from dawn to sunset) is to abstain from these three things (eating, drinking and intercourse). It is as if Allah Almighty has commanded His servants to fast and said:
O My slaves! If you abstain from these three things and imitate our pure creatures, then the pure attribute of our pure creatures will also be created in you and that attribute is: (Surat at-Tahrim) Translation: They (the angels) do not disobey God in anything that commands them, and they do what they are commanded to do. (Bayan-ul-Quran) And the result of this is “Taqwa”.
Almost the same thing has been said in this hadith which is narrated in Ibn Majah from Hazrat Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Everything is Zakat and Zakat og the body is fasting (Ibn Majah, p. 5) For everything, one or the other is the means of cleansing and the means of cleansing the body is “fasting”.
In any case, the purpose of fasting is piety.
Things that help in attaining piety
But it is not just a matter of fasting and reciting Taraweeh, but the main purpose of this month is to remove the veil of negligence from the heart, to return to the real purpose of creation, to forgive the sins committed in the last eleven months. In the next eleven months, Crocker should inculcate in his heart the call and zeal of not committing sins with a sense of accountability for the greatness of Allah Almighty and accountability in the Hereafter, which is called “Taqwa”. In this way the true spirit of Ramadan and its enlightenment and blessings will be obtained, otherwise it will be that Ramadan will come and go and we will not benefit from it properly, but remain empty as we were before , so a few things are pointed out by following which we will get the purpose of fasting (taqwa) and the light and blessings of Ramadan,
(1) Increase in the amount of prayers
In order to receive the blessings of Ramadan, you have to increase the amount of your worship. Try to recite the Nawafil on other days that you are not able to recite in this blessed month, for example: after Maghrib, more or less from the Sunnah. Recite at least six (6) rak’ats with Sunnah. (While our situation is that Awabeen becomes a vow of Iftar) Come a few minutes before Isha prayers and recite four or two rak’ats of Nafl. If you have to get up for Sehri , then at least get up a few minutes earlier recite four rak’ats of Tahajjud. Similarly, the prayers of Ishraq and if sleep predominates during Ishraq, then recite a few rak’ats of Chasht. After Zuhr, recite two rak’ats of Nafl with two Sunnahs and four rak’ats of Nafl before Asr. Because the characteristic of prayer is that it establishes man’s relationship with Allah Almighty and establishes a relationship with Him, as a result of which man attains nearness to Allah Almighty at all times, as in the hadith narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurayrah. It is: اَق اَرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَّبِ وَه وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ The worshiper is closest to his Lord in prostration
(2) Abundance of recitation of the Holy Quran
The second task is to pay special attention to the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, because the month of Ramadan has a special relevance and relationship with the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an was revealed in the same month. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) himself used to recite the Qur’aan with Gabriel (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Ramadaan. (Bukhari Sharif 2/3, Hadith 2) In the lives of all the religious leaders, the use of the Holy Qur’an is very much seen, but with the arrival of the month of Ramadan, the routine of recitation would increase dramatically, so Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa (may God have mercy on him) One Holy Qur’an during the day, one night and one Taraweeh, thus ending the Holy Qur’an. All our greats of the past (Hazrat Haji Imdadullah Mohajer Maki, Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi, Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim Raipuri, Shaykh-ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood Hassan Deobandi, Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, Hakim-ul-Amat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Shaykh-ul-Islam Maulana Syed Hussain Ahmad Madani, Maulana Yahya Kandhalvi, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri, Shaykh-ul-Hadeeth Maulana Zakaria Mohajer Madani, Faqih-ul-Amat Maulana Mufti Mahmood Hassan Gangohi, Maulana Qari Syed Siddique Ahmad Bandavi, Maulana Shah Abrar-ul-Haq Hardoi, Fidaye Millat Maulana Syed Asadmani The recitation of the Holy Qur’an was a common sight during Ramadan. Therefore, we also have to increase the amount of recitation in this blessed month as compared to normal days. The common man should also recite at least three verses daily, so that at least three verses of the Holy Qur’an are recited throughout the month.
(3) Arrangement of reading and listening to the Holy Qur’an correctly in Taraweeh
In this blessed month, every believer must also consider that the Qur’an should be recited correctly and clearly in Taraweeh, and that it should be avoided in a hurry and by cutting out the letters, because reciting the Qur’an in this way is the word of God. Is against the greatness of God, and the Holy Qur’an itself curses the reader. (Ahyaa al-Uloom an Anas 1/2, Fi Dhim Talawat al-Ghafaleen) Thus, all those who recite and listen to the Holy Qur’an are sinners. Our situation is that Hafiz Sahib is cutting and reading the letters very fast, Surah Al-Fatiha is finished in one breath, bowing, prostration and tashahhud are not being performed properly, complete in forty five minutes. The prayers are over, now there is gossip in the gatherings for hours and none of Hafiz Sahib and his listeners realize how much we have participated in insulting the Holy Quran and how many blessings in the blessed hours of Ramadan and how much of the Holy Quran Curse me May God protect you from this situation and do not close the door of blessings and blessings on you in this blessed month and try to attain the happiness by arranging to read and listen to the Holy Qur’an.
(4) Abundance of asking for forgiveness
The fourth thing is to repent of one’s sins. It is narrated in a famous hadith from Hazrat Ka’b bin Ujrah that once the Holy Prophet (Pbuh ) stepped on the first, second and third steps of the pulpit (mimbr) . and he said , “Amen.” When asked by the companions about this act The Prophet (Pbuh ) said, “Jibreel al-Amin (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to me, and when I stepped on the first step of the pulpit, he said, ‘Perish that person.’ Whoever found the month of Ramadan but was not forgiven, I said Amen, to the end of the hadith (Mustadrak Hakim 1/2, Kitab al-Barr wa Salat, Al-Targhib wal-Tarhib 1/2)
Obviously, there is no doubt about the misfortune of the person for whom jibreel angel (peace be upon him) cursed and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said Amen, so in this blessed month we should repent and seek forgiveness of our sins.
(5) Arranging prayers
In order to receive the blessings of Ramadan, it is also necessary to make arrangements for prayers. In many traditions, it is announced that the prayers of the fasting person will be accepted. It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: لاَ تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمْ اَلصَّائِمُ حَتّٰی يُفْطِرَ ، الحدیث. (Tirmidhi Sharif 2/3, Hadith 2, Musnad Ahmad Hadith 2) Translation: The supplication of three men is not rejected (must be accepted) at the time of fasting of one fasting person, second King of justice, and lastly The prayer of the oppressed.
Anyway, this is the month of attain piety , so as much prayer as possible should be arranged for yourself, your loved ones, relatives, country and nation.
Good prayers should be asked for the world of Islam, Allah Almighty will surely accept it.
“O my lord, save us from all evil, guide us to the path of righteousness Aameen ”
(The author hails from Panderathan Srinagar. He can be reached at [email protected])
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