THE MONTH OF RAMADHAN OBLIGATION AND COMFORT
All praise is due to Alláh (swt) who prescribed fasting for the believers in a certain noble month, therein He designated a night that is better than a thousand months. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Alláh(swt) Alone, having no partners. All praise is for Him and the dominion belongs to Him. To Him belong the creation, the Commandment, the might and the power. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Alláh(swt) says:
“O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqún (pious, god fearing). Observing Saum (fasts) is for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days.” (2:183,184)
O servants of Allah! Fasting for the sake of Alláh(swt) is such a virtuous form of worship. No one but Alláh(swt) wholly realizes its reward. Fasting the month of Ramadhán is one of the pillars ofIslam. Alláh(swt)has prescribed it for the believers to become a shield, merey, benevolence and a cause of good health for them. It is to be performed in a manner that shall revive and awaken the feeling of Taqwa (fearing Alláh ) in their hearts and repress the fervor of their lusts and whims. Consequently, they shall attain the benefits and advantages of this spiritual experience in all fields: social, moral and health. For this reason Alláh(swt) concluded the aforementioned verse with:
” … So that you may have Taqwa.” (2: 183)
Allah(swt) being the All-Merciful, All-Kind, has made it easy for the Muslims to fast the month of Ramadhán. Firstly, He pointed out that fasting, being a form of worship, was not decreed as an obligatory duty upon man for the first time; Alláh(swt) had prescribed it before for other nations. In regard to this Alláh(swt) said:
” … as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqún” (2: 183)
Having known that, the Muslim shall feel more comfortable in accepting this obligation and be encouraged and strive to practice fasting at its best. Secondly, Alláh(swt) referred to the month of Ramadhán as “a fixed number of days.” (2: 184)
That are fasted consecutively and finish quickly. Think about this month that a Muslim only fasts its days compared to the whole year with its days and nights spent through indulging in the permissible desires and joys which are granted to us by Alláh ~, the All Generous, the All-Merciful, What shall the ratio be? Thirdly, Alláh(swt) has made it permissible for old people who are unable to fast to break their fast and feed a needy person in atonement for each day, that is if they find a needy person. Alláh(swt) says:
“And as for those who can fast with difficulty (e.g. an old man), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskin (poor person) (for every day).” (2: 184)
Ibn Abbas commented on this verse saying:
“It (i.e. the verse) is not abrogated; it is for the old who cannot fast.” (Al-Bukhari)
The same is applied to the terminally ill people. The pregnant and nursing women, if they fear that harm will befall the baby or fetus when they fast, or, if they are afraid for themselves, they may break their fast and make up for the days they miss later.
Fourthly, Alláh(swt) has made the month of Ramadhán a month of worship in which all forms of worship are being practiced. It is then a time for the believer to increase his reward by doing every form of worship permissible such as recitation of Qurán, Dhiker (supplication, making mention of Alláh), prayer, Duá (invocation to the Lord), and so forth. All Muslims worldwide, from many different origins, nationalities, poor and rich, come together to worship Alláh(swt) intensively in this month. In the villages, in the cities, in the country, in every house and every tent, Ramadhán is being lived. There shall be no differences, no chaos and no pride in one’s opinion. Everyone is fasting in this month of Ramadhán, in which the sacred book of Alláh(swt) (Al-Qurán) was revealed to the Messenger Muhammad(pbuh). Fifthly, Alláh(swt) has made it permissible for husbands and wives to resume their sexuallife after sunset, as well as to eat and drink. People can still enjoy their food and their spouses whether they have slept before that or not. In the beginning, people were not allowed to eat; drink, or have sexual intercourse if they had slept before breaking fast after sunset. This caused a lot of hardship for sorne of them, so Alláh(swt) made it easier for them and allowed them to satisfy their hunger thirst and desire throughout the whole night in Ramadhán. Alláh(swt) said:
“It is made lawful for you to have sexual relations with your wives on the night of As-Saum (the fasts). They are Libas [i.e. body-cover, or screen, or Sakan (i.e. you enjoy the pleasure of living with them – as in Verse 7: 189) Tajsir Al-Tabari] for you and you are the same for them. Alláh knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He turned to you (accepted your repentance) and forgave you. So now have sexual relations with them and seek that which Alláh has ordained for you (offspring), and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Saum (fast) till the nightfall.” (2: 187)
This and other issues demonstrate that Alláh(swt) has made this obligation easy to fulfill. Alláh(swt) said:
“Alláh intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Alláh [i.e. to say Takbir (Alláhu Akbar: Alláh is the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.” (2: 185)
Fasting is to abstain from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, and whatever they entail, with a pure intention for the sake of Alláh(swt) from the break of the dawn until sunset. Moreover, fasting becomes more perfect and complete if the prohibitions in general and sins are also averted. In this regard the Prophet(pbuh) said:
“Alláh does not need someone to abstain from eating and drinking while, at the same time, he is involved in lying and carrying out falsehood.”
Fasting was first decreed as a mandatory form of worship in the second year of the Hijra. When the Prophet(pbuh) passed away, he had fasted nine months of Ramadhán, The beginning of Ramadhán can be observed with two things:
The sighting of the crescent of the month of Ramadhán. Alláh(swt) says:
“So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadhán i.e., is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month.” (2: 185)
The completion of 30 days of the previous month of Sha’ban which is the eighth month in the Hijri calendar. In this regard the Prophet(pbuh) said:
“… If the weather is cloudy [i.e., as you try to sight the moon], then complete the month of Sha’ban at thirty days.”
In this respect, the phases of the moon, its height, or the crescent size shall not be considered in the beginning of the month or its end. The occident and the onsets of the moon alternate and both depend on the planets travelling in the galaxy. It is noteworthy to say that the Prophet(pbuh) never relied on the phases of the moon or the size of the crescent in his ruling regarding starting or ending Rarnadhán. He did not even consider them in this issue. He, instead, focused on sighting the crescent. He(pbuh) said:
“Observe fast on sighting the moon [of Rarnadhán] and terminate it on sighting the moon [of Shawwal]. However, if it is cloudy then complete the month of Sha’ban at thirty days.”
The Muslim must receive this great month happily and gratefully, while praising and thanking Alláh(swt) and with full readiness and apure intention to practice all forms of worship in this month. He must look forward to spending the days of this month fasting and reciting the Quran’ and the nights praying, supplicating, and invoking Alláh(swt). The Prophet(pbuh) used to give the great tidings of the advent of Ramadhán to his Companions saying:
“The month of Ramadhán has come about. It is a month of blessings that Alláh(swt) has decreed to be mandatory upon you to fast its days. In it, the gates of Heavens are opened, the gates of Hell are closed; and the devils are chained. In it, there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived from its goodness is indisputably deprived.”
We ask Alláh(swt) not to deprive us from this goodness and to bestow upon us the virtues of this blessed night.
With this I conclude my speech and ask Alláh(swt), the Almighty, to forgive all of our sins. So seek His forgiveness, for He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.
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John Doe
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