Alhamdu lillah, we are now in the second of the three laps of the holy month of Ramadan. In spite of the hybrid weather that is characterized with heat, cold, dry and dust; the sacred season appears to be on a fast lane. By sunset today, Muslims in Nigeria would have fasted for twelve days. It is a period to cleanse the inner and outer parts of our lives by asking Allah (SWT) for His mercy and for the forgiveness of our sins. We must therefore not waste the spiritual opportunities offered by Ramadan. At this point of the Ramadan fast, we should be asking ourselves whether or not we have truly expressed the deepest sense of remorse over our past mistakes and acts of unrighteousness.
Let us strive with all that Allah (SWT) has bestowed on us including good health, physical strength, and understanding of Islam to take advantage of this unique month by rejuvenating our souls in order to earn Allah’s love during this revered season of devoution; hoping that when we become His beloved servants, He (SWT) will put us among those to earn His mercy, forgiveness, and pleasure during this Ramadan.
Ramadan is a sacred month in which Allah has promised to forgive every repentant Muslim; grant mercy to every seeker of amnesty; and pardon those who ask for it. Abu Hurayrah (RA) reports from the Prophet (SAW) that the gates to hell fire remain closed throughout each Ramadan period just as the gates to paradise are left open during the same period so that the wish and prayer of those who desire the latter (paradise) would graciously be granted.
As we pray and hope in Allah’s forgiveness, let us repent from our sins sincerely; pledging that our repentance, this time, is a permanent one. It should not be a repentance that would lead us back to the path of disobedience. Let us defeat the devil by denouncing all sinful acts. Let us take advantage of Allah’s boundless mercy and forgiveness in this Ramadan to delete from our thoughts and actions every word that denotes unrighteousness including envy, backbiting, stealing, cheating, betrayal, selfishness, greed, lying, forgery, bribery and all forms of corrupt practices.
Muslims are encouraged to make the spiritual fight against the devil in this Ramadan to be the last one in which man’s worst enemy will forever remain conquered such that he is left with no strength to mislead him again in the rest of his life. Let us use this Ramadan to build a strong foundation of taqwa (fear of Allah) in our hearts; leaving no space for the sneaking whisperer to build his devious workshop. We can achieve this if we make the holy Qur’an our constant companion; if we make the glorification (tasbih) and remembrance (dhikr) of Allah (SWT) the constant activity of our tongue; and if we make the acknowledgement and appreciation of Allah’s mercy and favour the pre-occupation of our minds.
Imam Malik (RA) reports on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said, “By the One in whose hand my soul is, the whiff from the breath of a person who is fasting is better with Allah than the musk. He leaves his desires, food and drink; all for my sake. Fasting is for Me and I (give the) reward (for) it. Every good act is rewarded by ten times its kind up to seven hundred times except fasting which is for Me, and I reward it.” Similarly, the six authentic compilers of hadith all relate on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA) who reports that the Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Fasting is a protection for you. So, when you fast, do not behave obscenely or foolishly. And if anyone argues with you or insults you, say, ‘I am fasting, I am fasting.
The devil, Satan, is always unhappy when a servant of Allah makes good use of his time in Ramadan. He works so hard to influence believers negatively so that we oversleep during the day and at night. Satan struggles to keep us busy with activities that profit us less. He employs various tricks to distract Muslims from benefiting from the spiritual privileges of Ramadan, which come but once in twelve months. We must be decisive in defying Satan’s mischiefs if we wish to be one of those to reap the immeasurable rewards of Ramadan.
Let this spiritual battle be the last one in which the devil will forever remain defeated such that he is left with no strength to mislead us again in the rest of our life. Let us use this Ramadan to build a strong foundation of Taqwa (fear of Allah) in our hearts; leaving no space of the sneaking whisperer to build his deceitful workshop. We can achieve this if we make the holy Qur’an our constant companion; the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah (SWT) constant activity of our tongue; and the appreciation of Allah’s favours our mental preoccupation.
Imam Muslim relates on the authority of Abu Dharr (RA) that in every tasbih (that is, saying Subhana-llahi), there is reward; in every takbir (that is, saying Allahu Akbar), there is reward; in every Tahmid (that is, saying Alhamdu lillah), there is reward; and in every Tahlil (that is, saying La ilaha ila llah), there is reward. It is a period to cleanse the inner and outer parts of our lives by asking Allah (SWT) for His mercy and for the forgiveness of our sins.
As we hope in Allah’s infinite mercy, we pray that Allah puts us among those to be forgiven their sins, big and small, in the first ten days of this blessed month of Ramadan, Amin. Ramadan Kareem!
