The Muslim in Ramadhaan

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): 

{The month of Ramadhaan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allaah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allaah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.}[Quran 2:185]. This blessed month is a great opportunity for goodness, blessing, worship and obedience to Allaah The Almighty.

It is a great month, a noble season, a month in which the rewards for good deeds are multiplied and in which the act of committing bad deeds is more grievous than other times. The gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, the repentance of the sinners is accepted. It is a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its end is redemption from the Fire.

So give thanks to Him for the seasons of goodness and blessing that He has bestowed upon you, and for the means of bounty and various kinds of great blessings for which He has singled you out. Take the best advantage of this blessed time by filling it with acts of worship and forsaking unlawful matters, so that you may attain a good life in this world and happiness after death.

For the sincere believer, every month is an occasion for worship and his whole life is spent in obedience to Allaah The Almighty, but in the month of Ramadhaan he has more motives to do good and his heart is more focused on worship, and he turns more to his Lord. By His grace, our generous Lord bestows His bounty upon the fasting believers and multiplies the reward for them on this blessed occasion. He gives abundantly and rewards generously for righteous deeds.

The days of Ramadhaan pass by very quickly, as if they were fleeting moments. We welcomed Ramadhaan last year and bade it farewell and we are welcoming Ramadhaan again after a short while, so we should hasten to do good deeds in this month and strive to fill it with all the deeds which Allaah The Almighty is pleased with and with that the actions which will help us on the Day when we meet Him.

 

How can we prepare for Ramadhaan?

We can prepare for Ramadhaan by taking ourselves to account and recognizing our shortcomings in living up to the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah The Almighty and that Muhammad is His Messenger.

We should set ourselves straight so that in Ramadhaan we will have a higher degree of faith, as faith increases and decreases. It increases through obedience to Allaah The Almighty and decreases through disobedience and sin. The first act of obedience that a person should achieve is that of being a true slave of Allaah The Almighty and believing that there is none that is rightfully worshipped except Allaah The Almighty. Thus, a person should direct all acts of worship to Allaah The Almighty and not associate anyone else in worship with Him. Each of us should realize that he could not have escaped whatever has befallen him, and whatever has missed him could not have befallen him, and that everything happens by the will and decree of Allaah The Almighty.

We should avoid everything that could undermine our commitment to the two testimonies of faith. This means keeping away from innovations and things that have been introduced into the religion. We should also follow the principle of observing loyalty and disassociation by taking the believers as our allies, as well as regarding the disbelievers and hypocrites as our enemies, so we should rejoice when the Muslims gain a victory over their enemies. We must follow the example of the Prophet  and his Companions and adhere to the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet  and the way of the rightly-guided successors who came after him. We must love the Sunnah and love those who adhere to it and defend it, in whatever country they are, and of whatever color or nationality they are.

We should bring ourselves to account and recognize our shortcomings in performing acts of worship such as praying in congregation, remembering Allaah The Almighty, paying attention to the rights of neighbors, relatives and the Muslims in general, spreading the greeting of Salaam, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, urging one another to follow the truth, to be patient, to be steadfast in doing so, to persist in avoiding evil actions and in doing good deeds, and accepting the decree of Allaah The Almighty with patience.