Ramadan Teachings
Bismillahi Rahman Roheem.
All Praise is for Allah. We adore Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We have Faith and Trust in Him. We seek Allah’s refuge against evil tendencies of our Selves and our bad deeds.
He whom Allah guides no one can lead him astray. And he whom Allah lets go astray there is none to guide him. We bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, the One and without any Partner; and we also bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His servant and Messenger. Allah had sent him with Truth, to give good tidings and to warn before the Doomsday. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be successful and well guided.
And whosoever disobeys either of them has gone astray. Such a person harms none save himself; he does no harm to Allah. The best Word is the Book of Allah. And the best Guidance is that given by Muhammad (SAW). Good things are the firm (original) ones, and Bad things are those introduced later on. And everything introduced later (in religion) is innovation. And every innovation is Hell fire.
Now then, I seek Allah’s refuge against Satan the outcast. I start in the name of Allah, most Gracious, and most Merciful.
The Prophet's (SAW) companions used to say, "Let not the day that you fast and the day that you do not fast be equal." It is important that one's behaviour, attitude and outlook should not be the same on the day that one is fasting and when one is not fasting. There should be a change, as one is trying to worship Allah more, so one's fasting should have an effect.
Dear readers the easiest way to reap opportunities in life is this month and we shall discuss few ways being taught here Insha Allah.
Firstly we must recognize the fact that fasting in this month is an order on us Muslims by Allah and the only lesson derives from the order is to gain Taqwa (fear of Allah).
Allah legislated fasting for gaining Taqwa, "O you who believe fasting have been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain Taqwa." Q2:138.
Taqwa in this case means, to make a shield between oneself and Allah's anger and hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire?’
Another lesson from Ramadan is that it’s Draw us closer to Allah, this is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur'an during the night and the day, attending the Tarawih prayers, remembering Allah, sitting in circles of knowledge and for those who can, making Umrah.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “An Umrah in the month of Ramadan is equal (in reward) to performing a hajj." (Ahmad & Ibn Majah).
Also for those who can, making itikaf (seclusion) in the last ten days of Ramadan, so to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself in a Masjid just thinking of Allah, this brings us closer to Allah. When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why one might find it hard to read and reflect on the Qur'an and come to the Masjid. However, the obedient worshiper feels closer to Allah and wants to worship Allah more, because Allah forgives and is merciful.
Thirdly; Acquiring patience and strong will as a good servant. Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'an and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. This Ummah needs men and women that are strong willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon something firm, they cannot do so, they waver.
The fourth lesson from Ramadan and a way to reap opportunities are Striving for Ihsan (righteousness & sincerity) and staying away from riyaah’ (showing off).
Ihsan means to worship Allah as if one sees Him, for if one does not see Him, He sees all. Hasan al-Basri said, “By Allah in the last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forward or stepped back, except that I have thought before I have done any action, ‘Does Allah love this action ? Is Allah pleased with this action?' “So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyaah (showing off).
That is why Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi, ".Fasting is for me and I will reward it.” (Bukhari) Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worship saying, "...Fasting is for Me...”, because no one knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity or making Tawwaf, one can be seen by the people, so one might do the action seeking the praise of the people.
Sufian at-thawri used to spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah?” he said, ‘No.', they said, “Is it due to the fear of the hell-fire?", he said, 'No. It is not the fear of Allah that makes me cry, what makes me cry is that I have been worshiping Allah all these years and doing scholarly teaching, but I am not certain that my intentions are purely for Allah.'
Without doubt the lesson five is Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic has no need that he should leave his food and drink." (Bukhari)
And the Prophet (SAW) said, “It may be that a fasting person attains nothing but hunger and thirst from his fast." (Ibn Majah)
What we learn from this is that we must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (SAW) said, “I was sent to perfect good manners." (Muwatta)
So we must check ourselves, are we following the behaviour of the Prophet (SAW). For example, do we give Salam to those we don't know and those we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islam, by telling the truth and only telling the truth? Are we merciful to the creation?
Another lesson here is recognizing that one can change for the better. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn Majah)
Allah provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient.
The seventh lesson is hard one to learn from Ramadan because hate to share our wealth. Being more charitable Ibn Abbas said, “The Prophet (SAW) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to do more in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel (A.S) used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet (SAW) used to recite the Holy Qur'an to Jibreel." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (SAW) said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person's reward." (Tirmidhi). How much do we care?
Sensing the unity of the Muslims through caring and sharing another lesson Eight from Ramadan.
The Prophet (SAW) said, "...Those of you who will live after me, will see many differences. Then you must cling on to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khalifah. Hold fast to it and stick to it...” (Abu Dawud)
It is possible for Muslims to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His Messenger. One senses unity, because the Muslims pray and fast together.
From this lesson we can only gain the ninth lesson from Ramadan which is Learning being discipline.
The Prophet (SAW) said, "Bilal makes the adhan, while it is still night; therefore, eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes the adhan." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (SAW) made us adhere to this strictness. Similarly one cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their lives, because they are people of an important message, which they mould their lives around. We are Examples to other being but fail in our duty.
I could remember what we learn during this month when we are much younger because it’s the only month that every Masjid does have a Nasiah programme to teach and engage people during the days. Ramadan also taught us how to teach the young to worship Allah.
It was the practice of the people of Madinah, that during the fast of Ashura (which is now a recommended fast of one day) to get their children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast with their parents. (Mentioned in Bukhari) So the young should be brought to the Masjid and they should pray with their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming worshipers of Allah.
If one does not encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (SAW) said, "Command your children to pray at the age of seven and beat them at the age of ten (if they do not pray)" (Hakim)
Finally it has been proved medically now that Fasting is a means of caring for one's health. Fasting teaches Muslims to take care of their health and to build strong bodies.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim)
May Allah accept every bit of supplication in this month …Amin
Oh Allah! We implore your extended mercy that will forgive our sins and erase our misdeeds and errors. Oh Allah Forgive all our sins hidden and open, big and small. Oh Allah forgives all our dead love ones, our parents living and dead.
Oh Allah preserve our teachers those that dead and those that are living make them a great guide for us to Aljannah and not a distractor. Oh Allah me and the Muslim Ummah. Amin
Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni! (OH ALLAH! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me!)
May Allah continue to Guide and Guard us aright. Amin
“Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded". (6:90) May Allah bless us to serve him in all aspects of our lives.
Wa Salaam Alaikum Waramotullahi Wabarakatuhu
Allahu Mustahan
All Praise is for Allah. We adore Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We have Faith and Trust in Him. We seek Allah’s refuge against evil tendencies of our Selves and our bad deeds.
He whom Allah guides no one can lead him astray. And he whom Allah lets go astray there is none to guide him. We bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, the One and without any Partner; and we also bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His servant and Messenger. Allah had sent him with Truth, to give good tidings and to warn before the Doomsday. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be successful and well guided.
And whosoever disobeys either of them has gone astray. Such a person harms none save himself; he does no harm to Allah. The best Word is the Book of Allah. And the best Guidance is that given by Muhammad (SAW). Good things are the firm (original) ones, and Bad things are those introduced later on. And everything introduced later (in religion) is innovation. And every innovation is Hell fire.
Now then, I seek Allah’s refuge against Satan the outcast. I start in the name of Allah, most Gracious, and most Merciful.
The Prophet's (SAW) companions used to say, "Let not the day that you fast and the day that you do not fast be equal." It is important that one's behaviour, attitude and outlook should not be the same on the day that one is fasting and when one is not fasting. There should be a change, as one is trying to worship Allah more, so one's fasting should have an effect.
Dear readers the easiest way to reap opportunities in life is this month and we shall discuss few ways being taught here Insha Allah.
Firstly we must recognize the fact that fasting in this month is an order on us Muslims by Allah and the only lesson derives from the order is to gain Taqwa (fear of Allah).
Allah legislated fasting for gaining Taqwa, "O you who believe fasting have been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain Taqwa." Q2:138.
Taqwa in this case means, to make a shield between oneself and Allah's anger and hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire?’
Another lesson from Ramadan is that it’s Draw us closer to Allah, this is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur'an during the night and the day, attending the Tarawih prayers, remembering Allah, sitting in circles of knowledge and for those who can, making Umrah.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “An Umrah in the month of Ramadan is equal (in reward) to performing a hajj." (Ahmad & Ibn Majah).
Also for those who can, making itikaf (seclusion) in the last ten days of Ramadan, so to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself in a Masjid just thinking of Allah, this brings us closer to Allah. When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why one might find it hard to read and reflect on the Qur'an and come to the Masjid. However, the obedient worshiper feels closer to Allah and wants to worship Allah more, because Allah forgives and is merciful.
Thirdly; Acquiring patience and strong will as a good servant. Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'an and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. This Ummah needs men and women that are strong willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon something firm, they cannot do so, they waver.
The fourth lesson from Ramadan and a way to reap opportunities are Striving for Ihsan (righteousness & sincerity) and staying away from riyaah’ (showing off).
Ihsan means to worship Allah as if one sees Him, for if one does not see Him, He sees all. Hasan al-Basri said, “By Allah in the last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forward or stepped back, except that I have thought before I have done any action, ‘Does Allah love this action ? Is Allah pleased with this action?' “So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyaah (showing off).
That is why Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi, ".Fasting is for me and I will reward it.” (Bukhari) Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worship saying, "...Fasting is for Me...”, because no one knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity or making Tawwaf, one can be seen by the people, so one might do the action seeking the praise of the people.
Sufian at-thawri used to spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah?” he said, ‘No.', they said, “Is it due to the fear of the hell-fire?", he said, 'No. It is not the fear of Allah that makes me cry, what makes me cry is that I have been worshiping Allah all these years and doing scholarly teaching, but I am not certain that my intentions are purely for Allah.'
Without doubt the lesson five is Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic has no need that he should leave his food and drink." (Bukhari)
And the Prophet (SAW) said, “It may be that a fasting person attains nothing but hunger and thirst from his fast." (Ibn Majah)
What we learn from this is that we must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (SAW) said, “I was sent to perfect good manners." (Muwatta)
So we must check ourselves, are we following the behaviour of the Prophet (SAW). For example, do we give Salam to those we don't know and those we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islam, by telling the truth and only telling the truth? Are we merciful to the creation?
Another lesson here is recognizing that one can change for the better. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn Majah)
Allah provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient.
The seventh lesson is hard one to learn from Ramadan because hate to share our wealth. Being more charitable Ibn Abbas said, “The Prophet (SAW) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to do more in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel (A.S) used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet (SAW) used to recite the Holy Qur'an to Jibreel." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (SAW) said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person's reward." (Tirmidhi). How much do we care?
Sensing the unity of the Muslims through caring and sharing another lesson Eight from Ramadan.
The Prophet (SAW) said, "...Those of you who will live after me, will see many differences. Then you must cling on to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khalifah. Hold fast to it and stick to it...” (Abu Dawud)
It is possible for Muslims to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His Messenger. One senses unity, because the Muslims pray and fast together.
From this lesson we can only gain the ninth lesson from Ramadan which is Learning being discipline.
The Prophet (SAW) said, "Bilal makes the adhan, while it is still night; therefore, eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes the adhan." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (SAW) made us adhere to this strictness. Similarly one cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their lives, because they are people of an important message, which they mould their lives around. We are Examples to other being but fail in our duty.
I could remember what we learn during this month when we are much younger because it’s the only month that every Masjid does have a Nasiah programme to teach and engage people during the days. Ramadan also taught us how to teach the young to worship Allah.
It was the practice of the people of Madinah, that during the fast of Ashura (which is now a recommended fast of one day) to get their children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast with their parents. (Mentioned in Bukhari) So the young should be brought to the Masjid and they should pray with their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming worshipers of Allah.
If one does not encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (SAW) said, "Command your children to pray at the age of seven and beat them at the age of ten (if they do not pray)" (Hakim)
Finally it has been proved medically now that Fasting is a means of caring for one's health. Fasting teaches Muslims to take care of their health and to build strong bodies.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim)
May Allah accept every bit of supplication in this month …Amin
Oh Allah! We implore your extended mercy that will forgive our sins and erase our misdeeds and errors. Oh Allah Forgive all our sins hidden and open, big and small. Oh Allah forgives all our dead love ones, our parents living and dead.
Oh Allah preserve our teachers those that dead and those that are living make them a great guide for us to Aljannah and not a distractor. Oh Allah me and the Muslim Ummah. Amin
Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni! (OH ALLAH! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me!)
May Allah continue to Guide and Guard us aright. Amin
“Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded". (6:90) May Allah bless us to serve him in all aspects of our lives.
Wa Salaam Alaikum Waramotullahi Wabarakatuhu
Allahu Mustahan
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