The Holy Month of Ramadan

The Holy Month of Ramadan has once again graced our life with its presence; a whole month has been bestowed by Allah (God Almighty) to the Muslims so that they may acquire His pleasure and accede to His nearness.

The Sacred Month of Ramadan is such a month which gives the Muslim believers the opportunity to live their Islam, i.e. Submission to Allah to the fullest. And as such obedience to Allah is the key to open the door of His Mercy.

Allah says in the Holy Quran:

And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should (obediently) answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. (2: 187)

The above-mentioned verse is clear on the fact that God Almighty seeks submission from His servants. He wants that His servants, whom He has lovingly placed on earth, call upon Him and respond to His call also. He is such a Being who extremely cares for His creatures. The whole creation is in awe before Him. Man, compared to the rest of creation, is the most intelligent creature and has received the greatest of divine favours in the ability to work towards earning a higher status in the spiritual realm.

The measure of a man’s love for Allah is his unquestioned obedience to the divine commandments. When for a whole month a Muslim believer obeys Allah, without any complaint and regret, and when he spends his time in prayers, and all other acts of worship in humility, it is thus to this kind of person whom the Creator turns and say: “It is now for you to ask for Me to give.” Such a person accomplishes his duty to God Almighty and in return Allah favours him and helps him to accede to His nearness, with love and humility; for bear in mind, if the good upkeep of the human body is vital for its survival on this temporal world, the good care of the human soul is doubly vital for its eternal survival in the yet invisible world (Ghayb), the paradise promised by God the Almighty to those among His servants who keep true to their promises and remain attached to Him and His commandments even after their advent on earth. They are those who remember their duty to Him and do not let the attractions of this world drift them away from the true reality of God and their duty to Him.

The month of Ramadan therefore comes to remind man of that sacred duty he has towards Allah, and Allah has decreed therein more than a thousand months’ blessings in one of its blessed night, called the Laila-tul-Qadr (Night of Decree) found in the ten last nights.

Many reports on the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have situated that night to be on either the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or even the 29th night of Ramadan. For the true believer who carves his life according to the instructions of Allah, for him there can be many such sacred nights which awake his consciousness and make him enjoy the endless blessings of Allah, and thus obedience to Allah grants him such a freedom which even birds with wings don’t have and cannot even fathom. His soul connects with Allah and remains in the obedience of Allah.

Oh Muslims, make these days and nights of this Holy Month of Ramadan become a lifetime of blessings for you and put into practice the commandments of the Almighty in the right way so that God Almighty may put you in the right way and let you tread upon it till you reach Him devoid of any blemish.

Ramadan Mubarak.

* Published in print edition on 1 July 2016

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