Fasting in the Month of Ramadan - Part 2

 Wisdom and benefits of Fasting:

·         Being God conscious – in a state of taqwa throughout the whole month

·         Training to be disciplined in iman - faith

·         Ability to control nafs and syahwat – selfish desires

·         Ability to control the love of this worldly life

·         Commemorating the revelation of the Qur’an

·         Observing secrecy in sincerity of worship for Allah

·         Feeling closer to Allah

·         Purifying the heart and the self

·         Training to be trustworthy - amanah

·         Training to be patient and steadfast - sabr and istiqamah

·     Developing to be a better Muslim with character, qualities, strength, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness, patience, commitment, dedication

·         Feeling the miseries, the hunger and thirst of the poor and the destitute

·         Feeling the brotherhood of Muslims

·         Training for hardship

·         Semblance of a life of struggle and strive

·         Healthy benefits, dieting

Ramadan’s Offerings & Opportunities:

·         Allah’s blessings

·         Allah’s forgiveness

·         Liberation from the fires of hell

·         Obtaining the rewards of paradise

·         To make the best out of the Night of Power - laylatul qadar

Levels of fasting:

Highest & Ideal:

Free from any ill thoughts, bad intentions and selfish desires fleeting through the heart and mind

Next level:

Abstain from bad deeds in speech and behaviour

Basic:

Abstain from all things that nullify fasting

Prayer recited at breaking of fast - iftar do'a:

“O Allah,

We fast because of You

and With your grace we break our fast

and we are faithful to You”

Happiness:

People who fast are the happiest and the most joyful because shall experience

·         Happiness in breaking the fast

·         Happiness on the day of ‘eid al fitr

·         Happiness in meeting Allah on the Day of Judgement - the greatest ever pleasure ever hoped and wished for

Breaking the Fast:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

"Break the fast with dates. If it is not available, drink water for water purifies."

Providing meals for others to break the fast:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

“Whoever provides meals for persons to break the fast, his rewards shall be the rewards of fasting.”

Sahur - the pre dawn meal is strongly encouraged:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

"Eat sahur because sahur has its blessings."

Satan is shackled - evil is restrained - there are no obstacles and ample opportunity for worship and good deeds

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

“When the month of Ramadan comes, The doors of paradise are opened wide and the doors of hell are closed shut, Satan is shackled”

Ramadan is a month of celebration and a festival of faith and God consciousness:

·         We celebrate when we break our fast at dusk - maghrib

·         Ramadan itself is celebrating the commemoration of Qur’an revelations

·         We celebrate ‘Eid al Fitr at the end of the month of  Ramadan - return our purest state of God consciousness

The month when the Qur'an was revealed - Al Qur’an, surah al baqarah 2:185:

Ramadan is the month when the Qur’an was revealed

The Qur’an is the guidance for mankind. It is the proof of guidance. It is the criterion to differentiate truth from falsehood, between good and evil.

Benefits of Ramadan:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

“Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan because of Allah, Allah shall distance him 70 years from the fires of hell

Benefits of Worship during Ramadan:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

“Whoever performs worship in the month of Ramadan with faith and sincerity, Allah shall forgive all his past sins”

Benefits of Solat - prayers during Ramadan:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.

"Praying the five daily Solat from Friday to the next Friday and Ramadan to the next Ramadan the following year, shall cleanse all sins as long as the major sins are avoided."

Benefits of Fasting and the Qur'an:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

"Fasting and the Qur’an shall intercede (helps) on a person’s behalf on the Day of Judgement."

Benefits and rewards of Fasting:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

"Paradise has an entrance called Ar Rayyan exclusively special for those who fast."

The Prayers  of those who are surely granted - significance of the  do'a of a person who fasts:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w.:

"Three persons whose prayers shall surely be answered:   

The person who is fasting,

A just leader,

and a person who is oppressed"

Performing Solat Tarawih is strongly encouraged:

·         Night prayer performed after solat isya’

·         Carry out 2 raka’ats and ends with customary salam

·         It is Sunat mu'akkad, strongly encouraged

·         It is encouraged to be performed in congregation together in the community – jama’ah

·         the length is either 8 or 20 rakaats

·         It can be followed with solat witir (3 raka’ats) at the end

Night vigil , Night of Power - laylatul qadr:

It is truly a  Night of Power full of blessings. It is a celebration of the revelation of the Qur’an. Tremendous rewards are offered beyond our comprehension.

The Night of Power is to be observed by constantly being in the state of utmost taqwa and readiness, to be steadfastly and consistently performing extra worship like solat tarawih, solat sunat, solat tahajjud, reciting,  reading and contemplating the Qur’an, making do'a, undertaking night vigil in the early morning hours. We are reminded to ensure our fasting is correct and dutiful.

Benefits of laylatul qadr:

Hadith Rasulullah s.a.w:

"Whoever performs worship during Laylatul Qadar with faith and places all hope to Allah, Allah shall forgive all his past sins."

Fasting for Children:

Ensure an atmosphere of joy and happiness in fasting, breaking of fast, going to the masjid or musalla, reciting Qur’an – tadarrus, being charitable, donating to good causes and doing all these things together as a whole family. Encourage and motivate fasting but do not compel the children. We are also encouraged to give out gifts to children. Always pray that our children shall be our cherished and loved ones in God consciousness and piety.

Zakat fitrah:

This essential alms is collected towards the end of Ramadan from those who can afford it. The collection is distributed and given to the poor, the orphans, the needy and those entitled.  Zakat fitrah is obligatory upon all able Muslims. The head of family pays for all of his dependents. The value of Zakat fitrah amounts to approximately 3 kg of grain per family member. This zakat is given to the poor and others entitled to it at the end of Ramadan. It purifies our fast and our behaviour . It helps the poor to celebrate ‘eid. 

The Sanctuary called Ramadan

Ramadan brings us back from the mundane and the ordinary ritualistic life, a respite, a ‘meaningful rest’ from the hectic materialism, away from worldly affairs. It is an escape and a spiritual retreat but without actually leaving or shunning the world. Everyday life goes on except that worldly pleasures and selfish desires are curtailed conscientiously. Self discipline suddenly then becomes a normal way of life. There seems to be a surge, a rejuvenation of sincerity, patience, compassion and resolve.

How can this be so? For one thing, the evil Syaitan, our arch enemy is actually or metaphorically out of the picture, being restrained from bothering mankind for the rest of the sacred month. Then, there are blessings which grace forgiveness, multiple and abundant increase in rewards for good deeds and performance of ibadah - worship, conflagration of awareness, self reflection and internal motivation as well as the feeling of community togetherness in a unison of faith and piety to Allah almighty.

Ramadan is a religious sanctuary, a spiritual haven, without having to migrate or to travel far away. We need not leave our troubles behind. No, instead, it is Ramadan which replenishes our soul, our inner self, our natural being, our fitrah –our inherent and innate nature - to come back stronger than ever in faith, in character and in good deeds. With faith, with taqwa - God conscientiousness, with much stronger will power, boosting our inner strengths, we shall overcome our concerns and anxieties. By fasting and observing all the enjoined activities, the obligatory and the supererogatory; our nafs, our self returns to a more purified state. Fasting imbues in us, trains us, disciplines us to be spiritually enlightened throughout night and day, to be in constant awareness, in deep remembrance, contemplating, reflecting, accumulating good deeds, rewards and achieving the ultimate goal of taqwa, the highest form of God consciousness.

Yes, we do indeed face tribulations, personally and as a nation, as an ummah. We are assailed from all sides in all manners of aggression be it in the form of raw power, aggression and brute strength, be it in the form of social and economic encroachment, depravity or strangulation, and the subtle invasion of our hearts and minds, trying to conquer our thoughts. It needs strong faith, resilience and mujahaddah – strive and struggle in upholding to Islam’s principles and sustaining the ummah’s - the Islamic community's dignity and integrity. One of the lessons and wisdom of Ramadan is to make Muslims feel the misery of the poor and to reflect and act upon them, to be grateful to Allah s.w.t. for His benevolence and to use what is granted to us in His service and to help others in need. We remember the sufferings of the Palestinians starving from Gaza to the tormented cries for help and salvation from the incarcerated in Guantanamo. Fasting brings about such realization and awakens us to the bitter fact and binds our togetherness in facing the challenges in front of us.

Ramadan wakes us up, reminds us of the momentous Night of Power – laylatul qadr, where the highest truth was revealed to our noble and cherished Prophet, Muhammad, our beloved, our leader, our guide, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – s.a.w. The al Qur’an was revealed and it totally transformed mankind by connecting it to the highest order. By revealing the guidance towards true faith, the criterion, the measure, the principle, the standard to distinguish between good and evil, between those who are on the right path and those who are damned and are astray; there can be no doubt, no scepticism or reservation of Allah’s revelation and Islam’s message as hope and blessings for mankind.

Indeed, there are even attempts and orchestrations to induce the faithful to leave the faith. Conspiracies and strategies abound by Islam’s detractors to distort the religion, hoping that Muslims themselves will somehow implode in the self destruction of their iman - their faith by being dazed and confused through incessant devious assaults either openly through media or subtlety through disinformation and cloaked crafty educational programs. Orientalist thought is being rekindled and refashioned, being spread and championed in what is simply  a futile attempt ‘to eliminate Islam from the realm of public space’, to quote renowned scholar Uthman al Muhammady.

But the sparkle of Ramadan, the surge in remembrance and the height of taqwa shall be triumphant and shall overcome. The people of faith cherish and treasure truth and are very lovingly jealous of the deen - religion of Islam. No one shall be able to treat it lightly. Yes there were people in the past and there maybe some too at present who wish to regard lightly of Ramadan and of the associated spiritual activities. Some just carry on as usual, conducting some mundane activities at whatever time of day, even though, it is better and proper to prize and revere the limited time available to perform tarawih - night prayers or the recite the Quran and experience more of the spiritual pleasures and significance of fasting. Some only wish to observe the fast and the breaking of the fast, relegating it just to a time table shift in daily affairs. There are many in this world who still let the Night of Power just pass by without feeling any loss or even realizing its existence or significance altogether.

It is hoped that with a community wide consciousness, counsel, close support and exhortations from family and friends, that this time, we shall with the help of Allah s.w.t. and to Him only we seek help, we perform the utmost in our fasting and observance of Ramadan so that we shall attain the highest level of taqwa.

4 September 2007