Ramazan is a month of Quran

By Mohammed NAALIR

The Muslims all over the world are now observing fasting paying homage to the Almighty Allah, dedicating all of their material needs which are crucial for one to live, hoping the sympathy of the God and to practically experience the hunger and starvation being undergone by the poor and the not having.

Ramazan month is considered as a special month among other months. The Holy Month Ramazan gets importance in various ways in the presence of the Allah.

When Prophet Muhammad (Sal) witnessed the new moon at the beginning of Ramazan he would say 'My Lord and your Lord is Allah, O crescent of goodness and guidance. O my Lord! Let it dawn upon us with peace, submission, security and faith'.

Surely Ramazan is the noblest month and its days are the sweetest days. The righteous rebuke Ramazan because of the shortness of its visit and the length of its absence; for it comes after much longing and makes amends after separation. It is often greeted thus

Welcome to the month of fasting

O beloved who visits us every year.

We have met you with overflowing love,

All love except for the Holy Master is prohibited.

Accept O my lord our fast

And increase us from your great favour.

Do not punish us because we were already

Punished by sleepless anxiety in darkness.

Allah mends hearts of the Ummahs (Muslims) with the coming of this guest Ramazan. He forgives sins with his visit, and covers up faults with its arrival.

The messenger of the Almighty Gabriel used this month to teach the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad (Sal).

Allah declared: O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so you might remain conscious of God' (2:183).

Way to piety

Fasting is the way to piety and the fear of God. The fasting person is thus among the closest people to Allah, be exalted. The stomach of the faster becomes hungry while his heart if purified. When he breaks his fast and quenches his thirst, his eyes overflow with tears. The Prophet (Sal) said 'O youth, whoever is able from among you to pay dowry, then he should marry for it is the best way of restraining the eyes and protecting one's private parts. Whoever is unable to do so, he should fast because it will be for him a shield'.

Fasting narrows the food and blood arteries. They are known to be canals of the devils, hence fasting reduces their insinuations. It further weakens carnal desires, thoughts and temptations of disobedience. It lightens the spirit. Fasting reminds the individual of his brothers who are fasting, some of whom are poor and needy. He empathizes with them and extends the hand of help to them.

Fasting is a school for the training of soul, purification of the heart, lowering of the gaze and protection of the limbs. It is a secret between the servant and the Lord. In an authentic hadith the Prophet (Sal) said 'Every act of the son of the man is for himself except fasting; it is for me (Allmighty Allah) and I shall reward it'.

Internal peace

Fasting was a delight and source of internal peace for early Muslims. It expanded their bosoms. Hence, they trained their spirits towards its objectives, purified their hearts with its teachings and disciplined their souls with its wisdom. Numerous accounts confirm that they used to sit with their Qurans in the mosques, reciting, crying and protecting their tongues and eyes from unlawful things. Fasting enhances bodily health. It gets rid of contaminated matter, eases the stomach, purifies the blood, eases the working of the heart, brightens the spirit, refines the soul and disciplines the character.

When an individual fasts, his soul is humbled, his heart is subdued, his ambitions are curbed, and his carnal desire are dispelled. Thus, his prayers are answered because of his closeness to Allah.

Beloved friends

The Quran loves Ramazan and the Ramazan loves the Quran. They are two beloved friends.

Allah says 'It was the month of Ramazan in which the Quran was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and the standard by which to discern the true from the false' (2:185).

The entire Quran was sent down from the 'Preserved Tablet' to the heavens of the earth in the month of Ramazan. It was therefore, an honour for this month that the Quran should be revealed in it. For this reason the Prophet (Sal) used to study the Quran with the angel Gabriel during the Ramazan. He used to listen and reflect upon its meanings, recite it, live with its calls, allow his heart to roam in its field and release all his love in its treasures.

The Prophet (Sal) once advised: 'Read the Quran for surely it will be an intercessor for you on the day of judgement'. He also said; `The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it' And: 'Read the two flowers, Surah Baqarah and Al Imran. They will come as two clouds or as barrier of crowded birds that would shade their readers on the day of judgement'.

Allah says: 'For whatever good deed you may offer up in your own behalf, you shall truly find it with God' (73:20).

The month of Ramazan is considered as a school for the learning of generosity and sacrifice.

Fasting calls for the feeding for the hunger, giving to the indigent and offering to the poor. Ramazan is a season for the open-handed, a well timed opportunity for those who sacrifice and give. Wealth is like water, if its flow is obstructed it becomes brackish, and it flows, it becomes sweet and fresh.

The Prophet (Sal) said 'Charity extinguishes a wrong as water puts out fire'. Wrong doings create a heat and a flame in the souls, and a burning fire in life. Only charity is cooling for the heart and a fragrance for the spirit, erasing in the most complete way every wrong doing.

Glorious station

Allah ordered his beloved Prophet (Sal) `And rise from thy sleep and pray during the part of the night [as well] as a free offering from thee, and thy sustainer may well raise thee to a glorious station [in the life to come].

Accordingly, in the same manner that your standing at night in this world will be glorious and honoured so too will it be on the day of judgement.

Ramazan is a month of fasting and standing in the night engaging in worships.

Al-Quran says that `In the hours of early dawn they were found praying for forgiveness.

The night of the fasting people are short because they are delightful. On the other extreme, the night of frivolous are long because they are unhealthy.

The short ones are thus accompanied by extended concerns while the long ones contain momentary pleasures. The Almighty describes his righteous servants thus 'They would lie asleep during but small part of the night.

The guidance of the heart is the basis of all guidance, the law of all success, the origin of every deed and head of every action.

The Prophet (Sal) said `Truly there is a piece of flesh in the body which, if it be wholesome, the whole body will be healthy and if it be diseased the whole body will be diseased. Truly it is heart.