✨Bidding Ramadan Farewell

Praise be to Allah, who mandated fasting upon His servants, and made it a pillar of Islam.

Indeed bidding farewell to Ramadan is heart-wrenching and sorrowful. Because it separates one from the beloved month and deprives one of enjoying it and basking in its bounties and blessings. Also, there is the uncertainty that this may be one’s last Ramadan. And we just welcomed Ramadan yesterday and it is about to depart and leave. So shall we bid Ramadan farewell with apathy, lethargy, looking for it to end, desiring to escape from the burden and get ridding oneself of the restrictions? Or shall we bid Ramadan farewell like the men of understanding and the elite of Allah’s creation? Those following the path of the pious predecessors and the best of this ummah (nation). Those who combined diligence in carrying out and perfecting deeds with concern afterwards of their acceptance and fear of their rejection. They are like those about whom Allah Almighty said:
Al-Muminun (23) 60: And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord

Aisha asked about this verse:
Are they those who consume intoxicants and steal?” He said: “No, O daughter of As-Siddiq. They are those who fast, perform Salat, give charity while they fear that their Lord will not accept it from them: They are those who hasten to do good deeds, and they are the foremost in them. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3175]

Their hearts are full of fear from their Lord. Fearing that that their good deeds will be outweighed and that they will run out of good deeds. Fearing that they have not fulfilled the right of Allah Almighty due to their knowledge of their Lord and what He deserves of honor and glorification. They are afraid that when they return to their Lord what they did will not save them from the punishment of Allah. For the believer feels Allah’s grace upon him, and feels Allah’s favors in every breath and every pulse. Therefore the believer feels that his level of worship and acts of obedience are insignificant in comparison to the favors of Allah Almighty.

Al Hasan Al-Basri said: The believer combines doing good with fear, and the hypocrite combines sinning with feeling secure from the punishment of Allah.

And the Prophet taught us that the deeds are gauged by how they conclude:
Indeed, (the rewards of) the deeds are by their conclusion. [Bukhari 6607]

For this reason, Sahl bin AbdAllah At Tustaree (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The truthful fear for the bad conclusion in every moment and in every movement.

The pious predecessors used to strive in performing righteous deeds and upon performing them they were full of concern as to whether they would be accepted from them. They used to supplicate Allah for six months that they would realize the month of Ramadan. Then they supplicated to Allah for six months that He would accept it from them.

And it is important to give this matter the proper attention and not to be heedless of it. Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Be more concerned with your deeds being accepted than you are with the deed itself. Did you not hear words of Allah Almighty

Al Maidah (5) 27: Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].

And it was narrated from him, may Allah be pleased with him, that he used to call in the last night of Ramadan: “If only I knew the accepted ones so that I could congratulate them and the deprived, so I could console them.”

They are deprived beause they did not attain forgiveness in spite of the many means for forgiveness in Ramadan, such as fasting, praying, providing meals, charity, joining kinship, recitation of Quran, remembrance of Allah and other matters. Those missing out on being forgiven in Ramadan are truly deprived.

One of the greatest ways that a fasting person can bid farewell to Ramadan and conclude their fasting is reciting the phrase of tawhid, La Illaha ila Lah (there is no rightly worshipped deity but Allah) and seeking forgiveness. Ibn Rajeb (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the phrase of Tawhid wipes out the sins and erases them without a sin remaining and necessitates liberation from the Fire. And whoever recites it sincerely, Allah will make the fire forbidden for him. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
If anybody comes on the Day of Resurrection who has said: La ilaha illal-lah, sincerely from his heart, seeking to attain Allah’s Pleasure, Allah will make the Hell-Fire forbidden for him. [Bukhari 6423]

As for requesting forgiveness, it is one of the greatest means of attaining forgiveness. For seeking forgiveness is a supplication, and the supplication of a fasting person is answered when he is fasting and when he breaks his fast. And Allah combined the word of Tawhid and forgiveness in the verse:
Muhammad (47) 19: So know, [O Muḥammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women.

And all good deeds are concluded by seeking forgiveness. Prayer, the hajj (pilgrimage) and the night prayers are concluded with seeking forgiveness. And the gatherings are adjourned by seeking forgiveness.

And the Caliph Omar bin Abd Al-Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote a letter to the people of the villages, commanding them to conclude Ramadan by seeking forgiveness and offering Zakat al-Fitr. He wrote in his letter: Say as your father Adam, peace be upon him, said:
Al Araf (7) 23: They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”

And say as Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said:
Al Shu’rah (26) 82: And who I aspire that He will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense.

And say as Noah, peace be upon him, said:
Hud (11) 47: And unless You forgive me and have mercy upon me, I will be among the losers.

And say as Musa, peace be upon him, said:
Al Qasas (28) 16: My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me

And say as Yunus, peace be upon him, said:
An (21) Anbiya 87: There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.

Seeking forgiveness is most beneficial when accompanied with sincere repentance. For the one who only seeks forgiveness with his tongue and is determined to return to sinning after the month of Ramadan, is not seeking forgiveness in reality. Rather he is only deceiving himself and following the steps of shaytan.

And from the greatest ways of concluding Ramadan is by asking Allah for paradise and seeking refuge in Him from the fire. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet ﷺ:
What do you say during your prayer?” He said: “I recite the Tashahhud then I say: I ask you for Paradise and seek refuge with You from the Fire. But, by Allah, I am not able to invoke like you and Muadh. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: What we invoke revolves around that (requesting Paradise and seeking refuge from Hell). [Sunan Abi Dawud 792]

And since the fasting person anticipates that his supplication will be answered, especially when he breaks his fast, he should supplicate for the most important matters and comprehensively for all goodness.

Allah Almighty commanded exalting and thanking Him upon completing Ramadan. Allah said:
Al-Baqarah (2) 185: And [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.

So be conscious of Allah and bid farewell to Ramadan in the best fashion. And conclude it with goodness for the deeds are gauged by their conclusion. And take advantage of what remains, for it is only a few nights and days. So bid farewell with good deeds that will be the best witness for you on the day that you stand before Allah, Glory be to Him, a day when neither wealth nor children will benefit except for those who come to Allah with a sound heart.

Oh Muslims: As one bids farewell to Ramadan, he must remember that the doors of goodness opened in Ramadan are not closed with its departure. And that the arenas of obedience are not closed by Ramadan ending. Even though the fasting of Ramadan is coming to a close, the worship of fasting remains. There is the fasting of the six days of Shawwal. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained that fasting them after Ramadan is like fasting for the entire year. And there is fasting on Mondays and Thursdays of every week, and fasting the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month, and fasting on the day of Arafah and fasting on Ashura, and fasting in the month of Muharram, which is the best fasting after Ramadan, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed.

And as the night prayer of Ramadan nears its end, we must remember that this great and blessed worship remains without end. And the Messenger of Allah informed us that the night prayer is the best prayer after the obligatory prayer and it has generous rewards. For the successful are those who continue with the goodness initiated in Ramadan. And there is no end to the deeds of the believer aside from death. As the Almighty said:
Al-Hijr (15) 99: And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty [i.e., death].

We ask Allah Almighty to grant us success in concluding Ramadan in the best possible fashion and to help us sustain the momentum throughout the year. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

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