✨The School of Ramadan

Abu Dharr and Muadh, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
Be conscious of Allah wherever you are, follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it, and behave with good character towards people.[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1987, Grade: Hasan]

This great comprehensive Hadith combines everything that a Muslim needs in the area of righteousness and rectification; their righteousness in what is between them and Allah, their righteousness within themselves and their righteousness in interacting with other people. And whoever reflects upon the school of fasting will find that it achieves the three matters included in this great comprehensive hadith.

Be conscious of Allah wherever you are

Fasting is a great school for achieving consciousness of Allah. For Allah Almighty opened the verses of fasting in Surah Al Baqarah by saying:
Al Baqarah (2) 183: O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become Allah-conscious.

And Allah Almighty concluded the verses of fasting in the same surah with:
Al Baqarah (2) 187: Thus does Allāh make clear His verses [i.e., ordinances] to the people that they may become Allāh-conscious.

And it was related in the Qudsi Hadith, that Allah Almighty said:
Fasting is for me and I reward for it. [Bukhari 1894, Muslim 1151]

Because of what fasting achieves in terms of consciousness of Allah and that it is the key in the interaction between people and their Lord, may He be glorified.

Follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it

Ramadan is the best school for purifying and cleansing one’s soul. The Prophet ﷺinformed:
Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins. [Bukhari 2014, Muslim 760a]

And the Prophet ﷺ said:
Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins. [Bukhari 37, Muslim 759]

And the Prophet ﷺ said:
Whoever observes the Night of Decree in prayer out of faith and in anticipation of the reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. [Bukhari 1901, Muslim 760a]

But people in this worldly life either advance the purification of their souls or destroy them as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed:
Every person goes out in the morning and trades their soul, either setting it free or destroying it. [Muslim 223]

That is every person either seeks to destroy their soul or free it. So whoever strives in the obedience of Allah has sold their soul to Allah and freed it from His torment. And whoever strives in the disobedience of Allah has traded their soul for disgrace and ruined it with sins that lead to Allah’s wrath and punishment.

And success is in purifying one’s soul. Allah Almighty said:
Shams (91) 9-10: (9) He has succeeded who purifies it, (10) And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].

And the Prophet ﷺ sternly warned against letting Ramadan pass without attaining forgiveness. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
And may a man upon whom Ramadan enters and then passes, before he is forgiven, be humiliated. [ Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3545, Grade: Hasan]

And behave with good character towards people.

Ramadan is a school for attaining virtuous morals. Indeed it is a blessed school for cultivating and refining the souls upon every virtuous moral and esteemed behavior. For the Prophet ﷺ said:
When anyone of you is fasting, let him not utter evil or raise his voice in anger and if anyone insults him or wants to fight, let him say, I am a person who is fasting. [Bukhari 1904, Muslim 1151d]

And Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet ﷺsaid:
Whoever does not give up evil and ignorant speech, and acting in accordance with that, Allah has no need of him giving up food and drink.[Bukhari 6057]

That is that person did not benefit from the school of fasting to refine their behavior and improve their treatment of others.

So let us make the most of the great school of fasting. For the Prophet ﷺ sternly warned against being like the one who does not benefit and only gets hunger from their fasting and only hardship and fatigue from their night prayers. The Prophet ﷺsaid:
There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer but a sleepless night. [Sunan Ibn Majah 1690, Grade: Sahih (Albani)]

And this happens when the person misses benefiting from this great school, in achieving these three attainments, consciousness of Allah Almighty, and rectifying oneself, and rectifying one’s treatment of others.

Oh Muslims: The days of Ramadan are limited and pass by quickly. And the last ten nights of Ramadan are upon us. And it is from the favor of Allah that a person reaches these ten nights. And this requires sincere determination and keenness to organize one’s time and beware of time wasters such as occupying oneself with excessive socializing, the internet and social networking. Allah Almighty said:
Al An’am (6) 70: And leave those who take their religion as amusement and diversion and whom the worldly life has deluded.

And one should be cautious from the scourges of laziness and procrastination, and preoccupying oneself with things that can be done after the noble month, and from preoccupation with the important rather than the most important.

The Prophet ﷺ used to strive hard in the last ten nights. Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to strive hard (in worship) in these (last) ten (nights of Ramadan) to a greater extent than at any other time. [Muslim 1175]

Also, Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
When the last ten days of Ramadan began, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to tighten his lower garment (refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay up at night, and awaken his family (to pray). [Bukhari 2024, Muslim 1174]

Also the Prophet ﷺ, in seeking Laylatul Qadr, used to perform ‘itikaf (seclusion) in the Masjed during the last ten days of Ramadan, until Allah took his soul. And it is not the same night each year. Rather it shifts. So it could be the night of the 27th or the night of the 21st or it could another of the ten nights. For that reason, it is necessary to strive on all ten nights. And whoever does that will definitely observe Laylatul Qadr and attain its reward. And whoever observes it gets rewarded even if they do not know that it is Laylatul Qadr.

And in seeking Laylatul Qadr one should seek forgiveness plentifully and especially say:
O Allah, You are pardoning and you love to pardon, so pardon me

For Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
O Messenger of Allah, if I knew what night Laylat al Qadr is, what should I say? He said: Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and you love to pardon, so pardon me. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3513]

So seek the mercies of your Lord during all of the ten blessed nights. And strive every single night. And be keen to perform plenty of good deeds as they are multiplied as if they were deeds done for 1000 months. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
This month has come to you, and in it there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly deprived.[Sunan Ibn Majah 1644, Grade: Hasan (Albani)]

Oh Allah accept our fasting, night prayers and all our good deeds. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

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