As Salamu Alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, Alhamdulillah, we are now in the Holy month of Ramadan. The month is broken down into thirds. The first ten days (1-10) are known as the “Ten Days of Mercy”.
The second ten days (11-20) are the days of forgiveness, and the last days (21-30) are to seek Allah’s refuge from the Hell-Fire. One of the recommend dua to seek Allah’s Mercy during the first 10 days is a verse from the Holy Quran (Surah Al Muminun, 23:118): وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ (Transliteration: Waqul Rab-bighfir war-ham, wa Anta Khairur-Raahimeen). (Translation: “And say, My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the Best of the merciful”)
The prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Anyone who fasts for one day for Allah’s sake, Allah will keep his face away from the Hellfire for a distance covered by a journey of seventy years”. [Abu Said Al-Khudri in Sahih Muslim 13/219] In this special month, good deeds are multiplied between 70 to 700 times in rewards which is why the Scholars therefore say whoever goes through Ramadan without earning Allah’s forgiveness, through their actions, is truly a wretched person. Some important things to note during Ramadan.
WHO NEEDS TO FAST? · Fasting in Ramadan is obligatory on all sane adult Muslims, except those for whom it is too difficult or harmful to do so. · It is not compulsory for children to fast. However, they should be encouraged and trained to fast from the age of seven; as in the case of prayers. Parents who train their children to fast will be rewarded and the child will also be rewarded.
If a fasting person eats or drinks out of forgetfulness, the Prophet (ﷺ) says they should continue their fast because it is Allah that fed them. WHO IS EXEMPTED FROM FASTING? Those exempted from fasting include: · A traveler or an ill person whose illness can be worsened by fasting. It is not recommended for such people to fast but if they do so, it will be accepted from them. If they do not fast, they must fast an equal number of days after Ramadan to make up for the days missed.
Menstruating women and women with post-partum bleeding are not allowed to fast and it will not be considered valid if they do. But they must make up for the missed days later.
Pregnant and nursing women, if they fear that fasting can be harmful to their children or to themselves, need not fast. If they don’t fast, they must make up for the days on which they break the fast. In addition, they must feed a poor person for every day that they did not fast; i.e. if the reason for not fasting is because of concern for the health of the baby.
People who are not capable of fasting, either due to old age or incurable diseases, are not to fast. It is enough for them to feed one poor person for each of the days in which they do not to fast. The more people they feed the better.
BEST TIMES WHEN DUA (SUPPLICATION) IS ACCEPTED: · In the last 3rd part of the night, when we wake up for pre-dawn meal (suhoor). · After each obligatory prayer. Between the azaan (the call to prayer) and the iqamah (second call to prayer). · When it is raining. · When in prostration. · Anytime while fasting. · Dua while breaking fast. · Dua after wudhu.
THINGS THAT ARE PERMISSIBLE DURING FASTING, INCLUDE: · Brushing one’s teeth with a siwak or a brush. Asthma inhalers and oxygen. · Having the ear syringed; nose drops and nasal sprays. · Dental fillings, tooth extractions, cleaning of the teeth. · Rinsing, gargling or applying topical mouth sprays. · Anaesthetics that do not include nourishment. · Injections, except those that provide nourishment. · Medications absorbed through the skin, such as creams and patches. · Tablets placed under the tongue to treat angina and other conditions. · Insertion into the veins or urethra of a catheter, opaque dye for diagnostic imaging, medication or solutions for cleansing the bladder. In all these permissible things, one must avoid swallowing anything that reaches their throat.
SOME RECOMMENDED ACTIONS DURING RAMADAN INCLUDE: · Pray Taraweeh. Taraweeh is the non-obligatory prayer performed after Isha or evening prayer every night during Ramadan and Tahajjud is performed much deeper into the night, especially in the last 10-days of Ramadan. For those praying Taraweeh at home: (a) The number of Rakat for Taraweeh is normally 8 in the first twenty nights of Ramadan. (b) Aim to finish the entire Quran (if you can) throughout the month. It is permissible to hold the Quran and read from it while performing Taraweeh. (c) Make Shaf (two Rakat) and Witr (one Rakat) after Taraweeh prayer.
Eat a pre-dawn meal (Suhoor): There are lots of blessings in eating suhoor. · Rush to break your fast just before Maghrib because it is the Sunnah to do
As-Salamu Alaykum warahamatullahi wabarakatuh, In just a few days, we will enter the month of Ramadan, In sha Allah. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The month of Ramadan has come, a blessed month in which Allah Almighty has obligated you to fast. In it the gates of the heavens are opened, and in it the gates of Hellfire are closed, and in it the devils are chained, and in it is a night that is better than a thousand months. Thus, whoever is deprived of its good is truly deprived.”
(Narrated by Abu Hurairah in Aḥmad 7108) Fasting in Ramadan is the third pillar of Islam which was prescribed by Allah in the second year of Hijrah (migration of the Prophetﷺ from Makkah to Madinah). Fasting is obligatory upon every sane Muslim adult. Allah says: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa” (Quran, 2:183).
Taqwa is defined as “the consciousness of the soul to fulfill what Allah has commanded and abstain from what He has prohibited.” (Mujam Al-Lughatul-Fuqahaa).
According to the scholars, fasting is a means to achieve self-restraint. When we observe fast, we restrain ourselves from many things, including eating, drinking, fulfilling our desires, being angry and general disobedience to Allah. Ibn Al-Qayyim said “The objective behind fasting is to restrain the soul from desires (for food, drink and sexual relations), divert it from its normal circumstances, tame the strong desires, prepare it to attain the happiness and benefits (from fasting), and purify it from its untamed state. By experiencing the intensity of hunger and thirst, one is reminded of the condition of the hungry stomachs of needy people.” (Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, Zaad Al-Ma’ad, Maktabah Al-Risalah).
The Prophet ﷺ said: “O people! A great and blessed month has approached you, a month containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting in its days an obligation and prayer in its nights a (recommended) voluntary act. Anyone who seeks nearness to Allah in this month through any virtuous act will be like one who carried out an obligatory act at another time (outside of Ramadan), and whoever performs an obligatory act in this month will be like one who performed seventy such acts at another time. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Paradise. It is the month of equality, the month in which the wealth of the believer is increased…” (Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah). With the reward for obligatory acts multiplied, we must strive to perform them in the best of manners, and with the reward for voluntary acts multiplied, we must hasten to perform more good deeds.
Ramadan is therefore a golden opportunity to free ourselves from the Hell-fire and earn Paradise. Many Muslims assume that when Ramadan comes they will strive to become better Muslims and do the maximum possible good deeds for the whole month. However, in reality, they start off on a high note but soon get tired, so they lose momentum, trough or lull for much of the month. Then they try a bit harder at the end to catch Laylat-ul-Qadr (the night of decree); even then they may sleep some nights and even miss some obligatory prayers!
This approach is not correct and bound to fail. The scholars advise us to follow the practice of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions who used to pray, fast, and obey Allah all year round. Then they will maximize their efforts in Ramadan to excel in good deeds. Ramadan should therefore be used to change our lives, every day should get increasingly better.
Allah loves deeds that are done consistently, even if they are small, because they represent a Muslim’s personality, and they are the deeds that pave the path to Paradise. With only a few days to Ramadan, we need to strengthen performance of the obligatory acts of worship, especially the prayer, and supplement them with voluntary acts. Once we enter Ramadan then we can go beyond our normal deeds with more voluntary acts, increasing them gradually. And Allah knows Best! May Allah grant us steadfastness to perform Ramadan satisfactorily and to maximize the rewards therein. Ameen. N.A.A
