The Meaning of Ramadan
By Khalid Baig, Albalagh
Fasting during Ramadan was ordained during the second year of Hijrah.
Why not earlier? In Makkah the economic conditions of the Muslims were
bad. They were being persecuted. Often days would go by before they
had anything to eat. It is easy to skip meals if you don’t have any.
Obviously fasting would have been easier under the circumstances. So
why not then?
The answer may be that Ramadan is not only about skipping meals. While
fasting is an integral and paramount part of it, Ramadan offers a
comprehensive program for our spiritual overhaul. The entire program
required the peace and security that was offered by Madinah.
Yes, Ramadan is the most important month of the year. It is the month
that the believers await with eagerness. At the beginning of Rajab —
two full months before Ramadan — the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu
alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate thus: “O Allah! Bless us during
Rajab and Sha’ban, and let us reach Ramadan (in good health).”
During Ramadan the believers get busy seeking Allah’s mercy,
forgiveness, and protection from Hellfire. This is the month for
renewing our commitment and re-establishing our relationship with our
Creator. It is the spring season for goodness and virtues when
righteousness blossoms throughout the Muslim communities. “If we
combine all the blessings of the other eleven months, they would not
add up to the blessings of Ramadan,” said the great scholar and
reformer Shaikh Ahmed Farooqi (Mujaddad Alif Thani). It offers every
Muslim an opportunity to strengthen his Iman, purify his heart and
soul, and to remove the evil effects of the sins committed by him.
“Anyone who fasts during this month with purity of belief and with
expectation of a good reward (from his Creator), will have his
previous sins forgiven,” said Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa
sallam. “Anyone who stands in prayers during its nights with purity of
belief and expectation of a reward, will have his previous sins
forgiven.” As other ahadith tell us, the rewards for good deeds are
multiplied manifold during Ramadan.
Along with the possibility of a great reward, there is the risk of a
terrible loss. If we let any other month pass by carelessly, we just
lost a month. If we do the same during Ramadan, we have lost
everything. The person who misses just one day’s fast without a
legitimate reason, cannot really make up for it even if he were to
fast everyday for the rest of his life. And of the three persons that
Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam cursed, one is the unfortunate
Muslim who finds Ramadan in good health but does not use the
opportunity to seek Allah’s mercy.
One who does not fast is obviously in this category, but so also is
the person who fasts and prays but makes no effort to stay away from
sins or attain purity of the heart through the numerous opportunities
offered by Ramadan. The Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, warned
us: “There are those who get nothing from their fast but hunger and
thirst. There are those who get nothing from their nightly prayers but
loss of sleep.”
Those who understood this, for them Ramadan was indeed a very special
month. In addition to fasting, mandatory Salat, and extra Travih
Salat, they spent the whole month in acts of worship like voluntary
Salat, Tilawa (recitation of Qur’an), Dhikr etc. After mentioning that
this has been the tradition of the pious people of this Ummah
throughout the centuries, Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi notes: " I have seen
with my own eyes such ulema and mashaikh who used to finish recitation
of the entire Qur’an everyday during Ramadan. They spent almost the
entire night in prayers. They used to eat so little that one wondered
how they could endure all this. These greats valued every moment of
Ramadan and would not waste any of it in any other pursuit…Watching
them made one believe the astounding stories of Ibada and devotion of
our elders recorded by history."
This emphasis on these acts of worship may sound strange — even
misplaced — to some. It requires some explanation. We know that the
term Ibada (worship and obedience) in Islam applies not only to the
formal acts of worship and devotion like Salat , Tilawa, and Dhikr,
but it also applies to worldly acts when performed in obedience to
Shariah and with the intention of pleasing Allah. Thus a believer
going to work is performing Ibada when he seeks Halal income to
discharge his responsibility as a bread-winner for the family. However
a distinction must be made between the two. The first category
consists of direct Ibada, acts that are required for their own sake.
The second category consists of indirect Ibada — worldly acts that
become Ibada through proper intention and observation of Shariah.
While the second category is important for it extends the idea of
Ibada to our entire life, there is also a danger because by their very
nature these acts can camouflage other motives. (Is my going to work
really Ibada or am I actually in the rat race?). Here the direct Ibada
comes to the rescue. Through them we can purify our motives, and
re-establish our relationship with Allah.
Islam does not approve of monasticism. It does not ask us to
permanently isolate ourselves from this world, since our test is in
living here according to the Commands of our Creator. But it does ask
us to take periodic breaks from it. The mandatory Salat (five daily
prayers) is one example. For a few minutes every so many hours
throughout the day, we leave the affairs of this world and appear
before Allah to remind ourselves that none but He is worthy of worship
and of our unfaltering obedience. Ramadan takes this to the next
higher plane, providing intense training for a whole month.
This spirit is captured in I’tikaf, a unique Ibada associated with
Ramadan, in which a person gives up all his normal activities and
enters a mosque for a specific period. There is great merit in it and
every Muslim community is encouraged to provide at least one person
who will perform I’tikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan. But even
those who cannot spare ten days are encouraged to spend as much time
in the mosque as possible.
Through direct Ibada we “charge our batteries”; the indirect ones
allow us to use the power so accumulated in driving the vehicle of our
life. Ramadan is the month for rebuilding our spiritual strength. How
much we benefit from it is up to us.