The Muslims of the World Greet the Month of Ramadan
By Harun Yahya
harunyahya.comI offer my best wishes to Muslims all over the world on the occasion of the month of Ramadan, and sincerely hope that this holy month will bring plenty, well being and particularly peace to all believers. So many Muslims, in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir, East Turkestan, Indonesia and other countries are entering this month to the accompaniment of violence, conflict and war. The sole desire of these innocent people caught in the ravages of poverty, hunger and disease is to be able to live by their religion, in an atmosphere of peace and stability, and to live their lives unmolested.
In order for all these problems to come to an end, therefore, all Muslims need to come together as one, make a serious effort to make the values of the Qur’an prevail, and cooperate to offer all assistance possible to their needy Muslim brethren. The month of Ramadan is particularly important as a time when cooperation and helping others come to the fore. The important thing here is for nobody to think “what good can any help from me do?” but to work with a sincere heart. What must not be forgotten is that it is Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds, who will permit these efforts to succeed and accept the prayers of the faithful.
The month of Ramadan is one of abundance, described in the Qur’an, itself sent down as a guide to all of mankind, as “better than a thousand months” (Surat al-Qadr: 3) and which contains the Night of Power. Throughout this month all the Muslims of the world carry out their fasting obligation as one and thank their Lord for the blessings He has given them. In Surat al-Baqara, Allah proclaims the following about the month of Ramadan:
The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and discrimination. Any of you who are resident for the month should fast it. But any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number of other days. Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you. You should complete the number of days and proclaim Allah’s greatness for the guidance He has given you so that hopefully you will be thankful. (Surat al-Baqara: 185) Fulfilling one’s obligation of fasting in a manner pleasing to Allah is a sign of strong faith, purity, sincerity and fear of Allah. Fasting is an act of worship between Allah and His servant, since only Allah knows a person’s intentions, sincerity, purity, and the care he takes over the lawful and unlawful as he fulfills this obligation. Nobody can know whether someone else fasts to impress those around him or else out of sincere intent. A person who fasts is recompensed for this act of worship only in the sight of Allah. Our Prophet gave believers great glad tidings in a hadith: “How happy are those who spend this month fasting, worshipping and in doing good deeds!”
Allah reveals the obligatory nature of fasting in Surat al-Baqara:
You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil). (Surat al-Baqara: 183) As is revealed in that verse, one of the reasons why fasting is obligatory is for people to avoid evil and restrain their desires. The only way to do that is to believe in Allah with a sincere heart, abide by His commands and recommendations and avoid the temptations of one’s desires. Such a person’s morality will grow ever more pleasing with time, his faith will mature and his fear of Allah grow stronger.
However, the important thing is that the pure faith, sincere prayer, care taken over the remembrance of Allah and attention to restraining one’s desires acquired during the month of Ramadan should not weaken once it is over. A person with strong faith spreads the superior morality of Ramadan over every moment of his life. Allah has made fasting on certain days an obligation, and has commanded people to avoid wrongdoing. Yet one must avoid wrongdoing throughout one’s life, listen to the voice of one’s conscience, make efforts to win Allah’s good pleasure with godly intent and turn only to Him. That is the morality that Allah will find pleasing. Doing the opposite, in other words only worshipping, praying and remembering Allah during the month of Ramadan, and then turning away from the truths revealed in the Qur’an once that month is over is behaviour condemned by Allah. That is because on the Day of Judgement a person will be asked to account for all his deeds, great and small, and will be appropriately rewarded for them. Those who avoided evil and listened to the voice of their conscience will be saved, and those who denied Him will suffer the endless torments of hell.
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Submitted by Salih Donmez.
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