Month of blessings comes to an end

The Muslim community are enjoying their last ten days of this blessed month of Ramadan. This period is one of intensive spiritual activities and community engagement for Muslims. Whilst we are looking forward to happy spiritual accomplishments and, at the end of this blessed month, to a joyous Eid festival, we should also hope to see positive changes in our character and to our outlook on life.

Ramadan is a month of fasting for the sake of Allah, in complete devotion to Him and as such is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is a beautifully spiritual experience for those whose desire is to become closer to the Almighty, the Creator, the one God, He who alone is worthy of our devotion and worship. The more we travel along this path in the pursuit of this beautiful experience, the more we may enjoy the blessings of understanding our purpose in this life and discovering what accomplishments matter most to us.

Generosity has always been the hallmark of Ramadan. This generosity began when Almighty Allah granted this blessed month to humanity through Islam and manifests itself in many different ways. In a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him said: ‘Your Lord has made breezes through the days of your years, so make sure you benefit from them; because if you manage to get a breeze out of them, you may never go unblessed’. (Al-Tabrani)

This is a translation of the Hadith in which the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, describes blessed days like Ramadan, the Day of Arafah, the Night of Power, or other days and hours which Allah has blessed them, as ‘breezes’, which are a refreshing experience.

Ramadan is one annual breeze that comes to refresh our hearts and spiritual life and strengthens us as a community and reconnects us with our Lord, Allah. It is also the longest continuous period of spiritual activities which embodies many of our spiritual and religious commitments. In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says: ‘All the deeds of the children of Adam are meant for him except for fasting. It is for Me and I will reward for it’. This Hadith shows the especial spiritual status of fasting in the Sight of Allah. Allah has dedicated a special gate to the Paradise named al-Rayyan, through which only fasting people would enter the Paradise.

The generosity of Allah is also manifested through His forgiveness and infinite mercy to all those who seek it for themselves. We humans commit all kinds of wrong-doing in our lives. If such wrongdoing is a violation of people’s rights they may not be forgiven, but all other sinful acts are granted forgiveness by Allah when we ask Him to forgive us.

Once the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet and asked him to say Aameen (Amen) on three of the supplications that he made. One of these supplications was: ‘Whoever gets to Ramadan and did not get himself forgiven, may Allah remove him from His mercy’ and then he asked the Prophet to say Aameen and he responded by saying Aameen.

This Hadith shows how important it is to seek forgiveness from Allah in this blessed month, so that a person can revert to a purer status in order for him to be reconnected with Allah.

Engaging with the Quran is one such means that will bring a person closer to Allah. The Quran is the word of Allah that came to us as His Guidance and mercy for our lives in this world and the Hereafter. Allah emphasises this point to remind us what the month of Ramadan is all about. It says in the Quran: ‘The month of Ramadan is in which the Quran was revealed, as guidance for mankind, and clear Signs of guidance and Criterion’. S2 V185

This was a very special occasion of divine engagement with mankind, celebrating the accomplishment of Allah’s Guidance and revelation through His Prophets and Messengers. The night in which the whole Quran was brought from the ‘House of Honour’ to the lowest heaven in preparation to be revealed to the last Messenger of Allah, is marked as the Night of Power or destiny’; Lailatul Qadr.

There is a whole surah in the Quran which only talks about this Night. It says: ‘Behold! We revealed this Quran on the Night of Power. And what do you know what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels along with the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord with all kind of decrees. All peace is that night until the rise of dawn’. S97

In another description of this Night, Allah says further in the Surah 44 Ad-Dukhan: ‘We revealed it on a Blessed Night, for We were intent on warning. (we revealed it on the Night) wherein every matter is wisely determined, by Our command.’

The Muslim community celebrate this Night with extra and longer salaah, recitation of the Quran, charitable deeds of all kinds, engaging in supplication and dua and by turning to Allah through every means available to them.

Ramadan is the greatest opportunity for expressing the spiritual nature and devotion of believers in Allah, One and Only the Almighty, Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. The Night of Power and destiny is the crowning moment when we can bridge the gap between ourselves and our God, Allah the all Merciful. We need to realise the shortcomings in our lives before we can become better and purer. The fasting of Ramadan and the opportunity offered in this Night of Power can bring us back to a world of humanity and brotherhood and to the realm of Allah. May Allah count us amongst His righteous servants and grant us his forgiveness and mercy.