Fasting Has Been Prescribed Upon You O Servants of Allâh! - Day 1 (1444.h)
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﴾يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴿
O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious)
Sûrah Al-Baqarah, Âyah183
We thank Allâh, The Mighty and Majestic, for allowing us to witness yet another Ramadân. Indeed many witnessed the last and did not get the privilege of witnessing this one, and in reality, some of us that have been privileged to witness the beginning of this blessed month will not witness the end of it. We ask Allâh to grant us the best of this month, and to make us from those whose necks are freed from the fire in this Month of Mercy; Âmîn.
Indeed Allâh, The Almighty, has enjoined upon us that we fast, just as He enjoined it upon those who came before us, that we may be from the pious. This month is an opportunity for us to strive to perform more acts of worship, to be more obedient to Allâh, and to compete with one another in striving to do good deeds and hastening to be from the righteous (and of course, we should all do this with the intention of seeking Allâh's face alone). This obligation of fasting is a blessing upon this Ummah (Islâmic Nation) and it has been legislated in the best interest of the believers in Islâmic Monotheism (Tawhîd), for indeed our deeds do not benefit Allâh, they do not increase or decrease Allâh, The Exalted, in anything and it is us who are in need of whatever Allâh has enjoined upon us and His Mercy.
The obligation of fasting in this month, as Allâh mentioned, is so that we may become pious. What does becoming pious entail? It entails that we abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which Allâh has forbidden and that we strive to perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained and is pleased with.
Fasting is one of the greatest means of attaining piety because it involves obeying the command of Allâh by refraining from those affairs that are normally permissible, but Allâh has made forbidden for the fasting person of; food, drink, intercourse and so on, all of which man is in need of. However, the fasting person abstains from this for the purpose of drawing closer to Allâh, The Almighty, and hoping to be rewarded by Him in giving up these things; this is piety! Additionally, fasting is a means of cleansing the body, as it narrows the pathway of the Shaythân by weakening his influence, as established by Ahadîth of The Messenger (ﷺ). From the benefits of fasting is that through it sins are drastically reduced, since the individual is more aware of how in need they are of their Lord, resulting in them performing more good deeds and becoming more righteous.
It is unfortunate that many of us tend to take this great opportunity to better ourselves for granted. We tend to waste our time and misuse it instead of trying to become better Muslims. It is common to see ourselves being lax just like we were before Ramadân… Subhân-Allâh some of us might even sleep all day then wake up just before Maghrib, come on ya Abdillâh (male servant of Allâh) ya Amatillâh (female servant of Allâh), your Salaf (predecessors) were not like this! It was reported that Al-Aswad ibn Yazîd an-Nakha'î would sleep only between Maghrib and ʿIshâ' prayers during Ramadân and he would use the rest of the day and night for acts of worship [Hilyatul Awliyâ' [1/250]].
So, with Allâh's permission this is the time for us to wake up, to redeem ourselves, to turn back after the many transgressions we have committed in the past, for us to seek to become better Muslims! Don't waste this precious opportunity, use it wisely! Let's wake up, strive, and seek to be forgiven by Allâh lest we fall amongst those Angel Jibrîl (عليه السلام) - The Best of The Angels - made duʾâ against when he said to The Prophet (ﷺ) - The Best of The Prophets - ; "woe to the one who Ramadân enters upon and they are not forgiven", and Jibrîl (عليه سلام) asked The Prophet (ﷺ) to say 'Âmîn' and he (ﷺ) said: "Âmîn" [Sahîh Ibn Hibbân, 915].
So, let's not be from the losers! For indeed the loser is the one who witnessed Ramadân but didn't earn the forgiveness of Allâh, the loser is the one who allows Ramadân to come and go without becoming a better Muslim. Abû Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
"Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadân out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allâh's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." [Sahīh al-Bukhāri, 38].
We ask Allâh to strengthen us to make good use of this blessed month. Âmîn.
وصلّى الله وسلّم على نبيّنا محمّد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
Abû ʿUbayd .M. An-Nijirî.#Ramadân-Day-11/ Ramadân/ 1444 هـ23/ March/ 2023.