How Did The Salaf (Predecessors) Welcome Ramadân? Shaykh Sâlih Al-Fawzân
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Shaykh Sâlih bn Fazwân Al-Fawzân (حفظه الله):
Translation:
The condition of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) as has been mentioned about them in the chains of trustworthy narrators, is that they used to ask Allâh, The Mighty and Majestic, to allow them to reach Ramadân before it entered.
They would ask Him to allow them to reach the month of Ramadân, because of what they knew it entailed of the great good and the general benefit, and then when Ramadân began they would ask Allâh to aid them in performing righteous deeds in it, and when Ramadân would end they would ask Allâh to accept it from them.
As Allâh, The Mighty and Majestic, said:
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ ﴿٦٠﴾أُوْلَئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ
And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning). It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them [e.g. offering the compulsory Salât (prayers) in their (early) stated, fixed times and so on].
Sûrah Al-Mu'minûn, Âyahs 60-61
And they would work diligently (i.e. they would exert themselves in performing righteous deeds), and then they would be subsequently distressed. (They would be distressed thinking to themselves:) will their actions be accepted from them or not? And this was the case due to their knowledge of the greatness of Allâh, The Mighty and Majestic, and their knowledge that Allâh does not accept any deed except that which is done sincerely for His sake, and it is in accordance with the Sunnah of His Messenger.
And they did not praise themselves (think highly of themselves, or boast about their deeds), and they feared that their deeds would be invalidated because Allāh, The Mighty and Majestic says:
إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ
Verily, Allâh accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqūn (the pious)
Sûrah Al-Mâ'idah, Âyah 27
And they used to devote themselves in this month to worship, they would reduce their worldly activities, would make time to sit in the houses of Allâh (i.e. the Mosques), and they would study The Book of Allâh, The Mighty and Majestic (i.e. The Qurʾân), and they used to protect their time from being wasted. Neither would they waste or misuse their time as it is the condition of many nowadays. Instead, they would safeguard their time, by standing during the night (engaging in night prayer) and fasting during the day, and they increase in good righteous.
*Translation of Âyât by Dr. Muhsin Khân & Sh. Dr. Taqî-ud-Dîn al–Hilâlî
Translated by AMMAN CIRCLE Editorial.29/ Sha'bân / 1444 هــ22/ March / 2023.