Ramadhan: The Great Gift from Allah

Today's entry, I feel invited to discuss about the blessed month of Ramadhan. Every Muslim should know that this month is the best gift bestowed by Allah to only followers (ummah) of Prophet Muhammad P.b.u.h.  In Ramadhan, the ninth of Islamic month,  there is like a treasure time for those who seek blessing, mercy and forgiveness from Him. At this time,  all our deeds are blessedly rewarded infinitely, unlike other months. 

However, there are still many foreigners outside there who are curious to know about Ramadhan and fasting. They still don't know why Muslim should suffering ourselves for fasting. Since I stay with Japanese community, here is a simple note has been prepared on Ramadan in Japanese language (Japanese language, English, Hiragana, Romanji) – so that foreigners who struggle to explain on what is Ramadan/danjiki – can find this short note helpful to inform their Japanese friends. 

「断食（サウム）」とは、イスラム教徒の義務の一つとして、夜明けから日没までのあいだ、飲食やタバコを吸うこと等を絶つことが行われる。一ヶ月で断食が行う月はラマダンまたはラマダーンというものである。

断食は、イスラム忍耐、謙虚さと精神性を教えるためである。ラマダンは、アラー神様のために断食して、いつもより多くの祈りを捧げる時間である。

[ The fasting (Shoum) is one of the duties of the Muslim, refrain from eating, drinking and smoking, from dawn until sunset. The moon which a fast performs in one month is called the Ramadan or Ramadhan. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of Allah, and to offer more prayer than usual.]

「だんじき（サウム）」とは、イスラムきょうとのぎむのひとつとして、よあけからにちぼつまでのあいだ、いんしょくやタバコをすうことなどをたつことがおこなわれる。いちかげつでだんじきがおこなうつきはラマダンまたはラマダーンというものである。

だんじきは、イスラムにんたい、けんきょさとせいしんせいをおしえるためである。ラマダンは、アラーかみさまのためにだんじきして、いつもよりおおくのいのりをささげるじかんである。

[ Danjiki (saum) to ha, isuramu kyouto no gimu no hitotsu tosite, yoake kara nichibotsu no aida, inshoku ya tabako wo suu koto nado wo tatu koto ga okonawareru. Ichikagetsu danjiki ga okonau tsuki ha Ramadan mataha ramadhan to iu mono de aru.

Danjiki ha, isuramu nintai, kenkyosa to seisinsei wo osieru tame de aru. Ramadan ha, Allah kamisama no tame ni danjiki site, itumo yori ooku no inori wo sasageru jikan de aru. ]

In details, I would like to invite any Japanese to refer this following message:

ラマダーン月の紹介

イスラーム暦のラマダーン月の間、断食をすることは、イスラーム教徒の五つの義務の一つです。

ラマダーンは一年でいちばん神聖な月で、日頃あまり熱心でないイスラーム教徒も、義務である一日五回のお祈りや断食をするのが普通です。嘘をつくこと、他の人を傷つけたり困らせたりすること、また破壊的な行為をすることは、この時期には特に禁止されています。またこの月には、貧しい人や困っている人に手を差し伸べることが、いつもよりいっそう求められています。

断食が可能な健康なイスラーム教徒はすべて、この一カ月間断食をしなければなりません。この断食は何日も完全に絶食する断食ではありません。日常の普通の生活をやめてするのではなく、むしろ、ほとんどいつものように仕事や勉強を続けながら、一日の一定の時間行なう断食です。

イスラームにおける断食では、未明から日没までの間、食べることはもちろん水やお茶などを飲むことも全くできません。一方、日没後はできるだけすぐに何か食べたり飲んだりするべきである、とされています。また、断食の開始前に何か食べたり飲んだりすることが、断食をする日には強く勧められています。

本来ラマダーン月の断食の目的は、空腹や渇きを体験することで食べ物のありがたみを理解し、自分が恵みを受けていることを実感し感謝することです。

このようにラマダーン中に世界中でイスラーム教徒が断食をすることには、大きな意味があるのです。

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Then, I would like to express my gratitude to Br. Mohd. Taufik Mohammad on his earnest work for providing me a Friday sermon's text in Osaka University.  Hopefully, this uploaded text would be useful for us. Everybody, let's take advantage this Ramadhan to maximize our deeds and ask our repentance for seek His pleasure. Now, six of the blessing days had gone, we afraid this year might be our last time before He call us, who knows...

Jumaat Sermon

 (First Part)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad alaihi salam, and all his companions.

             My fellow brothers, it is the first week of Ramadan. We, as the slaves of Allah, are obligated to fulfill the third pillar of Islam, fasting the whole month of Ramadan by abstaining from doing the things that could void our fasting such as eating, drinking, and smoking. But the truth is as we all know, fasting in the month of Ramadan is more than just an obligation. As Allah has revealed in Al-Baqarah, verse 183,

Which means, “O you who believe! Observing the fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you that you may become .” In addition, Prophet Muhammad PBUH said:

In other hadith means, “When the month of Ramadan comes, the doors of Heavens will be opened, the doors of Hells will be closed, and Satans will be chained.”

            This is enough evidence to show us that fasting in Ramadan is more than just an obligation, it is an advantage. The advantage of maintaining our ‘ibadah, improving ourselves, and repenting from our sins with an abundance of blessings and rahmah, multiples from the already abundant blessings and rahmah we are given by Allah in the other months.  In order to really see what Ramadan has in store for us, let us recap the offers and promises Allah and His prophet give upon us.

             Firstly, Allah and His prophet promise that by fulfilling the obligation with our sincerest, our past sins will be forgiven. No man in this world is free from sins. Because we are living in the world that is filled with temptations and bad influences, it is human’s nature to err and to sin. When the month of Ramadan comes, the best slaves of Allah will use this advantage to cleanse themselves from the sins that they have done and improve their imaan. Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Messenger saying regarding Ramadan, “Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” Therefore, my fellows brothers, I urge you and myself to take advantage of this month of Ramadan to pay repentance to God, hoping and praying that we are cleansed from the past sins we did.

           Secondly, we as Muslims have been aware how much generous Allah is in rewarding our goodness in any month in a year. Even the smallest of undone good intention is rewarded by Allah, showing how much Allah has to give to His slaves. In the month of Ramadan, these rewards are given up to 10 to 700 multiples, according to a hadith of Prophet, on an account of Bukhari and Muslim. In another hadith from the account of Baihaqi and Ibnu Khuzaimah, the non-obligatory good deeds a slave does in this month of Ramadan will be rewarded as if he has done obligatory ones. We can see here how much at loss a Muslim is if he or she abandons from doing good deeds for the benefits that could be harvested in the month of Ramadan. Therefore, my brothers, push yourselves, invite your family and friends to give so much in this month, because the rewards that you will get will be so much more.

           Thirdly, the month of Ramadan is filled with special forms of ‘ibadah that can only be performed in this month. The nearest example we can see here is the prayers of Tarawih. These prayers are done after performing the prayer of Isha’ with various amounts of rakaah performed. Performing Tarawih prayers can be advantageous physically, mentally, and spiritually. Physically, Tarawih is a great way to train your body to enhance your stamina, which is great for everyone, especially for elderly. By having a greater stamina, we could observe more and more ‘ibadah in this special month of Ramadan, thus promoting more spiritual betterment. In return, this can also benefit us mentally by teaching us to hone our patience and mental durability. Spiritually, we have visited one of Prophet’s hadith that urged us to perform nightly prayers (Tarawih) with our sincerest because by that, our past sins will be forgiven. Keep in mind, my fellow brothers, that performing Tarawih is one of the many ways where we can be closer to Allah, asking for His forgiveness and mercy. Try your best to observe these prayers every night in Ramadan, because after the month goes away again, so does this specialty. 

            Fourthly, Abu Hurairah has given an account of a Prophet’s hadith that the du’a of three groups of people is accepted: The ones who fast, the leaders who are just, and the ones who are abused unjustly. The merit of one’s du’a to be accepted is something that we really want to harvest because naturally, we want a lot of things in this life. We want to be successful in our studies, we want to get married, we want to travel, and some other wishes. Granted that our wishes are good, Ramadan is a great platform for us to say our du’a and ask Allah since Allah is the only one who can grant our wishes. The month of Ramadan comes with a purpose, among many others, to increase the likelihood that our du’a is accepted by Allah. It is wise, then, if we all realize how much bountiful this can be for us and take advantage of this offer and pray because Allah is ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim.

          Last but not at its least, Allah promises us in a chapter in Qur’an, Surah al-Qadr, that what awaits the observant slaves of Allah in this month of Ramadan is Lailatul Qadar, or the Night of Qadar. This night is the night where everything miraculous happens, and this night, according to the chapter mentioned just now, that it is better than a thousand months. The Night of Qadar is the crown of the month of Ramadan, and surely those who are lucky to catch the night and perform ‘ibadah to Allah, will be rewarded and blessed with an unimaginable amounts of blessings from Him. My fellow brothers, there is a reason why we are not informed to the fixed date of this night, therefore, do ‘ibadah, and seek repentance continuously, and pray that Allah will bless us with meeting of this night.

(Second Part)

            Fasting in the month of Ramadan is the third pillar of Islam and it is an obligation for every Muslim to observe. The making of this obligation is not without its own reasons, since Allah’s commands are always filled with wisdom and benefits. Other than its spiritual advantages, fasting can enhance physical and mental health, showing how comprehensive Islam is in its practices. Fasting teaches us to be moderate and cut off the unnecessary extremity in our lives. Fasting also teaches us to appreciate and be grateful to what we have in life, because surely, there are others who have worse life conditions. And ultimately by fasting, we can hope that our imaan and taqwa are improved and that our life is in the approval of Allah SWT.

          This is not the end of the accounts on the month of Ramadan, because its merits and values are countless. It is a special month that is given to the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH because of the mercy of Allah. It is the time where all Muslims should race to doing ‘ibadah and good deeds such as charity, controlling our impulses, and respecting others because as I reminded myself and my fellow brothers earlier, the rewards in this month are increased up to 10 to 100 times. 

          In addition, we humans can never avoid making mistakes and doing sins, and we are in a constant state of the need to improve ourselves. Therefore, we need the month of Ramadan in order to do that because this month, as we discussed earlier, is the month where forgiveness, rewards, and blessings are multiplied. We ought to take advantage of this month in order to improve and enhance our imaan.

         I cannot stop repeating how much we need to make sure that we do our best in this month. This is a good time for us to make a self-reflection and never stop making repentance. Not just that, we are also given the opportunities with the platforms to increase the likelihood of the acceptance of our du’a. That is, if we cleanse ourselves and make the best efforts to ensure that we harvest as much in this month as possible.

       I would like to end this sermon with a piece of hadith of Prophet reported by Abu Hurairah the Prophet has said: My ummah has been given five characteristic honours in the month of Ramadan which have not been given to any other ummah before.

1.    The smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk.

2.    Fishes (in the water) keep praying Allah to forgive the fasting persons until they make iftar.

3.    In every day of Ramadan, Allah decorates the Jannah and addresses it saying, "It is not too far that my righteous servants shall throw away the burdens (of the worldly life) and shall proceed towards you."

4.    The rebellious satans are shackled in this month, and they cannot do in it what they do in other days (i.e. instigating men and women to commit sins).

5.    In the last night of this month, they (the fasting persons) are granted amnesty.