Wish you all a blessed month of Ramadhan! Blessings of this holy month are starting tomorrow with the first day of the month. Muslims all over the world observe Ramadhan by fasting from the dawn to dusk every day. Their fasting goes on for around 29 or 30 days depending on the moon sighting on the 29th day of the month. Ramadhan is regarded a generous guest visiting every house of Muslims bringing blessings and grace of different sorts.
Ramadhan is the month of fasting, mercy, forgiveness and kindness as people are being more compassionate to one another during this month. In fact, this month is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar and a significant occasion for Muslims. Its importance and value as a month is marked by the reveal of the Holy Quran, rules of fasting and declare the Night of Al Qadr which is better than one thousand months in terms of value in praying to the Almighty Allah on this night.
This is acknowledged by the verse in the Quran, “The month of Ramadhan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights the month, he/she must observe fasts that month and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number of days which one did not observe fasts must be made up from other days”. The value of the Night of Al Qadr is highlighted in this verse: “Surely We revealed it (Quran) on the night of Qadr — And what do you know what Night of Al Qadr is — The night is better than a thousand of months — The angles and the spirit descend in it by the permission of their lord every command — It is peace till the break of morning”.
As a point of fact, fasting was first prescribed in the month of Ramadhan and assigned to other nations before it has been assigned to the nation of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This has been affirmed in the Holy Quran when the Almighty Allah addressed people in the verse: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.”
Ramadhan is a month of learning; it brings different lessons to Muslims during their fasting period since the dawn till the sunset. Fasting urges Muslims to recall various aspects of living practises as well as reminds them of all those poor people and needy families within the society. It basically reflects the daily struggles of poor people who are striving to afford food and other life necessities for themselves and their families.
For that reason, Muslims become more thoughtful and sympathetic to their poor brothers and sisters during Ramadhan. In return, good deeds are usually conducted in this month to reflect the spirit of giving and care among people. Donation of food and money to the needy families is usually a key charitable deed in Ramadhan.
Generally, fasting is a spiritual practice that does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desires and wrong-doings too. Fasting is not merely of the body, but basically of the spirit as well. Essentially, the purpose of fasting is to develop and strengthen ones power of self-control to resist wrong desires and bad habits. This definitely will help people attain closeness to Allah. Besides, fasting promotes charity and generosity as people get more sympathetic with the suffering of others.
Fasting is a valuable experience towards achieving self-improvement. Ramadhan could be the best time to start maintaining the good deeds and principles to be habitual in everyday life of people. Actually, Ramadhan is a school that teaches rewarding lessons!
Ramadhan Mubarak to each and everyone of you!
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