Spiritual delights of fasting Ramadhan (1)

Salaam dear listeners, felicitations to you on the advent of the blessed month of Ramadhan. Starting today, we would be presenting to you a series of programmes titled “Spiritual Delights of Fasting Ramadhan”.

“O Allah, make my fast on this day be like the fast of the (true) fasters, and let my devotions therein be as devotions of the (truly) devout! Awaken me in it from the slumber of the negligent and absolve me in it of my guilt, O Lord of all the worlds, and pardon me, O Forgiver of the guilty!”

The Almighty's Last Messenger to mankind, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) has termed blessed Ramadhan as the month that opens the gates of heaven for the creatures of God. Dear listeners we present you in this program some passages from the Prophet's famous sermon on the advent of the blessed month of Ramadhan:

"O People! The month of Allah has come with its mercies, blessings and forgiveness. Allah has decreed this month the best of all months. Its days are the best of the days, its nights are the best of the nights and its hours are the best of the hours. This is the month in which He has invited you (to fast and to pray). Allah has honored you in it. Every breath you take in it has the reward of tasbhih (or praise of Allah); your sleep is worship, your good deeds and our invocations answered. Therefore, you must invoke your Lord in right earnest with hearts that are free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fasts, and to recite the Qur'an. Indeed miserable is the one who is deprived of Allah's forgiveness in this great month.

While fasting, remember the hunger and thirst on the Day of Judgment. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. O people! Anybody who in this month cultivates good manners will walk over the siraat (i.e. the bridge leading to Paradise via the rim of hell) on the day when feet will tend to slip."

In this chaotic world, mankind needs to have a pause from routine activities in order to ponder on the objectives and purpose of creation. In addition to material needs, we have spiritual desires. If these lofty needs are ignored we would incur irreparable losses. The blessed month of Ramadhan affords us the chance to take stock of our inner selves so as to save our soul from decadence and decline. This month is a wonderful opportunity for us to strive for attaining the proximity of God Almighty, Who is indeed nearer to us than our own jugular vein. In Ramadhan the human soul is purified and refreshed, because of the spiritual exercise that it goes through. Once the Prophet was asked what is the best deed in this month, and he replied: “The best deed is to refrain from what God has forbidden”.

The holy Qur'an as the most perfect and comprehensive heavenly scripture ever revealed to mankind, has in several of its ayahs presented the characteristics of the faithful. These characteristics are guarantees for prosperity in life and salvation in afterlife. The most evident characteristic of the pious people is their deep faith in the Infinite Mercy of the Omnipotent God.

As we read in ayah 9 of Surah Ankabut:

"And (as for) those who believe and do good, We will most surely cause them to enter among the good."

The true believers are those who have deep faith in God and always glorify Him. Faith is like a shield that makes believers immune from psychological harms. The pious and honest people are psychologically sound and balanced. Experience has shown that belief in the Merciful and Omnipotent God results in peace of mind and tranquility of heart, since the world of creation has a purpose behind, and guides to a meaningful system. It is a splendid place for sowing the seeds of afterlife and reaping its bountiful harvest in the Hereafter. This means that the one who does not believe in the presence of God and is an atheist has no future and is bound to suffer eternally, although he/she may have enjoyed the blessings of the All-Merciful Lord without realizing it and without caring to contemplate. On the other hand, the true believer is never dismayed during life, whatever his/her standard of life, because it is cognizance of the Creator that grants freshness to thoughts, and brings perpetual bliss in afterlife. God is the source of all good and the beauties of the world. He is the All-Merciful Who is very close to His servants.

Let us present to the English translation of one of the beautiful supplications of Ramadhan which the believers recite after every obligatory ritual prayer in this blessed month:

"O High, O Great, O Forgiver, 0 Merciful, You are the Great Lord, Whom nothing can resemble, and is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. And this is the month which You have honoured, exalted, glorified and excelled over other months. And it is the month in which You prescribed fasting for me. And it is the month of Ramadhan, in which You sent down the Qur'an, as a guidance to people, and clear signs of guidance and distinction between right and wrong. And You have made in it the Night of Qadr, and made it better than a thousand months. O the One Who favours all and is favoured by none; favour me by saving me from Hell as You have favoured others. Admit me into Paradise through Your Mercy. O Most-Merciful of the merciful.”

A Gnostic says: fortunate is the flower that blossoms besides water, for it retains its freshness, while the flower that grows in a dry place soon withers and fades. A human being could be likened to a flower. What places us on the path towards the proximity of God is unconditional servitude that builds proper cognizance and certitude. It is piety that protects us from deviation and drifting away from the path of God. Piety means care and precaution and being mindful of our duties. In Ayah 2 of Surah Talaq, the holy Qur’an says: 

"Whoever is careful of (his duty to) Allah, He will make for him an outlet."

This outlet does not mean that the pious or the one who is mindful of his/her duty towards God will not face hardships. It means that such a person will never feel awed in the face of hardships, and will overcome them with ease, like the equestrian rider who loves to leap his horse with ease over the hurdles. The fasts of Ramadhan teach us the benefit of piety and self-control. It is a good opportunity for reciting special supplications to reform our selves as taught to us by Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and his Infallible Successors. The Prophet’s 4^th Infallible Heir, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) has bequeathed to us interesting supplications. One of his companions named Tawous Yamani says: Once I saw the Imam praying and supplicating to God while circumambulating the holy Ka’ba in Mecca. He said: My Lord the stars have disappeared from the sky, and all eyes have fallen asleep, but Your court is prepared for the entrance of the poor. A beggar like me has come to You hopeful of Your forgiveness and hopeful that on the Day of Resurrection You will not deprive him of meeting Your holy Prophet.

Then the Imam started weeping and said: My God You are pure; people embark on doing sins in a manner that they think they are away from Your sight, and You are so patient with them as if they have done no sin. You are so kind to Your servants that it looks You are in need of them, whereas You are needless of all of the creation.

Here is part of the supplication on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadhan, by Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS):

"Praise belongs to God who showed favor to us through His religion, singled us out for His creed, and directed us onto the roads of His beneficence, in order that through His kindness we might travel upon them to His good pleasure.  And praise belongs to God who appointed among those roads His month, the month of Ramadhan, the month of fasting, the month of submission, the month of purity, the month of putting to test, the month of standing in prayer, in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance to the people.”

AS/SS