Spiritual delights of fasting Ramadhan (25)

Today on the 25th day of the blessed month of Ramadhan, we start our daily programme titled “Spiritual delights of fasting Ramadhan” with the special supplication for the day:

 “O Allah, appoint me this day to be among those who love Your friends and hate Your enemies, and those who follow the sunnah of the Seal of Your Prophets; O Preserver of the hearts of the prophets (from errors)!”

Today is Friday. In fact, the Last Friday of the blessed month of fasting. It is the day on which Muslims throughout the world perform the Weekly Friday Prayer in very large numbers to bid farewell to Ramadhan. They call this day “Jom’at-al-Weda” or the Farewell Friday.

No doubt, in view of the importance of this day, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him) had declared the Last Friday of Ramadhan as Qods International Day in order to mobilize the ummah to rally to the support of the oppressed people of Palestine for the eventual liberation of Islam’s former qibla, al-Aqsa Mosque in Bayt al-Moqaddas.

This year’s Qods Day Rallies are being held at a crucial juncture. Hamas, which rules Gaza finds itself in an awkward position because of the unprovoked aggression of the illegal Zionist entity. Nonetheless, the Palestinians are putting up a brave resistance and will, Insha Allah, defeat Israel. The Ummah is in quest of a united Islamic stand, and as Iran has shown the way over the past three-and-a-half decades, only Islamic solidarity, and not sectarianism or narrow Arab nationalism will liberate Palestine.

As for the importance of the Last Friday of fasting Ramadhan, the venerable scholars of the past, such as Seyyed Ibn Tawous and Shaykh Sadouq have cited a report that Jaber ibn Abdullah al-Ansari said, “I visited the Messenger of Allah (SAWA) on the last Friday of the month of Ramadhan. When the Prophet saw me, he said, ‘O Jaber, this is the last Friday of the month of Ramadhan. Bid it farewell and say:

“O Allah, make this not my last opportunity of fasting in it, and should You make it such, grant me Your mercy and do not let me be deprived!”

The Prophet then added: “Indeed, whoever recites this supplication on this day will partake of one of the two virtues: either he will reach the next Ramadhan, or attain God’s mercy and forgiveness.’ ”

So let us earnestly pray to God Almighty for our own benefit and for the deliverance of the Ummah from the plots of the enemies of humanity, including the cowardly Takfiri outfits that are terrorizing Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other lands. We should never be disappointed or lose hearts. If 8 centuries ago, when Kurdish, Turkish, Arab and Iranian Muslims had closed ranks to liberate Bayt al-Moqaddas by ending the 88-year occupation of Palestine by the Crusaders state, we can make history repeat by again solidifying Muslim ranks from Africa to the Philippines to end the illegal existence of Israel. This is the message of the World Qods Day, and this is what the Islamic Republic of Iran firmly believes, for the sake of peace, and safeguarding of humanitarian values. This should resonate all over the world on the Last Friday of Ramadhan as culmination of the spiritual bounties of the month of fasting.

Ramadan is a season like no other season of the year. It comes once in a calendar year, but leaves the most indelible memory in the life of Muslims. From north to south, east to west, Muslims all over the world fast in the month of Ramadhan, united by the same faith, worshipping the same God, and longing for forgiveness from the Creator. It is unique in its essence, the hearts are warmed by its spirituality, the character is reformed by obedience to the Almighty, the poor and the needy are helped because of its mercy, the children enjoy it, they look forward to it. Everyone celebrates its arrival, and mourn at its departure.

The rich tastes the hunger of the poor, the poor enjoys the generosity of the rich. The weak is emboldened by the sympathy of the strong, and the strong appreciates the bounties of the All-Powerful, the All-Mighty Allah. Patience increases, generosity multiplies, sympathy develops, brotherhood is strengthened, and the beauty of faith is exhibited. This is the spirit of Ramadhan.

Those who can afford it, travel for the Umrah or the Lesser Hajj, to the holiest of cities, that is, Mecca, which hosts the noblest of houses, that is, the holy Ka’ba, and which city is the birthplace of the greatest human being ever to walk on this earth, that is, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Alas, the Wahhabi regime, which is in occupation of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, has violated one of the basic tenets of Islam by banning Iranian Muslims from performance of the Umrah as well as the forthcoming annual Hajj pilgrimage. It is an open secret now that the Saudis enjoy cordial relations with the illegal Zionist entity, and in view of their support for the Takfiri terrorists, are the prime cause of sedition in the Islamic World.

There is no difference in Muslims, whatever they ethnicity or colour of skin, as they fast, or go to Mecca to perform the Umrah. Neither white nor black, or for that matter Asians, Africans, Europeans or Americans, everyone is simply a Muslim, facing the same direction and worshipping the same God. That is the beauty of faith. Inside the Masjid al-Haram, it is the faithful circumambulating the holy Ka’ba, and chanting the name of the Lord, men robed in white garments, the women modestly dressed. The hearts are united by common faith. Hands are raised, beseeching God for the bounties of this world and the forgiveness in the Hereafter.

It is indeed a wonderful sight at the Ka’ba, as parents pray for their children; children prayer for their parents; husbands pray for their wives, and wives pray for their husbands. The healthy pray for the sick, and all pilgrims pray God to forgive the dead. It is peaceful, it is beautiful, but only the faithful can taste the sweetness of faith. The Umrah pilgrims also visit Medina to pay homage at the holy shrine of the Prophet of Islam in Medina and the sacred graveyard of Jannat al-Baqie, which has been criminally destroyed by the Wahhabis, who intensely hate the Prophet’s lAhl al-Bayt or Blessed Household, despite calling themselves Muslims.

Nonetheless, the Faithful are undeterred. They throng the Baqie to invoke God and salute the Infallible Imams who rest in peace here. The Four Imams, whose shrines were blasphemously razed to the ground by the Wahhabis, are the Prophet’s elder grandson, Imam Hasan, his nephew Imam Zain al-Abedin, and the latter’s son and grandson, Imam Mohammad Baqer and Imam Ja’far Sadeq (peace upon them).

 We pray to God to make Islam’s holiest sites free of the filth of Salafism, Takfiris, Wahhabism, and Zionism. Today’s huge rally in Tehran in support of the cherished liberation of occupied Qods, saw fasting protestors carrying banners and vociferously denouncing the Wahhabi cult as well, which is in occupation of the Hijaz. Hopefully, this is good omen for the believers. We thank God for the Month of Ramadhan.

AS/ME