Ramadhan, the Month of God (19)

Heartfelt condolences to you all on a very sad day, in commemoration of which most people in the Islamic Republic of Iran are clad in black, as a mark of respect to the peerless personality of Imam Ali (AS), who on the 19th of Ramadhan, while engrossed in the ritual morning prayer in the Mosque of Kufa, was struck a fatal blow on his head with a poisoned sword by the renegade Ibn Muljam.

First we present you the special supplication for the 19^th of the blessed month of fasting:

“O Allah, grant me this day an ample share of its blessings; ease my way to its goods and bounties; and do not deprive me from receiving its graces; O Guide to the manifest truth!”

As the third and last ten days of blessed Ramadhan start, the hearts of believers become further engrossed in worship as well as in acts of charity, all geared up for the divine bounties that shower upon them during the glorious nights of Qadr that open the doors of God’s mercy and forgiveness for penitents.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says on the beauties of repentance in the month of Ramadhan: “This opportunity has been given us by the month of fasting to be able to cleanse our inner selves. Cleansing is very important. If outward cleaning requires water, inner cleansing, that is, of the heart, the minds, and the soul, require sincerity of intention. This is accompanied by the tears that roll down the eyes of believers, and depending upon a person’s resolve to do good and compensate for the wrongdoings of the past, these tears of repentance remove such dangerous diseases, as egoism, jealousy, greed, treason, promiscuity, oppression, exploitation, and indulgence in wanton pleasures. God the Exalted is All-Merciful, and accepts the pleas of the penitents. The month of Ramadhan is the best opportunity for repentance and returning to God and the nights of Qadr are the best time for forgiveness of sins.

It is narrated that a young man of the ancient Israelites, who had not yet deviated from the path of the prophets, worshipped God for 20 years. Then he indulged in sins for another 20 years. One day he saw his white hair in the mirror. He came to his senses, saying, "Woe on me! My old days have come and my youth has gone. My God! I used to remember You for many years but then I turned away from You for several years. Now, if I return to You, will You accept my repentance? At this moment, a voice was heard, "O man! You worshipped Me for a while and I was with you. Then, when you forgot Me, I left you on your own. But I gave you respite. Now, if you return to Me, I will indeed forgive you."

God has said on several occasions in the holy Qur'an, "Indeed, Allah loves the penitent."

Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) has said: "The penitent of his sins is like the one who has no sin."

Repentance means returning to God with the resolve not repeat the wrongdoings of the past and to strive toward goodness as compensation. Repentance means regretting the sins and reforming the self. When a person makes up his mind to give up sins, God will surely forgive him/her and shower His favours upon him, especially if he is young. The Messenger of Mercy says, "There is nothing more loved by God than a penitent youth."

Human beings are often prone to faults, shortcomings, and in extreme cases when symptoms of the malady is not cured in the beginning, to sins like backbiting, calumny, slander, treachery and so on. The ever-deceiving Satan tempts mankind to indulge in disobedience of God’s commandments, turn away from the guidelines of divine messengers, and to indulge in sins. The devil tries to depict the mortal world as a perpetual place and the worldly pleasures as sweet. When a person falls prey to the temptation of the Satan, he gradually drifts away from the path of salvation and the eternal bliss of the Afterlife. As he/she slips deeper into the quagmire of sins, the remembrance of God is forgotten, and the Day of Judgment denied. But so Merciful is God Almighty that the Door of Repentance is always open till the last moments, and it on the wretched ones who fail to repent and die in the state of unbelief and sins. Real repentance and seeking forgiveness set the way for reception of God's favours and the path towards paradise.

One of the factors awakening our conscience for repentance is realize that all our troubles originate in our wrong behaviors. Accordingly, the Prophet and Infallible Imams encourage us to repent and seek forgiveness.

The Late Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Bahjat, who was a great gnostic, referring to the ayahs of the holy Qur'an, stresses that the disasters and hardships that befall us are the result of our deeds. God says in ayah 30 of surah Shura, "Whatever affliction that befalls you is because of what your hands have earned."

Grand Ayatollah Bahjat used to draw attention towards the benefits of “Istighfar” or seeking forgiveness in the divine court. It is narrated that the Prophet of Islam said, "Beware! Do you want me to inform you of your pain and medicine? Your pain are the sins and your medicine is seeking forgiveness."

Ayatollah Khamenei drawing out attention towards the dynamic supplications recommended in the blessed month of Ramadhan, says: "One of the great favours of the month of Ramadhan is repentance and returning to God Almighty. In the excellent supplication known as “Dua Abu Hamza Thumali”, which the Prophet’s 4^th Infallible Heir, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) taught to his sincere disciple Abu Hamzah Thumali, we read:

“My Master, expel the love of the world from my heart. Admit me into the company of (Muhammad) al-Mustafa, the best of Your creation and the Seal of the Prophets, and his Progeny, may Allah bless him and his Family. Conduct me to the rank of repentance in front of You. Help me to weep over my own self!

For, certainly, I have wasted my life in procrastination and vain hopes, and surely I have fallen to the state of despairing of my own good [my life]. Whose state is worse than mine? Were I to be carried to my grave in the condition that I am at present, without having prepared my resting place and without having furnished it for my long sleep with righteous works...”

RM/AS/SS