Ramadhan, the Month of God (29)

Welcome to 29th episode of “Ramadhan, the Month of God”. Here is the special supplication of the day:

 “O Allah, cover me this day with Your mercy; grant me therein success and protection (from sin); and purge from my heart the darkness of suspicion; O You who are merciful to Your faithful servants!”

Perhaps, today is the last day of the blessed month of Ramadhan, and tonight if the crescent is sighted, tomorrow Wednesday would be Eid al-Fitr. May God Almighty accept your prayers, fasting and other acts of worship of this month in which we had the opportunity to partake of the Divine Banquet!

Incidentally, today the 4^th of June happens to be the 14^th of Iranian month of Khordad, the anniversary of the passing away of the Father of the Islamic Revolution. Thirsty years ago, the beloved leader of Muslims and the seekers of freedom and justice throughout the world, Imam Khomeini (RA), passed away and left the oppressed and downtrodden people of the world in profound grief. We have thus decided to make you acquainted with some of his remarks and practice during the month of Fasting.

Imam Khomeini, expounding the meaning of Divine Banquet, said: "What is God's Banquet? Partaking of the Divine Banquet in the material world means to abstain from all mundane desires. These are the material aspects of Divine Banquet; so that anyone who has been invited to this banquet gets to know that God's Banquet means to avoid carnal desires and desist from whatever material pleasures the heart desires. This banquet is a mere shadow of the banquets of the spiritual world; the world that lies beyond the material and for which one has to exercise control over inclinations of the soul, which is not as easy as abstaining from physical desires. Thus, Divine Banquet means full attention to the honour of attending the invitation of the Lord Most High, which requires cleansing the soul and the body of all other inclinations and desires.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Imam Khomeini has said: "You have all been invited to God's Banquet. You are all the guests of God and being guests means showing full honour for the Host, and in this case, it requires thorough cleansing, not merely of the body but of the whole self, so that not even an iota of carnal desire remains. In other words, if there is even an iota of the desires of the self, then such a person has not entered the Divine Banquet, and in case he/she claims to have partaken a bit of it, then there is no benefit at all. All these disputes that you see in the world it is because they have not benefited fully from the Divine Banquet. They have not accepted God’s invitation, and have not even entered the Banquet Hall. So try to respond positively (say Labbayk) to this invitation so that you are allowed entry. And when you are allowed entry the problems are solved. In other words, the reason our problems are not solved is because we have not entered God's Banquet. We have not entered the month of Ramadhan at all."

Imam Khomeini, differentiating between the invitation of God and the invitations of the human beings, said: "When people invite you they prepare victuals for eating and drinking; but the important part of the Divine Banquet is fasting and one of its celestial foods, is recitation of the holy Qur'an. The Host has invited you to fast so that you get rid of the carnal desires and get prepared for the Night of Qadr."

Speaking on the Qur'an and benefiting from the supplications of the months of Sha'ban and Ramadhan, the Late Imam had said: "The supplications for the months of Sha’ban and Ramadhan guide us to the destination."

About the Eid al-Fitr, he advised: "I hope this blissful Eid will be Eid for all Muslims in the real sense of the word. Real Eid is when we attain the satisfaction of God. The affairs of this world soon pass, since the success, failures, joys and grief of this world last only a few days. What remains for us and you, is the thing that we have attained inwardly. Let us be cognizant of the fact that God the Unseen is Omnipotent and Omnipresent. He is everywhere and everything is at His disposal, which we means we are nothing. We are incapable of expressing proper gratitude for the endless bounties of God."

Imam Khomeini termed self-purification as a wonderful gain of the month of Ramadhan. He said: In the blessed month of Ramadhan we require reformation; we are in need of self-expurgation. Even the great Prophets were in need of this. They were aware of these facts and fully fulfilled their responsibility. However, we, in view of our limitations, neither have proper understanding nor do we fulfill our duties. Nonetheless, if we fulfil our divine duties we have indeed earned the blessing of the month of Ramadhan."

On the effects of Ramadhan on societies and governments, Imam Khomeini had said: "If all Muslims had entered the blessed month of Ramadhan in the proper way, through self-purification, they would not have fallen prey to oppression. It is lack of expurgation of carnal desires that results in oppression. Had we attained this status, we would have neither passively accepted oppression nor been oppressor. This is all because we have not been expurgated; governments have not been expurgated, nations that have not been expurgated are shouldering the load of oppression."

Imam Khomeini used to pursue a specific schedule for the days and nights of the blessed month of Ramadhan. Reciting the whole Qur'an every three days was an important part of this schedule. In other words, the Imam would read 10 parts of the noble Qur'an every day. Keeping vigil for a part of the night while performing prayers and supplicating to God was among his fixed programmes throughout his life. This was most evident during the month of Ramadhan. This was his lifestyle for over 70 years.

One of the guards of Imam Khomeini says, "One night during the month of Ramadhan, I was passing by the Imam's room, and I noticed that he was weeping intensely. The sound of his sobbing had a permanent imprint upon my mind, as I realized how he wholly immersed in communion with the Lord Most High."

Imam Khomeini said, "We should differ in this month from other months and strive to realize the Night of Qadr, God willing. The entire happiness of the world is determined on this night; that's why it is superior to all other nights. Let us realize this and God willing partake of the celestial tables, that is, the holy Qur'an and supplications in order to enter with a healthy spirit."

Even in his advanced age, Imam Khomeini used to fast and would perform all the post-Maghreb recommended rituals before having Iftar for breaking the fast.  

AS/ME