This month is superior to others in four things:
1. In it there is the best night of the year, which is Laylat al-Qadr. Allah says:
“Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’aan) down in the Night of Al Qadr (Decree).
And what will make you know what the Night of Al Qadr (Decree) is?
The Night of Al Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).
Therein descend the angels and the Rooh [Jibreel (Gabriel)] by Allah’s Permission with all Decrees, (All that night), there is peace (and goodness from Allah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn”
[al-Qadar 97:1-5]
So worship on this night is better than worshipping for a thousand months.
In this month was revealed the best of Books to the best of the Prophets (peace be upon them). Allah says:
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)”
[al-Baqarah 2:185]
In this month the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the devils are chained up.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are put in chains.”
If it is asked, how come we see many evil actions and sins committed in Ramadan, for if the devils are chained up that would not happen?
The answer is that evil actions become less for those who observe the conditions and etiquette of fasting;
or that the ones who are chained up are some of the devils – namely the rebellious ones – not all of them;
or that what is meant is that evil is reduced in Ramadan, which is a proven fact. If evil happens at this time, it is still less than at other times. Even if all of them (the devils) are chained up, that does not necessarily mean that no evil or sin will happen, because there are other causes of that besides the devils, such as evil souls, bad habits and the devils among mankind.
Al-Fath, 4/145
There are many kinds of worship in Ramadan, some of which are not done at other times, such as fasting, praying qiyaam, feeding the poor, i’tikaaf, sadaqah, and reading Qur’aan.
I ask Allaah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to help us all to do that and to help us to fast and pray qiyaam, and to do acts of worship and to avoid doing evil. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Islam Q&A
Fatwa no. 12468
1 comment:
Please read the complete post on this from
http://khutbahs.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/preparation-for-ramadan/
Purpose of Siyam
Allah subhanahu wa Ta’ala says in the Quran:
Ya ayuhal lazeena aamanu kutiba alaikumus siyamu kama kutiba a’lalazeena
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may develop taqwa.
What is Taqwa? The word taqwa is derived from waqa, ittaqa
Waqa – to protect, to shield, Ittaqa – to protect one self
Taqwa is a noun derived from that meaning to shield oneself, to protect oneself. What are we seeking protection from? From the ru’oona of the nafs and the impact of Shaitan. To protect the human being from the excessive indulgences of the self that leads to chain the individual to be addicted to the self and also protects us from the wrath and displeasure of Allah.
Fasting by its very nature precludes Riya, i.e. showing off. This is why Allah azza wajal said in the hadithe-qudsi that
Kullu a’mal ibn-e-Adam lahu illas Siyam fa innahu lee wana ajzee bih
Every act of the son of Adam is for him except for fasting, which is exclusively for me and I alone will reward him for it
Why didn’t Allah say the same thing about other ibadaat? Why did he choose fasting alone? The scholars have said that fasting has a unique characteristic in that that it does not permit showing off, in the sense that nobody actually knows if someone is fasting or not. Who knows if one eats or drinks in secret? So it’s only between Allah and the person fasting. So this lends to ikhlaas. So therefore the sense that Allah is watching you, the sense that one must guard his or her gaze, his or her glances, his or her words, his or her actions is something we can gain in Ramadan. And riya i.e. showing off is a very dangerous disease. So we know that the Prophet described it as being more inconspicuous than a black ant crawling upon a black mountain in the middle of the night.
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