Ramadan-The Month of Love
To many of you reading this the title
may seem absurd, and may have even caught you off-guard, as love generally is
not associated with the month of worship and blessing. Yet, if we were to
contemplate the actions that we partake during this blessed month we would see
that the vast majority of them revolve around love, we are often people that
just fail to reflect.
The first thing that is needed to
actually conceptualize where I am coming from would be to understand what love
really is, or at the very least how it is being defined in this treatise. We
all know that love has many manifestations, degrees, and types. The way a child
loves his or her parents is not the same as the way a woman may love her
husband, and likewise, the way a person may love chocolate, per se, is not the
same way a person would love his or her Lord (or at least we hope not). However
in all of these types of love there is a common and key theme, that of
sacrifice and fulfilment. The more we love something, the more we are willing to
sacrifice for it, and the more we will strive to fulfil the every command and
wish of our beloved. This should not be misunderstood as sacrifice and
fulfilment being the only components of love, but rather they are from amongst
the essential components that make up love, along with longing and cherishing.
And this is why we should see that love, along with hope and fear, is a pillar
of our worship. Our worship will not be complete nor acceptable until it
encompasses the right amounts of love, hope, and fear. After having
comprehended this, we can see how shirk can be performed even in love, yet most
of mankind knows not.
If we were to take just a moment to
reflect what Islam means linguistically (let alone conventionally), we would
see that submission (the true linguistic definition of Islam, and not peace
contrary to common belief), entails a common theme with love and that being
sacrifice. When we truly submit to Allah we are willing to sacrifice anything
and everything for Him. This can be seen in one of the most fundamental mottos
of a Muslim:
"Say: Indeed my prayer, and my
sacrifice, and my living, and my dying are for none other than Allah, Lord of
all that exists."
[Al-Qur'ân 6:162]
So when one goes about sacrificing
and fulfilling the wants of other than Allah, just as much or, more than what
he does for Allah then such an individual has fallen into shirk. And if one
fails to meet the necessary sacrifices and falls short in fulfilling the
required obligations then such an individual has fallen into disbelief. It is
in light of these words that we understand the verse:
"From mankind are those people
who have taken deities other than Allah, they love them as they love Allah, and
those who have faith (i.e. are Muslims) are stronger in their love for Allah."
[Al-Qur'ân 2:165]
We are now beginning to get a clearer
picture of how love is associated with this blessed month. It is a woman's love
for her child and husband that will make her wake up in the late hours of the
night to prepare a nice meal for suhûr (the pre-dawn meal). It is a man's love
for his community that will drive him to take time off of work to ensure his
fellow Muslims have sufficient food for iftâr (the meal at sunset). And it is
our love for Allah, as Muslims, which drives us to sacrifice the two pinnacles
of desire, food and marital relations, for no other reason than the pleasure of
our very Creator.
Our love for Allah (glorified and
praised is He) does not stop here but, rather, merely just begins. One of the
key pillars of loving Allah lies in following the Prophet Mohammad, peace be
upon him, and an exemplary role model he is, as can be seen by Allah's
statement:
"Say (O Mohammad to the people):
'If you really love Allah, then follow me. And He (Allah) in return will love
you, and will forgive you for you sins, and indeed Allah is oft-forgiving and
most merciful.' Say: 'Obey Allah and the Messenger', and if they turn away,
then verily Allah does not love the disbelievers." [Al-Qur'ân 3:31-32]
So what are some of the traditions
that we have been left with to follow?
1. Waking up to have suhûr, even if
it is something little. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Eat suhûr for in suhûr there is
blessing."
[Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]
2. Not delaying the iftâr. The
Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said:
"The people will remain upon
goodness as long as they hasten in breaking their fasts" [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by
Muslim]
3. Supplicating throughout the day
and night, especially during iftâr time. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him, said:
"Three prayers are not rejected:
the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a
traveller."
[Narrated by al-Bayhaqi 3/345 and classified as authentic in Silsilat al-Ahâdîth
as-Sahîhah #1797]
"Indeed there is for the fasting
person, when he breaks his fast, a supplication which is not rejected." [Narrated by Ibn Mâjah and
al-Hâkim]
And upon breaking his fast, "The
thirst is gone, the veins have been moistened and the reward is assured, if
Allah wills." [Narrated by Abu Dawûd, al-Bayhaqi and classified as
hasan in Irwâ ul-Ghalîl 4/39]
'Âishah, may Allah be pleased with
her, reported that Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, instructed her to say:
"O Allah indeed you are one that pardons, and you love to pardon, so
pardon me." [Narrated by Ahmad, at-Tirmidhî and Ibn Mâjah]
4. Spending the nights in prayer, as
well as encouraging the family to do so. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him, said:
"Whoever stands in prayer with
the Imâm until its conclusion, will be like the one who prayed the whole night" [Narrated by at-Tirmidhî (who
graded it as sahîh), Abu Dawûd, an-Nasâî, and Ibn Mâjah]
"Whoever establishes prayers
during the nights of Ramadhân out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's
rewards, all his past sins will be forgiven." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî]
5. Being generous and feeding the
people iftâr. The Messenger of Allah said:
"Whoever gives iftâr to one who
is fasting will have a reward like his, without detracting from the reward of
the person fasting."
[Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]
He was also described as "being
the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous during
Ramadhân." [Narrated by at-Tirmidhî, Ibn Mâjah, and Ibn Hibbân]
6. Staying away from all immoral
acts, especially those of the tongue. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon
him, said:
"Fasting is not abstaining from
eating and drinking alone, but it is also abstaining from vain speech and foul
language. If one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say: I am
fasting, I am fasting." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]
"Allah does not need the fast of
the one who does not abandon falsehood in speech or in action." [Narrated with this wording by Ibn
Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibbân, and al-Hâkim. The key portion of the hadîth can also be
found in al-Bukhârî and Muslim]
"Perhaps a fasting person will
get nothing from his fast except hunger, and perhaps the one who stands to pray
at night will get nothing from his prayer except tiredness." [Narrated by an-Nasâî, Ibn Mâjah,
and al-Hâkim]
7. Performing 'umrah. The Messenger
of Allah, upon whom be peace, said:
"Perform 'umrah when Ramadhân
comes, for 'umrah in Ramadhân is equal to hajj (in reward)." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî]
Like all things in life, this
treatise has come to an end. But prior to concluding it is only befitting that
we be reminded of a plague that lies in the hearts and minds of many Muslims
today. And that is one of affirming words but not affirming their respective
meanings. How often do we hear Muslims cry and shout of their love of Allah,
yet it is a love that has no meaning as their actions show likewise. This is
something that Allah (glorified and praised is He) warns us of Himself when He
says:
"O you who believe, why do you
say that which you do not do? Most hateful to Allah is that you should say that
which you do not do." [Al-Qur'ân
61:2-3]
As Muslims we are to be people whose
actions speak louder than their words. If we truly love Allah then we need to
show it with our actions. As everyone claims love but very few go about proving
it.
Lastly, it is not hidden from anyone
that indeed Ramadhân is a month of blessings. In it everything is blessed from,
our food to our actions. It is in this very month that we should plant the
seeds for goodness that we hope will last us throughout the year. It was the
Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"The best of deeds are the most
consistent of them."
[Narrated by at-Tirmidhî]
So we should always be looking for
self-improvement, and enrichment, and not just in Ramadhân. At the end of the
day we have enough "Ramadhân Muslims", now we are in need of Muslims
who live in Ramadhân all year long.
And Allah knows best.
Plese DUA for Me.
). All
the benefits that we reap during this month are just an added bonus. Allah ( 
)
revealed to us in the Holy Qur'an: 
)
tells us that he has prescribed fasting to us to obtain all aspects of Taqwa. 
