1.FastinginRamadanhelps in achievingtaqwa.Allah says:“O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous (achieve taqwa)” (Al-Baqarah, 2:183)Taqwa is the aim of our existence. Allah reminds us of it in the Qur’an again and again.“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.” (‘Ali-‘Imran, 3:102)When we change our attitude while fasting and have a good mental state, we can achieve taqwa. Jabir ibn Abullah said,“When you fast, your hearing, your vision, and your tongue should also fast by avoiding lies and sins. You should not abuse your servant. You should maintain your composure and dignity on the day you fast. Do not make your fasting day the same as your normal day.”12. Double reward of fasting:“Whoever feeds a fasting personwill have a reward like that of the fasting person, without any reduction in his reward.”2Ibn Taymiyah said:What is meant by giving him iftaaris giving him enough to satisfy him.3From the ‘ibaadah of providing food for people stems many otheracts of worship such as creating love and friendship towards those who are given the food, which is a means of entering Paradise, as theProphet () said:“You will not enter Paradise untilyou truly believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one another.”43. Reading Qur’an in Ramadan assists in attaining “taqwa”“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:185)Reading Qur’an in this month assists in attaining “taqwa” since it is one of the main objectives of the revelation of the Qur’an. Allah says:“[It is] an Arabic Qur’an, without any deviance that they might become righteous.” (Az-Zumar, 39:28)4. A means of gaining Forgiveness of sins:The Prophet () said:a. “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”5b. “Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”6c. “Whoever spends Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins.”7d. “…from one Ramadan to the next are expiation for sins committed in between, so long as you avoid major sins.”85. Steadfastness and Patience:Fasting helps in developing a strong will power. Fasting is patience in obeying Allah, patience in keeping away from thethings forbidden by Allah, and patience in bearing the decree of Allah, hunger, thirst, physical and mental weakness. So it combines all three types of patience, thus the fasting person deserves to be counted as one of the patient, andAllah says:“Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account.” (Az-Zumar, 39:10)96. Seeking Laylatul Qadr:Prophet () said:“There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month which Allah has enjoined you to fast, during which the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained up.In it there is a night which is better than a thousand months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.”107. Fasting precludes ar-riya and assists in ikhlaas:“Allah said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall reward for it…’”11Allah didn’t say “prayer is Mine”, or “Hajj is Mine”, or “charity is Mine”. Why did He single out fasting? Al-Qurtubi said: Because showing off may enter into all good deeds, but no one can see when a person is fasting except Allah, so Allah connected it to Himself. Hence Allah said in hadeeth Qudsi, “He gives up his food, his drink and his physical desires for My sake.”128. Ramadan trains us to have good character and be truthful:The Prophet () said:“Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it and ignorant behaviour, Allah has noneed of his giving up his food and drink”.13So if a person refrains from disobeying Allah or gives up sinfulness, then this is true fasting. Meaning, your body needsto fast with you too along with hunger and thirst.“…and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, ‘I am fasting.’”149. A sense of Unity:All the Muslims participate in this act of worship. All of us are fastingand breaking the fast at the same time. We as a single ummah gather upon a single act of worship directing towards a single purpose.10. Ramadan is an opportunity to learn discipline in food and drink:One of thebenefitsof fasting is good health. This is something we should seek because with good health, we can worship Allah better and do extra good deeds which we might not be able to do if we did not have it. The Prophet () said:“A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is goodin everyone…”1511. Two moments of Joy:The Prophet () said:“The fasting person will have twomoments of joy: one when he breaks his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord; then he will be pleased because of hisfasting.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:19:13 +0000
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