Are we prepared for Ramazan

c

    All the Muslims around the globe are preparing to meet a guest who comes to visit them annually. The shopping malls, shops and night markets offering you cheap and attractive prices for all houses hold goods and groceries. Decorating your house with new furniture's and painting the walls. The local media is preparing day and night with new programs to entertain the guest which is about to visit. The women looking for new recipes to fill the emptiness in your dining table and the youth planning and organizing sport events and entertainment. Who is this guest by the way? Are we preparing to welcome the blessed month of Ramazan or are we preparing for a carnival in which the whole Islamic community is devoured in entertainment, pleasure and food. Subhanallah ! Is this how our Messenger Muhammad (saw), his companions and the salaf prepared for the holy month of Ramazan?

   Allah (swa) says in Quran "Oh you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness"(Q 2:183). Are we learning piety and righteousness? The Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah].

   Question is! Are we performing the obligatory prayers? Are we preparing ourselves to perform the voluntary prayers? Have we learned to perform these prayers? Are we building our patience? Are we prepared to give charity? Are we prepared to ask for forgiveness from Allah (swa)? At least have we learned the dua which we will recite in the last ten days of Ramazan to achieve the reward of Lailathul Qadr (The night which the Quran was revealed)? Answer these questions to yourself and see how ignorant we have become in preparing our self to meet Ramazan.

   Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (saw) said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”. Most of the media and big business companies had been acting like a puppet of the devil engulfing people in entertainment and fun. Just before the Ramazan, you start hearing the advertisements on TV and Radio about the programs, events and shows to entertain people. All the rest of the year there are no events, programs and events in these sources, but when the holy month of Ramazan comes entertainment is everything. How ignorant can we be!  The owners of Media and big companies should realize that they have to stand in front of Allah (swa) one day and be answerable to the fact that they have deluded the people into Haram and misguidance. Think about the punishment you will receive because of deluding and turning away a whole community from worshiping Allah (swa).

   If we look at our individual self's, how many of us sleep the whole day without performing the obligatory prayers. Performing prayer is an obligatory act. Most of the Islamic scholars say that “Prayer is the key which separates you from a Muslim and an Infidel. This is the importance of prayer! So if you leave your obligatory prayers, what will be left from the good deeds you earned by fasting! How many of us backbite during the month of Ramazan. How many of us lie and cheat. These might look to you as small things but these sins will wash away all your good deeds you got from fasting. So protecting your tongue is very important. So beautify your soul with noble characters and remember Allah (swa). Make dhikr.

   Now let’s look at the month of Ramazan in terms of economically. Islam is a religion which forbids you to waste money and food. Allah (swa) says in Quran “O children of Adam ! Wear your beautiful apparel every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, Allah (swa) loves not the wasters"(Q 07: 31). If you look at the amount of waste been dumped during the Ramazan you can see how much food we are wasting. Even some people go to the extent of renewing all the furniture of the houses. One of the key reason of fasting is remembering all the poor Muslims out there in the pangs of hunger. But instead giving out for charity we buy all these unnecessary foods and throw them away. The mosques are painted and decorated too, but are our hearts and our emaan decorated as beautiful as the mosques. The Messenger Muhammad (saw) and his companions prayed in mosques built from palm leaves. But the people who prayed in them, their hearts were the most pure hearts and most beautiful. So beautify your actions, emaan and heart first!

    My brothers and sisters! Are we going to let the blessings of another Ramazan slip away from our hands? Have the time not arrived to ask for repentance for our all the sins we have committed. Ramazan is a month the most ideal month to repent and start a new life. Narrated by Abu Huraira: Prophet (saw) said "Whoever fasted the month of Ramazan out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah (swa), then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for night prayer in the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for reward from Allah (swa), then all his previous sins will be forgiven". So wake up from this ignorance and seek the Mercy of Allah (swa) and be among the successors who will join our beloved prophet Muhammed (saw) in Janaathul Firdos. May Allah (swa) accept our prayers and good deeds in the month of Ramazan and may Allah (swa) forgive all our sins in the month of Ramazaan. Ameen.