Part 9

not repent, who do not turn to Allah and seek His forgiveness. There are, indeed, some of us who persist in doing wrong. They are the ones who are forsaken and denied guidance along Allah’s path. Thus Allah proclaims in a hadith Qudsi: ‘O son of Adam, you called upon Me and asked of Me; hence I shall forgive you and I will not be inconvenienced.’

O fasting people, this month is our opportunity for sincere repentance. These days are booty for us. Will we not then accept this prize and special opportunity? Take the initiative with sincere repentance before your spirit is taken away. Do not take lightly any sin because your final deeds will also be judged. Many people fasted with us last year and have since departed to their Lord. Does not the authority belong to Him? And, is He not the swiftest of those who judge? Yes, they all went with their deeds and left behind their traces.

Allah says: ‘It is He who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons bad deeds, and knows all that you

ABS os Ls ale EME aM

Additionally, the Prophet & said: ‘By the One in whose hands is my soul, if ever you did not sin, Allah would have done away with you and brought another people who would sin and seek His forgiveness. Then He will forgive them.’

And, when will they repent if they fail to do so in Ramadan? When will they return to Allah if they do not return in Ramadan? There are some Muslims who fast in Ramadan, rectify their lives and attain peace of mind. Then, as soon as the blessed month is finished and the fasting is over, they return to their old ways and undermine what was repaired in Ramadan. They breach the covenants they took in Ramadan. Their entire lives are thus spent in building

and destroying or pledging and betraying. Allah Almighty warns: ‘Hence, be not like her who breaks and completely untwists the yarn which she [herself] has spun and made

Se mia ceeaemon BERKS; oe Bes Si

When Ramadan ended, many of our predecessors used to cry with its passing. They felt sorry and regretted its departure. That was because of the great progress they achieved, the purification of their hearts, and the illumination of their souls. O Allah, grant us what you granted to our righteous predecessors. Guide us to the straight path.

} oa OY 4) Faith increases in Ramadan

Faith increases and decreases according to one’s deeds. It increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience. It increases with prayers and uprightness and decreases with corruption and deviance. ‘As for those who are (willing to be] guided, He increases their [ability to follow His} guidance and causes them to grow in God-consciousness’ (47:17).

SOB GIG cB AGGIES

Allah Almighty also says: ‘It is He who from on high has bestowed inner peace upon the hearts of the believers, so that — seeing that God’s are all the forces of the heavens and the earth, and that God is all-knowing, truly wise - they might grow yet more firm in their faith’ (48:4).

In Ramadan faith increases, conviction grows and monotheism becomes resplendent because of the closeness of the servant to his Lord. Fasting is one of the most righteous deeds and it brings about closeness to Allah. Moreover, it nurtures a special relationship with Allah that distances the Muslim from the fire and from disobedience as well. The standing in Ramadan entails closeness, love, obedience and a yearning to expel hypocrisy from within the Muslim. It also nourishes the tree of faith until it becomes firm and entrenched, producing its fruits all the time with the permission of its Lord.

Here are some of the things that will increase your faith and strengthen your conviction: the performance of congregational prayer with reverence, humility, reflection and attentiveness. ‘Verily, for all believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of day]’ (4:103).

se Gaal EE EN :

Congregational prayer dispels hypocrisy and cultivates piety. Still besides, it prevents indecency and wrong-doing. Allah says in the Quran: ‘Prayer restrains man from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason; and remembrance of God is indeed the greatest [good]. And God knows all that you do’ (29:45).

ZI ele yee gttede sn Faerie gre we ere Spc Ts 255 ha, SCA aoa

The reading of the Quran, reflection upon its verses, living in its shade, breathing its fresh air and following its guidance

all serve to increase faith. ‘[All this We have expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, {O Muhammad, so that men may ponder over its messages, and so that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart’ (38:29).

The fervent and constant remembrance of Allah with the heart, tongue and limbs, with praise and exaltation, al! help to increase faith. Remember Him and he will remember you. Call upon Him in the early hours of the morning and seek earnestly His forgiveness.

Seck useful knowledge and understanding of your

religion. ‘Always say: “O my Sustainer, cause me to grow in knowledge!” (20:114).

qe vate wench ete Mota gee e cee Dafa A Sole; BIEN; May ai Is OO eo a Bese Question the people of knowledge. ‘And if you have not

yet realized this, ask the followers of [earlier] revelation’

Attend the sittings of remembrance. No one is irritated from sitting with such people. Surely the seeking of knowledge increases faith and reinforces the roots of monotheism. ‘Know, then, [O man,] that there is no deity save God, and

{while there is yet time,] ask forgiveness for thy sins’

py Aline Satya fs wap Pere Pa

Note, dear reader, that Allah begins this directive here with knowledge before words and deeds.

Charity is yet another factor that increases faith. Although this was discussed in a separate lesson it is important to recognize here that giving and sacrificing raises the station of the servant and purifies him. It disciplines his character and straightens his crooked ways.

Contemplation of the signs of Allah, the Creator, also increases faith. Every Muslim should examine His skilful creation of the universe. The Quran affirms that in the creation and the succession of night and day there are messages for people of insight, those ‘who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep, and [thus] reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “O our Sustainer! Thou hast not created [aught of] this without meaning and purpose. Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Keep us safe, then, from suffering through fire!”’

ONS KIWI EES BN Gs

Ramadan is a time of purification for the reflective mind and illumination of its thoughts. It is a period when discerning hearts are also lighted. It is, therefore, befitting that people of faith should use this occasion to meditate upon the excellent work of the Creator; blessed be His names. For faith decreases, suffers ill health and can, indeed, die. Faith decreases when people abandon the Quran and Sunnah and seek thereafter satisfaction in the junk that

comes from human minds. It vanishes when they become obsessed with the mental produce of weak and helpless creatures. Thus if a servant adopts this course he does, in effect, exchange what is good with that which is nearer. By so doing he would have completed his loss and confirmed his destruction. Satan would most certainly overwhelm him. “Such as these are Satan’s partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of Satan, who will truly be the losers!’ (58:19).

Amusement, play and association with the people of falsehood similarly cause a decrease of faith. This is usually the fate of those who reject the divine Shari’ah laws and instead choose to wallow in the mire of vice and sensual delights. Allah Almighty warns: ‘And pay no heed to any whose heart We have rendered heedless of all remembrance of Us because he had always followed [only] his own desires, abandoning all that is good and true’ (18:28). NSS SriRA SPOR Satara era

Other common acts that similarly diminish faith include setting free the limbs in acts of disobedience, defiling parts of the body with misdeeds and blackening the heart with sin. Here, the eye gazes at the unlawful, the ear listens to obscenity, the heart grazes in the fields of carnal desires, the hand oppresses, the sexual organs engage in perversion and the stomach is filled with sin. O Allah! We seek your compassion and mercy. O you who fast and have chastened

your limbs from indecency, rejoice with the pleasure of God. Mercy, forgiveness and an abode in Paradise to be inhabited by those who entered through the al Rayan gate.

Those who fast must, therefore, ask themselves whether their faith was increased or decreased during Ramadan. Did their conviction become stronger or weaker? For it is only then that they will distinguish between progress and regression and gain from loss.

O Allah! Increase us in faith, conviction, understanding and success.

The love of Allah becomes greater in Ramadan

Compliance with Allah’s command to fast in the month of Ramadan increases the love of Allah in the heart of the one who fasts. The friends of Allah love Him immensely (He loves them and they love Him). There is nothing strange about Allah’s expression (they love Him). What is remarkable, however, is His affirmation that [He loves them]. He created them, sustained them, pardoned them and then he loves them.

There are ten signs that indicate love for Allah. Whoever does them has loved Him in deed and not only in word.

1. To love the word that he speaks with and which He revealed to His Prophet . To yearn to recite this word and reflect upon its meaning and enjoy closeness to it. To reform the heart with its teachings, let the eyes roam in its gardens, stay awake in the darkness of night with it, act

according to its dictates, and govern with it in every affair of life.

2. To love the Prophet Muhammad #, follow him and send much praise and blessings upon him. Belief in the Prophet’s goodness and acceptance of him as a model. “Verily, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day, and remembers God unceasingly’ (33:21).

WSS A aig his Aa asks Acting in accord with his traditions without any reservation, fear or wavering is yet another way of demonstrating one’s love for Allah. ‘But nay, by they Sustainer! They do not [really] believe unless they make thee [O Prophet] a judge of all on which they disagree among themselves, and then find in their hearts no bar to an acceptance of thy decision and give themselves up [to it] in utter self-surrender’ (4:65).