Ramadan: A season for devoution

Praise is due to Allah (STW) that gradually and steadily, we have come this far in this year’s Ramadan fast. At sunset today, we would have had 15 days of Ramadan fast. Allahu Akbar! But have we really taken advantage of this unique month and the exceptional opportunities offered by it? Let us assess our activities in the last fifteen days to see if we haveengaged enough in acts of ibadah (devoution) that should expectedlystrengthen our tie with our creator.

Ramadan which provides opportunity for the exercise of self-discipline, self-restraint, and self-evaluation should actually improve our relationship with Allah (SWT).It is generally supposed to boost our spiritual status. Constant recitation of the holy Qur’an, tarawih prayers (observed after isha’i prayer), listening totafsir (commentaries of the holy Qur’an) in the mosques or from radio and television stations and charity are few of the devoutionalactivitiesthat should bring us closer to Allah (SWT) and thus take us to a higher spiritual level.

Ramadan is a season to strive to excel in good deeds. Let us not lose sight of every act of ibadat by broadening the scope of our deeds. Imam Muslim relates on the authority of Abu Dharr (RA) that in every tasbih (that is, saying Subhana-llahi), there is reward; in every takbir (that is, saying Allahu Akbar), there is reward; in every tahmid (that is, saying Alhamdulillah), there is reward; and in every tahlil (that is, saying La ilahailallah), there is reward. 

Ramadan is an opportunity that comes once in twelve months. Let us imagine as if it were the last Ramadan we are observing in our lifetime.But, who knows if actually this will be our last Ramadan? May Allah (SWT forgive us, amin.A  Muslim is forgiven the sins he committed between two Ramadans if he observed each Ramadan fast with genuine faith. We must therefore never waste or misuse this great opportunity. It is a period to cleanse the inner and outer parts of our lives by asking Allah (SWT) for His mercy and for the forgiveness of our sins. 

On every night of the month of Ramadan, Allah (SWT) commands: ‘Where are those asking for my forgiveness? I’ve forgiven them; where are those who have repented? I’ve pardoned them; and for those who have demands, I’ve granted their requests’. Ramadan is always full of virtuous occasions. It is a period for believers to purify themselves and seek divine intervention in matters that trouble their peace and wellbeing. Ramadan is a month of mercy during which prayers of devoutees are specially answered. Allah (SWT) in Qur’an 2:186 affirms, ‘When my servants ask thee concerning me, I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on me: let them also with a will, listen to my call and believe in me: that they may walk in the right way’.

As we pray and hope in Allah’s forgiveness, let us repent form or sins sincerely; pledging that our repentance, this time, is a permanent one. It must not be a repentance that will lead us back to the path of disobedience. As an expression of genuine patriotism and declaration of support for the current war against corruption in the country, let us defeat the devil by denouncing all the forms of corrupt practices in which we hitherto engaged as public officers or political office holders, judges, lawmakers, civil servants,businessmen and women, security or law enforcement officers, lawyers, teachers medical or health workers, etc. 

Let us take advantage of Allah’s infinite mercy and forgiveness in this Ramadan to deletefrom our minds every word that denotes unrighteousness including forgery, bribery, telling lies, envy, backbiting, stealing, cheating, betrayal, selfishness greed, etc. Let this spiritual fight be the last one in which the devil will forever remain defeated such that he is left with no strength to mislead us again in the rest of our life. Let us use this Ramadan to build a strong foundation of taqwa (fear of Allah) in our hearts; leaving no space of the sneaking whisperer to build his deceitful workshop. We can achieve this if we make the holy Qur’an our constant companion; if we make the glorification (tasbih) and remembrance (dhikr) of Allah (SWT) the constant activity of our tongue; and if we make the acknowledgement and appreciation of Allah’s mercy and favour the pre-occupation of our reasoning. 

Let us strive with all that Allah (SWT) has favored us with including good health, physical strength, and understanding of Islam in order to earn Allah (SWT)’s love in this season of devoution; hoping that when He (SWT) loves us, He (SWT) will put us among those to earn His mercy, forgiveness, and pleasure during this Ramadan, amin. 

Corrigendum:

I sincerely regret some errors that occurred in the last paragraph of last week’s piece on this page. They were due to the last minute haste to beat the deadline for submitting the column. The word ‘Sujudul-Istirahah’ which appeared in a bracket should have read ‘Julusul-Istirahah’. The phrase ‘…with a taslim after every raka’at’ should have read ‘…with a taslim after every two raka’ats’. In order to clear the ambiguities that might have been caused by these errors, the entire paragraph is reproduced here again:

Salatu t-Tasbih consists of two nafilatraka’ats observed twice at a time; implying that it comprises of four Nafilatraka’ats in all. The supplication “Subhana-llahiWalHamdulillahWa La ilahailla-llahWa-llahu Akbar’ is recited 75 times in each raka’at in the following order as explained in the book, Fiqhu s-Sunnah. The supplication shall be recited 15 times after reciting Fatiha and a Surah which should be before going for ruku’u; 10 times during ruku’u; 10 times after rising from ruku’u; 10 times during first sujud; 10 times when seated after rising from first sujud; 10 times during the second sujud; and 10 times when seated after rising from the second sujud (i.e during julusul-istirahah). This is how each of the four raka’ats shall be observed with a taslim after every two raka’at. Let’s remember our president, Muhammad Buhari, in our prayers. May Allah (SWT) accept our fast and forgive our sins, amin.