Ramadan: ‘Amnesty’ for believers

By sunset today, May 18, 2019, thirteen days would have passed from this year’s Ramadan. Allahu Akbar! Allah alone knows those that will live to see the end of it. This is why we don’t have to wait for Laylat ul-Qadr, which is in the last days of Ramadan before we become diligent in our acts of worship. It is time we go all-out to take advantage of the spiritual amnesty availed by Ramadan. In one of his sayings (ahadith), the Prophet (SAW) said “The middle of Ramadan is mercy (for believers)”; after having said that its beginning and end are respectively (meant) for forgiveness and salvation (of believers) from hell fire.

Allah’s mercy is one of the golden opportunities that come with Ramadan. We are now almost in that middle course of the month during which the gate to Allah’s boundless mercy is left wide open for those who seek it. With all our shortcomings as Muslims living in a world where ‘forbidden fruits’ have become ‘sweetest’ for most people, no generation can be more desirous of this mercy than ours.

Ramadan is an opportunity th Let us imagine as if this would be our last Ramadan in our lifetime. But, who knows if actually it is? May Allah (SWT forgive us, amin. A  Muslim is forgiven the sins he committed between two Ramadans if he observed each Ramadan fast with utmost sincerity and genuine conviction. We must therefore never waste or misuse this great opportunity. It is a period to cleanse the inner part of our souls by seeking Allah (SWT)’s mercy and forgiveness.

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 appellant and seeker of favours 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 sincerely repent from our sins; promising 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 repentance and total submission to Allah (SWT), let us resolve to denounce the devil’s path in our duties as public officers, lawmakers, political office holders, judges, traditional rulers, 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 dissuade our minds from any action that denotes unrighteousness including deceit, cheating, envy, backbiting, stealing, betrayal, forgery, telling lies, selfishness greed, and all forms of corrupt practices. Let this spiritual fight of ours in this Ramadan 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 for the sneaking whisperer to build his Machiavellian workshop. We can achieve this when the holy Qur’an becomes our constant companion; when the glorification (tasbih) and remembrance (dhikr) of Allah (SWT) becomes the constant activity of our tongue; and when the acknowledgement or appreciation of Allah’s mercy and favour becomes the pre-occupation of our reasoning.

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

As we strive to remain devouted throughout Ramadan, it is important to remind ourselves of the need to also exercise moderation in everything we do. We must not for the sake of satisfying our appetite, for example, overeat so much that it becomes impossible for us to wake up and spend the night in worship and supplications. Ramadan is an opportunity that comes once in twelve months. We must therefore never waste this great opportunity. Aside of seeking out Allah’s forgiveness and mercy, it is expected that we remain more prayerful during this season; asking for all that we desire in this world and the hereafter.

The Prophet (SAW) said Allah is ever angry with a believer that refuses to ask for his needs from Him SWT). Certainly, Allah (SWT) has no need for anything in the heavens and on earth. Indeed, Allah created everything in the material and the spiritual world for man’s use and comfort. The rivers, seas, trees, mountains, rocks, day, night, food and cash crops, all the mineral resources including crude oil, domestic as well as wild animals, rain, wind, light, air, winter, summer, etc, for man’s benefit. The bliss in paradise, too, is for man’s pleasure and delight even though this has a caveat, which is belief in the divine message of Islam. Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 31:20 “Do ye not see that Allah has subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and on earth…”

While I encourage us to individually ask Allah of all our needs which may include good health, useful knowledge, blessed wealth, ideal wife or husband, personal house (for those living in rented accommodation), prosperity in business, career progression, success in examination, peaceful end in life, and above all paradise; I also urge us to collectively seek divine intervention in all the common but critical challenges confronting us including kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, corruption, unemployment and poverty. May Allah, the all-Hearing, accept our prayers, amin. Ramadan Kareem!