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15th June 2014 17 Shaaban, 1435 A.H.
Gardens of the Righteous: Class 12
The Garden of Ramadan -‐ Part 4
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The Garden of Ramadan contd.. Ramadan is an honorable and beautiful guest like a beautiful garden. Ramadan is a great opportunity from Allah. It is a big blessing when Allah prolongs our life to reach to Ramadan. Let our hearts reach Ramadan before our bodies reach Ramadan. This is only possible with preparation.
Ramadan – The Garden of Taqwa The general translation of Taqwa is “to fear Allah”. But the actual meaning of Taqwa is more than just fearing Allah. Taqwa means to be conscious of our actions and utterances. We don’t door say or react until we are conscious of whether our actions will make Allah happy or will be displeasing to Him. This is Taqwa. The concept of Taqwa is mentioned in many Ayat in the Quran.
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Surah Aal e Imran Ayah 102
Sahih International
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die
except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
Allah is addressing the believer here. So if we want to be a believer we need to listen attentively. Allah is telling us to have Taqwa. Taqwa is more than fear, it means to be conscious of our actions. We need to have “fear, hope and love”. (To do what is commanded and abstain from the sins).
Allah wants us to reach Paradise safely. Anything that Allah is commanding us to do is for our benefit so that we can attain Paradise. Allah said, “Do not die except in a state of Islam”. We should not die except as a Muslim.
Taqwa is our safeguard from deviation and from being lost in this life.
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Definition of Taqwa:
Taqwa means to be pious. Piety is not just on the outside. Before our outside is reformed, we need piety on the inside. Piety is an action of the heart. Our heart should be pious before our limbs. Before we do anything we need to account ourselves first, before we act will this act please Allah or will this act displease Allah.
Taqwa is like a barrier or a shield between Allah’s anger and us. We need to be very conscious of our utterances and actions. The one with taqwa will think whether this action make Allah happy or unhappy before he acts or reacts.
Umar bin Abdul Aziz said the Taqwa is like a horse with a restraining mask on his face. The Muttaqeen is someone with a restraining mask especially for his tongue. The one who is pious is controlling his tongue.
Allah wants us to be Muttaqeen. It is a must for everyone. Taqwa helps us to survive in this life. In Ramadan we have the chance to be pious.
Ramadan is the means to Taqwa.
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Evidence – Surah Baqarah: Ayah 183
What is the wisdom behind fasting?
Taqwa. Allah wants to train us to be among the pious. Either we speak good or we don’t say anything. We need to be very conscious of our actions.
What is the relationship between Ramadan and Taqwa:
1. In Ramadan we abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk. We abstain from the food and drink that is (Halal). We abstain from an essential need for our survival for a certain period of time. This is Allah training us for taqwa. If we can go without food and drink for a certain time then why can we not leave the sins. Are sins essential for my life? No. If we can stop something essential in our life then surely we can stop something that is not essential. Fasting helps us to purify ourselves from sins
2. While we are fasting, we are not eating or drinking causing our veins to
reduce in size. The Prophet SAW said the Shaitaan runs through the veins of the human being. The Shaitaan can whisper more when our veins are
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bigger. The Shaitaan runs in our veins similar to how the blood flows in our body. Therefore Ramadan helps us to suppress the whisper of the Shaitaan.
3. In Ramadan we do more good deeds. When we do more good deeds then our taqwa level increases. In Ramadan we reduce our sins so that our good deeds increase.
Evidence -‐ Surah Baqarah: Ayah 197
This Ayah is telling us taqwa is our provision i.e. when we are pious, abstaining from sins and doing good deeds -‐ it is actually our provision.
People overeat because they feel an emptiness in their life. We have a body and soul. The best of provision is to feed our soul. The Prophet SAW said the believer will not over eat. This is because too much food makes a person lazy in their worship (Ibadah). We need to fill our stomachs 1/3 with food , 1/3 with water and 1/3 for air. We need to stop eating before we feel full.
It is a Sunnah of the Prophet SAW to break the fast with fresh dates. We need to follow his example in order to show submission to Allah. We need to eat to worship and not eat for the sake of eating. Ramadan is the month of training.
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Taqwa is the provision (food and drink) for our soul. In the month of Ramadan we need to train ourselves for taqwa so that it will be our provision for the next 11 months after Ramadan. We can deal with people and we can manage our life throughout the year as we get our nutrition and provision during the month of Ramadan.
Evidence -‐ Surah Aa’raaf: Ayah 26
Here Allah is telling us that the dress we are wearing is a blessing upon us from Allah. Allah said that He revealed “on us” the dress. Allah honored the human being with dress so that he can cover and adorn himself What is the resemblance between taqwa and dress?
1. The dress beautifies us; Taqwa beautifies us 2. The dress protects our skin; Taqwa also protects us from all the difficulties
in life
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Evidence -‐ Surah Hujraat: Ayah 13
If we want to be more honorable with Allah then we can do it with Taqwa. Allah created all human beings the same. He made us into tribes, having different languages and different backgrounds.
Who among the human beings is closer to Allah?
This depends on our taqwa. The more taqwa we have the more we are closer to Allah.
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Ramadan – The Garden of the Quran
The month of Ramadan is not only for Islam but it was there in the time of Prophet Isa, Prophet Musa and Prophet Ibrahim. Allah revealed all the divine books to the Prophets in the month of Ramadan. There is a Hadith of the Prophet SAW that mentions:
• Allah sent the books of Ibrahim on the 1 Ramadan. • The Torat was revealed to Prophet Musa on 6 Ramadan. • The bible was revealed on 13 Ramadan. • The Zaboor was revealed to Dawood on 18 Ramadan. • The Quran was revealed on 24 Ramadan
The divine books are guidance for human beings. These divine books that Allah sent down to the Messengers are the connection from Heaven to Earth. Allah chose the month of Ramadan to be the blessed month when all the divine books were revealed. The divine books were all revealed to the Messengers as a whole (One book/Tablet) except for the Quran. The Quran has a different revelation. There are two revelations for the Quran. Both the revelations were in Ramadan.
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1. The Quran was revealed as a whole from the preserved tablet to the lowest heaven in Ramadan
2. From the lowest heaven the Quran was revealed to the Prophet SAW verse by verse, Surahs by Surah depending on the situation that He was going through. The Quran was not revealed to the Prophet SAW as a whole.
Surah Baqarah Ayah 185
In Ramadan we have the opportunity to have a relationship with the Quran. In life we need to take the Quran as our close friend and companion, then it will be our companion even in the grave.
Hadith of the Quran
The Prophet SAW said, “The companions of the Quran are Aahl-‐ Allah (the family of Allah).” Allah said that Ramadan is the month of the Quran. This is why in Ramadan the Sahabas did not read any other books and did not pursue any other knowledge except for the Quran (Tafseer, reading or hearing)
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Hadith of the Prophet SAW
The Prophet SAW said, “To read the Quran as the Quran will intercede for us on the Day of Judgment.” This means if a person who read the Quran in the Duniya goes to Hellfire, the Quran will make him come out of Hellfire, and if that person is in Paradise then his level will be upgraded to a higher level because of the Quran
Hadith of the Prophet SAW
The Prophet SAW said, “The more we are closer and attached to the Quran; the more Allah will elevate us in the Duniya and in the Akhirah.”
Quran is means of honor in the Duniya and the Akhirah.
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Ramadan – The Garden of Generosity
Generosity means charity, Sadaqah, Zakat etc. Why is Ramadan called the Garden of generosity? This is based on the Hadith of the Prophet.
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Hadith of the Prophet SAW
The Prophet SAW was the most generous person. The Prophet SAW used to spend of his time, his money or anything he could. He sacrificed his life for the sake of Allah. The Prophet SAW was generous throughout the year but in Ramadan he was more generous, just like a breeze in the wind.
Hadith of the Prophet SAW
The Prophet SAW said if we are feeding someone who is breaking their fast we will get the reward e.g. if we feed 10 people when breaking their fast then we will get the reward for 10 fasts.
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Ramadan – The Garden of Joy
Ramadan is a “garden of joy” so we need to rejoice and feel happy before Ramadan, during Ramadan and after Ramadan.
Why should we be happy?
We are happy because of the favors and mercy of Allah. Ramadan gives us another chance to be closer to Allah.
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Hadith of the Prophet SAW
There are two joys for the fasting person. One when he breaks the fast and the second when he meets his Rabb.
I. Reasons for happiness at the time of breaking the fast • We are happy fulfilling Allah’s commandment by breaking our fast. We
appreciate Allah for the blessing and to allow us to break the fast • We are happy that Allah helped us to complete our fast. • The Prophet SAW said, “As long as you hasten towards breaking the fast
you will be in goodness”. This means we should not delay breaking of the fast. Allah wants us to fast from dawn to sunset. The best Sahoor is just before Fajr and it is Sunnah to have dried dates.
• When we don’t eat and drink, it is as if we resemble the angels from dawn until sunset.
• We have an accepted supplication just before breaking the fast so we should be busy in worship (Ibadah) and make supplications (Dua) in this time.
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II. Happiness is when we will meet our Lord
• What a beautiful meeting when we meet our Lord on the Day of Judgment. • When we are an obedient true slave of Allah in this life, then we will have
the ultimate joy and happiness when we meet Allah on the Day of Judgment.
• Everyone will return to Allah. How beautiful is the return of the fasting person on the Day of Judgment when they meet Allah; as they will see how Allah is dealing with them.
• In the Duniya we make ourselves closer to Allah by our hunger and thirst. This is why for the fasting person Allah did not give an ordinary reward but He gave a special reward. According to the Hadith of the Prophet SAW, Allah said, “fasting is for Me and I will reward for it”
• Allah said in the Quran to hasten towards the forgiveness of your Lord and towards Paradise.
