Who are the fortunate people of Ramadan?
We have reached Ramadan once again, and we should thank God for this opportunity. The esteemed Fethullah Gülen describes Ramadan as the “month covered with grace.” It is a very special time in which forgiveness and mercy rain down on us abundantly.
Ramadan is a month during which all Muslims should consider their responsibility before God. Taking this opportunity of being able to do good and be deserving of heaven, and getting to know God must be the most important of goals. One should fast without complaining about the length of the day, for God has commanded this act of worship. One should fast in the way God decreed and in the way God described. Thereby, in addition to refraining from eating and drinking, one should also be careful while talking. A person who is fasting should stay away from unbecoming acts, especially slander and gossip. Moreover, he should avoid idle talk. He should occupy himself with reading the Quran, the remembrance of God, conversations about the beloved Prophet Muhammad and God, and should avert his eyes from anything religiously prohibited.
Get used to sleeping less and reading the Quran more
Fasting is an important means for taming the ego. During Ramadan, we should get used to eating less, sleeping less, talking less and reading the Quran more often, and we should make these a constant part of our lives. In this regard, Ramadan is the month of moderation and work towards achieving these good habits. Tahajjud is one of the prayers that we most neglect, so we should aim to perform at least two rakats of tahajjud at every suhur (pre-dawn meal) and we should be determined to sustain performing tahajjud, which we perform continuously during Ramadan, after Ramadan as well.
It is possible to give up habits and addictions and to experience a kind of independence by means of the Ramadan fast. Maybe it is time to get rid of some addictions (like smoking) of which we have been slaves for a long time. There are strong rulings that smoking is religiously prohibited (haram), though some claim that it is religiously disliked (makruh). However, some smokers unfortunately commit the mistake of breaking their fast with a smoke. They display risky behavior, such as bringing an order of God (in this case fasting) and a prohibition set forth by God (in this case smoking) together. Being determined to rid oneself of both making this mistake and also smoking will bring about more meaning to both fasting and also Ramadan. God may help more a believer who sincerely wants to rid himself of this addiction.
Let's be fastidious
There are people out there who work hard to improve society. In Ramadan, these people, who strive the entire day to serve their religion and nation, must be gaining blessings worth thousands of years of good work in only a single day. The Holy Prophet mentions these people in one of his hadith:
"A ribat [guarding the Muslim frontiers] of one day in the month of Ramadan in the cause of God is better than fasting and praying for a century. In the presence of God, a ribat of one day in Ramadan for the sake of salvation, peace and tranquility for Muslims is better and brings larger merit than worshipping for a thousand years. If God makes this person reach his family sound and safe, no sin of this person is recorded for a thousand years. Only his good deeds are recorded and he is given merit for the ribat until Doomsday."
Ribat means being on guard against the possible problems that Islam and the nation may encounter. In short, it means being “devoted.” Each step that a devoted person will take in the cause of his goal will gain him merit for ribat. Consider what merit is given in accordance with the blessing of the month of Ramadan!
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