Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Musbri Mohamed
1
Islam is a way of life with its
guidance charting the coordinates
of the map by which the return
journey to where we came from
can successfully be accomplished.
2
According to the Qur’an, the
revelation communicated
through the prophet
Muhammad s.a.w (peace be
upon him), Allah s.w.t
created the heavens (multiple
universes) and the earth with
a purpose and allocated the
earth as the place for human
habitation.
3
WORSHIP THROUGH ACTION: THE FIVE PILLARS
4
Recommended acts by which the Muslim can conform every
aspect of life to God’s will comprise the sunna. The sunna
includes both ritual acts (prayer, fasting etc.) and instructions
on the proper way to carry out worldly affairs like receiving
guests, eating, travel, dress, doing business, family relations,
even the performance of bodily functions. It is sunna to call
people to prayer from the minaret.
5
THE RAMADAN FAST
6
A second element is celebration and social
solidarity. Ramadan is not a sad time, but the
happiest month of the Islamic year and eagerly
awaited.
7
Sunset is announced by the call to prayer from the
minarets, and in many places by cannons, gunshots,
or fireworks.
8
The communal performance of a long and
difficult fast, with many periods of prayer,
followed by communal celebration, creates
a strong sense of social solidarity. The
disruption of the normal daily schedule,
with ordinary activities - rising, eating,
praying, shopping - performed at
extraordinary hours, results in the creation
of a sacred time. Business affairs and work
schedules are held to a minimum so that
the main “business” of Ramadan is the
celebration of the fast.
9
Renewal and forgiveness are
important features of the fast. Muslims
share a human tendency to get slack in
their duties. Ramadan is a time for
repentance and starting anew, and the
tarâwîh prayers are directed towards
asking forgiveness for the wrongs
committed during the previous year.
10
As we go through life, it is easy to become pre-occupied with
satisfying our material needs. Some religions institute retreats for
a few chosen people who dedicate themselves fully to religious
service and renounce the worldly struggle for survival. Islam
takes a more moderate approach where once a year everybody
takes a retreat together.
11
History shown that Adam and Eve did the first fasting. Adam (peace
be upon him) was given paradise to live in, a place free of want, and
for companionship was given a partner from his own makeup, Eve.
The complete bliss of paradise was tainted by only one small
prohibition: a tree, the fruit of which Adam (peace be upon him) and
Eve must not eat i.e some sort of fasting.
12
Life on earth then becomes the temporary examination room where the
intentions of each and every human being are being tested, whether they
follow the guidance which helps them fulfil their true potential of living up
to the spirit of God in them as His representatives on earth, or whether they
follow the devil into obeying their base desires which betray their humble
material make-up.
Through religious observance and prayer man can thus rise from an animal-
like existence to a level of worthiness above that of the angels.
13
Islamic tradition states that the fear of God is the crown of all
knowledge. Just as a chair knows nothing about the carpenter, we
are unable to understand or perceive God through our senses.
Before the physical creation of each and every one of us, however,
He gathered all the souls of the descendants of Adam (peace be upon
him) and reminded them of their duty to remember Him as their
Lord. To help us remember, He sent His guidance through His
messengers.
14
He was called Allah in the old scriptures, too, in the cousin
languages of Arabic, like Hebrew and Aramaic. Readers of
Bible translations still find the words Eli (Allah) and Elohim
(Allahumm, meaning “o Allah”). Besides His name He is
known through His attributes, which in the Qur’an are also
called the most beautiful names of Allah. These attributes tell us
more about our Creator, and whilst some are exclusive to Him
alone, others are qualities we can aspire to: He is the Just, and
we can be just, He is the Merciful, and we can be merciful, He
is the Generous, and we can be generous.
15
Since the days of Adam (peace be upon him),
the universal content of the message itself
remained unchanged: that there is only one
God, Allah, that all depend on Him alone, that
righteous conduct was the route to success in
His eyes, and that He would judge everybody’s
deeds on the Day of Reckoning.
16
Because fasting is a communal affair, with joint fast-
breaking in the evenings, it also strengthens the spirit
of brotherhood and sisterhood regarded as so
important in Islam.
17
18
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His
Messenger.
Brother, may you have a happy and blessed Ramadan! Ramadan, as you have stated,
is the month of the Qur'an as well as the month of all good deeds. A Muslim is
recommended to read the Qur'an and do good deeds in this blessed month as much as
he can. In this context, we recall the Prophetic Hadith addressed by the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) to his Companions on the last day of Sha`ban: "O people!
A great month has come; a blessed month in which is a night better than a
thousand months; a month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to
fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by
performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month), shall receive the
same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time; and whoever
performs an obligatory deed in (this month), shall receive the reward of
performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and
the reward of patience is Paradise. …….
19
…………..It is the month of charity, and a month in which a
believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a
fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven,
and he will be saved from the Hell-Fire, and he shall have
the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward
being diminished at all."
20
Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed. Allah
says: (The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the
Quran, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the
guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And
whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month.) (Al-
Baqarah 2: 185)
First ; this verse establishes the link between Ramadan and the
Qur'an. We know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) was in the habit of retreating to Mount Hira during Ramadan
and it was during one of these periods of contemplation that the
Archangel Gabriel appeared to him with the first revelation. So
Ramadan marks the beginning of the call to Islam and the
prophetic mission of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him).
21
Secondly, when Ramadan Fasting became obligatory, the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) used to recite the Qur'an with Gabriel. Gabriel
used to descend from the heavens every night to read everything that had
so far been revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
22
The month of Ramadan is a blessed month and an opportunity for every
Muslim to draw near to Allah, increase his spirituality, and gain
abundant reward.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam,
which is of paramount significance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) said, “Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there
is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah, performing Prayer, paying the Zakah, making the pilgrimage
to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.
(Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Surely, the month of Ramadan is the best season for offering good deeds
and gaining reward. It is the duty of every Muslim to prepare himself for
that blessed month.
23
This blessed month is a great opportunity for goodness, blessing,
worship, and obedience of Allah.
So give thanks to Him for the season of goodness and blessing that He
has bestowed upon you, and for the means of bounty and various kinds
of great blessings for which He has singled you out. Make the most of
this blessed time by filling it with acts of worship and leaving haram
(unlawful) things so that you may attain a good life in this world and
happiness after death.
24
For the sincere believer, every month is an occasion for
worship, and his whole life is spent in obeying Allah.
25
We should never forget that Allah stretches forth His hand during the day to
accept the repentance of those who sinned at night, and He stretches forth
His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the
day. Almighty Allah says:
(And vie one with another for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a
Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for those
who ward off (evil); those who spend (of that which Allah hath given
them) in ease and in adversity, those who control their wrath and are
forgiving toward mankind; Allah loveth the good; and those who, when
they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allah and implore
forgiveness for their sins — Who forgiveth sins save Allah only? — and
will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did. The reward of such will
be forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens underneath which rivers
flow, wherein they will abide for ever, a bountiful reward for workers!)
26
The month of Ramadan is the month of great gains and profits. The
smart trader is the one who makes the most of special occasions to
increase his profits. So make the most of this month by doing lots of
acts of worship, praying a great deal, reading the Qur’an, forgiving
people, being kind to others, and giving charity to the poor.
In the month of Ramadan the gates of Paradise are opened and the
gates of Hell are shut. The devils are put in chains and a caller cries
out each night, “O seeker of good, proceed! O seeker of evil, desist!”
27
Finally, in Ramadan Muslims have an
experience of hunger. They are asked to
recall the multitudes who go hungry.
Ramadan is thus a time of conscientization
towards the plight of the hungry.
28
Muslims believe that through the faithful practice
of Ramadan, all their sins are forgiven, and so the
Id al-Fitr, the Feast of Breaking the Fast, is
celebrated with joy.
29
As we go through life, it is easy to become pre-occupied
with satisfying our material needs. Some religions institute
retreats for a few chosen people who dedicate themselves
fully to religious service and renounce the worldly struggle
for survival. Islam takes a more moderate approach where
once a year everybody takes a retreat together.
Musbri Mohamed
2010
30