The days of Ramadan have passed, and its nights have come to an end. Its time has gone by in the blink of an eye, like a fleeting lightning strike. Muslims around the world eagerly awaited its arrival, preparing for it, and congratulating each other on its onset. This blessed season arrived and settled among them, bringing its charity and blessings, its virtues and merits, its kindness and breezes of mercy.
Among Allah’s servants, the wise and vigilant ones know how to seize opportunities, and now a great opportunity lies before them. They roll up their sleeves and engage their limbs in the obedience of Allah. With heart and soul, throughout the day and into the nights, in the early mornings and during the heat of the day, they remember their Lord, recite His verses, and utter His praise and glorification. They are in prostration and bowing before their Creator, standing in prayer and lengthening their standing. They keep praying and seek forgiveness and mercy because they are certain that this precious season may not come around again. Therefore, they must benefit from its moments and spend their time on what is beneficial and useful, which will remain for their Hereafter.
إن لله عبادا فُطنا … طلَّقوا الدنيا وخافوا المحنا Translation: “Indeed, Allah has wise servants… who have abandoned the world and feared its trials.”
نظروا فيها فلما علموا … أنها ليست لحي سكنا Translation: “They looked at the world, and when they realized that it is not a place of abode for the living…”
جعلوها لجة واتخذوا … صالح الأعمال فيها سُفنا Translation: “They saw it as a deep sea and made righteous deeds their ships to sail through it.”
Now, the month of Ramadan, which we recently welcomed and celebrated, is on the verge of bidding us farewell. It will either testify to our benefit or to our detriment. Therefore, those who have performed good deeds in it and have been granted success in their efforts should thank Allah and ask Him for continued success and perseverance in doing good, for righteous deeds, and for a good end. They should ask Allah to make them depart while He is pleased with them.
شهر الصيام مضى واجتاز وانصرما … واختص بالفوز بالجنات من خدما Translation: “The month of fasting has passed and gone… and only those who served it have attained victory and entered paradise.”
“وأصبح الغافل المسكين منكسرا … مثلي، فيا ويحه يا عظم ما حرما” Translation: “And the heedless poor soul, with regret and brokenness, has come to an end… Woe to him! How great a loss he has suffered!” “من فاته الزرع في وقت البذار فما … تراه يحصد إلا الحزن والندما” Translation: “Whoever misses planting the seed at the time of sowing… will only harvest regret and sorrow.”
Now that Ramadan is coming to an end, we should ask Allah to accept our fasts, prayers, and righteous deeds, and to keep us steadfast on the path of piety and goodness. We should also seek forgiveness for our shortcomings during this month, as it is uncertain whether we will ever again have such a great opportunity. As the righteous predecessors strove to complete and perfect their good deeds, they were more concerned about the acceptance of those deeds than the deeds themselves, fearing that they might be rejected. These were the individuals whose hearts trembled with fear regarding all their deeds.
It has been narrated from Ali (MABH) that he said, “Concerning the acceptance of deeds, be more concerned than about the deeds themselves. Have you not heard that Allah, the Almighty, says: إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ?” Translation: Malik bin Dinar said, “The fear of rejection of deeds is greater than the deeds themselves.”
Some of the righteous predecessors displayed signs of sorrow on the day of Eid al-Fitr. They were asked, “This is the day of joy and happiness; why are you sad?” They replied, “You speak the truth. I am a servant to my Lord, and He commanded me to do something, but I do not know whether it has been accepted from me or not.”
Brothers and sisters in Islam!
Let us not be servants of Ramadan alone! Let us not limit our worship and good deeds to this month, only to become heedless of our servitude and righteous actions in the other days of the year. Allah demands worship from us throughout our entire lives, not just during the month of Ramadan. This month should serve as a significant exercise for us, so that in the upcoming months and years, we continue our worship in the best possible way.
If we only attend congregational prayers during Ramadan and neglect them in the other months, if we only engage in good deeds and care for the poor and needy in this month and remain indifferent afterward, we have suffered a great loss.
Therefore, we should make the intention during this Ramadan: “O Lord! Just as I have worshiped You in this month and obeyed Your commands, I will continue to do so after Ramadan, and as a deserving servant, I will remain on the path of obedience to You.”
Ka’b said, “Whoever fasts in Ramadan but intends to disobey Allah afterward, their fast is not accepted. And whoever fasts in Ramadan, intending not to sin afterward, will enter Paradise without reckoning.”
May Allah accept our fasts, prayers, and good deeds, and grant us success in continuing our worship in the other months.
By admin2
