[Alhamdulillah, on 02 August 2011, LE MAURICIEN Newspaper, published from Mauritius, carried an article by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) on Fasting in Islam against the backdrop of the fast-approaching holy month
of Ramadan under the Islamic Calendar. We are reproducing the article here for
the special attention and benefit of all seekers of spiritual treasures].
The most desired guest for the believers
is the Holy Month of Ramadan. Believers are commanded to welcome this special
guest with fear of God in their heart and purity of mind and soul. The Almighty
(Allah) says in the Holy Quran: “O you who believe, fasting is
decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain
salvation.” (Chapter 2; Verse 184).
First of all, what is Fasting? In Quran
and Hadiths the word defining Fasting is “Sawm” which
means “to abstain”. In our current language, this means that we must not drink
or eat, and abstain from sexual relations from the beginning of dawn till
sunset. Fasting existed even before the advent of Islam, for all people before
Islam received divine commandments to fast, even if the quantity and quality of
the different fasts were not the same.
Fasting is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam. The first pillar being
the Shahada (Attestation of Faith), the second
being Salaat (Prayer), the third being Sawm (Fasting
– especially in the month of Ramadan where it is obligatory for a believer
except if one is ill, on a long journey, and for the ladies who are in their
menses, or pregnant or are breastfeeding their babies), then afterwards
come Zakaat and Hajj.
Fasting is a divine institution for the
purification of a person. It enables a believer to improve himself morally and
spiritually, and definitely it is good for health. It is the Almighty who has
instituted the month of Ramadan as sacred and commanded all believers to
participate by observing these fasts. Allah says in the Quran, in Chapter 2,
Verse 186: “The month of Ramadan is that in which the
Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the
distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast
therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like)
number of other days; Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for
you difficulty, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that
you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you
may give thanks.”
Through this verse it is quite clear that Allah, our Creator wants us to
observe fasting without considering it as a burden for us for a whole month.
God loves those who submit themselves completely to His will. The one who
submits and follows His commandments all the time will never fall in obscurity.
And exactly like this, Allah has illumined the month of Ramadan by sending the
command to observe fasting as a light so that we, believers, His humble
creatures may never fall into darkness. Allah has mentioned the merits of the
month of Ramadan whereby it is during this blessed month that the Holy Quran
has been revealed to the universal Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Unfortunately today some of our youngsters in the Islamic world are suffering
at a spiritual level (a lack of spirituality in them) because they do not know
the principles of Islam about fasting, especially fasting in the month of
Ramadan, not really caring about its philosophy and benefits. Fasting in the
month of Ramadan must become a good habit which a Muslim must observe so that
he may keep himself pure morally and spiritually, and by this means, detaching
himself slowly but surely from the attractions of this temporal world so that
he may go in quest of God, and His satisfaction (i.e., the pleasure of the
Almighty).
The prescription of fasting is for our own good. Allah gives precision in the
above-mentioned verse that He does not want difficulty for us. Therefore, it is
up to each and every Muslim believer to implement this divine command by
fasting, not only to please God but also to reform himself spiritually and
physically. This is the real training which the Muslim needs so that he may
reform his life in the best way and let go of all impurities which used to
bound him and keep him away from the remembrance of God.
“O Ramadan, Your coming brings
comfort for the soul, for therein is the remedy to the afflictions which have
gripped it for a long long time. Your coming is like the sweet and cool breeze
in the hot season.
O Believers! Welcome this month with
open arms, so that you may be counted among the close servants of the Almighty
with affection and love. Fasting diminishes nothing in you; on the contrary, it
is the pathway to recognising the supremacy of the Lord through a clean soul,
and the sufferings of others through the pangs of hunger and deprivations.
O Ramadan! You come as a trainer for the believer for the rest of the eleven
months to come, until your next visit, may God enable us to reform ourselves
completely under your Gaze, O Blessed and Sweet Guest of the Muslim believers…”
RAMADAN MUBARAK!
