Ramadan's Identity
We
are living the days and nights of an exceptional month; a blessed
month that has a lot of benefits and an opportunity for every Muslim.
In order to enjoy it fully, it is important to know what this month
symbolizes and what we can draw from it so that we can acquire the
divine love and salvation, and hope to enter paradise one day.
Insha-Allah.
Our
beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said, “There has come to
you Ramadan, a blessed month, which Allah, the Mighty and Sublime,
has enjoined you to fast.” (Nasai).
For
some Muslims, the arrival of the month of Ramadan is not welcomed
because they will have to deprive themselves of food and drink and a
lot of pleasures that they used to do. However, for a true believer,
Ramadan is synonymous with Allah’s favour because this month is:
(1)
The Month of Victory
Ramadan
is a symbol of the victory of Islam and the Muslims because it was
during this month that the first great battle took place at Badr on
the 17th day of Ramadan in year 2 of the Hegira (AH)
between the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – accompanied by his 313
companions / believers – and the infidels of Mecca and it was the
Muslims who came out victorious. It is during this month that Allah
chains our worst enemy, Satan, so that each individual can be
victorious over him.
The
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “When the first night of the
month of Ramadan comes, the devils and rebellious jinn are chained up
and the gates of Hell are closed, and not one gate of it is opened.
The gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed…”
(Tirmidhi).
It
is an undeniable truth that our life on earth is marked by a
perpetual fight against Satan. He swore to deviate us from our
Creator and to enslave us through his many attractions. He desires at
all costs to separate us from the Master of the Worlds [Allah] and to
make us become his own slaves; like puppets moving at his command.
This makes Ramadan an opportunity to free ourselves from Satan’s
slavery and avoid his traps. If a person cannot get the upper hand on
Satan during the holy month of Ramadan, when does he think he can do
it? That is why Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) taught us that through
the prohibitions imposed during the holy month of Ramadan, and
through our attachment to Allah and spirituality (Islam), we need to
abandon Satan and prevent him from attacking us.
So
who will succeed in this initiative? They are the true believers! It
is for them that the gates of paradise will remain open and the gates
of hell will remain closed. Allah gives each of us an opportunity to
reform, to take the right path and to keep treading on it. It is for
those who will take into consideration these divine counsels and
commands that the demon will not succeed in influencing.
