يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who have believed before you, so that you may be ever God-fearing.”
(Translation by Ahmad Zaki Hammad)
The month of forgiveness. The month of supplication. The month of strength. The month of Quran. Perhaps the greatest purpose, it is the month of Taqwa. Indeed, it is Ramadan. As the blessed month of Ramadan is near, we remind ourselves that the primary purpose is to attain a greater consciousness and fear in Allahﷻ, as this verse from Surat Al-Baqarah states above. However, it takes more to attain Taqwa than just fasting. In this article, we learn about how we can attain Taqwa, especially during the month of Ramadan, through fasting, being conscious of our eyes, ears, and tongues, and strengthening our connection with the Holy Quran.
What is the Purpose of Fasting?
The core purpose of Ramadan is to attain taqwa, as it is clearly stated in the verse above. Taqwa means fear of Allahﷻ. Fasting is the one deed that always makes us very conscious of Allahﷻ. A hadith that is muttafaq alaih (agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim) and Qudsi (The Prophetﷺ is telling us what Allahﷻ said), narrated by Abu Huraira said “All of the actions of the son of Adam go back to him, except for one. That one action is fasting. For the fasting is mine and only I shall reward it.” In this month, even the farthest Muslim from his faith rediscovers Islam. Even the one who constantly commits major sins has a movement in his heart during this month. Even the individual who never visits the Masjid attends the prayers during this month. We are very conscious of everything we do and everywhere we go during Ramadan because we are fasting and do not want to lose that. This is taqwa.
Ramadan is the month of replacement. Replacement of what, you may ask. It is the month of replacing a bad habit with a good deed. If you are addicted to a particular sin, Ramadan is the absolute best month of the year in which you will be able to overcome Shaytan and be victorious. It is not just about ending a bad habit but is also about replacing it with something that is beneficial. That way you can exit Ramadan as a different and better individual.
Our Entire Body is Fasting…
Attaining taqwa is more than just fasting. Fear in Allahﷻ is not only about abstaining from eating and drinking, but our eyes and tongues as well. Your eyes and tongues are fasting as well. Our eyes are fasting from watching anything that is disliked or haram in the eyes of Allahﷻ. As we are conscious of what goes into our mouths, we should be conscious of what goes into our eyes. Perhaps one of the most important, our tongues are fasting from engaging in poor and dirty language, lies, etc. As we are conscious of what comes into our mouths, we should be conscious of what comes out. Our ears are also fasting. We should be careful of what we are listening to. While Ramadan may come to an end and we are no longer fasting from food and drinks, our eyes, tongues, and ears never stop fasting.
Enhance Our Quranic Connection
يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُمۡ مَّوۡعِظَةٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّكُمۡ وَشِفَآءٌ لِّمَا فِى الصُّدُوۡرِۙ
Ramadan is also the month of the Holy Quran. One of the best ways to attain taqwa is to enhance our connection with the Holy Quran, as it is not just a book. It is our way of life, guide through humanity, and source of morals and character. As the Aya states, it is the month of Ramadan that the Holy Quran was revealed. So if you are wondering where to begin, use this month to strengthen your connection with the Quran. In order to establish any bond between ourselves and the Quran, we must ask ourselves about our Salah. Do we pray the five daily prayers? Do we pray them on time? Do we feel anything when we pray? It is so important to remember that the Salah was given to us as a gift. It was given to us as a means of communicating with Allahﷻ five times daily. Allahﷻ does not benefit from our prayers. He does not need our prayers. Surely, it is mankind who are in need of Allahﷻ, so He blessed us with the gift of Salah. Start by understanding what is being said in the prayer. I do not mean read the translation of Surah Al-Fatiha, I mean dive deeper than the surface and grasp a firm understanding of every word we say. If you are having trouble praying all five prayers, then Ramadan is the perfect opportunity to fix this matter. Make it a habit to pray in the Masjid and then you will feel the blessings of Salah as well as Ramadan.
Allahﷻ explicitly links Quran and Ramadan together before he links Ramadan and fasting. We are guilty of not reading enough Quran throughout the year. Ramadan is the month of the Quran; it is the month in which the Quran was revealed. Scholars used to lock up all their books of Fiqh during Ramadan just to focus on the Quran. The Prophetﷺ told Aiysha, “Every year Jibril came to me to read the Quran to me, and I read the Quran back to him.” How often do we open the Quran outside of Ramadan? The sad truth is that the Qurans sitting in our homes collect dust between each Ramadan due to the lack of people reading them. Let us try to read just a few ayas or a half page a day between now and the beginning of Ramadan, then we can slowly increase how much we read. Remember, Allahﷻ says in the Quran, “Oh people, a reminder has come from your lord to you and in it there is a cure for the diseases of the heart.”
“Shukr”
Lastly, let Ramadan teach us about “shukr.” Shukr means being thankful. We must be thankful to Allahﷻ every day regardless of our situation. As we see, our brothers and sisters in Gaza are going through the most difficult of tests, as they do not have homes, food and water, proper clothes, warmth from the cold winter, proper medical care, educational systems, and more. However, we still find that they say “Alhamdulillah” (praise and thanks to Allah). They are the true role models for us in modern days and teach us the strength, resilience, and strong faith of Islam and the Muslim Ummah. Let us learn to be thankful to Allahﷻ for everything that he has granted us and pray for those who are being tested. We ask Allahﷻ to allow us to witness Ramadan. We ask Allahﷻ to forgive our sins and accept our worships. We ask Allahﷻ to grant victory to our brothers and sisters struggling at the hands of the oppressors in Gaza and all around the world.
By Ahmad Salah
