ماہِ رمضان کی فضیلت و اہمیت

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ص said: “When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and the rebellious jinn are chained up, and all the gates of Hell are shut so that not one of its gates remains open, and all the gates of Paradise are opened so that not one of its gates remains shut. And a caller (an angel) proclaims: ‘O seeker of good (that is, of virtue and reward)! Turn (towards Allah); and O you who intend evil! Desist from evil — for Allah frees people from the Fire (that is, by means of this blessed month Allah frees many people from the Fire, so it may be that you too are among them).’ And this proclamation is made every night (of Ramadan).” (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Ramadan al-Mubarak is the month of goodness and blessing; it is the month for a Muslim to be a true Muslim and mould his deeds in accordance with what pleases Allah. It is the month for the wealthy to please Allah through their wealth, and for the poor to do good deeds despite their poverty. When this month comes it fills the atmosphere with light and sends a wave of joy through the people of faith; the elderly keep to good works with sincere action, and the young children, watching them, join them in their acts of worship — so much so that they even join in the Fajr prayer.

All praise be to Allah, once again the month of mercies has cast its shadow; the fountain of forgiveness has been set up; the Caller calls out: ‘Is there anyone who asks of Me, that I may give him? Is there anyone who seeks forgiveness for his sins, that I may forgive him?’ Allah’s grace upon His servants is beyond reckoning; that Bestower, in order to bestow upon His servants and forgive them, seeks out excuses. How destitute is the person who attains this blessed month yet does not change his worldly life nor set right his Hereafter! In this month the generosity of the Giver is at its utmost, while the extreme of our heedlessness is that no benefit is taken even from this: the Giver is lavishing without stint, and if the receivers remain sunk in heedlessness, what greater misfortune could there be?

If you wish to gauge the blessings of Ramadan, gauge them from this: that when Ramadan comes, by the command of Allah the devils are bound in chains, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut. The devils, whose work is to hold man back from good deeds and to show him the alluring greenery of evil deeds, are in this month restrained from those tyrannical and foul works. So the greatest proof of this is that in this month of Ramadan most sinful people abstain from sins and turn towards Allah. But the point to ponder is: does every person who attains Ramadan and passes it in any manner become a beneficiary of its blessings? Certainly not. Only those fill their laps with its blessings who spend this blessed month thoughtfully and with the intention that their self be purified and its evil ended.

Therefore it is necessary that we make a firm and complete resolve to benefit from Ramadan. To gain the full benefit of Ramadan it is also necessary that, keeping our engagements in view, we arrange for ourselves such a timetable in which the greatest possible time is set aside for worship and for the study of the Qur’an and hadith. May Allah grant all Muslims the enabling grace to benefit fully from this blessed month — for it is He alone who grants such grace, but to those who seek it, not to those who sit with folded hands awaiting it; for Allah does not change even the state of His beloved people until they themselves make the effort.