THE VIRTUES OF RAMADHAN

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THE VIRTUES OF RAMADHAN
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THE VIRTUES OF RAMADHAN
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Let us improve our piety (taqwa) and good deeds
by obeying Allahs entire commands and omitting
all the forbidden.
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O you who have believed, if you fear Allah, He
will grant you a criterion (by which to judge
between truth and falsehood) and will remove from
you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allah is
the possessor of great bounty.
(Al-Anfal verse 29)
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Blessed Muslims, We have now reached the end of
Ramadhan, and in few days we will be celebrating
Eidul-Fitr. As such, we hope that the lessons
and benefits in Ramadhan will not disappear into
thin air.
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We hope that the joy of celebrating Eidul-Fitr
will not deter the good habits that we have
developed in Ramadhan. Yes, we should celebrate
Eid, but we must not get too carried away
preparing for it. Remember that we are to
complete our fast with excellence until the end
of Ramadhan.
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When Allah s.w.t tells the mankind to exalt,
extol and glorify Him, it does not mean that
Eidul-Fitr becomes more important than
performing extra prayer such as tarawih to the
point that only the Imam, the Bilal and a few
people left to perform it.
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The remaining scent of Ramadhan is suddenly being
replaced with programs to celebrate Syawal, until
it seems like they are more important than
worshipping Allah s.w.t.
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Allah S.W.T says in Al-Quran-
..and He wants for you to complete the period
of fasting and to glorify Allah for that to
which He has guided you and perhaps you will be
grateful.
(Al-Baqarah verse 185)
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Blessed Muslims, Rasulullah s.a.w. taught us how
to celebrate the end of Ramadhan. He s.a.w. would
perform itikaf (retreat in the mosque) without
leaving his place unnecessarily except when for
bathroom.
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Saidatina Aishah r.a. said Rasulullah s.a.w.
used to observe i'tikaf in the last ten days of
Ramadan until Allah called him back (to his
heavenly home) i.e. he passed away. Then his
wives observed i'tikaf after him.
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Rasulullah s.a.w performed itikaf on the last
ten days of Ramadhan by being in dzikir, reading
Al-Quran, making istighfar (praying for
forgiveness from Allah) and performing extra
prayers. He would be in ruku and sujud to Allah
s.w.t like when he was in retreat in the Hira
Cave.
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Allah S.W.T says in Al-Quran-
Those who remember Allah while standing or
sitting or lying on their sides and give
thought to the creation of the heavens and the
earth,
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saying, "Our Lord, You did not create this
aimlessly exalted are You above such a thing
then protect us from the punishment of the
Hellfire.
(Ali-Imran verse 191)
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Blessed Muslims, Perfecting our ibadah in
Ramadhan is the trains and build our spiritual
and physical aspects, build patience in
difficulty and hardships.
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Rasulullah s.a.w says Whoever fasts in the
month of Ramadhan out of sincere faith, and
hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his
previous sins will be forgiven.
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Ramadhan educates the fasters to become strong,
brave and an aspiring individual. The battle of
Badr took place on the tenth of Ramadhan in the
2nd Hijri year. The enemies were well equipped
with their numbers and weaponry, while the
Muslims were ill equipped.
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However, by the help of Allah, the Muslims
together with Rasulullah journeyed to the valley
of Badr. They camped, stayed awake at night and
surrendered themselves to Allah prior to the
battle.
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When Rasulullah s.a.w told them to prepare
themselves, not only did they sharpened their
swords, they even stood in prayers in the middle
of the night so that Allah strengthens their
determination to fight their enemy.
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By the will of Allah, the Muslims overpowered
their enemies. Such is the reward of being in
tahajjud (night prayers) and surrendering oneself
to Allah as mentioned in the Quran
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"How many a small company has overcome a large
company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with
the patient." (Al-Baqarah verse 249)
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The Egyptian soldiers never won their war against
the Jews. But, when they chose to fight in
Ramadhan and trained themselves through the camp
of Ramadhan, they won over the Faluja fortress,
which was ruled by the Jews, on 6th October 1973
(10th Ramadhan 1393). Such is the strength that
Ramadhan builds.
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Blessed Muslims, The training in Ramadhan
develops taqwa (God-consciousness) and the
strength of an individual. History has shown that
Muslims were in fact very strong in Ramadhan. For
example, the opening of Mecca was in Ramadhan of
8th Hijri,
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the battle of Tabuk in which the Muslims army won
against the Byzantines occurred in Ramadhan of
9th Hijri, also, in Ramadhan of 10th Hijri, the
whole tribe of Hamdan converted to Islam when
Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib r.a. was sent to Yemen
for the purpose of inviting others to Islam.
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Later on, Tariq bin Ziyad defeated Roderick and
conquered Cordoba and Granada in Ramadhan of 92nd
Hijri, and Solehuddin Al-Ayubi defeated the
Christian soldiers and freed Baitul Maqdis in
Ramadhan of 548th Hijri.
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All of these glorious events took place in
Ramadhan, during which Muslims were in hunger and
thirst from fasting.
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By fasting during the day and standing in long
prayers at night, we showed our commitment to the
Quran. Additionally, we learn and practice the
teachings of the Quran in managing our families,
in our business dealings and in conducting our
social lives simply, the Quran is our guidance.
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Through these practices, we set the difference
between us, as Muslims, and other uncivilized
societies. Furthermore, through Islam, we have
the ability to decide our destination in the
Hereafter while we are still living in this world.
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By choosing our actions carefully, we can either
increase our rewards or sins, which will
eventually lead us either to Jannah (heaven) or
the Hellfire. Such is the practical way of life.
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Blessed Muslims, Therefore, it is most
appropriate that Lailatul Qadr is bestowed on
those who are actively and patiently performing
ibadah throughout Ramadhan.
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It is an honorable gift from Allah for those
amongst us who worship Him without partner and
make the Quran and Rasulullah s.a.w. our guides,
whose reward is beyond our grasps.
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Allah S.W.T says in Al-Quran-
Verily, We have sent it (this Quran ) down in
the night of Al-Qadr (Decree). And what will make
you know what the night of Al-Qadr is?
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The night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand
months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is
better than worshipping Him a thousand months,
i.e. 83 years and 4 months)
(Al-Qadr verse 1- 3)
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Blessed Muslims, Today is the last Friday in
Ramadhan. Three important take-home points for
today are First The reward for any acts of
worship which include, but not limited to,
fasting, praying tarawih, reciting and pondering
upon the Quran,
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waking up for tahajjud, giving in charity,
itikaf (retreat at the mosque) and so on, are
multiplied in this month, especially in Lailatul
Qadr in which the reward is better than
worshipping Allah at least 83 years.
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Second During the battle of Badr, Muslims were
just starting to establish themselves. It was
only two years since their Hijrah to Madinah,
where the strength, support and trust were not
fully founded.
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At that time, they were still struggling to set
up and equip themselves. In this condition,
Rasulullah s.a.w prayed to Allah in the midst of
the battle, firmly believing that Allah is with
them, and so is their victory
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O Allah! Should this group (of Muslims) be
defeated today, You will no longer be worshipped,
O Allah! Im waiting for Your victory which You
have promised me. I beseech You Allah to defeat
them.
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We need to realize and appreciate this dua of
Rasulullah, for without it, Islam will not exist
today. Without Allah granting the dua, we will
not see any Islamic governance like Madinah
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and we will certainly not find anyone worshipping
Allah today. Such is the significance of the dua
of Rasulullah s.a.w. at that time.
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Third The most important lesson of all is the
gift of Al-Quran, which was sent down in
Ramadhan. It is sent down in the month which our
hearts are trained to be softer such that we
accept its teachings with ease and obedience.
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What is the benefit of being advanced
economically, in our education, in our
governance, and yet we take other than the Quran
as our guide,
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we practice something other than that sent by
Allah, and therefore setting up ourselves for
other than Jannah in the Hereafter?
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Allah S.W.T says in Al-Quran-
O you who have believed, if you fear Allah, He
will grant you a criterion (by which to judge
between truth and falsehood)
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and will remove from you your misdeeds and
forgive you. And Allah is the possessor of great
bounty.
(Al-Anfal verse 29)
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• O Allah,
• The most merciful god, we thank you for all the
  mercy and pleasure that you gave so that we can
  enhance and strengthen our Islamic country
  especially Selangor as a developed and peaceful
  country.

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• O Allah,
• We beg you to increase our practice, brace up our
  unity, give us prosperous life, make us rich with
  good knowledge, flourish our soul with noble
  character, bring back our youngsters to the right
  path, save us from your biggest test such

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• as huge flood, drought, epidemic, disputing
  between ourselves, poorness and anything else so
  that this country will be more prosperous and
  blessed.

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DI SEDIAKAN OLEH BAHAGIAN KHUTBAH, JABATAN
AGAMA ISLAM SELANGOR