Excerpt taken from The Sermons of Hazrat Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi (DB)
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ
Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Quran [2:185][Part of the Ayah]
The Successful Person
Allah has sent humankind to Earth to worship Him. Man is but a passing visitor in this fleeting life and soon departs on his next journey. Only the person who values his time in this world and spends it wisely in remembering and obeying Allah is truly fortunate and successful. Such a person lives spending every moment for the pleasure of Allah and adorns himself in the glorious Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
He…has already achieved the highest achievement [33:71][Part of the Ayah]
The Prophet’s ﷺ Practice During Ramadan
The Companions used to say that with the start of Ramadan they would note an increase in three things in the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
- The Messenger of Allah would dramatically increase his worship, despite the fact that his normal worship was such that his noble feet would swell from standing in prayer for extensive periods of time.
- He was tremendously generous in giving for the sake of Allah, and during this month, he would open his heart and hands even more in charity.
- He would increase his weeping in front of Allah in fear and humility, seeking repentance.
Increasing worship, charity, and supplication are Prophetic examples that all Muslims should strive to follow with sincerity. Muslims tire their bodies every day in their work, but there should be at least some time during their lifetime when the body gets exhausted in worship. There should come such a time when the eyes long for sleep, but the worshiper reminds himself that struggling to stay awake seeking Allah’s pleasure will earn him the honor of looking upon Allah in Paradise. The eyes that stay awake now will sleep soundly in the grave.
Only after death do restless hearts find peace
Only he sleeps soundly who remained awake.
Ramadan is the month of staying awake during the night in worship. Believers should accustom themselves to less rest and sleep and respect this month for the holy month of struggle, sacrifice, and immense blessing that it is.
The Season For Righteousness
Vendors, grocers, and all sales professionals have a specific season that they prepare and work hard for. When their season for sales arrives, they set themselves aside, excuse themselves from all non-essential engagements and focus solely on the season at hand. Moreover, they pay less attention to eating and sleeping properly because they remain so absorbed in their trade and stay focused on how to take advantage of their particular season in the best manner. These people value this time and embrace hard work because their chance to make huge profits comes only once a year, after which they know they can afford to relax a little.
Likewise, the holy month of Ramadan is a season for righteousness for all those who wish to draw nearer to Allah and have their sins forgiven. The fasts of such people who remain restless for Allah’s sake are not only limited to abstinence from food and drink, but their eyes and tongue and all else also remains in a state of fasting. When Muslims remain thus in a state of fasting from head to toe and raise their hands in supplication at the breaking of the fast (iftar), then Allah will grant whatever they wish for.
Paradise Adorned
During Ramadan, blessings shower down in such abundance, that it seems that the doors of blessing have become wide open. According to a Hadith, Paradise is perfumed and decorated for the believers just before Ramadan, and on the first day of Ramadan Allah instructs the angels to open the doors of Paradise for the believers. Thus Paradise is adorned for the believers like a bride is adorned for her groom.
The Prophet’s ﷺ Waiting for Ramadan
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to wait anxiously for the month of Ramadan and had such great regard for it that he would supplicate to Allah in the month of Shaaban to see the Muslims safely into Ramadan. The tremendous value of a month that even the Messenger of Allah would pray for, cannot be weighed by anything on earth.
Excellence of Those Who Fast
This month is so blessed that the birds in the air, the fish in the seas, and the animals on the earth pray for the forgiveness of all those who fast. Moreover, when they break their fast at iftar, the angels say amin to their duas.
Those who are fortunate and wise enough to take advantage of the blessings of this month are honored with the special status such as that of a wali and abdal. Muslims should learn valuable lessons from their elders and regard each moment of this month as a precious opportunity to earn righteousness so that they may also earn the special regard of Allah.
Golden Opportunity
The wonderful season of spring greets us with the blessings of lush vegetation, delicious fragrances of beautiful flowers, and trees laden with fruit. Likewise, the holy month of Ramadan is a month of springtime for the believer, where Allah’s blessing and mercy surrounds the believer at every point throughout the day and night.
Hence, surrounded by such awesome mercy, this is truly a golden opportunity for anyone wishing for nearness to Allah and forgiveness from sin. It seems that the phrase golden opportunity was coined with the holy month of Ramadan in mind, because this phrase perfectly fits the description of this month.
The Righteous Predecessors
Imam Abu Hanifa (Rah)
During the holy month Ramadan, Imam Abu Hanifa (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) would complete one reading of the Holy Quran in the morning, a second in the evening, and would listen to three complete recitals of the Holy Book in tarawih for a total of sixty-three completions during the month.
Hadrat Raipuri (Rah)
A famous routine of Hadrat Raipuri (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) was that he would gather together all of his followers on the fifteenth of Shaaban, meet with them all and say that he would now see them after Ramadan if he lived until then. He would also hand a sack to one of his attendants, instructing him to collect any mail he receives so that he would tend to it after the holy month.
He would spend the entire month in seclusion and worship, not wishing to check mail or be disturbed in this precious month. So many people would come to spend the whole of Ramadan in the mosque that there would be no room for anyone’s bedding after the nineteenth of Shaaban. In this manner, the mosque would come alive with worship and the remembrance of Allah.
Hadrat Mujaddid Alf-Thani
Hadrat Mujaddid Alf-Thani (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) wrote in his Maktubat that all the year’s blessings are a drop in the ocean when compared to the vast blessings of Ramadan. He continues to say that this is the reason why all the Holy Books were revealed in this holy month. Ramadan has a strong connection to the Word of Allah which is why Muslims should excessively recite the Holy Quran in this month.
Increase in Reward
Allah increases the reward for deeds in this special month. For an optional (nafl) act, a person is rewarded according to the reward of a mandatory (fard) deed, and the reward for a fard is multiplied at least seventy times. (To be continued…InshaaAllah)
To obtain a hard Copy of complete sermon please visit alehsaanpublications.org
We Pray to Allah swt, that he give us taufeeq to fast like those who fast (sincerely), and to stand up in prayer like of those who stood up in prayer (obediently), awaken us in it from the sleep of the heedless, and forgive our sins , O Allah forgive our sins, you are the one who forgives the sinners. Aameen
