What does it mean: Ramadhan is the month of the Quraan?
There are 5 months left till Ramadhan! So I’ve decided to a 5 – part series on how to improve our relationship with Quraan, leading up to Ramadhan!
The benefits and wisdom behind fasting
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
(2:183 )
Allaah says Oh you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it has been prescribed to those before you so that you may become righteous
Fasting is an act of Ibaadah which Allah has prescribed for us, so when we respond to, and fulfil His command, whether we realise or not, there is such beauty and wisdom behind what Allah has commanded us.
Lets look at some of the wisdom and benefits behind fasting
1. When one is abstaining from eating and drinking despite having that desire to eat and drink, during that act of abstention (this act of Qurbani and sacrifice for the sake of Allah and in response to Allah’s command) Allah opens up the heart of a believer.
The heart is awakened.
In this state, he remains in the remembrance of Allah, he will start deeply contemplating about Allah, about Allah’s Divine Greatness….
He will start to ponder about His favours that He showers upon us..and the fact that we are but servants in submission to the Law of Allah.
And in this, his Ma’rifah and his recognition of Allah increases
2.The month of Ramadhaan is a sacred month in the Islamic calendar which Allah wants us to fill up with Ibaadaat, acts of obedience and acts which bring us closer to Him…
and He really wants us to develop that sense of worship and servitude towards Him..
and this can’t happen when we are sitting in front of large spreads of food and drink.
By making fasting fardh upon us, Allah has given us an easy way to develop this relationship with Him
3. Day – to – day when a person is continuously satisfying their desires and in a state of having eaten to his fill, his heart can start to become hard and almost in a way remorseless.
So in fasting being made fardh on us, it is a purification and rectification for the soul and it makes our hearts more attentive and receptive
In the fasting and feeling of hunger and thirst that the poor experience, it is through feeling that pain and deprivation with the poor that we develop more mercy towards them and we feel that motivation to become more charitable and supportive to them.
Now after we look at all these beauties and wisdom…Subhanallah.
If we fast properly and we look at the characteristics of a fasting person; that he will be spiritually awakened, with a heightened sense of recognition of Allah, he will not be concentrating on food, his stomach will not be full, his heart and soul are purified and softened and more receptive AND he has this sense of mercy and love for his fellow Muslims….
imagine if we grab hold of this and we take advantage of this time to engage in worshipping Allah through His Word; through reciting, learning, memorising, and pondering over the Quraan…Subhanallah
How much can one not grow his Imaan in this time?
Rasoolullaah saw said that there isn’t a better way to turn to and gain closeness to Allaah than through that which has come directly from him that is the Quraan.
Rasoolullaah SAW said that the fast and the Quraan both intercede on the day of Qiyaamah for the obedient person. The fast says O Allah I prevented him from eating and drinking in the day, so you accept my intercession on his behalf, and the Holy Quraan says O Allah because of me, he didn’t sleep at night, so you accept my intercession for him. And subsequently, the intercession of both of them is accepted
In another narration, it says that while the family are busy with the burial rites, the Quran will come in the form of an extremely handsome man. And when the family leave the grave and Munkar and Nakeer try to separate this handsome man away from him so that they can interrogate him privately. he says: “this person is my companion, he is my friend, I will not leave him alone under any circumstances, if you are appointed for interrogation, do your job. I can’t leave him until I get him admitted into paradise..and this person will turn to his deceased companion and say “I am the Quraan, which you used to read, sometimes in a loud voice and sometimes in a low voice. Do not worry. After the interrogation of Munkar and Nakeer, you will have no grief.” When the interrogation is over the handsome man arranges for him from the angels in Heaven, silken bedding filled with musk.
May Allah grant us understanding and bestow this favour on us
Ramadhaan is the month in which the Quraan was revealed
Allaah ta áah has stated in the Holy Quraan
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ – 2:185
The month of Ramadhaan in which the Quraan was revealed, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion between right and wrong
Allah has specifically chosen this month to reveal scriptures
All the Heavenly books were revealed in Ramadhaan. There are a couple of narrations that state that said Holy prophet Ibraaheem AS’s scriptures were revealed in Ramadhaan, The Torah was revealed in Ramadhaan, Injeel was revealed in Ramadhaan, Zaboor (The book of psalms) was revealed in Ramadhaan and the holy Quraan was revealed in Ramadhaan (Maáariful Quraan)
So what better time to remember the Quraan, the greatest source of guidance that mankind has ever received, and to engage in reading, pondering and reflecting on it to draw closer to Allah and build our relationship with Him, than the month of Ramadhaan, the month in which the Holy Quraan was revealed, and while one is fasting.
Be sure to share this with someone who will benefit and look out for part 2 of this 5 part series next month: Practical steps to upgrading your connection.