The Month of Ramazan, The Knock of Blessings

Dr Pir Zaheer Abbas Qadri Al-Rifai
Mercies, blessings, prosperity, and happiness are a few days away from the people of Islam, even though the canopy of blessings over the people of devotion and the people of love keeps a shadow throughout the year. So, in the month of Ramadan, the reduction of blessings is on flourishing. One day, one hour knocks on the hearts of believers for the hour of blessings. Like the entire country, the grand visions of welcoming Ramadan in the federal capital Islamabad and its suburbs have been finalized. Most of the centres of attention are religious and devotional places. The magnificence of Faisal Masjid looks exemplary. Regarding the month of fasting, the advice and communication of the Masjid administration have increased. Like Badshahi Masjid, Jamia Masjid Memon, Data Darbar Masjid, and Moti Masjid in Rawalpindi, preparations for the reception of Ramadan are in full swing in Islamabad’s famous Shah Faisal Masjid. The requests of those sitting in Itikaaf and the issues related to them are being settled. All matters will be finalized in the first decade of Ramadan. There is a strong possibility that the first fast will be observed in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 24, and the next day, most countries, including Pakistan, will be filled with the fragrance of the first Sehri. Every place has its style of heartwarming scenes of Sehri and Iftar, but the style of service in Faisal Masjid, Data Darbar and Astana Bari Imam Sarkar is different. It is narrated from Hazrat Salman Farsi that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) addressed us on the last day of Sha’ban and said, “O people! The month of majesty is falling over you. This month is blessed with one night that is better than a thousand months.” This is the month whose fasting Allah has made obligatory and whose night stay has been made nafl. It will be as if he performed seventy obligatory in the other month. This is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is paradise, this is the month of mourning for the poor, this is the month in which the sustenance of the believer is increased, and whoever makes the fasting person break during this month, his sins will be forgiven and his neck will be freed from the fire and he will get the same reward as the fasting person without it being less than the reward of the fasting person. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Allah will give this reward to the one who makes the fasting person break his fast with a sip or a date or a sip of water, and whoever satiates the fasting person, God will give him such water from his tank that he will never be thirsty even in Paradise.” It is the month in which there is mercy in the beginning, forgiveness in the middle and freedom from the fire at the end. In another place, the Holy Prophet welcomed this blessed month by greeting it and asked the Companions three times in a questioning manner: “Who is welcoming you and who are you welcoming?” Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (RA) asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Is there going to be a revelation? He said, No. Asked, is there going to be a war with an enemy? The Holy Prophet said, No. Asked, Then what is the matter? The Prophet (MPUH)said, “Indeed, Allah Almighty forgives all the Muslim people of the tribe on the first night of Ramadan. There is also a great virtue of performing Umrah during Ramadan. The Holy Prophet said, “Whoever performs Umrah in Ramadan is as if he performed Hajj with me.” Bukhari,(Numbers 117/10) “That is why this year in Ramadan I will get the happiness of Umrah and I will write for you from Haram Sharifeen”.It is known from the blessed hadith that it is recommended to mention the greatness and blessings of certain days and months, to encourage the people of Islam to perform the worship of these special days and months and to make preparations. The Prophet said, “O people! The month of greatness has cast a shadow over you”it is said in this holy verse that just as a tree or a roof protects a person from the heat of the sun by taking their shade, in the same way, Ramadan Sharif also protects the believer from the punishment of this world and the hereafter by taking his shade of mercy. As if Ramadan Sharif is a canopy of mercy and blessings for the believers. He comes and bestows mercy and blessings like a cloud comes and rains and waters everyone. Allah Almighty has described the characteristics of this great sect in the Qur’an-e-Mubeen, “By the Qur’an, which is a book full of wisdom.”There is no doubt that the study of the Qur’an gives the human mind the wisdom and breadth that enables it to solve the problems of its time. In verse 121 of Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah says: “Those to whom We have bestowed this Book recite it as it is rightfully recited. These are the people who believe in it, and those who do not believe in it are the losers.” To learn from the Holy Qur’an according to the divine purpose, it is necessary to recite the Qur’an with its full attention. The important and fundamental role of our masjids in popularizing the understanding of the Qur’an. Instead of repeating a few specific verses of the Holy Qur’an and Surah Mubaraka in every prayer, it should be made a routine to recite all the verses of the Qur’an, and the meaning of the verses recited in the prayer before the congregational prayer should also be briefly explained. It is a common experience that listening to the recitation of the verses whose meaning we are familiar with, creates a unique feeling of joy and passion in our hearts and minds. To transfer the Quranic thought to the minds of the new generation, the authorities should make Arabic a compulsory subject in the curriculum. We should also teach our children the Holy Quran with translation in our homes so that they would develop the awareness of understanding and practising the Quranic teachings and lay the foundation of a dignified and confident future. Iqbal had said while exhorting for a similar situation.