Ramadan Message 2008 - Day 1

“Say: My Lord enjoins justice. And set your faces, upright (toward Him) at every place of worship and call upon Him, making religion pure for Him (only). As He brought you into being, so return ye (unto Him).” (Qur'an 7 verse 29)

Ramadan is here again. Some of us would not be caught saying this - it's ramadan yet again (sighs), but some of us may think it.

But we should not look with weariness towards the month of Ramadan. It may be difficult to wake up early for Suhur (pre-dawn meals), go without food or drink all day, and pray teraweeh (Evening prayer only in the month of Ramadan where 1/30 of the Quran daily is read until completion at the end of the month). But the benefits are much too beneficial to us so that not observing Ramadan is detriment only to us.

O you who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you
as it was prescribed to those before you,
that you may (learn) self-restraint!
-Qur'an 2 Verses 186

Message from MuslimMessage:

Alhamdulillah. Indeed all thanks are due to Allah who has given us the Continued Existence and We thank Him for our Condition, which is better than the Conditions of those who disbelieve. We praise Him and we thank Him. “If you reject (Allah), Truly Allah has no need of you; but He likes not ingratitude from His servants: if you are grateful, He is pleased with you…” (Qur'an 39 verse 7)

Our continued existence is a special favour of Allah. We are alive not because of the security we invest in, it is not because of the safety steps we took, or some precautions we made. It is not about us, or about our deeds or misdeeds. Allah has simply permitted us to live to witness Yet Another Ramadan. Will you cease the opportunity?

In Ramadan are several opportunities. The Ultimate Opportunity is to earn A Place in Paradise. The Rasul (peace be upon him) noted in a Hadith that: “When Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened.” (Bukhari)

Start Ramadan with a pure intention. Ramadan is a month of Action. If you want to make those actions count, then know that they will be judge according to the intentions you make now.

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab stated that he heard the Messenger of Allah say, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.” (Bukhari)

As you enter into Ramadan, intend that all your Actions are solely for Allah’s sake. All your Hands-Off are purely to please Allah. All your Extra Efforts are solely for His Pleasure. Intend that you hope to secure Allah’s forgiveness, His Blessings, His Salvation (from Hell-Fire) and His Reward of Paradise.

First Thing First: your intention should first be purified.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, offers prayer perfectly and fasts the month of Ramadan, will rightfully be granted Paradise by Allah, no matter whether he fights in Allah's cause or remains in the land where he is born.” (Bukhari)