Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What To Do Before This Ramadhan

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Ramadhan is fast approaching. So is our remaining time on this earth is fast coming to an end. May Allah enable us to reach Ramadhan so we may worship Him more on this earth.

Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
Be scrupulous, and you'll be the most worshipful of people.
[Ibn Majah, Baihaqi]

One cannot realize the full significance of scrupulousness (wara’) unless one recognizes that ten things are strictly incumbent upon one.

Take one or two obligations a day, strive to be conscious of them throughout the day and work on improving on them each day of the remaining Sha'ban and maintain it throughout Ramadhan.

1. Guard against using the tongue for backbiting (ghiba), because He has said (Exalted is He): And do not backbite one another. (Qur'an 49:12)

2. Avoid the tendency to harbor sinister suspicions (su’ adh-dhann), since He has said (Exalted is He): O you who believe, you must avoid a great deal of suspicion, for some suspicion is a sin. (Qur'an 49:12)
And the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: Beware of suspicion, for it is the most misleading source of information (akdhab al-hadith).

3. Steer well clear of mockery and ridicule (sukhriyya), because He has told us (Exalted is He): O you who believe, one group of people should not scoff at another group of people, who may be better than they. (Qur'an 49:11)

4. Lower one’s eyes in the presence of things that should be treated as sacred (maharim), because He has told us (Exalted is He): And tell the believing men to keep their eyes downcast (and to guard their private parts). (Qur'an 24:30)

5. Be true to one’s word, because He has told us (Exalted is He): And if you give your word, you must act fairly. (Qur'an 6:152)
That is, you must prove that you really mean what you say.

6. Acknowledge one’s dependence on the gracious favor of Allah (Exalted is He), as a precaution against self-centered conceit, since He has told us (Exalted is He): It is rather that Allah is treating you with gracious favor, inasmuch as He has guided you to faith. (Qur'an 49:17)

7. Spend one’s wealth on that which has true value (haqq), and not to spend it on that which is quite worthless (batil), because He has told us (Exalted is He): And (among His faithful servants are) those who, when they spend, are neither prodigal nor parsimonious. (Qur'an 25:67)
In other words, they neither spend their wealth on sinful disobedience, nor withhold it from the support of worshipful obedience.

8. Don't go seeking high-and-mighty status and prestige for the sake of self-aggrandizement, because He has told us (Exalted is He): As for that Ultimate Abode, We shall assign it to those who are neither intent on high-and-mighty status on earth, nor on corruption. (Qur'an 28:83)

9. Observe the five ritual prayers at the times prescribed for them each day, following the correct sequence of bowing (ruku’) and prostration (sujud), because He has told us (Exalted is He): Be careful to observe your prayers, and (especially) the middle prayer, and stand obedient to Allah. (Qur'an 2:238)

10. Stick to the course prescribed by the Sunna (exemplary precedent set by Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace) and the Jama’a (common practice agreed upon by the Companions of the Prophet, [Allah bless him and give him peace] during the time of the rightly guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali, [may Allah be well pleased with them all]) , since He has told us (Exalted is He): And this path of Mine is straight, so follow it. Do no follow other paths, lest you be separated from His path. (Qur'an 6:154)

-- [Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Sufficient Provision for the Seekers of the Path of Truth (Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq)

Allah alone gives success. May Allah help us remove our blameworthy traits and grant us tawfiq. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam


Related Archives:
Welcoming Sha'ban
Scrupulousness

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