Ramadan no doubt remains the best of the 12 Lunar months in the Islamic calendar and, of course, a month that is full of plentiful blessings for Muslims who fast every day from dawn to sunset. Therefore, as Muslims all over the world prepare to start fasting in a few hours, ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU takes a look at the blessings inherent in the holy month.
Ramadan
Ramadan means different thing to different people, to some is the month of Quran, while a few described it as the month of mercy; others refer to it as the holy month. Notably, Ramadan is one of the five important pillars of Islam. The five pillars are : Faith or belief in the oneness of God (Allah) and the finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him (pbuh); Establishment of the five daily prayers; Zakat – that is concern for and almsgiving to the needy; self-purification through fasting in the month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able.
Allah in Surat Al-Baqarah of the glorious holy Quran stated that, “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous” – 2:183. It went further in Qur’an 2:184 to 2:185 that “…But to fast is best for you, if you only knew – the month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So, whoever sights (the new moon of) the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and (wants) for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that (to) which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” These among other revelations explain why Muslims across the globe fast, during the month of Ramadan.
Dos and don’ts
Essentially, there many dos and don’ts in Ramadan, explaining the major dos and don’ts, an Islamic scholar, Ibrahim AbdulMalik, said Muslims are advised to in Ramadan and after it practise patience and observe self-control as stated in Qur’an 2:183, when Allah said “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.”
It is also advisable to spend more time in prayer and offer more Taraweeh: Qur’an 2:186 noted “And when My servants ask you, (O Muhammad), concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So, let them respond to Me (by obedience) and believe in Me that they may be (rightly) guided.”
AbdulMalik added that “In Ramadan, Muslims should recite the Qur’an daily because its Qur’an’s month and they will be rewarded. It is also important to remember the less privileged (pay Zakah). The companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ibn Abbas, said, The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous during the month of Ramadan because Angel Jibril used to meet him every night in the month of Ramadan until it ended. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to review the Qur’an with Jibril; and he was more generous with good than the blowing wind.”
He said, Muslims should break their fast with something nutritious and ensure that they eat the pre-dawn meal (Sahoor): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Have Sahoor for verily there is blessing in it.”
On the don’ts, AbdulMalik said, “In Ramadan Muslims are enjoined to avoid drinking, smoking, and having sexual relations and to abstain from blood cupping, blood withdrawal, and using ear drops or inhalers while fasting.
“Do not listen to music rather occupy your heart with supplication, remembrance of Allah, and the Holy Qur’an. Avoid wasting your time. Abstain from idle talk, gossip, lying, quarreling, cursing, and anything that can be hurtful to someone else. On this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was reported to have said, ‘Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.”
Spiritual benefits
Explaining the benefits of the month, Prophet Mohammed reportedly said “when the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained.”
On his part, the Chief Imam of Apo Legislators’ Quarters Jumat Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Khalid, popularly known as Digital Imam, said there are four major benefits of Ramadan to the spiritual well-being of every Muslims that observed it.
“There are four benefits; the first one is that observing Ramadan will enable Muslims to have closer relation with Allah. That is bringing a Muslim closer to Allah, the creator of heaven and earth. It also enhances the understanding of the Qur’an, because many Muslims will read the Qur’an more, as it was revealed in the month of Ramadan. Therefore, Ramadan is an opportunity for Muslims to read the Qur’an more, understand it better and apply it to their day to day activities; so, this will uplift their spiritual well-being.
“There are social benefits that come with Ramadan. It brings about cordial relationships among individuals. In Ramadan, people do good to others, so that they will get mercy of Allah. Ramadan is also a way of improving the piety of Muslims,” he said.
Sheikh Khalid also stated that, “Ramadan help in building more consciousness of Allah (SWT), because in Ramadan one will always remember the Allah. Unlike the five daily prayers, some Muslims can do show off. In fasting you can also hide and eat, but that consciousness will prevent you from doing that. So, Ramadan develops your consciousness of Allah and your self-restraints; you restraint yourself from things that are forbidden and embrace those that are not.”
Repentance: A night, like a thousand months
Muslims believe it was during this month that God revealed the first verses of the Quran, Islam’s sacred text, to Mohammed, on a night known as “The Night of Power” (Laylat al-Qadr in Arabic). The night of power is usually unknown, but it falls within the last 10 days of the month of Ramadan. In that night, whatever you ask for will be granted by Allah. Therefore, many refer to the night as the night of forgiveness and repentance.
Explaining this night of many opportunities, Sheikh Muhammad Khalid noted that the night of power (Laylat al-Qadr in Arabic) is important and beyond explanation.
“That single night is more than a life. Because the Quran told us that Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. A thousand months is equivalent to over 83 years; that is a whole of life. Therefore, the mercy of Allah (SWT) that will descend down to you during this night is more important than the whole of the year,” he said.
According to him, the month is another opportunity for Muslims to seek forgiveness, mercy and blessings. That in this night any and all problems presented before Allah shall become a thing of the past.
Health benefits
Also, according to experts, fasting in the month of Ramadan also helps to improve the health of Muslims. Dr Abubakar Aminu, in a phone chat with Blueprint Weekend, confirmed that fasting is of great benefit to the total well-being of man.
“There are many health benefits of fasting that have been scientifically proven. Another is that Ramadan fast lowers cholesterol and low cholesterol increases cardiovascular health, greatly reducing the risk of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke. Ramadan also acts as a fantastic detox for your body when fasting from dawn to sunset. This will offer your body the rare chance to detoxify your digestive system throughout the month.
“Ramadan can help to overcome dangerous addictions. These addictions can come in all shapes and forms and Ramadan provides an excellent opportunity to ditch them because Ramadan teaches you self-restraint. Ramadan prevents you from eating harmful things and improves the intake of balanced diet as seen in most of the foods and fruits used in breaking fast.
“The health benefits of Ramadan fast are too numerous. From the daily prayers, that are form of exercise to the what we eat and to almost everything we do during this Ramadan fast, if in moderate we will all benefit. No doubt, it will help improve our total well-being,” he said.
‘I save more, spend less at Ramadan’
A devoted Muslim, Yusuf Abdullahi, while explaining the benefits of Ramadan to Blueprint Weekend said he saves more and spends less during the month of Ramadan.
Abdullahi said: “There so many benefits of fasting in the month of Ramadan. Aside from spiritual and health benefits, there are economic benefits of the month to most Muslims and even non-Muslims.
“At Ramadan, my spending usually reduces. Because there many things I use money for before Ramadan, but once we enter Ramadan all those things stopped. I limit my movement that will reduce the money I spend on transportation; I don’t spend much money on food in Ramadan. So, at Ramadan I save more and spend less.
“Many people also make profits from buying and selling during this month; those who sell fruits, beverages and other commodities make more money during this month. So, Ramadan in way contributes to the improvement of Muslims and non-Muslims’ business profits.”
Indeed, there are economic benefits of the month of Ramadan; this is why the Chief Imam of Ore Oluwa Mosque, Ilorin, Alhaji Isiaka Usman, urged traders in the country to resist the temptation to arbitrarily increase the prices of commodities during Ramadan.
“Traders exploit Ramadan season to inflate prices to the detriment of the Muslim faithful. They use the opportunity to make illegal profit. They know that many Muslims are observing fasting and desperately need to buy food stuff and fruits which become necessity.
“The scourge which has become a norm among traders is worrisome; it is like incurring the wrath of God upon oneself because the people won’t have choice than to buy like that. It is high time people refrained from such unholy act. We need to fear Allah in everything we do,” he said.
