We should greet the month of Ramadan as an opportunity to reflect on our lives and to reconsider our ways. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) advised Muslims to welcome Ramadan with joy and happiness and thanking Allah for enabling them to greet yet another Ramadan. He said: “Reaching Ramadan is a great blessing of Allah. Hence the Prophet (pbuh) used to give his companions the glad tidings of the arrival of Ramadan and explain its virtues, and the great reward that Allah has prepared for those who fast and who spend the night in prayer. It is prescribed for the Muslims to welcome this blessed month with sincere repentance and preparations to fast and pray qiyaam, with a sound intention and sincere resolve.” Fasting is obligatory on all Muslims, except those who have a legal excuse. It is prescribed by Allah for the Muslims and the fasting during the month of Ramadan is considered the fourth pillar of Islam. The main blessing of fasting during the month of Ramadan was explained by the Prophet (pbuh): “Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping for reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” We need to welcome the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith and we need to hope for the reward of Allah for our fasting and our good deeds. The month of Ramadan is not about being hungry and thirsty during the day or about refraining from bad habits we are accustomed to during the rest of the year. Fasting during the month of Ramadan involves the heart, faith and belief in Allah. If we do not appreciate and welcome the month of Ramadan as a chance for a new start in our lives, as a chance to develop faith and taqwah through our fasting and behavior change, there might be not much benefit in this blessed month for us. There are so many of those who fast who earn nothing from fast except hunger. Many people do abstain from eating and drinking, but they forget about the fast of the heart and tongue. They have hatred in their hearts for other Muslims. If your fast does not change your behavior, if your fast does not make you feel the pain and afflictions of the Muslim Ummah, if your fast does not put sympathy in your heart for those Muslims who are not as fortunate as you are, who are not living in peace as we do, then there is something amiss in your fasting. Fasting will bring us closer to Allah and it will increase our taqwah, our respect for Allah, but only if we work for it. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whosoever does not leave bad words and bad actions, Allah does not care if he leaves his food and drink.” Ramadan is the month of great blessing and rewards from Allah. The reward for all good deeds during this month is multiplied many times. The gates of paradise are wide open during this month, the gates of hellfire are closed and the Satan is chained during this month. Allah makes it extremely easy for us during this month to follow His way and those of His Prophet (pbuh), and to change our lives. By fasting during the month of Ramadan the right way, with our body, our heart and our soul, we learn to discipline ourselves for Allah and we follow His way and His law. All the time it is on our mind that we have to obey His command. Let this Ramadan be the month to understand that we have to follow the way of Allah and of His Prophet (pbuh) all the time, not only one month every year.
