Muslim Ummah, Let us Welcome Ramadan by spelling out What it means in Islamic Shari'ah

Muslim Ummah, Let us Welcome Ramadan

 by

 Spelling out What it means in Islamic Shari'ah

RAMADAN MUBARAK TO ALL

It is probably a good time for a yearly reminder for me, for you and for the rest of us. I hope and pray that Allah Ta’aala guides all of us to make good use of this holy month of 

CONTINUOUS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (CRE) 

to enhance our understanding of Islam and to fathom the meaning and message of our great Deen. It is not entirely about Ibadaat (prayers, zikr, tasbeeh, taravih and etikaf) which of course is very important. This is also the time to take stock of ourselves and our demeanor and our attitudes and behaviour with our bosses, subordinates, associates at work, with the family at home, with neighbors in our surrounding and not the least with bystanders on the streets.

Let us all brace up for the forthcoming annual 

GRAND REDUCTION SALE

 of Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo  in the aakhri ashra (last ten days) of the Holy Month. Pay for ONE and get 30000 declares God Almighty in HIS OWN words (Surah 97/3): 

                                  

The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months.  (Yousuf Ali)

The authenticity and the status and piety of this night is universally accepted by the whole Ummah through out the centuries of our history because it is a Divine message enshrined in HIS book as a special Surah. In contrast Shabe Baraat, 14^th night of Shabaan remains rather controversial as it is based on rivayaat quoted in the great Books of hadith; a total human endeavour with all its weaknesses and limitations. 

In our jargon, the earthly mortals the “rate” of reward of praying in this holy night works out, in this part of the year, to one minute of devotion equal to 75 nights of supplication! The “deal” starts right after sunset; need not wait till middle of the night to profit from it. The “rate” is identical through out the period from sunset to dawn. Meditation after Maghrib is as rewarding as invocation in the middle of night. In this scenario, Iftar parties in these nights suddenly appear to be very costly if not a huge loss in terms of collecting blessings of this month.  Lastly for the convenience of folks like us there is no minimum “fees” to enter the transaction; pray for one minute, one hour, several hours or the whole night; Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo will reward us with the blessings of this night in the proportions promised. 

Congregational Tarawih is one of, if not the most popular ibadah during this month done with great enthusiasm and organization. I also had been offering it since I was a young boy. May Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo reward us for this. However I would like to share with you my sentiments about this practice. After all, we all must constantly try to learn and understand our Deen. I felt guilty (and sinful, perhaps) on two scores during Tarawih: First, I could not understand most of the qirah. Second, we are commanded to recite the Quran “slowly and deliberately”. However I continued offering Tarawih in the mosque because I was sure I could not do it individually at home. I wish and pray that we can find a way to correct these defects. Incidentally, completing the whole Quran is a very noble tradition but there is no obligation in the Shari’ah for this. Moreover the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet requires us to offer Tarawih in the privacy of our home. Tarawih by Jam’aa was a “blessed bidah’ initiated by Sayyidna Umer. It was not practiced by him or any of the other guided Caliphs. Lastly about the congregational prayers in general. It is greatly encouraged to offer Farz prayer in jamaa’. This fact is forcefully and repeatedly emphasized. On the other hand, it is encouraged in the Shari’ah to offer sunnah and nafl prayers (tarawih comes in this category) in the privacy of our homes. This point in our Shari’ah is hardly spoken of, leave alone emphasised.  

So I believe, but Allah Ta’aala, the Pure and Exalted knows best. Let us pray to HIM that he guides us to take maximum advantage of this magnanimous offer within the constrains of our numerous duties and responsibilities.    Allah Hafiz

June 5, 2016