Keep the Spirit of Ramadan Alive All Year

( By: Sumayyah Bint John

As we enter upon the end of Ramadan, let us not leave off the many acts of worship we have performed during the blessed month of Ramadan. Ramadan, for most of us is a time of renewal and reestablishment of our commitment to Allah and His religion.

We fast, give charity, read the Qur'an and perform the night prayer. We avoid gossip, slander and every evil that would invalidate our fasts and additional acts of worship. But now that Ramadan is about to be over, the majority of us unfortunately will put the Qur'an back on the shelves, will suspend fasting until next year and will abandon the night prayer. This is not the way it should be, because all of these acts of worship carry rewards and are of benefit to us throughout the year, in addition to the fact that there is no divine prescription limiting them to Ramadan.

The Qur'an

It's sad, true, that many of us have fallen into the bad habit of only reciting the Qur'an during the month of Ramadan. By doing this, we cheat ourselves out of the abundant blessing that come from reading the words of Allah. Reading the Qur'an is the best way to remember Allah, it is a protection from the Satan and in it are cures for what ails us. Allah says, "Oh mankind, there has come to you a protection from your Lord and a healing for what is in your hearts and for those who believe, a guidance a mercy." (Qur'an 10: 57)

The Messenger of Allah [sallallahu alayhe Wa sallam {saws}] said, "Whoever reads a harf (letter) of the book of Allah shall have a good deed (recorded for him or her) and every good deed is increased a ten-fold (reward). I do not say that alif lam meem is a harf, but that alif is a harf, lam is a harf and meem is a harf," (Tirmithi)

The Qur'an is also the best way for a servant to draw closer to his or her Lord. Khabbab ibn al-Arat said to a man, "Draw closer to Allah as much as you can, and remember that you can do so by no means more pleasing to Him than by His own words."

The Night Prayer

Many of us pass the nights of the month of Ramadan, especially the last ten, standing in prayer before Allah. Just because Ramadan is over does not mean that Allah does not see us now if we stand in the night prayer. He says, "Surely your Lord knows that you stand (in prayer) two thirds of the night or half of it, or a third of it." (Qur'an 73: 20).

The night prayer carries with it many blessings. For example, Al-Hasan was asked, "How is it that those who stay up at night have the most attractive faces." He replied, "Because they are on intimate terms with the Merciful, and He adorns them with some of His light."

And for those of us who feel that standing in the night prayer will leave us tired and unable to go about our daily tasks in the morning, we should consider the following words of Allah's Prophet {saws}. He said: "When any of you sleeps, Satan ties three knots at the back of his head. On each knot he repeats and exhales the following words, 'The night is long so stay asleep.' If you wake up and remember Allah, one knot is undone - and if you make wudhu (ablution) the second knot is undone - and if you pray the third knot is undone, and you get up in the morning full of energy and with a clear heart. Otherwise, you will get up feeling lazy and with a muddled heart." (Bukhari)

Fasting

The Prophet {saws} said: "Whoever fasts a day in the way of Allah, Allah will place between him and the Fire a trench like that between the heavens and the earth." (Tirmithi)

Likewise, fasting wipes away the evils that arise out of person's wealth, family or neighbor. Huthaifah ibn Al-Yaman narrated that the messenger of Allah, said, "The evils caused for a man through his family, wealth and neighbor are expiated by prayer, fasting and charity." (Bukhari)

The Prophet {saws} explained to us that fasting protects us from our unlawful desires, shields us from the hell fire and draws us closer to Allah and His Paradise. He {saws}, also encouraged us to fast at least three days each month. The best days for this optional fasting are Mondays and Thursdays, or the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

Charity

Alhamdulillah (Thanks to God), most of us live relatively comfortable lives. But there are Muslims all over the world that find great difficulty in attaining the most basic necessities of life. During Ramadan most of us give charity, but we forget to do so for the rest of the year. Giving charity is of greater benefit to the one who gives it, than to the one who receives it. It is a means of purifying our wealth, increasing our faith and attaining righteousness. Allah says, "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East or West, but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, ." (Qur'an 2: 177)

Giving in charity also allows us to express our faith. To truly taste the sweetness of faith, we must like for our brothers and sisters what we like for ourselves. For the Prophet {saws}, said, "None of you will have faith until he likes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself." (Bukhari)