Bismiillāhir-Rahmānir-Rahīm
12/06/15 - Hadhrat Zulfiqar db
A man can do great things due to his love for human e.g. a man would be willing to dig a mountain, so we should be able to make big sacrifices for our Allāh swt too.
Fasting is a worship which Allāh swt encouraged and then later He swt made it compulsory. The fact that Allāh swt has addressed us in the Qur’ān is a great blessing - just like when a child calls his mother or father as abi or ammi, they get happy.
Allāmah Shabbir Uthmānī - he said that people call me Allāma etc, but i love it that my mother calls me ‘beytā’. That made him most happiest. Allāh swt calls us ‘ya ayyuha-llathīna āmanu’ in the Qur’ān :)
Hahdrat Dawud (as) would fast 6 months in a year (every other day); Hadhrat Musā (as) fasted 40 days when he went to the mountain. Hahdrat Eesā (as) would fats two months. The Hindus also fast - up to 40 days. There is no religion which doesn’t have this act of fasting in their religion according to the encyclopaedia.
I once met a doctor in the month of Ramadhan who was Christian - he told Hadhrat Zulfiqar db that i fast 40 days a year because i have done my research, and there is a lot of health benefit by fasting this many days in the year. Not only do we get health benefits, but we get rewarded with the qurb of Allāh swt, so we should fast with so much happiness. It is not even a big sacrifice on our part. Allāh swt is making us do an exercise that if we can leave halāl for one month, then we can surely leave harām for the other months too.
There are a lot of toxic materials in our food - so staying hungry is good for us. It is natural for us to leave food and drink - the illnesses in our body go. This is a bodily benefit, however there are also a lot of spiritual benefits - our nafs gets weak. Angels don’t eat or drink, and we are doing the action of angels by fasting, hence we increase in angelic qualities.
Adam (as) had two sons - Qābil killed Hābil. Hābil had said to him that if you raise your hands to kill me, I will not raise my hands to kill you because i fear Allāh - this is called taqwa.
When Zulaykha came to Yusuf (as) - she said ‘hayta lak’ to call him, however he refused and said ‘ma’athallāh - i seek refuge in Allāh swt’ - this is the state of a muttaqi. Fasting gives us this taqwa.
Qārun had a lot of wealth. People would say ‘ya layta lanā mithla ma ūtiya Qārun’ - that we wish we had what has been given to him, but the ‘ulamā used to say what you have from the ākhirah is better. So the people of Allāh swt don’t look at the worldly benefits - and with fasting, we can attain taqwa.
We should fast the fardh fasts happily, but the ones beside that, the youth should also fast them happily. Fasting has three types; the third type is the best where we don’t even do ghaflah - we should aim to fast this third type. It is said in a hadith, whosoever keeps a fast, the other creation ask forgiveness on their behalf - so imagine how easy it is to be forgiven in this month. This month is a month of forgiveness. The first ten days are mercy, the second ten are for forgiveness and the last ten days are to be freed from the hellfire.
The Bani Kalb tribe had a lot of sheep - they would fill the valley between two mountains. Nabi ﷺ used their animals as a comparison that Allāh swt will free more people from the hellfire than there are hair on the sheep of Bani Kalb. It is easy to be forgiven by Allāh swt.
A worker would analyse the mood of his boss, and when he seemed in a good mood, he would put the file in front of him to be signed as the boss would definitely approve. This month of Ramadān is the season for forgiveness, just like how the businessmen have their busy month in the year, they stop eating etc to ensure they get most profit. We need to also become tired in Ramadān by doing good deeds, and still do good deeds. Imām Abu Hanifa (rah) would pray one Qur’ān in the morning and one at night = 60. He also finished 3 during his tarawīh = so he finished 63 Qur’āns in Ramadān. This woman asked Hadhrat Ji db to give her permission to pray tahlīl as she had a lot of free time - in Ramadān she finished 40,000 and prayed 25 Qur’āns too!
‘Wa fī dhālika, falayatanāfasil mutanāfisūn - 'so for this, let the competitors, compete'
Allāh swt has given us a chance to tire ourselves. Nabi ﷺ said āmīn to the dua of Jibrīl (as) - Jibrīl (as) had said that may three types of people get destroyed
1) The one who hears your mention, and does not send peace upon you.
2) The one who sees the month of Ramadhān come and go, and he has not been forgiven
3) The one who grows up, and both his parents (or one of them) is still alive, and they do not cause him to enter Paradise.
Nabi صلي الله عليه وسلم loved this ummah so much, and despite that, he still said āmīn.
The tābi’ī and sahabā would prepare 6 months before Ramadhān and would make du’ā may Allāh swt allow us to reach Ramadhān, and would make du’ā the remaining months that may Allāh swt accept our Ramadhān.
When I was young, there was a man in our vicinity who was an alcoholic - when Ramadhān came, he would ask forgiveness and he would partake in the 5 salāhs and tarāwih too, to the extent we would think he is the most pious living amongst us. After Ramadhān was over, he would continue drinking alcohol. When he passed away, he passed away with kalima - imagine, through the barakah of Ramadhān, his imān was preserved.
The smell that exist from the mouth of a believer when he fasts smells better than musk. The shayātīn are locked in Ramadhān, hence it is easier to leave sin in Ramadhān.
Hadhrat Ali ra used to say that if Allāh swt didn’t want to forgive this ummah, he wouldn’t give us Ramadhān. Allāh swt is so Merciful on us that he has allowed us to reach another Ramadhān - we should try to strive remember Allāh swt all the time in Ramadhān and should be steadfast in our ‘ibādah.
Mujaddid Alf Thani (rah) said that the rest of the year will be spent according to how you spent your Ramadhān for e.g. Allāh swt will give tawfīq for Tahajjud etc if you pray with istiqāmah in Ramadhān
The 11 brothers of Yusuf (as) were forgiven due to the virtue of their twelfth brother, Yusuf (as) - in the same way by virtue of this month of Ramadhān, Allāh swt can forgive the sins from the rest of the months.
This fasting is not just a name for leaving food and drink, but it also to leave laghw and sins etc.
Allāh swt took the responsibility on Himself to give us the reward for fasting - when we do other good deeds, the angels write our rewards. Here, Allāh swt is giving us the reward! When Allāh swt is going to give us reward, it means that we will definitely go Jannah because the good deeds will exceed our sins.
Encourage your family to spend this month properly - if your sibling isn’t pray Salāh, encourage him/her too etc.
Sar jis pe na juk jāye, usāy dar nahī kehtāy, har dar pe jo jukh jāye, usāy sar nahī kehtāy.
Those students who spend their time in Ramādhan with tafsir and dor of the Qur’ān are very blessed as ‘the best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it’ (Hadīth)
The Huffāz should pray it in their tarāwīh - pray it in your tahajjud also. Allāh swt will send this faydh of this Qur'ān to your future generations.
People want to lose weight generally because - 1) It prevents diseases 2) It is a trend amongst the women to be slim, hence women diet for this reason - but what’s the point of dieting, they should just fast every other day. There is this new scientific research (2 + 5) - that they should fast twice a week to lose weight. This is the sunnah anyway.
May Allāh swt give us tawfīq to implement this act of fasting with avidity Aameen ya rabbal a'alameen.
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