Goodbye to Ramadan and welcome to Taqwa
All praise is due to Allah who granted us once again the opportunity to witness the month of Ramadan in order to allow us to get closer to Him.
The month of Ramadan has just ended and it is with a mixed feeling that we are seeing this blessed month leaving us with its stream of bounty and blessings. A feeling of joy for having been able to fast, pray, read Qur’an and for having been generous for the face of Allah. We also had the feeling of sadness to see this special opportunity going without having the guarantee to be among those who will have it next year.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have observed all kinds of i’badat (act of worship) during the blessed month of Ramadan for the sake of Allah; and if this is the case, the month of Ramadan has just ended but Allah is still a Living and Eternal God. The month of Ramadan was for us a period of training, diet and test. Therefore, we have to practise our training, evaluate our diet and see the result of our test after the month of Ramadan.
Taqwah (piety) being the main objective of Ramadan as Allah said: “O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may gain Taqwah (piety)” S2, V183. So it is the right time for us to ask ourselves “have I achieved the objective of fasting?” And we could say yes to this question if after Ramadan we still able to continue with the good deeds we have been observing during Ramadan (night prayers, reading Qur’an, generosity…).
On the other hand, when we hasten to the end of Ramadan to commit sins that we forced ourselves to abandon during Ramadan and that we do not have the courage anymore to do what had become a habit for us in Ramadan (good deeds). We then have to fear the risk of being among those concerned by the hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W): “A large number of people do fast but will only get hunger and thirst as the reward of their fasting”.
The end of Ramadan is also an opportunity to follow the tradition of the Prophet (S.A.W) in following it up with the fasting of six (6) days in the month of Chawal (month following Ramadan). The Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and follows it up with 6 days in Chawal will be like the person who has fasted the whole year”.
EID MUBARAK TO ALL!
May Allah grant us the rewards of this blessed month of Ramadan and grant us its main objective: Taqwah (piety).
By Oustaz Cisse
