Assalam o Alaikum Brothers and Sisters in Islam
Recognising and appreciating the great favours of Allaah, among
which are the virtues of certain seasons and the opportunity of worshipping
Allaah during them:
Imaam Ibn
Rajab 
said: “Allaah has made some
months more virtuous than others just as He has made some days and nights more
virtuous than others; an example of this is His making the Night of Al-Qadr
(the loft night during which matters are decreed) better than one thousand
months; Also, Allaah swore by the first ten days of the month of Thul-Hijjah to
reflect their virtue.”
Every one
of these virtuous seasons has certain acts of worship and specific forms of
obedience to Allaah, and blissful is he who utilises these seasons, months,
days or hours to draw closer to Him.
Muhammad
Ibn Maslamah 
narrated
that the Prophet 
said:“Amongst the days of
Allaah are seasons of mercy, so expose yourselves to them; perhaps one of you
will attain some of this mercy and therefore never suffer after that.” [At-Tabaraani]
Mujaahid said: “Every new day that
arrives addresses the son of Aadam saying: `O son of Aadam! I have come to you
at this moment never to return; therefore, analyse what you do during my stay.`
Once it has ended, it is folded and sealed, and will remain so until Allaah
opens the seal on the Day of Resurrection.”
He also
said: “O son of Aadam! A new day is your guest, and every guest
eventually departs with either praise or dispraise for you - and your nights do
likewise."
Bakr
Al-Muzani said:
“Every
new day calls, saying: `O son of Aadam! Utilise me; perhaps you will not have
any day after me` - and the nights say the same.”
Once, three
men came to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and
embraced Islam; they then went and stayed with Abu Talhah .
Later, the Prophet sent these men in
a batch of troops to a battle, and one of them was martyred; at a later date,
the Prophet sent the
remaining two in another batch of troops to another battle, during which
another of the three was martyred; at a later time, the third died in his
house. After this, Abu Talhah said: “I saw these three men
in a dream and saw that they were in Paradise.
The leader of the three was the last one, who died on his bed in his house,
followed by the second martyr, while the first one who was martyred was last,
so I went to the Prophet and informed him
about the dream; he said: “Are you surprised by
the order that they were in (in) Paradise? Didn’t the latter one stay a year
longer, during which he fasted the month of Ramadhaan and prayed such and such
prayers?” It was said: “Yes!”
Then he said: “The distance between
them (in Paradise) is like that between
the heavens and the earth.”
Some of the
Salaf 
said:
“Prayer takes you half of the (distance) of the road, fasting leads you to the
gate of the King (i.e., Allaah) and charity takes you by your hand into His
presence (i.e., to the attainment of His pleasure).”
Apologies
to you, O Ramadhaan! You used to come to people who prepared to meet you,
understood your secrets and appreciated your reality; they would thus await
your arrival and prepare for you by praying, fasting, and performing other acts
of worship; they would supplicate to Allaah for six months prior to your
arrival that He would allow them to live long enough to enjoy your virtuous
period; they would then supplicate during the remainder of the year for Allaah
to accept the deeds that they performed during your stay. They would say: ‘O Allaah! Make us
live long enough to reach Ramadhaan, and accept (the deeds we perform in it)
from us.’
These
people appreciated that you came to teach them how to elevate themselves above
the animalistic conduct of having their main objectives being eating, drinking
and satisfying their sexual desire. They realised that you came to teach them
how to divest themselves of their desires.
Once,
‘Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn ‘Awf was
fasting, and when the time came for him to break his fast, two types of food
were brought to him; when he saw this, he began to weep. His wife asked him why
he was crying, to which he replied: “I remembered the day Mus’ab Ibn ‘Umayr
died, and nothing could be found to shroud him except a small garment, (it was
so small) that when we covered his head, his feet would be exposed, and when we
covered his feet, his head would be uncovered; but today, I am enjoying these
types of food, and I fear that we are exhausting all our share of pleasures by
enjoying them now.”
O
Ramadhaan! But nowadays, who do you meet when you arrive? People whose opinion
of you is that you are a month of hunger and thirst during the day, and stuffed
stomachs during the night; people who think of you as a month of cooking varied
dishes in outrageous quantities; people whose preparation for meeting you was
nothing except to supply themselves with food and drink, it is as if you only
came to teach them the art of cooking and preparing meals in varied forms.
Apologies
to you, O Ramadhaan! You used to come to people who would stay up at night in
worship during you; they realised that you are a season of virtue and they
therefore sacrificed everything during your stay. They heard the saying of
Allaah (which means): "A limited number of days…" [Quran 2: 184] Thus, they
certainly did not wish to miss out during these few days.
You would
look at them and they would be crying, standing in the optional night prayers,
heedless of this life, their main worry being the Hereafter; they shunned this
life and would prostrate and supplicate, placing their hope only in Allaah.
Safwaan Ibn
Saleem would
pray the optional night prayer until his veins became protruded and their green
colour would become apparent.
‘Umar Ibn
Al-Khattaab would
cry to the extent that there became two permanent lines engraved on his face.
‘Abdullaah
Ibn Al-Fudhayl heard
a verse that made him faint and fall; it was the saying of Allaah (which
means): "If you could but see when they are made to stand before the
Fire and will say: 'Oh, would that we could be returned [to life on earth] and
not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers.'" [Quran 6: 27]
It surely
is applicable to these people, the saying of Allaah (which means): "Their sides part
[i.e., they arise] from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and
aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend. And no soul knows
what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e., satisfaction] as
reward for what they used to do. " [Quran 32: 16-17]
O
Ramadhaan! But nowadays, who do you meet when you arrive? Miserable people whose
only worry during the night is entertainment and frivolity; foolish people who
have abandoned prayers and busied themselves with satellite television
channels; lazy people, some of whom only strive to pray eight Rak’ahs of
Taraweeh with the Imaam and then leave the mosque, bragging about it as if they
have therefore fulfilled their due worship and all other responsibilities
towards Allaah; hardhearted people who hear the Qur’aan being recited day and
night and yet whose hearts do not move, and whose eyes never shed a tear.
O
Ramadhaan! Forgive us! Our hearts have become hard and our eyes are dry; we no
longer feel the sweetness of obedience to you, nor do we sense the beauty of
worship.
Apologies
to you, O Ramadhaan! You used to come to people who were brothers without any
blood relationship, but they realised the value of brotherhood, understood its
significance, and thus fulfilled its rights; they perfectly comprehended the
saying of the Prophet when he said: “A Muslim is the
brother of his fellow Muslim.”
They would
be like a single body, the elders would be merciful towards the young and the
young would honour the elders; they lived compassionate lives and dealt with
each other based on love; they lived in harmony and had no hatred, envy or
spite. They would suffer at the suffering of their brothers and strive to
fulfil the needs of their brethren.
Once, a man
came to Ibn ‘Abbaas and
found him residing in the mosque during I’tikaaf; he asked him to help him
fulfil a need, so Ibn ‘Abbaas stood
up to accompany him and help him, so people said to him: “You are in your
I’tikaaf! How can you leave?” He replied:“It is better for me
(i.e. more rewarding) to accompany my brother, aiming to fulfil his need, than
staying in I’tikaaf for two full months in the mosque of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam.”
O
Ramadhaan! But nowadays, you only meet people who have replaced brotherhood
with enmity, and love with hatred; it is as if they have never heard the saying
of the Prophet : “Deeds are raised to
Allaah every Monday and Thursday, and He forgives all people except for any two
who have a dispute among them; it will be said: `Delay these two until they
reconcile.`”
You only
come nowadays to find people whose sense of brotherhood, as well as the bond
set forth between them by Allaah, has diminished; they do not react to the
disasters of their fellow Muslims around the globe. They are not moved when
their sisters are raped, or their rights are transgressed; it is as if they
have never heard the saying of theProphet : “He who is not
concerned about the worries of other Muslims is not one of them.” You only come nowadays to find
people who hardly even know anything about their next door neighbour.
Apologies
to you, O Ramadhaan! These are our wounds and this is the reality in which we
live!
