Qabelaat Tayybah » Ramadan

The Last of the Ramadân Warriors

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:31:38 +0000

by Brother Muhammad al-Sharîf

In the early days of Islâm, those that believed in Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – and the message of Lâ ilâha illah Allâh , were tested in the core of their faith. Every means of punishment was inflicted upon them.

In those young days, Khabbab ibn Al-Arat, radi Allâh u ‘anhu, came to Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – and remarked, “Won’t you pray for us! Won’t you seek help from Allâh for victory over these people!”

Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – turned to him and said,

“There were believers that came before us, they would be cut from the top of their head right down their body – others were combed with iron rakes, their skin separated from their muscles separated from their bones … but all that did not cause them to renounce their faith. But nay ye are hasty.”

Allâh ta’ala revealed:

[Or did you reckon you will enter Jannah when the same thing never happened to you such as happened to those who have passed away before you? Suffering and hardship assailed them, and they were battered about until the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, 'When is Allâh 's support?' Indeed Allâh 's support is near.] – sûrah Al Baqarah 2/214

Remember before Ramadân we spoke about the Ramadân Warrior. He’s just like the weekend warrior – an employee who sits at a cubicle all week long, eating donuts and drinking coffee, then on the weekend he rushes to the sport courts and mountains, and by Monday he is in the hospital.

The Ramadân warrior is the one who fasts only when Ramadân comes. He is the one who does Qiyâm-ul-Layl only on the nights of Ramadân. The generosity and feeding of the hungry is a practice for him that ends with the moon of Shawwal.

Allâh ta’ala tells us in the Qur’ân; a verse that we read so many times in the past month:

[O ye who believe! Fasting was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become pious.]

This piety that Allâh wants us to achieve is not Ramadân exclusive piety. For the entire year, Ramadân is the training period.

For our early generations, from the Sahâbah, Tâbi’în, and Tabi’ at-Tâbi’în, their intensity of work for the pleasure of Allâh was all-seasonal. Their intensity was focused in (a) learning the Qur’ân and Sunnah and teaching it to others (b) Ibâdah (c) Da’wah and Jihad.

Let’s spend a few moments with each:
(a) Learning the Qur’ân and Sunnah and teaching it to others
The media is full of stories of men and women lost in the ocean or a deserted island and the struggle those people went through to survive. But seldom do we hear of all the Ulumâ’ that suffered very horrific moments where they were on the threshold of death – all in the path of traveling to learn the Qur’ân and Sunnah.

Bakr ibn Hamdân al-Mirwazi said, “I heard Ibn Kharash say that he drank his urine in the path of this knowledge 5 times.”

And al-Wakhshî Abu Alî Al-Hasan said, “I was in ‘Asqalân attending the lessons of Ibn Musahhah and others. In those days, my money dwindled and I spent many nights with nothing to eat. I sat one day to write some notes and the pain was just too intense. So I went out to the market and sat by a vendor selling bread just to smell the aroma of food. After a while my senses returned and I was able to return home.”

When you see people in our society spending the nights outside on the streets to by tickets to a pop concert, or to save $5 on a radio, our Ulumâ’ strove harder in their pursuit of knowledge, to get ‘front row seats’ to the hottest Halaqahs in town.

Ja’far ibn Distuwayh said, “We used to camp out by the chair of Ali bin al-Madînî after Asr the day BEFORE his class. All night long we would sit there for fear that when the people come the next day we won’t be in position to hear the Shaykh.” And the examples go on and on.
(B) Ibâdah
Here is just a sampling of their attitude to the Ibâdah of Allâh : Al Hasan said,

“Whoever races you in your Dîn, then race them; Whoever races you in their Dunya, throw it back in their face.”

Wuhayb ibn Al-Wird said,

“If you can, do not allow anyone to beat you to Allâh ‘s pleasure.”

And Ash-Shaykh Shamsuddin Al-Turkistânî said,

“If news every came to me that someone had done something for the pleasure of Allâh , I would always do exactly what that person did and then some.”

Compare this now to Arab countries that have received news of the Guiness book of World records and are spending their time and the Ummah’s wealth to outdo those records. Wallâhul Musta’ân.

Hammad ibn Salamah said,

“We have seen Sulaymân At-Tîmî in a moment of worship to Allâh , except that he was participating in that worship. If it was time for Salah, we would see him in Salah. If it was other than the Salah time, he would be either making wudu or visiting the sick, or following a funeral procession, or reflecting in the Masjid. Such much so, that we actually thought he didn’t know how to disobey Allâh .”

(c) Da’wah and Jihâd
Allâh ta’ala tells us in the Qur’ân of the strenuous concern Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – had for the people’s acceptance of this Dîn.

[Tâ, Sîn, Mîm / These are the verses of the clear Book / Perhaps, (O Muhammad), you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers. / If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled. / And no mention comes to them anew from the Most Merciful except that they turn away from it.] Sûrah Shura 26/1-5

It is not a simple matter that we have accepted the responsibility of the Messengers to teach humanity about Allâh . As Shaykh Salah As-Sawi spoke about this matter here during Ramadân, he said,

“What if all these people on the day of judgement come and say as their excuse, ‘O Allâh , here the Muslims lived all around us and they never came to tell us about this Dîn.’”

Indeed the matter is grave. Ja’far ibn Sulaymân said,

“I hear Malik ibn Dînar saying, ‘If I was capable of never sleeping I would never sleep for fear that Allâh ‘s wrath would befall me while I am sleeping. And had I those that would assist me I would send them all around the world to announce: O humanity, save yourselves from Hellfire, save yourselves from Hellfire!’”

And when it came to defending the Dîn of Allâh , we see the example of Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – shining for all those who would wish to be guided by it.

Ali – radi Allâh u ‘anhu – said,

“Whenever the battle would intensify, and the swords began to burn red, we would seek shield from Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam. There was no one closer to the enemy ranks than him.”

And ‘Imrân ibn al-Husayn – radi Allâh u ‘anhu – said,

“Whenever the Muslim battalion would encounter the enemy, Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – was always the first one to strike.”

There is a principal that we spoke about earlier: Al-Maysûr Lâ YasQut bil Ma’sûr. It means: What one finds easy is not cancelled by what is difficult; i.e. those things that the Mukallaf can do with ease does not get cancelled just because he or she cannot do what is hard upon them.

Examples of this in Fiqh include: If someone knows a few verses of AlFâtiha, then they must read it in Salah. Just because they do not know the whole Sûrah does not mean they don’t have to read the verses they CAN recite.

If a person is in such a situation that he cannot cover his complete private area during Salah, then he must cover whatever he can. Just because he cannot cover the entire area does not cancel the obligation to cover what he can.

If a person is not capable of performing Sajdah, that doesn’t mean he can sit down throughout the entire Salah if he is capable of standing for Ruku’ or Qiyâm.

When it comes to studying the Qur’ân and Sunnah, Ibâdah, Da’wah and Jihad, you’ll see that many people focus on the ideal which is unattainable for them at that moment. Then they say to themselves, since it is unattainable then I just have to be patient and do nothing. No, keep moving a step down until you find what is attainable and do it.

If you can’t memorize the Qur’ân by next Ramadân, you can for sure finish 2 Juz’. If you can’t do 2 Juz’ in one year, then you can do one. If one is all you can do, then do it. In sha’ Allâh , 30 years from now you would be Hafidh al-Qur’ân.

If you can’t come to every Minhâj-ul Muslim Halaqah all year long, doesn’t mean that you come to none.

If the Masjid is far away from your home and it’s hard to come for every Salah, doesn’t mean you never come to the Masjid. Come for Maghrib and stay for Isha or something similar.

The proof of this is the words of Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam, “What I command you in, perform what you are capable of.”

In conclusion, there are three ingredients to making your resolution to improve yourself successful.

1. Have a truthful determination.

2. Be economical in what you decide to do.

3. Make dua to Allâh to make your effort successful.

Ramadan in History

admin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:50:28 +0000

Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

The Message, Canada
January 1997

All praises to Allah, Lord of the worlds. He who revealed in His Glorious Qur’an, “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who came before you that you may keep your duty to your Lord (having taqwa),” (2:185). And may blessings and peace of Allah be upon His last Messenger Muhammad ibn Abdullah, forever.

O you who believe, Ramadan is a sacred month wherein Almighty Allah is constantly testing His creation and giving humanity the opportunity to achieve infinite, endless Bliss. Fasting is a complete purification and a means to developing the consciousness of Allah’s presence. The consciousness of Allah (Taqwa) is a protection against the schemes of Shaitan, and the suffering of this world. Allah has informed us that, “Whoever keeps his duty to Allah (has taqwa), He ordains a way out for him and gives him sustenance from where he imagines not. And whoever trusts in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah attains His purpose. Allah has appointed a measure for everything.” (65:2)

Many Muslims today have a misconception about fasting and the activities of a fasting person. They go into a state of semi-hibernation, spending most of their daylight hours in bad. If they fear Allah, they wake up for prayer, but then return to sleep immediately. This unnatural sleep makes them become lazy, dull-witted and often cranky.

Ramadan is actually a time of increased activity wherein the believer, now lightened of the burdens of constant eating and drinking, should be more willing to strive and struggle for Allah. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, passed through approximately nine Ramadans after the Hijrah. They were filled with decisive events and left us a shining example of sacrifice and submission to Allah.

In the first year after the Hijrah, the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, sent Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib with thirty Muslim riders to Saif al Bahr to investigate three hundred riders from Quraish who had camped suspiciously in that area. The Muslims were about to engage the disbelievers, but they were separated byMajdy ibn Umar al-Juhany. The Hypocrites of Madinah, hoping to oppose the unity of the Muslims, built their own masjid (called Masjid ad-Dirar). The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, ordered this masjid to be destroyed in Ramadan.

On the seventeenth of Ramadan, 3 A.H., Almighty Allah separated truth from falsehood at the Great Battle of Badr. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, and 313 of his companions set out to intercept a caravan of their own goods that had been left in Makkah. It was led by Abu Sufyan himself, and estimated at 50,000 dinars. They were met, instead, by a well-equipped army of the nobility of Quraish, intend on putting out the light of Islam. Despite being outnumbered three to one and appearing weak and unseasoned, the Muslims defended their faith with a burning desire to protect the Prophet and meet their Lord through martyrdom. Allah gave them a decisive victory on this day of Ramadan, that would never be forgotten.

In 6 A.H., Zaid ibn Haritha was sent to Wadi al-Qura at the head of a detachment to confront Fatimah bint Rabiah, the queen of that area. Fatimah had previously attacked a caravan led by Zaid and had succeeded in plundering its wealth. She was known to be the most protected woman in Arabia, as she hung fifty swords of her close relatives in her home. Fatimah was equally renowned for showing open hostility to Islam. She was killed in a battle against these Muslims in the month of Ramadan.

By Ramadan of 8 A.H., the treaty of Hudaibiyya had been broken and the Muslim armies had engaged the Byzantines in the North. Muhammad, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, felt the need to strike a fatal blow to disbelief in the Arabian Peninsula and conquer the city of Mecca. Allah has declared His Sanctuary a place of peace, security and religious sanctity. Now the time had come to purify the Ka`bah of nakedness and abomination. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam set out with an army having more armed men than al-Madinah had ever seen before. People were swelling the army’s ranks as it moved toward Makkah. The determination of the believers, guided by the Will of Allah, became so awesome that the city of Makkah was conquered without a battle, on 20 Ramadan. This was one of the most important dates in Islamic history for after it, Islam was firmly entrenched in the Arabian Peninsula. During the same month and year, after smashing the idols of Makkah, detachments were sent to the other major centers of polytheism and al-Lat, Manat and Suwa, some of the greatest idols of Arabia, were destroyed.

Such was the month of Ramadan in the time of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam. It was a time of purification, enjoining the good, forbidding the evil, and striving hard with one’s life and wealth. After the death of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, Muslims carried on this tradition and Allah used the true believers to affect the course of history. Ramadan continued to be a time of great trials and crucial events.

Ninety-two years after the Hijrah, Islam had spread across North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. Spain was under the tyrannical rule of King Roderic of the Visigoths. Roderic had forced his six millions serfs and persecuted Jews to seek the aid of the Muslims of North Africa in order to be delivered. Musa ibn Husair, the Umayyad governor of North Africa, responded by sending his courageous general Tariq ibn Ziyad at the head of 12,000 Berber and Arab troops. In Ramadan of that year, they were confronted with a combined Visigoth army of 90,000 Christians led by Roderic himself, who was seated on a throne of ivory, silver, and precious gems and drawn by white mules. After burning his boats, Tariq preached to the Muslims warning them that victory and Paradise lay ahead of them and defeat and the sea lay to the rear. They burst forth with great enthusiasm and Allah manifested a clear victory over the forces of disbelief. Not only was Roderic killed and his forces completely annihilated, but also Tariq and Musa succeeded in liberating the whole of Spain, Sicily and parts of France. This was the beginning of the Golden Age of Al-Andalus where Muslims ruled for over 700 years.

In the year 582 A.H., Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, after battling with the Crusaders for years, finally drove them out of Syria and the whole of their occupied lands in the month of Ramadan. The Muslim world was then destined to meet one of its most frightening challenges.

In the seventh century A.H. the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called himself “the scourge of God sent to punish humanity for their sins”. In 617 A.H., Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan were put to the sword causing more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656 A.H., Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued this destruction. Even Baghdad, the leading city of the Muslim world, was sacked. Some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine openly while the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the masjids and no Azan (call to prayer) was allowed. In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with the threat of the whole Muslim world and then Europe being subjected to the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt, Saifuddin Qutz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on 25th of Ramadan, 458 A.H. Although they were under great pressure, the Muslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching bravery crushed the Mongol army and reversed this tidal wave of horror. The whole of the civilized world sighed in relief and stood in awe at the remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam.

This was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of intense activity, spending the day in the saddle and the night in prayer while calling upon Allah for His mercy and forgiveness.

Today, the Muslim world is faced with drought, military aggression, widespread corruption and tempting materialism. Surely we are in need or believers who can walk in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, the illustrious Sahabah, Tariq ibn Ziyad, Qutuz, Salahuddin and the countless heroes of Islam. Surely we are in need of believers who are unafraid of the threats of the disbelievers, yet kind and humble to the believing people; Muslims whose fast is complete and not just a source of hunger and thirst.

May Allah raise up a generation of Muslims who can carry Islam to all corners of the globe in a manner that befits our age, and may He give us the strength and the success to lay the proper foundations for them. May Allah make us of those who carry out our Islam during Ramadan and after it, and may He not make us of those who say what they do not do. Surely Allah and His Angels invoke blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. O you who believe, send blessings and peace to him forever.