In the name of Allah
Asalamu alaykum dear brothers and sisters.
We have ahead of us a very special month in the Islamic calendar. A month of hope, a month of mercy, a month of opportunity. We have before us none other than the month of Ramadaan, the month of fasting.
It is with great joy and anticipation we await this delightful month to commence, and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’alaa (Glorified and exalted is He) to grant us the ability, spiritual, emotional, psychological, physiological and financial strength to serve Him in this month of mercy and beyond.
It is worth mentioning that preparation begins before Ramadaan begins, and it is the help of Allah we seek. Undoubtedly, this is an advice to me before it is you, dear reader.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us revive our relationship with the Noble book of Allah, The Qur’an.
Let us be optimistic and hope to benefit from the remarkable parables, admonitions and promises mentioned in the Qur’an.
My dearest brothers and sisters, if you cannot recall the last time you engaged with the Qur’an, do not despair. There is hope. For today, counting down less than a fortnight till Ramadaan, you can make a difference- right now, in sha Allah.
Be resolute. Make wudu (ablution). Make du’a, ask Allah to facilitate your affairs. Be sincere for Allah. And go and open the mushaf (even if it is an electronic version of the Qur’an). And start to read. Read an ayah. Read two. Five, ten. Increase it as the days go by. Read, Recite. Recite it with tajweed, with accurate and beautiful recitation. Better still, let us endeavour to understand the meaning, the explanation (tafsir) of the ayaat, then let us reflect. And let us watch our lives transform, in sha Allah.
Allaah says (English interpretation of the meaning):
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allaah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.”
[Qur’an, chapter al-Baqarah 2: verse 185]
May Allah allow us to reach Ramadaan prepared, and may He make it a prosperous and accepted Ramadaan. ameen
jazaakumullaahu khairan
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