Benefits of Ramadhan

O young man, the word Ramadhan consists of five letters:

1 - ra'

2 - meem

3 - dhad

4 - alif

5 - noon.

The ra' is derived from rahma (mercy),

the meem from mujazat (recompense), mahabba (love) & minna (favour),

the dhad from dhaman lilthawab (assurance of reward),

the alif from ulfa (affinity) & qurb (nearness) &

the noon from nur (light) & nawal [the receiving (of grace)].

If you give this month its due and act properly during it, these things will come to you from the True One (‘Azza wa Jall).

They will come to you in this world as strengthening and enlightening for your hearts, & as favour & receiving of grace, outwardly and inwardly.

In the hereafter there will come to you what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard & has never occurred to any human heart.

O People give up habitual practice and keep to worship. Fast for the sake of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall). Do not get bored of fasting & worshipping in this month. Do righteous deeds, during it, & make sure that you act with sincerity. Make a regular practice of the prayers of taraweeh. Illuminate the mosques, for this will be a light for you on the Day of Resurrection. When you fast, give up lying, giving false witness, backbiting, defaming people & embezzling their properties. In principle, you fast in order to purify yourselves of your sins & keep away from them, so what benefit could you derive from your fasting if you commit, these sins yet again?

Woe unto you! What Benefit would you derive from fasting if you break it on unlawful food & Sleep during these noble nights having committed acts of disobedience? You fast out of dissimulation & hypocrisy as long as you are among creatures, & once you are on you own you break your fast! Then you come out & say: “I am keeping the fast”, while throughout the day you are involved in verbal abuse, levelling defamatory accusations, swearing false oaths & taking people’s money by way of defrauding, trickery & exaction. This sort of behaviour makes you no good at all and does not count as a fast.

The Prophet (Salla Allah ta’ala ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“There are so many people who fast yet get nothing out of their fasting other than hunger & thirst & there are so many people who spend the night in worshipful acts yet earn nothing out of their worship other than fatigue & vigil”

When one of you fasts, let his ears, his sights, his hands, his legs, his limbs & organs & his heart all fast.

In this month, there is a night that is the greatest night of the year, which is Laylat al-Qadr. This night has signs that the righteous can recognize. Among the servants of Allah (‘Azza wa Jall) there are those who have the veil removed from their eyes so they see the lights of divinity that is held in the hands of the angels, the light of their faces, the light of the doors of heaven & the light of the countenance of the True One (‘Azza wa Jall) because on that Night He manifests Himself to the people of the earth.

O People do not make obtaining your food your concern because it is a low concern. You have been put to test through eating & drinking, but you have been saved the trouble of securing sustenance, so do not have any concern about it. Glory be to the Self – Sustained One who never eats, drinks or sleeps. Your greedy keenness has increased, while your pious restraint and faith have decreased. Woe unto you! This world lasts only one hour, so spend it in obedience.

By Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Gaylani