By Femi Abbas

At the beginning of this sacred month, 11 days ago, an analysis was done in this column classifying the 30 days of Ramadan into three segments. The first segment was said to contain the first ten days during which the blessings of Allah come to the faithful Muslims freely and in abundance. Except for meeting that segment with faith and good intention, there is no working for the blessings therein. That segment ended yesterday paving way for the second segment that begins today.

As from today, Sunday, May 25, 2021, fasting Muslims, all over the world, will start working for the master key to their final abode (Al-Jannah) through forgiveness. That is the essence of this second segment of the month of Ramadan. During this period, Muslims are expected to intensify worship (Ibadah) by spending their days and nights repenting on their misdeeds and iniquities while seeking Allah’s forgiveness through the chanting of Istighfar. But such forgiveness is neither automatic nor free.

Usually, there are conditions attached to it. One of such conditions is that one must admit his misdeeds and repent on them. The second is that he should voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness. And the third condition is for him to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during that time, a Muslim should follow the guidance of Allah as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who reportedly said that “if you want to speak with Allah, make your request on prostration. And, if you want Allah to speak to you recite the Qur’an”. No one who abides by the above conditions and follows the Prophet’s counsel will ever be disappointed. Allah is both promising and fulfilling. He never reneges on His promise. In Qur’an 2:186 He promises thus: “…when my servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about me, tell them that I am very close to them. I answer the prayers of all who seek my favour if they pray to me (without any intermediary). So, let them expect my favourable response and trust in me so that they may be rightly guided”

The second ten days segment of Ramadan is not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days. It is also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when they are expected to be fully liberated from the evil manacles of satanic forces. For genuinely dedicated Muslims, in this sacred month, the prayer for that liberation in any language and in a condition of purity is a sine qua non.

RAMADAN KARIM!

 

By Femi Abbas

From the beginning of Ramadan, every year, Muslims congregate in various Mosques or Learning Centres where the exposition of the Qur’an (Tafsir) is rendered by learned Muslim scholars. This is in accordance with the Prophetic tradition which encourages better understanding of the Qur’an.

Linguistically, Tafsir means exposition. But technically, it means the comprehensive analysis of the Qur’an, spiritually, linguistically, logically and semantically. In other words, Tafsir is the comprehensive exposition of the contents of the Qur’an, as usually done by learned Muslim scholars especially during the month of Ramadan throughout the Muslim world.

Because of the coded language of the Qur’anic revelation, it became necessary for the verses of that sacred Book to be decoded for the purpose of thorough understanding by the Muslim Ummah when the Prophet was alive. And, the example of this was laid by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself to the great delight of his companions.

From the explanation above, it therefore becomes clear that the revelations of the Qur’anic chapters and verses were the immediate causes of intellectual research in Islam. For instance, Arabic, the original language of the Qur’an, had no grammar prior to the revelations of the divine message. The grammar of that language evolved only from the contents of the Qur’an.

With time, the challenge which the Qur’an threw to humanity in all spheres of life led to serious competition among scholars. Thus, each time a revelation came, the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were always eager to know why and how of every what. And this led to their very close association with the Prophet who paved the way for them towards that intellectual research.

Although the formal study of Tafsir as an independent intellectual discipline did not begin until many years after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he (the Prophet) nevertheless, started its process. He did not only educate his companions about the exoteric and esoteric meanings of the revealed verses of the Qur’an, he also explained their applications to the daily life of man as well as the implications of same.

It was the prophet who decoded most of the coded areas of the Qur’an for proper understanding of the ordinary Muslims. Through his utterances and actions which were later to be known as Hadith and Sunnah, the contents of the Qur’an became more and more understandable to the Muslims even as further researches continue today.

Thus, after the prophet’s demise, Hadith and Sunnah together became an independent subject of research paving man’s way to higher firmaments in civilization. And, this has helped, in no small measure, to expand the scope of Tafsir. It is from Qur’anic researches that, all new discoveries and new frontiers in knowledge became adapted to the study of Tafsir until Tafsir itself became an estuary through which every stream of knowledge was passed to mankind. But what problems does Tafsir face in the contemporary time? Read the answer to this question in this column tomorrow in sha’Allah. RAMADAN KARIM!.

By Femi Abbas

Nigeria is a home of temptations. The agents of Satan are many and ubiquitous. They are most active in the sacred month of Ramadan. You will meet them in the neighbourhood, in offices, in commuter buses, in the markets and on the roads. Like Satanic rainbow, they come in various colours carrying with them, all sorts of tempting arsenals. Some of them are men. Most are women.

Their temptations come in different forms and shapes. Some will make jest of you in a provocative way. Some will deliberately bring food to your presence and start eating right in front of you. Some will pretend not to be aware that you are fasting and, therefore, offer you prohibited drinks. Some women will tempt you with the most sensitive contours of their bodies. The powders on their faces and other cosmetic materials on their faces alone are enough to disarm you spiritually if you are not a formidable Muslim. Their antics are many. But your resistance to all these is the most vital ingredient for the acceptance of your fast by Allah. This is a situation in which Muslims are expected to close their eyes and their minds at the same time. They should close their eyes to any eyesore and close their minds to all spiritual irritants.

In no Islamic society can such temptations be experienced. In any sane Muslim society, it is a punishable offence to deliberately tempt or provoke fasting Muslims in the month of Ramadan. As a matter of fact, all food vendors and restaurants are statutorily prohibited from operating in the days of Ramadan. They can only trade in the nights. And, of course, there is nothing like alcohol or nudism in such societies even outside the sacred month.

Resistance to temptation in Ramadan is a function of two things: high level of discipline and strong faith in Allah. Any Muslim who lacks these two is surely bereft of the necessary armour against temptation. Ramadan in the life of a Muslim is like a delicious food given to a hungry man. If he handles it carelessly, it may end up in the belly of a goat. Satan is always on standby to snatch any reward accruing to pious Muslims from good deeds. To avoid becoming a victim of satanic machination therefore, do not be careless with Allah’s bounties for you in this sacred month. RAMADAN KARIM!

By Femi Abbas

For the first few days in the month of Ramadan, every year, there is tendency for some Muslims to forget that they are fasting and thus break their fasts inadvertently during the day. Naturally, the possibility of eating or drinking accidentally due to sheer forgetfulness in the early days of Ramadan is apt. This often occurs to Muslims who hardly fast outside the month of Ramadan.

If it happens to you, there should be nothing to worry about. As soon as you remember, just recondition yourself to the regulations of Ramadan fasting and continue your fast. Do not tell anybody. Let it remain a secret between you and your Lord. It does not matter whether you remember while eating and drinking or thereafter. In Islam, actions are judged according to intentions. And who else judges both actions and intentions other than Allah, the All-seer and All- knower. Even in the five obligatory Salats observed daily by all genuine Muslims, provisions are made for rectification of errors committed through forgetfulness. This is done in terms of ‘Sujudus-Sahwi’. Thus, like in Salat, the forgetfulness in Ramadan involves neither drunkenness nor sexual intercourse nor cheating of any kind.

Read Also; The rule of Sahur

As a Muslim, you are not supposed to eat any forbidden food or drink any intoxicant in the first place, Ramadan or no Ramadan. To be drunk, therefore, in the month of Ramadan, under the pretext of forgetfulness is a confirmation of hypocrisy or infidelity.

As for sexual intercourse which should only occur legitimately between a husband and his wife, it is impossible to be done out of forgetfulness. At least if the husband cannot remember Ramadan, the wife should. Sexual intercourse cannot be done unconsciously.

But if intercourse occurs in your dream and you suddenly wake up to discover that you are already wet, all you need to do is to clean up with purification bath (Janabah). And, then, you continue your fast. Fasting, especially in Ramadan, is a means of rejuvenating spiritual consciousness and renewal of good intention. Anyone who   breaks his/her fast in error due to forgetfulness should immediately repent and abstain from any situation that can cause its repetition. Allah is forgiving and merciful. RAMADAN KARIM!

By Femi Abbas

Sahur is an Arabic word meaning ‘awaking the night’. Its verb root is ‘Sahira’ which means to keep a night vigil. Connotatively, Sahur, as related to Ramadan, is, statutorily, an obligatory Sunnah (Sunnatul-Muakkadah) introduced by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It is one of the major components of Ramadan fasting which, unlike Tarawih, cannot and must not be treated as a matter of choice. The essence of Sahur during Ramadan is not just to wake up for eating and drinking but also, to observe Nawafil and recite the Qur’an for the purpose of Ibadah and thorough understanding. (Nawafil is the plural of Nafilah).

Sahur is an indication of the high level of discipline injected into true Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Within the period of Sahur, Muslims are allowed to engage in all legitimate activities including spiritual and social exercises that are generally permissible in Islam. Sahur may commence from the midnight and end before Dawn (Fajr). During that period, eating and drinking legitimate edible substances are permissible in moderation.

Nawafil or supererogatory genuflexions may be observed severally according to the ability of the observer. Recitation of the Qur’an may also be done for as long as the concerned Muslims are able to do it. Meanwhile, for effective utilization, the Sahur period may be divided into three segments whereby one segment may be dedicated to the observance of Nawafil and another to the recitation of the Qur’an, while the third may be dedicated to the essential consumption of food and drinks in moderation. Whichever of these segments engages a Muslim during the Sahur must come to an end with the arrival of salatus- subhi at dawn. The observance of salatus- subhi at its right time is such an obligation that must not be interrupted by any other activity. Muslim women who may have no time for recitation of the Qur’an or observance of Nawafil because of their cooking activities during sahur will also have full reward for taking care of others in the family. In a Nutshell, Sahur is a compulsory component of Ramadan fasting which cannot be sacrificed for whatever reason.

RAMADAN KARIM!

By Femi Abbas

Monologue

Today’s article is not new. It is only being republished here due to popular demand. When it was first published in this column six years ago (2015), many Muslim couples, in Nigeria and abroad, saw it as a true mirror of their matrimonial homes. Many others took it for a matrimonial handbook capable of serving as a guide for the conduct of their homes. Yet, many who missed it at that time but only heard of it from those who read it have severally called for its repetition in this column. Thus, because of the value it may add to Muslim homes and the role it may play in resolving conflicts in those homes, ‘The Message’ decided to re-publish it here today for the benefit of all and sundry. Here it goes:

 

Preamble

“A radical 20th century India-born British journalist and novelist, George Orwell, wrote a famous allegorical novel entitled ‘ANIMAL FARM’ in 1945. His focus in that novel was mainly on the Russian revolution of 1917 which he satirized venomously. While writing the novel, that social critic never thought that any possible ripples could arise from it, which might have a backlash effect on the entire human social life in the 21st century. But ironically, with the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), in 1991, the application of that book became manifest on the entire social life of today’s mankind. This will be explained shortly.

 

Institution of Marriage

Perhaps no institution in human life is as temporally or spiritually valuable as marriage. This is an indisputable fact across nations, races, cultures and religions. Marriage is the main axis around which the continuity of human existence on earth rotates. It is either a pivotal source of decency or a clear cause of malfeasance in any given society. Without marriage, human societies would have been like Orwell’s Animal Farm. And were Orwell alive today he would have probably redirected the focus of his novel towards the matrimonial homes globally rather than to condemnation of socialism.

 

Rate of Marital Dissolutions

Nowadays, the rate of dissolution of marriages is by far higher than the rate at which marriages are consummated. At least, going by the local customs of the various tribes in Nigeria one can conclude that marriages are conducted weekly throughout the country as against the daily occurrences of their dissolutions.

 

Definition

Some people define marriage as a legalization of intercourse and procreation of children without any reference to its divine sanctity. Others call it a social contract culturally or legally consummated between two consenting mature people of opposite genders. The latter definition is also silent on the obligation and responsibilities of such a union. In Islam, marriage is much more than both definitions. It is on the one hand, a promise made by the male gender who is soon to become the husband and on the other, a trust personification by the female gender who is soon to become the wife in the custody of her husband. Thus, marriage is an agreement between two families aimed at creating an avenue for continuity of social life through a common social venture jointly managed by the two representatives of both families in their bid to set up a home of their own.

 

Essence of Marital Life

In the life of any serious-minded human being, three events are fundamentally essential. These are birth, marriage and death. The three events form the main social axis around which the entire human life rotates. All other events in human life are merely peripheral.

Throughout the world, today, (Nigeria inclusive), marriage has become a balloon which can be casually inflated in one minute and thoughtlessly deflated in the next minute. It has been taken for a mere chess game played for the fun of the players as well as that of the onlookers. To most Nigerians of today, marriage is not more important than dining, wining, singing and dancing. It has been reduced to mere fun and entertainment which many young couples see as a legitimate means of actualizing sexual urge that would have been perceived as a social aberration without passing through a formal matrimonial communion.

 

Parable of Marriage

While conducting a marriage in Lagos sometime in 2012, yours sincerely compared a marital couple to a pair of scissors which has two blades. Each of those blades faces a different direction. The one faces the right side whilst the other faces the left side. These positions are not naturally interchangeable. Yet, with the nuptial knot tying them together in the middle to seal their common destiny, the two blades jointly work assiduously in their move to certify the essence of that togetherness.

Looking at a pair of scissors very carefully, one will discover that the two blades therein sometimes stick closely together and sometimes stand out separately. Their meeting and parting randomly accentuate the essence of their togetherness. Through those meeting and parting moments, the two blades of the pair of scissors communicate effectively and mutually function dutifully. When they stay apart, the tendency is for some intruders to assume that they cannot jointly function again and therefore attempt to penetrate the gap between them. But as soon as those intruders try to come in, the two blades of the scissors quickly come together to crush them. There is a marital lesson for human beings to learn from this.

 

Implications

Unfortunately, today, marriage has become like the country called Nigeria where projects are hurriedly executed to satisfy the momentary secret (under the table), in terms of contract, without any consideration for the quality and maintenance of such projects. When two young people of different genders and backgrounds are coming together to form a couple, they hardly think of the implications of such a union in terms of individual differences and the possible challenges that may emanate from those differences. Young couples of today perceive love, either from beauty point of view or from endowed wealth or even from pleasure of sexual intercourse. And, that is a way of turning infatuation or possession of material wealth or sexual enjoyment into love, which is usually the cause of early marital collapse.

 

Love or Infatuation

In marriage, love develops only gradually with mutual understanding, especially when it becomes evident that one spouse accommodates the weaknesses of the other through tolerance and compromise. The attraction which beauty or wealth or intercourse engenders can only, at best, generate tentative LIKENESS and not LOVE in the real sense. This is where the foundation of divorce is often laid even before the consummation of marriage. There is nothing called love in a matrimonial home in the absence of sincere communication and thorough mutual understanding as well as compromise and tolerance. It is not enough to claim mutual understanding through mutual study during courtship. No matter how long it may last, the period of courtship can never be enough for any couple to fully understand each other. That period is usually to impress each other while the tendency to pretend is often disguised. That is why an Arab poet once coined a couplet thus: “A liking eye sees nothing wrong in the conduct of the liked one; but a hateful eye only searches for the faults in the hated person”.

 

The Seriousness of Marriage

Marriage is a serious business which must be seriously negotiated initially by the concerned couples and their parents or guardians. At the courtship stage, the concerned couple must not only discuss the modalities of coming together as husband and wife they must also negotiate the factors of sustaining their marriage through proper sustenance of the home. Any marriage without a program of sustenance is likely to become like dew used by a farmer to water his crops into fruition. Can dew function like rain?

 

The Prophet’s recommendation

In his recommendation to Muslim men who are searching for wives, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported as saying: “Wives should be married on the basis of four factors: beauty, wealth, family background and faith”. He, however, emphasized (Islamic) FAITH as the strongest factor for Muslim couples. He did not recommend such factors to women because he knew the difficulties that women might face in making choices of husbands but he strongly recommended that a woman’s consent in the process of her marriage is germane. The Prophet then concluded that any marriage without such consent is invalid. This means that forcing a girl into marriage without her consent is illegal in Islam.

Marriages are globally collapsing at an alarming rate today because couples and their families have closed their eyes to two key factors in sustaining the matrimonial home. These factors are COMMUNICATION and MUTUAL RESPECT. No marriage can ever survive or succeed without a thorough pre-marital counseling by parents, guardians or religious clerics who must not only tutor potential couples but also demonstrate practically to them how marriages are sustained using their own marriages as examples. Newly married couples often dream of building their homes in a floating castle without remembering that it is possible for a dream to end up in a nightmare.

 

Communication

There can be no matrimonial peace in the absence of adequate communication between husband and wife based on mutual respect. Nothing signals the collapse of a marriage more than a absence of communication. A marriage without effective communication is like a house without doors. Of course, the children from such homes are mostly the victims of any ensued divorce. If a marriage is initiated and consummated without communication, how can anybody think that such a marriage can be genuinely sustained?

The real essence of marriage is for husband and wife to disagree in order to agree and not the other way round. In the process of disagreeing or agreeing, communication is the only key instrument. Without it, the home can never be solidly intact.

Any couple that closes the matrimonial door to communication has surely opened that door to marital dissolution. Even divorce, whether through mutual agreement or through court injunction, must be a subject of communication in one way or another between both parties.

 

Togetherness in Worship

In Islam, one of the most potent ways of ventilating communication in the home is to worship and pray together at least twice in a day (morning and evening). A Muslim husband must at least be knowledgeable enough to lead his family in Salat and to preach and pray for such family daily. Through such worship and prayer, many knotty matrimonial issues can easily be untied. Besides, the children will learn to be good-mannered and to resolve disagreements among themselves. That is one of the reasons why Muslims are urged to acquire knowledge about their religion.

 

Spate of Divorce

The spate of divorce in any society today is much higher among the ignorant couples than the knowledgeable ones. It must be noted here that literacy does not necessarily amount to knowledge as erroneously believed in Nigeria by most elites.

 

Matrimonial Conflicts

Matrimonial conflicts are not new to any modern society. What seems to be new and worrisome about them is the geometric leap they are taking these days.

 

Conclusion

Today, Nigerian society is prone to danger of insecurity mostly because of matrimonial instability. And the more marriages are consummated, the more matrimonial homes crumble. Who, then, will save the society by saving our matrimonial homes? That is the biggest question of this time which is begging for a very positive answer. The security of Nigeria as a country depends very much on the stability of matrimonial homes. That is why emphasis should rather be laid on stability of homes than on distribution of contraceptives for the purpose of reducing procreation. There can be no peaceful nation without peaceful homes. This is a panacea for national insecurity. The battle for Nigeria’s future peace is rather in the matrimonial homes than in the Sambisa forests of this world, which is the enclave of the evil agents called Boko Haram. God bless Nigeria.

 

NOTE:

THIS article was first published in this column on August 21, 2015.

By Femi Abbas

This is the month of Ramadan, the ‘Dean’ of all lunar months. It comes into the world once in a year. Its arrival is always with fanfare despite its invisibility. The majestic splendour of this spiritually grandiose month is shrouded in the divine blessing that often heralds its readiness to storm the world.

Unlike all other months of the year, Ramadan keeps humanity in a curious suspense even as it sends a harbinger ahead of its coming. That harbinger is the crescent of hope, which millions of Muslims globally await before commencing the annual obligatory fast in the month.

From its name alone, Ramadan can be called the key with which to open the door to eternal pleasure. Ramadan is the solid ground upon which the formidable edifice of Islam is built. It is the month in which Islam came into the world of mankind through the commencement of the  revelations of the Qur’an in 610 CE. Yet, it did not become a pillar of Islam until 14 years later (624 CE) in Madinah. Without the revelation of the Qur’an which started in the sacred month of Ramadan in 610 CE, perhaps the world would have remained oblivious of the five pillars of Islam today.

Read Also: Humility – your pathway to elevation!

Ramadan is the great light that comes annually to illuminate the dark world of man and to wake up the snoring humanity from deep sleep. It is also a major yardstick with which to measure discipline in the life of Muslims individually and collectively.

To wake up in the night and observe spiritual genuflexions (Nawafil); to take an early breakfast (Sahur) before dawn and abstain from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse as well as other pleasurable activities of life throughout the days of Ramadan is a collection of obligations which only the spiritual phenomenon called Ramadan can impose on man as an act of discipline.

It is only with Ramadan that the hardest heart can be   softened and the wildest animal instinct in man can be tamed. No other pillar of Islam preaches patience, endurance, tolerance, sympathy and social welfare as effectively as Ramadan does. Ramadan is the month that levels the ground under the feet of the rich and the poor alike.

Without this month in the life of a Muslim, the world would have been meaningless spiritually. Welcome on board of this cruising spiritual Yacht that is, once again, commencing a spiritual voyage on the pacific ocean of discipline towards the ‘Cape of Good Hope’.

RAMADAN KARIM!

By FEMI ABBAS

 

Monologue

In a few days’ time, the world will play host to a unique but abstract guest that will perch on the shores of human life with special grandeur of accurate clues to human complex problems. This genderless guest will come with an array of clemency that will qualify it as the bearer of  a timely succour. The arrival of this guest will be the divine catalyst by which the long awaited respite will be ushered into the minds of all genuine Muslims, throughout the world. When it comes, that catalyst will serve as a replacement for the current tribulations that intensely grip the entire mankind by the jugular. The name of the Guest, is RAMADAN.

 

Why Ramadan?

“The ninth lunar month called Ramadan, in which fasting is divinely ordained, derived its name from the Arabic word ‘Ramd’ (meaning baking). That name had been in existence before the advent of Islamic calendar. It was coined from a baking summer that used to come after the spring which followed the freezing winter before the advent of Islam.

 

The Mission of Ramadan

Ever since it became a major attribute to Islam, Ramadan’s mission has been to firm up all loose ends in the life of Muslims. And, it does that with a ruling touch of perfection.

The 30 or 29 days of this Holy Month are fully spent by Muslims in fasting from dawn to dusk. Such fasting is not about abstinence from foods and drinks alone. It is also about self-restraint from all sinful acts and self-equipment with a reign of impeccable discipline.  More importantly, Ramadan is about repackaging human destiny through a new but sincere resolution.

Fasting during this sacred month is figuratively believed to be the burner of all sins. It was in this glorious month that the revelation of the divinely reformative guidance called the Qur’an first began in 610 CE.

 

In Retrospect

Yours sincerely can vividly recall the description given this sacred month in this column, some years ago, which is still as relevant today as it was then. That description went thus: “Once every year, something creeps glamorously into the world like the early morning light. It moves kaleidoscopically into an arena where the center becomes its stool. It lifts its unraveling veil and beams a special focus on the world with an arresting attention during the days. It envelops the nights in a shroud of divine covenant to enable it link up believers’ dreams directly with their fulfillments. No one, except the Almighty Allah, knows Ramadan’s port of embarkation and no human being can claim to know its destination. All we know of this sacred month is that of a Guest that is so vividly present in our world and yet so physically invisible. Its arrival in the world is often heralded by a retinue of other lunar months that form its entourage. The two most prominent among those lunar months are ‘Rajab’ and Sha’ban’.

 

Classification

Traditionally, Ramadan is classified into three main segments. The first ten days in the month constitute the first segment that is said to be of blessings galore for pious Muslims who need Allah’s blessings and seek them spiritually. The second ten days constitute the second segment that is believed to personify forgiveness for those who are ready to repent on their sins and seek forgiveness on them. And, the last ten days, are divinely earmarked for spiritual emancipation of mankind from the shackles of satanic   slavery. Thus, Ramadan, in the psychological and spiritual comprehension of its mission, in the life of mankind, is, by far, beyond an ordinary   month. It should   rather be seen as a whole season that serves as an exemplary template for other seasons.

 

The Night of Power

It is in the last segment of Ramadan, which consists of the last ten days of the sacred month, that a particular night called Night of Power (LaylatulQadr), in which the secret of human destiny is encapsulated. Meeting that night consciously and spiritually is like securing the master key to one’s own permanent apartment in Paradise. However, to meet that night, there is a proviso. And, the proviso is that one needs to remain awake throughout those last 10 nights to be fortunate to meet the D night of majesty.

 

Identity of LayulatulQadr

Meeting LaylatuQadr in its full regalia is a serious matter of efforts rather than that of mere guessing. It must, however, be noted that Allah did not disclose, even to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which particular night of the sacred month of Ramadan is called LaylatulQadr. Nevertheless, by asking the Muslims to look for it in the odd nights of the last ten days, the Prophet has helped the rightly guided Muslim Ummah tremendously. But, who can be so sure of the odd nights in that segment of the month, these days, when the issue of sighting the crescent before commencing Ramadan fast is often controversial? That is why it is better for all fasting Muslims to keep the entire 10 nights of that segment awake.

 

Respect for Seasons

Europeans have so much respect for seasons that whenever they are visited by an important guest, they give him a seasonal   treatment and call him an ‘August visitor’. This is because the month of August that shares that honourary term as a matter of nomenclature is the peak of summer season that harbours hospitality at its peak for the Caucasian race of Europe. In Islam, the most venerable guest of the year, throughout the world, is the month of RAMADAN. Yet, the visiting time of that sacred month is not restricted to any particular season.

 

A Guest of All Seasons

The arrival of Ramadan in the world may coincide with that of any season. And that is what qualifies it eminently to be called the Guest of all seasons.

With Ramadan as a Guest, therefore, not only the Muslims but the entire humanity is consciously or unconsciously engaged in hospitable activities as a show of respect for that great Guest. Those who cannot fast in that sacred month do take advantage of its presence to readjust their social conducts by taming the brute in them even as some of them engage in buying and selling of some relevant needs either for the purpose of humanitarian gesture or for strengthening social acquaintances. Thus, there can be no indifference to the awful presence of Ramadan in any part of the world.

 

Ramadan’s Convoy

As an annual   principal Guest, Ramadan does not come into the world of man all alone. It is always accompanied by an entourage that forms its convoy. Thus, like the sun in the midst of stars, Ramadan, on its arrival in the world, ascends the throne of destiny in full regalia while all other months, (lunar and solar) quickly take their bow in salutation.

In that grandiose circumstance, Ramadan can be called the King where other months are just chiefs and it can be called the Doctor in a world where people are physically and spiritually handicapped. It can also be called the compass with which to find the right way in the wilderness of life. And, because of its multipurpose posture, this same sacred month can also be called the sanitizer of human soul, the sterilizer of human spirit as well as the immunizer of human biological system. Besides the lunar months of Rajab and Sh’aban that lead the convoy of Ramadan into the world, a retinue of invisible ministers is also in its convoy to serve as parts of its entourage. Among such Ministers are piety, knowledge, truth, justice and peace. All of these jointly usher that Guest of guests into the world with rare splendour”.

 

Indices of Recognition

Although the indices of recognizing the beginning and the end of the month of Ramadan are naturally vivid to those who care, sighting the crescent of hope is foremost among those indices.

Ramadan is not preceded by two glorious lunar months of ‘Rajab’ and ‘Sha’ban for fun. The number of days in those two months is to enable any serious Muslim know the time of the arrival of Ramadan and prepare for it. In Islam, no lunar month exceeds 30 days and none is less than 29 days.

Therefore, crescent or no crescent, it is very possible and easy to know when to start Ramadan every year even without waiting to be prompted. The regular confusion often created by the sighting or non-sighting of the crescent, especially before the commencement of Ramadan is therefore avoidable especially where Allah’s instruction in Q. 5:59 is sincerely followed.

 

Preparation

Islam is neither a religion of spiritual levity nor that of commercial venture. The spiritual seriousness of this divine religion is such that everything that needs to be done in it requires preparation.

For instance, to observe daily prayer (Salat), Muslims do prepare by performing ablution (Wudu’) or even special bath (Guslu) when necessary. To pay obligatory annual charity (Zakah), Muslims do prepare by calculating their annual income and by working out the ordained net end of that annual income (Nisab) from which the payable amount of Zakah should be deducted. And to perform Hajj, Muslims do prepare by knotting a spiritually guided intention to that effect and by settling any outstanding debt as well as by taking care of the home front to guarantee food and social security for the family members to be left behind before proceeding on pilgrimage. It is that same spiritual concept of preparation that warrants the monitoring of the appearance of the crescent as a precursor of Ramadan fast.

 

Spiritual Seclusion

The last segment of 10 days of in the month of Ramadan also grants a rare opportunity to some willing Muslims, in accordance with the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), to either go for Umrah in Makkah or take to spiritual seclusion (I’tikaf) locally, as a way of reaffirming their total submission to Allah. Following this is a session of charity (ZakatulFitr) made compulsory for all Muslims to pay irrespective of age, gender and status. Such charity is given to the poor and the needy especially in the neighbourhood or in a  lager vicinity. It is given out in the very early morning of Ramadan Festivity called ‘IdulFitr’ or the night before it, to enable those poor and  needyones celebrate the festival with the Ummah in a festive mood.

 

Anti-climax

The first day of the month of Shawwal, immediately after Ramadan, which is traditionally spent in great celebrations with rejoice and observed as ‘Fast-Breaking Festival’ (EidulFitr) by Muslims through a congregational prayer is the anti-climax of the sacred month of Ramadan. That festival itself has its own preparation and methodology.

 

Paradise and Hell

In the sacred month of Ramadan, all gates of Paradise, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), are wide open for all those aspiring to gain entry into it while the gates of Hell are tightly closed. That is a mark of Allah’s mercy for remorseful Muslims

who do not want to remain fetteredtp the manacles of Satan.

 

Questions

Looking at the uniqueness of Islam as a religion in terms of constant hygiene, decent dressing, spiritual discipline in observance of Salat, the spirit of charity which Zakah and Sadaqah represent, the rules and regulations guiding social interaction during Hajj performance and the codes of the divine law that governs the lives of Muslims as accentuated by the month of Ramadan, one cannot but ask relevant questions as follows:

Where else can one find a Guest like Ramadan? Where else can one meet a Guest that serves as the host to his supposed hosts and becomes a supernatural Doctor that heals mankind of ignorance, poverty and physical diseases? It was probably more to Ramadan than to man that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) referred when he said: “whoever believes in Allah and the ‘Last Day’ should venerate his guests”. That is why Muslims often greet one another in this uniquely great   month thus:

‘RAMADAN KARIM!