The Call of Ramadhaan (Part Two)

The Call of Ramadhaan (Part Two)

The perfection of Roza (fasting) is not merely by leaving sins. Positive actions are also desired when fasting. In the Hadeeth: “O One who seeks good, come forth; and O One who seeks evil, desist,” both do’s and don’ts are combined. We learn from this Hadeeth that cleaning and adorning the fast are desired as the first statement draws our attention to noble actions and the second statement tells us to stop sinning which is the cleaning process.

In the previous Jumah this cleaning process was addressed to the degree of necessity. Now I will explain the process of adorning the fast.

The Question of No One Hearing the Call

Firstly, however, I wish to respond to a question from students pertaining to the Hadeeth: “O One who seeks good…” The question is: In this Hadeeth the call of the Angel is mentioned. It is furthermore mentioned that this call is sounded daily in Ramadhaan. But no one hears it. So how do we respond to it?

The answer to this question is that just as listening demands a response; similarly, by being notified a response is also required. Thus, we are obligated to practically respond to the call in view of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) having informed us of the call. If our sense of hearing is not on that level where we can hear the call it is our own shortcoming. The call and the caller are not to be blamed.

In this regard I will relate an incident that took place in Shimlah. On one journey Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri travelled along with us. In a jalsah Moulana Anwar Shah delivered a lecture on the miraculous nature of the Qur’aan. The lecture was very intricate. Due to lack of comprehension the audience became disconsolate. People questioned the benefit of the bayaan.

After that when I gave a bayaan I said, “From Molvi Anwar Shah Saheb’s bayaan you can realise that the Ulama understand certain things which you cannot comprehend. This does not mean that the lecture was defective. It means and shows that you do not have the qualifications to understand certain things. The fault therefore lies with you; not with the bayaan.”

In the same way consider the call of the Angel. Not hearing it is our shortcoming; not the call’s or the caller’s shortcoming.

Secondly there is reason for the call not being heard; so that we can understand that besides this world there is another world where the inhabitants occupy another position and status.

Nevertheless, the heart perceives this call. It is for this reason that with the onset of Ramadhaanul Mubaarak almost everyone desires to engage in some noble deed. This is the effect of that call; the heart has heard it.

Adorning This Month in a Special Way

After the response to the question I now go on to explain the stage of adorning. In Ramadhaan this stage of adorning comes in two forms. The one way is a special way whilst the other is general. The Special Way means to adorn oneself with special actions, and the general way means to adorn oneself with any good deed. Two Hadeeths are hereby cited which cover the two.

One Hadeeth is in Baihaqi. It states that the Qur’aan and Saum will intercede on behalf of a person. The Qur’aan will say: “I never allowed him to sleep. Therefore, accept my intercession and forgive him.”

This does not mean that we should stay awake the whole night. It means that in contrast to other nights the Qur’aan kept a person awake longer [as it was recited in Taraaweeh Salaat, in Tahajjud Salaat and out of Salaat].

It even appears in the Qur’aan:

“They used to sleep little at night.” (Surah Wath-thaariyaat, 17)

This explanation was related to the intercession of the Qur’aan.

Roza (fasting) will say: “I kept him away from eating and drinking during the day.”

In this manner the intercession of the Qur’aan and Roza will materialize. We learn from this that only fasting is not sufficient in Ramadhaan; read and listen to the Qur’aan as well. And the simple way to achieve this in this month is the Taraaweeh Salaat.

Despoiling the Taraaweeh

The problem is that very few people perform their Taraaweeh Salaat correctly. It is boasted that so-and-so Hafiz read so much paras (juz) in just one hour, whereas the words of the Qur’aan were not even recited properly. The Rukoo’ and Sujood were also despoiled.

If you recite the Qur’aan in this fashion

The image of Islam you ruin

Then we find the muqtadis irritated when some Hafiz wishes to recite the Qur’aan properly.

In short, when they return then instead of going home with reward they take along liability.

(To be completed, Insha-Allah)