Ramadhaan is ONLY the Starting Point and a Training period for the Rooh to make Taqwa its Mission in Life.
As we all know, fasting is the ultimate form of submitting the heart to Allah Ta’ala, because the heart is forced to surrender its joys of eating, drinking and cohabitation.
This is exactly the type of submission which our Rabb wants from us daily in every aspect of our lives. In our Ibaadah, our business dealings, our relationship with our families, our laughter, our sorrows, our sleeping, our eating, our seeing, our hearing, our walking and in our breathing – this submission, this Taqwa is to be the goal. Taqwa and only Taqwa matters.
Hadhrat Moulana Maseehullah (Rahmatullahi Alayh) explains how to monitor and build up Taqwa :
“Just as strategies and tactics are employed in worldly affairs, so too should they be utilized in Deeni Affairs. With the Fadl of Allah Ta’ala, this lowly servant has formulated a strategy in order that a Taalib-e-Saadiq (a sincere seeker of the Truth) may beforehand be prepared for combating his Nafs and Shaytaan.
Think deeply over what you will do if Allah Ta’ala tests you. By conducting the following spiritual exercises, we will be able to discern whether our fasting is merely a ritual or whether it has benefited us:
* A beautiful woman is walking towards you. What will you do? Will you glance at her or will you observe Taqwa? Will you attempt to gaze at her, speak to her or avoid her with determination? What does the heart say?
* Someone made a mistake in a transaction involving thousands of rands. You are in a desperate financial situation and need the money. Shaytaan tells you to take it and that you will somehow repay him later. Will you give in to the urges of greed of the heart?
* Your spouse makes you angry. You are furious and upset. Do you lose your temper or do you have Sabr (patience) and Hilm (tolerance)? What effect is the fast having upon your heart? Humility or arrogance?
