Special Advices for the Blessed Month of Ramadhan

By Hazrat Maulana Shah Abrarul Haq Saheb (rahmatullahi alaihi)

These are some special guidelines to be followed in the month of Ramadhan as prescribed by Hazrat Maulana Shah Abrarul Haq Saheb (rahimahullah). Inshallah, by following these guidelines one will attain maximum benefit from this blessed month.

1.) To read kalima tayyiba in abundance.

2.) To make abundant istighfar (repentance).

3.) To supplicate Allah Ta`ala for paradise.

4.) To seek refuge from hell-fire.

5.) To make abundant recitation of the Qur’an Shareef.

NOTE: Due to the fact that the month of Ramadhan has a special connection with the Qur’an, because it was revealed in this very blessed month, a person should give special attention to reciting, contemplating and learning/teaching it in this month.

6.) To read durood shareef on our beloved Rasul (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as much as possible. It would be ideal to read it 300 times a day.

7.) To make an effort to perform 5 times salah in congregation with takbir-e-ulaa.

8.) To come early for the isha salah and be prepared for taraweeh prayers.

9.) One should try to spend one’s spare time in nafl I’tikaaf in the masjid.

NOTE: Rasullulah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) expressed his dislike, when he saw some of the Ummahatul-Mumineen (mothers of the believers) attempting to make I’tekaaf in the masjid, as alluded to in the hadith of Bukhari Shareef, hadith #2033. Thus, women should allocate a place in the privacy of their homes for this and inshallah they will also attain great rewards as mentioned by the fuqaha.

10.) To spend some money in charity (according to one’s financial ability).

11.) To abstain as much as possible from useless and vain talk. One should even abstain from worldly discussions unless one is absolutely in need of doing so.

12.) To abstain from all major and minor sins especially going to the movies, casting lustful glances, back-biting, gambling (whether in the form of lottery, dice, poker, or anything else, etc.) listening to music, not doing hijaab according to the shariah, fighting and arguing, shaving the beard or trimming it less than a fist-length, hanging the clothes below the ankles. Such a fast which is accompanied by sinning and disobedience of Allah Ta`ala and Rasul (salallahu alaihi wa sallam) has no value in the sight Allah. This type of fast does not carry in it the blessings and benefits which have been promised to us by Rasulullah (salallahu alaihi wa sallam). It has been mentioned in a hadith shareef that fasting is a shield from the hell-fire, as long as one does not tear that shield down. The tearing down of the shield is to commit sins.

Important Point: A person should ponder over the fact that in the month of Ramadhan, a person leaves food and drink which are the bare necessities of life. People are now, in order to fulfill the Divine command, prepared to go through the difficulty of leaving their necessities of life (during the day) to ensure that they acquire the benefits and rewards of the fast. Now how unfortunate would it be if a person is going through the hardships of leaving the necessities of life and he is not leaving those things which are haram, impermissible, and worthy of abstinence in the first place. It is mentioned in a hadith shareef, “He who does not leave obscene talk and evil deeds, then Allah Ta`ala is not in need of him leaving his food and drink.”

●By making a firm resolution to do something, the most difficult tasks are made easy by Allah Ta`ala. There was a person who used to smoke 20 -30 cigarettes daily. He happened to hear some lecturer saying, “How inappropriate and disrespectful it is that people defile their mouths with smoking cigarettes, whereas the mouth is supposed to be the passageway of remembering the name of Allah and reciting the Book of Allah…” On hearing this point, he immediately made a firm resolution and left smoking forever. Like this, it is also necessary in this blessed month (for men) to make a firm resolution to leave a fist-length beard according to shariah. After doing so, look at yourself in the mirror and you be the judge of how enlightened your face now looks.

●Shaving of the beard and trimming it less than a fist-length is such a sin which a person remains in continuously. Murder, rape, theft etc. are such sins that if a person perpetrates such sins in the night, then no one will know of what was done in the day, even though they are deadly sins. But not having a beard according to the shariah is so detrimental a sin that a person will be in the condition of fasting, praying, performing Hajj, etc. and he will still be having the resemblance of a criminal as long as he is void of a shar’i beard and thus remain deprived of the special mercies of Allah Ta`ala. (For details please check Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Zakariya’s booklet Importance of the Beard )

● For ladies it is essential that they observe shar’i hijaab. Shar’i hijaab does not just mean that you wear certain head gear or cover the face with a veil; rather one must segregate from those males in the family who are permissible for one to marry, such as cousins, etc. We will briefly mention some of those relatives which people do not usually consider ghair mahram.

(For males): brother’s wife, wife’s sister, paternal and maternal female cousins, and uncle’s wife.

(For females): sister’s husband, husband’s brother, paternal and maternal male cousins, aunt’s husband.

● In this blessed month of Ramadhan a person should take extra care in abstaining from back-biting. Most people ruin the rewards of their fast through this grave sin. (Please refer to my pamphlet, Islaahul Gheebah– Rectification of Back-biting)

● Casting lustful glances should also be strictly abstained from in this blessed month. These evil glances are the extremely poisonous arrows of shaitan. The light and blessings of good deeds are diminished through this detrimental sin and a darkness is left in the heart. Such a darkness remains in the heart from this sin that at times even istighfar cannot remove. The only way a person can remove this darkness is at the next opportunity of casting lustful glances you guard your eyes, tolerate the pain and struggle of looking away, and only then this darkness will be effaced.

(Ruh Ke Bemaryia aur Unka Ilaaj; pg. 316-318 )