Your breaths in it (the month of Rama1an)
are glorification (of God) and your sleep in it is worship.4
4. When you are invited to a party, you naturally expect to meet the host and consider his absence as a humiliation. Accordingly, when Allah (SWT) invites His servant to His banquet, by nature, He is ready to show Himself to His guests and meet them.
"This is the month in which you have been invited to the banquet
of Allah.." This part of the sermon inspires the fact that this blessing has been dedicated to the month of Ramadan. The Holy Prophet of Islam added:
In the sight of Allah, this month is the
best month, its days are the best days,
its nights are the best nights and its hours
are the best hours.5
Although this month's prominence over others involves that its days,nights and hours are the best as well, by mentioning these three phrases independently, the Prophet emphasized that every portion of this month is better than its counterpart in every other month.
Recommendations for the month of Ramadan
The sermon continues by several instructions:
Oh people! The gates of heaven are
open in this month. So ask your Lord
not to close them.6
The phrase, ‘the gates of heaven being open’ has at least two meanings:
(1) The chance of the one to deserve entering heaven is more in this blessed month than the other months.
(2) Due to the openness of heaven’s gates, all kinds of divine mercy in heaven are ready to encompass the servants in tis world, angels are permitted to come to their presence and the breeze of heaven blow into this world. These make the sleep and breaths of the faithful in the month of Ramadan like the inhabitants of heaven glorification of God and worship.
Although the gates of heaven are open, the Holy Prophet warns people that if they do not appreciate such a great opportunity,
subsequently Allah (SWT) will close them. The situation of the
gates of fire is quite the contrary:
And the gates of the fire are closed. So ask your Lord not to open them.7
Along these lines, the condition of satans is described as follows:
And satans are in chains. So ask your Lord not to dominate them over you.8
Although Satan and his assistants are chained up in this month,
committing sins results in releasing them. Therefore, while the
month of Ramadan is the best month in itself, for a group of
people, this month is worse than the other months just as the Holy
Qur'an is "a cure and mercy for the faithful; and it increases the
wrongdoers only in loss" (17:82).
The fourth Holy Imam, Imam Sajjad, (A) in his farewell
supplication for the holy month of Ramadan declares:
Oh month of Ramadan! Peace be upon
you! How long you were for
wrongdoers and how awesome you
were in the hearts of the faithful!
(Al-Sahifah Al-Sajjādiyyah, supplication no. 45)
As implied by this supplication and as proved by the experience,
the month of Ramadan, for those who do not fast deliberately and
without any religious excuse, seems like a whole year and every
moment of it is a kind of torture for them. On the contrary, those
who do their best to appreciate this month find it passing quickly
and are concerned about losing a second without taking the full
benefit of it.
Another instruction offered by the Holy Prophet in his
Sh‘baniyyah sermon is:
When you feel hungry and thirsty in
this month remember the hunger and
thirst of the Day of Judgment.9
Tolerating thirst and hunger in this world is so difficult. We must
then ponder upon the fact that the thirst and hunger in the
hereafter last for years and years or for some groups of people
forever. Additionally, in this world, death may be regarded as a
solution for intolerable thirst and hunger, but in the next world,
eternal life turns this solution into a useless one. In this regard,
Chapter 43 Verse 77 reads:
They will call out," O Mālik! [the name
of the guardian of the hell] Let your
Lord finish us off!" He will say,"
Indeed you will stay on.
are glorification (of God) and your sleep in it is worship.4
4. When you are invited to a party, you naturally expect to meet the host and consider his absence as a humiliation. Accordingly, when Allah (SWT) invites His servant to His banquet, by nature, He is ready to show Himself to His guests and meet them.
"This is the month in which you have been invited to the banquet
of Allah.." This part of the sermon inspires the fact that this blessing has been dedicated to the month of Ramadan. The Holy Prophet of Islam added:
In the sight of Allah, this month is the
best month, its days are the best days,
its nights are the best nights and its hours
are the best hours.5
Although this month's prominence over others involves that its days,nights and hours are the best as well, by mentioning these three phrases independently, the Prophet emphasized that every portion of this month is better than its counterpart in every other month.
Recommendations for the month of Ramadan
The sermon continues by several instructions:
Oh people! The gates of heaven are
open in this month. So ask your Lord
not to close them.6
The phrase, ‘the gates of heaven being open’ has at least two meanings:
(1) The chance of the one to deserve entering heaven is more in this blessed month than the other months.
(2) Due to the openness of heaven’s gates, all kinds of divine mercy in heaven are ready to encompass the servants in tis world, angels are permitted to come to their presence and the breeze of heaven blow into this world. These make the sleep and breaths of the faithful in the month of Ramadan like the inhabitants of heaven glorification of God and worship.
Although the gates of heaven are open, the Holy Prophet warns people that if they do not appreciate such a great opportunity,
subsequently Allah (SWT) will close them. The situation of the
gates of fire is quite the contrary:
And the gates of the fire are closed. So ask your Lord not to open them.7
Along these lines, the condition of satans is described as follows:
And satans are in chains. So ask your Lord not to dominate them over you.8
Although Satan and his assistants are chained up in this month,
committing sins results in releasing them. Therefore, while the
month of Ramadan is the best month in itself, for a group of
people, this month is worse than the other months just as the Holy
Qur'an is "a cure and mercy for the faithful; and it increases the
wrongdoers only in loss" (17:82).
The fourth Holy Imam, Imam Sajjad, (A) in his farewell
supplication for the holy month of Ramadan declares:
Oh month of Ramadan! Peace be upon
you! How long you were for
wrongdoers and how awesome you
were in the hearts of the faithful!
(Al-Sahifah Al-Sajjādiyyah, supplication no. 45)
As implied by this supplication and as proved by the experience,
the month of Ramadan, for those who do not fast deliberately and
without any religious excuse, seems like a whole year and every
moment of it is a kind of torture for them. On the contrary, those
who do their best to appreciate this month find it passing quickly
and are concerned about losing a second without taking the full
benefit of it.
Another instruction offered by the Holy Prophet in his
Sh‘baniyyah sermon is:
When you feel hungry and thirsty in
this month remember the hunger and
thirst of the Day of Judgment.9
Tolerating thirst and hunger in this world is so difficult. We must
then ponder upon the fact that the thirst and hunger in the
hereafter last for years and years or for some groups of people
forever. Additionally, in this world, death may be regarded as a
solution for intolerable thirst and hunger, but in the next world,
eternal life turns this solution into a useless one. In this regard,
Chapter 43 Verse 77 reads:
They will call out," O Mālik! [the name
of the guardian of the hell] Let your
Lord finish us off!" He will say,"
Indeed you will stay on.
According to the Holy Qur'an, there is no death for wrongdoers in the hereafter and even when their skin is burnt a new one will be replaced so the punishment of the hereafter is always experienced
as a fresh one! Chapter 4 Verse 56 reads:
Surely those who disbelieved in Our
Signs and Miracles, We shall cast them
into the Fire. As often as their skins
are roasted wholly, we shall change
them for other skins that they may
taste the punishment. Verily, Allah is
the Invincible-Mighty, Wise.
Thus, when compared to the chastisement of the doomsday, worldly pains can be regarded as nothing. It has been recorded in history that during the caliphate of Imam Ali (A), when his blind brother 'Aqil asked him to grant him an additional portion of public treasury due to his severe poverty, the Holy Imam (A) brought a hot piece of metal near ‘Aqil. Feeling the hotness of it, 'Aqil protested: "Are you going to burn me?" "No!" Imam replied. "You cried because of a metal made hot by a human being for fun. Then, how do you expect me not to cry for the fire prepared by Allah (SWT) due to His anger?"
Beside reminding us of the hereafter, the thirst and hunger during the month of Ramadan reminds those who fast of poor people experiencing the same feelings during whole days of their life and encourages those who fast to spend some portion of their properties in the way of Allah (SWT) and for the sake of needy people.
Some narrations regarding fasting
The Holy Prophet of Islam (S) is quoted as saying:
Verily Allah (SWT) has appointed some
angels only in order to pray for the
people who fast. Gabriel has informed
me that Allah (SWT) has said: "I have
not commanded my angels to pray for
one of my creatures, unless I have
accepted their prayers for him."10
The sixth Holy Imam, Imam Sadiq (A) has stated:
When a person fasts on a hot day
for the sake of Allah and becomes
thirsty, Allah SWT sends 1000
angels to touch his/her face and
give him/her glad tidings up to the
time of breaking the fast when
Allah (SWT) tells him/her: "How
nice you smell! What a pleasant
soul you possess! Oh my angels!
Bear witness that I have forgiven
him/her."11
Based on narrations like this, everything that seems bad in this world is not necessarily the same in the hereafter and vice versa. Therefore, although the person who fasts his mouth may smell bad in this world, he has a pleasant odour for Allah (SWT) and the residents of heaven. On the other hand, a woman smelling nicely for non-mahram men will not be the same in the world to come. Thus, realities are not necessarily what appear to us in this world.
According to a very famous tradition narrated by both Sunni and Shi'ite scholars, the Holy Prophet said:
Allah (SWT) said: "fasting is for me
and I am the one who rewards for
it”.12
as a fresh one! Chapter 4 Verse 56 reads:
Surely those who disbelieved in Our
Signs and Miracles, We shall cast them
into the Fire. As often as their skins
are roasted wholly, we shall change
them for other skins that they may
taste the punishment. Verily, Allah is
the Invincible-Mighty, Wise.
Thus, when compared to the chastisement of the doomsday, worldly pains can be regarded as nothing. It has been recorded in history that during the caliphate of Imam Ali (A), when his blind brother 'Aqil asked him to grant him an additional portion of public treasury due to his severe poverty, the Holy Imam (A) brought a hot piece of metal near ‘Aqil. Feeling the hotness of it, 'Aqil protested: "Are you going to burn me?" "No!" Imam replied. "You cried because of a metal made hot by a human being for fun. Then, how do you expect me not to cry for the fire prepared by Allah (SWT) due to His anger?"
Beside reminding us of the hereafter, the thirst and hunger during the month of Ramadan reminds those who fast of poor people experiencing the same feelings during whole days of their life and encourages those who fast to spend some portion of their properties in the way of Allah (SWT) and for the sake of needy people.
Some narrations regarding fasting
The Holy Prophet of Islam (S) is quoted as saying:
Verily Allah (SWT) has appointed some
angels only in order to pray for the
people who fast. Gabriel has informed
me that Allah (SWT) has said: "I have
not commanded my angels to pray for
one of my creatures, unless I have
accepted their prayers for him."10
The sixth Holy Imam, Imam Sadiq (A) has stated:
When a person fasts on a hot day
for the sake of Allah and becomes
thirsty, Allah SWT sends 1000
angels to touch his/her face and
give him/her glad tidings up to the
time of breaking the fast when
Allah (SWT) tells him/her: "How
nice you smell! What a pleasant
soul you possess! Oh my angels!
Bear witness that I have forgiven
him/her."11
Based on narrations like this, everything that seems bad in this world is not necessarily the same in the hereafter and vice versa. Therefore, although the person who fasts his mouth may smell bad in this world, he has a pleasant odour for Allah (SWT) and the residents of heaven. On the other hand, a woman smelling nicely for non-mahram men will not be the same in the world to come. Thus, realities are not necessarily what appear to us in this world.
According to a very famous tradition narrated by both Sunni and Shi'ite scholars, the Holy Prophet said:
Allah (SWT) said: "fasting is for me
and I am the one who rewards for
it”.12
The content of this narration has been widely discussed among the scholars. While all worships are for Allah (SWT) and rewarded by Him, the Almighty, why has fasting been appropriated a special position in this narration?
Three answers might be suggested here:
1. The first reason is that fasting is the abandoning of some acts; thus, it is the only worship that is not seen or known by anyone.
2. Another reason, as suggested by some scholars, is the fact that during the history, all kinds of worship (praying, pilgrimage, giving alms, sacrifice, and so on) have been offered to idols and false gods and the only exception among the acts of worship is fasting since no one has ever fasted for anyone or anything other than Allah (SWT).
3. The third reason is the special relationship between fasting and Allah swt just as we call some days as the days of Allah (SWT) and some places as the house of Allah (SWT) , even though every time and place belong to Him. This meaning implies the special mercy of Allah (SWT) for those who fast. The same implication is true with the next phrase which says: "and I am the one who rewards for it." When some workers are employed by a person he may give their wage to his agent to distribute among them. However, if the job is a special one he may personally hand the wages out to them. Similarly, Allah (SWT) without any mediation rewards those who fast. It is noteworthy to mention that the Arabic term "aX-" in the above-mentioned narration can be read in both active and passive forms. According to the latter, the narration gives another meaning:
"Fasting is for me and I am its reward!"
Thus, the one who fasts has Allah (SWT) with him/her as the reward of his/her act of worship just as the guest of a banquet who expects the host to welcome and meet him/her.
—-----------------------------------------------
1 Al-Amāli by Saduq, p. 93.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid. p. 95.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid. p. 93.
10 Wasā'il al-Shi‘ah, vol. 10, p. 396.
11 Ibid. P. 409
12 Ibid. p.4
Three answers might be suggested here:
1. The first reason is that fasting is the abandoning of some acts; thus, it is the only worship that is not seen or known by anyone.
2. Another reason, as suggested by some scholars, is the fact that during the history, all kinds of worship (praying, pilgrimage, giving alms, sacrifice, and so on) have been offered to idols and false gods and the only exception among the acts of worship is fasting since no one has ever fasted for anyone or anything other than Allah (SWT).
3. The third reason is the special relationship between fasting and Allah swt just as we call some days as the days of Allah (SWT) and some places as the house of Allah (SWT) , even though every time and place belong to Him. This meaning implies the special mercy of Allah (SWT) for those who fast. The same implication is true with the next phrase which says: "and I am the one who rewards for it." When some workers are employed by a person he may give their wage to his agent to distribute among them. However, if the job is a special one he may personally hand the wages out to them. Similarly, Allah (SWT) without any mediation rewards those who fast. It is noteworthy to mention that the Arabic term "aX-" in the above-mentioned narration can be read in both active and passive forms. According to the latter, the narration gives another meaning:
"Fasting is for me and I am its reward!"
Thus, the one who fasts has Allah (SWT) with him/her as the reward of his/her act of worship just as the guest of a banquet who expects the host to welcome and meet him/her.
—-----------------------------------------------
1 Al-Amāli by Saduq, p. 93.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid. p. 95.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid. p. 93.
10 Wasā'il al-Shi‘ah, vol. 10, p. 396.
11 Ibid. P. 409
12 Ibid. p.4
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