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Ramadan Virtues, Blessings & Essential Elements
by
 Iman Badawi
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most CompassionateAll praise is to Allah, Whom we thank and seek for His help and forgiveness.We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and the burden of our evildeeds.Whomsoever He guides, will never be misled, and whomsoever He misguides, willnever find enlightenment.I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Mohammad isHis slave and Messenger.Allah said, what translated means, “O you who believe! Fear Allah as He shouldbe feared, and die not except in a state of Islam” [3:102],also, “Mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person(Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both Hecreated many men and women and fear Allah through whom you demand yourmutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations) of the wombs (kinship)! Surely,Allah is Ever an All- Watcher over you.” [4:1]and, “O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak(always) the Truth.” [33:70].The best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidancesent with Muhammad - peace be upon him. The worst of matters are Bid’ahs(innovations in the religion), every Bid’ah is a Dhalalah [misguidance], and everyDhalalah is in the Hellfire.
***Contents****
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A. The Magnificent Month
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B. Blessings of Ramadan
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C. Virtues of Fasting in Quran and Sunnah
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D. Ramadan and the Quran
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E. Virtues of the Quran
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F. Essential Elements of Fasting
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G. Acts Which Nullify the Fast (intentionally/involuntarily)
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H. Other RulingsA. The Magnificent Month
 Salman Al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) addressed us on the last day of Sha’ban and said: “People, a greatblessed month has come upon you, a month containing Laylat al-Qadr which isbetter than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting during it an obligation,and steadfastly observing its nights in worship a voluntary act. Whoeverundertakes an act of obedience to Allah during this month with a righteous deed,it is as if he has performed an obligatory act at other times; and whoeverperforms an obligatory act during it is as one who performed seventy obligationsat other times. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience isParadise. It is the month of goodwill, during which provisions are multiplied.Whoever feeds a fasting person will be compensated with forgiveness of sins andsalvation of his soul from Hell. He will also receive a reward equal to that of theperson he feeds, without causing him any reduction (in his good deeds).” (TheCompanions) said: “Not all of us can find something to feed a fasting person.” 
 
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Allah gives this reward to whoever feeds a fastingperson even with just a taste of milk or dates, or a drink of water. Whoeverquenches the thirst of a fasting person, Allah the Almighty makes him drink frommy pond such that he will never feel thirsty again until he enters Paradise. It is amonth whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness and whose end isemancipation from Hell.Therefore display four characteristics to a greater extent; with two of which youwill please your Lord, and two you can not dispense with. The two with which youwill please your Lord are to testify that there is no one deserving of worshipexcept Allah, and to seek His forgiveness; whereas the two which you cannotdispense with are that you beseech Allah to place you in Paradise and that youseek refuge with Him from Hell.” [related by Ibn Khuzaymah and AlBayhaqi].
B. Blessings of Ramadan
 Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters! We are hosting soon inshaa’a Allah a unique, agenerous and an honorable guest; a guest that visits us once a year and bringswith it all sorts of goodness and happiness; a guest that brings with it the wideMercy and Forgiveness of Allah; a guest that brings with it a smell of Paradise; aguest that makes the believer closer to Allah and His Paradise and away fromShaytan and Hell Fire. It is Ramadhan, the month of the Qur’an, the month of Mercy, the month of Forgiveness, the month of prayer at night and Suhoor, themonth of solidarity and mutual help, the month of all blessings.We are advised in our merciful religion of Islam to be kind and generous towardsthe guest, so what if the guest is the best of guests over the year? We shouldexert ourselves in generosity which is in this case good behavior and intenseworship. It is from the immense mercy of Allah upon us that He made us Muslimsand that He extended our lives till we reached this Ramadan. It is reported fromsome of the Salaf (Muslims of the first three centuries of Islam that theMessenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, praised in the well knownfamous hadith) that they used to pray to Allah during the six months beforeRamadan to extend their lives so that they can fast Ramadan, and in the 6months after Ramadan they would ask Allah to accept their fasting of Ramadan.Therefore, we have to be thankful to Allah that He allowed us to witness thisRamadan, so let us please Him during this month.Why do we fast? It is from the nature of humans to ask and to wonder why theydo things. Muslims do things to please Allah, and they can please Allah only byobeying Him and practicing His religion. Thus, in answer to this question “Why dowe fast?” we respond that it is a commandment and a clear order from Allah uponus and we have no other choice but to obey Allah and please Him out of Love andFear at the same time.Allah says what means : “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for youas it has been prescribed for people before you so that you will (learn how to)attain Taqwa” (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:183)Ibn ‘Umar reports that Allah’s Messenger said: Islam is based on (the following)five (principles):
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1. To testify that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah andMuhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
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2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
 
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3. To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity)
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4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca)
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5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan. [Bukhari]Abu Hurairah narrates that one day while Allah’s Messenger was sitting with thepeople, a man came to him walking and said, “O Allah’s Messenger. What isBelief?” The Prophet said, “Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, HisApostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection.” The manasked, “O Allah’s Apostle, What is Islam?” The Prophet replied, “Islam is toworship Allah and not worship anything besides Him, to offer prayers perfectly, topay the (compulsory) charity (i.e. Zakat) and to fast the month of Ramadan.” [The narration of Muslim has Hajj as well]. The man again asked, “O Allah’sApostle What is Ihsan (i.e. perfection or benevolence)? The Prophet said, “Ihsanis to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you.” Then the man left. TheProphet said, “Call him back to me.” They went to call him back but could not seehim. The Prophet said, “That was Jibreel (Gabriel) who came to teach the peopletheir religion.” [Bukhari].Since Islam means submission to Allah, we have no other choice but to submitourselves to Allah and obey His commandments. It is from the mercy of Allahtowards us that while He prescribed on us fasting, He also showed us thegreatness of fasting in this world and in the hereafter to make it beloved to us.Abu Umaamah (r.a.a.) said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an action bywhich I may enter Paradise. He said: Take to Fasting, there is nothing like it. [An-Nasaa’ee, Ibn Hibbaan, Al-Haakim, Saheeh]In this hadeeth, the Prophet (s.a.w.) singled out fasting when asked about a deedthat leads its doer to the best of rewards, Paradise. This fact alone is sufficient forus to understand the greatness of fasting. Mere knowledge of the importance andsuperiority of fasting, however, is not enough for a Muslim to attain Allah’spleasure and then, in shaa’ Allah, His great reward.Indeed, the Prophet (s.a.w.) has said: “Perhaps a person fasting will receivenothing from his fasting except hunger and thirst.” [Ibn Maajah, Ad-Daarimee,Ahmad, al-Baihaqee, Saheeh]This hadeeth should raise our concern about fasting and increase our desire toperform this act of worship with the best intention and in accordance with theSunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.). The first step is for a Muslim to realize that Allahhas prescribed fasting as a means of gaining Taqwa. Allah (swt) has also informedus that it is taqwa that distinguishes people in the His sight.Allah says: “The most honoured by Allah amongst you are those best in taqwaa.” [49:13]Ali ibn Abi Taalib was asked about the definition of taqwa, to which he answered: “[It is] Fear of the All-Mighty, acting upon the revelation, preparation for the dayof travel [when we meet Allah], and contentment with a small amount.” 
C. Virtues of Fasting as mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah
 
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The reward for fasting is immense, as mentioned in the following Hadeeth: “Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good
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