Ramadan Talk 183-187

These 5 verses, Surah Baqarah, 183-187 are the only place in the Quran that Allah talks about
Ramadan, so we should pay particular attention to them. We will go through each verse one by
one, and see what we can benefit from it, but before that its important to look at their placement
in Surah Baqarah and how they relate-and by extension Ramadan relates, to larger themes within
the surah. Their context.
One of the central themes of Surah Baqarah is that of Ibrahim (a.s) and the relationship between
his legacy and that of Rasulallah’s. A careful look at Surah Baqarah will reveal that apart from
Adam as, no non-Abrahamic prophet is discussed in this surah. Nuh, Hud, Saleh, Shuaib, etc are
not mentioned in this surah. One of the reasons for that is Surah Baqarah is from the early
Madanian era of the seerah, and the Prophet was interacting with the Jewish community there,
and this surah was in many ways addressed to them.
This surah makes the case that Rasulallah was not preaching a new religion, but that he was
merely completing the religion of Abraham, and as such the Jews had no reason to reject him
given that they called themselves the children of Abraham. One can make the case that all 5
pillars of Islam are related to Ibrahim. How? The first one, tawhid is obvious. No one went out of
their way to make the compelling case for tawhid like Abraham, and to this day, the monotheistic
faiths are called Abrahamic faiths. The last one, Hajj, is also obvious given that Abraham built
the kaa’bah as a place of tawhid. And one can say that the mission of the Prophet was to restore
the kaa’bah to the legacy of Abraham by removing all polytheism from it. The rami, the sai, the
zamzam, everything about hajj goes back to Ibrahim.What about the other 3 pillars. The prayers:
The dua, Rabbijalni muqimas salati…Oh lord make me one who establishes the prayer, and from
my offspring is the dua of Ibrahim while building the kaabah. So that too goes back to Ibrahim.
What about the zakat? That’s not so obvious but even that goes back to Ibrahim. Who built the
kaabah with Ibrahim? His son-Ismail. What does Allah say about Ismail? Kaana ya’muru ahlahu
bis salati waz zakati-that he ordered his people to pray and give zakat, so the zakat is directly
attributed to Ismail and by extension Ibrahim. What about Ramadan? It’s the least obvious of the
5 in terms of its attribution to Ibrahim. What was the dua Ibrahim made while building the
kaabah? Rabana wab’ath feehim rasoolam minhum alaihim aayaatika wa yualimihumul kitaaba
wal hikmata wa yuzakeehim. Innaka antal azeezul hakeem. Our lord, raise from amongst them a
messenger who will recite your verses to them, teach them the book and wisdom, and purify
them. Who was the answer to this dua? Rasulallah. Rasulallah was the fulfillment of this dua of
Ibrahim. This dua was made while Ibrahim building the kaabah, with Ismail, when Ibrahim had
Ismail settle in the valley of Makkah. And the only prophet to come from the line of Ismail was
Rasulallah. On the other side, from his other son Ishaaq, there were numerous prophets, and we
get the tribe of Israel from it. Every generation had a prophet, a continuous chain of prophet
through the children of Israel. The children of Ismail on the other hand, had no Prophet till
Rasulallah. And how did Rasulallah receive prophethood? Through the revelation of the Quran.
When did he receive the Quran? In Ramadan. So Ibrahim made dua that the children of Ismail be
given a prophet, and that dua was fulfilled with Rasulallah in the revelation of the Quran, in the
month of Ramadan, hence in this way Ramadan is the celebration of the dua of Ibrahim. And the
verses we will look at today, will make this point more obvious. What does Allah describe
Ramadan as, what is its particularity that Allah singles out? Shahru ramadanalathi unzila fihil
quran. The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was sent down. Ramadan is the
celebration of the dua of Ibrahim. So all 5 pillars in one way or another, are related to Ibrahim.
When this surah was revealed, like I mentioned, the prophet was engaging with the Jewish
community. And initially, the two communities didn’t view each other as totally distinct.
Rasulallah prayed towards Jerusalem, he fasted when they fasted, such as the fasts of Ashura, 3
days in a month, these were all done because there was a sense of a shared legacy. The prophet
constantly emphasized to the Jews that he wasn’t bringing a new religion. That’s why many of
the commandments given to the jews in the Quran are also repeated to the Muslims. Was-ta’inu
bis sabri was salah-said to the Jews-seek aid through patience and prayer. Later to Muslims, the
same verse is repeated, prefaced with Ya ayuhal ladhina amanu. This commonality was not done
with anyone else. Its like the Quran is addressed to people within the same over arching religious
framework. The prophet didn’t see it as 2 different legacies, but as one shared legacy. That’s
why isra and miraj is not Makkah to heaven, but Makkah to Jerusalem, and then to heaven. But
the Jews had a legacy of prophethood, they hadn’t been deprived because they rejected a
prophet. Other nations rejected their prophets, and were destroyed. Thamud rejected Hud (As)
and were destroyed. Same thing with other nations. But the Jews were given leave, they were
always sent another Prophet no matter what they did. But after they rejected Isa, they had no
prophet for 6 centuries, and had gotten worried, and knew that given the gap, the last prophet
was sure to be coming. So they were anxiously waiting for the last prophet, predicted in their
books. But when the Prophet came, and the Jewish masses, not the rabbis, but the masses started
gravitating towards him, because they had been told for years a prophet is coming, their rabbis
panicked, and just like they rejected Isa, they rejected Rasulallah. This time, their excuse was, he
is not from the children of Israel and its inconceivable that a prophet can be from someone not
us. It was at this point, almost as if they had hammered the final nail in their own coffin, that, just
a few verses before the verse of Ramadan, Allah changes the qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah.
It was with the changing of the qiblah that a new identity distinct from the jews was born. As if
the new capital of a country was established. And the jews knew this. The jews panicked when
the qiblah was changed, and they came and complained to Rasulallah, the Quran records this-Ma
wallaahum 3n qiblatihimul lati kaanu 3laiha-Why did they turn away from the direction they
used to face? If they believed the prophet was false, why would they have an issue with him
changing the qiblah? He can do whatever he wants. But their getting upset over this indicates
that they knew the Prophet was truly a Prophet, and they felt that the game was being changed on
them and felt thrown off. The only way they could be offended is by them knowing that the
Prophet was true, and that they had lost favour.
Soon after these verses of changing the qiblah, comes the verses of Ramadan and fasting. Just as
the qiblah was changed to make us a distinct nation, so too was the fasting. Previously,
Rasulallah used to fast with the Jews. And the first 2 verses, 183 and 184 were originally about
those fasts, which we will get into later. But now, we fast Ramadan, and why? Because the
Quran was revealed therein. Almost as if its “Constitution day” of a new nation, an independence
month, that culminates in Laylatul Qadr, the ultimate celebration of the Quran. And to top it off,
Allah, in that very verse describes the Quran as “hudal linnaas” guidance for all mankind, there
is nothing unique to the Jews. So having established this background understanding, we know
turn to the verses in question themselves.
183 and 184: Oh you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those
before you so that you may perhaps gain taqwa. 184. Days few in number. Whoever is ill or on a
journey, then let them fast an equal number of other days. And on those who can afford it, there
is a ransom: the food of a poor person. Then whoever does good voluntarily, that is better for
him, and fasting is better for you, if you but knew.
Okay, lets break this down. These verses, initially, were not about the fast of Ramadan, but were
revealed as a general injunction to fast, such as the days of ashurah, three days of the month, etc,
in imitation of the jews. Their scope was specified and reduced to being that of Ramadan in the
verses that follow. But initially, they weren’t about Ramadan. So the purpose of Ramadan, and
the purpose of fasting, although overlapping, are distinct. Lets look at them as 2 distinct
concepts, since Allah himself separated them Himself. Starting with fasting, since it is mentioned
first.
Fasting-the word siyaman-fasting, comes from the word Sawm, it’s the masdar form-verbal
active form. Sawm literally means to abstain, and in the context of the shariah, it means to
abstain from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset with the intention of fasting.
Interestingly, there are two masdar forms of the word sawm-sawman and siyaman, and for the
Jews, when speaking of their fasting, Allah always uses sawman, whereas with the fast of the
muslims, Allah uses siyaman, another indication that our fasting is different from theirs.
As it was prescribed for those before you-a reference to the fasting of the jews, but not limited to
them necessarily. The text is broad, and we know fasting as a means of spiritual elevation is
found across various religious cultures and traditions.
So that you may perhaps gain taqwa-Taqwa often is translated as fear, but that’s not the most
accurate translation. It comes from the root W-Q-Y, wiqaya, which means protection, or safety.
Waqina athaban naar-Protect us from the punishment of the fire. To protect yourself you say
ittaqa or yattaqi-fakayfa tattaquna in kafartum-how can you protect yourself if you disbelief-
speaking of the day of judgement. Taqwa is not fear. Taqwa is the action you did out of fear to
protect yourself from any kind of harm. And in this context it means protecting yourself from the
punishment and the wrath of Allah by observing his laws. And fasting is prescribed for that
purpose-so that you may learn how to gain control over your impulses and desires, and thereby
protect yourself from sins. Note that fasting is not a guarantee by itself. The verse doesn’t read so
that you gain taqwa, but rather that you may perhaps gain taqwa. If the definitive was intended,
the verse would read li tattaqun, as opposed to la’allakum tattaqun. La’allakum indicates there is
hope, but its not definite, you need to do it right. Just fasting and doing it half ass isn’t going to
to get you taqwa. But fasting consciously, resisting ones desires, from the most basic of food and
drink to everything from mannerisms and behaviour despite the urge to not be on the best of
behavior and the limits of patience being tested, if you do that consciously, Insha’Allah you will
gain taqwa from it. What helps keep patience in fasting is the knowledge that it will end. The
hunger, thirst, etc will end in just a few hours. Similarly, if one views life and all the suffering in
it, as that which will end with Jannah in just a short while, it becomes easier to live with taqwa.
There is an important point of usul al fiqh here, which we will discuss later.
Days few in number-Remember, initially the Prophet just fasted 3 days a month and Ashura,
which is what these verses are about-but they are equally applicable to Ramadan, in that Allah is
giving us hope, that its not that hard really, just a few days.
Whoever is ill or on a journey, then let them fast an equal number of other days-Remember,
initially these two verses were not about Ramadan, but the 3 days of fasting that came before it.
BUT…this rule is applicable equally in Ramadan as well. Those who are ill (with the expectation
of recovery) or on a journey, during Ramadan are allowed to make them up on other days.
Menstruation incidentally is mentioned elsewhere in the quran as a form of “hurt” and along with
the examples of the sahabiyat, this is a proof that a menstruating women has to make up those
fasts, since, although not an illness, it is akin to it. It is also interesting to note the Quran does not
say whoever is a traveler, but rather whoever is on a journey (musafirin vs ala safarin-the quran
uses the latter)-in this is an indication that the journey should be of a serious nature-you cant just
drive from Calgary to Airdrie and call yourself a traveler-you have to explicitly be on a journey,
and in this is an indication as well that if one can fast, they should do so.
And on those who can afford it, there is a ransom: the food of a poor person-Again, remember,
these 2 verses were not initially about Ramadan, but the 3 days a month fast and Ashura that
Rasulallah used to do before Ramadan became obligated. In these fasts, there was an exception
maintained, that if you really didn’t want to fast, you could feed a poor person for each day, and
be done with it. With the obligation of the fast of Ramadan, this way out clause was removed for
everyone with the exception of those who are ill with no expectation of recovery and the very
old-they are expected to feed a poor person for every day of Ramadan they did not fast if they
can afford it. There are fiqhi discussions on how that is measured, but not my purpose here.
Another point of interest here: The Quran does not say “feeding of a poor” (it-amu miskeen).
Ta’amu does not mean feeding, it means food. Feeding of the poor almost seems as if you are
doing the poor a favour. Ta’amu, or food of the poor, is an indication that you aren’t doing
anyone a favour, fast or no fast, the food is theirs.
Then whoever does good voluntarily, that is better for him, and fasting is better for you, if you
but knew-Ie, whoever does both (Fasting and feeding the poor) that’s the best option. But if not,
then its better to fast then to pay your way out of it. Now, we turn to the verses about Ramadan.
185-187: Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guidance for humanity
and clear proofs of guidance and the standard to distinguish between right and wrong. So
whoever witnesses this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then let them fast
an equal number of days afterwards. Allah intends ease with you and does not intend hardship
with you, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for
guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful. 186: When My servants ask you about Me then I
am truly near. I respond to the call of the caller when they call upon Me. So let them respond
with obedience to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided to the Right Way. 187: It
has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the night of the fast.
Your spouses are a garment for you as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving
yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate
with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you. ˹You may˺ eat and drink until you see the
light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall. Do not be
intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques. These are the limits set by
Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to people, so they
may gain taqwa.

Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed.- The word Ramadan itself comes from
the root R-M-D, which generally means burning or scorching-Ramida means burnt. Thus
Ramadan is the month in which our sins are burnt off us. And we really feel that in this season,
when we are fasting in the hottest months. Ramadan is distinct from fasting, its primary purpose
is not fasting, the primary purpose of Ramadan is the celebration of the Quran. Families, and
lineages and heritages, all of human history was altered by Ramadan, because it is in Ramadan
that the Quran came down. Ramadan is not about fasting. Ramadan is about the Quran. And if
Allah can change the entire course of human history based on one month, through the revelation
of the Quran, we must ask ourselves, how much change can Allah bring in our lives if we truly
dedicate ourselves to the Quran in this month? That’s why the salaf, would dedicate themselves
to the Quran completely during Ramadan. We emphasize fasting, but we don’t emphasize the
Quran aspect, even though it’s the main aspect. Umar established taraweeh as a congregation,
which we have kept today, but Umar also established during this months halaqas of the Quran
throughout the day, something you don’t see anymore.

guidance for humanity-three traits of the Quran are described here, this is the first of them.
Guidance for humanity. Notice how Allah says for all of humanity (lin-naas) almost as if
rebuking the Jewish notion of their sacred chosenness. Notice that Surah Baqarah, and this
section in particular, were not revealed at the start of the Prophets mission, but roughly half way
through it. The sahaba were already familiar with the Quran, so why would Allah re-introduce
what the Quran is here? They already know its guidance for humanity, they already know it has
clear proofs of guidance, and that it is the separation between good and wrong-so why re-
introduce it? Here is a subtle benefit that you should approach the Quran, every Ramadan, like its
your first time, with no pre-conceived notions, with no pre-set assumptions, like a gift you have
just received. Let every verse hit you like its your first time. You can never exhaust the Quran,
and that’s why Allah describes elsewhere the Quran like an ocean. You can never experience the
entire ocean. You can dive your whole life, and only scratch the surface. The Quran is guidance
for every situation, for every time, for every person. Another point: The Quran is meant as
guidance for humanity, all humanity is what is used here (an-naas). Yet during this month, we as
Muslims tend to withdraw inward, instead of embodying the mission of the Quran and being
there for others, being sources of aid and guidance for everyone.

and clear proofs of guidance-What does this mean? Honestly this phrase threw me off for the
longest time-guidance for humanity and clear proofs of guidance. Sounds a bit off no? Crack
open a tafsir, and its not that confusing at all. All the miracles that Allah gave to various
prophets, were miracles of the eyes. You had to have seen Musa’s parting of the sea for it to have
been a miracle for you. For the next generation it’s a story, and eventually people begin to doubt
its veracity and it loses its status as a proof of the prophethood of Musa. But the Quran is for all
time, and thus, what this phrase is saying, is that the Quran is its own proof of it being guidance,
that the veracity and miraculousness of the Quran is attested to by the Quran itself. Every
generation can and has to, experience it for themselves. But what this also means is that it
requires effort-you didn’t exactly have to be an expert to see Musa part the sea and go “yeah this
guy is legit” or see Isa bring a clay bird to life. Didn’t take a genius to recognize it. But that part
changed. Allah says “Afala yatadabbarunal Quran” Do they not reflect on the Quran? You need
to give it time and effort and dedication, the miracle is far more grand, but takes more sincerity
as well. Its not a free water party anymore.

the standard to distinguish between right and wrong-rather self obvious

So whoever witnesses this month, let them fast-the verse doesn’t say whoever-it says SO
whoever, faman kana (as opposed to kaana), the clause fa (or so) ties the act of fasting which
follows right back to the previous statement of Ramadan being the month of the Quran. In other
words, we fast because Ramadan is the month of the Quran. We don’t read Quran because
Ramadan is the month of fasting. When Allah wanted to meet Musa, he had him fast beforehand.
Almost as if to say, to truly appreciate the divine, you have to somewhat separate yourself from
the world. Witnesses this month-this phrase is proof that the start of Ramadan is determined by
the sighting of the moon, and an indication that it is actually rewarding itself to go and try and
see the moon for oneself, but another subtle point of benefit is that witnessing is used, almost as
if one is seeing something grand, or miraculousness in itself. The month of Ramadan itself is
something grand, something to be “witnessed”.

But whoever is ill or on a journey, then let them fast an equal number of days afterwards. Allah
intends ease with you and does not intend hardship with you-Notice how in the previous verses,
which were about the fasting of 3 days a month, and Ashura, there were two options: Make it up
if you are sick or on a journey, and if you just don’t want to, you can feed a poor person. Here,
Allah drops the second option (although it still holds, as mentioned before, for those who are sick
with no expectation of recovery). Here, now in Ramadan, you have no choice but to fast and only
if you are on a journey or sick you can make it up elsewhere. Before we discuss the rest of this
phrase further, it is important that we discuss a point of benefit from Usul ul fiqh.

Sidenote: Can ignore, but I find this discussion fascinating

Suppose you are racing, or you have a huge exam, or some other difficulty, can one then skip the
fast of Ramadan, given that, analogous to journey and sickness, it is a difficulty? The answer is
no. Why not? Why does the analogy not hold? The answer is that rulings in fiqh, particularly as
they relate to ebadat (even mu’amalat, but there is some scope in those) are based on their illat,
and not their hikmat. The illat is the basic feature of a transaction without which the relevant law
cannot be applied to it, whereas the hikmat is the wisdom and the philosophy taken into account
by the legislator while framing the law or the benefit intended to be drawn by its enforcement. So
to give an example from secular law, the illat of you stopping at a red light is the fact that the
light is red, and the hikmat is to prevent car accidents, regulate the flow of traffic, etc. Even if its
the dead of night, and there is no oncoming traffic, and the hikmat of the law is absent, one is
still bound by the illat to obey the law. Similarly, the illat of fasting is “kutiba alaikumus
siyamu” fasting is prescribed upon you, and the hikmat is “so that you may perhaps gain taqwa”.
One cannot say, oh since Im not gaining taqwa, im not fasting. The illat is the fact that it has
been prescribed upon you, so you must still fast. Similarly, leaving off fasting, the illat is the act
of being sick or on a journey. You can be on the most luxurious and comfortable of journeys, but
since the illat is present, ie you being on a journey, you can still choose not to fast. The hikmat is
that being on a journey creates difficulties, but even if the hikmat is not present, the illat still
stands. Conversely, even if the hikmat is present, but the illat is not, you cannot break your fast.
You can have a difficulty (ie an exam coming up) but since the illat mentioned (sickness or
travel) is not there, you cannot skip your fast, and would be sinful for doing so. Otherwise,
everyone would find their own excuse and difficulty in leaving off fasting and the whole thing
falls apart. One of the purposes of fasting is to experience some level of difficulty, make some
sacrifice, to grow closer to Allah. The existence of difficulty by itself is not an excuse to leave
off fasting. And now…

back to the verse

Allah intends ease with you and does not intend hardship with you-One can say that the fasting
just got a whole lot harder-from 3 days to a whole month, and you cant even pay it off anymore
as a way out. Yet Allah here is saying that he wants ease with you and not hardship. Why?
Several benefits: Despite it being made month long, the physical act of fasting, particularly
through the blessing of the month of Ramadan, is not that hard. That’s why people find fasting in
Ramadan to be easier, despite it being continuous as opposed to outside of Ramadan. Another
point of benefit: Allah did not say Innallaha lakumul yusr wala yuridu lakumul usr. Allah wants
ease for you and doesn’t want difficulty for you. He didn’t use the phrase lakum, but rather
bikum. Lakum means for you, bikum means with you. A point of benefit is that Allah along with
making things easy for you, Allah wants to bring about ease THROUGH you, as well as not
bring about difficulty THROUGH you…the more difficult fast of Ramadan is meant to harden
ourselves to difficulty, so that we become of more benefit and a source of ease to others as well.
And that’s why when the Prophet would send ambassadors to people what would he tell them?
Yassiru wal tuassaru-Make ease, and do not make difficulty. We are people who are meant to
make the whole world a better place.

so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding
you, and perhaps you will be grateful.-You may complete the prescribed period-as in you must
finish the whole month. Proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you-this is a reference to
Eid, that at Eid you must glorify Allah (ie Say Takbir, Allahu akbar allahu akbar) as a form of
thanks to Allah that he guided you and enabled you to enjoy Ramadan and benefit from it, and
thus out of happiness over Ramadan you are celebrating in Eid, and are being grateful. Another
point of benefit: By fasting in Ramadan, you were essentially saying that Allah is greater then
your desires, and here Allah is saying, now that you have inculcated that within you, you must
live that guidance the rest of your life (And thus say Allahu akbar, that Allah is greater, you must
take that lesson forward for the rest of the year), and be thankful for that guidance of your life for
the rest of the year as well. You have now realized Allah is greater by subjugating your desires,
now outwardly manifest that moving forward, and be grateful for that lesson. That’s why
elsewhere Allah says “In the favour of Allah and his mercy, in this let the believers rejoice” what
greater favour and mercy is there then the Quran? So what greater rejoicing should there be then
the guidance of the Quran?
When My servants ask you about Me, then I am truly near-Allah inserts this dua right in the
middle of discussing the fiqh of Ramadan and the rules surrounding its fasts-Why? Because so
that we don’t lose sight of the goal in the midst of the fiqh discussions. The goal is closeness to
Allah, all the rules are designed to facilitate that. A conversation is a 2 way street. So far all
Ramadan has been about the Quran-Allah speaking to you. This verse completes the
conversation-you speaking to Allah. It’s a pattern also found in Surah fatiha. First half is Allah
speaking to you, second is you speaking to Allah. We learn from this verse being placed in the
middle of Ramadan that Ramadan is the best time to speak to Allah. Notice also how Allah uses
the word When (idha) as opposed to if (inn)-as if Allah refuses to give up on us, refuses to say
“no, they wont come back”. As if Allah has an expectation, a hope, that no matter how far gone
you may be, you will come back, or at least ask. Ask about me-Allah doesn’t say yasalunaka-
which would mean “asking” in the active form. This phrase, when so and so asks about such and
such, appears many times in the Quran “They ask about the new moons” “They ask about
menstruation” etc, and everywhere Allah uses yasaluka, which indicates active asking, or
continuous asking. Here Allah uses sa’alaka, which means just ask, once, as in, if someone asks
once, you say sa’alaka, if they are actively asking you say yasaluka. A point of benefit here is
that Allah is willing to listen to not just those who call on Him regularly, but even those who,
once in a blue moon, Ramadan Muslims as we call them, call upon Him, that’s enough for Allah
to respond with I am near. Next point of note here is that Allah again, out of love doesn’t say the
people, or people, but rather says My slaves, again indicating his closeness, and his care. He also
didn’t say when the believers, indicating again, that Allah is close to everyone, pious or not,
Muslim or not, and His answering is universal. Allah didn’t even say Ebaduka, or Ebaduna (ie,
the slaves) but rather used the personal Ebadi-my slaves. Allah only uses the personal single
pronoun in the Quran very rarely, either in places of wrath and anger, or places of extreme love
and care, and this verse is one of the examples of the latter. Now who do the people ask? The
people were asking Rasulallah. So what you expect is something like “When the people ask you
about me, say…” and this is the form used elsewhere in the Quran “They ask you about
menstruation, say…” “They ask you about the moon, say…” etc. But here, even though the
Prophet is being asked, in the answer Allah removes the Prophet, and answers directly “When
they ask about me, then I am truly near” and the inna is used to repel doubt, establish certainty.
Allah didn’t say “ana qareeb” but rather said “fa inni qareeb” and the inni means truly, or most
certainly, almost as if to say, don’t ever doubt that I am near, as if to say, don’t lose hope. And its
worth noting out of all the names Allah has, when He is asked about, He chose to use the name
“Near” as if to indicate that when people ask us about God, we should respond by emphasizing
His closeness to us. And this is for everyone. That drunk homeless guy crying about God, the
doubtful teenager, everyone, our response should be one of love and compassion emphasizing
Allah’s closeness.

I respond to the call of the caller when they call upon Me-There are two words for respond.
Fastajaba and ijaba. The first indicates a response over time and ijaba indicates immediate
response. Here to emphasize once again the closeness of the relationship and to give hope as it
relates to Ramadan, Allah uses the latter, essentially saying I respond without delay. Thus, the
dua of Ramadan is responded to much faster, almost as if to give you more incentive, more hope
to make dua during Ramadan. Keeping this in mind will help you have a better response. One’s
prayer-if a person makes a lot of supplication, the word used is dua, if it’s a one off, the word
used is da’wat (ie in Urdu a dawat is a one time thing). Akal is food in general, akalatun is a one
time meal. Similarly, darab means hitting, darbatun means a one time specific incident. The taa
marbuta at the end is used to create a singular one off (I totally bombed this principle on my
Arabic exam lol). Here Allah doesn’t say he responds to duas, he says da’watad daa3i-the one
time dua of the supplicant. Basically saying, don’t worry, just once, just once at least, make dua,
and Allah will still respond. Similarly, Allah didn’t say he responds to the one time dua of the
pious, he simply said the one who calls upon Him. No other expectation no matter who you are.
Call upon Him, He will respond immediately, particularly in Ramadan. Also notice how Allah
didn’t specify a time-you want to talk to most people, they will give you a schedule. The more
busy and great they are, the longer the response time. Allah however will respond, whenever you
call upon Him.

So let them respond with obedience to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided to the
Right Way-Remember how we said there are two words for responding-Ijaba and fastajaba-the
former being an immediate response, and the latter being a response at a latter time-Allah uses
ijaba for himself, ie He will respond immediately, but with us he uses Fastajabalahum-So let
them respond to me-as if saying your response doesn’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to nail
the obedience, but at least try to respond, make an effort. Another point of note: If you look at
Surah fatiha, there is a pattern: You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help. What comes
first? What we need to do for Allah (ie Worship). But in this verse about the closeness of Allah
to you during Ramadan, he didn’t begin with “Obey me and I will respond to you” instead the
pattern is inverted-I will respond to you when you call upon me, so in turn you should obey me.
Again, indicating the closeness, the love, and the mercy associated with this month. Allah even
put himself second to you, to draw you into his mercy.

perhaps they will be guided to the Right Way-The word perhaps is again used-your chances of
being guided are closely linked to how well you respond to Allah’s obedience. The better your
respond, the greater your guidance.

It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the night of the fast.
Your spouses are a garment for you as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving
yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate
with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you. You may eat and drink until you see the
light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall. Do not be
intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques. These are the limits set by
Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to people, so they
may gain taqwa-

I am not going to break this verse down a lot, because it a beautiful marriage verse and looking
into its depth and nuances left me feeling shitty for being single (And out of respect for my
parents)-but just some general explanation and points. Before the rules of Ramadan came down,
and the sahaba were fasting three days a month, they had this misconception that they could only
eat and drink and be intimate with their wives after sunset as long as they didn’t fall asleep, and
if they fell asleep the next day began. But some of them would still end up going to their wives
after waking up and before the start of the next day, and feel guilty about it. So here Allah
specifies the time of the fasting, ie from the light of dawn till nightfall (ie sunset). Between
sunset and dawn eating, drinking, and banging are all fair game. But…some general points of
benefits: The Quran is never vulgar (unlike me), but it is often romantic and touching (unlike
me). Allah doesn’t begin with food and drink (needed for survival) but rather intimacy, almost as
if the psychological need for intimacy is greater then that of food and drink. The sahaba could
get by if they fell asleep after sunset without eating and drinking, but weren’t always able to
resist their spouses. Intimacy in short, is important. The word used for intimacy here, Rafatha,
means everything from the act itself to everything that proceeds it (ie, the whole process, starting
with flirting all the way to sex). The entire spectrum of a romantic relationship is captured in the
word rafatha. Almost as if to encourage the relationship and the romance. The Quran also says
Layalatas siyami-the night of the fast, instead of the expected layali as siyam-nights of the fast.
By using the singular, it creates a more romantic vibe, as if you go back to one another each and
every individual night. Also is the strange usage of rafatha ila, intimacy to them (ila means to).
Elsewhere its used rafatha biha, intimate with them. To them is a strange usage, but it gives it a
softer characterization.

Clothing for you and you are clothing for them-So many analogies, but one that stuck out, is that
clothing that is suitable for all seasons, all times, in times of cold providing heat, in times of heat
providing coolness, indicates a required degree of flexibility, both in terms of material and built.
Covering one anothers faults, beautifying one anothers attributes, as well as clothing that
constantly grows and adjusts to the growing body-two clothes changing and evolving over the
years, but always in tandem with each other. This part of the verse is used and often cited
generically (nothing wrong with that), but in this context, it has a sexual connotation as well,
indicating clothing as wrapped up in one another. It might seem strange to put what is IMO one
of the most romantic phrases of the Quran in between the fiqh rulings of abstention, indicating
that this religion is not a religion of monks, and the importance of that intimate relationship.

Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and
pardoned you-If the sahaba were not doing anything wrong, and were just acting under a
misconception, why would Allah feel the need to mention that He has pardoned them? Because
they were not being honest with themselves in the process, and were feeling guilty, that they
were doing that which they thought was haram despite it not being Haram, so this was to allay
their fears and worries.

So now you may be intimate with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you-The word
used for intimate here is Bashiru, which actually doesn’t refer to the act itself, but rather means
everything from be under one sheet, or be romantic, or even good news (basharat) or goodness in
general-foreplay is important.

Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques-again here the
word used is bashiru, and this part of the verse is referring to itikaf. So while everything is fair
game at night, and you are even encouraged to be romantic during the day with one another,
when it comes to itikaf, forget rafath, you cant be bashiru-in the sanctity of itikaf don’t go for the
whole “can I hug you” even, keep it completely off.
These are the limits set by Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His
revelations clear to people, so they may gain taqwa-

The first part about the limits is rather self explanatory-but we need to ask why does Allah end it
by saying He makes his revelations clear to people-the verses were addressed to people who are
fasting-so why say lin-naas-all people? Because the institution of marriage is such that if it is
properly maintained and upheld, it benefits mankind and humanity as a whole, not just the two
people involved in it.

And thus we conclude this talk of Ramadan. I left the fiqh specifics out, because you can find
that easily, and its not what I was going for.