A shield from Hell-Fire Allah has reserved a time upon His slaves purposely for His remembrance and

worship; whether it is daily (i.e. five daily prayers) or weekly (i.e. Jumah) monthly (i.e. the four sacred months i.e. Muharam (1st), Rajab (7th), Dhul Qidah (11th) and Dhul Hijjah (12th)) or yearly (i.e. Ramadan, Laylat ul Qadr and the two eids) and whether it is circumstantial such as birth, death tragedy or accomplishment every moment in a Muslims life revolves around the oneness of Allah in worship Tawheed. Particularly, Ramadan is a time for intense devotion, worship and obedience to Allah as it is a chance to reap numerous benefits associated to this month and as recorded by Bukhari and Muslim the person who fasts with faith hoping for a reward will be forgiven of their previous sins, and the fasting person will also have a chance to save themselves from the punishments of Hell-Fire by striving to gain closeness to Allah through improvements and or increasing of their faith and acts of worship towards Allah and good deeds to earn His mercy. When the month of Ramadan begins an Angel from the Heavens calls out: O seeker of good there is glad tidings for you, O seeker of evil withhold yourself! then all the gates of Paradise are flung open while all the gates of Hell-Fire are locked shut and it is emphasized that the gates of Hell-Fire are tightly locked and the devils are chained to show that the mercy of Allah is easier to receive and the one who fasts will have their face seventy years further away from Hell-Fire [Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim] and that many are freed from the Hell-Fire (by Allah) [Recorded by At Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah]. Fasting during the days of Ramadan Fasting in Ramadan is a commandment of Allah and its laws can be found from Quran 2: 183 187. O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous. *Quran 2: 183+ The beginning ten days of Ramadan are of mercy, the middle ten days of this month are of forgiveness and the final ten days is the redemption from Hell-Fire. Allah has prescribed fasting during the days of this month to help the Muslim control their desires which would lead them to sin and disobedience and to help them attain righteousness and strengthen their

conviction in Him. The fasting of a Muslim is the only type that is done with true conviction and is therefore unlike any other types of fast where it may only involve the abstaining from meat, or the abstaining from food but not water. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: Allah has said all the deeds of a human are for him except fasting. It is for Me and I shall reward it. The fast is a shield. If it is a day in which one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relations and quarrelling. If anyone wants to pick a fight with him, he should say I am fasting. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the smell coming from the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the scent of musk. For the fasting person they are two occasions of pleasure; when he breaks his fast he is pleased and when he meets his Lord he will be pleased with his fasting. *Recorded by Bukhari, Muslim and An Nisai+. Laylat ul Qadr There is a night in Ramadan which is highly sought after, it was the night the Quran was sent down to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w and it is known as Laylat ul Qadr (The Night of Power/Decree) which may fall on one of the odd numbered nights during the last ten days of Ramadan and any acts of worship towards Allah on this night is better than a thousand months of worship (see Quran 97: 3) and that the fate of a person is decreed on this night. One of the best dua that may be recited on Laylat ul Qadr is that which the Prophet s.a.w taught to Aaishah (rduh). Al-Tirmidhi narrated that Aaishah said: I said, O Messenger of Allah, if I know which night is Laylat ul Qadr, what should I say on that night? He said, Say: Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibb al-afwa faaffu anni which means: O Allah, You are forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me. Preparations for Ramadan Throughout life Allah reminds His slaves to come back to Him in repentance. Ramadan is one way of doing so but it takes preparation to enter this month in an obedient and humbled manner in which is pleasing to Allah and to also reap its many benefits. As for those who enter Ramadan without any preparation they have done a great injustice to

themselves. The Muslim will do well to prepare months in advance through voluntary fasts, seeking knowledge of the requirements of Ramadan and the laws of fasting, to lower their gaze and enjoin good upon themselves and one another and to forbid the evil upon themselves and one another. And as Ramadan approaches prepare ones money for charity, prepare ones time for taraweh prayers, prepare ones strength for fasting and charitable good deeds and prepare ones mind for patience and reverence to Allah Azawajal. The Fiqh of fasting in Ramadan Ramadan begins when a number of righteous Muslims have sighted the new moon or thirty days of Shaban has passed. Then the Muslim should fast (from dusk to dawn) if the others are fasting and break their fast when the others break their fast; that is the law of welcoming Ramadan and it is recorded in Muslim, Bukhari and An Nisai. It is obligatory upon the sane, mature aged (reached the age of puberty), non travelling and healthy male and female Muslim to fast in the month of Ramadan with the exception of the woman in menses or the pregnant woman, those who are sick and permanently ill or the elderly who are too weak to fast. For the one who is travelling, or is sick or is in menses they should repay their missed fasts another time but the pregnant or nursing women and elderly have the option to feed a poor person for every missed day of fasting and it is recorded by Al Bayhaqi and Al Abani. Essential components of the fast

To be an adult Muslim of sound mind and that means to fast with faith. To be purified from spiritual impurities such as sexual defilement, menstruation or post partum bleeding. To make the intention every night to fast before the fajr prayer. To refrain from all that which will invalidate the fast such as: intentionally eating or drinking, intentionally vomiting and sexual intercourse. Note: permissible acts during ones fast are: cupping or drawing blood though it is disliked for the weak, rinsing ones mouth and nose without putting the water too deep, washing oneself for the purpose of cooling down, kissing or touching ones spouse but only if one is able to control their actions and lastly to use a tooth stick, perfume, oil, kohl, eye drops and injections.

To adhere to the Sunnah of fasting such as waking up before fajr for sahoor (even if its just a sip of water), to refrain from vain speech, lieing and foul language and to hasten towards generosity and studying the Quran and hastening to perform many good deeds for the mercy of Allah and to break the fast saying what the Prophet s.a.w had said *recorded in Abu Dawood+: the thirst has gone, the veins have moistened and the reward is confirmed, Allah willing breaking the fast should be done on time with dates or water as a Sunnah too. To avoid bidah (innovated matters) that has no basis from the Quran or Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Things to do in Ramadan Ramadan is a time to hasten towards good as its reward during this month are multiplied over and over while one should avoid committing the forbidden or disliked things as sins committed during this month are more serious than in other times.

hasten to give charity and zakaat ul fitr which is given to the poor and needy at the end of Ramadan as an offering for expiation for their shortcomings i.e. gossiping etc which may have occurred during their fasts feeding the poor and giving food to the fasting person when it is time to break the fast is equivalent in reward of the one who fasts without taking their reward from them pray taraweh in congregation for reforming and purifying the heart recite the Quran to receive tenfold worth of rewards for every single letter recited supplicate to Allah for forgiveness and mercy for the dua of a fasting person is guaranteed Itikaf retreat for worship at a mosque which is Sunnah to do during the last ten days of Ramadan seeking the night of Laylat ul Qadr At the end of Ramadan it is Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w to offer an eid prayer in an open area to conclude Ramadan and to express gratitude and appreciation towards Allah The point of Ramadan is to revive the soul through fasting, praying, remembering Allah and reciting the Quran and it ends with the gaining of many benefits such as the stronger will of obedience, love and submission to Allah, the closer bond of kinship with family and fellow Muslims, an increase of good deeds recorded as proof for ones accounting with Allah on the Day of

Judgment and the freedom from the burdens of sin. Truly Ramadan is a blessed month and whosoever strives to attain its blessings has done well for themself and increased their conviction in Allah but whosoever has allowed Ramadan to pass them by without striving to attain its blessings or increase in faith has lost their refuge from the Hell Fire and a place reserved for them in Paradise. And so what chance do they now have of entering Paradise in Ramadan (which is an easy gateway to Paradise) while they remain neglectful and unappreciative towards Allah all their life. Think carefully about this! Does Allah consider you His righteous slave or His rebellious slave? Use this Ramadan to improve your connection with Allah worship Him as He should be worshipped and in time you will see a colossal amount of good in your life as Allah will take care of your affairs and cover you with His Mercy in which will bring you contentment and tranquillity and He will guide you to righteous good deeds and bring forth the love in your heart for that which He loves and hatred for that which He hates inshallah. May Allah improve our faith and accept our fasts while saving us from the Hell-Fire. Ameen!