My Article: Ramzan Karim: Bless us again

[Waqar Abro]

Ramzan Karim: Bless us again
Pakistan Observer

The word Ramzan is derived from the word Ramz which means to burn your desires. It is the ninth month of Islamic Calendar being celebrated by almost 1.9 billion Muslims throughout the world. Ramzan is generally perceived as a month of blessings because on 27th of this month, the Holy Quran was revealed. In this month, all the Muslims hold fasts for the sake of Allah and avoid eating food from dawn to dusk. Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says that when Ramadan enters, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed and the devils are chained. No doubt, Allah showers countless blessings on his momins (staunch believers) in this month and forgives all the sins intentionally or unintentionally committed by the believers. This month itself is a blessing and full with incomparable rewards. Whosoever holds fast and fulfills all the pre-requisites laid down in the divine law, shall be highly rewarded by Allah. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Every action a son of Adam does shall be multiplied—a good action by ten times its value, up to 700 times. Allah says: With the exception of fasting, which belongs to Me, and I reward it accordingly. For, one abandons his desire and food for My sake.

There are two occasions of joy for a fasting person: one when he breaks his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord, and the (bad) breath (of a fasting person) is better in the sight of Allah than the fragrance of musk. Today, the temptation of worldly desires has gone to such extent that people have forgotten the essence of this holy month. Though, people hold fasts in this month for the sake of Allah yet they do not understand the rationale behind of holding fasts. Basically, Ramzan offers a number of opportunities to believers and promises to bring revolutionary changes in their lives. It maintains status equality, religious superiority and psychological connectivity. The beauty of Ramzan is that it is properly training all the believers through divine injunctions. It is kind of a shield; preventing people from indulging in wrongdoings, character assassinations, use of obscene language and humiliation. It preaches and promotes love for mankind, peace, forgiveness, protection from hellfire, sense of starvation and welfare of the downtrodden. Since, we believers have sunk into the ocean of nothingness , we forget the teachings of our prophet. Life of Muhammad (PBUH) is a biggest example before us. Yes, we cannot reach at such degree of humanity and spiritual superiority as attained by Rasollallah but at least we can follow his footsteps. We can also change our behavior and style of leading life by adopting the principles suggested by our Prophet. The world we have been living in, is ephemeral and subjected to end. We need to focus on the eternal world which will start from life-hereafter. And, holy months like Ramzan, gives as an enormous opportunity to walk on the path of Allah. However, it must be kept in mind that the worldly pleasures we wish is nothing before the pleasures as promised by Allah. But, the most unfortunate thing is that people give due importance to televised programs-which means to earn money- rather than focusing on divine law. Yes, televised programs help us in understanding many religious things but the spirit required to comprehend Islam appears nowhere. It is also true that most of the Muslims recite holy Quran in this month but very small ratio of them understand the glorious importance of the holy book. It is the reason we all Muslims are in troubles today. Understanding Quran means understanding Allah and the actual message his prophets. In the Surah Yaseen Allah says – Yaseen Wal Quran-ul Hakeem which means the Quran is the most wise book. And, prior to understanding Islam, it is necessary to understand Quran. Hence, it is time to attain company of Allah rather than commercializing the teachings of Allah. We need to individually realize that why Allah made us Muslims and What is the real message of Quran. Remember, in the history, most of the nations reached at zenith by acquiring spiritual attainments not by the worldly pleasures.

Source: http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=214493