Fasting & Ramadan

Ramadan: Raining with Mercy

390577861_2f3b1611f9Originally posted in August 2010

Imagine for a moment that it’s raining. It is pouring, in fact. And imagine that you are inside your house, watching as it falls. But imagine that there is something very different about this rain. It is unlike any other you’ve ever seen. On this day, it is not raining water. It is raining something much more precious to you. Imagine that on this day it is raining hundred dollar bills.

What would you do? What would happen in your neighborhood on that day?  What would happen in the world? Would we not run outside, falling all over ourselves, competing to gain as much of the raining money as we can? Would we not stand outside all night to gather as much as possible?

We would do this for money because money is precious.  But imagine for a moment that it was raining something priceless. Not thousand dollar bills, not trillions, but the mercy of Allah subhana wa ta`ala (exalted is He), a currency that no human currency could even measure.

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ, (peace be upon him) said, “Ramadan has come to you. (It is) a month of blessing, in which Allah covers you with blessing, for He sends down Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. In it, Allah looks at your competition (in good deeds), and boasts about you to His angels. So show Allah goodness from yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in (this month) of the mercy of Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted.” [Narrated by Tabarani]

In this month, we are shielded from hell-fire, protected from the shayateen (satins), and cleansed from our sins. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith, hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all of his past sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari).  In another hadith he ﷺ said: “When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.” [Bukhari]

Within this month, there is a night that is greater than a thousand months (97:1-5). “There is protection from hellfire, at least 70 times the reward for our deeds, and the chance to have all our sins erased.” (hadith)  So, what greater loss can there be than to find ourselves standing in the middle of this massive downfall of blessings without collecting all we can of Allah’s mercy?

And while this mercy showers on us throughout the blessed month, the last ten days are like no other. Aisha radi Allahu `anha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that with the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ used to tighten his waist belt (meaning he would work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers [Bukhari].

But how can we fully take advantage of this blessed month, especially in the last ten days?  Here are a few ways:

Reserve a Private Meeting with Allah

Set a time before or after suhoor to be alone with Allah (swt).  Use this time to connect to Him by praying, making du`a’, or reading Qur’an. There is no other time like it. The Prophet ﷺ said: “When the last one-third of the night remains, our Lord, the Glorious One, descends towards the lower heaven and proclaims: ‘Is there anyone supplicating to Me, so that I grant his supplication? Is there anyone begging of Me for anything so that I grant him his wish? Is there anyone who seeks My forgiveness, so that I forgive him?’” [Bukhari and Muslim].

Set a Time for Reflection

In the midst of our busy schedule, we seldom find time to stop and relax, let alone reflect on the  realities of life. Make time to do this. Take time to step outside of your daily routine and introspect about where you are and where you’re going.  Reflect on the creation around you and on the  reality of this life, death, and our final meeting with our Creator. Choose a time, such as the last third of the night, when there are no distractions.

Take a Trip to Allah

We all need to get away sometimes. Use Ramadan as a chance to go away with Allah (swt) as your companion. Aisha (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to practice I`tikaf (seclusion) in the last ten nights of Ramadan and used to say, “Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan” [Bukhari].

Don’t Miss the Night of Power

There is a night in the last ten nights of Ramadan that is greater than a lifetime (1000 months, 83.3 years).  The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever prays during the night of Qadr (power) with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Aisha (ra) said: “I asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?’ He said: ‘Say: O Allah, You are Oft-Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.'” [Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi]

About the author

Yasmin Mogahed

Yasmin Mogahed received her B.S. Degree in Psychology and her Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing her graduate work, she taught Islamic Studies and served as the Sisters’ Youth Director for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. She also worked as a writing instructor for Cardinal Stritch University, and a staff columnist for the Islam section of InFocus News. Currently she’s an independent media consultant and a writer for the Huffington Post, where she focuses most of her work on spiritual and personal development. Her written works, including a book chapter on the portrayal of Islam post-911, have appeared in print and online publications worldwide.

16 Comments

  • Hadith Qudsi 34:
    On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said:

    O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.

    It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.

  • it’s a heavy downpour right now over here in Kelantan where i stay.Mashallah we were doing tarawikh prayer and suddenly there was a loud noise as if something so tiny but in an enormous amount was falling on the roof of a big tent where we were praying.Subhanallah lately the weather is very hot alhamdulillah Allah has made the rain.

    May Allah bless you,for posting this helpful article.thank you.assalamualaikum

    • we in same place my dear sakinah.i am in Telipot mosque last night for isya & taraweh prayer.it start raining until this morning…and now,smooth breeze…subhanallah…

  • Jazakallah Khair for this great post! I really loved the analogy of raining money and I also really appreciate the fact that you also gave us some practical tips for making the most of our time!

  • Assalamualaykum sis Yasmin 🙂
    Jazakillah khayran for this.

    May Allah make this ramadhan and its blessings as a means to change what is inside our hearts and to gain taqwa.

    wasalam

  • love you for the sake of Allah dear sister. may Allah accept all your efforts and increase you in rewards for promoting good and motivating others to strive as we should strive for Allah alone.

  • Jazak Allah khair for putting this together. I used some of the ayat and ahadith for a posting I’m making on my blog, http://www.middlewaymom.com, for a Ramadan craft, in sha Allah. Your post is mashaAllah very beneficial. In sha Allah you can find my post just a couple days before Ramadan.

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