Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ascended the pulpit and he said: Amin, amin, amin.
It was said, “O Messenger of Allah, you ascended the pulpit and said amin, amin, amin.”
The Prophet said: Verily, Gabriel came to me and he said: Whoever reaches the month of Ramadan and he is not forgiven, then he will enter Hellfire and Allah will cast him far away, so say amin. I said amin.……”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 915,Sahih)
How many Ramadans have gone through our lives, 23,46 or 75. How many out of those were a source of increasing our imaan and means of forgiveness? How many Ramadans are we satisfied with?
Some may say “not even one”. While others might say “a few”. Whatever the number, in proportion it will be close to nothing. (this about the common man not the pious who spend every day as if it were Ramadan)
The number of Ramadaans that have come and gone in our lives without making a difference in us is scary.
So is Ramadan 2023 going to be the same?
Are we going to waste these precious and blessed moments of our lives once again?
What make’s Ramadan so blessed and important ?
Three things that make Ramadan superior to all other months
- In this month the best of books was revealed to the best of the Prophets – Al Qur’aan
- In it there is the best night of the year which is Laylatul Qadr. Worshipping on this night is better than worshipping for a thousand months.
- In this month the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the devils are chained up.
Scholars say that Ramadan is a test. It places us on the balance and tells us exactly where we stand with respect to piety and taqwa.
If we spend Ramadan right, then we have some say in the matter. But, what if Ramadan comes and we make it a month of feasting and shopping instead of fasting and Ibaadh? What if we still cannot leave the series and the mindless, useless, endless scrolling of social media. Then we are in serious trouble.
Ramadaan is coming with all its virtues and barakh. What we make out of it, is upon us. We can make it a month of attaining Allah’s pleasure and get our sins forgiven. For this we have to work really hard, exert everything and give our 100% this Ramadan.
There were so many who were with us last Ramadan but are not here with us today. What if this is our last Ramadan? What if we are not here the next Ramadan? How would you like to spend the last Ramadan of your life? Imagine and then spend this Ramadan exactly like that. If we get another Ramadan then it is a blessing from Allah.
It was narrated from Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah that two men from Bali came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). They had become Muslim together, but one of them used to strive harder than the other. The one who used to strive harder went out to fight and was martyred. The other one stayed for a year longer, then he passed away. Talhah said:
“I saw in a dream that I was at the gate of Paradise and I saw them (those two men). Someone came out of Paradise and admitted the one who had died last, then he came out and admitted the one who had been martyred. Then he came back to me and said: ‘Go back, for your time has not yet come.’” The next morning, Talhah told the people of that and they were amazed. News of that reached the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and they told him the story. He said: “Why are you so amazed at that?” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, the first one was the one who strove harder, then he was martyred, but the other one was admitted to Paradise before him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Did he not stay behind for a year?” They said: “Yes.” He said: “And did not Ramadan come and he fasted, and he offered such and such prayers during that year?” They said: “Yes.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The difference between them is greater than the difference between heaven and earth.”
This is the power of one Ramadan given it was spent in the right way.
So, let us make the most of this amazing blessing from Allah. Let us turn our lives around and get it back on track. Let’s fill our tanks of imaan enough to drive us either to the next Ramadan or to our final destination Paradise.
Ramadan 2023……..is never………..coming back.
The wise will make the most out of this opportunity while the fools will spend their time in meaningless endeavors. Let us be thankful for having another Ramadan in our lives and work hard on the things that matter and try our hardest to not become among the losers.
The gates of Paradise are opening up. Let’s run towards it.
Are we ready?
