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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.
I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
is His slave and Messenger, may Allaah exalt his mention as well as that of his
family and all his companions
Ramadaan
is one of the twelve Arabic months. It is a month which is venerated in the
Islamic religion, and
it is
distinguished from the other months by a number of characteristics and virtues,
including the
following:
1 – Allaah has made fasting this month the fourth pillar of Islam,
as He says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“The month
of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear
proofs for
the
guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights
(the crescent on the
first
night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe
Sawm (fasts) that
month…”
[al-Baqarah
2:185]
and it was
narrated in al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari, 8; Muslim, 16) from the hadeeth of Ibn
‘Umar that the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Islam is built on five
(pillars): the testimony
that there
is no god except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah;
establishing prayer;
paying
zakaah; fasting Ramadaan; and Hajj to the House (the Ka’bah).”
2 – Allaah revealed the Qur’aan in this month, as He says in the verse quoted above (interpretation of
the
meaning):
“The month
of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for mankind and clear
proofs for
the
guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)…”
[al-Baqarah
2:185]
And Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, We
have sent it (this Qur’aan) down in the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree).”
[al-Qadr
97:1]
3 – Allaah has made Laylat al-Qadr in this month, which is better
than a thousand months, as
Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily,
We have sent it (this Qur’aan) down in the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree).
And what
will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is?
The Night
of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allaah
in that night is
better
than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).
Therein
descend the angels and the Rooh [Jibreel (Gabriel)] by Allaah’s Permission with
all Decrees,
(All that
night), there is peace (and goodness from Allaah to His believing slaves) until
the appearance of
dawn”
[al-Qadar
97:1-5]
“We sent
it (this Qur’aan) down on a blessed night [(i.e. the Night of Al-Qadr) in the
month of Ramadan —
the 9th
month of the Islamic calendar]. Verily, We are ever warning [mankind that Our
Torment will reach
those who
disbelieve in Our Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of worship]”
[al-Dukhaan
44:3]
Allaah has
blessed Ramadaan with Laylat al-Qadr. Explaining the great status of this
blessed night,
Soorat
al-Qadr was revealed, and there are many ahaadeeth which also speak of that,
such as the
hadeeth of
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace
and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There has come to you Ramadaan, a
blessed month which
Allaah has
enjoined you to fast, during which the gates of heaven are opened and the gates
of Hell are
closed,
and the rebellious devils are chained up. In it there is a night which is
better than a thousand
months,
and whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.”
Narrated
by al-Nasaa’i, 2106; Ahmad, 8769. classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Targheeb, 999.
And Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings
of Allaah
be upon him) said: “Whoever spends Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in
the hope of
reward,
will be forgiven his previous sins.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1910; Muslim,
760.
4 – Allaah has made fasting Ramadaan and spending its nights in
prayer out of faith and in the
hope of reward a means of forgiveness of sins, as was proven in al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari, 2014;
Muslim,
760) from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah according to which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of
Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward,
his previous
sins will
be forgiven.” And al-Bukhaari (2008) and Muslim (174) also narrated from Abu
Hurayrah that the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever spends the nights of
Ramadaan in
prayer out
of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”
The
Muslims are unanimously agreed that it is Sunnah to pray qiyaam at night in
Ramadaan. Al-Nawawi
said that
what is meant by praying qiyaam in Ramadaan is to pray Taraweeh, i.e., one
achieves what is
meant by
qiyaam by praying Taraaweeh.
5 – In this month, Allaah opens the gates of Paradise and closes
the gates of Hell, and chains up
the devils, as is stated in
al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari, 1898; Muslim, 1079), from the hadeeth of Abu
Hurayrah
who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “When
Ramadaan
comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and
the devils are
chained
up.”
6 – Every night Allaah has people whom He redeems from the Fire. Imam Ahmad (5/256) narrated
from the
hadeeth of Abu Umaamah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “At
every
breaking of the fast, Allaah has people whom He redeems.” Al-Mundhiri said:
there is nothing wrong
with its
isnaad; and it was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 987.
Al-Bazzaar
(Kashf 962) narrated that Abu Sa’eed said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of
Allaah be
upon him) said: “Allaah has people whom He redeems every day and night – i.e.,
in Ramadaan
– and
every Muslim every day and night has a prayer that is answered.”
7 – Fasting Ramadaan is a means of expiation for the sins
committed since the previous
Ramadaan, so long as one avoids major sins. It was proven in Saheeh Muslim (233) that the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The five daily prayers, from one
Jumu’ah to the next
and from
one Ramadaan to the next are expiation for (sins committed) in between, so long
as you avoid
major
sins.”
8 – Fasting in Ramadaan is equivalent to fasting ten months, as is indicated by the hadeeth in
Saheeh
Muslim (1164) narrated from Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaari: “Whoever fasts Ramadaan then
follows it
with six
days of Shawwaal, it will be like fasting for a lifetime.” Ahmad (21906)
narrated that the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadaan, a month is like
ten months,
and
fasting six days after al-Fitr will complete the year.”
9 – Whoever prays qiyaam in Ramadaan with the imam until he finishes,
it will be recorded for him
that he
spent the whole night in prayer, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood
(1370) and others
from the
hadeeth of Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and
blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays qiyaam with the imam until he
finishes, it will be
recorded
for him that he spent the whole night in prayer.” Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Salaat al-
Taraaweeh,
p. 15
10 – ‘Umrah in Ramadaan is equivalent to Hajj. Al-Bukhaari (1782) and Muslim (1256) narrated that Ibn
‘Abbaas
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said
to a woman
among the
Ansaar, “What kept you from doing Hajj with us?” She said, “We only had two
camels that we
used for
bringing water.” So her husband and son had gone for Hajj on one camel, and he
left the other for
them to
use for bringing water.” He said, “When Ramadaan comes, go for ‘Umrah, for
‘Umrah in
Ramadaan
is equivalent to Hajj.” According to a report narrated by Muslim, “… is
equivalent to doing Hajj
with me.”
11 – It is Sunnah to observe i’tikaaf (retreat for the purpose of
worship) in Ramadaan, because the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) always did that, as it was narrated
in the hadeeth of
‘Aa’ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)
used to
spend the last ten days of Ramadaan in i’tikaaf until he passed away, then his
wives observed
i’tikaaf
after him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1922; Muslim, 1172.
12 – It is mustahabb in the sense of being strongly recommended in
Ramadaan to study the
Qur’aan together and to read it a great deal. You may study the Qur’aan together by reciting it to
someone
else and by having someone else recite it to you. The evidence that this is
mustahabb is the fact
that
Jibreel used to meet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
every night in
Ramadaan
and study the Qur’aan with him. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6; Muslim, 2308.
Reading Qur’aaan
is mustahabb in general, but more so in Ramadaan.
13 – It is mustahabb in Ramadaan to offer iftaar to those who are
fasting, because of the hadeeth of
Zayd ibn
Khaalid al-Juhani (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace
and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever gives iftaar to one who is
fasting will have a reward
like his,
without that detracting from the fasting person’s reward in the slightest.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
807; Ibn
Maajah, 1746; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 647. see
question no: (
12598 )
And Allaah
knows best.
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