Column

My late mother once told me: “You need to sacrifice to achieve great things.” True, Ramadan fasting to Muslims globally, is a reiteration of the same saying. It was once said that the true meaning of fasting is to abstainfrom anything that distracts you from remembrance of God.

Allah’s blessings and mercy are so abundant in this month that anybody who truly repents in it becomes as free of sins at the end of the month as when he was born. It is a glorious chance
offered to us to cleanse and purify ourselves from the filth of sins and evil. The Holy Prophet has advised believers: “O people... your back is breaking under the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate before Him (in Ramadan) for long intervals, and make it lighter.”

No matter how bad the situation, they can look past it and say what the holy Koran does: “Life of this world is but an illusion.” Once they have done their best, they should leave the rest to Him.

It is a proof of the love of the Almighty that each year, he gives us a chance to clean our record and make a fresh start. Contrary to those who think that Allah is strict and harsh, that He will punish us as soon as we err, Allah gives us many chances to undo the wrong we have done towards Him. The month of Ramadan is the best of these chances. All the prayers for this month teach us to plead for forgiveness and deliverance from punishment. One who recites these prayers sincerely, and is truly repentant, is assured of forgiveness.

It is a period when the faithful not only show piety and compassion but also try to send across a strong message of communal harmony among compatriots and their poor brothers, especially in India.

The truth is that a pious Muslim ought to spend all days of his life as those of Ramadan. If one is fasting, one should not use foul language, raise one’s voice unnecessarily, or misbehave. If anyone reviles, fights or insults a fasting person, he should repeat to himself twice: “I am fasting.”

Those who fast know that His boundless blessings will always work for their highest good, no matter how difficult it may seem at that time. Whenever they would need God’s help, He would come for them and oblige them.