Today our Ummah (nation) is experiencing one of the most critical periods it has ever encountered throughout its history. All the members of the Ummah must hasten and exert efforts to change the status quo and regain the status this Ummah is supposed to have among nations; as a leading nation not a follower; as an honorable not humiliated nation and as one which protects its followers and guards them from the plots of its enemies and their punishment.
The most important aspect for the Ummah to be reformed is to return in sincere repentance to Allah The Almighty and to ask for His forgiveness regarding all the sins and matters that displease Him. The Ummah should also exert efforts to fulfill its duty in enjoining good and forbidding evil and illuminating and guiding oblivious people. This way would lead to dignity, pride, strength, Jihaad (striving in the cause of Allah The Almighty) and victory. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
· {if you support Allah , He will support you}[Quran 47:7]
· {Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.} [Quran 13:11]
It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, , said: "When you enter into ‘Eenah (a kind of forbidden transaction), hold the tails of cows (and oxen) are pleased with agriculture (i.e. being engaged with worldly matters), and give up Jihaad, Allah will make humiliation overpower you, and will not remove it until you return to your religion." [ Abu Daawood ].
The primary wisdom behind the obligation of fasting the month of Ramadan is to achieve repentance, gain piety, avoid what dissatisfies Allah The Almighty and do what He likes. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous} [Quran 2:183]
The most favorable deed in the sight of Allah The Almighty in the month of Ramadan and at any other time is gaining piety through adhering to the orders and obligations of religion and avoiding what Allah The Almighty forbids. Nowadays, the obligation of Da‘wah (calling to Islam) is becoming more important than performing more favorable righteous deeds, as the Ummah is getting distanced from the true religion.
It was narrated in the Qudsi Hadeeth (sacred narration) that Allah The Almighty Says: "My slave does not get closer to Me with anything dearer to Me than something that I have enjoined upon him." [Al-Bukhari and Ibn Hibbaan] The Prophet, , said: "Avoid the prohibitions and you will be the best worshipper." [At-Tirmithi] [Al-Albaani: Hasan]. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Returning one-sixth dirham that is earned unlawfully is dearer to Allah than spending a hundred thousand for His sake".
If you think about the wisdom behind fasting, and the reality and the ailments of the Ummah as well as the oppression, humiliation and dangers that the Ummah is subjected to all over the world, undoubtedly, your kind heart and enlightened thinking would realize the necessity and importance of changing our own selves. You would realize the necessity of reforming and reminding those who are around us, so that we would be back on track, become victorious and succeed in this life and the Hereafter.
Dear Muslim brother and sister,
the lamentation of the bereaved,
the weeping of the orphans,
the pain of the injured,
the cries of the tortured,
the sighs of the homeless,
and the suffering of the captives,
all call you towards this change and this new beginning.
Will you, dear Muslim brother and sister, make this month of Ramadan, which comes while our Ummah is suffering, a new beginning for righteousness and reform, and for doing all that brings the satisfaction of Allah The Almighty, goodness and that which helps the Ummah to regain its glory in any aspect of life.?
Dear brother and sister, start and do not delay this as life is short, the reality is bitter and the Ummah is waiting for your support, so do not let it down!
Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
· {And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.} [Quran 24:31]
· {O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true.} [Quran 9:119].
Remember your great reward for adhering to the orders of Your creator and endeavoring to obey Him. Your reward would be Paradise and its ranks; the distance between the two is like the distance between heaven and earth.
Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit for what you used to do."} [Quran 7:43].
Practical steps that help you start off and be steadfast:
1- Having righteous company and being keen on this: an example is a beneficial tape or CD that you could listen to in your car or at home.
2- Avoiding companions who do not help you to be upright such as any means that offers you something that displeases Allah. Remember what Allah The Almighty Says (which means): {Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous.} [Quran 43:67].
3- Remind yourself usually of the status and pain of the Ummah so that your determination would not weaken, your enthusiasm would be renewed, and you would exert more efforts in Da‘wah. Remember that your negligence causes the victory of the Ummah to be delayed.
4- Supplicate Allah The Almighty repeatedly to help you reach guidance and protect you from the planning of devils.
5- Dear brother and sister, remember that indulging in amusement even if it was lawful in these circumstances that the Ummah is experiencing is not acceptable, so what about prohibited and impermissible amusement.
6- Think about the transience of life, its shortness and mortality.
7- Remember that death is near and might come suddenly. Remember the grave and what would be in it, Paradise and its prosperity, and Hell and its punishment.
8- Finally, dear brother and sister who seeks the Mercy of Allah The Almighty and the highest ranks, remember that one of the signs of the acceptance of your deeds during the month of Ramadan is that you would become a better person who is endeavoring to do all good deeds and avoid all sins.