كيف يكون الاستعداد لشهر رمضان؟ | الشيخ: أ.د. عبدالسلام الشويعر

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner.

And I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger.

May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions, abundantly, until the Day of Judgment.

Then, after that:

This is a word, I hope not to prolong it, by the will of Allah, the Almighty.

It is fitting with the approach of the month of Ramadan, as it is but a few days, and this noble month will enter upon us.

It has been narrated from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to give glad tidings to his companions of the coming of the month of Ramadan, saying: "A noble month has overshadowed you."

And it appears from the hadith of Anas that he used to say this to them before the month entered, reminding them of the virtue of the month and reminding them of the deeds of this noble, blessed month.

And indeed, a Muslim, in such days before the month of Ramadan enters, prepares for Ramadan with two essential things.

The first of these two matters is to intend and resolve to obey.

Therefore, Imam Ahmad said to his son Abdullah when his son Abdullah said to him, "Advise me."

He said, "My son, intend good, for you will remain good as long as you intend good."

Ibn Muflih said, when he narrated the words of Imam Ahmad, "What a great piece of advice from an affectionate father to his son, encompassing the good of this world and the hereafter, or something similar to what they said."

So, a person intends good and resolves to do it.

And it has been narrated in some reports that the intention of the believer is more eloquent than his deed.

Therefore, whoever intends to do a good and righteous deed, and then is prevented from this deed by illness, inability, preoccupation, or similar matters, then Allah, the Almighty, will reward him for his intention, even if he did not act.

It is authentically narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said: "When a servant becomes ill or travels, the reward of what he used to do when he was healthy and resident is written for him."

Therefore, it is from the mercy of Allah, the Almighty, upon this Ummah in particular, that they are rewarded for their intentions.

Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever intends to do a good deed and does not do it, it is written for him. And whoever intends to do a good deed and does it, it is written for him from ten times upwards, or something similar to what he said, peace be upon him."

And this is from the mercy of Allah upon this weak Ummah in their bodies and short in their lifespans.

For the lifespan of this Ummah is short, as you know, compared to previous nations.

Noah, peace be upon him, called his people to the oneness of Allah and worship for a thousand years less fifty years.

And before that, he had a lifespan, and after that, he had a lifespan after the flood.

Therefore, it is said that the lifespan of Noah, peace be upon him, was 1050 years, if that is true.

The intention is that a person intends good.

For the mere intention of good and resolving to do it is rewarded, even if an unforeseen event occurs and a barrier prevents him from doing what he intended.

However, this intention requires knowledge of the second matter: what is intended.

Not everything that is intended is permissible, but rather what is legislated is intended, not what is otherwise.

And we are approaching this noble month, it is fitting for every seeker, and for every Muslim in general, to know what is legislated in this noble month, so that he may learn the rulings and perform them correctly, and so that he may intend them and resolve to do them if he is able to do so.

Otherwise, Allah, the Almighty, is generous, Glorified be He.

The first of these deeds that are done in the month of Ramadan, and we all know it, is the obligation of fasting.

And Allah, the Almighty, said: "The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was sent down."

And He, Glorified, said: "Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous."

This indicates that a person must fast the month of Ramadan if he is accountable and able to fast.

And this is clear, without a doubt.

The second matter is that among the most emphasized and recommended deeds in this noble month is the night vigil (Qiyam al-Layl).

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever stands in Ramadan in faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven."

And in another hadith, it is narrated that he, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever stands in the Night of Decree in faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven."

Some scholars mentioned that whoever stands in Ramadan is forgiven because of his standing for the entire month and because of his standing in the Night of Decree, because the Night of Decree is one of the nights of this blessed month.

Therefore, a Muslim should be keen to perform the night vigil in this blessed month.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to perform it, and the companions performed it after him.

And Muslims have continued to perform it individually and in congregation in the Tarawih prayers.

Let us know that it is from Allah's vast favor upon us that Allah rewards the night vigil for a person who has not prayed anything of the night except the obligatory prayers.

For it is narrated in the hadith of Uthman and others that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever witnesses the 'Isha' prayer, it is as if he has stood for half the night. And whoever witnesses the Fajr prayer..."

And in some narrations of the hadith: "...and whoever witnesses the 'Isha' and Fajr prayers, it is as if he has stood for the entire night."

This indicates that a Muslim should be keen to pray these two prayers in congregation: 'Isha' and Fajr.

So, whoever prays 'Isha' and Fajr with the Imam, the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, indicates that he will be credited with standing for the night.

This is the least that a Muslim can be keen about if he is preoccupied with other prayers, such as Tarawih and others.

The second act of worship that is legislated in the month of Ramadan is the recitation of the Quran.

And the scholars have mentioned that it is recommended to recite the Quran in Ramadan especially, as Allah, the Almighty, said: "The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was sent down as guidance for people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion."

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to be visited by Gabriel, peace be upon him, and he would study the Quran with him until the year in which he passed away, peace be upon him, he studied the Quran with him twice.

From this hadith, scholars and commentators have derived that it is recommended for a Muslim to complete the Quran at least once in Ramadan.

Therefore, be keen not to let this noble month pass without completing the Quran at least once.

For the bounty of Allah, the Almighty, is vast and great, and do not deprive yourself of this great bounty.

The third matter that is done in this noble month is to frequent the mosques.

And it is narrated from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he mentioned from the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, that they used to say when the month of Ramadan entered: "We frequent the mosques to preserve our fasting."

This indicates that frequenting the mosques has a great reward with Allah, the Almighty, even for a few minutes after or before the prayer.

And a person remains in prayer as long as he awaits prayer.

And a person is still being glorified by the angels as long as he does not break his ritual purity or speak, and so on, from the many hadiths that have been narrated from him, peace be upon him.

So, the longer you stay in the mosque, even for a minute, you have a reward, especially in Ramadan.

And it is narrated that Abdullah bin Anis Al-Juhani narrated from his father Anis Al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him, that he came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, designate a night for me, as I am the leader of my people in the desert, so designate a night for me to come to your mosque."

So the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him: "Come on the twenty-third night."

His son Abdullah said: "My father, when the twenty-third night came, he would tie his mount at the door of the Messenger of Allah's mosque and would not leave until after dawn."

Therefore, they say that the minimum perfection is for a person to perform I'tikaf for a full night or a full day, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, indicated to Anis in this hadith.

As for the complete perfection, it is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, did; he used to perform I'tikaf for ten days.

And this is from frequenting the mosques.

The fourth matter that is done in the month of Ramadan, they said, is to increase and be diligent in giving charity, whether the charity is obligatory, which is Zakat, or voluntary.

And it is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when Gabriel would meet him and study the Quran with him. He was more generous than the sent wind, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him."

And among what relates to generosity in Ramadan is what relates to the obligatory, which is Zakat.

For it is narrated from Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said to the Muslims: "O Muslims, this month is the month of your Zakat, so pay your Zakat."

It was said that this month that Uthman meant was the month of Ramadan, and it was said that it was Muharram, and Allah knows best.

The intention is that spending in charity in general, including obligatory Zakat for those who have not paid it in other than this month, is emphasized in this noble and virtuous month.

And among the virtuous charities is feeding the poor.

And it is narrated that the companions used to compete in feeding the poor in the month of Ramadan.

And perhaps its basis is what is narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said: "Whoever breaks the fast of a fasting person in it, he will have a reward like his, without diminishing the reward of the fasting person in anything."

And the meal that breaks the fast is the meal that is at the beginning of the night, and it may be any meal.

And some scholars said this and that, and Allah's bounty is vast, and a person should have good thoughts of Allah, the Almighty, for Allah, the Almighty, is generous.

And among what relates to this noble month is to be concerned with an important matter, which is guarding one's tongue.

For the companions used to guard their tongues.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to two women who had spoken... and the hadith has weakness, but scholars mention it as a reminder and admonition.

Therefore, a Muslim should be keen, during the day and night of Ramadan, for the day and night are the same, to guard his tongue from cursing anyone, not to curse anyone, not to insult anyone, not to backbite anyone, neither young nor old, neither near nor far.

And thus, he guards his tongue, for guarding the tongue is one of the important matters that a seeker of knowledge should be concerned with.

Guarding the tongue is important, and many people may be angered on the road and curse and insult, or something may anger them at home, and they may even be harsh with their son or daughter.

But as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "If anyone insults you or fights with you, say: 'I am fasting.'"

So, a person is reminded of fasting.

And his saying, "I am fasting," they say this is recommended if the fasting is obligatory.

So he says, "I am fasting," because all people are fasting.

As for if it is voluntary, some say it, and some say the fasting person says it, and some say he says it to himself.

And this is a matter that is easy, and its knowledge is with Allah, the Almighty.

Therefore, a Muslim, in such days, intends good and learns its rulings.

If he learns and intends good and resolves to do it, and if travel comes to him, or an accident occurs, or preoccupation, or illness, then Allah, the Almighty, out of His mercy and generosity, will reward the righteous servant for what he intended with a sincere, decisive, and resolute intention.

I ask Allah, the Great, Lord of the Throne, the Generous, to grant us all guidance and piety.

And to grant us beneficial knowledge and a humble heart.

And I ask Him, Glorified, to be pleased with us and with our parents.

And to forgive our sins and to cover our faults.

And to overlook our misdeeds.

And I ask Him, Glorified, to make us understand the religion.

And I ask Him, Glorified, to remind us of what we have forgotten from the Quran and to teach us what we did not know from it.

And I ask Him, Glorified, to protect our countries from all evil and tribulation.

And to preserve their security and faith.

And to perpetuate their prosperity.

And I ask Him, Glorified, to grant success, bless, and protect our leaders.

And to guide their affairs and guide their opinions.

And may Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.