We kindly invite you to read the following article to find out more about the meaning of Ramadan.
God began to reveal the Quran during Ramadan. This has many implications, including the following: to welcome the month of Ramadan, when the Quran was revealed, the faithful should be like angels, abstaining from food and drink.
They should also try to abstain from the idle pursuits of the sensual self and its blatant needs. During Ramadan, they should recite the Quran or listen to it as if it were being revealed for the first time. If possible, they should listen to it as if they could hear the Prophet Muhammad or the Archangel Gabriel reciting it to Muhammad, or God revealing it to Muhammad through Gabriel. They should take the Quran into account in their daily actions and, by conveying its message to others, show the divine purpose of its revelation.
Ramadan turns the Muslim world into a huge mosque where millions recite the Quran to the inhabitants of the Earth. By demonstrating the reality of the verse: “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran” (2:185), Ramadan proves that it is the month of the Quran. While some listen to its recitation with solemn devotion in the great congregation of the Islamic world’s gigantic mosque, others recite it.
It is inappropriate to abandon this heavenly-spiritual state by obeying the carnal self – by eating and drinking in this “holy” mosque – as this causes the hatred of the entire congregation. Also, it is inappropriate to oppose those Muslims who fast and must provoke the aversion and contempt of the Islamic world.
Fasting during Ramadan has many purposes related to a person’s spiritual rewards, as everyone has been sent into this world to sow the seeds of the world to come. One such purpose is explained below:
The reward for good deeds done during Ramadan is multiplied by a thousand. One of the hadiths says that for every letter in the Quran, God gives 10 rewards. Reciting one letter means 10 good deeds and gives 10 good deeds in Paradise. However, during Ramadan, this reward is multiplied by a thousand or even more for verses such as the Throne Verse (Baqara 2:255). The reward is even greater on Friday nights during Ramadan. In addition, each letter is multiplied by 30,000 if it is recited during the Night of Power.
During Ramadan, the Qur’an, each letter of which yields 30,000 fruits of Paradise, becomes a huge, blessed tree that produces millions of lasting fruits of paradise. What a profitable trade and what a great loss for those who underestimate the letters of the Qur’an.
Ramadan is therefore the most appropriate time for such trade in the name of Eternity. It is like the most fertile field that is cultivated to reap the harvest in the Hereafter. It is a unique and illustrious festival with a parade of those who honor the Kingdom of their Lord.
That is why fasting during Ramadan is obligatory and the faithful cannot satisfy the animal instincts of their carnal selves or wallow in useless fantasies. Because they become like angels when they fast or engage in such commerce, every faithful is a mirror reflecting the Self-Sufficiency of God. He can become a pure spirit, clothed only in the flesh – if he leaves the world for a certain period of time.
One Ramadan can earn a believer the reward of 80 years, as the Koran declares that the Night of Power can be more beneficial than 80 years without it (Qadr, 97:3). The King may designate holidays to commemorate an occasion, such as accession to the throne, and then honor the faithful subjects with special favors on those days. Likewise, the Eternal and Majestic King revealed the 18,000 worlds to each of them during Ramadan. Wisdom demands that Ramadan be a special divine festival, during which God showers His blessings and spiritual beings gather. Assuming that Ramadan is such a divinely ordained festival, fasting is prescribed so that people refrain to some extent from their physical activities.
Fasting also enables people to rid themselves of the sins committed by their senses and to use them in acts of worship that are appropriate for them. Those who fast should protect their tongues from lying, backbiting and cursing, and occupy them with reciting the Quran, glorifying God, seeking His forgiveness and invoking blessings on the Prophet Muhammad.
They should restrain their eyes and ears from seeing and hearing forbidden things. On the contrary, they should look at things from which they can learn something spiritual and listen to the Quran. When the stomach, which is a kind of factory, stops functioning, other parts of the body (small workshops) can also be easily stopped.
One of the aims of fasting is to put people on a physical and spiritual diet. If a person’s sensual nature is allowed to run free, eating and drinking as much as it wants, it damages the person’s health. But more importantly, their spiritual life suffers because they cannot distinguish between what is permitted and what is forbidden. Such a sensual nature cannot obey the heart and soul. By not recognizing any rules, it keeps a person in check and directs him or her as it pleases.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan accustoms the sensual self to a diet and self-discipline to obedience. The stomach does not suffer from overeating because the previous food is properly digested. By learning to deny oneself what is permitted, a person can follow the dictates of reason and religion and refrain from what is forbidden. In this way, the sensual nature of man does not spoil the spiritual life of its owner.
Most people suffer from hunger to some degree. In order to endure long hunger patiently, people should train themselves in self-discipline and severity. Fasting during Ramadan trains people to be patient by making them feel hungry for 15 or even 24 hours – if they skip sahur, the meal before dawn. Fasting therefore cures impatience and lack of perseverance, which are a human being’s double affliction.
Many parts of the body serve the stomach in some way. If this “factory” does not cease in any of the months of its daily routine, these parts of the body only take care of themselves and forget to worship God. This is why saints have always chosen austerity as a path to spiritual and human perfection. Fasting during Ramadan reminds us that our body was created for more than just serving the stomach.
During Ramadan, many parts of the body experience angelic and spiritual pleasures – as opposed to material ones. As a result, the faithful who fast experience a level of spiritual pleasure and enlightenment depending on their degree of spiritual perfection. Fasting during the month of Ramadan refines the human heart, spirit, and mind and the deepest senses. Even if the stomach complains, these senses rejoice.
Source: Gulen Movement –
If you wish to read more on Ramadan, click HERE. MKD Association prepared a pamphlet titled Fasting in Ramadan and Developing Self-Control.
