> Peace be upon you and everyone.
> =1=This month of fasting is the most excellent arrangement for
> spiritual development, righteousness, seeking Divine nearness,
> attaining acceptance to one's prayer, and developing in religious,
> moral and spiritual ways.[ Al Baqarah (2:184)]
> =2=Fasting was also made obligatory on the followers of the earlier
> prophets of God for the purification of soul..... And among them only
> those became the recipient of blessings who abided by the commandment
> without any protest, who put the teaching in practice and excelled in
> righteousness (taqwa)...... However, when they rejected the teachings,
> they lost their worldly glory as well as their standards of
> spirituality plummeted. ......Indeed when Allah enjoins the followers of
> prophets of God to adopt righteousness, He declares that it would lead
> them to the blessings of this world and the Hereafter [Al Rahman
> (55:47)]......It is vital to recognize the lofty station of God in order
> to develop in righteousness and to be the recipient of His blessings
> and this will come to pass when His commandments are followed with
> sincerity of purpose..... One of these commandments is to fast.
> =3=Fortunate are the adherents of the perfect Book, the everlasting
> Shariah, and the last law-bearing Prophet (peace and blessings of
> Allah be on him) who was granted excellence over all the other
> prophets by being given the title of Seal-of-all-the-
> prophets (Khatam un Nabiyyeen)..... He brought the message of
> Qur'an for establishing righteousness, a message that is still fresh
> today and shall always remain
so.....Commandments of this last law-
> bearing Book expects from believers to endeavour for the attainment of
> the blessing that this Book mentions and to assume the undertaking
> for which God and His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
> have shown us the way.
> =4= It is indeed God's promise that He guides those to Him who come
> towards Him with absolute sincerity. [Al Ankabut (29:70)].....He runs to
> those who at least walk towards Him.... A great source to attain
> nearness to God is fasting... A Hadith relates that the Holy Prophet
> (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that Allah puts a
> distance of more than 70%% (Arabic idiom meaning a great deal) between
> the face of a person who fasts in the way of Allah seeking His
> blessings and fire.....Indeed it is vital to fast in the quest of
> Allah's grace and if the attainment of His pleasure is the sole
> objective, He not only saves one from the fire but also grants the
> paradise of His pleasure, in this world and the Hereafter.
> =5=The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that one who makes a
> solemn endeavour to seek Allah never fails. He said that if we can
> feel compassion for a student who works hard for school exams how
> could God not have mercy and compassion to allow one who endeavours to
> seek him to come near Him? Certainly not.
> =6=According to a hadith: Allah declares that each act of man is for
> himself, apart for fasting. Fasting is for Allah and Allah alone is
> its reward. Another Hadith reiterates this point that fasting is done
> for Allah and only Allah knows the real reward of a person who fasts.
> =7=Just as Allah's attributes are countless so is the extent of His
> reward, however, He has set some limitations for the attainment of His
> reward..... For example during fasting one is not required to merely
> starve oneself, rather one has to make an endeavour to shun all sorts
> of worldly and carnal desires, only then it may be deemed that fasting
> is for Allah alone.... Similarly the avoidance from the ills is not to
> be temporary and brief, rather it has to be a permanent effort.
> =8=Indeed Allah knows what is in one's heart, is aware of the
> intention behind each deed, has knowledge of what is apparent and what
> is hidden, if a person fasts with Allah's attributes in mind, that
> fasting would be rewarded.
> =9=When a person who is fasting responds to an abuse by saying that as
> they are fasting they will not respond in kind, it does not mean that
> after breaking the fast they are at liberty to retaliate, not at all.
> ....Fasting is a training process during which one is trained to eschew
> bad habits for good, that is the reason why a Hadith relates that when
> a person who fast sincerely meets his Maker he will be happy...... It is
> not just thirty days' effort that will give him happiness, rather he
> will be happy because he would have had an opportunity to make an
> endeavour to avoid bad habits and that person would thus greet each
> Ramadan of his life until he attains the station where he will be the
> recipient of Allah's pleasure.
> =10= A Hadith terms fasting as a shield: the important thing is to be
> able to utilise this 'shield' to protect oneself from the attacks of
> the Satan, the most dangerous of all enemies.... A believer can be safe
> by means of this 'shield' through worship of God and by staying firm
> on His commandments.
> =11=The teaching of the earlier prophets was temporary, it was for a
> temporary period of time. With the teaching diminished, its freshness
> and righteousness/taqwa also fainted..... The teaching of the Holy
> Qur'an is eternal.....Worldly desires crept into the fasting of other
> religions.... One need to constantly make endeavours to keep the
> standards of our righteousness / taqwa high and should try to the best
> of his/her ability or capacity to attain the lofty standards..... Allah
> has shown the believers all the ways and can only justifiably called
> Khair e Ummah ( best of groups of people ) when they can attain these
> standards.... The acts that are done to seek the pleasure of Allah are
> indeed what righteousness / taqwa is all about.
> =12= The holy Caliph also prayed for Allah's help for making solemn
> endeavour to attain righteousness /taqwa... He referred to The Promised
> Messiah (on whom be peace) who said that fasting is about forsaking
> one kind of nourishment (food) to seek the other kind of nourishment
> which is for the soul. Allah opens up ways of guidance and spiritual
> discernment for those who seek Him with truthfulness of heart.....May
> Allah enable us that we fast while making the attainment of His
> pleasure our objective, may we attain spiritual discernment which
> becomes a lasting part of our lives and which enhances us in e
> righteousness each moment....
> Promised divine peace of latter days @
www.alislam.org www.mta.tv
> with
> LOVE FOR ALL HATRED FOR NONE.
