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Ramadan Teaches us the Power of Will and Resolve
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 28-03-2023

Ramadan Teaches us the Power of Will and Resolve

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

The holy month of Ramadan is a divine gift manifesting mercy, goodness and blessings. Allah willed that this blessed month be the turning point of change in people`s life taking them from the darkness of ignorance into the light and mercy of Islam, from vice to virtue, from cruelty and disaffection to love, brotherhood and affection. Thus, this religion was initiated by sending Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as a mercy to all creatures. Allah The Almighty Says {what means}: "We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures." {Al-Anbiya/107}. In this holy month, the earth was connected with the heaven and the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) whom Allah sent as mercy to take people out of darkness into the light and out of misguidance into guidance. Allah Says {what means}: "Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting" {Al-Baqarah/185}. This made it the month of mercy and forgiveness.

One of the blessings of this great month is that it is one of the passages of life enabling a believer to revitalize his/her resolve and renew his/her faith. It is also a school of high will, doing righteous good deeds and drawing closer to Allah the Almighty Who told us that the fruit of fasting is the realization of piety and rising to the degree of His pious worshippers. He The Almighty Says {What means}: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint." {Al-Baqarah/183}.

The holy month of Ramadan teaches us to abandon the lusts/desires of the soul and body through quitting food, drink and coveted things. This is in addition to elevating the soul to the realms of spirituality through increasing prayers, worship, remembrance and glorification of Allah. Thus, it gets closer to the status of the angels about whom Allah Said (What means): " who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they receive from God, but do (precisely) what they are commanded." {At-Tahrim/6}. Ramadan is the month of change, offering acts of obedience, worshipping The Most Merciful and reciting the Quran.

This month, Muslims are undergoing a course in self-discipline to attain the piety for which fasting is prescribed. It is a test for changing self and society to the better as well as controlling desires. A Muslim realizes that he/she can quit not only lawful food and water, but also acts of disobedience and fight self that incites him/her to sins, evils and inflicting harm upon others.

From the perspective of the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions, Ramadan is the month of work and pivotal achievements in the history of the Islamic Uma. It has never been the month of laziness or inaction. Rather, it is an opportunity to revitalize resolve and receive the glad-tidings of success in all spheres of life. One of these pivotal events is the Battle of Badr, which Allah Called the Day of the Criterion because it differentiated between right and wrong and was won by the Muslims. It took place on the seventeenth of Ramadan. Another example is the Conquest of Makkah through which sanctities returned to the fold of Islam and large numbers of people accepted Islam. This Conquest took place on the twentieth of Ramadan. Therefore, Ramadan is the month of fighting self, curbing desires and competing in righteous good deeds. It is the duty of every Muslim to take advantage of these blessed days through fasting, night prayers and reciting the Quran to win Allah`s Mercy and Forgiveness and return free from sin as on the day a person was born. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "He who observes fasting during the month of Ramadan with Faith, while seeking its reward From Allah, will have his past sins forgiven." [Agreed upon]. And All perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is there a solution to put an end to thinking of worries during prayer?

Firstly, make ablution after the time for prayer begins and busy yourself with remembering Allah, The Exalted, before the iqaamah (start of prayer).In order to become humbly submissive during prayer, you must perform prayer in congregation. After the prayer ends, stay in your place and read the post-prayer remembrances (Adhkaar) and make supplication to Allah, The Exalted.

What is the ruling on one who vowed not to speak to a certain person, then forgot his vow and spoke to him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Whoever swears an oath or makes a vow to abstain from something has a choice: if he wishes, he may keep to his vow, or if he wishes, he may offer the expiation of an oath (kaffārat yamīn). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The expiation for a vow is the expiation for an oath.” Narrated by Muslim. This type of vow is called a nadhr al-lajāj (a vow made in stubbornness or anger).
If a person makes a vow and then forgets it, nothing is due from him, for forgetfulness is among the excuses that lift legal responsibility (taklīf) from a Muslim. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Actions are judged only by intentions, and every person will have only what he intended.” [Narrated by al-Bukhārī]. There is no intention for the one who forgets or errs. It is also based on the report: “Indeed, Allah has pardoned for my Ummah mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are compelled to do.” Narrated by Ibn Mājah and others, and graded authentic by Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Ḥākim.
It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 243), one of the books of the Shāfiʿī school: “Whoever swears, [for example], ‘I will not enter the house,’ and then enters it forgetfully, ignorantly, under compulsion, or being carried, he does not break his oath.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

A pregnant woman has iron deficiency. When she showers, she becomes very tired and feels cold. What is the ruling on tayammum in this situation?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
One should not resort to tayammum (dry ablution) as a substitute for the obligatory ghusl (ritual bathing) so long as it remains possible to use water — for example, by heating the water, warming the place where the bathing takes place, or taking other similar precautions. However, if such measures prove ineffective, or are simply not possible to carry out, and performing ghusl [with cold water] would result in severe harm, then tayammum becomes permissible in that case, due to genuine inability to use water on account of the harm that would result, as described in the question. That said, she must make up (qaḍā') the prayers she performed using this tayammum.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm: "One should not perform tayammum on account of cold unless warming the limbs fails to remove the aforementioned harm, and no means are available to heat the water — such as a vessel, firewood, or fire — and one fears [that using cold water would result in] any of the harms mentioned earlier in the discussion on illness: danger to life, loss of function in a limb, the onset or worsening of an illness, delayed recovery, or the [visible bodily] blemish mentioned in that discussion on illness. In such a case, tayammum becomes permissible due to the harm involved, but the prayer must still be made up afterward (qaḍā'). If, however, warming the body proves effective, or the means to heat the water are available, or none of the aforementioned harms are feared — then tayammum is not permissible, even if using the water causes some degree of discomfort or pain, since mere discomfort alone does not permit resorting to tayammum." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on working in hotels?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible to work in hotels, restaurants, and shops in jobs that involve no direct handling of forbidden things and do not assist in them, such as administrative work.
As for jobs in which one directly handles forbidden things or assists in them, such as serving, transporting, or purchasing alcohol, receiving payment for it, or agreeing to buy it, working in them is forbidden, based on the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” [al-Māʾidah/2]
The basic nature of the work of hotels and restaurants is permissible, and the sin of any forbidden element that arises incidentally in some of what takes place in a hotel or restaurant is borne by those who run it.
The scholars have also permitted dealing with one whose lawful wealth is mixed with unlawful wealth, as previously explained in Fatwa no. (2697). And Allah Almighty knows best.