عربي
Home


Articles

Articles

The State of the Righteous during Ramadan
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 29-09-2024

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.

Indeed, studying the lives of past scholars who passed their knowledge to others, devout worshipers, and righteous individuals is one of the greatest means of strengthening the heart's love for the Knower of the unseen. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "And We have related to you, [O Muhammad], some of the stories of the messengers to strengthen your heart with it. And there has come to you in this [Qur'an] the truth and a confirmation of what was before it, and an admonition and reminder for the believers." [Hud/120].

By reading about their lives, clouds of blessings gather to shower us with mercy. When this mercy reaches the hearts of the believers, their spirits are elevated, and they strive harder in their worship of their Lord, tasting the sweetness of Allah's Words (What means): "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." [Maryam/96].   

It was narrated from some of the pious predecessors that he would spend his nights reciting the Quran. When he reached this verse, he would repeat it until dawn. His student heard him and asked him about it. The scholar said: "Keep secret what you have seen." The student replied: "I will keep it secret as long as you are alive, but tell me about it.' The scholar said: "When I repeated it, the love between the servant and his Lord descended into my heart, and I began to take pleasure in that love. And every time I repeated the verses, I tasted a different kind of love."

This was their state outside of Ramadan. So how was it when the blessed month, the season of worship and obedience, came to them?

Abu Nu'aim in 'Al-Hilya' and Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi in 'Tarikh Baghdad' narrated from Al-Rabi' Ibn Sulayman that Muhammad Ibn Idris Al-Shafi'i would complete sixty recitations of the Quran in the month of Ramadan, all of which were during prayer.

This was their state with the Quran, but their state with night prayer was even more astonishing. Sa'ib Ibn Yazid said: "During the time of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they used to perform twenty Rak'ahs of night prayer in Ramadan. They would recite two hundred verses. During the time of Uthman Ibn Affan (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they would lean on their staffs due to the intensity of their standing in prayer." [Al-Bayhaqi].

As for the state of the righteous predecessors with the poor and needy, there is no end to the stories. How could it be otherwise when their model was the most generous of creation, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him? Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when he would meet with Jibril. He would meet him every night in Ramadan and he would revise the Quran with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous than the abundant wind." [Agreed upon].

It was narrated from Ibn Umar that he would fast and not break his fast except with the poor. And if a beggar came to him while he was eating, he would take his share of the food and stand up and give it to the beggar.

This is a glimpse of the state of the righteous during Ramadan. If we were to examine every aspect of their acts of worship, we would find that they had the greatest share in it. They were the most eager for good deeds during the seasons of goodness. They knew that the world was temporary, so they dedicated it to obedience. They knew that life was short and the deadline was near, so they invested their time in acts of worship. And Ibn Al-Qayyim said truthfully: "Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time cuts you off from Allah and the Hereafter, while death cuts you off from the world and its people."

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Does an internal medical examination for a woman affect her fast?

An internal medical examination for a woman invalidates the fast because it involves the entry of a foreign object into the body cavity (jauf) while fasting.
In this case, the woman must refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day out of respect for Ramadan and make up for the missed fast after Ramadan.
Such an examination should be avoided in Ramadan and other months unless absolutely necessary, as exposing the private parts is only permissible in cases of necessity.
If necessary, a woman should seek a Muslim female doctor first. If one is unavailable, she may see a female doctor from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). If neither is available, she may consult a trustworthy and competent Muslim male doctor.

What is the ruling on wiping the front of the head beneath the ḥijāb, and is it permissible to wipe over the ḥijāb if it was put on while in a state of purification (wudu`)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible to wipe the front portion of the head (nāṣiyah) with the fingertips. It is likewise sufficient to place a wet hand over a head covering (ḥijāb), provided the moisture actually reaches the hair beneath it — if it does not, it does not suffice. A head covering is not treated in the same manner as leather socks (khuff) and may not be wiped over in lieu of the head itself.
Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.1/P.407): "If a person is wearing a turban and does not wish to remove it — whether for a valid reason or otherwise — he should wipe the entire front portion of the head... The same ruling applies to whatever a woman wears on her head. If, however, he confines himself to wiping over the turban without wiping any part of the head itself, this does not suffice — and there is no disagreement among us on this point." He further states: "A woman is like a man in the manner of wiping the head... She should insert her hand beneath her head covering so that the wiping falls upon the hair itself. If she places her wet hand over her head covering, our scholars stated: if the moisture does not reach the hair, it does not suffice her." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on eating or drinking during the second Adhan?

It is not permissible to eat or drink during the second Adhan because it announces the break of dawn and the obligation to start fasting. Allah Almighty says {what means}:"and eat and drink until you can discern the white streak of dawn against the blackness of night." [Al-Baqarah/187].
Whoever eats or drinks during this time invalidates their fast, and they must refrain from eating for the rest of the day and make up for the missed fast later.

 

See More