The Greatest Rewards in the Best of Months

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and those who follow him. 

The month of Ramadan has virtues and distinctions that belong to no other month of the year. In it, Allah’s mercy toward His creation shines forth, His blessing upon His servants becomes manifest, and His bounty upon the believers overflows more than at any other time. It is, for this reason, the best of months.

Allah the Exalted has asked Muslims to do righteous deeds in abundance and to compete in acts of obedience. He says {what means}: “And for that let the competitors compete” [al-Muṭaffifīn/26]. Among the distinctions of this virtuous month is that the reward for righteous deeds a Muslim performs seeking Allah’s pleasure is multiplied. When Ramadan approached, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him, may my father and mother be his ransom) would say: “Ramadan has come to you, a month of blessing, in which there is goodness with which Allah envelops you. Mercy descends, sins are wiped away, and supplication is answered. Allah looks upon your striving with one another and boasts of you before His angels. So show Allah good from yourselves, for the wretched one is he who is deprived of Allah’s mercy in it.” [1] He also said: “Ramadan has come to you, a blessed month, whose fast Allah has made obligatory upon you. In it, the gates of heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it, Allah has a night better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good has truly been deprived.” [2] And he said: “My Ummah has been given five things in the month of Ramadan that no Prophet before me was given. The first is that on the first night of Ramadan, Allah the Mighty and Majestic looks upon them, and whomever Allah looks upon He will never punish. The second is that the breath of their mouths in the evening is better in Allah’s sight than the fragrance of musk. The third is that the angels seek forgiveness for them every day and night. The fourth is that Allah the Mighty and Majestic commands His Paradise, saying to it: ‘Prepare yourself and adorn yourself for My servants, for they will soon rest from the toil of the world in My abode and generosity.’ The fifth is that on the last night, He forgives them all.” A man among the people asked: “Is that the Night of Power?” He said: “No. Have you not seen how workers labor, and when they finish their work, they are paid their wages?” [3]

Worship (ʿibādah) is a comprehensive term for everything Allah loves and is pleased with, of words and deeds, outward and inward. [4] The acceptance of outward deeds depends on the realization of inward ones, for inward deeds are the origin and root of outward deeds, while outward deeds are their completion and branches, which are not complete without them. [5] The inward deeds include faith in Allah, glorified be He, and His oneness, thinking well of Him, love of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), fear of Allah the Exalted and hope in Him, seeking His help, reliance upon Him, and other works of the heart. The outward deeds include establishing the prayer, giving zakāh, fasting Ramadan, and Ḥajj.

The matter of worship rests on following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in what he brought from Allah the Exalted: “There is no creed but his creed, no reality but his reality, no way but his way, and no law but his law. No one among creation reaches Allah, His pleasure, His Paradise, His honor, or status except by following him inwardly and outwardly, in inward and outward words and deeds: the words and beliefs of the heart, its states and realities, the words of the tongue, and the deeds of the limbs. None enjoys any status in the sight of Allah except the one who follows him inwardly and outwardly, believes him in what he reported of the unseen, and holds fast to obedience in what he made obligatory upon creation, performing what is required and leaving what is forbidden.” [6]

Every Muslim should therefore make use of this great month in obedience to Allah the Exalted. Among the noblest acts of obedience are the following.

First: Inward Deeds of the Heart

1. Love of Allah the Exalted and love of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)

Love of Allah the Exalted and of His Messenger is inseparable from faith, and a sign that the sweetness of faith has settled in the heart. It is reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs on the authority of Anas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever has three things will find the sweetness of faith: that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a person and loves him only for Allah’s sake; and that he hates to return to disbelief after Allah has rescued him from it, as he would hate to be thrown into the Fire.” [7] Al-Nawawī says: “The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said that the sweetness of faith means finding delight in acts of obedience, bearing hardship for the pleasure of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and preferring that to the goods of this world; and it means the servant’s love for his Lord, glorified and exalted be He, by doing what He commands and avoiding what He forbids, and likewise love of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” [8]

2. Sincerity (ikhlāṣ) toward Allah the Exalted

Sincerity is “devoting one’s intention purely, in love, fear, hope, reliance, turning back to Him, seeking His help and His rescue, and servitude, with the heart, tongue, and limbs, to Allah alone, in obedience to the One who is worshipped.” [9] The fasting person must make his intention sincere, because Allah has commanded it: “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and give zakāh. And that is the correct religion” [al-Bayyinah/5]. Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said concerning the words of Allah the Exalted: “[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed, and He is the Almighty, the Forgiving” [al-Mulk/2], that “best in deed” means “the most sincere and the most correct.” He said: “A deed is not accepted until it is both sincere and correct. It is sincere when it is for Allah, and correct when it accords with the Sunnah.” [10] For this reason, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), for all their diligence in righteous deeds, feared that their deeds might be rendered void. Al-Bukhārī reports from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Mulaykah that he said: “I met thirty of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), every one of whom feared hypocrisy (nifāq) for himself, and none of them claimed to have the faith of Jibrīl and Mīkāʾīl.” [11]

3. Truthfulness (ṣidq) with Allah the Exalted

Al-Jurjānī defines it as: “Speaking the truth where destruction lies, and it was said: that you speak truthfully in a situation from which only a lie would save you. Al-Qushayrī said: Truthfulness is that there be no admixture in your states, no doubt in your belief, and no flaw in your deeds.” [12]

The linguists distinguish it from sincerity: “Truthfulness is the root and comes first, while sincerity is a branch and follows. Another distinction: sincerity comes only after one has entered the act.” [13]

Truthfulness has several kinds: “The nearest is truthfulness in speech, so that one says only what is true, says only what is in his heart, does not argue for argument’s sake, does not flatter, and does not speak obscenely. The second is truthfulness of the self, so that he does not cheat or deceive himself but tries to look into its faults and address them. The third is truthfulness in fairness, so that he does not belittle others, does not harbor resentment, envy, or malice, and is fair even to his enemies.” [14]

Al-Māwardī, commenting on the words of Allah the Exalted “and the truthful” [Āl ʿImrān: 17], said: “There are two readings. One is truthfulness in their speech. The other is truthfulness in speech, deed, and intention. Truthfulness in speech is reporting what is true, truthfulness in deed is completing the work, and truthfulness in intention is carrying through the resolve.” [15]

It is clear from this that truthfulness in word and deed is the foundation of the virtues, so the fasting Muslim should be careful to hold to it.

4. Patience (ṣabr) for Allah the Exalted

Patience is “restraining the self from what Allah has forbidden, keeping it to His obligations, and restraining it from resentment and complaint about Allah’s decrees.” [16] Ramadan is the month of patience, since in it the self is kept to obedience to Allah and away from disobedience to Him. The reward of patience is Paradise, and indeed “the patient will be given their reward without account” [al-Zumar/10]. Muḥammad ibn Ṣubayḥ al-ʿIjlī said: “The patient have been given blessings from Allah upon them and mercy from Him for them. Who can attain their excellence except one of them? Glad tidings to the patient: how lofty is their rank and how exalted their stations there.” [17] ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb reported from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When Allah gathers creation, a caller will call: ‘Where are the people of patience?’ A few people will stand and hurry toward Paradise. The angels will meet them and say: ‘We see you hurrying toward Paradise. Who are you?’ They will say: ‘We are the people of patience.’ They will ask: ‘And what was your patience?’ They will say: ‘We were patient in obeying Allah, and patient in refraining from disobeying Allah.’ It will be said to them: ‘Enter Paradise, and excellent is the reward of those who work.’” [18]

Second: Outward Deeds

1. Reciting the Noble Qur’an

The greatest means by which a servant draws near to his Lord is to recite the Noble Qur’an abundantly, because it is the speech of Allah the Exalted, and it was sent down in this blessed month. Allah the Exalted says {what means}: “The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever witnesses the month, let him fast it” [al-Baqarah/ 185]. Among its virtues is what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah will have a good deed for it, and a good deed is multiplied tenfold. I do not say that Alif Lām Mīm is a letter, but alif is a letter, lām is a letter, and mīm is a letter.” [19] This is general for Ramadan and other times, but in Ramadan the reward is greater.

The Qur’an and fasting will intercede for their companion on the Day of Resurrection and bring him into Paradise. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Fasting and the Qur’an will intercede for the servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: ‘My Lord, I kept him from food and desires by day, so let me intercede for him.’ The Qur’an will say: ‘I kept him from sleep by night, so let me intercede for him.’ And they will be allowed to intercede.” [20]

What a great virtue this is in the month of the Qur’an! A Muslim should be eager to seize it so as to attain the great reward.

2. Guarding the prayer

Prayer holds great good for the Muslim in this world and the next. If the fasting person wishes to gain the greatest reward from his prayer and his fast, he should keep himself in a state of purity: perform wuḍūʾ at home and go out to one of Allah’s houses. This carries the reward of a pilgrimage, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever goes out from his house in a state of purity for an obligatory prayer, his reward is like that of the pilgrim in iḥrām. Whoever goes out for the Duḥā prayer, exerting himself for nothing else, his reward is like that of the one performing ʿUmrah. And a prayer after a prayer with no idle talk between them is recorded in ʿIlliyyīn.” [21]

One should take care to use the siwāk before every prayer, for the reward is multiplied seventy-fold. Al-Ḥākim narrated the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The prayer for which the siwāk is used is seventy times better than the prayer for which it is not used.” [22]

Nor should we forget the night prayer, which is of great merit, especially on the Night of Power. Allah the Exalted says {what means}: “Indeed, We sent it down during the Night of Power. And what can make you know what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months” [al-Qadr/ 1-3]. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward will have his previous sins forgiven, and whoever stands in prayer on the Night of Power out of faith and seeking reward will have his previous sins forgiven.” [23]

3. Giving zakāh and charity

Ramadan is the month of consoling the poor, the needy, widows, and orphans through zakāh and general charity: “Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to increase” [al-Tawbah/ 103]. That is, “Take, O Messenger, from the wealth of those mentioned, and from all the wealth of the believers in all its kinds, including trade goods, a charity that is either specified, like the obligatory zakāh, or unspecified, which is voluntary giving. Charity is what a believer spends as a means of drawing near to Allah, as stated earlier in connection with the spending of the believing Bedouins. ‘By which you purify them and cause them to increase’ means that you purify them by it from the stain of miserliness, greed, baseness, and hardness toward the wretched poor, and the vices connected with these, and you cause their souls to grow by it, raising them through goodness and blessings of character and conduct until they are fit for happiness in this world and the next. The purifier here is the Messenger, and the means of purification is charity.” [24]

In this lie great merit and great reward. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “It was mentioned to me that deeds will boast, and charity will say: ‘I am the best of you.’” [25] One should take care to give in every month, and especially in Ramadan, because of its blessing and the multiplication of reward in it.

4. Performing ʿUmrah

A Muslim who is financially and physically able should take care to perform ʿUmrah in the blessed month of Ramadan, because of its great merit and reward. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from his pilgrimage, he asked Umm Sinān al-Anṣāriyyah: “What kept you from Ḥajj?” She said: “So-and-so,” meaning her husband, “had two water camels. He performed Ḥajj on one, and the other was used to water our land.” He said: “ʿUmrah in Ramadan is equal to Ḥajj,” or he said, “Ḥajj with me.” [26]

5. Abundant remembrance (dhikr) of Allah the Exalted

Ibn al-Qayyim said: The best of the people of any act is the one who remembers Allah the Mighty and Majestic most in it. The best of those who fast are those who remember Allah the most in their fasting; the best of those who give charity are those who remember Allah the most; the best of those on pilgrimage are those who remember Allah the most, and so on in every state. Ibn Abī al-Dunyā recorded a mursal ḥadīth on this: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: ‘Which of the people of the mosque is best?’ He said: ‘The one who remembers Allah the Mighty and Majestic the most.’ It was said: ‘Which funeral is best?’ He said: ‘The one in which people remember Allah the Mighty and Majestic the most.’ It was said: ‘Which of the Mujahideen (Those who struggle in the path of Allah) is best?’ He said: ‘The one who remembers Allah the Mighty and Majestic the most.’ It was said: ‘Which of the pilgrims is best?’ He said: ‘The one who remembers Allah the Mighty and Majestic the most.’ It was said: ‘Which of the servants is best?’ He said: ‘The one who remembers Allah the Mighty and Majestic the most.’” Abū Bakr said: “Those who remember Allah have gone off with all the good.” [27]

6. Abundant supplication (duʿāʾ) to Allah the Exalted

Ramadan is the month in which supplication is answered. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Ramadan has come to you, a month of blessing, in which there is goodness with which Allah envelops you. Mercy descends, sins are wiped away, and supplication is answered. Allah looks upon your striving with one another and boasts of you before His angels. So show Allah good from yourselves, for the wretched one is he who is deprived of Allah’s mercy in it.” [28] What the Noble Qur’an says about the answering of supplication in Ramadan is remarkable, for the verse on the answering of supplication comes in the midst of the verses on fasting: “The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever witnesses the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship, and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you, and perhaps you will be grateful. And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now relate to them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His verses to the people that they may become righteous” [al-Baqarah/185-187]. This shows that Ramadan is a month in which Allah answers the supplication of His believing servants who respond to His command. How could it not be, when supplication is the essence of worship? A Muslim should therefore be most eager to use the whole month of Ramadan in worship, especially supplication, for the fasting person’s supplication is answered. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Three whose supplication is not rejected: the fasting person until he breaks his fast, the just ruler, and the supplication of the wronged. Allah raises it above the clouds, opens the gates of heaven for it, and the Lord says: ‘By My might, I will surely help you, even if after a time.’” [29] This is true especially on the noble Night of Power. ʿĀʾishah said: “I said: O Messenger of Allah, if I know which night is the Night of Power, what should I say in it?” He said: “Say: ‘O Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me.’” [30]

And the last of our prayer is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

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Footnotes

[1] Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī, Musnad al-Shāmiyyīn, Muʾassasat al-Risālah, no. 2238.

[2] Narrated by al-Mundhirī, al-Targhīb wa’l-Tarhīb, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, no. 1489.

[3] Narrated by al-Bayhaqī, Faḍāʾil al-Awqāt, Maktabat al-Manārah, no. 36.

[4] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-ʿUbūdiyyah, al-Maktab al-Islāmī, p. 44.

[5] Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 1416 AH ed., 18/185.

[6] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā, 1/179.

[7] Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 16, and Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 43.

[8] Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ al-Nawawī ʿalā Muslim, 2/13.

[9] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Mursalah, vol. 2, p. 403 (the attribution is as in the source; see the translator’s note).

[10] Al-Baghawī, Tafsīr al-Baghawī, vol. 8, p. 176.

[11] Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 1, p. 18.

[12] Al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, vol. 1, p. 174.

[13] Al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, vol. 1, p. 14.

[14] Zahrat al-Tafāsīr, 5/2414.

[15] Al-Māwardī, Tafsīr al-Māwardī (al-Nukat wa’l-ʿUyūn), 1/378.

[16] Ibn al-Qayyim, Risālat Ibn al-Qayyim ilā Aḥad Ikhwānihi, Maktabat al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ, p. 18.

[17] Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, al-Ṣabr wa’l-Thawāb ʿAlayh, p. 101.

[18] Narrated by Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, al-Ṣabr wa’l-Thawāb ʿAlayh, p. 22.

[19] Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 5/175.

[20] Musnad Aḥmad, Muʾassasat al-Risālah ed., 11/199.

[21] Abū Dāwūd, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 1/153.

[22] Al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak ʿalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, 1/244. He said: “This ḥadīth is sound according to the condition of Muslim, though they did not record it,” and al-Dhahabī said: “According to the condition of Muslim.”

[23] Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 2014, and Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 760.

[24] Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā, Tafsīr al-Manār, 11/20.

[25] Al-Mundhirī, Shuʿab al-Īmān, 5/35 (the attribution is as in the source; see the translator’s note).

[26] Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 3/19.

[27] Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Wābil al-Ṣayyib min al-Kalim al-Ṭayyib, p. 75.

[28] Al-Ṭabarānī, Musnad al-Shāmiyyīn, vol. 3, p. 271.

[29] Al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, vol. 4, p. 672.

[30] Al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī, vol. 5, p. 534.