HOLY MONTH OF RAMADÂN (I)

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says in the 45th letter of the first volume of his Maktûbât:

This letter, written again to Naqîb Shaikh Ferîd ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’, thanks him, informs that man is needy, explains the holy month of Ramadân, fast and namâz.

The valuable letter, which you had been so kind to write, honoured us in the blessed month of Ramadân. That has reminded me to write a few lines of the virtues of this great month:

The blessed month of Ramadân is very honourable. The thawâbs that are given for the supererogatory namâz, dhikr, alms and all other supererogatory acts of worship done in this month are like those that are given for the fard ones done in other months. One fard act of worship done in this month is like seventy fards done in other months. If a person gives (the supper called) Iftâr to a fasting person in this month, his sins will be forgiven. He will be emancipated from Hell. In addition, he will be given as many thawâbs as those which the fasting person receives. The thawâbs of that fasting person will not decrease. In this month, also those bosses who facilitate the work of those under their command and who make it easy for them to worship will be forgiven. They will be emancipated from Hell. In the holy month of Ramadân, Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ used to emancipate the slaves and would give whatever was asked from him. Those who can do good deeds in this month will be blessed with doing such deeds all the year round. If a person disrespects this month and commits sins in this month, he will spend all the year sinning. [We should deem this month an opportunity.] We should perform as many acts of worship as we can. We should do the deeds which Allâhu ta’âlâ likes. We should deem this month an opportunity for earning the next world. The Qur’ân was revealed in the month of Ramadân. The night of Qadr is in this month. In holy Ramadân it is a sunnat to have the iftâr early and to have the sahûr late. (Sahûr is the meal which is eaten towards dawn before beginning the fast. Please see the second chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss.) Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ was careful about performing these two acts of sunnat. Perhaps hurrying for the iftâr and being late for the sahûr shows man’s incapacity and that he needs to eat and drink and, consequently, everything. And this is the meaning of worshipping. It is a sunnat to have the iftâr with a date. It is an important sunnat to recite the prayer, “Zahabazzama’ wabtallat-il urûq wa thabat-al-ajr inshâallah-u ta’âlâ” after the iftâr, to perform the namâz of tarâwih and to read a khatm, (that is, to read the entire Qur’ân al-kerîm, in this month.)