Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق: Iktikaf, Zakat, Treasuring Ramadan, and the Rewards of Honouring Ramadan

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Sayyida ‘Aishaر reported: “If a person performs Iktikaf [seclusion, retreat] in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan with sincere and pure intention, Allah Almighty will forgive him all his sins.”

Sayyida ‘Aishaر also reported: “The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to retreat into the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan for his Iktikaf, until the year of his death. And he also instructed his wives to withdraw into their homes and not to go out.”

Even if only a single person in a town or village performs Iktikaf, it is sufficient for all the inhabitants of that place [sunnat al-kifaya]. The exercise of Iktikaf means to completely withdraw from all worldly activity, not speaking to anybody and leaving the mosque only to perform the necessary ablutions.

One’s time is spent fasting and praying, reading the Qur’an, reciting dhikr and tasbih, and one emerges only for the Eid prayer. It goes without saying that during these days one is exempted from all worldly occupation and work. Other people take over the task of preparing the food for those in Iktikaf and of looking after them in general.

Iktikaf is also permitted to women and it is recommended for them. It is praiseworthy for a woman to make the time to perform Iktikaf in her home even if only for a single day during the last third of Ramadan. If she cannot manage even that because of her obligations toward her household and family, then even one hour will suffice.

For instance, she can retire to pray after finishing the suhur meal and make the intention before Allah ﷻ to perform an Iktikaf. Then she may pray whatever she likes, tahajjud, tasbih, dhikr, and her intention will be accepted, preserving her from the fires of Hell.

Zakat al-Fitr

It is incumbent on every Muslim to give Zakat al-Fitr even if he was not able to fast during Ramadan. It is an obligatory donation, and it consists of a certain measure of wheat, raisins, or similar goods, or the equivalent in currency. This fitra must be given before the Eid prayer. The exact amount is determined every year and is announced in the mosques. If a child is born before the Eid prayer, fitra needs to be paid for this child as well. The money or donation is given to a poor person of one’s acquaintance or to the Imam who has ways of distributing the contribution.

This fitra is similar to the sajda al-sahw, the prostration of forgetfulness, which is performed when one has committed an error in prayer or forgotten to perform one of its parts. Just as this sajda completes one’s prayer, so the fitra perfects the fasting of Ramadan. It makes up for all mistakes and breaches of the fast we might have committed: one unlawful glance, a mistaken word, or a bad thought.

Fasting has two wings, one being our fasting, the other being the fitra. If we neglect to give the fitra, our fast remains suspended in mid-air and cannot rise aloft to the Divine Presence. When we have given our fitra, we provide our fasting with its second wing and it then reaches the Throne of the Almighty.

One day, the Holy Prophet ﷺ’s companion ‘Uthmanر came to him and said, “O Prophet of Allah! I have forgotten to give the fitra before the prayer and suddenly remembered. I freed a slave and in addition I gave a thousand gold pieces as sadaqa. O Prophet, will Allah accept my donation?”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ answered, “O ‘Uthman, even if you had given a hundred times the amount in the way of Allah, had you freed a hundred thousand male and a hundred thousand female slaves, and donated a whole world of silver and gold, nothing could match the value of the fitra given before the prayer of the Eid, for the zakat al-fitr is a sacred duty (fard).”

Treasuring Ramadan

The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: “In the last night of Ramadan all the heavenly hosts assemble and begin to weep for the disaster about to befall the nation of Muhammad ﷺ.” His companions asked him, “What is this disaster, O Prophet of Allah?” The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied, “The disaster is that the month of Ramadan is drawing to a close, and with it all the blessings it bestows upon mankind.”

Heaven and earth weep for the passing of Ramadan, whereas it is we who should be weeping, but we are enveloped in veils of heedlessness and we know nothing. During Ramadan, all prayers are heard, and every sadaqa given, every type of prayer or supplication made is awarded a multiple of the usual reward.

Sins are forgiven and sinners are granted respite from their chastisement. One who dies during Ramadan will be transported to Paradise directly, without having to endure the punishment of the grave. Praised be Allah Almighty who has granted us this holy month.

Rewards of Honouring Ramadan

When Muslims return to their homes after the Eid prayer, the Lord ﷻ says to His angels, “O My angels, when a labourer has done his duty, he must be recompensed for his labours. My servants have obediently fasted for a full month. The time is now come for Me to reward them.”

The angels answer, “O our Exalted Lord, have You not already granted them immeasurable treasures of mercy and blessings during the month of Ramadan? What compensation might they be lacking?”

Allah Almighty then says, “My angels, the blessings I granted them for every single day of fasting were only a gift of honour, not their reward. By My Divine Majesty and Glory, I shall reward them with what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has ever conceived of.”

Aishaر the wife of the Holy Prophet ﷺ relates that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said, “On the Day of Judgment all the people will be resurrected and all will be hungry and thirsty except for the Prophets and their households, and the Muslims who have fasted during the months of Rajab, Sha‘ban, and Ramadan; they will suffer neither hunger nor thirst.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “On the Day of Judgment, the fasting of Ramadan and the recital of the Qur’an will make intercession for the Muslims. Ramadan will say, ‘O Allah, Your servant abstained from food and drink and his desires during all the days of my duration, so give him to me now.’

And the Qur’an will say, ‘O Lord, this servant of Yours refrained from sleep during the nights in order to read me, so give him to me now.’ Allah the All-Compassionate will accept their intercession and admit this servant to the realm of eternal bliss.”

When the Day of Judgment has come, the Lord ﷻ will give shape to the month of Ramadan, just as all forms of devotion will assume a shape. Ramadan will be given a shape so lovely that all who behold it will be rendered speechless by wonder. Ramadan will pass among the rows of resurrected souls until he has come before the Throne of Splendour, before which he will prostrate himself in adoration.

Allah ﷻ, the Lord of Judgment, shall then address him, saying, “O Ramadan, state your wishes, for I shall grant them.”

Ramadan then speaks, “O Allah, O my Lord, I wish that You might give me all those who have fasted during my days and who have honoured me in the sincerity of their hearts.” The Lord ﷻ then says, “Go to the field of ‘Arafat; there you will find all those who have fasted and who treasured you for your true worth. Go there and bring them all before Me.”

Ramadan will then proceed to the field of ‘Arafat and bring all those who had fasted during his month into the Divine Presence.

The Lord ﷻ asks Ramadan, “O Ramadan, what shall I grant My servants?” Ramadan replies, “O my Lord, robe them in the raiments of Paradise and set upon their heads the Crown of Eminence.” Allah will grant His servants all of this and will also allow them to intercede for seventy people deserving of Hellfire. He weds them to seventy thousand Houris and lets them ride along the Bridge of Sirat on a buraq faster than a bolt of lightning.

Then the Lord ﷻ asks Ramadan, “What else do you wish Me to grant these servants?” Ramadan answers, “O Allah, I would ask that they might be neighbours to the blessed Prophet ﷺ in the loftiest Paradise. O Allah, this is all I can think of wishing for them, but Your Kindness and Compassionate Grace are immeasurable. So give to them as befits Your Divine Majesty and Splendour.”

Allah ﷻ, may He be glorified, then rewards them from His infinite stores of treasure and presents to each of His servants a thousand castles in Paradise made of ruby and emerald, and a thousand cities with a thousand splendid mansions in each, wherein they will abide in a state of unending bliss.

• Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق

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