Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق: The Mercy and Virtues of Ramadan

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

“The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, as clear proofs of guidance, and as a criterion.” (2:185)

Rasulullah ﷺ said about this great month: “Mercy is its beginning, forgiveness is its middle, and its end is salvation from the Fire.”

When Rasulullah ﷺ ascended the minbar on a Friday to deliver the khutbah of Jumuʿah, he placed his foot upon the first step and said aloud, “Amin.” As his other foot touched the second step, he again said, “Amin.” When he placed his foot upon the third step, he was once more heard to say, “Amin.”

After he had delivered the khutbah and the Jumuʿah prayer was completed and the assembly dispersed, Sayyidina ʿUmarر rose and asked, “O Messenger of Allah, as you were ascending the steps of the minbar, we heard you say ‘Amin’ three times. What was the meaning of this?” Everyone knew that every action of Rasulullah ﷺ carried deep meaning.

Rasulullah ﷺ replied, “When I placed my foot upon the first step, the angel Jibril (AS) appeared to me with a command from my Lord ﷻ. He greeted me and said, ‘If someone hears your name and does not send peace and blessings upon you, he will be brought low.’ Thereupon I said, ‘Amin.’

“When I stood upon the second step, the angel had already ascended to the seventh heaven and returned with another command from the Lord ﷻ of the Worlds. He said, ‘O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, if a person does not fulfil the rights of his parents and does not strive to please them, he will be brought low.’ This also I affirmed, saying, ‘Amin.’”

This is a most important point. Even if one’s parents are not Muslim, one must still strive to satisfy and honour them. A person is not obliged to assist them in matters that contradict religion, but he must serve them, show kindness, and fulfil their rights as parents.

Rasulullah ﷺ continued, “When I ascended the third step, the angel appeared once more and said, ‘If a person reaches the month of Ramadan but does not attain mercy in it, he is ruined.’ To this I replied, ‘Amin.’”

Rasulullah ﷺ said, “The month of Ramadan is the month of Allah Almighty’s mercy and forgiveness, and whoever does not attain mercy during this month is truly lost.” From the first hour of the first day of this month, three hundred thousand sinners are released from the Fire every hour. Even if their sins were great, Allah Almighty forgives them for the honour of this holy month, for the respect they hold for those who fast, and for the services they may perform for them.

By the time Laylat al-Qadr arrives, an unimaginably large number of sinners will have attained forgiveness. Whoever has not attained mercy before Allah ﷻ and kindness among people during this time has truly forfeited much.

Rasulullah ﷺ also said, “Whoever recites one hundred salawat upon me on the day of Jumuʿah, Allah will grant him a light on the Day of Judgment that will illuminate the entire gathering at the place of resurrection. Whoever welcomes the month of Ramadan with a joyful heart and longs for its arrival will not be touched by the Fire.”

In a hadith qudsi, Allah Almighty says: “On the first night of Ramadan, the Exalted Lord says: ‘Whoever loves Us, We will love him. Whoever longs for Us, We will long for him. Whoever seeks forgiveness from Us, We will forgive him for the honour of the month of Ramadan.’”

During Ramadan, the angels who record deeds are commanded to record only the good deeds of those who fast. Their bad actions are not recorded, and their sins are erased from their records.

Sayyidina al-ʿAbbasر relates that Rasulullah ﷺ once said, “If my nation truly knew the blessings of Ramadan, how many sins are forgiven and how much mercy is dispensed during this month, they would wish that Ramadan lasted the entire year, and they would spend the entire month in worship and devotion.”

Rasulullah ﷺ said, “Everyone desires Paradise, but Paradise desires four kinds of people: those who recite the Qur’an, those who feed the poor, those who fast during Ramadan, and those who guard their tongues from speaking evil.”

“O believers, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain God-consciousness.” (2:183)

Allah Almighty has made fasting obligatory upon us as He ﷻ did for those who came before us. Paradise yearns for those who fast. Allah Almighty rewards the believer for every prayer and every good deed, and the rewards are described repeatedly in many hadith. But Allah ﷻ, the Mighty and Majestic, has not revealed the full reward for fasting, for He says: “Fasting is for Me, and I alone grant its reward.

The fasting servant abstains from the pleasures of eating and drinking for My ﷻ sake. Fasting is a shield, and whoever fasts will know two joys: the joy of breaking the fast and the joy of meeting his Lord ﷻ. The smell from the mouth of a fasting person is more pleasing to Allah ﷻ than the fragrance of musk.” (Hadith Qudsi, al-Bukhari)

That is how highly Allah Almighty values the merits of the one who fasts. Even his sleep is recorded as an act of worship. In another hadith qudsi it is said: “Every good deed that a person performs is for himself, except fasting. Fasting is for Me, and I am the One who rewards it.”

Every prayer and every righteous deed that a Muslim performs benefits himself, but fasting is one of Allah ﷻ’s secrets. Fasting is an invisible form of devotion. Prayer, Qur’an recitation, and pilgrimage can be witnessed by others, but fasting is hidden, and only Allah truly knows it. Allah alone knows how great its reward is.

May Allah ﷻ grant us to enter Ramadan with hearts full of longing, to receive its mercy, and to be among those whose fasting is accepted and beloved to Him.

• Hajja Amina Adil Sultanق

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