Ramadan With a Focus – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains that everything we do in Ramadan, and in our lives, should express love for Allah, in the ways beloved to Allah.
The believer rejoices every time they recognize a blessing of the blessings of Allah. The attitude by which we approach a blessing from Allah is by rejoicing. And rejoicing is a command from Allah. “Say! In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy, in that let them rejoice. It is far better than all that they amass.” (Sura Yunus 10:58)
Consider how we rejoice in the things that we amass, e.g. a new car, a new house, the person you always wanted to marry and they finally said, yes. We rejoice when things like this happen, but Allah tells us that the believer truly rejoices in the bounty of Allah and His mercy.
Rejoicing in the bounty of Allah should be a constant state with the believer. Allah’s bounty and His mercy is there and manifest at every moment. This is why our beloved Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was ever rejoicing.
Cheerfulness and Sorrow
The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, gathered two amazing and seemingly contradictory qualities at the same time. It is transmitted that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, “was constantly cheerful yet always in sorrow.” How can that be?
The reason is that his cheerfulness, Allah bless him and give him peace, was not a worldly cheer, just as his sorrow was not a worldly sorrow, Allah bless him and give him peace. His cheerfulness and his joy, Allah bless him and give him peace, was with Allah. They were with his recognition, Allah bless him and give him peace, of Allah’s bounty and mercy that is manifest at every moment.
At the same time if you consider the greatness, the magnificence, the tremendous nature of your Lord, you would feel the burden of responsibility. That is what is expressed in the sorrow of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. You would be humbled by the greatness of your Lord. But the human being forgets.
Forgetful Being
They say the human being is called insan because it is given to nisyan (forgetfulness). We forget our Lord. We forget our Creator. We forget the One who has bestowed us with all these blessings. So Allah sends us opportunities to reconnect, to reawaken, to renew that bond that we have with Him.
And of the greatest of the opportunities is this Ramadan that is around the corner. If we pause and ponder why we fast, why we come to the masjid for tarawih, and why we go out of our way to do all the things we do in Ramadan, we should never forget that our actions are forms that are given life by the intention behind them.
The Reality of an Act
The reality of what you do is not the act. The reality is the why. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “Actions are by their intentions. And each person shall only have what they intended.” That is an amazing opportunity. What will you get for your fast? Whatever you intended.
It is a blank check from Allah Most High. You can write whatever you want in it. This is an amazing gift of mercy. So, grab this opportunity and consider your intention. Consider what it is you wish to get out of your fast. Your Lord tells you, you can have whatever you want.
But remember, there is also a warning. Allah says that each person shall only have what they intended. It is very possible that you get very little out of it.
Be careful of what you intend and be sure to make the most of it.
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