Sucettes cardiaques: Qari Ziyaad Patel

Nous venons d'entrer dans le mois que nous attendons tous avec impatience chaque année, mais cette année, cela s'accompagne de la réalité de passer le Ramadan en vase clos. Nous avons vu quelques articles sur ce que devraient être notre approche et notre état d’esprit pour le Ramadan (comme cette grande pièce d’Omar Usman), mais maintenant quoi? Ce Ramadan sera comme celui que la plupart d'entre nous n'ont jamais connu auparavant et, comme l'a mentionné Omar Usman, pour certains, ce sera probablement plus difficile, mais cela ne signifie pas que nous ne pouvons pas réussir.

Cette année, peu importe où nous sommes dans le monde, les rues seront vides, il n'y aura pas de fêtes iftaar, pas de taraweeh au masjid et pas de visite entre eux à l'Aïd. (Certains de nos frères et sœurs du monde entier vivent le Ramadan de cette façon depuis des années et nous prions Allah facilite leurs affaires et les sauve de l'oppression. Ameen). La pandémie mondiale laisse la plupart d'entre nous dans la même situation que nous l'étions avant, et pour ceux d'entre nous qui sont bénis de pouvoir maintenir notre liberté, nous devons en profiter et en tirer le meilleur parti. Comme mentionné dans différents articles et publications sur les réseaux sociaux, ce Ramadan sera difficile; nous serons coincés à la maison et incapables d'assister à la mosquée. Avec le masajid fermé, il est encore plus important pour nous de planifier comment réussir ce Ramadan.

Premièrement, comment savoir si leur Ramadan a été un succès. Comment évaluer le succès du Ramadan? Allah

dit dans le Coran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكَُْْْ

«Vous qui croyez, le jeûne vous est prescrit, comme il a été prescrit à ceux qui vous ont précédé, afin que vous ayez à l'esprit Dieu.» (Al-Baqarah; 183)

Et:

وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

«… Il veut que vous accomplissiez la période prescrite (pour le jeûne) et que vous le glorifiiez de vous avoir guidé, afin que vous soyez reconnaissant.» (Al-Baqarah; 185)

Allah

nous dit que le résultat du jeûne du Ramadan devrait être une augmentation de taqwa et shukr.

Une fois le mois terminé, aurons-nous changé pour le meilleur ou pour le pire? Avons-nous repris de bonnes habitudes et abandonné nos mauvaises? Comme le Hajj, si nous avons un Hajj / Ramadan vraiment réussi, nous en sortons en laissant ce qui déplaît à Allah

et s'efforçant plus dur vers ce qui lui plaît.

Alors, comment pouvons-nous passer au niveau supérieur et nous assurer que nous en faisons un Ramadan réussi?

1a. Notre intention

Il est toujours important de commencer tout ce que nous faisons en passant en revue l'intention avec laquelle nous nous y engageons. Nous devons nous assurer que nous le faisons sincèrement pour Allah

peu importe à quel point cette action peut sembler banale. Maintes et maintes fois, nous entendons le célèbre hadith, "Les actions sont basées sur leurs intentions." car il faut que nous répétions sans cesse nos intentions et les renouvelions. Commençons donc par l'intention de tirer le meilleur parti de ce Ramadan malgré le verrouillage.

1b. Le temps du Coran et non la quarantaine

Comme on l'a surnommé en ligne, le Coran vient en premier parce que le Ramadan est le mois du Coran. Rappelez-vous que le Coran a été révélé pour la première fois à Muhammad

alors qu'il était isolé. Nous pouvons utiliser notre propre isolement pendant ce Ramadan pour développer ou approfondir notre connexion avec le Coran. Allah says:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ

“It was in the month of Ramadan that the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong. So any one of you who is present that month should fast…” (Al-Baqarah; 185)

Fasting is to celebrate the Quran being sent down this month, so we must give the Quran its due. Some of us like to set up a daily reading schedule in order to finish the entire Quran in Ramadan. Imam Ash-Shafi’i used to read the entire Quran 60 times during Ramadan! But for most of us simply reading the Quran isn’t enough. Let’s turn our Quarantine into “Quran time” by taking it a step further. How is our tajweed? Are we reciting even Surah Al-Fatihah correctly?

How many surahs have we memorized?

How well do we understand what we are reciting?

These are important questions we must ask ourselves in order to strengthen our bond with the book of Allah. He says:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

“Will they not contemplate the Quran? Do they have locks on their hearts?” (Surah Muhammad; 24)

So in order to unlock our hearts to the Quran, we have to ponder over the words of Allah

and think deeply about the timeless message he sent to our beloved Prophet . Every day, as we read our daily portion of the Quran, we can build the habit of memorizing an ayah or two, reflecting over its meaning, and reading its explanation along with it. It also helps to have a Quran buddy to keep each other accountable and motivated.

2. Fasting

Here’s the obvious one. As mentioned earlier we are fasting to celebrate the Quran being revealed. The Prophet

tells us:

The one who fasts during the month of Ramadan with conviction while seeking its reward from Allah

will have his past sins forgiven.”

We need to hone our fasts and execute them properly. Yes, we’ll be stuck at home, but what good will abstaining from food do if we just sleep all day? Will that help increase our taqwa? Probablement pas. We still must strive to do more good while in a state of fasting to maximize its reward. More prayer, more dhikr, more charity, while we have more time for these. The Prophet would fast regularly outside of Ramadan and would increase the number of days per month the closer it would get to Ramadan. As for those that are unable to fast due to their circumstances. it’s still possible to maximize our worship. Ramadan’s blessings are still there for us to benefit from, it just takes the effort on our part.

3. Prayer

Prayer is the line that separates the believer from the disbeliever. It is the river that washes away our sins. There is no submitting to the oneness of Allah

without prayer. All of this holds true outside of Ramadan, but once Ramadan comes around it is magnified even more. The masajid are filled and people are spilling out into the street or parking lot to pray Tarawih. This year the masajid will be empty and we have no choice but to pray in our homes. We need to take this opportunity to help ourselves pray all five obligatory prayers on time, and in congregation. It is an opportunity for us to pray our own Tarawih at home where the head of the family is the imam, where even the children can lead and build up their confidence. The Prophet is reported to have said on fasting in Ramadan:

“The one who prays throughout Ramadan, with conviction and in the hope of earning reward will have their past sins forgiven.”

Our conviction towards prayer here is for Tarawih, which is sunnah, and which the Prophet

too ended up praying in his home, so what of the obligatory prayers? Normally we’re at work or school, so salaah is squeezed into our schedule, but now there’s either no school or we attend school and work from home. So there’s no excuse not to set aside 5-10 minutes as soon as the time for prayer arrives, except our own laziness. So let’s gather the family, men, women, and children, call the adhan, and pray the five daily prayers together in congregation along with the 8-20 raka’ahs of Tarawih, and cap it off with Witr so that we can build up the habit of praying 5 times a day in congregation.

4. Dua’

The word salaah in Arabic means dua’. Aside the salaah itself we need to immerse ourselves in dhikr and dua’. Some of our best dua’ and most vulnerable moments come when we are isolated and it’s just us and Allah

. In this time of isolation not only will this help us draw closer to Allah , but it will also provide a sense of peace and tranquility in this global environment of stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic.

Allah

says in a beautiful verse:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

“And if My servants ask you (Muhammad SAS) about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” (Al-Baqarah;186)

Allah

is always near to us so we must take the first step towards him and keep moving forward.

When times get tough — especially during this lock down — just remember Allah

. Our Creator Guides us in the Quran in this verse from Surah Ar-Raad:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

“Those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God- truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace-” (Ar-Ra’ad;28)

So get those dua’ and dhikr books ready and make it a habit to do the morning and evening adhkaar and recite the dua’s for our everyday activities. This habit cultivated during Ramadan will train us to be able to turn to Allah

in dua’ for any situation. That is a sign of guidance.

5. Charity

One of the main issues the pandemic has highlighted is the continuous need for charity. Everyone needing to stay at home means that a lot of people have lost their jobs. Also, someone in the community may have lost a loved one -perhaps even their main breadwinner- and are leaving families at a loss for financial support. For those of us that can afford to, let’s try our best to give and help as much as we can. Whether it’s giving money to the needy or donating medical supplies to front line workers, we need to form the habit of giving in charity without thinking twice about it. Every bit helps, and this is also a great way to instill this habit in our children as well. It’s important to remind ourselves not to fear for our wealth in our current situation because our beloved Messenger tells us:

“Wealth is not diminished by giving in charity.” (Muslim)

There are numerous ahadith on the virtues of giving in charity and its innumerable reward. As the world needs more help, let’s give more for the sake of Allah

and for the sake of helping one another. If we find ourselves unable to give monetary donations, then with good health we can always donate our time and energy wherever needed.

6. Maintaining Relationships

Honoring our parents, maintaining ties of kinship, respecting elders, having mercy on the young and the orphan; these are all aspects of maintaining the fabric of a loving society. Now that individuals making up our society are cut off from face-to-face interactions with one another, we need to work even harder now to make sure we uphold these ties and human connections. Alhamdulillah with our current technology there are so many options for us to keep in touch.  Check in on your family, your friends, your coworkers, your parents’ friends, and especially someone you know to not have anyone else there for them. Man was created a social being, so having to be cut off from one another does not bode well for our mental and physical well-being. Even in paradise Adam

needed a companion. So, let’s really make it a habit to reach out to each other every now and then, and let our friends and loved ones know that we’re here for one another.

7. T&T: Taqwa and Tawakkul

Imaan fluctuates. For all its ups and downs it seems to go way up during Ramadan and rightfully so. With all the fasting and praying and dua’s every day, Ramadan should be a month-long imaan rush that gets us through the rest of the year. So let’s ask ourselves: “What is my current relationship with Allah and how can I make it better?” In order to get closer to Allah we have to know Him better, and in order to know Allah we have to learn about His names and attributes revealed to us in the Quran and Sunnah. Allah says:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ –

“The Most Excellent Names belong to God: use them to call on Him” (Al-A’raf;180)

Allah

has not forsaken us. He didn’t leave us lost with no direction. He wants us to know that He created us, that He is our Rabb, and that we should worship Him alone. Since we were given instruction from Allah , it is up to us to learn and find out who He is and what He means to us, by truly comprehending his names and attributes. Learning the 99 names of Allah , the meaning of each name, and how it applies to our lives, can even be an activity the family does together. We can start off with one name per day -for instance Ar-Rahman- learn what it really means, how it applies to Allah , how it reflects in our daily lives, and even ask dua’ centered around that name. Not only will it help us get closer to Allah and help us with our reliance upon Him, but it will also really up our dua’ game as well.

In conclusion, this is in no way an absolute one-size-fits-all list, and one can add or subtract as they see fit. Everyone has their own personal goals for Ramadan. The important thing is that, while that majority of us are sitting at home in isolation, we can make the most of this time by doing some serious introspection and figuring out where we stand with Allah

. Only then can we start to better ourselves and our families so that we can live lives more pleasing to Allah .

We cannot let isolation overtake us. Instead we need to take it by the horns and use it to help tame our own nafs. The Prophet

himself sought isolation in order to separate himself from the evils of society. So now we have the opportunity — albeit in somewhat forced isolation. If we head into Ramadan with clear objectives and laser-sharp focus we can look back afterwards and see habits formed that will carry over the rest of the year.

Oh Allah

allow us to be able to look back at this unique Ramadan with 20/20 hindsight and see it as one of the silver linings from this pandemic. Allow us to reach Ramadan in good health and strong Iman. Allow us to come out of this Ramadan better than we were before it. Allow us to carry over all the good we developed during Ramadan to the next Ramadan. Accept from us our fasts, our prayers, our dua, our charity, and the rest of our good deeds. Give ease to those who are suffering and a cure and good health to those who are sick. Send your peace and blessings and salutations upon our beloved prophet and messenger Muhammad , his family, and his companions. By your mercy, oh Merciful one, Ameen.

I urge everyone reading this to please take this seriously and adhere to social distancing as I have many friends and family members in the medical field and have had multiple family members and friends test positive for the virus. Let us all do our part to flatten the curve. May Allah keep us all safe. Ameen.