LESSONS FOR RAMADAN
What is Obligatory Upon the Muslim After the Month of Ramadan
All praise is due to Allah, the One Who measures that which is measured, the One Who accounts for the days and months. I praise Him for the vastness of His favors; He is Oft-Forgiving and Ever-Grateful. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshiped save Allah, alone, Who is One without any associates. For Him is the dominion, for Him is the praise, and He is able to do all things. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the conveyor of glad tidings, the warner and radiant lamp. May prayers and abundant peace be upon him, his family, and his Companions until the Day of Gathering.
To proceed:
O Muslims, fear Allah the Exalted and reflect upon the quickness of the passing days and nights, and remember by that the nearness of your transition from this dunyā so that it may increase you in righteous actions. The blessed month of Ramadan has opened for you its goodness and blessings and you have lived throughout its entire time, then it has ended and swiftly returned as a witness with its Lord for he who has recognized its status and benefited from its goodness by acts of obedience; and as a witness against he who is ignorant of its virtue and has behaved sinfully therein by squandering (the time). So let everyone from amongst us call himself to account as to what he has sent forth in this month. He who has sent forth good therein, then let him praise Allah for that and let him ask Him for acceptance and continuation upon acts of obedience in his future life. Whoever was nullifying his fast therein (by sins or the likes), then let him repent to Allah and begin his life anew, utilizing it in obedience instead of the life that he has wasted in heedlessness and sin. Perhaps Allah will expiate from him that which has passed and give him tawfiq in that which remains from his life. He, the Exalted, has said:
وَاَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ الَّيْلِ ۗاِنَّ الْحَسَنٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّاٰتِۗ ذٰلِكَ ذِكْرٰى لِلذّٰكِرِيْنَ
“And perform as-salah at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.” [Surah Hud 11:114]
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“And follow up the bad deed with a good deed; it will erase it.” [1]
He, the Exalted, has said:
اِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَاٰمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَاُولٰۤىِٕكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللّٰهُ سَيِّاٰتِهِمْ حَسَنٰتٍۗ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ غَفُوْرًا رَّحِيْمًا
“Except those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Surah al-Furqan 25:70]
O slaves of Allah, verily the month of Ramadan is as Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) has described it:
“A month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its end is manumission from the Fire.” [2]
That is because the people have different situations in respect to this month. So from them is he upon whom this month came while he was upright upon obedience. He safeguarded the prayer in congregation; he stayed away from disobedience, then he strove in this month with actions of obedience, so it was an addition in goodness for him. This one will attain the mercy of Allah, because he is a muhsin in his actions. He, the Exalted, has said:
اِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيْبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ
“Verily the mercy of Allah is ever near to the muhsinun (good-doers).” [Surah al-A’raf 7:56]
From them is he upon whom the month comes, so he fasts its days and stands (in prayer) as much as is easy for him from its nights. Before that, he was constant in performing the obligatory acts and many acts of obedience. However, he had with him some sins less than the major sins. So this one will attain the forgiveness of Allah. He, the Exalted, has said:
اِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوْا كَبَاۤىِٕرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّاٰتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُمْ مُّدْخَلًا كَرِيْمًا
“If you avoid the major sins which are forbidden for you, then We will expiate for you (minor) sins and enter you into a noble entrance.” [Surah an-Nisa’ 4:31]
And the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The five prayers, Jumu’ah to the next Jumu’ah and Ramadan to the next Ramadan, are expiation for what is between them (of sin) if one avoids the major sins.” [3]
From them is he upon whom the month comes while he has major sins; however, they are less than shirk. He is bound by them to enter the Fire, then he repents from them, fasts this month, and stands (in prayer) as much as is easy for him. So this one attains manumission from the Fire after he was supposed to enter it.
And from them is he upon whom the month comes while he is firm upon disobedience, from the commission of forbidden acts, abandoning the obligations, and squandering the prayer. So he does not change his state nor does he repent to Allah from his sins; or he repents from them with a temporary repentance in the month of Ramadan, and when it has ended, he returns to it (the disobedience). So this one is the loser who has lost his life and he has wasted his time. He has not gained from this month except sins and misdeeds.
Jibril said to the Prophet, may peace descend upon them both: “And whoever the month of Ramadan reaches and he is not forgiven, then may Allah be distant from him; say, Amin.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Amin.” The deprived one is the one whom Allah has deprived and the wretched one is the one from whom Allah is distant. O slaves of Allah, the worship of Allah is obligatory in every time. It does not have an ending except at death. He, the Exalted, has said:
وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتّٰى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِيْنُ
“And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (i.e., death).” [Surah al-Hijr 15:99]
And He, the Exalted has said:
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ حَقَّ تُقٰىتِهٖ وَلَا تَمُوْتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنْتُمْ مُّسْلِمُوْنَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah as is His right and do not die except as Muslims.” [Surah Ali Imran 3:102]
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“When the person dies, his deeds are cut off except three…(to the end of the hadith).” [4]
Death is near, and for Allah there are acts of worship that are performed in set times, weekly, daily, and yearly. From these acts of worship are those that are pillars of Islam, and from them are those that are a completion for it. The five prayers are performed every day and night, and they are the second pillars of Islam after the two testimonies. The Jumu’ah prayer is performed every week, and it is from the greatest symbols of Islam. The Muslims gather for it in one place out of reverence for it. The zakah is the close companion of the salah, and it is not from those acts that are performed every year. As for the acts (that are yearly acts), then the zakah is performed with its (the year’s) completion. Fasting the month of Ramadan is obligatory every year. Making pilgrimage to the House of Allah is obligatory upon the Muslim who is able (at least) once in his lifetime. Likewise, the ‘Umrah and that which is in addition to the Hajj is supererogatory.
Aside from these obligatory acts of worship, there are recommended acts of worship, such as the nawafil (optional) prayers, nawafil fasts, and nawafil Hajj and ‘Umrah. This is from that which demonstrates that the entire life of the Muslim is worship, either obligatory or recommended. So the one who thinks that worship is sought from him during the month of Ramadan and then he is pardoned from worship afterwards, he has assumed evilly and is ignorant of the right of Allah upon him, and he does not know his religion. Rather, he does not know Allah as He should be known, nor has he estimated Him with a rightful estimate since he has not obeyed Him except in Ramadan; and he has not feared Him except in Ramadan; and he has not hoped for His reward except in Ramadan. Verily, this individual has cut the ties with Allah while he cannot dispense without Him even for the twinkling of an eye.
And the action-whatever it may be if he has fallen short regarding the month of Ramadan, then it is an action that is rejected back to its doer, however much he may have exerted himself in it, because it is an action that is cut off, having no foundation or any branch. Only the people of iman utilize the month of Ramadan, those upon istiqamah (steadfastness) in every era. They know that the Lord of the months is One. He is, in every month, cognizant of the actions of His slaves and a witness (over them).
May Allah bestow prayers and peace upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions altogether.
Footnotes:
[1] Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 1987
[2] Admin Note: Reported by Al-‘Uqayli in Al-Du’afa’ (2/162), Ibn ‘Ady in Al-Kamil (325/4), Al-Khatib al- Baghdadi in Al-Muwadih Li-Auham Al-Jam’i wa Al-Tafriq (147/2). Declared ‘Munkar’ (Rejected) by Imam al-Albāni in Silsilah al-Da’ifah 1569
[3] Sahih Muslim 233
[4] Sahih Muslim 1631
Excerpt from the book ‘A Gift To The People Of Iman In Lessons For Ramadan’ by Shaykh Salih Al-Fawzan.
Precious Gems from the Quran and Sunnah 