The blessed month of Ramadan comes every year as a great spiritual station in the life of Muslims, and a renewed opportunity for self-reflection, correcting one’s course, and returning sincerely to Allah Almighty.
Ramadan is not merely a month of abstaining from food and drink; rather, it is a comprehensive season for the purification of hearts, the refinement of souls, and the strengthening of one’s relationship with Allah.
During this noble month, mercy descends, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the devils are chained. The believer lives in a unique spiritual atmosphere that encourages obedience and distances him from sin. Allah has made Ramadan a true opportunity for change for those who approach it with sincerity and make the best use of its blessed days.
Fasting, in its essence, is a training of the soul in patience, a restraint of desires, and a means of nurturing awareness of Allah in private and in public. When the fasting person refrains from permissible matters in obedience to Allah, he becomes more capable of abandoning what is forbidden even after Ramadan. This is the ultimate purpose of this great act of worship.
Whoever truly realizes the value of Ramadan makes it a new beginning for a life closer to Allah, and more committed to Islamic values such as mercy, tolerance, and kindness.
Indeed, the truly successful one is he who emerges from Ramadan with a transformed heart, upright conduct, and renewed faith.
Allah Almighty says:
“The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and the criterion.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 185)
