How to Attain the Fullest Blessings
What follows is a summary taken from various lectures delivered by Sayyidī al-Ḥabīb `Umar bin Hafīẓ (may Allāh preserve him and benefit us by him) on the subject of receiving the month of Ramaḍān. There are some additions for extra clarity.
We are about to receive the master of all months, the best of all months, the month in which gifts constantly pour forth from the ocean of divine generosity. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once mentioned Ramaḍān and said out of veneration: “Do they realise what is coming to them and what they are receiving?” The believer should reflect upon his connection with his Lord, the One who has made this month an opportunity for him to receive His gifts and His forgiveness. We should receive this month in three ways.
Firstly, we should have joy upon its arrival.
Allah says: Say: “In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice! That is better than the wealth they amass.” Take a look at the manifestations of Allah’s bounty in this noble month. Sayyidunā Salmān narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke to us on the last day of Sha`bān saying: “O people, a great and blessed month has approached, a month in which there is a night greater than one thousand months. Allah made fasting in this month a compulsory act and made praying in the night a voluntary act. Whoever seeks to draw close to Allah in it with a good deed will be rewarded like someone who performed a compulsory action at another time. Whoever performs a compulsory action in it will be rewarded like someone who performed seventy compulsory actions at another time. It is the month of steadfastness (ṣabr) and the reward of steadfastness is Paradise. It is the month of charity. It is the month in which a believer’s provision is increased.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah made fasting Ramaḍān compulsory and made the night prayer recommended. Whoever fasts in it and prays in the night in a state of belief; seeking Allah’s reward, will be free of sins like the day on which his mother gave birth to him.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺinformed us that in this month gates of the heavens are opened, meaning that it is easy for our actions, our prayers and our repentance to find acceptance with Allah. It has also been narrated that when Ramaḍān enters, Allah orders the angels who carry His throne to stop praising Him and to seek forgiveness for the Ummah of Muhammad..
The Prophet ﷺsaid: “My Ummah has been given in Ramaḍān five things that no prophet before me was given. The first is that on the first night of the month of Ramaḍān Allah gazes upon them and if Allah gazes upon someone, He will never punish them. The second is the smell emanating from their mouths in the latter part of the day is sweeter in Allah’s sight than the scent of musk. The third is that the angels seek forgiveness for them every day and night. The fourth is that Allah says to Paradise: ‘Prepare yourself and beautify yourself for My slaves, for they will soon find rest in My Abode in the place of My generosity after the hardship of this life. The fifth is that they will all be forgiven on the last night.”
Someone asked: “Is that Laylat al-Qadr?” He replied: “No, look at workers: when they finish their work they are given their wages in full.”
For more on Sayyidī al-Ḥabīb `Umar’s advice, along with a beneficial schedule outline to follow throughout the blessed month, please refer to our latest post on Muwasala.
May Allah grant us His Enabling Grace to attain the most of Ramaḍān, may He accept our endeavors and forgive us our sins and shortcomings.
