Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
- Ramadan is a time to learn taqwa (fear of Allah), piety, self-discipline, and patience.
- Ramadan is a time to give more charity and become more generous.
- Ramadan is a time to seek Allah’s forgiveness and to forgive each other.
- Ramadan is a time to be thankful to Allah for His gifts and bounties and especially His gift of iman (faith).
- Do not miss any day of fasting and not to miss any moment of this month in trivialities. This is a very precious time, and Allah will give us many benefits if we use it in the proper way.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
It is noteworthy that the month of Ramadan is a blessed month and an opportunity for all Muslims to draw near to Allah, to increase their morality and spirituality, and to gain abundant reward.
Ramadan is meant for our moral and spiritual training and for the purification of our bodies, minds, and souls. This is an annual training program for all believers. It is a special time to get closer to Allah and to seek His blessings and bounties.
The best deeds we can focus on during the blessed month of Ramadan can be summed up as follows:
- Fast with awareness of the spirit and soul of fasting. In other words, instead of merely staying away from foods, drinks, etc., also stay away from all sins and nurture consciousness of Allah.
- Use the month of Ramadan as much as possible to strengthen our relationship with the Book of Allah, by reading, reflecting on, and acting upon the Qur’an.
- Increase acts of compassion, benevolence, charity, and kindness during the month of Ramadan as best as we can so that these become our second nature.
- Develop the habit of praying with khushu or concentration.
- Condition ourselves to make dhikr a second nature so that our tongues and heart are used to praising, glorifying, and celebrating the remembrance of Allah
- Focus on good works that would move our community forward to righteousness, glory, and success. This can only be achieved if each individual thinks of making a difference in the world around him or her, and tries to leave a legacy of good deeds as an inheritance in the manner of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the pious forbears.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.