Why Is Ramadan a Happy Time?

“Do you know why people are so happy in Ramadan? Because we are busy doing what our souls were created to do.”

What was our soul created to do? What was our initial state?

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Every child is born with the fitrah, but his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

In this book I read called, “Secrets of Divine Love,” it said that our innate nature (fitra) is to recognize we came out of somewhere, Someone created us, there’s a purpose to us… and to gravitate towards a common understanding that we all have a Supreme Power (Creator) that has every right to be worshipped and deserves to be worshipped.

After recognising this, it becomes incumbent upon us to act upon this belief system. To worship the Supreme Power. To submit ones’ will to the Supreme Power.

Thus, we can understand that our innate nature (fitra) is to be upon Islam.

Then when do things start going wrong?

See, our Innate nature is to be a Muslim. And while we are supposed to be Muslims (ones who submit their will to Allah), Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’Ala created insan and jinn.

Insan comes from the word nisyan, which means ‘to forget’, and ‘forgetfulness’.

So, as human beings, us sinning is us simply forgetting our purpose, our innate nature to submit to the will of Allah.

Forgetting is our ultimate weakness.

But remembering to come back to Allah in repentance again and again is what makes us Ashraful Makhluqaat - noblest of all of creation.

What about the jinns?

Allah also created the jinn, and like humans, they, too, have been given the free will (sense of self called ‘nafs’ - ego) that decides whether they want to be good or evil.

It was the jinn that rejected Allah’s command to prostrate to Adam Alayhissalaam. His sense of self (ego) interfered with his innate fitrah to submit his will to Allah.

In that moment, he disbelieved.

The reason why we are noblest of all creation is because Shaytaan and insaan, both have been given the same and equally free will to sin, but while Shaytaan never repented, Adam sure did.

And some of his children sure still do.

Shaytaan was then denounced as Iblis.

Iblis means ‘to despair’.

We also previously discussed this part about what having hope means in Islam.

For situations whereby we doubt submitting our will to Allah (obedience to husband/mother) will not favour us, therefore, allowing our ‘nafs’ to deviate from the guidance of Allah and ending up doing what we want to do instead of doing what Allah wants us to do…

This is where we are listening to Iblis/Shaytaan trying to lead us astray by making us despair in the mercy of Allah that things will not work out in our favour if we submit our will to Allah.

We do not have hope that having Taqwa and following Allah’s commands will help make ways for us, when it’s Allah Himself who’s made a big promise in the Qur’an saying, “And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him ease in his matter.” (65:4)

We just had to have hope.

I know it’s hard, but Allah also promised, “Surely, with every hardship is ease.” (94:5)

This was about our innate nature and what our purpose in life is.

We come back to the topic of Ramadan and how it relates to the above discussions, inshallah.

You know, Imaanu, in a Khutbah by Nouman Ali Khan yesterday, I learnt what Ramadan really means.

Ramadan means to burn away your sins. Allah opens the gates of Paradise and closes the gates of Hell. He grants a month-long relief to all the marhoomeens (the dead) in their graves and gives us the opportunity to collect as many hasanaat as possible in this time period.

But… there’s more.

As a child I’ve noticed, and you will too, Imaanu, that everytime we are fasting, may someone be there watching us or not, we are too afraid to put a thing in our mouth.

Even accidentally swallowing a small droplet of water while making wudhu makes us panic. Have you noticed?

Why is that?

Taqwa.

Because we are conscious that may someone be watching or not, Allah is watching.

We are in a constant state of self-consciousness that we don’t do anything to nullify our fast.

We are careful. Super careful.

This carefulness comes because we are consistently immersed in the remembrance that our Lord is watching.

While insan means to forget, Allah loves the muttaqoon because the ones who are conscious of Him are literally struggling against their very natural human disposition of forgetfulness - all simply to seek the pleasure of Allah.

The fear of disobeying His command is Taqwa. The consciousness that He’s watching is Taqwa.

We don’t listen to music, we don’t watch movies, we instead spend our time reciting Qur’an, we spend our time helping each other out more passionately, we become one as a community and excitedly meet each other for Salaah, we try not to lie, we try to control our anger, we do not curse, swear, or use foul language, we send food to our neighbours and relatives, to the poor and the needy, we are kind to people, we are so humble and soft, and in fact, there’s a hadith that says, whenever someone tries to argue with you while you are fasting, repeat twice, “I am fasting, I am fasting.”

We cannot even argue. Imagine. The peace in the environment, subhanallah.

Everything is for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’Ala and subhanallah, how happy, content and satisfied we are with the vibe of this month.

The vibe of this month that we create by staying in a constant state of Allah’s remembrance. Fighting against our being, our own self…to seek His pleasure. The vibe of this month that we create with the hope that Allah will reward us, undoubtedly, for our efforts.

Hope. Something so opposite of despair. Despair. Rings a bell?

Where does despair come from? Iblis! Where’s iblis in Ramadan?

LOCKED UP!

Despair is locked up in Ramadan! Subhanallah!!!

No wonder why we are so filled with hope!

If only we could carry this vibe of hopes, humility and Taqwa after Ramadan and continue doing the same things, if we recognised the impeccable power we hold to turn our life around into a blessed Ramadan, our Akhirah would be nothing less of an E’id. Right?

Then, Nouman Ali Khan also said that this fear in Ramadan we cultivate for the sake of Allah isn’t simply a fear that He’ll “punish” us. Or hold us accountable.

He will, He can, He might (ma’zallah).

But to do every righteous deed only with the intention to avoid being punished is sad.

It’s like, we wouldn’t do something nice if there was no punishment.

Instead, Nouman Ali Khan said, the fear we must feel is the fear of disappointing someone we deeply admire and love.

Like, not wanting to hurt the feelings of your mother. Some things you do - not just to avoid being scolded by your mother, but simply because you don’t want to wipe the beautiful smile off of her face.

This fear is a fear out of love. It comes from a place of love. It’s because you love Allah that you fear disappointing Him. He’s given you so much, you don’t deserve any of this, but you got yourself a golden ticket when you were born with your limbs intact and eyes that can read this page and a mind that can finally come up with ‘Alhamdulillah.’

In this moment… you have more than enough. And Allah loved you so He created you. With an intention, with a purpose. You simply have to love Him back and fulfil that purpose, and that intention.

He created you with the intention that you go to Jannah, you have to spend this lifetime trying to prove you acknowledge the favour of your beautiful Rabb upon you and out of the fear of disappointing this Creator that loves you, you will not do anything to temporarily slow down your journey to Jannah. (sins)(hell)

Ramadan is about strengthening this fear of displeasing Allah out of love for Him.

And this fear of disappointing Allah is a fear so precious, we need to bring this even beyond Ramadan, into other months of the year and decorate our lives with the pleasure of our Rabb.

May Allah grant us good guidance, accept our Ramadan, and strengthen our love for Him in this blessed month.

May Allah make us worthy of Jannah. May He grant us an abode in that beautiful place if not out of the intensity and consistency of our poorly done deeds (that may or may not even be good enough), but surely out of His Mercy. Aameen.

May Allah make us from among the al-muttaqoon, may He make us of those who have hope in His mercy always, may He make ease for us in every hardship, and may He make us from those who constantly remember Him, Aameen.

May Allah forgive us and all our loved ones and accept our worship, Aameen.