The Blessed Month Of Ramadan And Reform 3/10

'A'udhu bi’l-Lahi, min ash-Shaytan, ar-rajim. Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. Al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-‘Alamin, wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ahlih at-tahirin. When you are fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan, is it enough for you to be just reciting the Qur'an or doing those normal rituals that you usually do? Or is there something more that you should be expecting yourself to perform in order for you to gain the most comprehensive, perfect practice of Ramadan and fasting?

Now we know that there are different grades and different levels when it comes to spirituality, but what is it that you really need to be working on when it comes to the fasting of the Holy month? That is why in my presentation I am trying to emphasise on this very important theme, and that is Ramadan and reform, where through the practice of fasting, a person is able to gain the best level of reform.

Now this means that you are going to need a long period of time, some kind of retreat. And that is what Ramadan al-Mubarak is. It is a retreat. It is a season. It is a time where you enter into these special modes of righteousness and wanting to better yourself and becoming observant of what it is that you say and what it is that you do. It is a beautiful time. It is a very spiritual time, and we have all been through that. We become very vigilant. We are on the tip of our toes with what it is that we say or do or see or anything like that.

But the best thing is sustainability, that if I was to do this during the Holy month of Ramadan, what can I do to keep it for the rest of the year? Should I become one of those seasonal kind of believers and practicers, where I do something for a short period of time, but then it kind of fades away and disappears outside of that peak season, peak spiritual season?

If I could say so, what is the problem then? If you believe in your religion, if you have faith, if you are a practicing Muslim, where is it that you are going wrong? Where am I able to find that ground where I can firmly establish myself to attain that level of righteousness and to truly reform myself? I would love to do some self purification. I would love to make sure that I elevate in my Ruh, and my Nafs, and my 'Aql and my Qalb, and all these things that are intertwining which I will be speaking about.

What I do understand as a Muslim is the religion that I believe in, and what it is that I practice within the realm of Shari'a is all in line with my nature, with my instincts. Allah mentions in the Holy Qur'an: Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. "Fa aqim wajihaka li 'd-dini Hanif" (30:30), and therefore upright yourself or uphold yourself for the sake of this religion. That is, of course, "Hanif". "Fitrat Allah allati fatara an-nasu alayha" (30:30).

Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala then says that this is the natural instinct, the primordial nature that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has disposed within the human being, which pretty much means that what I believe in is completely in line with my nature, with my instinct, with my primordial human needs and desires. And that is why the Almighty prescribed for us something that will be in line with what it is that we have as human beings.

That it will assist us fasting will assist us not on the material level and physical level alone, but also on the spiritual level inclining us towards making ourselves better and towards reform. Wa al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-'Alamin. wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ahlih at-tahirin.