The blessed month of Ramadan is right at our doorstep. Muslims around the world venerate this month, expressing their joy by gathering in homes and community centers, feeding one another, and congregating in the masājid every night, beseeching Allah’s Mercy and Divine Aid. These practices are not simply cultural or customary, but rather stem from cosmological realities described by the Messenger ﷺ. It is important to recognize that in the month of Ramadan, the system of the cosmos is enhanced to facilitate the eternal success of Man, enabling him to fulfill the primary goal of his existence: worship. Allah the Exalted states in Surah al-Dhāriyāt: “I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except for the purpose that they should worship Me.”
Acts of worship, like prayer, fasting, recitation of Quran, and dhikr, are the primary means through which Man can grow close to the Creator. However, for many of us, performing the five farḍ (obligatory) prayers throughout the year feels burdensome, and focusing during our prayers and building a connection to Allah seems challenging. This is because our connection to the Creator is stifled by our sins and worldly attachments, thereby impeding on our ability to maximize the acts of worship we engage in.
Recognizing the deficiency in our worship and connection, Allah the Exalted has blessed us with the month of Ramadan, which gives us the opportunity to revitalize our relationship with Allah. Ramadan enhances this connection for us in two primary ways:
Cosmologically, Ramadan is an occasion for grand events across realms of existence. Paradise is decorated in anticipation of its arrival, a soft breeze signaling its coming to its angelic residents. The gates of paradise are kept open for the duration of the month, which is representative of many realities, including the descending of Divine Mercy and the flowing of Tawfīq (Divine Enablement), empowering the servant to perform good acts in great quantities that he otherwise would find incredibly difficult to do. The gates of the Hellfire similarly are closed for the month, representing the inhibition of the drivers towards evil, further manifested in the shackling of the devils who whisper into our souls. Every night of Ramadan witnesses the freeing of people destined for the Fire, the forgiveness of worshippers, and a call that is proclaimed: “Oh Seeker of Good, come forth! Oh the one who seeks Evil, refrain!” These cosmological phenomena encourage us towards deeds that help acquire our salvation, while the forces that spur us towards disobedience and distraction are weakened, together enabling the servant to tap back into the primary function of his existence.
In addition to these cosmological phenomena, the month of Ramadan also sees shifts in tashrīʿ (legislation). Acts of worship that are typically nafl (voluntary) witness an elevation in their legal rank. Fasting is a voluntary act through the year, but jumps to the level of farḍ (obligatory) in Ramadan. Similarly, the tarāwīḥ prayers are sunna muʾakkada (emphasized Sunna) in Ramadan as opposed to the rest of the year. The reward for even the simplest of deeds is also multiplied, further encouraging even the believers to spend his days and nights in the service of Allah.
These shifts in the realm of legislation work in tandem with the cosmological phenomena, harmonizing to facilitate Man’s ability to worship Allah in the best way, thereby strengthening his relationship with his Rabb. Performing these acts of worship – which now enjoy a higher status, incur more reward, and thus elevate the servant’s rank – allows him to tap into the magnificent cosmological events occurring around him and maximize the benefit he derives.
The obligation of fasting is a prime example of this. Al-Kamāl Ibn al-Humām mentions that the greatest benefit of fasting is its quelling of the Rebellious Self (al-Nafs al-Ammāra), which results in the purification of the heart. The heart is sullied through overindulgence of the limbs, like the eyes, ears, and privates. Through fasting, one limits the gratification of these limbs, which clears the heart from the layers of debris it is enveloped in. The heart, Ibn Humām expresses, is the pivot around which benefit revolves. A heart that is clean and unclouded is now free to perceive the nūr (Light) that is widespread in Ramadan, enjoy the company of the angels, and taste the sweetness of worship. Our tradition is replete with stories of the pious who were so pure that they were able to perceive these realities, like the Companion who recited Quran and observed a canopy of lamps rising into the sky. When he informed the Messenger ﷺ of this incident, the Messenger ﷺ told him: “Those were angels that were listening to you. If you continued reciting, in the morning the people would have seen them. They would not have concealed themselves from them.” Fasting every day, alongside performing other highly rewarded acts of worship in a month where Mercy is abundant and Light is overflowing, purifies the heart, enabling it to connect to larger cosmological realities.
This harmonizing of the takwīnī and tashrīʿī realities to enhance ʿibādah underscores a foundational idea: Worship is the focal point of Ramadan. This is demonstrated by the practice of the Messenger ﷺ himself. Despite being in a continuous state of worship throughout the year, the Messenger ﷺ is described as engaging in the highest levels of ʿibādah during this month, dedicating himself to prayer, recitation of the Quran, and abundant duʿāʾ. ʿĀʾisha – May Allah be pleased with her – stated that when the last ten of Ramadan entered, the Messenger ﷺ would give life to the night (through worship), wake up his family, strive, and tie his belt. He would further revise the entirety of what was revealed to him from the Quran with the archangel Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-Salām) every Ramadan, making the recitation of the entire Quran a practice we inherit from the Messenger ﷺ himself. In addition to all this, he would seclude himself during the last ten nights of Ramadan, devoting his time to intense worship.
The Noble Companions modeled this in their practice. Their dedication to ʿibādah was a defining feature of theirs, mentioned by Allah in the Quran and prior scriptures. Allah states in Surah al-Fatḥ:“You will see them bowing down in Rukūʿ, prostrating themselves in Sajdah, seeking grace from Allah, and (His) good pleasure; their distinguishing feature is on their faces from the effect of Sajdah (prostration). This is their description in Torah…”.
In a world where Muslims are being flooded with the material and mundane, it is incumbent upon Muslims to inherit the spirit of striving and worship in Ramadan that was embodied by the Messenger ﷺ, the Companions, and the pious predecessors. In aligning ourselves with the hidden realities that the Rasūl ﷺ is informing us of and devoting ourselves to deeds whose benefits extend far beyond the finite world, we maximize our time in this month and pave the path to our eternal salvation. We should thus approach our ʿibādah with focus and intentionality, striving to purify ourselves and strengthen our relationship with Allah the most High.
We ask Allah the Exalted to envelope us in His Eternal Mercy and grant us the tawfīq to perform abundant Worship in this blessed month.
1 Abu Bakr al-Bayḥaqī, Shuʿab al-Īmān (Maktaba al-Rushd, 2003) 5:239.
2 Mullā ʿAli al-Qārī transmits this interpretation of al-Tūrbishtī in his Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ. See: ʿAli al-Qārī, Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 2002) 4:1360-1361.
3 Ibid.
4 Abū ʿIsa al-Tirmidhī, Sunan al-Tirmidhī (Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1996) 2:61.
5 أخرجه في أبواب الصوم عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، باب ما جاء في فضل شهر رمضان
Al-Kamāl Ibn al-Humām, Fatḥ al-Qadīr (Egypt: Maktaba Muṣaffa al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī, 1980) 2:300-301.
6 Muslim b. Ḥajjāj, Saḥīh Muslim (Cairo: Maṭbaʿa ʿĪsā al-Bābī, 1955) 1:548
أخرجه في كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها، باب نزول السكينة لقراءة القرآن.
7 Saḥīh Muslim, 2:832.
أخرجه مسلم في كتاب الاعتكاف، باب الاجتهاد في العشر الأواخر من شهر رمضان.
