By Norullayaley

Who, or what, is the object of your love? The kind of love that keeps us up deep into the night, our first thought in the hazy mornings, and continues to occupy our minds throughout the day, interrupting our attention at every possible space. 

For some of us, it may be love for our jobs and the chase of the world, jolting us out of bed every morning at the call of the alarm. For others, it may be love for our own selves, driving us to the gym even late at night and starving our bodies to keep in top shape. For many of us, it may be love of other people, preoccupying our thoughts with them or their thoughts of us—scrolling through our messages or social media, checking and rechecking every moment we can. 

And yet, seeing us through life is the All-Loving, the Giving, the Gentle, and All-Aware—have we loved our Creator as we love His creation? At the call of the adhan Fajr, we are tied to our beds with eyelids glued shut. Tahajjud (night prayer) is a once-yearly affair in Ramadhan, and so is the fasting of our nafs. And the remembrance of Allah ﷻ, in the form of dhikr or du’a, only comes sparsely at the end of our prescribed prayers in fixed intervals of three, eleven or thirty-three, not in the abundance of thought we accord to His very creation. 

As Ramadhan soon dawns upon us, we are reminded of the opportunity to love our Creator ﷻ in the overflowing, abundant reverence as described by the people of faith (in the verse below). Ramadhan is often shared as a catalyst for change, but how do we show love to the All-Loving?

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you – as it was for those before you – so that you may become those mindful of Allah…”

Quran 2:183

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Every action of the son of Adam AS is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten times it’s like, up to seven hundred times. Allah ﷻ the Most High said, 

“Except for fasting, for it is for Me, and I will give recompense for it, as he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.”

Bukhari

The benefits & virtues of Ramadhan as a catalyst for change are many:

• Fasting
• Prescribed for the believers
• Nuzul Quran
• The Quran was revealed in Ramadhan
• Lailatul Qadr
• The Night of Decree, where good deeds on this night are equal to a thousand months 
• Gates of mercy/ heaven are opened 
• Blessings of the last 10 nights

This may be the first Ramadhan for some of us, particularly new Muslims. For those returning back to the path, it may be a means to be consistent in our prayers and to be mindful of the spiritual as well as the physical fast. Regardless, for all of us, it is a chance to improve on our deeds, and to aim to reach the level of excellence (Ihsan). 

That said, even with the best of intentions, making mistakes is inevitable. Even armed with the knowledge of the do’s and don’ts of fasting physically and spiritually in Ramadhan, we are bound to err. What do we do when we make mistakes?

It was narrated from Anas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Every son of Adam commits sin, and the best of those who commit sin are those who repent.”

Tirmidhi

TO ALLAH ﷻ, THE LOVERS AND THE SINNERS ARE NOT TWO SEPARATE PEOPLE—THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME, AND THEY ARE ALL OF US.

With Taqwa (God-consciousness) and also repentance, may we become closer to loving Allah ﷻ in the way that He is pleased with.

Do You Believe in One God
& Ready to [Re]start your Journey of Faith & Gratitude as a Muslim?