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Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has mentioned many excellences of the blessed month of Ramadaan in the Ahadith, a few of which are quoted below:
- “As soon as Ramadaan comes around, the gates of the Garden of Paradise are flung open, the gates of the Fire of Hell are shut and locked, and the devils (Shayateen) are shackled and tied up tight.”
- “As soon as the first night of the month of Ramadaan has arrived, the All Majestic One will summon Hazrat Ridwaan (Alaihis Salaam), the keeper of the Garden of Paradise. The ever-obedient Ridwaan (Alaihis Salaam) will present himself at once, saying, “I wait intent upon Your service, time and time again, and upon aiding Your cause, time and time again!” Allah Ta’ala will then tell him, “You must refurnish and redecorate My Garden of Paradise for the sake of those members of the community (Ummah) of Ahmad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who are keeping the fast.”
Next, He will summon Hazrat Malik (Alaihis Salaam), the keeper of the Fire of Hell, with the call, “O Malik!” The ever-obedient Malik (Alaihis Salaam) will present himself at once, saying, “I wait intent upon Your service, time and time again, and upon aiding Your cause, time and time again!” Allah Ta’ala will then tell him, “Shut the doors of the blazing Fire of Hell, so as to lock out those members of the community of Ahmad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who are keeping the fast. Then do not re-open those doors to them until they have completed their month of fasting.”
At this point Allah Ta’ala will summon Hazrat Jibra’eel (Alaihis Salaam), who will present himself at once, saying, “I wait intent upon Your service, time and time again, and upon aiding Your cause, time and time again!” Allah Ta’ala will tell him, “You must go down to the earth below, in order to shackle the defiant and rebellious devils, so that they cannot meddle with the community of Ahmad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), and spoil their experience of fasting and breaking fast.””
- “If someone keeps the fast on the first day of the month of Ramadaan, Allah Ta’ala will forgive him every sin until the last day of Ramadaan, and his fasting will be an expiation until the same point in time. For every day on which he keeps the fast, he will be granted a palatial mansion in Paradise, equipped with a thousand doors made of gold. From early in the morning, seventy thousand angels will beg for forgiveness on his behalf, and for every act of prostration he performs by night or by day, he will be granted a tree in Paradise, a tree in the shade of which a rider can travel for one hundred years without ever passing beyond it.”
- “On each and every night of the month of Ramadaan, Allah Ta’ala will say three times, “Does anyone have a request to make, so that I may grant his request? Is there anyone who wishes to repent, so that I may relent towards him and accept his repentance? Is there anyone wishing to seek forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?””
- “On each and every day of the month of Ramadaan, by the time when the fast is duly broken, Allah Ta’ala will have delivered a million of His servants from the Fire of Hell, even though all of them had incurred the penalty of damnation. Moreover, when the night of the Day of Congregation (Jummah) comes around, and on the Day of Jummah itself, it will be during every single hour that Allah Ta’ala delivers a million of His servants from the Fire of Hell, even though all of them had incurred the penalty of damnation. As for what will happen on the last day of the month of Ramadaan, on that day Allah Ta’ala will deliver a number equal to the total of all those he has delivered from the Fire of Hell between the first of the month and the last.”
- “Throughout the entire month of Ramadaan, Allah Ta’ala will go on issuing this call, “My servants, men and women alike! Be of good cheer, be patient, and steadily persevere! I am about to grant you relief from your trouble and pain, and you will shortly attain My Mercy and My Generous Favour.””
- “If Allah Ta’ala were ever to allow the heavens and the earth to speak, they would surely greet those who keep the fast of Ramadaan, hailing them with glad tidings of the Garden of Paradise.”
- “The sleep of one who keeps the fast is an act of worshipful service, his silence is a declaration of the Glory of the Lord, his prayer of supplication is sure to be accepted, and the merit of every good deed he performs is sure to be multiplied.”
- “If someone keeps the fast and observes the night vigil during Ramadaan, as a matter of faith and in anticipation of Allah’s favour in the hereafter, but with no expectation of worldly reward, he will be forgiven his earlier sins, as well as those he committed recently.”
- “For every good deed or practice performed by a human being belonging to my Ummah, the merit will be multiplied at least ten times, and up to seven hundred times in some cases. The sole exception is the fast, for Allah Ta’ala has told us, “The fast belongs to Me, and I provide its recompense. When someone keeps the fast he is abstaining from his carnal desire, his eating and drinking, for My sake.” The fast is a suit of armour. Moreover, two occasions of joy are in store for the person who is keeping the fast; joy at the moment of breaking the fast and joy at the moment of meeting his Lord.”
SubhanAllah! Just by us being the Ummah of the Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), Allah Ta’ala has so much of Mercy on us. Allah Ta’ala loves us so much and showers us with so much of His blessings, yet it is we who are too lazy and ungrateful to take advantage of this sacred month and to maximize the blessings we may attain from it.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq and Hidayat to take full advantage of the innumerable blessings in the blessed month of Ramadaan, to make as much Ibaadat as possible, and to stay away from anything that might lead to His displeasure, Ameen.
[Compiled from Ghunyalit Taalibi Tareeqal Haq by Huzoor Sayyiduna Ghaus-e-Azam Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh]
