Believers welcome Ramadan, a time of abundance of goodness that can reap a thousandfold reward for their deeds. Ramadan begins today (Saturday) with the appearance of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia on the 29th of Sha’ban. The days to come will be days and nights of forgiveness and accumulation of virtues.
Ramadan is a month in which 70 to 70,000 times the reward for each good deed. One of the main reasons why the month of fasting is so glorious is that the Qur’an, the divine book, was revealed during this month. It is also during this month that the night of ‘Laylat al-Qadr’, which is better than a thousand months, is hidden. It is believed that during Ramadan, the gates of Paradise ‘Ryan’ will be opened only for the fasting person and the devil, man’s sworn enemy, will be defeated.
Fasting during Ramadan is an obligatory duty for every believer of maturity, intellect and purity. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that Ramadaan is a shield. Fasting is a spiritual preparation to renounce desires and addictions and to prevent all kinds of evil. One cannot enter Ramadan just by giving up food and drink.
There is as much virtue in breaking the fast as there is in breaking the fast. This month gives an opportunity to feed oneself and give Iftar to the hungry. Iftar tents that had been erected all over the Gulf have been shut down for the past two years due to the Kovid epidemic. This year’s Ramadan also includes the joy of returning to the normal fasting period.
During this month, believers place great importance on reaching out to others. Therefore, Ramadan is also a month of increasing charity. It is a month chosen by organizations, individuals and communities for relief work. At the end of Ramadan, it is obligatory on the religion to pay a certain amount of the main grain of the living area to the poor as ‘Zakat al-Fitr’.
The message of this month is that by purifying the inside and the outside, one is taught to draw closer to the Lord and to identify with the poor by experiencing hunger and thirst. Saudi expatriates also share the joy of being able to return to their former glory after overcoming the barriers of the past two years due to the epidemic, including in the Haram mosques. Every believer is preparing to regain lost opportunities and comforts, from the strict restrictions on access to churches, to keeping a distance from entering.