ramadan: The Correct Intention

Admonition of Ramadan: The Correct Intention

Admonition of Ramadan: The Correct Intention

Have you ever had a surgery? Or at least, have you a brother who had undergone a surgery?

If your answer is affirmative, I’d like you to remember that memory. Your doctor might ask you to fast for several hours, or even for 8 hours long, before the operation.

Now, when you underwent that 8 hours fast, have you ever wish to get some rewards from your Lord? Or rewards from the doctor who treat you?

What is the difference between that fast to this fast that you’re going through right now? The fast you are performing in this month has indeed great rewards for one who accomplish it.

الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَالْجُمُعَةُ إِلَى الْجُمُعَةِ وَرَمَضَانُ إِلَى رَمَضَانَ مُكَفِّرَاتٌ مَا بَيْنَهُنَّ إِذَا اجْتَنَبَ الْكَبَائِرَ. رواه مسلم

“The five-time prayers, the friday prayer until the next friday prayer, and Ramadan fast until the next Ramadan fast nullify the sins that take place between them, as long as the perpetrator avoids the major sins.” (Narrated by Muslim)

If so, then what makes this fasting has such great virtue, while the fasting ordered by the doctor, has not?

Try to think, what is the difference between the two?

I’m sure that you will said promptly: “The differences are great!”. But try to write it down on a paper, how many differences that you could write?

Know my brother! the greater number of differences that you managed to write, the greater your understanding of fasting Ramadan is. And the greater your understanding, the greater the rewards -insha Allah- that you will obtain from it.

Conversely, the less difference you succeed to mention, then it indicated the lesser rewards of fasting that you’d obtain.

رُبَّ صَائِمٍ حَظُّهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ الْجُوعُ وَالْعَطَشُ. رواه أحمد وحسنه الألباني

“It is probable that the fasting person may only get the hunger and the thirst from it.” (Narrated by Ahmad, and classed good by Al Albani).

Brother! Are you willing to let your strive, got up early in the morning to eat the sahur meal, then bore the hunger and the thirst until the sun has set, just go in vain? You do not obtain any rewards, instead, the anguish of hunger and thirst.

You do not want the disaster befall you? Don’t you want to know the tricks to evade it?

Find the answer in the saying of Abu Bakr Ibn Abdullah Al Muzani below:

مَا فَضَلَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ رضي الله عنه النَّاسَ بِكَثْرَةِ صِيَامٍ وِلاَ صَلاَةٍ، وَلَكِنْ بِشَيْءٍ وَقَرَ فِي صَدْرِهِ

“”Abu Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- didn’t outperform others because of the amount of his fast and prayer, but  he surpassed them with something that is embedded in his chest. ”

This is the answer you’re looking for! What he had in his heart, was the thing enabled him to surpass the rest of muslims.

He never fast during the Ramadan month more than a month, nor that he pray the compulsory prayers more than five times a day, and so on.

But what differed him from the rest of us was his intention. He fasted as we fast, but his intention in fasting was far better than our intention.

To give a picture of how the scholars detailed about intention, I’d like to mention several kinds of intention of a deed:

An intention to worship Allah by fasting on the month Ramadan

This is the most excellent and the most principal intention. Without it, your fasting will not be accepted, and will not be valued as a worship; even worse, your fasting might turn into wickedness.

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَنَا أَغْنَى الشُّرَكَاءِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلاً أَشْرَكَ فِيهِ مَعِى غَيْرِى تَرَكْتُهُ وَشِرْكَهُ. رواه مسلم

Allah the Most Holy and the Most High declared: “I am The One Who need any associate in the least, thus whoever performed a deed in which he associated Me with other than I, I’ll leave him with that ally of him.” (Narrated by Muslim)

This intention is the thing that differ you as a muslim from the infidels, or the polytheists.

Although this kind of intention is the most important and the most profound of principle in religion, unfortunately, it is the one that being neglected the most.

Have you always present this kind of intention in your fasting?

2. An intention to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- in his fasting, or what so-called ‘ittiba”.

Imagine that you are observing the life and the ethics of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- during his Ramadan fast, as if you are living with him.

Are you feeling the similar feeling as in your previous days?

Such intention is the second kind in regards to principle of religion, so that your fasting is considered as an act of worship. However, apparently, the intention of this kind is often forgotten, isn’t it brother?

What is the value of your fasting, if in fact you are fasting just because of following others’ habit and behavior ?! Fasting merely to imitate other people’s behavior is indeed useless in the sight of Allah.

What have you done for so long, by merely following the society without realizing the exemplary of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- in fasting, has reduced you fasting into a valueless act. What you did, has reduced you fasting into  a mere tradition.

عِبَادَاتُ أَهْلِ الغَفْلَةِ عَادَاتٌ

“the deeds of those who are being negligence is just valued as custom.”

And such deed is the one meant in the hadith about the question of the angels inside the grave.

مَا كُنْتَ تَقُولُ فِى هَذَا الرَّجُلِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه و سلم ؟ فَيَقُولُ: لاَ أَدْرِى، كُنْتُ أَقُولُ مَا يَقُولُ النَّاسُ. فَيُقَالُ: لاَ دَرَيْتَ وَلاَ تَلَيْتَ. ثُمَّ يُضْرَبُ بِمِطْرَقَةٍ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ ضَرْبَةً بَيْنَ أُذُنَيْهِ، فَيَصِيحُ صَيْحَةً يَسْمَعُهَا مَنْ يَلِيهِ إِلاَّ الثَّقَلَيْن. رواه البخاري

“What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad ?’ The deceased will say: ‘‘I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say!’ It will be said to him, `Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by following the Qur’an).’ Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry, and that cry will be heard by whatever is near to him except human beings and jinn.” (Narrated by Bukhari)

Are you willing to be one of those mentioned in this hadith? I believe you wont.

3. An intention to fulfill obligation or the pillar of Islam

This kind of intention is what usually touted by preachers and speakers in every Ramadan. This intention merely functions as the requirement to determine whether your fasting is legitimate or not. This intention is intended only to settle obligation, but if it doesn’t accompanied by the first two intentions, then it is not enough to bring rewards from Allah.

4. An Intention to prioritize the pleasure of Allah rather than personal pleasure

It is so, because when you fast, you would leave many things that you liked, such as eating, drinking, and having sexual intercourse with your wife; you would leave all due to prioritizing Allah’s command. You left those beloved things to you sincerely, only to seek for Allah’s pleasure.

يَتْرُكُ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ وَشَهْوَتَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِى. متفق عليه

“One who fast would leave his foods, drinks, and lusts just because of Me.” (Muttafaqun ‘alaih)

If you are capable of prioritizing Allah’s pleasure than your personal pleasure, that will be your advantage to seize and enjoy the sweetness and beauty of faith.

ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ حَلاَوَةَ الإِيمَانِ أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا ، وَأَنْ يُحِبَّ الْمَرْءَ لاَ يُحِبُّهُ إِلاَّ لِلَّهِ ، وَأَنْ يَكْرَهَ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِى الْكُفْرِ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُقْذَفَ فِى النَّارِ. متفق عليه

“Three things, Whoever possesses these within him will taste the sweetness of faith:1.The one to whom Allah the Almighty and His Messenger Muhammad become dearer than anything else.2.Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah’s sake.3.Who hates to revert to disbelief (atheism) after Allah the Almighty has brought him out (saved him) from it, as he hates to be thrown in fire.” (Muttafaqun ‘alaih)

This is a very high intention in value, and maybe for now it seems too hard for us to posses. No wonder if we always longing and impatience to break our fast, even worse, when the sun was barely setting, we would be in haste to fulfill our stomach and desire, by eating and drinking as much as possible. To the extent that we found it hard even just to stand. Isn’t it?

5. An intention to make the fast as a protecting fortress from the Hellfire

At the previous occasion, I’ve mentioned that among the benefit and aim of fasting is gain it as a fortress or shield to protect the owner from the heat of the Hellfire.

الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ ، فَلاَ يَرْفُثْ وَلاَ يَجْهَلْ ، وَإِنِ امْرُؤٌ قَاتَلَهُ أَوْ شَاتَمَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّى صَائِمٌ ، مَرَّتَيْنِ. رواه البخاري

” Saum (fasting) is a shield (or a screen or a shelter from the Hell-fire. So, the person observing Saum (fast) should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should say to him twice, ‘I am observing Saum (fast). (Narrated by Bukhari)

And in another narration the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said:

مَنْ صَامَ يَوْمًا فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بَعَّدَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ عَنِ النَّارِ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا. متفق عليه

“Whosoever observes Saum (fast) for one day in Allah’s Cause (to seek His good pleasure), Allah will keep his face away from the (Hell) Fire (a distance covered by a journey of) seventy years.” (Muttafaqun ‘alaih)

Brother, have you ever hope as what mentioned in these hadith when you fast?

And there are still more intentions and expectations that you should have, to perfect your fasting and increase your rewards from it.

What I’ve mentioned in this article is just an effort to remind you to learn various secrets and wisdoms beneath your fasting.

I wish that Allah the Exalted always bestow His graces and useful knowledge upon you, thus you’ll be able to achieve a noble degree in His sight. Amin.

And Allah knows best.
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Author: Ustadz Muhammad Arifin Badri, M.A.
Article of www.whatisquran.com.com

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