Waiting for Ramadan

Bismillahi Rahmanu Rahim

Ramadan is approaching. What are the practical steps that can be taken by Muslims to prepare themselves for this blessed month? 

Here are some special advices from Sheikh Ahmad Kutt (Allah be satisfied with him).

Allah Almighty says,(The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong).)(Al-Baqarah 2: 185)

Every Muslim should prepare himself to welcome the blessed month of Ramadan by strengthening his relationship with the Qur’an, busing himself with the spirit of fasting, and recharging his spiritual battery to prepare himself to make the whole blessed month of Ramadan a real occasion of sincere obedience.

Ramadan is an event that occurs in the life of the faithful, as individuals and as an Ummah, once a year. It is intended by Allah to help us to recharge our spiritual batteries and thus prepare us for the great mission of realizing His will on earth. Therefore, in order to benefit from Ramadan, we may do well to prepare for it by opening our hearts and minds to embrace it. Let me offer a few tips:

1.We should empower ourselves by learning as much as we can about the precise laws as well as the benefits of fasting.

2.We should ensure that we gain true benefits from our fasting, let us make sure to realize the spirit of fasting: this can only be done by abstaining, not only from food, drink, and sex, but also by strictly restraining our minds, hearts as well as our eyes, ears, hands, tongue, and so on.

3.We must embrace the spirit of fasting as stressed in Hadith: to be charitable and compassionate as much as we can.

4.We should strengthen our relationship with the Qur’an; for Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an.

5.We should engage indhikrand condition ourselves to make it second nature.

6.Last but not least, we should build up our community through acts of charity and compassion and extending help to those in need as much as we can.

Let us pray that we come out of Ramadan with our faith recharged, gaining strength in our faith and commitment and relationship with Allah.

Untitled

It is very important to tell your friends what you think and correct their errors. This attitude springs from compassion and is the greatest service that you can bring to your friends. But this way is extremely difficult. It's easy to find strengths and weaknesses of a person and tell him what you think. Many people think they are good if the others say things that others find unpleasant or difficult to speak. If they are not listen and respected, they believe there is nothing to do. But this attitude is unworthy. It's like making someone ashamed, gossiping about him/ her.

If you want to tell someone what you think, you have to see first if the person is available to listen. Therefore, you should start by approaching her, waking her trust in you. Aboard those issues that the person likes and look the best time to talk, so to be well understood. Think well before acting and decide if maybe it would be better to communicate in writing what you said, or before a moment of separation. Praise his/ hers qualities and use any way to encourage it, perhaps speaking to them about your own flaws without being back to his, so to realize which ones are his.

Act like you give water to a thirsty man, and so your opinion will correct mistakes. This art is really difficult. If a person has defects as an old habit for many years, it will certainly not correct. I personally lived the experience. A great vassal evidence of compassion is when he lives in friendship with his comrades, helping them correct their mistakes and put in unison to serve their master. How can you expect someone to turn for the better if you make that person to feel ashamed?

Accept me with simplicity! Accept them with simplicity! Accept yourself with simplicity!

You must be careful to do not to let yourself manipulated by any person, whatever are the intentions. Listen only to your heart. It is your inner teacher.  

People around you have always judged you, and you have automatically accepted their ideas. You suffer from all these judgments, which at your turn turn, you throw over the others. But this is totally unnatural and mankind suffer from it. 

If you want to not be trained in this game, the first condition is not to judge yourself.

Accept yourself, humbly, with imperfections, failures, mistakes, weaknesses. No need to pretend otherwise. Be simply yourself and tell yourself: "I'm afraid, I'm afraid of the dark nights. I'm afraid to walk at night in the woods." What is wrong with this? It's something human.

Once you accept yourself as you are, you'll be able to accept others too, because you will realize that they suffer from the same disease.

And the fact that you accept the others, will help them accept themselves in return.
We can reverse the entire process: you accept yourself and this will make you able to accept others. And because  they are accepted by others, they know for the first time the beauty of acceptance - they experience this state of peace and begin, at their turn, to accept the others.

If mankind reaches the point where everyone is accepted just as it is, 90 percent of all unhappiness will just disappear by itself. This unhappiness has no basic and your hearts will be opened by itself, your love will pour over others.

The Destiny

During a crucial battle, a general decided to attack, even that his army was far outnumbered by the enemy. He was confident in victory, but his men were filled with doubt.  

On the way to the battlefield they stopped at a shrine. After he prayed with his soldiers, the general pulled out a coin and said:
"I'll throw this coin now. If the head will come out, we will win, if it will be Tails, we will lose. Now it's the moment that destiny shows to us. "

Said and done! He threw the coin into the air. All were looking forward to see what fate has decided. Head was out. Soldiers were relieved. Boldly they attacked the enemy and came out victorious.

 
After the battle, a lieutenant remarked: "No one can change destiny!"

"Indeed" replied the General to the lieutenant and he showed him the coin. It had the head on both sides.

The Magician

Houdini was the greatest magician of his time. He was a fantastic robber locks. Claimed he could escape from any cell in the world in less than an hour.
In a small town in Britain was built a new jail and Houdini was challenged to try to escape. Since he liked challenges and money, he accepted the proposal.
When the big day arrived, a lot of people and media representatives were there. Houdini stepped confident in the cell and the door was closed. He immediately took off his coat and started to work. He hided inside of his belt a piece of steel strap flexible and tough, 25-inches long, which then he used it to try to open the lock.

After 30 minutes his trust was gone. After an hour he was bathed in sweat. After 2 hours Houdini simply collapsed over the door which opened immediately. In fact the door was never closed, except in the imagination of the great magician.

The door was closed only in the mind of Houdini, but he acted as if he had to beat a thousand locks. Exactly like Houdini, we are prisoners of our own minds. To escape the "mental prison", we must first realize and accept this and then find ways to free ourselves.