{"O you who believe! Fasting was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for
those before you, so that you may become pious. Fast for a fixed number of
days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number should be
made up from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, they
have to feed a poor person. But, whoever does good of his own accord, it is
better for him. And that you fast, it is better for you if only you knew."}
[al-Baqarah; 183-184]*

“It is, as the Lord of Glory Said, a fixed number of days. Rather, it is a
fixed number of hours! The month of Ramadan is either 720 hours, or 696
hours, and every minute of it has a price and a value. The Salaaf and the
Companions - may Allaah be Pleased with them - used to await these days of
Ramadan from the year to year, as it has been reported in a narration that
the Companions used to say, when Rajab had arrived: “O Allaah, assist us in
worshiping You in Rajab and Sha’ban, and allow us to witness Ramadan.”

Because Ramadan is the annual occasion of the cleansing of the soul, spirit,
and body, its effect on the human spirit and body is not that profound. The
acts of worship of the soul are many, and as much as the body receives its
share of pain during the course of its worship, it will receive its share of
light. That is why Jihaad is the uppermost peak of Islaam; because it is the
most painful and difficult of the acts of worship. Its reward is greater,
its effect on the soul deeper, and its result in building the spirit and in
ingraining Tawhid in it is great.

Therefore, there are acts of worship dealing with one’s wealth. However, its
effect on the soul is usually less than the effect of an act of worship
dealing with the body. So, Zakah has a deep effect on the soul, as it
purifies it from covetousness. However, you cannot truly sympathise with the
poor person unless you feel his pain, live as he lives, and starve as he
starves. If you starve, then you feel your body becoming stronger and more
durable. At that time, you become joyous that you were able to sacrifice
something and purify yourself from covetousness

Jihaad is the same way: Jihaad with one’s wealth does not purify one’s soul
in the same way as Jihaad with one’s self does. And because of this, Islaam
did not relieve any of the Companions of the obligation of Jihaad with his
self, no matter what his position in society, and no matter how good his
reputation, such as in the case of ‘Uthman.

And the Salaf - may Allaah be Pleased with them - would calculate Ramadan by
the minute. They were praying behind Ubayy bin Ka’b - and ‘Umar bin
al-Khattab was praying Tarawih behind him - and they would require sticks to
support themselves on as a result of his long standing in the prayer, and
the Companions would say: “We fear that we will miss the suhur praying
behind Ubayy, and we fear that the Fajr time will come, causing us to miss
the Blessed Meal - they used to refer to suhur as the Blessed Meal - so, let
our children rush to prepare the meal.”

And it was reported from some of the Tabi’in, and those who came after them,
in regards to their Qur’aan and prayer, that some of them would complete
reciting the Qur’aan sixty times in Ramadan, and this was specifically
narrated in regards to al-Imam ash-Shafi’i; he used to complete it once
during the day, and once during the night. Some of them would complete it
once during the night and day, and others would complete it once every three
days, until they reached the last ten days, in which they would seclude
themselves in the mosque, completing it once a day.

And to complete the Qur’aan in a day is easy, if we keep in mind that to
recite the Qur’aan slowly (tartil) takes about 24 hours, and a quicker
recitation takes about ten hours. It is possible for the one who has
memorized the Qur’aan to complete one juz’ in 20 minutes, allowing him to
complete all thirty juz’s in ten hours. I was told by Abu al-Hasan
an-Nadawi: “I saw my teachers, and some of them would not speak at all in
Ramadan. Rather, they would only engage in worship; either Qur’aan or
prayer. If someone were to speak to them, they would count out their words,
and calculate them by the minutes and seconds.”

So, Ramadan consists of fasting and prayer.

Because of this, the Salaaf, such as al-Imam Malik, would seclude themselves
until the time of giving a class, saying: “Verily, Ramadan is for praying
and reciting the Qur’aan.” Some of them would say: “Ramadan is praying,
giving charity, and reciting the Qur’aan.”

And in Ramadan, the gates of Paradise are opened, and the gates of Hell are
shut, and the devils are chained up. This is something that actually
happens, as one of my trustworthy friends who used to have contact with the
jinn - but has since repented - informed me:

“When I would ask the jinn who I would work with to relay to me any news,
they would say: “We are inactive in Ramadan.” I used to think that they were
believing jinn, as they would pray and fast with me. However, I realized
from their answer, that they were devils (i.e., disbelieving jinn).

Later, after an experiment, I confirmed for myself that they were
disbelievers: I requested from them one day that they heal my cousin, so,
they said: “She will not be cured unless she puts on a cross.”

So, I said to them: “You really are devils. You are from the disbelieving
jinn.”

They said: “We are from the believing jinn.”

I said: “From now, we have nothing to do with each other.”

They said: “We will hurt you, then.”

I said: “I dare you to try to hurt me. We will meet at midnight at the
graveyard, the most secluded and frightening place I can think of,” and at
midnight, I made ablution and prayed two rak’ahs, and went to the graveyard.
I did this for three nights in a row, but the jinn were unable to even come
near me.”

So, it is something physical, not simply metaphoric. The devils are chained,
and they are unable to move about and cause evil between the people. The
major jinn are the ones who are chained, while the minor devils are left to
move about.

And Ramadan is the Ramadan of Jihaad, so, I advise everyone of you to not
fall short in a single day in Ramadan.

I was in Qatar, or the Emirates, and I was told: “The brothers in America
called, asking if you could go spend the last ten nights with them.” I said:
“Subhan Allaah! I spend the last ten nights in America, and I leave
Jalalabad, Qandahar, and Kabul erupting? The hour in these places is better
than standing in prayer for sixty years, and I go and enter America, even if
in Ramadan?” And because of this, for the duration of my stay here,
especially in the last five years, I always loved to spend every Ramadan
outside of Peshawar, and to not enter Peshawar unless it was necessary. I
would spend it either in the training camp in Sada, Jadji, or any other
place, so that it would be written for me as a Ramadan of ribat, and the
Ramadan in the land of ribaat is a thousand times better than Ramadan
outside of the land of ribat, as the Prophet said: *"Ribaat for one day in
the Path of Allaah is better than a thousand days in any other place, even
if one were to fast all day and pray all night.” [Reported by at-Tirmidhi
and an-Nasa’i]*

So, brothers, whoever of you stays in Peshawar, then let him comply with the
following daily program:

Do not stay up late in Ramadan, as Ramadan is the time of praying, fasting,
and seeking Allaah’s forgiveness during the morning hours. So, break your
fast in your homes on some dates or water, or in the mosque, and provide
some dates and water in the mosques for those who might break their fast
there, and glad tidings to the one who provides food for the one breaking
his fast: “Whoever provides food for the fasting person, then, he will have
the same reward as the fasting person, without the fasting person’s reward
being diminished at all,” even if it is only on a piece of a date, so, for
this, let the competitors compete for this great reward.

I was in Qatar, and some of the good-doers said to me: “We wish to provide
food for a thousand fasting Mujahidin for all of Ramadan. How much does each
Mujahid require in Ramadan?” I said: “He requires three Qatari riyals or
dirhams.” Suddenly, a check was being written for 90,000 Qatari riyals, with
him saying:"This is the cost of food for a thousand Mujahidin in Jalalabad,
and I ask that you alert me of its arrival.” When it arrived the next day, I
was surprised to hear the phone ring, with him telling me: “The money for
the food of two thousand more is on the way. Feed them rice and meat, as
they are the best of foods.”

Comply with this program, and it is easy: break your fast in the mosque,
then pray the Maghrib. Return to your homes, eat as much as Allaah has
Willed for you to eat, and after that, make istighfar while you are awaiting
the time for ‘Isha’. Then, pray the ‘Isha’ and Tarawih in the mosque, then,
return to your homes. Eat the suhur, and be particular about this time. In
addition to it being a blessed meal, the best time to make istighfar is in
these early morning hours.

So, after the suhur, rush to make ablution and perform some Tahajjud, and
increase in your connection with the Lord of Glory: “Our Lord descends to
the lowest heaven during the last third of the night, Asking: ‘Who will call
on Me so that I may respond to him? Who is asking something of Me so I may
give it to him? Who is asking for My forgiveness so I may forgive him?’”

So, take advantage of these times - the early morning hours - in which an
answered supplication is almost certain.

*{"Those who are patient, those who are true, the obedient with sincere
devotion in worship to Allah, and those who spend in the Way of Allah, and
those who pray and beg Allah’s Pardon in the last hours of the night."} [Al
‘Imran; 17

{"They used to sleep but little by night, and in the hours before dawn, they
were asking for forgiveness."} [adh-Dhariyat; 17-18]*

So, when the Fajr time enters, go to the mosque and pray there. And try, if
you do not have work, to not sleep during the time between Fajr and sunrise:
*"For me to sit with a group of people after the morning prayer, remembering
Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - until the Sun rises is more beloved to me
than freeing four slaves from the children of Isma’il...” [Reported by Abu
Dawud]*

After this, go and rest until midday. From midday until ‘Asr, attend to the
needs of your family.

Try to generally decrease in eating, drinking, and consuming sweets, keeping
in mind that you are surrounded by widows, children, and orphans who are
unable to afford plain rice. Set aside your sweets, bread, and rice for such
people.

Your women are also in need of cleansing their souls, and they are in need
of freeing themselves for the recitation of the Qur’aan and worship. Their
preoccupation with preparing food is a preoccupation from the essential
activities of Ramadan; it is a preoccupation from istighfar, recitation, and
worship. So, if you pray the ‘Asr, and you have no other obligations to keep
you busy, seclude yourself in the mosque until the Sun sets, and indulge in
the recitation of the Qur’aan: “...and for me to sit with a group of people
after the ‘Asr prayer, remembering Allaah - the Mighty and Majestic - until
the Sun sets is more beloved to me than freeing four slaves from the
children of Isma’il.”

So, when it is time for Maghrib prayer, pray it, and return to your home.

This is a program that anyone can follow, either most or all of it. Pay
close attention to these days, in particular, and pay attention to these
hours. In Ramadan, there is no time for ‘he said, she said,’ or watching
television, or socialisation. Do not visit one another in your houses during
the nights of Ramadan, as this constitutes wasting and theft of time of this
blessed month. There is the mosque in which you are able to meet and chat in
after praying Tarawih, and any of your brothers who need something from you,
your meeting place is in the mosque, and your place of departure is the
mosque. Do not preoccupy the people with your presence in their homes during
the nights of Ramadan...”
*
[’at-Tarbiyah al-Jihaadiyyah wal-Bina’; 3/86-93]*

Samotalis