Rabbani or Ramadhani?

What happens every year come the month of Ramadhan?

First, every sane, confessing and practicing Muslim, male and female, who have reached puberty, and who fulfills the requirement for them to fast, join in the act of fasting each and every day of the month of Ramadan.

Second, the mosques' congregation are larger than usual. In an effort to observe the effect of Ramadhan on us Muslims, I frequented the mosque within my campus by the end of Sha'ban. By Zuhur (noon prayer) on the last day of Sha'ban here in Malaysia, one saff (line) of the mosque was not even full. By the next day which was the first day of Ramadhan, the congregation for Zuhur has grown to occupy up to four saff of the mosque.

Third, by night, the mosques' congregation are even larger as the congregates join in the Tarawih prayer. A prayer which is offered only during Ramadhan. During the nights of Ramadhan, faces that may never show up at the mosque, other than maybe during Friday prayer, join in the Tarawih.


Fourth, with Ramadhan being the month when the Quran was first revealed, Quran becomes the month's most read book with some people attempting to finish reading through the whole Quran at least once, if not more, within Ramadhan.

And of course other than those mentioned above, there are just too much more that changes come the month of Ramadhan. Simply put, almost every Muslims turn into better practitioners of Islam during Ramadhan and of course its a good thing in keeping with the spirit of Ramadhan which is a month to upgrade ourselves spiritually by increasing our good deeds other than fasting during the day.

But rarely, maybe never, do we see the changes mentioned above, except of course the Tarawih prayer, last until after Ramadhan. In fact, by now the congregation for Tarawih prayer at the campus' mosque has shrunk somewhat.

By the end of Ramadhan, on Raya (Eid) the next day, mosques' congregations swell to fill its fullest capacity before it return to its pre-Ramadhan size.


And the Quran by that time, will be left to once again to accumulate dusts on high places as a sign of "respect".

So, is Ramadhan's mission accomplished if those mentioned above happen to us?

The end of verse 183 of chapter al-Baqarah above clearly mentions the purpose of fasting during the month of Ramadhan: so that by the end of Ramadhan we achieve what is called TAQWA - a state in which we strictly restrain ourselves from doing anything that invokes the wrath of Allah SWT, much more when it comes to sinful acts. TAQWA is part of the characteristics of a Rabbani person, mentioned in verse 79 of chapter Ali 'Imran.

Translation: It is not (possible) that a man , to whom is given the Book, and Wisdom, and the prophetic office, should say to people: "Be you my worshippers rather that God's": on the contrary (he would say): "Be you the Rabbaniyyin (worshippers of Him Who is truly the Cherisher of all): for you have taught the Book and you have studied it earnestly."
[Ali 'Imran, 3:79]

The word Rabbaniyyin in the verse above (highlighted in bold blue) is interpreted by the Indonesian Foundation of Quranic Translators and Interpreters, as a person with perfect ILMU (KNOWLEDGE) and TAQWA. S0, in essence, all of us should be aiming to turn into a Rabbani person by the end of Ramadhan and throughout the whole year after that.

So the question that arises is: Do we aim to be Rabbani or Ramadhani (a better Muslim only during Ramadhan)? The choice rest with ourselves. Tonight marks the first night of the last ten nights of Ramadhan within which Allah has promised Lailatul Qadr, a night worth more than 1000 months. May we grab as much rewards promised by Allah before the end of Ramadhan and may we be given the chance to meet Lailatul Qadr in full readiness to make as much deeds as possible throughout the night.