Shopping Spree for Heavenly Rewards

Moon sighting (Al-Rukyah) is one of the method of determining the beginning of a month in Islamic calendar. The other method is Al-Hisab which is based on astronomic data and calculation.

This year, most Muslim majority countries around the world, except for a few such as Libya, has reached a consensus that today is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadhan, the 9th month in the Islamic calendar. With that, it also marks the beginning of a month-long struggle against every Muslims' inner desires and urges for food, drinks and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset.

Muslims only need to fast between sunrise and sunset. Fast is broken after sunset and it is very recommended to eat a sufficient portion of meal before sunrise as an energy supply throughout the day.

Some may view this month-long, daily abstinence from basic earthly needs as a difficulty. The believers however, on the contrary, view Ramadhan as more than just being starved and thirsty throughout the day. Other than fulfilling the command of Allah, it is also a time for the believers for self-contemplating, self-purification and hopefully by the end of the month achieve absolution from all previous sins committed and also a higher degree of conscience of Allah's command over their lives.

This is mentioned in the Quran in the following verse:
Translation (by Abdullah Yusuf Ali):
O you who believe! Fasting is presribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) self-restraint.
[Al-Baqarah, 2:183]

... for heavenly rewards.

Other than that, as the title of this post suggests, this blessed month is also a time for the believers to go on a shopping spree, not for bargain-hunting or discounts or free gifts, but for the heavenly rewards that is multiplied especially for the month of Ramadhan for every act of worship or obedience to Allah.

Even breathing and sleeping is rewarded accordingly by Allah as mentioned by the Prophet in a sermon on the last Friday on Sha'ban on the reception on the month of Ramadhan:

"O People ! Indeed ahead of you is the blessed month of Allah. A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month which with Allah is the best of months. Its days, the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath you take glorifies him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered. So, ask Allah, your Lord; to give you a sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite his book, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah's forgiveness during this great month. Remember the hunger and thirst of the day of Qiyamah (Judgement) with your hunger and thirst; give alms to the needy and poor, honour your old, show kindness to the young ones, maintain relations with your blood relations; guard your tongues, close your eyes to that which is not permissible for your sight, close your ears to that which is forbidden to hear, show compassion to the orphans of people, so compassion may be shown to your orphans. Repent to Allah for your sins and raise your hands in dua during these times, for they are the best of times and Allah looks towards his creatures with kindness, replying to them during the hours and granting their needs if he is asked ..." (continue reading)

For a period of one month, we, the believers, are offered a once in a year opportunity to put ourselves in overdrive mode to attain as much rewards as possible offered by Allah throughout the month of Ramadhan. Every act of worship or deed that we do receives more rewards in Ramadhan than when done in any other months. Every recommended, non-obligatory (sunnah) deed's reward equals the reward of obligatory deeds in other months, and every obligatory (fardhu, wajib) deed's reward is multiplied by seventy. However, any sin committed during Ramadhan will not be multiplied but will be counted as it is counted in any other months. SubhanAllah! Indeed Allah is most merciful to us, His creations.

Push yourself to the limit to attain the rewards promised by Allah this Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is also a time and realm for us to struggle one on one against our inner urges and desires because the devils are being chained by Allah, which prevents them from tempting us to do bad, which then leaves only our own urges and desires to tempt us in doing sinful acts.

Narrated from Abu Hurairah r.a. that the Messenger of Allah said:
"When the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained" (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)


Also mentioned in the Hadith above is that during Ramadhan, the gates of Heaven will be flung open and the gates of of Hell will be shut tight throughout the month. This clearly indicates the importance and significance of this month to us Muslims, which Allah has especially set aside for us to recharge our faith for one whole months to sustain ourselves spiritually throughout the other 11 months of the year.

It really lightens me up to see people being good comes the month of Ramadhan. It is such a magical month that those who very rarely attends mosque for even one of the five obligatory prayers, now go to the mosque on a daily basis for the recommended Tarawih prayers. Those who very seldom touch, much less read the Quran, now searches for it in their dusty cupboard or drawer to read it. Those whose words are almost always interspersed with curses and foul languages, abstain themselves from doing so.

Mosques will be full to the brim when it is time for the Tarawih prayers.

Being a month when the Quran was revealed, reading the Quran becomes a central activity for most Muslims.

A month of self-restraint. See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil.

They may do it on the basis that everyone else is doing it but the matter of sincerity is a secret known only between the doer and Allah. It is my hope that me, myself and each and everyone of us strive to purify all our deeds solely for the pleasure of Allah because we gain nothing from the "holier than thou" attitude, advertising every deed that we do in the hope that people will recognize us a pious person.

This verse from the Bible aptly describes what every Muslim should be aiming for upon entering Ramadhan.

This year's Ramadhan will be the third time I will be fasting as a Muslim. However, as a non-Muslim, I even fast during Ramadhan a year before declaring my shahadah. By that time, I also strove to abstain from consuming pork whenever I went back home. I believe that these were some of the underlying factors that helped to somewhat purify my inner conscience in my quest to understanding of Allah and the religion of Islam.

Given all the ease and promises by Allah and the Prophet of the rewards set aside for Ramadhan, it is such a great waste if there are people out there who just sit back and let Ramadhan pass by them without grabbing the chance to increase their savings of good deeds in their accounts of deeds. Indeed we humans are full of sins which we commit either intentionally or unintentionally, and the Ramadhan really is an opportunity for us to wash ourselves off all our sins.


With that in mind, I would like to extend an apology to all you readers out there for any misdeeds I may have committed to you. So while others might indulge themselves in a shopping spree of bargain hunting, discounts and free gifts leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr. Let us instead go on a shopping spree for as much rewards and forgiveness from Allah throughout this magical month of Ramadhan.

May we leave Ramadhan not only with loads of shopping bags (for those who can afford it), but also with a an increased savings of good deeds' rewards, bounties of forgiveness for our sins and a replenished iman to sustain us spiritually for the next 11 months.