Bint-e-Abul Khair Azmi
Ramadan arrived… a radiance seemed to dissolve in the atmosphere, the calls to prayer felt even sweeter, mosques became populated, and hymns of praise and seeking forgiveness flowed on tongues. But the question is, has my heart also awakened? Has a lamp been lit in the desolate abode of my inner self? Or have I, as usual, remained occupied with outward preparations, while my heart remained asleep, draped in a thick blanket of heedlessness?
Ramadan is not merely the name of a date on the calendar, nor is it just about arranging pre-dawn and fast-breaking meals, various kinds of dishes, and nighttime activities. Ramadan is the spring season of the soul, the month of purifying hearts, and a moment to renew the awareness of servitude. These are the sacred hours in which the rain of blessings falls, the doors of forgiveness are opened, and pardons of redemption are distributed. But all this is for those hearts that are awake, that possess longing, that know how to bow at the Divine threshold while confessing their sins.
How many Ramadans have we seen, how many times have our eyes opened in the pre-dawn hours?
How many times have our hands risen in prayer at the time of breaking the fast, but has our heart ever trembled? Have our eyes ever become tearful?
Have we ever, in a moment of solitude, taken account of our own selves?
Or have we limited fasting only to hunger and thirst and not tried to cleanse our hearts from the pollution of sins?
Ramadan shakes us and says: O heedless human! This month could be your last chance. Who knows whether the next Ramadan will be granted or not? How many people were there who used to have pre-dawn meals with us last year, today they are sleeping in the embrace of the earth. Their graves are perhaps silently harboring this regret: If only we could get another Ramadan, if only another opportunity would be available. And we are such that we got the opportunity, we got the respite, we were granted health, but we were not blessed with the awakening of the heart.
The awakening of the heart is that the recitation of the Quran should not remain merely the utterance of words, but every verse should knock on our inner self. When we read the word of Allah, we should feel that this message is directly addressing us. When the mention of Hell comes, the body should tremble, when there is glad tidings of Paradise, a ray of hope should light up in the heart. When the announcement of forgiveness is made, tears should flow from the eyes and words of sincere repentance should flow from the lips.
If Ramadan came and humility did not arise in our prayers, if our eyes did not become tearful over sins, if gentleness did not come into our manners and honesty in our dealings, then we have to reflect on the state of our heart. Could it be that we found Ramadan, but Ramadan did not find us?
Come! Let us not allow this Ramadan to become a mere routine ritual. Let us make it the starting point of our lives. Let us change the world of our inner selves. Let us make sincere repentance, pray with a broken heart, and pledge that we will make this month a means of changing our destiny. Because successful is the one whose heart has awakened, who has considered this respite a treasure, and who has turned to his Lord.
Ramadan arrived… now we have to decide, will we also wake up? Or will another Ramadan pass and we will remain lying in the sleep of heedlessness?
May Allah grant us that awakened heart which attains the true spirit of Ramadan, and include us among those for whom this month truly becomes a pardon of salvation… Amen.