By Haroon Ishola Balogun

Whenever the month of Shaaban, the eight month of the Islamic year is drawing to a close and as the month of Ramadan approaches, happiness and joy filled the Muslim Ummah.  This is because the ninth month offers the greatest opportunity to cleanse oneself from all the impurities of this world, align oneself to the Creator Who has promised to flung the gates of mercy open and shut the gates of evil.  It is a rare blessing for His servants.

Allah choses fasting upon His servants and it is incumbent upon every believer to act upon it.  Yes the fasting is for Allah and He will surely reward it. If Allah prevents you from food and drink and physical desires during the day, why won’t He reward you both in this world and in the Hereafter?  Fasting is a protection and fortress that keeps a person safe from fire. In another Hadith, the Prophet said: “whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will remove his face a distance of seventy years from fire. That is why we were told that once Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.

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Fasting is a clear expression of Allah leading His servants to the gate of mercy.  It is the key to unlocking the mysteries of His blessings, of compassion and closeness.  As reported in Sahih Bukhari, “whoever fast during the month of Ramadan, out of faith and with the hope of gaining Allah’s reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.  Also, there is another hadith which states that fasting in the month of Ramadan is equivalent to fasting ten months. Ramadan is a pillar of Islam and in it the Glorious Quran was revealed. That is not all, in the month, there is a blessed night better than one thousand months.

Fasting is indeed a unique form of worship. It reduces the tide of materialism which man engages in most of the time.  It affords the believer the ultimate opportunity to reach Allah quickly and faster too.  The act of getting closer to Allah though not limited to Ramadan.  Allah is indeed ineffable and approachable but the truth is that Ramadan offers an opportunity to the believer to cross-reference his life, make adjustment where necessary and adapt to the spiritual demands of that period.  The material distractions in other months and the required will-power that are lacking during other months are a great hinderance.  Shaytan cannot succeed in Ramadan if the believer set himself forth for the task.

Fasting trains the Muslim to avoid desires and move away from sins; helps to overcome nature and bad habits. When a person is hungry, many of his faculties are kept from the inordinate desires.  His toungue, eyes, hands and private parts also feel the hunger and refrain from bad things and thus, Shaytan is defeated and he gets closer to Allah.  It is indeed a better time for graduating into a higher level of spirituality.

It helps the Muslim to feel the pains of others especially the have not and respond to their needs. When a fasting Muslim feels the pangs of hunger, he experiences what the poor feels; and drives him towards compassion

It is a rare opportunity, a blessed time in the life of a man to have another Ramadan in his life records. Fasting reforms us; it curbs the animalistic tendencies in us; it awakens the mind and kindles the consciousness of Allah.  We shall be discussing more on the etiquette of fasting on our daily Ramadan Talk in Vanguard. Watch out.

As it is, by the ordinary calculation of man, Shabaan will be 30 on Sunday May 5, which means it is crystal clear that Monday May 6 will be Ramadan 1 and if Allah wills that Shaaban will be 29, Sunday might be the beginning of the glorious month.  Like we wont to, let us all look out for the moon and wait for the directive of the apex Islamic body in the country for the commencement of the fasting.