Charcoal Letterhead: Ramadhan

Audhu Billahi Min Ash Shaydani al rajeem

{O people! The promise of Allah is surely true so do not let the life of this world deceive you nor be deceived by the Deceiver.} Faatir:5

O Son of Adam, it is yet another Ramadhan and I am going away. You will miss me. You will concern yourself with the instruments that I have left you with, which I have accustomed you with and Ramadhan will pass you and you will not have noticed it at all. You will gossip and backbite, you will listen to music and you will flirt. You will glare at what you should not, and you will not lower your gaze. You will refrain yourself from food and water but you will bask and indulge in the sour fruits of fitna and corruption and you will think you are fasting. I will return to my work as usual as if, I took a short break, only to tell you you’ve accomplished so much, so why do you not reward yourself? Go out and have some fun, you’ve been holding yourself back this whole Ramadhan right? A little indulgence never hurt anyone.

Again I’ve doomed you. Again I’ve caused you to lose everything. Again I’ve held you back from the Gates of Paradise yet another time, and you stand there, not knowing exactly what you’ve lost. God has redeemed you, yet you have stood idle, and you have plundered another blessing, but do you know what stands out most of all Son of Adam? I did not have to do a single thing. After all, you’re naturally inclined to oppressing and wronging your own soul. I’m just complimentary. The Gates of Hell were shut, and you knocked upon them to open, and the Gates of Heaven were waiting for you to enter them, yet you refused even its fragrance and you turned away in despair. I always find pleasure in seeing you be blind of your blessings. If you did a deed, this month it would be doubled and tripled, but instead you either did evil or you chose to do absolutely nothing at all. If you asked for forgiveness, this month, your request would have been answered, yet I made you beforehand procrastinate on your prayers and become lazy on your duties to Allah, so you would rather sleep or lay down instead only to see the next day come and go.

How about charity? I’ve already caused your heart to be stiff and paralyzed with adoration of money, and the complications of its worship and you do not desire to give a penny this Month when a single penny would translate into your salvation. By this one penny, Allah would free you from all your bondage for as long as your intention is to receive reward only from him but that too you have polluted. I have made this your Christmas Son of Adam, after all, its all about food, shopping and celebration right? All you look forward to is the end of this Month, when Son of Adam, you should have cried at the thought of every day you have missed out of forgiveness, reward and mercy. Generations before have escaped my treachery and have prayed months in advance that they should live to see another Ramadhan, and you Son of Adam pray that it should end, and you can continue to do evil as usual, and I, O Son of Adam, am at your service. I will lead you straight into the hills of temptations, corruption and destruction. After all we’re friends right?

Love, your ENEMY

Narrated Abu Huraira(r.a): The Prophet said:"... whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." (Sahih Al-Bukhari).

"Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving then times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, 'Except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will give recompense for it, he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.' for the fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk." [al-Bukhaaree]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]