Exiting Shahru Ramadhan

"There is no Mu'min, who fasts for a day in the month of Ramadhan with the intention of attaining its rewards, except that Allah, The Exalted, grants him seven excellences:

1. The forbidden food that had entered into his body melts away.
2. He moves closer to the Mercy of Allah, The Exalted.
3. Allah expiates his sins.
4. Allah reduces for him the agony of death.
5. Allah protects him from the hunger and thirst of the Day of Judgment.
6. He is granted pardon from the fire (of Hell).
7. Allah provides him the good and pleasant food of Paradise."

 - Rasoolullah (SAW) (Source: Mustadrak al-Wasaail al-Shia'h, vol. 7, pg. 395)

First and foremost, Eid Mubarak to everybody and their families. Lord-willing, I hope everyone had a blessed Eid day.

Thirty days ago, we entered the month of Shahru Ramadhan. Like every Shahru Ramadhan, there is excitement and yet there is also tension. The excitement & tension both come because Shahru Ramadhan has a different 'feel' to it than other months. Excitement is due to what is available in this month; in three simple words: mercy, forgiveness, and blessings. Tension is mainly because the huge shift in daily routines (in most cases).

For me, I had both these feelings. Excitement because every moment in this month would provide a benefit. The tension arose from a physical standpoint with work (i.e. not being able to drink water). Alhamdulillah, with the help of the Almighty, that was never an issue at work.

Originally, I wanted to do a blog post on preparing for Shahru Ramadhan. However due to time restrictions, I wasn't able to. Instead, I'll do a reflection type blog post on this holy month.

Shahru Ramadhan is unlike any month. There are so many blessings throughout this month that its hard to even fathom how anybody wouldn't be to make major gains in the month. There are many hadiths on the blessings from this month. I posted a different hadith every night during the month. Here is a link:
http://www.ezsoftech.com/ramadan/ramadan24.asp
A general overview of this month: Dua Iftitah is recited every night; the Holy Qur'an (which was revealed in this month) is very, very highly recommended to be recited in the month (and one should take the opportunity to understand it); regular obligatory acts are multiplied in benefits; recommended acts are also multiplied; Laylatul Qadr (the night of power) falls within the month and shapes our destiny. I could go on and on about the benefits, but I'm sure everybody can do more research into that on their own.

There was so much I wanted to do going into this month in terms of ibadat (worship) and connecting on a spiritual level. While I wasn't able to do everything in terms of ibadat (time constraints again), I attempted to do whatever I could; and Lord-willing, it was accepted. Spiritually, I felt as if I made a much bigger connection; this is what I feel is the most important goal of Shahru Ramadhan - to connect with the Almighty and get as close to him as possible. The Lord provided me with some beautiful opportunities through people: giving speeches related to Imam Hassan (AS) & Imam Ali (AS) (I couldn't do them justice but God-willing I'll post the transcripts & possibly videos of the speeches); I was given a role during one of the nights in Laylatul Qadr; I was able to recite adhan (this may seem small - but one, including myself, really needs to understand what the adhan is to realize its significance); I was able to post a hadith & specific dua every day. I'm sure there were other things as well which I can't remember; but the most important opportunity was to gain knowledge. Throughout all these things, I felt like I made some progress in getting closer to the Almighty and I hope to build on that as well even after Shahru Ramadhan has passed.

As Shias, we have been blessed with many opportunities to get closer to the Almighty. The beginning of our year during Muharram & Safar is marked with the remembrance of Aba Abdillah's (AS) sacrifice and the trials faced by Imam Sajjad (AS), Bibi Zainab (AS), Bibi Sakina (AS), & the rest of the caravan; it starts off in a mourning fashion to soften our hearts for the rest of the year. And also during these months, we commemorate other days of mourning, like the martyrdom of Rasoolullah (SAW) & Imam Hassan (AS). Then we come to happier times during Rabi-ul-Awwal with the celebrations of Eid-e-Zahra and Milad-un-Nabi. Again we go through a mourning during the Fatimiyyah days when Jumada-al-Awwal and Jumada-al-Thani come (as the exact date isn't known, although one date is likelier than the other). Then we get the blessed months of Rajab, Shabaan, and Shahru Ramadhan (back-to-back-to-back months with major benefits). And towards the end of the year, we have Eid-ul-Adha during Hajj Dhul-Hijjah; we also get the Eid-e-Ghadeer and Eid-e-Mubahila (which itself shows the importance of the Ahlul Kisaa & also shows where the succesorship should have gone after the passing of Rasoolullah SAW).

We need to take advantage of these opportunities, especially because we don't know if we'll ever get these opportunities again. Shahru Ramadhan is the peak of the year by giving us a huge spiritual revival. When the month passes, there is a bad habit of going back to our old habits. Instead, we need to continue the progression and find ways to get closer to the Almighty. During Shahru Ramadhan, the doors of Paradise were open, the doors of Hell closed, Iblis had been banished, and (most importantly) we were guests of the Almighty (especially during Laylatul Qadr). What we gained from that month needs to be carried forward because now things will be challenging again (as Iblis is back on the loose); this is where are true test comes and this is where we'll see how close we really are to the Almighty and how close we can really get to Him.

To end this post (sorry for the length, but I hope you can appreciate it), I'll end with another hadith, which I really love:
"O' God! Ordain not this month of Ramadhan to be the last one for my fasts. But should you ordain it to be so, then make me blessed and leave me not deprived (of Your mercy)." - Rasoolullah (SAW)
(Source: Badaabi Az Quran, pg. 398)