
If our existence only has meaning through the worship of Allah then how can we ever be successful? We cannot physically worship Allah all the time as we spend much of our time performing mundane duties such as sleeping, working, playing, bathing etc; and spend very little of our daily routine specifically on worship Allah(SWT). There are only twenty-four hours in the day and most of it is taken up by these chores. So how can we compensate for this lost time?
Once the compulsory and supererogatory duties have been established, Allah (SWT) will accept any act done purely for His sake as an act of worship so long as it is in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Allah (SWT) says: “My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the obligatory (religious) duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw closer to Me with the optional works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” (Bukhari)
Allah (SWT) has also provided windows of opportunity to seek His pleasure and reward for those with insight. One of these is of course the blessed month of Ramadan including: the last ten nights and the Night of Decree (Lailat al-Qadr). During Ramadan the rewards are multiplied; the Night of Decree alone confers the reward of over a thousand months (80+ years) upon the ones who observes it sincerely. Another prerequisite is to gain the Mercy of Allah as the Prophet (SAW) said; “Your actions will not save any of you.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, not even you?” He replied, “Not even me, unless Allah were to envelop me in His Mercy.” (Bukhari)
We are all reliant on the Mercy of Allah. So how do we make ourselves worthy of Allah’s Mercy?
My Mercy extends to all things but I will prescribe it for those who have Taqwa. [Q7:156]
Acquiring Taqwa is the ultimate aim of fasting in Ramadan as Allah Says, “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may receive Taqwa(Consciousness of Allah).” [Q2:183]
Taqwa is to act in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah out of the hope for Allah’s reward and fearing His punishment. If Allah accepts the fasts of Ramadan, He will embellish the fasting person with Taqwa which will in turn earn Allah’s Mercy and ultimately Paradise. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Taqwa is here,” and he pointed to his chest. (Muslim)
So fasting sincerely satiates the hearts with Taqwa. This illuminates the believer to such an extent that he is comfortable to have his deeds laid bare for all to see (as he has little to be ashamed of) as Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz (ra) said, “If he put all his thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around in the market, he should not feel ashamed of anything there”
Our fasting and approach to Ramadan should be well underway in Sha’ban as the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would fast more in Sha’ban than any month (other than Ramadan). Aisha (raa) said: “The Messenger (SAW) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha’ban.” (Bukhari)
This will also help us to ease our way into the dedicated acts of worship and self-sacrifice needed in the proceeding month of Ramadan. One of the companions (raa) said: “I came to the Messenger of Allah, (SAW) and said: ‘Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.’ Then I came to him again ad he said: ‘Stick to fasting.’” (Ahmad)