By Mariyam Khalid
As all of you know that the holy month of Ramazan is approaching fast. All of us have been taught about the significance and importance of Ramadan from a very young age. We know that it is obligatory to observe fasts in Ramadan and abstain from sins during this period. We observe that the males of our society regularly go to mosques to observe congregational prayers five times a day, while the females pray with devotion in their homes. Every night after the Ishaa prayers we also observe taravih prayer. The iftaar and sehar times help to develop a schedule for our smooth functioning for the whole day. And we also take care to separate zakah from our savings.
As we know the month of Ramazan is divided into three ashra; first ashra being the ashra of blessing; second one the ashra of forgiveness and the third is the ashra of avoidance of hell. We pray for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness throughout the month. Some people make special arrangements to visit Makah and Medina in this holy month as the reward of an umrah in Ramadan is equal to that of pilgrimage.
Fasting does not only mean to avoid eating and drinking. Fasting also includes praising Allah and His attributes and to purify ourselves from the evils of the world. The one month of Ramazan is like a training session for us in which we train to be better Muslims. We learn to abstain from sins and learn to spend our time in fruitful pursuits. We make a schedule for ourselves in which we manage to pray five times a day easily. If we continue this practice for the rest of our year then we can manage to function in our life more smoothly than ever.
Even those of us who are not so regular in their religious activities for the rest of the year have a chance to train themselves in this month. Some of our fellow Muslims make it a habit to taunt those individuals who try to come back to the ways of Islam in the month of Ramadan. As fellow Muslims we should not taunt those individuals who start taking religion seriously in the month of Ramadan. Instead we should encourage them so that they do not feel discouraged and continue these efforts even when the month of Ramadan is over.
In the end of this holy month we to celebrate our hard work with our friends and family on Eid. We clean up and wear new clothes. Every one gathers to pray and then we visit our friends and relatives and celebrate the happiness of Eid with them. Sweets are exchanged and people take a break from the hectic routines of their lives in order to meet and greet their loved ones.
