After a few days, Muslims in the east and west of the earth receive the blessed month of Ramadan, and each one strives according to his ability to put in place programs that help him to strive in obedience and do good deeds and invest the hours of this holy month.
On how to prepare to receive the month of Ramadan, Professor Dr. Abdul Salam Al Majidi, Professor of Interpretation and Quranic Sciences at the College of Sharia at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera Mubasher that the month of Ramadan has 7 goals that we should know and achieve, and we should receive it while we are aware of what these purposes are.
The first major purpose: piety
God Almighty said, “O you who have believed, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be aware of it.” (Al-Baqarah: 183)
The second goal: ease
The feeling that Ramadan fasting wanted us with ease in our lives, our actions and our bodies, and this means that we should not do anything that contradicts Ramadan.
Ease is not only related to the fasting of the sick and the traveler, but rather the Ramadan cycle itself, including fasting, that gives us ease in our lives, as God Almighty says about this purpose: “God desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you.”
For the month of Ramadan, 7 things you should know (archive)
The third objective: to complete the waiting period
Every distinct and influential cycle does not benefit a person if he takes part of it, so a person does not benefit from treatment if he takes part of his cycle, and a person does not benefit from exercise if he takes some of his days. The Almighty’s saying, “And to complete the waiting period,” that is, you should complete the period of Ramadan.
And a word that we should take from the Almighty’s saying, “And so that you complete the waiting period.” We also take from it that God wants us to complete the waiting period as long as we can complete it.
And the meaning of completing the waiting period also means that we should continue with what we do on the first day with the increase in the worshipful burden in the last ten days, and not the other way around, so that our resolve should not decline, our ambitions decrease and our desires fade as the days progress.
Fourth Objective: Glory to God
This means that we should humiliate ourselves in order to glorify God Almighty. He said, “And that you are arrogant to God for what He has guided you.” God’s takbeer is not specific to the last night of Ramadan or the morning of the day of Eid, but rather it is intended that we always feel God’s greatness in ourselves.
The fifth objective: to reach the rank of gratitude
Piety is nothing but an exercise in feeling gratitude. For this reason, God Almighty said, “And perhaps you will be thankful.” He said in Surat Al-Imran: “Fear God, that you may be thankful.”
Dr. Abdul Salam Al Majidi, Professor of Interpretation at the College of Sharia at Qatar University (Al Jazeera Mubasher)
Sixth Objective: Feeling God’s closeness to the servant
If you feel the closeness of God in Ramadan, then that should extend beyond Ramadan. God Almighty said, “And if My servants ask you about Me, then I am near” (Surat Al-Baqarah: 186).
If you feel close, what do you lose?
The seventh objective: achieving maturity
The Almighty said, “So let them respond to me and believe in me, so that they may be guided” (Al-Baqarah: 186).
Ramadan Program
Dr. Al-Majidi concluded his speech by saying, “If these objectives are understood, the Muslim can develop an appropriate program for them.
We should set the appropriate program for these seven goals before the beginning of Ramadan, and the program contains - at least - the following:
The number of times the Qur'an was completed.
A program to do the general night with people and a program to do your own.
Ramadan charity program other than zakat.
A personal male program and with the parents on a regular daily basis.
Define supplications for the things you want God to accomplish for you, to repeat them at breakfast and in the morning prayer daily.
Knowing the supplications that should not be forgotten.
Select a bad creation that you want to get rid of.
Determine the good character you want to develop.
Crescent's birthday image (Getty Images)
When does the month of fasting begin?
Muslims are investigating the crescent of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year on the evening of next Friday, the first of April, and it is expected that the countries that adopt the sighting of the crescent will announce that the first day of Ramadan will fall on the third Sunday of April.
As for countries that rely on astronomical calculations to determine the beginnings of lunar months, such as Turkey, the month of Ramadan will begin on Saturday, the second of April.