A Passing Cloud
Seizing the Fleeting Beauty of Ramadan’s Thirty Days
These thirty days that are about to shade us pass as swiftly as a flash of lightning or a summer cloud. So much so that Allah the Exalted described them in His Book as being minimal, calling them “numbered days”—meaning few and extremely simple. Despite their brevity and swift passage, they are our golden opportunity to break free from the shackles of the body, to soar once again on the wings of the spirit, and to create new worlds of happiness. So do not let anything stand between you and securing a lavish spiritual life in these coming days.
“[Fasting for] a limited number of days”
Whatever your specialization, convictions, thoughts, or previous level of righteousness may be, do not let anything prevent you from winning in the arena of Ramadan. Do not allow anyone to steal from you the splendor of seclusion between the pillars of the mosque, or to pilfer from you the sweetness of intimate conversation with the Lord of the heavens and the earth, or the pleasure of contemplating Allah’s legislative and cosmic signs, or the joy of completing repeated recitations of the Quran, and all other forms of worship included in the general command of Allah’s words:
“And do good that you may succeed.”
Do not let it weaken your resolve to see some people persisting in their heedlessness. People’s deeds vary according to their certainty and faith in the Hereafter, as Allah says:
“Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter—We have made pleasing to them their deeds, so they wander blindly.”
It is certainty in the Hereafter that clarifies vision, refines the soul, and calibrates the standard of deeds. Conversely, turning away from remembrance of the Hereafter blindfolds the eyes with a thick veil of blindness, confusion, wandering, and heedlessness regarding seasons of worship.
Among the greatest acts of drawing near to Allah in this noble month is persistent supplication and earnest pleading with Him, for it is the door of bounty, the foundation of divine enablement, and the sum total of all good. As the noble Successor Mutarrif ibn Abdullah said:
“I contemplated: what is the sum of all good? I found that good is abundant—fasting, prayer—yet all of it is in the hand of Allah the Exalted. And you cannot obtain what is in Allah’s hand except by asking Him and He gives you. Thus, the sum of all good is supplication.”
This narration was related by Imam Ahmad with his chain of transmission to Mutarrif in the Book of Asceticism.
Among the beauties of our religion is that worship, by Allah’s grace, is a comprehensive concept. Its highest form is saying “There is no god but Allah,” and its lowest is removing harm from the road. It includes transitive acts of worship such as being good to people and seeking to fulfill their needs, and intransitive acts of worship such as remembrance, Quran recitation, and spiritual retreat (i’tikaf).
The Prophet ﷺ was most generous during Ramadan—this being among the transitive acts of worship. Yet he would also retreat in spiritual seclusion during this month, withdrawing to be alone with his Lord—and this seclusion is among the intransitive acts of worship.
Many people prefer transitive acts of worship absolutely over intransitive ones, and this is undoubtedly a deficiency in perspective that makes the structure of faith flimsy. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyyah says:
“Transitive benefit is not absolutely superior. Rather, a person should have hours in which he converses intimately with his Lord, withdraws with himself, and holds himself to account. His doing so may be better than gathering with people and benefiting them. This is why a person’s seclusion at night with his Lord is better than gathering with people.”
So I counsel you to give yourself a portion in this month of the worship of seclusion, contemplation, recitation, remembrance, and intimate conversation with Allah.
There is no doubt that when intransitive acts of worship are given their due right, they bear fruit in their practitioner’s soul as meadows and rivers, and they aid in performing transitive acts of worship. For it has come in authentic hadith:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was most generous during Ramadan when Jibreel would meet him. When Jibreel met him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was more generous with good than the wind sent forth.”
Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar offered a beautiful commentary on this prophetic generosity that multiplied in the month of Ramadan as a result of studying the Quran. He made an expressive reference to the connecting thread between intransitive and transitive worship, saying, may Allah have mercy on him:
What profound wisdom! The inner spiritual work of Quran study enriched the Prophet’s soul, and this inner wealth manifested outwardly as unprecedented generosity. This is the organic connection between cultivating the inner life and manifesting goodness to others.
Finally, I counsel you not to exhaust yourself and thus discontinue in the early days. Rather, be firm in setting your appropriate program. After long contemplation, I have seen that the people most delighted with seasons of worship and most successful in winning their prizes are those who combined three things:
Take these as passing counsels from one who falls short.
May Allah be with you and grant you the highest of your hopes
and the ultimate fulfillment of your aspirations.
“Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”
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