Assalamualaikum :) A big smile together with hope is welcoming ramadhan kareem~
Actually this is my post in my own blog during the previous ramadhan. It is just that, I was called to repost this edited entry in AG's blog since we are going to celebrate ramadhan soon, just in a few hours from now.
Recalling Allah's words in Surah al-Baqarah,
"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous." (183)
[Sahih International]
"Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Kamu diwajibkan berpuasa sebagaimana diwajibkan atas orang-orang yang dahulu daripada kamu, supaya kamu bertaqwa." (183)
[Malay:Basmeih]
I believe that all of us are very familiar with this verse. We do listened to people reciting verse 183 from Surah al-Baqarah to let every Muslim knows that we have to fast during the month of Ramadhan with very few unavoidable excuses. Thinking deeper, that is not the only thing that Allah want us to know. Instead, there is one more important message that some of us do grab it while the rest don't.
"That you may become righteous." & "Supaya kamu bertaqwa."
Dr. Aidh Abdullah al-Qarni, in his book, 'Jagalah Allah, Allah Menjagamu' define taqwa as below:
Taqwa dapat diertikan, iaitu kamu takut kepada Allah kerana cahaya daripada Allah, di samping itu, kamu juga sangat mengharapkan rahmatNya. Dan kamu melakukan kebaikan sesuai dengan aturan Allah, dengan harapan kamu akan memperoleh pahala daripadaNya, dan kamu juga menghindari keburukan, berkat cahaya daripada Allah, kerana kamu takut kepada seksaNya.
Dr. Aidh through the same book also stated the meaning of taqwa defined by Saidina Ali bin Abi Thalib RA as:
Bahawa taqwa adalah takut kepada Dzat Yang Maha Agung, mengamalkan Kitab (al-Quran) yang diturunkan, redha dengan yang sedikit dan mempersiapkan diri untuk hari kematian (qiamat).
While Abdullah bin Mas'ud RA give the meaning of taqwa as:
Taqwa adalah kamu sentiasa tetap mengingati Allah SWT dan tidak melupakanNya, dipatuhi dan tidak diderhakai, disyukuri dan tidak diingkari.
And here is a short story between Saidina Umar al-Khattab and Ubay bin Ka'ab as an anology to define taqwa:
Umar al-Khattab : Sebutkanlah ciri-ciri taqwa kepadaku.
Ubay bin Ka'ab : Apakah tuan pernah melintasi sebidang tanah yang penuh dengan duri?
Umar al-Khattab : Ya!
Ubay bin Ka'ab : Apakah yang tuan lakukan di sana?
Umar al-Khattab : Saya sangat berhati-hati untuk menghindarinya dan menyinsingkan lengan baju untuk menjauhinya.
Ubay bin Ka'ab : Begitulah ketaqwaan itu!
My own personal view always believe that Ramadhan is not the month of competition just like when one asked another, "Dah juzuk berapa dah?" "Owh, aku baru juzuk 2." Or do you believe that Ramadhan is like that? And when Ramadhan comes to an end, everything back to normal. Should it be that way?
When Ramadhan ends, is it that mushaf al-Quran again will take it's place on the shelf while waiting for next year incoming Ramadhan? A break from Qiamullail? No infaq to unlucky Muslims? Then, we can do anything just like before Ramadhan came? Is this is the true meaning of Ramadhan? And every year, we will repeat the same thing again and again.
By referring to the end of that verse, Allah state that fasting can lead us to achieve the level of taqwa.
So, before Ramadhan starts tonight, let us just set up our heart and mind on what actually we want from this Ramadhan. Is it that we wish for the routine Terawih + 30juzuk al-Quran + Qiamullail + Lailatul qadar only? Or we wish for all of these routine ibadah together with His forgiveness + His blessing + His love, things to guide us throughout our life and lead us to be a true Muslim?
Ramadhan will always be a great turning point for those who want to reverse his or her way of life into a better Muslim :)
