RAMADAN’S FRAGRANCE STRIVING TO BE IN A STATE OF ADORATION, PROSTRATIOIN AND STANDING BEFORE GOD

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

IN THE NAME OF GOD, the MOST GRACIOUS the MOST MERCIFUL
By: Wahba Mahmoud Diyab
The true servants of God ever adore Him in humility and fear of wrong, in faith and just moderation in life, in respect for duties owed to God and men and self, in avoidance of all that is false or futile, in strict and grateful attention to God’s Message, and in the wish to put themselves and their families in the van of those who love and honor God.
The Servants of God as we see their deeds in Surat Al-Furqan/The Criterion 25:
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا (63)

And the servants of (God) Most Gracious, are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say: “Peace!” (63)

Ignorant: in a spiritual sense. Address: in the aggressive sense. Their humility is shown in two ways: (1) to those in real search of knowledge, they give such knowledge as they have and as the recipients can assimilate; (2) to those who merely dispute, they do not speak harshly, but say “PEACE!”, as much as to say: ‘may it be well with you, may you repent and do better’; or ‘may God give me peace from such wrangling’; or ‘Peace, and Good-bye, let me leave you!’.
وَالَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا (64)

Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord, prostrate and standing. (64)

Humble prayer brings them nearer to God.
وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (65)

Those who say: “Our Lord! Avert from us Wrath of Hell, for its Wrath is indeed a grievous affliction”. (65)

This is a prayer of humility; such a person relies –not on any good works which he may have done- but on the Grace and Mercy of God, and he shows a lively sense of the Day of Judgment, when every action will weigh for or against a soul.
إِنَّهَا سَاءَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَمُقَامًا (66)

“Evil indeed it is as an abode, and as a place to rest in”! (66)

The misery which results from sin is not only grievous to live in (“an abode”) but also grievous “to rst in” or “stand in”, if it be only for a short time.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنْفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَامًا (67)

Those who –when they spend- are not extravagant and not niggardly, but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes). (67)

In ordinary spending this is a wise rule. But even in charity –in which we give of our best- it is not expected that we should be extravagant, i.e., that we should either do it for show, to impress other people, or do it thoughtlessly, which would be the case if we [rob Peter to pay Paul]. We should certainly not be niggardly; but we should remember everyone’s rights, including our own, and strike a perfectly just balance between them.
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آَخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا (68)

Those who do not invoke- with God- any other god, nor slay such life as God has made sacred, except for just cause, nor commit fornication; and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. (68)

Here three things are expressly condemned: (1) false worship, which is a crime against God; (2) the taking of life, which is a crime against our fellow-creatures; and (3) fornication, which is a crime against our self-respect, against ourselves. Every crime is against God, His creatures, and ourselves, but some may be viewed more in relation to one another. The prohibition against taking life is qualified: ‘except for just cause’, e.g., in judicial punishment for murder, or in self-preservation, which may include not only self-defense in the legal sense, but also the clearing out of pests, and the provision of meat under conditions of Halal= حلال : as in Surat Al-Ma’ida 5 verse 4, notes { In the matter of killing for meat, the general rule is that the name of the true God should be pronounced as a rite in order to call our attention to the fact that we do not take life thoughtlessly, but solemnly for food, with permission of God, to whom we render the life back. The question of hunting is then raised. How can this solemn rite be performed when we send forth trained hawks, trained hounds, or trained cheetahs or other animals trained for chase? They must necessarily kill at some distance from their masters. Their game is legalized on these conditions: (1) that they are trained to kill –not merely for their own appetite, or out of mere wantonness, but for their master’s food; the training implies that something of the solemnity which God has taught us in this matter goes into their action: and (2) we are to pronounce the name of God over the quarry; this is interpreted to mean that the (Takbir= تكبير ) should be pronounced when the hawk or dog, etc, is released to the quarry.
يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا (69)

(But) the Penalty –on the Day of Judgment—will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy. (69)

The three crimes just mentioned are specially detestable and infamous, and as ignominy will be added to other punishments, the penalty will be doubled that of the ordinary punishment.
إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآَمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (70)

Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for God will change the evil of such persons into good, and God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (70)

But even in the case of great crimes, if there true repentance as tested by a changed life in conduct, God’s Mercy is available, and it will transform the repentant’s nature from evil to good. Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
وَمَنْ تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًا (71)

And whoever repents and does good and well, has truly turned to God with an (acceptable) conversion. (71)

وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَامًا (72)

Those who witness no falsehood, and if they pass by futility, they pass by it with honorable (avoidance) (72)

Witness no falsehood has two significations, both implied in this passage: (1) those who give no evidence that is false; and (2) those who do not assist at anything which implies fraud or false hood.
There is not only condemnation of positive falsehood or of being mixed up with things implying falsehood; but futilities, vain random talk, unedifying jokes, useless show, etc…, are all condemned. If a good man finds himself in such an affair, he must withdraw from it in an honorable, dignified way, not in a fussy arrogant way.
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِآَيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا (73)

Those who –when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord- droop not down at them as if they were deaf and blind thereat. (73)

Kharra= خرّ- may mean: to fall down, to snore, to droop down as if the person were bored or inattentive, or did not wish to see or hear or pay attention.
وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا (74)

And those who pray: “Our Lord! Grant us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give the (the Grace) to lead the righteous”. (74)

We must also pray for the maintenance of God’s Law after us, through our wives and descendants; in our eyes they should not be mere accidents or play-things, but a real comfort and fulfillment of our spiritual longings. Perhaps –through them- as we through ourselves, we may –by God Grace- be able to give a lead for truth and righteousness.
Let us recapitulate the virtues of the true servants of God: (1) they are humble and forbearing to those below them in spiritual worth; (2) they are constantly –by adoration- in touch with God; (3) they always remember the Judgment in the Hereafter; (4) they are moderate in all things; (5) they avoid treason to God, to their fellow-creatures, and to themselves; (6) they give a wide berth not only to falsehood but to futility; (7) they pay attention –both in mind and manner- to the Signs of their Lord; and (8) their ambition is to bring up their families in righteousness and to lead in all good. A fine code of individual and social ethics, a ladder of spiritual development, opens to all.
أُولَئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ الْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَامًا (75)

Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven, because of their patient constancy; therein they shall be met with salutations and peace. (75)

Dwelling therein; – how beautiful an abode and place of rest! (76)

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَمُقَامًا (76)

Say (to the Rejecters): “My Lord pays attention to you because of your invocation to Him. But you have indeed rejected (Him), and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!” (77)

قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ فَقَدْ كَذَّبْتُمْ فَسَوْفَ يَكُونُ لِزَامًا (77)

Let not the wicked think that it causes God any annoyance or uneasiness if they do not serve or worship Him. He is high above all needs. But He turns in His Mercy to all who call on Him. For those who arrogantly reject Him, the spiritual consequences (the Hell of spiritual misery and degradation) are inevitable, and must soon come to pass.
God in His infinite mercy and love, Who forgives and guides individuals and nations, and turns to good even what seems to us evil, never forsakes the struggling soul that turns to Him, nor the group of men and women who join together to obey His Will and Law and strengthen each other in unity and truth, nor the Nations that dwell in mountain or valley, heat or cold, in regions fertile or arid, in societies that roam over land or seas, or hunt, or tend flocks, or till the soil, or seek the seas for food or oil or fat or gems, or dig out from the bowels of the earth precious stones or metals or stored-up head and energy, or practice arts and crafts, or produce abundant wealth by machines of ingenious workmanship, or live a frugal life of contemplation: for all are the children of One God, and share His loving care and must be brought within the pale of His eternal unity and harmony.