Implications Of Faded Satanic Influence In Ramadan

Ramadan is the most auspicious time of the year in Islamic Calendar, which comes up with an opportunity for the believers to set their lives back on the right track of righteousness. It is because of barakah (blessing) of this holy month that Muslims all over the world suddenly start praying, learn Quran and carry out other good deeds while fasting. It is also believed according to the Prophetic (PBUH) traditions that major Shaitaan (Satan) are blocked from harming conscious of individuals during Ramadan.

“When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The above mentioned Hadith suggests that with the start of this sacred period of time, gates of Jannah (Paradise) are unlocked while those of Jahannam (Hell) are locked along with fastening of the evil spirits. Most of the people argue that if Shaitaan are shackled for the duration of Ramadan, then why Muslims still commit wrongdoings. It is because context of the aforementioned Saying of Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ is misinterpreted. Locking down the devils here means that their influence on a common person is not that much effective in Ramadan as it happens to be in normal days. It is the same reason why all of sudden, Muslims are routinely attracted towards morality and uprightness in this month as compared to others.

In order to better understand this concept, let us discuss it further in the light of the Holy Quran and Ahadiths.

Ability to Choose between Right and Wrong

Although, manipulation power of the Lucifer is weaken for the period of Ramadan, but it does not mean that one would automatically get rid of all evils. Allah SWT has placed enough consciousness in an individual`s mind to let it choose between the right and the wrong. That is why the Almighty Lord says in His Consecrated Scripture:

“For each one of you, are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah. Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron.” [Quran, 13: 11]

This Ayah Kareem clearly indicates that the Creator of the universe has awarded every human being with sufficient willpower and awareness to select the right path. It is up to us how well we utilize our intelligence and embrace the righteousness. Due to our ill routine during other months of the year, we are not always able to live up to the true spirit of Ramadan. That is the reason why our inner self is easily diverted towards immorality and forbidden acts even during Ramadan.

Weaker Authority of Satan

When a country enlarges its security within the city to restrict possibility of potential robberies; it will apparently bring about a decrease of theft in the town. However, some expert and tough burglars will still squeeze through and continue with their unlawful activities; though in a much less effective way than before. Same is the case with Shaitaan, who as compared to great restrictions, can still manage to deceive us in a constrained style.

“The Shaitaan circulates in the body of Adam’s offspring, as one’s blood circulates in it.” (Bukhari)

It means that in ordinary days of the year, Satan is as close to us as circulating blood in our body. But on the other hand, in Ramadan, it is not that nearer that is why its influence is weakened which results in more piety and carrying out of religious actions. But its swaying impulse still can mislead us from the way of righteousness in less effectual way.

Taking Help from Quran and Prostration

Believing in fact that a Muslim can still be influenced by bad side of its nature in Ramadan, we can take help from reading Quran and prostration (Sajdah) in order to get rid of satanic power. Uthman ibn Abi al-’Aas (R.A) narrated the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying as:

‘When the son of Adam recites the Ayat of Sajdah (Prostration) and then falls down in prostration, the Shaitaan goes into seclusion and weeps and says: “Alas!  Woe unto me, the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, and he prostrated and Paradise was entitled to him; and I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused and am doomed to Hell.’” (Muslim)

This previously stated Hadith tells us the great benefits of reciting the Holy Quran which includes the Verse of Prostration. It leads to one`s falling in Sajdah in front of Allah SWT, which in turn is the resultant of failure of Shaitaan in influencing a believer`s actions as one gets nearer to the Most Merciful.

Seeking Protection of Allah SWT through Prayers

Although Muslims are mostly busy in good deeds during Ramadan, but some of us are still weaker against satanic whispers and lack consistency in upholding decency. That is why the Almighty Lord says in Furqan e Hameed:

“And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing.” [Quran, 7: 200]

It means that whenever one feels being persuaded towards forbidden acts in Ramadan; it should make Dua (Supplication) to the Gracious God to seek His Refuge against the accursed enemy of Muslims.

In short, one is not completely safe from the control of satanic evils and thoughts even in Ramadan rather they are made to have considerably lesser power than in ordinary days. One still ought to protect itself from the influence of Shaitaan through honest efforts.

Elevating Your Spirituality in The Month of Ramadan While Fasting

The common perception among people regarding Ramadan and fasting which Muslims do in it is that it is only to cause suffering to the human body where the body has to live from dawn to dusk without drinking or eating anything. Thus, for such people fasting is only a means of depriving the body of its nutrition and keeping one’s self hungry.

Fasting is not just nutrition deprivation and hunger; rather it is much more than that. It is an exquisite means of spiritual purification and transcendence. Therefore, thinking of fasting as a compulsion for keeping oneself hungry is undermining its great potential that it carries. The lines below discuss the spiritual importance of fasting and how it can help in elevating the spiritual stature you currently hold.

Fasting And Spirituality:

In Quran, Allah Almighty says:

“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.” (2:183)

From this ayah it is clear that the primary objective of fasting is to help people learn self-restraint. The objective of self-restraint is to prevent a person from going down the path of evil and sticking to the righteous path no matter how hard the temptations get. Thus, this sticking to righteousness is what is spirituality all about and when a person keeps a fast, he or she is not keeping hunger and thirst, rather he or she is actually trying to make his or her spirit better. Ergo, fasting leads to self-restraint, which then leads to a pure and serene spirit.

The hunger and thirst in fasting surely helps in increasing self-restraint, which is a means to transcend spiritually. However, in the month of Ramadan, besides hunger and thirst in fasting, there are other ways to elevate spiritually. The lines below discuss those ways with the help of which one can transcend spiritually in the month of Ramadan.

Offer Prayers Regularly:

Prayers are the most effective and most common means of spiritual purification for a Muslim. Moreover, during the month of Ramadan, the reward and the intentions related with prayers increase and a Muslim feels more close and more associated with the prayers, which ultimately results in greater serenity and peace during prayer. Therefore, in order to transcend spiritually during the month of Ramadan, offering regular prayers with congregation is the best means of doing so, hence every Muslim must make sure that no prayer is skipped or delayed during Ramadan. Also, checkout for the prayers you can perform during the Month of Ramadan while fasting.

Connect With Quran:

The best and perhaps the most essential tool that can help in providing spiritual guidance to a Muslim is the Holy Quran. It is a book that contains guidance and each word of it serves as a means of purification of the soul and spiritual transcendence. In Quran, Allah says:

“Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Quran, as a guide to mankind also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between the right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend time in fasting, but if anyone is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.” (2:185)

From this ayah it is clear that Quran was revealed in the month of Ramadan and it is the source of guidance and it contains signs. This guidance and signs are towards and in the path of Allah Almighty and this is the path of spirituality in Islam. Therefore, when one connects with Quran, actually one connects with the signs that help purify the spirit of a Muslim, which ultimately leads to rising to a higher spiritual status. Ramadan is a special month in which Muslims can particularly pay more attention towards developing strong relations with Quran in Ramadan. Therefore, you are strongly suggested to make use of this opportunity.

In addition, it is also a great opportunity for those who are naive to reading Quran in Arabic. You can daily take sometime out of your schedule and Join the Online Quran Tutoring Academy to start learning the divine book in this holy month of Ramadan.

Make Dua:

It is a part of Muslim belief that the reward of any effort is dependent upon Allah Almighty and He rewards, as He will. Therefore, thinking that offering a particular prayer, or reciting a particular part of Quran guarantees spiritual elevation would be naïve. Until and unless a person is true at heart and supplicates to Allah Almighty for His graciousness, till then all the efforts would be mere efforts and they wont translate into spirituality. Ergo, it is imperative that a Muslim makes Duas in the month of Ramadan to Allah Almighty for helping in spiritual awakening and its elevation later on.

Contemplate:

When it comes to spirituality, there is a grave need of contemplation, as it is contemplation that helps a person realize his or her place in this world and the blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon him or her. For a Muslim it is imperative to contemplate and ponder over the sings in this world that point towards Allah Almighty, see all the blessings that He has bestowed upon humans, and how despite all our transgression He keeps on blessing us and wants us to repent on our bad deeds only. Therefore, when a Muslim tries finding answer to such questions, it ultimately leads to spiritual awakening, and when this awakening is guided by Quran, the results I elevation in levels of spirituality.

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, for a Muslim it is imperative to think of fasting as something more than mere hunger and thirst. One should consider Ramadan fasting rules to get maximum blessings as well as a means of spiritual elevation and opt for some of the aforementioned tools that can help in making the spirit transcend at a higher level.

Significance of Offering The Isha Prayer and Its Benefits

Muslims are bound to learn Salaah and offer it five times a day, namely Fajr, Dhuhur, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. There is a great implication in praying daily, as it improves the link between a man and the Creator of the universe. It also serves as a means of forgiveness of sins and earning of lots of blessings from Allah SWT. Although every Namaz is equally important, but Fajr and Isha are considered as a measure of differentiating between Momineen (true believers) and Munafiqeen (pretenders of faith). Abu Hurrerah (R.A) narrates the Holy Prophet (PBUH) saying as:

“The most difficult salah for the munafiqeen is isha and fajr. Had they known the rewards for them they would have attended them even if they had to crawl on their knees.”(Bukhari)

As, it generally gets tougher to pray at the times of night and early morning, so it vastly increases the reward for executing Isha and Fajr, and the incentive itself could not be any better than being included among the ranks of the staunch disciples of Islam. Moreover, since it is our common belief that prayers always have a soothing effect on its practitioner, so does Isha, in the form of a pleasant sleep at night.

Now let us discuss some of the essential constituents of this prayer:

Time Duration

Every prayer has its specific time to offer, and mostly have strict schedule like Fajr, Dhuhur, Asr, and Maghrib. However, the interval of Isha is considerably far stretch than the rest, which is normally said to be starting from the end of Maghrib and concluding before Fajr. But specifically speaking, its desirable session lasts right before midnight according to the following Hadith described by Abdullah b. ‘Amr reported (R.A):

“The time of the noon prayer is when the sun passes the meridian and a man’s shadow is the same (length) as his height, (and it lasts) as long as the time for the afternoon prayer has not come; the time for the afternoon prayer is as long as the sun has not become pale; the time of the evening prayer is as long as the twilight has not ended; the time of the night prayer is up to the middle of the average night and the time of the morning prayer is from the appearance of dawn, as long as the sun has not risen; but when the sun rises, refrain from prayer for it rises between the horns of the devil.” (Muslim)

In short, time period of every Namaz lasts as late as the beginning of next Salah, with the exception of the one in the morning, which only remains up to time of daybreak. As per above stated saying of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), Isha prayer has ideal timing till midnight, but there is some relaxation for those who fall asleep early and can accomplish this very Salah till the start of Fajr, but that is considered as Makhrooh (uninvited), yet not forbidden. Abu Qatadah (R.A) reported that the Messenger (PBUH) of Allah said:

“There is no negligence in sleeping, but the negligence lies in not praying a prayer until the time of the next prayer has come. And whosoever does so should pray as soon as he becomes aware of the negligence.” (Muslim)

That is why many Muslim scholars have spoken in favor of offering the night prayer till Fajr however perfect time for Isha remains up to one third of a night as per following Hadith narrated by Abu Hurrerah (R.A):

“If it were not to be a hardship on the Ummah, I would have ordered them to delay the Esha Salah until a third or half of the night had passed.” (Tirmidhi)

Since, one normally feels tired at night time, so it is advisable to complete this obligation before going to slumber, as it is difficult to wake up afterwards, and take care of prayer timings, so that one may not miss the prayers.

Making Wudu

Although it seems too common to mention having maintained proper ablution for Namaz, but unfortunately some of us do not care much about the delicacy of this matter, and opt for carrying out consecutive prayers through a single wudu. This act might result in cancellation of Salah if one was not able to uphold a state of purity for any reason in between two prayers, as it is necessary to remain clean both physically and spiritually before every Namaz.

Number Of Rakats

The quantity of Rakats included in Isha prayer in the ascending order is as follows:

1. 4 Sunna (Ghair Muakadda): not obligatory but result in “Ajar” (blessings) from Allah
2. 4 Fard: compulsory to perform along with Imam (person leading prayer)
3. 2 Sunnah (Muakadda): part of Namaz, which need to be implemented after 4 Fard Rakats. Since they were acted upon by the Prophet (PBUH) Himself, so they need to be executed.
4. 2 Nafl (Non obligatory): no penalty in case of not offering, but cause in receiving favors of the Almighty
5. 3 Witr (Wajib): carried out at the end of Salah, with different format than regular Rakats, consisting of Dua e Qunoot in third Rakah, with additional Takbir, and is followed by Rukooh.

Witr Prayer

Formerly being part of Tahujjud (voluntary) prayers which are offered at night time after sleep, but due to relaxation given by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to those who could wake up at night, especially in Ramadan, to offer it along with Isha, it has been taken as a part of this Salah afterwards, and that is why it is Wajib (necessary). Hazrat A`isha (R.A) related the Holy Prophet (PBUH) speaking as:

“Allah’s Apostle offered Witr prayer at different nights at various hours extending (from the ‘Isha’ prayer) up to the last hour of the night.”  (Bukhari)

As, the Messenger (PBUH) of Allah has greatly emphasized on the significance of Tahajjud Salah, and regarded it as the way of getting closest to the Gracious Lord and gaining His bounties through purification of one`s soul, so it also enhances the status of Witr Rakats.

Dua E Qunoot

While the whole Namaz is a way of prostrating in front of the Most Merciful, and consists of Surah Fateha which is an appeal for adopting and maintaining right path. But Witr Rakats in Isha prayer contains an additional request in shape of Dua e Qunoot:

“O Allah! We beg help from You alone; ask forgiveness from You alone, and turn towards You and praise You for all the good things and are grateful to You and are not ungrateful to You and we part and break off with all those who are disobedient to you. O Allah! You alone do we worship and pray exclusively to You and bow before You alone and we hasten eagerly towards You and we fear Your severe punishment and hope for Your Mercy as your severe punishment is surely to be meted out to the unbelievers.”

So, it is a complete package of supplicating in front of the Almighty Lord, which contains almost every plea in itself.

Reciting Surah Al-Mulk After Isha Prayer

The Holy Quran is full of verses, which are entirely on the basis of realization of Greatness of the Almighty and praying to Him. Some of the Surahs (chapters) are even class as beneficial to be recited at specific timings due to their own significance. Surah Al-Mulk also consists of such lines which describe testifying about the Eventual force of Allah SWT and His punishment for disbelievers.

Al-Tirmidhi (2891), Abu Dawood (1400) and Ibn Maajah (3786) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (R.A) that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“There is a soorah in the Qur’aan, with thirty verses, which will intercede for its companion [the one who recites it] until he is forgiven: “Tabaarak allaadhi bi yadihi’l-mulk (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion)” [al-Mulk, soorah 67]. Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a Hasan Hadeeth.”

Since, one is unconscious while in state of slumber which near to death, so it’s advisable to recite Quranic verses like the ones in Surah Al-Mulk, which could help in having a sound sleep and get up healthy. Even if one dies in its sleep, it would be advantageous for it to die in a state of Eeman (faith).

Blessings of Isha Prayer

Every Namaz has its own implication, like Fajr helps us to start a day in the most rightful manner and successful spending of whole day. And performance of the most deeds in Islam also results in greatest amount of benefits and rewards. Same way, Isha Salah is hard to execute so it also follows with vast rewards from the Almighty.

Uthman (R.A) recountes that the prophet (PBUH) said:

“Whoever offers Isha salah in jama’ah it is as though he spent half the night in worship. And whoever offers fajr salah in jama’ah it is as though he spent the entire night in worship.” (Muslim)

Such is the high status of this prayer that one gets the incentives equal to spending half a night in adoration of Allah SWT. It means taking out only 15 to 20 minutes for a single obligatory Namaz can be as useful as venerating God for hours.

So, to conclude, we can infer that Salah of Isha, due to its tough time frame, differentiates one as true devotee of Allah`s commands from those who only act as believers. It consists of Witr prayer which is actually to be offered at some part of night after sleep. It is also a good source of supplication in front of the Almighty God in the form of Dua e Qunoot. Last but not the least, it follows with huge quantity of benefits and rewards from the Creator of the universe. May Allah SWT give us the will and desire to offer all prayers, especially those which are tough to perform like Isha. Aameen!