বাংলা 
English 
Welcome to Mahe Ramadan, the month of restraint and self-purification. The ninth month of the Hijri year, the holy Mahe Ramadan is a gift for the Ummah of Muhammad (SAW) of Allah's immense pleasure and of the Paradise He has promised. The word 'Ramadan' derives from the Arabic root 'ramd'. Its literal meaning is burning, blazing or scorching something to ashes.
Through the discipline of siyam, that is, the observance of fasting, in the month of Ramadan a devout person gives up all his worldly desires, leads a restrained and austere life of peace, subdues the enemy and earns the ability to become a devoted servant of Allah. Because Mahe Ramadan burns up and reduces to ashes all the pride, evil tendencies and servitude to the nafs within a person, the Arabic name of this glorious month is 'Ramadan'. Allah the Almighty has declared in the holy Quran: 'O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be God-fearing.' (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse: 183)
The last of the five pillars of Islam is fasting. After prayer, the worship that Allah the Almighty has made obligatory upon Muslims is the fasting of Mahe Ramadan. The fasting of the month of Ramadan was made obligatory upon the Ummah of Muhammad (SAW) in the second Hijri year. However, this fasting was also obligatory upon other nations. In the remarkably virtuous and profoundly significant Mahe Ramadan, the faith-consciousness of Muslims throughout the world grows firm, the signs of taqwa or fear of Allah are revealed, and deeply religious feeling and emotion are instilled.
Like many other commands of Islam, fasting too was made obligatory step by step. Allah the Almighty has not merely specified fasting in Mahe Ramadan and confined it to that month; rather, in keeping with the Shariah, if for any unavoidable reason someone cannot fast in the month of Ramadan, He has also left open the way to make up the missed fasts at any other time. The holy Quran instructs: 'Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guidance for mankind and as clear signs of guidance and a criterion between truth and falsehood. So whoever among you finds this month, let him fast in it. And whoever is ill or on a journey must make up the count at another time. Allah desires ease for you and does not desire hardship for you, so that you may complete the count and glorify Allah for having guided you, and so that you may be grateful.' (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse: 185) In the life of a Mumin the month of Ramadan alone brings a rare opportunity in the whole year; that is why the importance of this blessed month is so great. Once, as Mahe Ramadan drew near, the Prophet (SAW) greeted it with a welcome and said: 'The month of Ramadan is about to arrive; this month is one of great blessings. Allah the Almighty bestows special attention upon it and pours down His special mercy, forgives sins and accepts supplications.' The holy Quran was revealed in this month, and so the importance, significance and virtue of Mahe Ramadan are boundless.
Regarding the honoured status of the month of Ramadan it is said: 'When the month of Ramadan arrives, the gates of the heavens (Paradise) are opened and are not closed throughout the month of Ramadan, and the gates of Hell are closed and are not opened throughout the month of Ramadan, and the shaytan is put in chains.' (Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Majah)
The month of Ramadan is a heavenly gift for attaining spiritual excellence and the welfare of the Hereafter. In the month of Ramadan, Allah the Almighty opens for the faster the inexhaustible storehouse of His mercy and blessings. It is narrated in the Hadith Qudsi that for the person who fasts in the profoundly significant and virtuous holy Mahe Ramadan, Allah the Almighty has set apart a storehouse of reward. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) instructed: 'Allah the Almighty has said: every deed of the children of Adam is for himself, except fasting; for fasting is for Me and I Myself will give its reward.' (Bukhari and Muslim)
Ramadan is such a blessed month that at its arrival the Messenger of Allah (SAW) himself, overjoyed, would offer congratulations to the noble Companions. The Prophet (SAW) gave the Companions this glad tiding: 'The holy month of Ramadan has come before you, the month in which Allah has made fasting obligatory upon you.' (Muslim)
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) would prepare mentally for the month of Ramadan well in advance and, upon the sighting of the moon of Rajab, would remain immersed in the hope of attaining Mahe Ramadan. The great Prophet (SAW) would pray with deep feeling at the court of the Most Merciful: 'O Allah! Bless us in Rajab and Shaban, and carry us forward until Ramadan.' (Musnad Ahmad)
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) further said: 'When the first night of the month of Ramadan comes, a caller calls out: O you who seek welfare, come forward! O you who seek evil, halt.' (Tirmidhi) Therefore, in expectation of the boundless welfare and blessings of Mahe Ramadan, it is desirable that everyone makes physical and mental preparation for worship in advance.
The long-awaited month of Ramadan brings a spiritual awakening to the religious life of Muslims through its systematic regulation of eating and drinking, movement, sleep and the many forms of worship. The believing servants remain ever ready in this month to earn the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Mahe Ramadan is an annual training course for Muslims, through which the lives of the faster are transformed. Therefore, in order to preserve the sanctity of Mahe Ramadan, one should make comprehensive preparations to observe a month-long programme of worship such as sehri, iftar, tarawih, recitation of the holy Quran, itikaf, tahajjud, charity, repentance and istighfar, and so on.
Dr. Muhammad Abdul Munim Khan: Associate Professor at the university, researcher and columnist.
