'RAMADAN' Signifies What?Learn from its Each Word

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The blogger is producing below what each letter of Ramadan stands for.

R ead in abudndance the Holy Quran
A bstain from food, drink and cohabitation
M aintain your nightly trips to Masjid for Taraweeh
A bsolve yourself from Hellfire through seeking forgiveness
D eeds of good, never too many to have
A ttempt to find and utilise the Night of Power in the odd nights of the last 10 days.
N ever return to the sins you have turned your back on in this month

It is evident from the above that what Allah expects from Muslims during the month of Ramadan to earn his closeness in a brief and precise manner.The blogger urges all believers to regularly look at the above explanation of Ramadan and their endeavour shall surely fetch them desired results if they devote themselves to true fasting, intensive worshipping and self-control. (Photo Courtesy-Google Images)  

Ramadan As Perceived by Imam Jafar Sadiq

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

On the occasion of the ongoing month of Ramadan (Ramzan)-2017, the blogger is producing the following beautiful quotes of Imam Jafar Sadiq about the holy month. These quotes highlight not only benefits of Ramadan but also indicate as to how the progeny of the Messenger of Allah perceived Ramadan. By going through these priceless quotes on regular basis during Ramadan, a believer can attain what Allah expects him to achieve through intensive-worshipping and soul-searching.  

Imam Sadiq has suggested that a believer should not say, "This is Ramadan, Ramadan has arrived" or "Ramadan has departed" for surely, Ramadan is one of the names of Allah, The Mighty, the Glorious, who neither arrives nor departs. Instead say: "The month of Ramadan".
The holy Imam has also stated Ramadan is the beginning of the year and if the month  remains safe and sound (with respect to sins), the (entire) year shall remain so (too);
Maula has also described Ramadan as best of the months and the heart of Ramadan is the night of Qadr.

 Imam Sadiq has also said “When the month of Ramadan arrives, exert yourselves, for surely it is in this month that livelihood is distributed, the hour of death is ordained and the arriving for Hajj is decreed. In it is a night, deeds in which are better than deeds in a thousand months.
Maula has also revealed in one of his quotes that the Torah was revealed on the sixth day of the month of Ramadan, the Bible, on the twelfth night of the month, the Paslms on the eighteenth night of the month and the Qur'an on the Night of Qadr, popularly known as ‘Lailatul Qadr’.

About the benefit of charity in the month of Ramadan, Imam said “Allah shall ward off 70 kinds of calamities from one who gives charity. Imam Sadiq also exhorted believers in his famous quote that a believer should increase prayers in the month of Ramadan as Messenger of Allah used to do so, I also enhance prayers in the holy month and a believer should also follow the path to derive maximum benefits of the pious month.(References available on request. Photo Courtesy-Google Images)

Ramadan in High-Tech World

Dr. Mazhar Naqvi

Ramadan or Ramzan  has arrived. It is a precious month for Muslims. The holy month brings a drastic change in the lifestyle of believers. From dawn till sunset, they fast and dedicate themselves to prayers, reading of noble Quran, charity, seeking forgiveness, self- control and undertake spiritual activities. The month has assumed more significance in 21^st century tech-savvy world. The modern life is full of temptation and one really finds it difficult to exercise self-control. Technological advancement, particularly digital technologies, has aggravated the situation further. The emergence of instant-communication and personalized mobile technologies (Twitter, Facebook, smartphone apps, etc.), has transformed Islamic life. A believer can now use Twitter to send a chosen verse from the holy book each day to his friends. Likewise, Facebook, is being used by a large number of Muslims to send everything related to Ramzan i.e. religious information to recipe for breaking the fast. Applications that have been developed for smartphones and programs likeiPray, iQuran, and ‘Find Mecca‘ are quite popular thesedays. These applications produce calls for the five daily prayers for any location on earth, allows the user to read or listen to the Quran and  find the direction of Mecca for prayer from anywhere in the world.

There is availability of Ramzan friendly  apps with names like  ‘Essentials of Ramadan‘, ‘Ramadan Daily Dua(Suplication)‘, and ‘Ramadan Booster Pro‘. These apps offer tips how to derive maximum benefit of Ramzan to appease Allah. These programs are useful for many Muslims, especially in cities and countries where, for example, prayer times are not readily known and no calls for prayer are broadcast from mosques. And many Muslims have expressed their happiness at the availability of such apps. But we cannot ignore the fact that these programs encourage commercialization of religious life of believers. Ramzan festivals are common things now. Aggressive marketing is undertaken by companies to inspire Muslims to buy, buy and buy during Ramzan. Attractive discounts are offered on high end products. Restaurants prepare special Ramzan dishes and people consume them after iftar.  These things are simply contrary to the very spirit of Islam. Believers need to introspect as to what extent they should rely on technology and efforts of companies to turn the holy month as a profit making opportunity? They must remember that Ramzan calls for self- control even against the temptations available in the form of electronic gadgets and growing consumerism.(Photo Courtesy- Google Images)