Wednesday, September 16, 2009

3rd Ashra of Ramazan

Ashra is an Arabic word which means ten. In Islamic terminology, the 1st Ashra refers to the first 10 days of the Holy month of Ramazan. The second Ashra refers to the middle 10 days (11-20), and the third Ashra refers to the last set of 10 days (21-30).

The last ten days of Ramazan need no mentioning, because we all know the hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Quranic verses regarding Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power. We must strive in these final days of fasting to ask Allah to pardon us and to save us from the Hell-fire. Lailatul Qadr is to be searched for in the odd nights of the last ten days.


"Allahuma innaka 'afuwwun karimun tuhibbul 'afwa fa afu anni Ya Ghafoor

O Allah! You are the Most Forgiving and Most Gracious! You love to forgive, so forgive my errors and sins, oh Forgiver of sins.

One is strongly encouraged to perform Aitikaaf during the last ten days of Ramazan. Our Great Prophet practiced Aitikaaf from the time he came to Madinah until his death. The Prophet further emphasized, "Oh People! The gate of Paradise remains open during this month so pray to your Lord that they may not be closed for you. The gates of are closed, so pray to your Lord that they never open for you. Shaitaan has been chained, so invoke your Lord not to let him dominate you."

The Prophet used to strive hard in worship during the last ten days of Ramazan in a way that He did not strive at any other times. A believer should follow the example of the Prophet, for He is the best example, and he should strive hard in worshiping Allah. We should not waste the hours of these days and nights. There are no guarantees in life. We dont know whether this time will ever come again in our lives or not, whether we will live to see the Ramadan of next year or not. So we must make the most of the opportunities granted to us by Allah and utilize our time and energy, and focus our efforts towards fulfilling that which needs to be fulfilled.

In the end, let me stress that fasting in the month of Ramazan is not to show that we can stay hungry and thirsty but rather it is a struggle to strengthen our Deen. It is the month to make our bond stronger with our Rabb, to attain Taqwa, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. These are the final few days of this most blessed and holy month, and this is our final chance to improve our lives and get closer to Allah. Allah does not need our ibaadat, but it indeed us who need Allah, so the needy must strive. The thirsty must seek water, not vice versa.

Dua: Oh Allah, indeed we are sinners and indeed you are the best of all forgivers so we seek forgiveness in these last days of Ramadan, please forgive us. We seek to become better Muslims, so help us become better. We seek refuge from the shaitaan so save us from his domination. Grant us Jannah, and save us from fire. Aameen.






1 comment:

glee said...

hi, thanks for passing by. i like your blog too. i felt the power of directness and adventure and intellect by merely visitng you on here.

more power to your blog. :)

Remembering Rashid Minhas Shaheed on his 52nd martyrdom anniversary.

On this day at Goth Ahmed Shah, Sujawal on 20 August 1971, We remember and honor the sacrifice of pilot officer Rashid Minhas, A true hero w...