Importance of Ramadan

Importance Of Ramadan

Importance of Ramadan lies in the fact that it is one of the five basic and foremost pillars of Islam. It has been made obligatory for the muslims to keep fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Basically, Ramadan is not just about starving, in fact this month teaches the muslims about self-restraint. Moreover, in Ramadan muslims realize the poor people’s conditions and develop a sense of sympathy and cooperation for them. The month of Ramadan brings with itself numerous blessings and benefits for the muslims. That is why, muslim all over the world becomes joyous, cheerful and enthusiastic as soon as Ramadan arrives, in spite of the fasting and sacrifices they have to offer in this month.
Ramadan is one of the most awaited and sacred festivals of Islam. People start preparations as soon as the advent of Ramadan comes closer. In the month of Ramadan, special arrangements are made of Salat-e-Traweeh (in which whole Quran is recited during the holy month), and Ietekaaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. Mosques are found full of people who indulge themselves in more prayers, Quran recitation, and in reading the other Islamic scriptures. Most of the mosques are decorated with lights and small flags etc. To sum up, the whole environment is completely changed as soon as the month of Ramadan arrives.
The holy month of Ramadan is considered to be very important for all the muslims. In Ramadan, muslim learns self-restraint or self-control. They keep themselves away of unlawful deeds and practices which they usually perform during the rest of the year. Muslims offer certain sacrifices. As they remain without eating and drinking anything in the specific timings during this month.  In the same way, muslims all over the world sacrifice their inner bad desires and try to remain pious and good muslims. They devote themselves to the will of Allah and make all efforts to stay more and more in worships to please Allah. Apart from this, muslims develop a sense of love and sacrifice for the poor and needy people.
Zakat is another important pillar of Islam. Muslims are supposed to pay zakat in the Ramadan. Zakat not only purifies their wealth but by paying zakat, muslims help their muslim brothers and sisters in their financial issues.
Muslims are also blessed in the holy month of Ramadan with supposedly the most auspicious night, ‘Laila-tul-Qadar’, which is concealed by the Allah in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. In this sacred night, the reveal of the holy Quran was completed.
During the Ramadan, at Sehri and Iftar (feast) times, muslims get together with their families and indulge in these activities. This helps the muslims to strength their relationship ties and live together with love and happiness. Ramadan brings some scientific benefits as well for the muslims. During this month, immunity is developed in the human body and toxins are released which have earlier been built up there. Thus, the importance of the Ramadan is everlasting and muslims will be kept on blessed by it.

Article by: dnd.com.pk

The challenge of the Qur’an

The Qur’an is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself.
By the term “miracle,” we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans. It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him) challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur’an, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Qur’an was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:

l. The whole Qur’an
In the Qur’an, God commanded the Prophet to challenge all of creation to create a book of the stature of the Qur’an: “Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce it’s like even though they exerted all their strength in aiding one another’.” (Qur’an, 17:88)

2. Ten chapters
Next, God made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even 10 chapters of the Qur’an: “Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), ‘Bring 10 invented chapters like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful.” (Qur’an, 11:13)

3. One chapter
This final challenge was to produce even a single chapter to match what is in the Qur’an, whose shortest chapter, Al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses: “And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Qur’an, 2:23)
These challenges were not just empty words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of Makkah society in general, and the position of the ruling Quraishi tribe from which the Prophet came in particular.
Makkah, the trading center of Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islam. Yet all that the Prophet’s opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a single chapter like any one of those which the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers were reciting to the people.
A number of Quraishi orators and poets tried to imitate the Qur’an, but they failed. They then resorted to offering him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to Islam.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) responded to them by reciting the first 13 verses of Chapter Fussilat, until they asked him to stop. (Collected by Al-Hakim, Al-Baihaqi, Abu Yala and Ibn Hisham)
The Quraish also resorted to torturing their slaves and relatives who had embraced Islam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet (peace be upon him), his followers and the members of his clan, Banu Hashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But even this plan eventually failed. Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending armed young men from each of the clans of Quraish in order that the guilt of his murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet’s clan impossible.
However, God enabled the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers to leave Makkah and join a new band of converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib.
Islam spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city’s majority. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed to Madinatun-Nabi (The city of the Prophet), which was then shortened to “Madinah.” Over the next eight years, the clans of Makkah and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the emerging Muslim state in Madinah. All of this bloodshed could have been avoided if only the Quraish and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest chapter of the Qur’an.
Hence, there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Qur’an’s literary style, about the miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm.
It has been suggested that the inimitability of the Qur’an is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles which set them apart from their contemporaries.
However, if, for example, some leading poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s writings and write a sonnet in Shakespeare’s style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a lost poem of Shakespeare’s, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even after careful study.
Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated. (In fact, some English scholars consider much of what has been attributed to Shakespeare to have been written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.)
The Qur’an, however, is way above this level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the Qur’an was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.

Article by: arabnews.com

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