The Prophet sallalahu aalyhi wa sallam would engage in different forms of fasting in the month of Ramadan. Every year, he would revise the Quran with angel Jibreel aalyhi sallam. He was a generous man on ordinary days, but when Ramadan arrived he became even more generous and gave much charity. He engaged in kind acts, recitation of the Quran, prayers, remembrance and retreat during this month.

The Worship and Remembrance of Allah

When the month of Ramadan approached Prophet intensified his efforts. Humbly supplicating to his Lord, he sought help, support, victory and guidance. It was his spiritual power that kept him strong and motivated throughout the day and night.

The Days of Rasoolullah

Prophet (pbuh) busied himself with da’wah in the scorching heat of Arabia. He met people and counseled them regarding their day-to-day affairs. Not only that but he also participated in jihad while fasting. The battle of Badr and Tabouk were fought during this blessed month.

Prophet’s Advice to Have Suhoor

Prophet (pbuh) used to encourage his companions to take meal before daybreak [Suhoor]. He said, “Eat suhoor, for there are blessings in it.”
[Bukhari]
The period before daybreak is considered blessed because it is in the last third of the night, the time of divine descent and forgiveness.

Hasten to Have Iftar

Understanding that our energy levels are depleted by evening, the Prophet (pbuh) practiced and advised his companions to hasten to have iftar.

It was also established that the Prophet used to hasten to have a meal after the setting of the sun.

Fasting While Traveling

Prophet Muhammad traveled during Ramadan fasting and then breaking his fast. In this regard, he gave the companions the choice of fasting or not while traveling.

Last Ten Days

The last ten days of Ramadan were the most beloved and significant to the Prophet(pbuh).Among his practices also was that of retreat and seclusion during the last ten days of Ramadan.

During this time, he limited his contacts with people and intensified his supplication and prayers to Allah, the Lord of all Majesty and Glory. This was his practice to attune his heart towards to Allah.

Muslims have been fasting in Ramadan for more than 1430 years since they were ordered by God Almighty through the Glorious Qur’an:

Oh you who believe! Fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you, so that you may learn self-restraint
(2:183).

The purpose of the fast is meant to purify oneself from thoughts and deeds that counter Islam.

Allah prescribed fasting on many nations before Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as a prophet.

The Qur’an tells us that when Zakariyah (pbuh) prayed and asked Allah to give him offspring, he was commanded to fast three days by abstaining from talking.
Likewise,Maryam the mother of Esa(pbuh) was also ordered by Allah to fast the same way when she became pregnant.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told us that Daud (pbuh) used to fast every other day.

Ramadan has a number of significant relations to the Muslims in general.

For it was in Ramadan that the Holy Prophet was first informed of his prophethood

The first revelation of the divine book Al Quran came down in the month of the month of Ramadan wherein the Sura ”Iqra’ bismi Rabbikalla thee khalaq” was revealed .

The connection we have with the month of Ramadan other than fasting is the illustrious battle of Badr which was fought in this month. The first formal military confrontation took place between the idol worshipers of Mecca and the Muslims in Medina.

Before  Hijra, when fasting was practiced by the Prophet in Makkah, there was no such thing as Ramadan. The only kind of fasting that the Holy Prophet and his Meccan companions performed during that period was the ancient form of fasting that had been enjoined upon all the prophets that had come before him namely, to fast three days in each of the twelve months of the year.

Upon his Hijra to Madinah, the fast of Ramadan was made compulsory on the believers in the second year of the Hijra in the form of the ayah that was initially recited.

Reverend Bosworth Smith wrote ‘Muhammad and Muhammadanism’ in London, 1874. He said that if ever any man was under  theguidance of the divine, then it was Muhammad (S.A.W.) who never cared about having power and lived very simple life. Reverend Bosworth Smith also noted that the history of Muhammad’s (S.A.W.) life is completely known and there is no mystery or shadows in it and that the book is absolutely unique and has such authority that no one ever managed to raise any doubt in what was written there.

Edward Montet wrote ‘La Propagande Chretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans’ in Paris 1890 and said that Islam is rational religion and the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) teachings are so precise and complex but still easy to understand for everyone which gives unique power to those words and finds its way to people’s conscience.

Alphonse de LaMartaine in ‘Historie de la Turquie’ in Paris 1854 wrote that the Prophet (S.A.W.) was a man who took huge task which was beyond human power, making revolution in the world and opening the door for religion which in only two centuries took over Arabia, Sytia, Egypt, Western India, Northern Africa, Persia Khorasan etc. No man ever accomplished so much and moved not only armies but also ideas, beliefs and souls blending together people of different races and languages and united them under one God. ” The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it’s utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi said in 1924 that after reading about the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) life he became aware that it wasn’t the sword that helped Islam to find a place in the life of people during that time, but it was simplicity of that religion, the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) devotion and his complete trust in his mission and God. He even said that after finishing the second volume of the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) biography he wished it didn’t end yet and there was more to read about his life.

Sir George Bernard Shaw in ‘The Genuine Islam’ Vol. 1 No. 8 that he wrote in 1936 said that if any religion has a chance to rule Europe and England, then it is Islam. He believed that if there was such man as the Prophet (S.A.W.) in todays world, to take over and rule, he would solve all problems and gave peace and happiness to all.

Zubair bin-ul-Awam (RA) was one of the closest related persons to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He (RA) is one of the most famous and respectable personalities of Islam. He (RA) served his whole life for the betterment and establishment of Islam. He (RA) was one of the favorite companions of Rasool Allah (SAW) who awarded Zubair with the title of Hawari-e-Rasul meaning the disciple of the messenger of Allah.

He (RA) was related to the Holy Prophet (SAW) in many ways. Firstly, he (RA) was the cousin of the Holy Prophet (SAW) as he was the son of Safiyah (RA) the aunt of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Khadijatul Kubra the wife of the Holy Prophet (SAW) was the aunt of Zubair bin-ul-Awam (RA) so the Holy Prophet (SAW) became his uncle. He (RA) was also the brother-in-law of the Holy Prophet (SAW) as the sister of Hazrat Ayesha (RA) was married to him. He (RA) also had ancestral relations with the Holy prophet (SAW). Belonging to a family, which was very close to the Holy Prophet (SAW) it was quite natural that he also accepted and embraced Islam. He (RA) accepted Islam between the age of 12 and 16 years. His father died when Zubair (RA) was still a child. His mother Safiyah (RA) made him a tough and brave man.

The Bravery of Zubair (RA)

Hazrat Zubair (RA) was a brave person since childhood and there are many examples of his immaculate bravery. As Rasool Allah (SAW) declared that, he was the one who raised the first sword against the antagonists in Makah when he was just sixteen. He had deep love and affection for the last prophet and his religious preaching.

Zubair and the Zuberi Clan

The history of Zubairi family is traceable to the time of Last Prophet of Islam. Hazrat Zubair had a large family with 21 children out of 12 were male and 9 of them were female children. Three of his male children became much popular as one became the caliph at Makkah called Abdullah, second son became the governor of Kufa called Musab and the third son became the famous historian of Islam called Urwa. Zubairi clan is present in the Indian Sub continent, Middle East, UK and USA. One of the famous saints in Zubairi clan is called Hazrat Sheikh Samauddin Zuberi from the 14^th century AD.

The Prophet Muhammad upheld justice in his time and rejected the ignorant belief, which considered some people superior to others because of their language, race, social status or ethnicity. That is because such discrimination is severely condemned in the Qur’an. “Racism,” as defined in our day, is an idea Allah prohibits in the Qur’an, but which receives extensive support in ignorant societies. One of the divine purposes in the creation of the different races is “that they should come to know each other.” In the Sight of Allah, all people are equal, and the only superiority anyone can have over anyone else is his fear of Allah and faith in Him.

The Prophet Muhammad also declared to his people, who committed racism, that ethnic differences had no importance and that everyone was equal in the eyes of Allah. He repeatedly underlined that all that mattered was having sincere faith.

The Prophet Muhammad also told people that Allah created man from nothing, that everyone is created equal and that everyone will give account of his deeds all alone before Allah. For this reason, he added that it would be a great wrong to look for superiority in one’s descent.

The Prophet commanded thus:

(All of) you are children of Adam, and Adam is from dust. Let some men cease to take pride in others.(i)

The Prophet stated that no criteria except for heedfulness are acceptable:

Your descent is nothing to be proud of. Nor does it bring you superiority. O people! All of you are the children of Adam. You are like equal wheat grains in a bowl … No one has any superiority over anyone else, except in religion and heedfulness. In order to consider someone a wicked person, it suffices that he humiliates other people, is mean with money, bad-tempered and exceeds the limits.(ii)

Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad advised his people to set aside their ignorant and perverse values and to live by the Qur’an. In the Qur’an, racist attitudes are defined as “fanatical rage,” and people’s ambitious attitudes are criticised. A related verse reads:

Those who disbelieve filled their hearts with fanatical rage-the fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance-and Allah sent down serenity to His Messenger and to the believers, and obliged them to respect the formula of heedfulness which they had most right to and were most entitled to. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Fath, 26)

Muslims who obeyed Allah’s call in the above verse led their lives in peace and security, both during the Blessed Period of the first community of Islam and in succeeding ages when just administrators reigned.

(i) Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (r.a.), Ahmad, Abu Dawud, 4/331
(ii) Mosnad Ahmad, 4/158, Ibn Qasir, 4/218

Listen or Download it:

Disc: 1
1. Call To Prayer (Azhan)
2. Introduction
3. A Lone Orphan
4. The Trustworthy
5. The Black Stone
6. Polytheists And Idols
7. The Cave
8. Read! (Surah Al-Alaq)
9. The Opening (Surah Al-Fatihah)
10. Allah; The One (Surah Al-Ikhlas)
11. Rejection And Boycott
12. The Night Journey
13. The Lote Tree (Surah Al-Isra’)
14. Five Daily Prayers
15. Al-Madinah
16. The First Constitution
17. Migrants And Helpers (Surah Al-Anfal)
18. Charity And Fasting
19. People Of The Book
20. Permission To Fight (Surah Al-Hajj)
21. Battle Of Badr
22. Truce Of Hudaybiyyah
23. Call To The Rulers
24. Common Terms (Surah Al Imran)
25. Makkah Opened
26. La Ilaha Illa Allah
27. Idols Smashed
28. Religion Of Truth (Surah Al-Saf)
29. Farewell Pilgrimage
30. This Day (Surah Al-Ma’idah)
31. The Death Of The Prophet
32. Muhammah Al-Mustafa
33. Supplication (Du’a)

Disc: 2
1. Tala’a Al-Badru ‘Alayna
2. La Ilaha Illa Allah
3. Muhammad Al Mustafa

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the human resource development ministry to urgently intervene after a textbook allegedly depicting Prophet Mohammed provoked protests in Uttar Pradesh, triggering concerns over its impact on national security. National security adviser Shiv Shankar

Menon has written a letter to HRD minister Kapil Sibal, informing him that the PM has sought urgent “remedial” action after meeting key Muslim leaders, top government sources told HT.

The concerns surround a Class 4 moral science textbook that was recommended as reading material by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) for schools affiliated to it.

A chapter titled Being Good and Gentle depicts the Prophet, violating a fundamental tenet of Islam which is against all forms of idol worship, local Muslim groups in Lucknow alleged 10 days ago while launching protests and burning Sibal’s effigies.

The HRD ministry has asked the CISCE — an autonomous, central board — for a status report. CISCE chief executive officer Gerry Arathoon could not be reached for comments.

A series of senior Muslim leaders like Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Hind leader Mahmood Madani have communicated concerns to the PM and NSA.

Veteran Muslim leaders are concerned that the incident, fuelled by protests, could escalate into a controversy similar to the Danish cartoons of the Prophet in 2005 — unless the government acts promptly.

A Danish newspaper published 50 cartoons of the Prophet and then argued that its freedom of speech and expression entitled it to publish the images while apologising for hurting any sentiments. But the cartoons and the newspaper’s defence of the publication provoked protests by Muslims across the world.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com