The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Ramadan 2010 Message from Head of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” (Quran, 2:183)

“And when My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me, surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should hear My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.” (Quran, 2:186)

Dear brothers and sisters:

A year has passed since we prayed to Allah at the end of the last blessed month of Ramadan to grant us another opportunity to do the same in the year to come. For many of us this prayer has been granted. We have not only been blessed with our wish to pray and get closer to Allah but also another opportunity to revisit the significance of this Sacred Month.

The main significance of Ramadan is stated in the first of the two verses I have cited above. Fasting, it is said is prescribed so that we may guard against evil i.e. observe Taqwah (attainment of nearness to Allah). It is observance of Taqwah that brings us close to Allah. He only enters the hearts of those who shun evil. So we should, foremost, try in this month to plant the seed of Taqwah in our lives. I use the word plant as all sowing is done in certain seasons and periods of time. The plant of Taqwah is best sowed in Ramadan and we are exhorted to do so through fasting which implies not only abstaining from food and drink but also shunning of all evil. The latter has to continue throughout our lives and not finish with Ramadan coming to an end; like all plantations pruning and weeding has to continue.

In addition, in Ramadan we also get a reminder that it is the month in which the Holy Quran, the Last Message from Allah, was revealed for mankind. We are reminded that this Book is not to be enclosed in silken cloth and placed high in the house but placed in our hearts, minds and souls. It is to be read, understood, practiced and preached.

This too is the month in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was granted prophethood. Thus the month of Ramadan is a reminder that the message of the Quran has to be preached through practice, as was done by the Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
I, therefore, exhort you to make the best of this God-given opportunity to get closer to Him through prayers, especially the Tahajjud prayers, recitation of the Quran, understanding of its meanings, and above all following and conveying its message to followers of other faiths as this is a Book with a Universal Message.

Brothers and sisters:

In the end I pray to Allah that He grants us an opportunity to observe fasting in its true spirit; to pray and get the answer to our prayers as He has stated in the second verse I have cited above:

“And when My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me, surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me…”

I pray that we become worthy of His response to our prayer as He also says:

“…so they should hear My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.”

Aameen.

Professor Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed
Ameer and President
Worldwide Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement