Outline
- Introduction
- The Relevance of the Question
- Virtues of an Accepted Ramadan
- Conditions of an Accepted Ramadan
- How Do I Know I Had an Accepted Ramadan?
- How is Ramadan Different?
- What After Ramadan?
- Conclusion
Introduction
Alhamdulillah… Perfect thanks and praise are due to Allah, who honoured the month of Ramadan and descended the Qur’an in it. Complete peace and blessings are upon the most honoured servant of Allah, upon whom the Qur’an was descended in the month of Ramadan, Sayyidunā Muhammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path.
It’s Ramadan again. And it’s that time of the year when many Ramadan-related questions surface. At the beginning of every Ramadan, related questions that are raised usually go around making intention for fasting. Once the fasting starts, the discussion shifts to having bad dreams during Ramadan as well as watching pornography while fasting–ironically, committing zina during Ramadan–sadly, and the never-ending debate about the number of sets to be observed in Tarawih. When Ramadan comes to the end, the discussion is then shifted to zakāt al-Fiṭr and now how do I know my Ramadan was accepted?
This article specifically addresses the last Ramadan-related question. That is: how do I know my Ramadan was accepted?
The Relevance of the Question
This question is relevant because it reflects that one has put in some effort in pursuit for the rewards that come with this blessed month. There’s one problem, though. That’s: although the question is relevant, the answer to it can’t be with a straight forward one.
To make sense of the question, and for the answer to be easy-digesting, let’s put it in the following scenario. You are up to pray your Fajr prayers. To give your best, you’ve observed all the requirements for a valid prayer: intention, purity, correct application of how prayer is performed, and above all, you’ve gone to the mosque to do it in a congregation.
After that, you can ask yourself, “was my prayer accepted?” If yes, how do I know that? No need to scratch your head. The question is still relevant. The interesting thing is that this leads us to another question? And that is, “how do I know my prayer was accepted?”
Before we answer that, let’s, first, take a break and revisit the virtues of a successful and accepted Ramadan.
Virtues of an Accepted Ramadan
You may still remember that we discussed the virtues of Ramadan in a previous article here on GSalam.Net. If you haven’t read it yet or are unaware about it, please click here to do so. Those virtues mentioned there are generally for Ramadan, and for that matter, they are constant, whether we fast or not. With or without us. But a successful or accepted Ramadan involves you. It’s determined by the commitment that each one of us, individually, put in during the blessed month. In other words, an accepted Ramadan differs from one person to another, because we are challenged differently in Ramadan.
Here are three virtues of a successful or accepted Ramadan.
#1: An Accepted Ramadan Eradicates Our Minor Sins from the Previous Ramadan
In a ḥadīth reported by Imām Muslim from the narration of Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu, the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam says:
الصَّلَوَاتُ الخَمْسُ، وَالجُمُعَةُ إِلَى الجُمُعَةِ، وَرَمَضَانُ إِلَى رَمَضَانَ، مُكَفِّرَاتُ مَا بَيْنَهُنَّ إِذَا اجْتُنِبَتِ الكَبَائِرُ.ـ
“The five daily (prescribed) prayers, and Friday (prayer) to the next Friday (prayer), and the fasting of Ramadan to the next Ramadan, is expiation of the sins committed in between them, so long as major sins are avoided.”
#2: An Accepted Ramadan Eradicates All Our Sins of the Past
The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is the one who gave us this good news. In a ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim from the narration of Sayyidinā Abī Hurrah raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu, the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam says:
مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ وَمَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ.ـ
“Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”
Those were the virtues of an accepted Ramadan. Now the question is: how do we reach there? This takes us to explore the conditions of an accepted Ramadan. So, keep reading.
#3: An Accepted Ramadan Entitles You for Greater Rewards in the Hereafter
This is understood from the ḥadīth reported by Imām Muslim, also from the narration of Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah, raḍiya Allāhu ʾanhu, where the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam says:
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلاَّ الصِّيَام، فَإِنَّهُ لِي، وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ. وَالصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ؛ فَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ صَوْمِ أَحَدِكُمْ فَلا يَرْفُثْ وَلاَ يَصْخَب. فَإِنْ سَابَّهُ أَحَدٌ أَوْ قَاتَلَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ: إِنِّي صَائِمٌ. وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ، لَخَلُوفُ فَمِ الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ المِسْكِ. لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ يَفْرَحُهُمَا: إِذَا أَفْطَرَ فَرِحَ بِفِطْرِه، وَإِذَا لَقِي رَبَّهُ فَرِحَ بِصَوْمِه.ـ
“Allah s.w.t said: “Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting. That is exclusively for Me, and only I, shall reward him for it. Fasting is a shield. When any of you is fasting, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor should he raise his voice; and if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him, he should say: ‘I am fasting.’ By Him in Whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is, the breath of the fasting person is sweeter, to Allah, than the fragrance of musk. The one who fasts, experiences two joys: the joy he experiences when he breaks his fast (at sunset). And he will be joyful by virtue of his fast when he meets his Lord.”
Conditions of an Accepted Ramadan
As you can see in the above aḥādīth (plural of ḥadīth), as the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam gives us the glad tidings about what you get for fasting in the month of Ramadan, he also indicates, clearly, some three conditions that must be fulfilled for the rewards to be valid, and for the effort we put it to be worthwhile.
- Doing it Out of Faith: We must have a solid faith in what we are doing. It’s a decree from Allah and we are obliged to observe it. This means we must be knowledgeable about the fundamentals of fasting.
- Doing it With Expectation of Reward from Him Alone: This is where sincerity comes in. It’s not worthy to starve yourself from dawn to dusk to earn praise from your fellow human beings, or to attain some worldly benefits.
- Abstaining from Major Sins: Every sin or wrongdoing that has a prescribed punishment in this life or in the Hereafter is a major sin. Think of shirk (associating others with God in worship). Think of fornication or adultery. Major sins also include practicing black magic, consumption of interest (ribā), as well as haram income. It also includes severing kinship ties, cheating orphans out of their inheritance. These are to mention a few.
How Do I Know I Had an Accepted Ramadan?
Assume yourself in exams. You’ve studied hard for it. You’ve also ensured you understand the topics, concepts, and theories of each individual subject. Moreover, you were lucky enough to come across questions that resonate well with all that you’ve studied.
The exams are over. Congratulations! But the results will only be released after a few months.
Now, it’s the waiting time! As much as you’re excited, you’re also anxious. Aren’t you? Anytime you remember about the papers you sat for, you’re overwhelmed by hope and fear. Hope? Yes, because you remember you did well; considering the fact that you were able to relate to the questions. And fear? Yes, because you don’t know what the final result may be.
The only way you will know that you’ve passed the exams is when the results are released. Other than that, unless you have inside information, you can only remain anxiously hopeful.
This is to say, after fulfilling all the requirements of a successful and accepted Ramadan, we can be hopeful in the Mercy of Allah. However, the only way you can know whether your Ramadan(s) has been accepted is when the results of your exams are announced. And this will only take place on the Day of Judgment.
How is Ramadan Different?
The examples of prayers and exams are rightly similar to Ramadan.
Every Ramadan is a set of exams that you undergo. You are given guidelines for the exams. These include fasting with proper intentions and sincerity, abstaining from our evil selves, observing Tarawih every night as possible and really working hard to coincide with Laylatul-Qadr, giving charity, and making a lot of dhikr.
These guidelines also include doing every single good deed for the sake of Allah. Thus, the Muslim must review his intentions and sincerity. Regardless, whether your fellow humans are appreciative of it or not. You must also abstain from showing off those good deeds.
What’s applicable to Ramadan is applicable to any other righteous deed you carry out: prayers, charity, hajj, kindness, as long as you do them with faith and expectation of rewards from Allah. Knowing whether it’s accepted or not isn’t important. At least not in the meantime. The only ones who got the opportunity to know were some of the companions who were with the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This means a divine revelation is needed. And that’s unlikely to happen now.
What After Ramadan?
Whether an accepted Ramadan or the otherwise, as long as you’ve been engaged with Ramadan, it will have some impact and influence on your daily routine, after Ramadan. At least for two weeks. You sleeping pattern has changed. Your diet has been affected. Your spiritual and moral compass is more accurate. Thus, it’s not surprising when you portray more religiosity for the next few weeks, that follow Ramadan.
This means your Ramadan may be accepted but you may still go back to some sins that you managed to abstain from during Ramadan. That’s actually the objective of Ramadan. And that is why one of the virtues of a successful Ramadan is that it eradicates our sins of the previous year.
Conclusion
As you can see, the question, “how do I know my Ramadan was accepted?” is a simple and, perhaps, a straight forward question. But the answer isn’t that straight forwards.
It’s important that the Muslim remembers that the ultimate objective of him fasting is to earn him piety and attain him Allah’s ultimate forgiveness. This explains why the Prophet taught our mother, Sayyidatunā ‘Āishah raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhā, when she asked him to teach her something to read/recited if coincides with Laylatul-Qadr. He taught her to say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ العَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي.ـ
“O Allah, You are forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me.”
This tells us, that you can ask, in your supplications during Ramadan, for anything your heart desires. However, one thing is sure: He answers you by granting you His forgiveness. Provided you’ve fulfilled the requirements for an accepted Ramadan. Anything else is a bonus. From Him to you!
Therefore, what is important is that you ensure you’ve fulfilled the requirements of a valid and acceptable Ramadan. Aim for His sake. It doesn’t matter after that whether you’re emotional, whether you break down or not. And leave the rest to Him. What is most important now is how to maintain the good habits we’ve developed in Ramadan until next Ramadan.
May Allah accept your Ramadan. May He grant you and your loved ones the best He grants those who fast. That’s His forgiveness and Jannah. May He also answer your du’as during the blessed month and beyond. May He shower His blessings and mercy upon our late ones. And may He grant each one of us a good ending. Āmīn!
If you’ve read up to this point, I’ll very much appreciate it, if you will share your thoughts after having read the article. Do tell me how you find it beneficial, where you agree or disagree and don’t forget to suggest and feedback.
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Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂
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