In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Ramadan is one of the most blessed times of the year for the Muslim Ummah. The blessedness of this month has multiple aspects to it. According to a hadith related in both al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated, “When Ramadan begins, the gates of Jannah are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained.” Imam al-Nawawi, in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, quotes at length Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 AH/1149 CE), a great and knowledgeable Moroccan scholar of utmost piety, on how the meaning of this Prophetic statement can be understood as both literal and figurative. When understood literally, the opening of the gates of Paradise, the closing of the gates of Hell, and the chaining of the devils are signs marking the beginning of the month and an exaltation of its sanctity. The chaining of the devils would be so that they are prevented from harming the believers and from disturbing them. In other words, what we do not perceive is the reality of the month of Ramadan as experienced by the inhabitants of the unseen realm. They know of the entrance of the month through the opening of all eight gates of Paradise and closing of all seven gates of the Hellfire closing. When understood metaphorically, these other worldly events are an indication of the abundance of reward and forgiveness during Ramadan, and that the devils’ temptation and harm are reduced, so they become like those who are chained. Both meanings apply and if we are aware of these realities, they can have a direct impact on our sense of spiritual upliftment during this magnificent month. Qadi ‘Iyad also stated:
It may also be that the opening of the gates of Paradise is an expression for what Allah Almighty opens for His servants, in this month, of acts of obedience that generally do not occur in other months—such as fasting, standing (in prayer), performing good deeds, and refraining from many acts of disobedience. These are causes for entering Paradise and thus becomes its “gates.” Likewise, the closing of the gates of Hell and the chaining of the devils is an expression for what people refrain from of acts of disobedience.1
These words of wisdom show the clear connection between our actions here on earth and the realities of the unseen realm, whereby they become the means by which we enter the opened gates of Paradise, by Allah’s mercy and grace, and avoid entering Hell since its gates are closed. Thus, Ramadan provides an opportunity unlike any other time during the year to gain Allah’s infinite mercy and avoid His punishment through making conscious efforts and striving to obtain His Divine pleasure. This is obtained through reading and applying the Book of Allah, as the month of Ramadan is also known as the month of the Qur’an, and by following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in words and deeds.
Ramadan is also the month of fasting, an act of worship which has both outward and inward aspects. As for the basis of fasting, it lies essentially in the act of abstaining (imsak) which is the actual meaning of the Arabic word for fasting (sawm). However, just as we refrain from the physical acts of eating, drinking and intimacy during the daylight hours, there are the inner aspects of abstaining from other acts of disobedience with our other limbs, including our hearts. In this regard, Imam al-Ghazali in his seminal work Ihya’ ‘Uloom al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) speaks of three levels of fasting. He speaks of the fasting of the general masses, the fasting of the elect and the fasting of the select few among the elect.
As for the first level of fasting, practiced by the vast majority of people, it consists of fulfilling the bare minimum aspects of the outward fast as required by the obligation of fasting, which is to abstain from what breaks the fast of eating, drinking and sexual intimacy. This is limited to the two limbs of the stomach and the private parts. The next level of fasting involves the other five limbs, namely, the eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet. This entails avoiding acts of disobedience done by these limbs, so one would not look at that which is impermissible, nor hear what is prohibited, nor say that which is haram, nor use one’s hands to do acts of disobedience, nor to step towards doing acts of disobedience. Doing any of the above would break the fast at the second level, which is how the Prophetic words are understood when he ﷺ said, “Five things break the fast: lying, backbiting, tale-bearing, false oaths, and lustful looking,” along with other such similar statements.
The highest level of fasting is that of the heart from base concerns and worldly thoughts, and restraining it completely from everything other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Imam al-Ghazali states that this level of fasting is broken “by thinking about anything other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the Hereafter, or by thinking about worldly matters—except for worldly matters that are intended for the religion, for that is provision for the Hereafter and not part of the (blameworthy) world.”2 This is the fasting of the Prophets, Messengers and those of the highest rank amongst the servants of Allah. To achieve this level of fasting is not impossible; however, it requires much striving and discipline that begins by understanding the purpose of fasting, which according to the Qur’an, is to attain taqwa or a deep mindful awareness of Allah. That is, when we are more conscious of our acts of worship, including the fast, while we strive to improve our daily activities and intentions, we use them all as a means to draw ourselves nearer to Allah, by His bounty and will. Ramadan is the ideal time to enter into this “training camp” for disciplining the self (nafs) to carry with us throughout the remainder of the year. By applying this to our fasting during Ramadan, we can also transfer this state of being to our other acts of worship and daily actions, until our entire life is dedicated to Allah and to nothing else other than Him.
If we understand the inner aspects of Ramadan and fasting, and work to align the outward with the inward, it provides us with the means to attune ourselves to what is taking place within the unseen heavenly realm of the angels while making our struggle against the Shaytan and our lower self easier. We ask Allah Almighty to allow us to benefit from the copious blessings of Ramadan while granting us the Divine providence (tawfiq) to draw nearer to Him through our conscious choices to do that which pleases Him and avoid that which displeases Him. Ameen!
1 Imam al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, v. 7, p. 188.
2 Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Uloom al-Din, v. 1, p. 234.