Ramadan Glad Tidings

We start to live a season full of light and prosperity with the first day of Ramadan. The universe becomes cheerful; the world is filled with a luminous atmosphere coming from Paradise. The holy residents of lofty worlds surround the believers in groups. The month of Ramadan brings glad tidings from the country of mercy, greetings and hopes of forgiveness from the Lord of the universe…

The jinn, angels, our old world with its trees, flowers, insects, wolves, birds, seas and oceans celebrate the anniversary of the revelation of the holy book together with believers. An atmosphere of feast is seen in the visible and invisible worlds.

The month of Ramadan has an exceptional place before Almighty Allah. Our exalted Lord allocates the vastest manifestations of his mercy to his servants in that month. The fact that primarily the Quran and the other heavenly books like the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel were sent down in that month is another point that increases the value and holiness of that month.

The believers rush to pray and worship Allah sincerely and consciously in order to benefit from those days knowing that they are a divine grant, to show their degree of servitude to their Lord and to try to be worthy of addressed by Him. 

The result of that effort will definitely not be fruitless. Those who perform fasting and live the month of Ramadan with a consciousness of slavery experience nice moments, attain tranquility and receive many bounties.

Ubada bin Samit narrates:
The Messenger of Allah stated the following on a day when Ramadan started:

Ramadan, the month of prosperity, has come. Now, the mercy of Allah will surround you. A lot of mercy comes down onto the earth in that month. Sins are forgiven. Prayers are answered. Allah looks at your competition in good deeds and worshipping, and he takes pride in you and shows it to angels. Then, make yourself loved by Allah through your worshipping. The real unlucky person is the one who cannot receive his share from the mercy of Allah. (1)

Ramadan is a season of worshipping at all points. Every believer tries to get his share from that mercy and abundance with his prayers, fasting, services and supplication. He asks forgiveness from Allah for his sins that he committed deliberately or inadvertently.  He supplicates his Lord.

Allah Almighty will answer that sincere prayer and supplication of His slave, forgive his sins and send His mercy abundantly.
Let us read together the following hadith that informs us about the holiness and abundance of the month of Ramadan. Our Prophet calls attention to the issue. 

Salman Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him relates):
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said the following in a sermon on the last days of Shaban:

O people! A great and holy month approached, its shadow is on us. It is such a month that there exists the Night of Power, which is better than one thousand months, in it. Allah prescribed fasting for you during the days of that holy month; He made nafilah (supererogatory) prayers legitimate during the nights. A person who commits a small good deed in that month is given the reward as if he has committed a fard in other months.

To commit a fard in that month is like seventy fards in other months.
That month is the month of endurance and patience for hunger, thirst, the hardships of worshipping and praying for Allah. The reward of the patience is Paradise.

That month is the month of mutual assistance.
That month is the month that will increase the sustenance of believers.

If a person gives a believer something to break his fast (for iftar), that deed makes his sins be forgiven and makes him be saved from Hell. He receives as much reward as the person who fasts, with no decrease in the reward of the person who fasts.

Some of the Companions of the Prophet said, "O Messenger of Allah! Not all of us are in a position to give something to a person who fasts (for iftar)."

Then, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Allah gives that reward to the person who gives the person who fasts even only one date, a sip of water or milk to break his fast." and went on the sermon as follows:

The beginning of that month is mercy, the middle is forgiveness and the end is salvation from Hell.

If a person reduces the work of his worker or servant in that month, Allah forgives him and keeps him away from Hell.
Therefore, try to have the following four things with you in that month. You will make your Lord be pleased with you with two of them, and you will never give up the other two.

One of the things that will make Allah be pleased with you is to continue saying kalima shahada and the other is asking forgiveness from Allah.

One of the two things that you will never give up is asking Paradise from Allah and the other is taking refuge in Allah from Hell.

If a person gives someone who is fasting a sip of water, Allah will give him such a water from my pool in the Gathering Place (mahshar) that he will never feel thirsty until he enters Paradise. (2)

References:

(1) at-targhib wa't-tarhib, 2:99.
(2) ibid, 2:94.