Ramadan: The month of Forgiveness, Mercy and Protection from Hell fire

The holy month of Ramadan is the month of mercy and forgiveness. It is the month when the gates of heaven are opened and God listens to every prayer of the true believers who seek his blessings and forgiveness. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) defined the true believer as the one who likes for his brother what he likes for himself. Unfortunately, this has become a rare quality among many Muslims today.

A Muslim should possess a high degree of excellence and good manners when dealing with others, overlook mistakes, persevere, should not hold grudges and should be willing to forget and forgive. It is sad how these qualities are slowly disappearing and how some people trivialize the importance of good manners and are harsh and unsympathetic to the pains and ordeals of others. They are quick to snap at any mistake, unwilling to compromise, are reckless and show no concern for the needs of others.

One example is the bad manners we see being exhibited by some people when they are traveling. They never clean their mess, their children are noisy and undisciplined, they treat flight attendants on airlines with disrespect and they refuse to abide by regulations that require them to remain seated until the airplane has come to a complete stop. They continue to use their cell phones even when they are asked repeatedly to refrain from doing so. They fight over the seats and are disorderly in their behavior.

Prophetic advice states that a Muslim should not want for others what he hates for himself. However, many people have become materialistic and arrogant, forgetting God's warning that the arrogant and the envious will not see heaven. A Muslim is required to shun the bad attitudes and feelings of envy, spite, snobbishness, selfishness, stinginess and other negative qualities which he would hate people to use when dealing with him. There is a need to stress the principles that prevent individuals from committing sinful acts such as cheating, bribing, or accumulating wealth while overlooking the welfare of others. Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) advocated that his followers compensate workers as soon as the job is completed. The Muslim community should avoid any acts that could lead to conflicts within society. It is painful when one sees people not heeding these teachings.

A true believer shares the joy and sadness of others; he or she maintains family ties, visits the sick, supports the needy and orphans, provides for widows and offers help to others and greets people with a smile. These are the qualities that create love and solidarity within society.

It is unfortunate that many do not know what it means to be a true believer. That is why family feuds are on the rise these days and families are beginning to disintegrate. The poor and the needy are given only half-hearted support. Charity organizations are finding it difficult to raise funds for orphans and poor widows. The poor who are in need of medical attention continue to suffer because there are not enough people who care about relieving them of their pain. Good deeds, a smile or a greeting have become a tradition of the past.

Today, it has become difficult to keep a friend and very rare to expect good manners from a stranger you have just met. Competition and the lack of ethics have made people uncaring and uninterested in seeing others succeed. This negative attitude is detrimental to the wellbeing of the community and is threatening the unity of society as a whole.

Our religion stresses the importance of peace and harmony. To create harmony and peace in society, it is important to educate believers about their obligation to perform their responsibilities correctly. They should learn toapplythe Muslim principles of honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness and strive to fulfill occupational objectives or business dealings without contradicting these moral values. Moreover, they should learn to differentiate between what is lawful and unlawful. Most importantly, society should place emphasize on the role of the family, school and mosque to inculcate high moral values in children at a very young age.

Islam legislates what governs people's relations with each other in order for love and harmony to prosper in the Muslim world. This can only be achieved if each individual respects and guards the welfare of others just as he would his own, for only then will the Muslim community be worthy of the blessings of Allah. Muslims are deprived of God's blessings today because of greed, selfishness and indifference to the sufferings of others. The spread of conflicts and wars are mainly due to the hoarding of wealth and the neglect of the weak and destitute

Ramadan is the holy month during which Muslims seek forgiveness and protection from hell. It is a month of reflection and genuine desire to embrace the principles of Islam. Let us begin by following the saying of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.): "No one of you becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself. "