he following is the transcript of Press TV's interview with Sheikh Babikir Ahmed who joined the Islam and Life program to share his insight on how Muslims should prepare their mind, body, and soul for the month of Ramadan. Babikir Ahmed is the Imam and spiritual director of Islamic School Center in London.
Watch the program here.
Press TV: The month of Ramadan is a spiritual journey and it is important to prepare for this journey. What would be the first advice for ordinary Muslims, men and women, who want to get prepared or Ramadan?
Babikir Ahmed : Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) used to state, at the beginning of the month of Rajab [the seventh month on the Islamic calendar], "Allah Bless the month of Rajab and Sha'ban [the eighth month on the Islamic calendar] for us and Bless Allah who allows us to live during Ramadan, meaning that Ramadan is the month that the Ummah [the Muslim community] should fulfill its mission because fasting makes us better people.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) used to prepare himself by fasting. He said that there is a month between Rajab and Ramadan that is neglected and that is Sha'ban. He [the Holy Prophet] said Rajab is Allah's month, Sha'ban is my month, and Ramadan is the month of the Ummah.
Also, remember that in Islam, Muslims used to honor the month of Rajab as one of the four important months on the Islamic calendar. They used to stop fighting, arguing, and other evil things and started fasting in this month.
I believe by noticing the history and looking at what the Prophet and his companions did, we can truly prepare ourselves for this awesome month. People need to think about Ramadan.
It is like children preparing to take an exam; they cut themselves off from others and prepare for the exam. Why? Because it is important. Such is the case with Ramadan. It is the month of the exam and we should prepare ourselves before the exam.
Press TV : Given the importance of Ramadan, as you know Islam says Ramadan has a month that is more important than one thousand months, how can we prepare ourselves from spiritual point of view?
Babikir Ahmed : To be honest, for everything we do, we need to plan. We need to ask ourselves, what is the aim of fasting? Everyone needs to understand that fasting is to perfect ourselves. Looking at it from spiritual point of view, a person fasts in order to restrain himself not from the Haram (the unlawful) but from Halal (the lawful) for a whole month. For what reason? To perfect himself.
It is said that everything Allah created, Allah brought it forth and asked, "Who are you? And who am I?" And the creature would say, "You are the Lord and I am the servant and glory be to You, except for the Nafs (self). Nafs said I am me and You are you! Allah said to the angels Nafs needs to be punished in the fire for 70 years, to be cleansed. After 70 years, it became even more stubborn and gave the same answer, so Allah put it in the clod part of the Hell for another 70 years, but it still gave the same answer. Allah then said this one needs to go to the Valley of Hunger. Once there, it came crawling back and said, "You are the Lord and I am the servant and glory be to You". And when God put the soul into Adam, He said to him, "You need to retrain your self by fasting."
So, for us to prepare ourselves for that journey, the aim is to restrain ourselves and perhaps reach piety. What is piety; it is the highest peak of faith.
Many people think Taqwa (piety) is to act or dress like a Muslim. Taqwa is to restrain ourselves from Haram (what is unlawful) and Taqwa is to use Halal (what is lawful) with modesty and refrain from overspending. Muslims need to make themselves better before Ramadan through Taqwa.
There is a beautiful Hadith that says, "The beginning of Ramadan is mercy, and its middle is forgiveness and its end is salvation from the fires of hell."
Therefore, I always thought, if that is the case, then the mercy is to get you indulged yourself in finding the ways of pulling yourself away from what is unlawful. You ask Allah to forgive your shortcomings before Ramadan and even in Ramadan.
So, the best thing to do just before Ramadan is to try to follow the Prophets. Ask yourself, what the Prophet did. He [the prophet] used to fast a month before Ramadan and also enjoyed sharing what he had with those who did not have. He never used to eat alone; he brought people together.
Before Ramadan, look at the people around you, share with them what you have because Ramadan is a month of service and we have to learn how we can serve other people.
For us living in the West, one of the best things we need to look into is when we drive our cars and we see people lying in the street, we have to remember that Allah is testing him through us. He is passing his test by accepting his condition. However, are you passing your test to be believer in God by showing mercy? We should share our food, bring to those people to our mosque, and give them something because Islam says we share what we have. The best culture is one where other people invite you to share with them what they have.
Press TV : Let's go through this concentric cycle. We spoke about people around us. However, Ramadan is also a month for our families because we are living with our parents, our kids, our wives and husbands. What should we do for our families before Ramadan?
Babikir Ahmed : One of the aspects of Islam that Muslims have to understand is unity. Towhid (one of the five pillars of Islam) in essence means uniting. To prepare ourselves, we need to make up with everybody in our family. We need to stop arguing and forgive each other. Entering Ramadan with no burden is good. How do you expect Allah to forgive you when you do not forgive your spouse, your relatives, or your kids?
Before Ramadan, we should bring our family together. Our home should become Kiblah (the direction to Ka'aba), not in its literal sense of course. I mean we need to make your home a place where people come to find Islam, to share that food, to sit and talk, to share the benefit of this religion. This religion is not just praying and fasting. It is interacting. Therefore, before the Ramadan, we need to get together with family members, to get in touch with our next of kin.
Describing the hypocrites, the Prophet (PBUH) says one of their worst attributes is that break their ties with their families.
Press TV : It is a very important point because I would say we are very used to saying to the Muslims during Ramadan, "Call your relatives, go and visit your parents." However, what you are saying is just do it before Ramadan because Ramadan is a journey. Before leaving on this journey, prepare yourself by being in touch, seek forgiveness and forgive.
Babikir Ahmed : Yes, its part of the mercy. How could you ask for mercy form your Lord while you are not able to give mercy to your child or to your wife?
I am sure one of the obstacles for Muslims today is that they are not finding it in their hearts to forgive one another.
Ramadan is the month of mercy and forgiveness. If you are unable to give, give it in Ramadan, if you are unable to share, share it in Ramadan, if you are unable to go out of your way to do the things that you were not able to do before, do it in Ramadan.
I say to all the younger generation, look, forget about all the elder generations have gone through. You are the ones who are going to benefit from this month. Do not say no, "No I am not going to my brother, or I'm not visiting your grandmother," but say, "This is my brother or my grandmother!" You are not going to get mercy without doing that.
Press TV : So the third circle of the concentric circle is myself.
Babikir Ahmed : Yes, being a person who can share and show mercy and forgive cannot come from a heart that is empty. It must come from a heart that is full. Full of what? Full of faith. Iman (faith) increases and decreases. Ramadan is the month of charging your battery.
There are two things we should pay attention to: the first is the gaining by the worship you do, but other than that is realizing your force. Now every one of us knows if you ask a child, "Why did you do that?" they say, "It is the Iblis (Satan)." Everybody uses it to hide their problem but the bigger problem is ourselves. As the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said, the biggest Jihad is to restrain yourself, know your shortcomings and know your faults.
Press TV : So you say we have to understand that we are a subject, we are autonomous, that we are responsible, and then while we are entering this month, we have to monitor ourselves and just to take account of our weaknesses because it is a personal responsibility.
Babikir Ahmed : My question is: how are we going to do it? I always tell my students before Ramadan begins, to write a diary. During the day when you are making mistakes, it could be from Satan or it could be from yourself. But in Ramadan it is only from yourself because in Ramadan all satans will be locked and the door of hell will be closed and the door of heaven will be opened and the mercy is pouring and Allah is opening His hands for forgiveness.
This is the spiritual meaning of Ramadan. So in Ramadan I would like every Muslim from the first night to sit down and think about this: There is no Satan, it is me now. When you shout, when you scream, when you are angry, when you are mean, when you are unable to give, when you are ready to share, when you are unable to forgive, you see a mistake. Write down all those mistakes.
Press TV : So you say Ramadan is a month when we should come back to the very essence of our life because we are entering a month that everything is about the essential dimension, the very essence of this Islamic teaching and then you should transform Ramadan into a school, a school of life, that is, just how we have to behave. Ramadan is the month of lights not a month between brackets. How can we, from all we are saying now, try to translate this into a message for the Muslims?
Babikir Ahmed : There are four things that need to be done in Ramadan, other than recording what you do, that make you a better person. First is seclusion, every one of us needs an hour for himself. The second thing is silence, we talk too much. We need to watch our tongue because a word may slip out of your mouth that can drop you into hell for a hundred years. Number three is hunger. Because when we are eating all the time, we are not noticing what we are doing. As the Prophet (PBUH) said a person only needs few mouthfuls.
Number four, which is the best, it is thinking. If you are keeping silent, if you are keeping hungry a little bit and if you are secluding yourself, what you need to do is to think, to reflect, to ponder. I believe the majority of human beings do not reflect. We are in a time where we are in a rush all the time.
Press TV : Thank you so much sir. I think that during this discussion, we have been able to touch on some of the very important dimensions and if we think about this concentric circle; just to serve the people, to show the best behavior and to prepare oneself for Ramadan by this changing of behavior and understanding how important it is.
It is also within the family. The way we treat our parents and relatives and to spread around forgiveness. To forgive and to be forgiven means that we are ready to begin Ramadan.
To be hungry is also a way of breaking the ego and arrogance to come to more humility. So it is our personal responsibility towards oneself. We need to speak less, to ponder and to go through the spiritual experiences.
This is the best way to enter Ramadan. Also, do not to forget at the end of Ramadan that Ramadan is a school for the year to come and this is something that we have to implement to be faithful to the message of Islam.
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