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A Hot Summer Ramadans Fast

Abu ad-Darda said, "Fast the very

hot days in anticipation of the Day ofResurrection, and pray two rak'at in

the darkness of night in anticipation

of the darkness of the grave."

Isn't it amazing that each Ramadan is different thanthe one prior to it, and each Ramadan is different

from the one that we perhaps experienced in another

part of the Globe?

Some have played around with the natural calendar

to bring about the same season in the same montheach year. But the original calendar which is based

on the Lunar cycles was always the measurement of

time in terms of months and years.

The Lunar calendar was the one followed by all

God's people, since time immemorial, be it the

people of Noah, or Abraham or Moses or David orJesus or Muhammad, peace and blessings of

Almighty Allah be on each anc everyone of them.

The Lunar calendar is the real measure of a month

and there are twelve months in a year comprising of

around 254 to 256 days per year. So the seasons donot again and again fall in the same time of the year,

but rotate in such a way that all of the people living

in the various parts of the world experience

different flavors every year.

Remember the time when you used to have the most

comfortable Ramadan of all time; nice and coolshort days, and even after Taraweeh you had plenty

of time to enjoy various delicacies before finally

going to bed. This was for us, those years, and notfor others living in a different geographical location.

Even now when Ramadan is in middle of hot

summer, for some living in other places would have

moderate climate and on the average a 12 to 13

hours of fasting. Not so for us. So what?

Do we fast for ourselves, for our pleasure, for

showing off to others? No! We fast, solely for thepleasure of Allah, to achieve nearness to Allah, and

for love of Allah. Fasting is obligatory, if one is a

Muslim adult, if one is not sick or not traveling, or

not in a condition when some of the fairer sex attimes are.

Some of us are scared and worried about how we

are going to navigate through such a hot summerRamadan, but most people who have determination

and a higher level of love for Allah, are not going tobe discouraged with such thoughts.

They know that all they have to do is try and leavethe outcome to Allah. How many who are very old

and feeble and even suffering from some ailments

make up their mind to go for Hajj, and go through

all the toils and tests of this hectic journey ofpilgrimage, with such an ease that they never

thought of as possible.

Who gives us success in our tasks, and who

strengthens our hearts and minds and bodies when

we are involved in something good? Do we do itourselves or is it Allah who does all this for us.

When those who fast for Allah in the heat are

patient despite their intense thirst, Allah will setaside a specific gate from the gates of Paradise for

them. This is the gate called Rayyan. Whoever

enters through it will drink, and whoever drinksafter entering it will never be thirsty again.

When 'Amir bin 'Abd Qays went from Basrah toSham, Mu'awiyah (the Khalifa at the time) would

ask him to tell him what he needs. 'Amir refused to

ask of him, and on persistence by Mu'awiyah

eventually said: "All I need is for you to return the

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heat of Basrah to me to make the fasting a bit

harder, as it is too easy in your lands."

Ibn 'Umar went on a trip once with some

companions, and they saw a shepherd who they

invited to eat with them. He said: "I am fasting."Ibn Umar exclaimed: "You are fasting in heat like

this, and while you are around all these plants and

sheep?" The man replied: "I am taking advantageof my remaining days." Ibn Umar was impressed

by this reply and said: "Can you sell one of your

sheep to us? We will pay you for it and we will

feed you from its meat when you break your fast."The shepherd replied: "These sheep do not belong

to me. They belong to my master." Ibn Umar

remarked: "What would your master say if you tell

him that one sheep was eaten by a wolf?" Theshepherd raised his finger towards the sky and said:

"What about Allah?" Ibn Umar kept repeating thisphrase that the shepherd uttered, till they reached

the city. Then he went to the shepherd's master,

bought the shepherd and freed him, and he boughtall the sheep and gave sheep to the shepherd as a

gift.

When Al-Hajjaj (the Khalifa at the time) was on ajourney between Makkah and Madinah, he pulled

out his food and invited a bedouin to eat with him.

The bedouin said: "I have been invited by One whois better than you and I have accepted the

invitation." Hajjaj asked: "And who is this?" The

bedouin replied: "Allah invited me to fast, and Ifasted. Al-Hajjaj asked astonishingly: "On this very

hot day?" (Obviously it was not Ramadan time).

The bedouin replied: "Yes. I am fasting this day in

anticipation of a much hotter day." Al-Hajjaj said:"So, eat today and fast tomorrow." The bedouin

replied: "Only if you can guarantee that I will live

until tomorrow."

It is a great blessing from Allah that we are still

alive, healthy, all our senses are working, we areable to think and take decisions. Who knows how

many of us shall see Ramadan next year and what

will be our condition at that time. The time to act is

now! Let us ask Allah to increase our faith, give us

great strength, so that we worship Him in a best

possible way. May Allah grant us in all our good

intentions and good deeds.

Let us encourage each other to go through this

Ramadan (and those in the future) with positivethoughts, the clean intentions and sound

determination, to do our best.

Let us resolve to make the most of this Ramadan

no matter how hot the days may be, no matter how

long the fasting hours may be, no matter how

hungry and how thirsty we may be. If we gothrough all this and what is going to fall on us in

future years, the credit is not to ourselves. As for

our own selves we can do nothing, it is only with

Allah's help that we shall achieve success, and allpraise be to Allah alone, forever.

Referring to the voluntary fasts, Abu ad-Darda said,

"Fast the very hot days in anticipation of the Day of

Resurrection, and pray two rak'at in the darkness ofnight in anticipation of the darkness of the grave."