Hawzah News Agency- Sayed Murtada Al-Kashmiri described Ramadan as more than a passing occasion, calling it a renewed opportunity and a comprehensive program of self-reform that can only succeed through proper reception—marked by awareness, repentance, discipline, and sincere action.
He stated that whoever welcomes Ramadan in this spirit will leave it with a transformed heart, an elevated soul, and redefined priorities. True preparation, he explained, begins with understanding the month’s lofty status before God and recognizing it as the month chosen for the revelation of the Holy Quran.
Al-Kashmiri emphasized that fasting is not merely physical abstention, but a path toward attaining piety (taqwa). He urged believers to reflect deeply: What do I seek to change within myself during this month? What level of piety do I hope to reach?
Among the most important steps in preparing for Ramadan, he noted, are sincere repentance and purification of the heart. A heart burdened by sin, he warned, cannot benefit from the spiritual light of the month. Therefore, believers should enter Ramadan with hearts free of grudges, filled with remorse for past shortcomings, and firmly resolved to reform.
He also highlighted the importance of mental preparation—training the soul to embrace obedience, reducing attachment to material concerns, guarding one’s speech, limiting distractions, and cultivating remembrance and supplication before Ramadan begins.
Quoting a well-known hadith, he cautioned that one who enters Ramadan captive to personal habits may leave it unchanged: “Perhaps a fasting person gains nothing from his fast except hunger and thirst, and perhaps one who stands in prayer at night gains nothing but sleeplessness and hardship''.
The cleric further underscored the need for practical and devotional readiness, including strengthening one’s relationship with the Holy Quran. Acts of kindness—such as maintaining family ties, supporting widows and orphans, and extending generosity to those in need—are also key expressions of welcoming the blessed month.
He concluded by reminding believers that true fasting involves all parts of the body: the tongue must refrain from backbiting and falsehood, the eyes from forbidden sights, and the heart from envy and arrogance.
“Let us seize this precious opportunity,” he said, “to deepen our understanding of authentic Islamic values, strengthen the culture of rights and responsibilities, and refine our character and conduct—so that we may truly become among the God-conscious who fear Him in private and in public, and who deal with others in a manner that pleases Him. In doing so, we realize the noble purpose of fasting''.
Source: Karbala Now Agency
Your Comment