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The State of the Righteous during Ramadan
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 29-09-2024

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

Indeed, studying the lives of past scholars who passed their knowledge to others, devout worshipers, and righteous individuals is one of the greatest means of strengthening the heart's love for the Knower of the unseen. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "And We have related to you, [O Muhammad], some of the stories of the messengers to strengthen your heart with it. And there has come to you in this [Qur'an] the truth and a confirmation of what was before it, and an admonition and reminder for the believers." [Hud/120].

By reading about their lives, clouds of blessings gather to shower us with mercy. When this mercy reaches the hearts of the believers, their spirits are elevated, and they strive harder in their worship of their Lord, tasting the sweetness of Allah's Words (What means): "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." [Maryam/96].   

It was narrated from some of the pious predecessors that he would spend his nights reciting the Quran. When he reached this verse, he would repeat it until dawn. His student heard him and asked him about it. The scholar said: "Keep secret what you have seen." The student replied: "I will keep it secret as long as you are alive, but tell me about it.' The scholar said: "When I repeated it, the love between the servant and his Lord descended into my heart, and I began to take pleasure in that love. And every time I repeated the verses, I tasted a different kind of love."

This was their state outside of Ramadan. So how was it when the blessed month, the season of worship and obedience, came to them?

Abu Nu'aim in 'Al-Hilya' and Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi in 'Tarikh Baghdad' narrated from Al-Rabi' Ibn Sulayman that Muhammad Ibn Idris Al-Shafi'i would complete sixty recitations of the Quran in the month of Ramadan, all of which were during prayer.

This was their state with the Quran, but their state with night prayer was even more astonishing. Sa'ib Ibn Yazid said: "During the time of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they used to perform twenty Rak'ahs of night prayer in Ramadan. They would recite two hundred verses. During the time of Uthman Ibn Affan (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they would lean on their staffs due to the intensity of their standing in prayer." [Al-Bayhaqi].

As for the state of the righteous predecessors with the poor and needy, there is no end to the stories. How could it be otherwise when their model was the most generous of creation, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him? Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when he would meet with Jibril. He would meet him every night in Ramadan and he would revise the Quran with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous than the abundant wind." [Agreed upon].

It was narrated from Ibn Umar that he would fast and not break his fast except with the poor. And if a beggar came to him while he was eating, he would take his share of the food and stand up and give it to the beggar.

This is a glimpse of the state of the righteous during Ramadan. If we were to examine every aspect of their acts of worship, we would find that they had the greatest share in it. They were the most eager for good deeds during the seasons of goodness. They knew that the world was temporary, so they dedicated it to obedience. They knew that life was short and the deadline was near, so they invested their time in acts of worship. And Ibn Al-Qayyim said truthfully: "Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time cuts you off from Allah and the Hereafter, while death cuts you off from the world and its people."

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj,  Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on participating in the prize draws (raffles) that commercial stores hold for their customers?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
There is no objection to participating in the prize draws (raffles) that commercial stores hold for their customers, provided that the buyer's intention in purchasing is not merely to enter the competition without any need for what is bought — rather, the purchase must be genuinely intended for the item itself, and one must not pay more than the item's fair market price. This is because paying an amount above the market price would effectively be paying a fee to enter the prize draw, which would render it a form of gambling (qimār).
These prizes are, in essence, gifts that businesses offer through a random drawing (qur'ah) to those who purchase from them, as a means of encouraging sales, without the customer bearing any additional monetary cost for participation. So long as the aforementioned conditions are met, there is no objection to benefiting from the prize offered by the store, as it is considered a lawful prize from the viewpoint of Islamic Law.
It is stated in the resolutions of the "Jordanian Iftaa' Board" (Resolution No. 47), in the context of outlining the conditions for permissible prizes: "The price of the ticket [or item purchased] for the sake of the prize must not exceed its original price, so that there is no payment of money in exchange for participation in the draw." And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on a woman using contraception without her husband's knowledge if he is mistreating her?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is not permissible for a woman to use any means of delaying pregnancy without her husband's knowledge, consent, and mutual agreement. This is because having children is a sharʿī right belonging to both spouses equally in Islamic law. Imām al-Māwardī, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated: "The right to a child from a free woman is shared between them both" — meaning between the two spouses. [al-Ḥāwī al-Kabīr, 9/320]
It is therefore not permissible for either spouse to make a unilateral decision regarding the prevention of pregnancy without the consent of the other. We advise both spouses to discuss the matter with wisdom and mutual respect, so as to resolve any disagreement and arrive at a suitable solution that serves the interests of them both. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Someone wiped over his shoes after wearing them in a state of purity, then took them off and prayed without them?

Ablution is not invalidated by taking off leather socks or shoes after wiping over them. However, whoever takes them off after wiping must wash his feet only. If he prayed without washing his feet, he must wash his feet and repeat the prayer. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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