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Farewell to Ramadan
Author : An Article by his Grace Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat
Date Added : 14-08-2025

The month of Ramadan prepares to depart as it arrived—a noble guest who came and now leaves. Such is the way of this world: months come and go, and life continues in its eternal cycle.

As we stand at the threshold of Ramadan’s departure, let us pause and ask ourselves: What did we offer Ramadan? What did we accomplish during its days? Did we truly fast as we should? Did we stand in prayer with sincerity? Did the divine wisdom of fasting—"that you may attain Taqwa (God-consciousness)" [Al-Baqarah/183]—manifest in our lives? Did our acts of devotion increase, or did Ramadan pass us by while we were heedless and distracted?

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) warned: "Wretched is the man in whose presence Ramadan arrives and departs before he is forgiven." [Tirmidhi/Ahmad]. So, are we among those whose disgrace is sealed, or are we among the fortunate who earned Allah’s mercy? Or are we among those deluded by false hopes, squandering Ramadan in idle play?

O you who are consumed by worldly pursuits,

Deceived by the illusion of endless time,

Death comes suddenly, without warning,

And the grave is the chest of deeds.

Beloved servants of Allah, Ramadan was a divine gift—a month where rewards were multiplied, a golden opportunity to rectify our past shortcomings. But were we truly deserving of Allah’s generosity? Did we rise to the occasion?

Blessed are those who repented in Ramadan, blessed are those who worshipped sincerely, and joyous are those who turned to Allah wholeheartedly. But ruin awaits those who failed to seize this month’s blessings—for they may never see it again. If one did not repent in Ramadan, when will they repent? If one did not return to Allah in Ramadan, when will they return? If one did not strive in worship during these sacred nights, when will they attain success?

Beloved servants of Allah, what comes after Ramadan? Will we revert to our old ways—neglecting prayers, withholding charity, abandoning the Quran? Many rush to worship in Ramadan—praying, giving charity, reciting the Quran—only to abandon it all once the month ends. But Allah desires for us to remain as we were in Ramadan—steadfast in obedience, nurtured by Taqwa. Ramadan was not just a passing season of worship; it was training for the soul.

So how do we bid farewell to Ramadan? Not with tears and lamentation, but with continued obedience, just as we welcomed it. We bid it farewell with gratitude to Allah for allowing us to witness it. We bid it farewell with a firm resolve to carry its lessons forward—to keep the spirit of fasting alive in our hearts. Did you not see how the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions increased their worship in Ramadan’s final days? When the last ten nights arrived, he would wake his family, tighten his waistcloth (i.e., exert himself in worship), and spend the nights in devotion.

As we say goodbye to Ramadan, we pray: O Allah, accept our fasting, our prayers, and our righteous deeds. We prepare for the first joy promised to the fasting believer—the joy of Eid, and the greater joy of meeting our Lord. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The fasting person has two joys: joy when breaking his fast, and joy when he meets his Lord." [Moslim].

Eid is a blessing, but remember—our celebrations begin with worship: Eid prayers follow the fasting of Ramadan, just as Eid Al-Adha follows the pilgrimage. True Eid is not about new clothes, but about increased obedience.

Yet beware—for on Eid night, the devils are released from their chains. Let us guard ourselves and our families against sinful gatherings, forbidden mixing, and idle amusement. We must not end our righteous deeds with disobedience, lest we become like the woman who undoes her spinning after it is strong.

Farewell, O Ramadan—month of fasting,

Farewell, O month of the Quran,

Farewell, O month of forgiveness and mercy,

Farewell, O month of light and blessings,

Farewell, O marketplace of the successful.

O Allah, accept our fasting, our prayers, and our good deeds. Grant us the blessing of witnessing Ramadan again, and seal our lives with righteousness.

Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on one who feels drops of urine falling during ablution?

If he is certain that urine is exiting from him during ablution, then his ablution is invalidated. He must remove the impurity from his clothes and body and repeat the ablution.
However, if what he feels regarding urine exiting is merely doubt or illusion, then ablution is not invalidated by doubt and illusion. He should not pay attention to it, and it is not permissible for him to follow the doubt and whispers that corrupt his religion. And Allah the almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, 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.

A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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