In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:
Hazrat Ameer’s Ramadan Message (1441 Hijrah, April 2020)
Call on your Lord humbly and in secret. Surely He loves not the transgressors. (Al Araaf, 7:55)
And remember your Lord within yourself humbly and fearing, and in a voice not loud, in the morning and the evening, and be not of the heedless. (Al Araaf, 7:205)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Assalam-o-Alaikum Wa Rakhmatullahi Wa Barakaato Hoo.
This year Ramadan is falling in the most trying circumstances because of the Corona pandemic. All the people, irrespective of their ethnicity, nationality or religion have been affected and have had to compromise their worship, devotional ceremonies and religious celebrations. The Easter celebrations and Diwali have been affected most recently. Ramadan will also face the effects as the traditional festivity and gatherings of Iftar and Taravi prayers will not be the same; there will be high reliance on modern technology for participation in prayers. The celebration of Eid ul Fitr will most probably be affected too.
As I think of the limitations the pandemic has placed on us, there is also a brighter side to it. We have more time to pray and recite and understand the Holy Qur’an. We will have ample time to beseech Allah to remove this trial from us; we have additional opportunities for repentance and asking for Allah’s protection. This can be a time when we can get really close to Allah through our supplications and devotion.
The two verses of the Holy Qur’an that I have quoted above give us the guidelines on how to make our prayers effective as we repent and ask for protection against the illness. In the first verse Allah says: Call on your Lord humbly and in secret. And in the second verse He says: And remember your Lord within yourself humbly and fearing, and in a voice not loud, in the morning and the evening, and be not of the heedless.
Sisters and brothers, our prayers during Ramadan, I am sure, will be the most effective weapon against the unseen enemy that is causing havoc in the world.
I pray that Allah accepts our fasting and prayers and keeps us safe from all trials and illnesses.
Aameen summa aameen.