Ramadhaan: A Training Ground

“The commands of Allah subhanahu wata‘alaa fall under two categories: obligations, things we have to do, and prohibitions, things we are forbidden from doing. If we analyse the category of obligations, we can conclude that they too are prohibitions.

Take the example of the obligation to perform salah; it is in effect a prohibition against not performing salah. So the commands of Allah subhanahu wata‘alaa are all about abstaining from things.

A muttaqi is someone who abstains: when it comes to salah, someone who does not neglect salah is termed muttaqi with regards to salah.

The 29 or 30 days of Ramadhan are a training ground, teaching us abstinence. From dawn to sunset, we practice abstaining from food, drink and marital relations. Sawm, fasting, is defined as abstinence, and through fasting we become accustomed to abstaining.

The month of fasting compels us to ask ourslves the following question: if after becoming accustomed to abstaining from desires during this one month, is there any reason why we cannot abstain from following our base desires and disobeying Allah subhanahu wata‘alaa during the remaining 11 months?”

Words of Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat (hafizahullah) recorded by his students