The Holy month of Ramadan had started; he entered the mosque of Kufa. He went up the pulpit and after praising Allah (SWT) and sending greetings upon His great Prophet (PBUH&HP) addressed the people as such,
“O people! We are observing the month which Allah has made it superior to all other months … This is the month in which the gates to the sky and doors to the mercy of the Lord are open; and the gates to fire are closed.
This is the month that the voices (of people) are heard and prayers are accepted and the weeps cause the mercy of Allah.
This is the month in which there is a night that angles come down from the skies by the order of Allah in it, and offer their peace to fasting men and women until sun dawn. That night is the night of Qadr. Fasting in the next day is greater than fasting a thousand month; and performing any good is greater than performing that good for a thousand month.
Allah is sending his blessing in every day and night of this holy month. Thus, whoever makes any small benefit from this month, he shall have great respect in the day that he faces Allah; and no one shall have respect in front of Allah (SWT) unless Allah will grant the paradise to him.”
Then Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) continued his speech on the top of pulpit of Kufa mosque:
“O Servants of Allah! This month is not like any other; its days, nights and every hour of it is the most valuable among all others. This is the month that the Satans are imprisoned for the whole month. Allah increases the sustenances of people and increases the length of lives and selects the guests of His house (for Hajj).
O you who fast! Be very careful about what you do and perform. You are the guests of your Lord in this month. Observe your behavior every day, and watch how you prevent your organs and body from committing sins.
Watch out not to sleep all night and be careless during the day and as a result this month passes and your are still carrying your sins. Otherwise, on the day that believers get the reward of fasting, you will be among losers; and they will enjoy the blessings and bestowings of the Lord while you cannot get any of that; and they will be neighbors to Allah for life while you will be among those who are taken away from Him!
O you who fast! If you are rejected from your Lord, where are you going to turn? If your Lord left you alone, who is going to help you? And if He does not accept you among His people, who are you going to submit? And if He does not forgive you, who are you going to ask forgiveness?
O you who fast! Recite the Holy Quran in day and night as a means of getting closer to Allah; indeed the Book of Allah can intercede for those who recited it and its intercession will be accepted on the resurrection day. Therefore they (the reciters) climb to higher levels of paradise by reciting the verses of this Book.
Glad tidings for you who fast! I heard from my most beloved one, the Prophet of Allah that, “Allah forgives a high number of people from agony of fire, but no one knows how many they are except Himself. On the last night of Ramadan Allah will forgive as many as He has been forgiving throughout this month.”
At this time a man from a tribe named Hamdaan stood up and said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin! Tell us more from what your beloved (the Prophet) told you about Ramadan.”
Amir al-Mu’minin said, “I heard that my brother and my cousin, the Prophet of Allah, that he said, ‘Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and avoids the sins, he shall enter the paradise”…
The man from Hamdaan repeated his request three more times and Imam replied him in the third time as follows,
“I heard that the greatest of all Prophets, Messengers and angles to Allah said, ‘The Master of Successors will be killed in the Master of all Months.”
I asked: Which month is the master of all month and who is the Master of Successors?
He said, “The master of months is Ramadan and the Master of Successors is you O Ali.”
I asked, “O Prophet of Allah! Is this going to happen?”
Prophet said, “I swear to Allah this will happen. Indeed, the worst among the people of my nation will hit the top of your head with a sword such that blood will cover your face and beard.”
People started to cry and weep after these words; Ali (PBUH) finished his sermon and came down from the pulpit.
(The above is a selection taken from “Fada’il al-Ashhur al-Thalathah”, by Late Sheikh Saduq)(1)
The Roshd website congratulates the arrival of the Holy month of Ramadan, the month of becoming clean from moral impurities and getting free from the sins and the spring of reciting the Holy Quran and contemplating it to you dear friend.
Footnotes:
1. In order to translate this narration from Arabic the translation of Muhammad Reyshahri in the book titles as “Muraqibat of Ramadan” is used.