Ali Ataie – The Prophet’s Heart

This is our final session.

So we are often asked by non Muslims

why we fast

Ramadan, 9th lunar month.

The answer is given in verse 185 of

Al Baqarah, the second

of the 3 verses within the Quranic passage

about fasting that we wanted to examine.

Allah says

The month of Ramadan is that which during

the Quran was revealed, literally sent down

sent down as a guidance for mankind, as

clear proofs of guidance, and as a criterion.

So this refers to the

of the Quran, which is the descent of

the entire Quran from the preserved tablet below

to the earth during Ramadan

in the prophet

fortieth

year.

In the 5th book of the Torah, which

is called Devarim or Deuteronomy,

the author tells us that Moses, Musa alaihi

salam,

fasted for 40 days 40 nights in preparation

for receiving the law of God.

Moses is quoted as saying

neither bread did I eat nor water did

I drink.

Both the gospels of Matthew and Luke tell

us that Isa,

Jesus peace be upon him, fasted in the

wilderness for 40 days prior to his public

ministry.

Therefore, in the Bible and within the greater

Judeo Christian tradition,

these are just a couple examples,

the number 40 is often associated

with a period of training or preparation

for some sort of,

major historical event.

Okay. In Genesis, the flood ended after 40

days 40 nights. In 1st Samuel,

Goliath, right, challenged the Israelites

to fight for 40 days until David or

Dawud alaihis salam

defeated him. In our case, Allah

prepared the heart and mind

of his beloved messenger, the greatest prophet of

all time,

our master Muhammad,

to receive his final revelation.

This ayah also refers to the Quran as

a criterion,

Al Furqan.

It is the standard by which something might

be judged.

Imam Al Kortubi said that the meaning of

this is that the Quran separates truth from

falsehood

and clearly delineates what is lawful and what

is unlawful.

Elsewhere in the Quran, Allah says,

blessed is he who sent down the criterion

upon his servant

that he may that he may be a

warner unto the worlds.

So this first chapter 21 verse 1 refers

to the of

the Quran.

So you have

the of the Quran, then you have

the of the Quran,

the piecemeal revelation

of the Quran from the angel Gabriel

to the heart and mind of the prophet

Muhammad

over a 23

year period.

Therefore,

the greatest night of all nights in the

sacred history of religion,

okay, is the night during which the Quran

was initially sent down

to humanity.

The night of power, the night of destiny,

The night of constriction has these different meanings

later to the Qadr. The Quran says that

the night of power is greater than a

1000 months.

This event marks the commencement of the Quranic

revelation with a single word, Iqra,

read.

Read in the name of your lord who

created humanity.

The 3rd verse in the passage about fasting

in Al Baqarah

that I want to mention is verse 186.

Now at first glance, this verse seems to

be a bit out of place.

It seems to be unrelated to the theme

of fasting,

but it is perfectly in place, I assure

you.

It reads,

When my servants asked you okay. So Allah

is speaking directly to the prophet, when

my servants asked you concerning me,

truly, I am near. I am kareeb.

I answer the call of the caller

when he calls me.

So let them respond to me and believe

in me in order that they may be

guided.

This ayah highlights the imminence of God,

okay, in relation to his servants,

not in terms of physical

space or distance or direction.

Okay?

Not in terms of physicality,

but rather in terms of awareness,

concern,

knowledge, and love.

But what does this verse have to do

with fasting? Why is it in this passage

regarding fasting?

Why is this verse in the middle of

this passage regarding fasting? Well, when we fast

effectively,

our thoughts shift

from the mundane to the spiritual,

from the temporal to the eternal.

Thus, we should feel a heightened sense of

Allah's nearness to us,

and this should provoke us to engage in

constant communion

with our Lord, to make dua to Allah

Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.

The prophet

said,

supplication

is the essence of worship.

So speak to Allah

in your own words. Speak to him with

hope, longing, love. The hadith literature also tells

us

that the prophet used to fast twice a

week.

This was the practice of the Jews and

early Christians as well.

Furthermore, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, the

prophet

noticed that the Jews of Medina were fasting

on the 10th of Muharram.

He said, what is this? And they said,

This is a great day.

The day that Allah

saved the

Israelites,

from their enemies.

Musa.

So Musa fasted.

And then the prophet

said,

I have a greater claim to Moses than

you.

So he fasted on that day and ordered

others to fast as well. This day, of

course,

is Yom Kippur, the 10th of the 10th

of Tishrei called the asar ei Tishrei in

Hebrew. In Aramaic, it's called the Asura.

That's an Arabic Asura.

And, of course, this fast

is sunnah.

We ask Allah

to accept our prayers and fasting,

and that and that we have the best

Ramadan of our lives. We ask for openings

upon openings with respect to the Quran.

We ask that he increase us in our

understandings of the Quran. We ask that he

increase us

in in knowledge,

useful knowledge, and in light, and in all

good things.