Remembering God at all times without withdrawing into hermitism, through awareness that God witnesses everything, gratitude for His blessings, the contact prayer, and saying God willing. A second article explains the fast of Ramadan, how to set its start and end from new moon and sunset times, and how to find the Night of Power, with dates for Ramadan 1998 to 1999.
O you who believe, you shall
remember God frequently. You shall glorify Him day and night. (33:41-42)
Some of the traits of a believer in God alone are given in the following
verse:
They remember God while standing, sitting, and on their
sides, and they reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth:
“Our Lord, You did not create all this in vain. Be You glorified.
Save us from the retribution of Hell. ()
From the above verses we understand that as a believer we are commanded
to remember God frequently. Glorifying Him during the day and the night
in whatever position or circumstance that we might find ourselves. The
question is how can we remember God morning and evening,
day and night, standing and sitting? There
are two ways in which this is possible: the first method involves those
things that can be done at any moment in time, and the second method involves
actions that need to be performed, such as actual worshipping practices
and rites, like Salat (Contact Prayers), Zakat (Obligatory Charity), Hajj
pilgrimage, etc.
I would like to reflect on the things that can be undertaken at any time
and without interference to anything that we normally do on a daily basis.
In other words: things that can be done at any time, which translates
into remembering God at all times. But how can this be done without transforming
one’s life into a state of seclusion or hermitism? How can one
remember God at all times during the normal
course of our daily life without withdrawing oneself completely from everyday
life and all its involvement? We know from the Quran that we simply cannot
live our lives secluded from others because the Quran informs us that
hermitism is not allowed.
Subsequent to them, we sent our messengers. We sent Jesus
the son of Mary, and we gave him the Injeel (Gospel), and we placed in
the hearts of his followers kindness and mercy. But they invented hermitism
which we never decreed for them. All we asked them to do was to uphold
the commandments approved by God. But they did not uphold the message
as they should have…. (57:27)
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Remembering God
So, we understand from the above verse that we cannot withdraw
ourselves from day to day life, and we must continue to live out
our time on earth within some kind of community. So the question
is how can we live out our personal life, our family life, and our
professional activities, in short our total life on this planet,
and at the same time ensure that our every action, thought and deed
is permeated with the remembrance of God?
An undertaking which, I feel sure you would agree, is certainly
a tremendous challenge. However, God is forever Merciful and He
continues to give reminders and guidance to all those who seek it.
God tells us in 58:7 that He sees and witnesses ALL things. No three
people can conspire secretly without Him being their fourth, nor
five without Him being the sixth, nor less than that, nor more,
without Him being there with them wherever they may be. Because
on the Day of Resurrection it will be God to be there to inform
them of what they have done.
God can inform them because He sees all that we do, good or bad,
right or wrong, just or unjust, stingy or mean, merciful or un-merciful,
kind or spiteful. He is the One who sees all. God tells us that
He is nearer to us than our very own jugular vein (50:16-17). Therefore,
by remembering that God is with you at all times, that God witnesses
everything you do, that God hears everything that you say and knows
every thought that you make, by remembering these things, which
can be done frequently throughout the day without any interruption
to any daily activity, you will be thinking about God day and night
as commanded by your Lord.
Another way is to reflect during our waking hours on some of the
blessings given to us by the Almighty. No one but God gives you
anything; everything comes directly, or indirectly, from God alone.
He is the One that
causes the rain to come down. He is
the One that causes the plants to grow. He is the One that causes
the sun to shine. He is the One that creates the night and the day.
He is the One who causes the wind to blow. He is the One who subdued
the animals for us. He is the One who gave us clothes to wear. He
is the One who has blessed us with transportation. He is the One
who has blessed us with our homes and families. He is the One who
has blessed us with our jobs to enable us to provide, by His grace,
for our families. And He is the One who teaches man what he never
knew. All these things are blessings from God that we should thank
Him for during our day. These are some of the ways of remembering
God throughout the day and night in whatever we do.
The Quran is full of examples of how to remember God. The Salat
prayer is one way that God teaches us to remember Him. When time
for prayer comes we know that we have to make our ablution. We are
then thinking about Him again by watching the clock to check when
it’s time for prayer and time to make ablution. God teaches
us that we are to mention His name over the things that we consume.
Ask yourself how many times do we eat and drink on a daily basis
and if you observe this command, how many times therefore do you
think of God in that day!
God also tells us in 18:24 that we shall not say, “I will
do this or that” without saying God willing, because it is
only with God’s will that we will be able to do whatever it
is that we wish to do. God instructs us that if we forget to do
this, then we are to say, “May my Lord guide me to do
better next time.” All these are ways that God Himself
is teaching us to remember Him by.
God is forever teaching those who wish to learn. In 18:39 God reminds
us that it is He alone who blesses us with things and reminds us
that we should be thankful: When you entered your garden, you
should have said, “This is what God has given me. No one possesses
power except God.” God alone is teacher of the Quran.
Nothing in the heavens or the earth
happens unless God wills it. No leaf falls from a tree, no person
dies, no one is hurt, nothing can happen without the direct authority
of God. By reminding yourself throughout the day that nothing can
happen in this world without God’s permission, this is remembering
God as He commands you throughout the day and the night.
Our life on this earth will one day be terminated and on that day
we will be returned to God. No one knows when this will take place,
even today might be the time for that termination; no one knows
except God. Remembering that our life can be ended at any time should
be enough to remind us that we should continually remember God at
every opportunity. When we become engrossed in worldly affairs,
which so often happens, then just as prayer time approaches and
you withdraw from the world to worship your Creator, take a few
extra minutes to think about God, His blessings, His mercy and His
kindness and remind yourself that it is to Him that you will eventually
return.
God has given us this life as a test. A test to see whether we
will worship Him freely or not. During our time on this earth, which
is very short, we have to prove to both God and ourselves that we
are worthy to be saved. We ourselves are nothing without God. An
insignificant being and we walk the earth so proudly!
A thought to end on, just to remind us of how little power we actually
have over anything, most of all our very existence:
The heart beats approximately 72 times in one minute, and every
time it beats it does so only with the permission of God. Once He
removes that permission the heart stops beating and life, as we
know it, comes to an end, and it is to God we will then return.
You shall remember your Lord within yourself, publicly,
privately, and quietly, day and night; do not be unaware. (7:205)
Linda Moore
Page 3
The Month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the month during
which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people,
clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness
this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may
substitute the same number of other days. God wishes for you convenience,
not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify
God for guiding you, and to express your appreciation. (2:185)
…You may eat and drink until the white thread
of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at
dawn. Then, you shall fast until sunset. Sexual intercourse is prohibited
if you decide to retreat to the masjid (during the last ten days
of Ramadan). These are God’s laws; you shall not transgress
them. God thus clarifies His revelations for the people, that they
may attain salvation. (2:187)
Ramadan is one of the lunar months in the Islamic calendar. A lunar
month is approximately 29.5 days, which is the time it takes for
the moon to orbit the earth. Because a lunar month is, on the average,
one day shorter than a solar month, a lunar year is 10-12 days shorter
than a solar year. Therefore, the Month of Ramadan comes 10-12 days
earlier each year. This way we get to fast when the days are very
warm and long in summer as well as when they are cool and short
in winter. This beautiful design by God is also a test for us to
see if we will fast regardless of the length or temperature of the
days of Ramadan.
The beginning of a new lunar month is the moment, during the
moon’s orbit around the earth,
when the moon is in conjunction with the sun, with the sun’s
light hitting the side of the moon away from the earth. In this
position, the moon is said to be a “new moon,” with
its dark side turned toward the earth. By definition, a new moon
is not visible from the earth as the sun’s light is shining
only on the side of the moon not facing the earth.
As the moon continues to orbit around the earth, it starts forming
a crescent. This will be minutes after the new moon even though
the crescent will not visible for several hours. In some traditional
Islamic countries, Muslims do not start fasting until they can see
the crescent in the sky. In those countries people who sight the
crescent first may also be rewarded. To get the reward, some people
camp on hilltops where the visibility will be the best.
God gave us scientific knowledge to determine exactly when a lunar
month will begin and end. Any observatory or astronomy center should
have that information for your area. Some almanacs, magazines or
newspapers also report the times for the phases of the moon. To
determine when one should start fasting, compare the time the new
lunar month begins with the time of sunset, the beginning of a day
in the Islamic calendar.
The Islamic day is the same as the Hebrew day. It begins at sunset
and ends at the next sunset. In this system, the night comes before
the day. Therefore, in some traditional Islamic countries, when
they talk about, for instance, Friday night, they are actually referring
to
Thursday night as we know it because
that night actually belongs to Friday according to their definition
of a day.
Beginning of Ramadan
To determine when Ramadan (or any lunar month) begins, we need
to know mainly two facts. The first is the time of the “new
moon,” and the second is the time of sunset of the same day
as this new moon. Even though the lunar month theoretically begins
with the new moon, in practice the month begins on the first sunset
following this new moon.
If the new moon time for the month of Ramadan is before the sunset,
one starts fasting the next day at dawn (fajr). However, if the
new moon time is actually past the sunset, then that particular
night is considered to belong to the last day of the previous month
(Sha’ban). Therefore, even if the new moon time may fall before
the dawn, the first day of Ramadan does not start until the next
sunset. Thus one starts fasting at dawn following this sunset.
Ending of Ramadan
One has to use the same system to determine the ending of the month
to be consistent. If the new moon time for the month following Ramadan
(the month of Shawwal) is before the sunset, one ends fasting at
that sunset because the next day will be the first day of Shawwal.
If the new moon time is past the sunset one must fast the next day
also since that day will belong to Ramadan.
Page 4
The Month of Ramadan
The Night of Power (Destiny)
The Night of Power (Layl-al-Qadr) is the night in which the Quran was
revealed to Prophet Muhammad. It is the 27th night of Ramadan. God describes
this night as better than a thousand months. During that night, the angels
and the Spirit descend therein, by God’s leave, to carry out every
command (97:1-5).
Because the Night of Power is such a special night, those Muslims (Submitters)
who want to gain extra credit of righteousness spend the night by commemorating
God the Almighty either in their privacy or in a mosque with other Muslims.
There are also Muslims who retreat to a mosque in the last ten days of
Ramadan to take advantage of God’s blessings further and increase
their faith of submission.
To determine when the Night of Power is, one
starts counting the night before fasting starts since that night is the
first night of Ramadan. Then the 27th day starting at sunset until dawn
is the Night of Power.
Another way of determining this special night, perhaps less confusing
to some people, is to count the number of days fasted. Then the sunset
of the 26th day of fasting will be when the Night of Power starts.
Ramadan This Year
The new moon times to be used for determining the beginning and ending
of Ramadan are given below for GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
10:42 P.M. on December 18
3:46 P.M. on January 17
The actual time for each time zone is relative to GMT. For example, Tucson
is seven hours behind GMT. Thus when, for example, it is 10 P.M. according
to GMT, it is 3 P.M. in Tucson. Based on the above information, the first
day of Ramadan
for Tucson is December 19, the last day is
January 17. The Night of Power starts at the sunset of January 13.
This will be valid for most of the United States and Canada, except the
East Coast where the new moon will be past the sunset by a couple of hours.
A common-sense approach to practice could be to use the same starting
and ending of the month for the entire country since God does not wish
to make the religion difficult for us (5:6). Thus the people in the U.S.A.
and Canada all start fasting on December 19. On the other hand, the people
in Europe and Asia may start on December 20.
…Do not take God’s revelations in vain. Remember
God’s blessings upon you, and that He sent down to you the scripture
and wisdom to enlighten you. You shall observe God, and know that God
is aware of all things. (2:231)
…Anyone who reverences God, He makes everything easy
for him. (65:4)
About this work
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Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson