A Time To Tame And Train The Soul

By His Eminence Shaikh Ahmed al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate — The month of Ramadhan is a time to polish the soul and make it accustomed to enduring hardships and shouldering all sorts of religious obligations, this is clearly manifested in the fact that fasting leads to the Muslims’ adherence to the Holy Quran as stated in the words of the Sublime God: (The month of Ramadhan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights the crescent on the first night of the month, he must observe saum (fasts) that month). In this Quranic verse Almighty God combined what He had bestowed on mankind (by revealing the Holy Quran in this blessed month) with what He had called them to perform (the fast). The month of Ramadhan was associated with some auspicious events and great achievements in the history of Islam the most important of which is the opening of Mecca, which was the groundbreaking victory and blessed opening God promised to his worshippers so as to establish the Muslim nation in the land and make them His own successors. The month of Ramadhan was also preceded by the battle of Badr, the first battle in which truth triumphed over falsehood and polytheism was defeated. The fasting of Ramadhan was imposed in the second year of Prophet Muhammad’s Hijra (the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina) and Jihad (holy war) was imposed on Muslims at the same time. Throughout the Islamic history the month of Ramadhan witnessed many victories and openings which means that Ramadhan boosts the Muslims’ determination.