Ramadhan in History

موضوع: Ramadhan in History الجمعة مايو 31, 2013 9:03 pm

All
praises to Allah, Lord of the worlds. He who revealed in His Glorious
Qur'an, "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those who
came before you that you
may keep your duty to your Lord (having taqwa)." (2:185). And may
blessings and peace of Allah be upon His last Messenger Muhammad ibn
Abdullah, forever.

O
you who believe, Ramadan is a sacred month wherein Almighty Allah is
constantly testing His creation and giving humanity the opportunity to
achieve infinite, endless Bliss. Fasting is a complete purification and a
means to developing the consciousness of Allah's presence. The
consciousness of Allah (Taqwa) is a protection against the schemes of
Shaitan, and the suffering of this world. Allah has informed us that,
"Whoever
keeps his duty to Allah (has taqwa), He ordains a way out for him and
gives him sustenance from where he imagines not. And whoever trusts in
Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah attains His purpose. Allah
has appointed a measure for everything." (65:2)
Many
Muslims today have a misconception about fasting and the activities of a
fasting person. They go into a state of semi-hibernation, spending most
of their daylight hours in bad. If they fear Allah, they wake up for
prayer, but then return to sleep immediately. This unnatural sleep makes
them become lazy, dull-witted and often cranky.
Ramadan
is actually a time of increased activity wherein the believer, now
lightened of the burdens of constant eating and drinking, should be more
willing to strive and struggle for Allah. The Prophet, sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam, passed through approximately nine Ramadans after the
Hijrah. They were filled with decisive events and left us a shining
example of sacrifice and submission to Allah.
In the first year after the Hijrah,
the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, sent Hamza ibn Abdul
Muttalib with thirty Muslim riders to Saif al Bahr to investigate three
hundred riders from Quraish who had camped suspiciously in that area.
The Muslims were about to engage the disbelievers, but they were
separated by Majdy ibn Umar al-Juhany. The Hypocrites of Madinah, hoping
to oppose the unity of the Muslims, built their own masjid (called
Masjid ad-Dirar). The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, ordered
this masjid to be destroyed in Ramadan.
On the seventeenth of Ramadan, 3 A.H.,
Almighty Allah separated truth from falsehood at the Great Battle of
Badr. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, and 313 of his
companions set out to intercept a caravan of their own goods that had
been left in Makkah. It was led by Abu Sufyan himself, and estimated at
50,000 dinars. They were met, instead, by a well-equipped army of the
nobility of Quraish, intent on putting out the light of Islam. Despite
being outnumbered three to one and appearing weak and unseasoned, the
Muslims defended their faith with a burning desire to protect the
Prophet and meet their Lord through martyrdom. Allah gave them a
decisive victory on this day of Ramadan, that would never be forgotten.
In 6 A.H.,
Zaid ibn Haritha was sent to Wadi al-Qura at the head of a detachment
to confront Fatimah bint Rabiah, the queen of that area. Fatimah had
previously attacked a caravan led by Zaid and had succeeded in
plundering its wealth. She was known to be the most protected woman in
Arabia, as she hung fifty swords of her close relatives in her home.
Fatimah was equally renowned for showing open hostility to Islam. She
was killed in a battle against these Muslims in the month of Ramadan.
By Ramadan of 8 A.H., the treaty of Hudaibiyya had been broken and the Muslim armies had engaged the Byzantines in the north. Ramadhan in History Roma.17

Muhammad,
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, felt the need to strike a fatal blow to
disbelief in the Arabian Peninsula and conquer the city of Mecca. Allah
has declared His Sanctuary a place of peace, security and religious
sanctity. Now the time had come to purify the Ka`bah of nakedness and
abomination. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam set out with an
army having more armed men than al-Madinah had ever seen before. People
were swelling the army's ranks as it moved toward Makkah. The
determination of the believers, guided by the will of Allah, became so
awesome that the city of Makkah was conquered without a battle, on 20
Ramadan. This was one of the most important dates in Islamic history for
after it, Islam was firmly entrenched in the Arabian Peninsula. During
the same month and year, after smashing the idols of Makkah, detachments
were sent to the other major centers of polytheism and al-Lat, Manat
and Suwa, some of the greatest idols of Arabia, were destroyed.
Such
was the month of Ramadan in the time of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi
wa sallam. It was a time of purification, enjoining the good,
forbidding the evil, and striving hard with one's life and wealth. After
the death of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, Muslims carried
on this tradition and Allah used the true believers to affect the
course of history. Ramadan continued to be a time of great trials and
crucial events.
Ninety-two years after the Hijrah,
Islam had spread across North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and
Syria. Spain was under the tyrannical rule of King Roderic of the
Visigoths. Roderic had forced his six millions serfs and persecuted Jews
to seek the aid of the Muslims of North Africa in order to be
delivered. Musa ibn Husair, the Umayyad governor of North Africa,
responded by sending his courageous general Tariq ibn Ziyad at the head
of 12,000 Berber and Arab troops. In Ramadan of that year, they were
confronted with a combined Visigoth army of 90,000 Christians led by
Roderic himself, who was seated on a throne of ivory, silver, and
precious gems and drawn by white mules. After burning his boats, Tariq
preached to the Muslims warning them that victory and Paradise lay ahead
of them and defeat and the sea lay to the rear. They burst forth with
great enthusiasm and Allah manifested a clear victory over the forces of
disbelief. Not only was Roderic killed and his forces completely
annihilated, but also Tariq and Musa succeeded in liberating the whole
of Spain, Sicily and parts of France. This was the beginning of the
Golden Age of Al-Andalus where Muslims ruled for over 700 years.
In the year 582 A.H.,
Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, after battling with the Crusaders for years,
finally drove them out of Syria and the whole of their occupied lands in
the month of Ramadan. The Muslim world was then destined to meet one of
its most frightening challenges.
In the seventh century A.H.
the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in
their path. Genghis Khan called himself "the scourge of God sent to
punish humanity for their sins". In 617 A.H., Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan
were put to the sword Ramadhan in History Roma.20

causing
more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656 A.H.,
Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued this destruction. Even
Baghdad, the leading city of the Muslim world, was sacked. Some
estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this
awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine
openly while the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in
drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the masjids and no Azan (call to
prayer) was allowed. In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with
the threat of the whole Muslim world and then Europe being subjected to
the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt, Saifuddin
Qutz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on
25th of Ramadan, 658 A.H. Although they were under great pressure, the
Muslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching bravery
crushed the Mongol army and reversed this tidal wave of horror. The
whole of the civilized world sighed in relief and stood in awe at the
remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam.
This
was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous forefathers to
face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of intense activity,
spending the day in the saddle and the night in prayer while calling
upon Allah for His mercy and forgiveness.
Today,
the Muslim world is faced with drought, military aggression, widespread
corruption and tempting materialism. Surely we are in need or believers
who can walk in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet, sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam, the illustrious Sahabah, Tariq ibn Ziyad, Qutuz,
Salahuddin and the countless heroes of Islam. Surely we are in need of
believers who are unafraid of the threats of the disbelievers, yet kind
and humble to the believing people; Muslims whose fast is complete and
not just a source of hunger and thirst.
May
Allah raise up a generation of Muslims who can carry Islam to all
corners of the globe in a manner that befits our age, and may He give us
the strength and the success to lay the proper foundations for them.
May Allah make us of those who carry out our Islam during Ramadan and
after it, and may He not make us of those who say what they do not do.
Surely Allah and His Angels invoke blessings and peace upon our Prophet
Muhammad. O you who believe, send blessings and peace to him forever.

» Repentance in Ramadhan
» Sunnahs Neglected in Ramadhan
» Ramadhan: The Month of Mercy to Muslims
» Brief History of Compilation of the Qur'an
» Brief History of Compilation of the Qur'an