Ridwaan and the Month of Ramadhaan

Ask our children:

1. Why does Allah Ta‘ala command us to fast in the month of Ramadhaan?
2. Can we hide from Allah Ta‘ala?

Now tell them the story:

It was nearly the month of Ramadhaan, and Ridwaan could feel that the atmosphere had changed. Normally, there were just a few people who sat in the musjid after fajr until ishraaq time, and from asr until maghrib, but now, with Ramadaan just a week away, there were already dozens of people sitting in the musjid every day after fajr and asr, all reciting the Qur’aan Majeed.

The lists of the different places where taraweeh would be performed, and the names of the different reciters, were also being sent out. Ridwaan and his friends were busy talking about their favourite reciters, and where they wanted their fathers to take them for taraweeh. Some of Ridwaan’s friends were going for umrah, and they would be performing taraweeh in the haram shareef!

As Ridwaan and his friends were chatting, Moulana entered the classroom. After greeting the class with salaam, Moulana asked them, “So, what were you children talking about before I entered?” “We are excited that Ramadhaan is just one week away Moulana, and we were talking about our favourite taraweeh reciters!” Ridwaan answered.

“Ok,” Moulana said, “since Ramadhaan is on everyone’s minds, let us speak a little about Ramadhaan. Who can tell me the main goal and purpose in Ramadhaan?” Ridwaan’s friend, Riyaad, lifted his hand and said, “I know Moulana! The main goal in Ramadhaan is to fast!”

Hearing this answer, Moulana smiled and said, “Fasting is the special ibaadah of Ramadhaan, but the main purpose of fasting in Ramadhaan is for us to acquire taqwa. Who can tell me what taqwa is?” Again, Riyaad answered and said, “Taqwa is to fear Allah Ta‘ala”

Moulana was happy and smiled again. “Masha Allah!” he said, “and now I have an idea. All of you, come forward. I have something to give you – some special homework.” When the children heard the word ‘homework, they were not so excited, but then, when they saw that Moulana had a packet filled with chocolates in his hand, they quickly went forward, hoping that the homework involved eating chocolate!

Moulana gave one chocolate to each student, and then said, “Your homework is to find some place where no one can see you – no one at all. Then you must hide and eat the chocolate, and nobody must know that you ate it. Until you do not find a place where no one can see you and no one will know what you are doing – you are not allowed to eat the chocolate.”

As Moulana spoke, he could already see that the students’ minds were working, and they were all plotting and planning, and thinking of a secret place where they could hide and enjoy their chocolate.

That afternoon, when Ridwaan went home after madrasah, he kept the chocolate in his pocket and began to walk around, looking for a good hiding place. First, he crawled under the bed to hide, but then he realized that his feet were sticking out from underneath the mattress, so if someone walked past, they would see him. This hiding place was not good enough.

Next, Ridwaan went into the garden and hid behind a big bush. He looked around, and was sure that no one could see him. But then, Ridwaan looked up and realized that if anyone came and looked out of the bedroom window, they would be able to see him. So, this hiding place was also not good enough.

Finally, Ridwaan went to the garden shed, opened the door and went inside. He then closed the door behind him and looked around. This place seemed perfect! It was dark inside and didn’t even have any windows, so there was no chance of anyone seeing him.

Ridwaan sat down in the wheelbarrow and took the chocolate out of his pocket. He unwrapped the chocolate slowly, and looked forward to the first bite. Ridwaan raised the chocolate to his mouth, but then, as he was about to take the first bite, a thought entered his mind. He thought to himself, “No person can see me, but surely Allah Ta‘ala can see me! I can hide from people, but I cannot hide from Allah Ta‘ala! Allah Ta‘ala can see me wherever I am, and He knows everything that I am doing!”

With this thought in his mind, Ridwaan rewrapped the chocolate, and instead of eating it, he left it untouched.

The next day, when Ridwaan went to madrasah, he saw that all his friends had brought their chocolates with them, as none of them had eaten it! A few minutes later, when Moulana entered the classroom, and saw all the uneaten chocolates, he smiled and asked, “Children! Why did you not eat the chocolate?” All the children replied, “Moulana! We could hide from our parents, from our friends, and from our brothers and sisters, but we could not find any place where we could hide from Allah Ta‘ala!”

When Moulana heard this, he was very happy and said, “Alhamdulillah! It seems as though all of you have learnt the lesson which I wanted you to learn – the lesson of taqwa! When we fast in the month of Ramadhaan, then we do not eat or drink any food. Even though we may be hungry and thirsty, and even though no person may be able to see us, we do not eat or drink anything. The reason is that we know that Allah Ta‘ala can see us, and we want to please Him by fasting. The lesson of Ramadhaan, for us to learn and bring into our lives, is that out of Ramadhaan as well, we must remember that Allah Ta‘ala is watching us at all times. We must not displease Him at any moment.”

After Moulana said this, he looked at the students, and the students looked at him, until one student raised his hand. Moulana asked the student, “Jee! What do you want to ask?” The student smiled and said, “Moulana! Now can we eat the chocolates?” Moulana smiled and said, “Yes! Definitely! Now you may enjoy your chocolates – but make sure that you recite bismillah before eating it, and make sure that you throw the wrapper into the bin when you are done! Do not throw it onto the floor as you may inconvenience people and will make the classroom dirty. Islam teaches us to be clean at all times and not to inconvenience people in any way.”

In this way, Moulana had taught the students the valuable lesson of Ramadhaan – the lesson of taqwa.

Lessons:

1. Allah Ta‘ala commands us to fast in Ramadhaan so that we may acquire taqwa and learn to stay away from sins.
2. No matter where a person hides, he cannot hide from Allah Ta‘ala. Allah Ta‘ala can see him, wherever he may be, and Allah Ta‘ala knows everything that he is doing.