Ayatullah Sayyid Mujtaba Nur Mufidi in His Advanced Class: The Month of Ramadan Is an Opportunity for Returning to Tawhid (Divine Unity)

Ayatullah Sayyid Mujtaba Nur Mufidi in His Advanced Class on the Eve of the Holy Month of Ramadan

• God has provided a most suitable platform for spiritual screening and elevating human spiritual health in the month of Ramadan, and this is among the greatest divine favors.

• The hardship of cleansing the heart and soul from moral pollutions is far greater than the hardship of hunger and thirst. Many endure hunger and thirst, yet lack the stamina for spiritual purification; and whoever departs this world with spiritual pollution from moral vices will be tormented by these pollutions in the realm of Barzakh.

• That which is said—that the doors of heaven are opened on the first night of Ramadan and not closed until the last night—means that in addition to divine forgiveness and pardon of sins, the possibility of opening the eye of the heart to the Heavenly Kingdom (Malakut) is provided to a greater extent.

• One of the most prominent deeds in this month is paying attention to the concerns and griefs of others and striving to untie the material and spiritual knots of the people. The clergy bears a duty toward both dimensions.

Let me state a few words regarding this month and the duties that rest upon our shoulders, placing all of you in the care of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and requesting your prayers. The month of Ramadan—for which outstanding descriptions have been noted—is a month of immense importance for the health of the human soul and body. It is among God’s favors that in this world of multiplicities (‘alam-e kasarat), nature, and matter—where every corner, place, moment, and time can serve as a bandit for man, submerging our mind and soul in the manifestations of this world, diverting our attention from Almighty God, and distancing us from Tawhid—God has provided us an opportunity and time in the form of a command and duty to return to our origin. He has placed at our disposal an opportunity for purification, self-retrieval, and returning toward Tawhid. This is an exceptional opportunity and among God’s special favors.

Outwardly, someone might assume that hunger and thirst are accompanied by hardship. This is natural: that a person resists desires when holding an inclination to eat, drink, or engage in certain worldly pleasures—standing against this inner inclination and not fulfilling even the legitimate desire of the soul—is difficult. Legitimate desires of the soul sometimes become illegitimate desires in Ramadan: drinking water, which is legitimate, becomes illegitimate during the daytime of Ramadan. This restriction, imposition, and hardship aim at returning man toward Almighty God and returning to the path of bliss and guidance. Therefore, from this perspective, we must be grateful and utilize the capacity and opportunity of this month so that, God forbid, the continuation of spiritual pollutions and spiritual diseases does not drag us to a point of no return. When the human body contracts a blight, if identified early, it is treatable; but if it remains hidden and deepens, it reaches a stage where it is no longer treatable. The blights of the soul are likewise. The month of Ramadan is, in reality, an annual spiritual check-up. That is, God calls all His servants in the month of Ramadan toward checking up on themselves—a general summons, like screening programs examining children’s health in eyes, diabetes, or blood pressure. This too is a spiritual screening, provided we pay attention to the philosophy of Ramadan, its importance, purpose, and destination.

The Noble Messenger of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) states: “الصِّيامَ ابتِلاءً لإخلاصِ الخَلقِ”—“Fasting is a trial to test the sincerity of creation.” Ibtila’an li-Ikhlas al-Khalq: in a more precise sense, it is a test and trial so that creation becomes sincere; so that man is cleansed from these pollutions and becomes purified. Purification is achievable through these hardships; without this hardship, it is impossible for man to be freed from these pollutions. If the routine of life were to proceed on the same basis—where man eats, drinks, and lives during this period just as on all other days—this changes nothing. Dietary abstentions during physical illness are one way to be cured from disease: when someone falls ill, they are told “do not eat this food, eat that food,” and medication is administered. All abstentions recommended in Ramadan are for spiritual and even physical cleansing, for sincerity (ikhlas), and for purification. When a doctor says “do not eat this food; if you eat it, you will not heal,” one must pay attention. Human spirit is the exact same: these abstentions required in the month of Ramadan are for man’s healing and distancing himself from unhealthy spiritual viruses with which he has been afflicted.

In addition to providing this capacity, God has bestowed upon man rewards and advantages, as if stating: You must abstain to become cleansed; then, to encourage people along this path, He states that good deeds in these days are multiplied and God wipes away all your sins.

The Messenger of Allah states: “شَهْرُ رَمَضانَ شَهْرُ اللّه ِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ هُوَ شَهْرٌ يُضاعِفُ اللّه ُ فيهِ الْحَسَناتِ وَ يَمحو فيهِ السَّيِّئاتِ وَ هُوَ شَهْرُ الْبَرَكَةِ”—“The month of Ramadan is the month of Allah, Mighty and Majestic; it is a month in which Allah multiplies good deeds, erases evil deeds, and it is the month of blessing.” If someone places himself within the framework of this spiritual screening program, God makes him like a newborn: “Yamhu fihi al-sayyi’at”—He wipes away all his spiritual pollutions, all his sins, and all those black spots present in him transform into whiteness; and then his good deeds become prominent and magnified, encompassing his entire existence. This is a special favor that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has granted to man.

Therefore, in this month one must contemplate peaks—not merely spiritual purification, but growth, elevation, and perfection. There is a difference between a person being merely healthy versus becoming intensely healthy, strong, capable, and eternal—meaning placing the horizon of one’s trajectory and destination far higher.

The Messenger of Allah states: “إنَّ أبوابَ السَّماءِ تُفتَحُ في أوَّلِ لَيلَةٍ مِن شَهرِ رَمَضانَ و لاتُغلَقُ إلى آخِرِ لَيلَةٍ مِنهُ”—“Indeed, the doors of heaven are opened on the first night of the month of Ramadan and are not closed until its last night.”

What does this opening of doors mean? A part of the doors of divine mercy is the cleansing of sins; another part consists of the doors of human ascension and soaring. That a person gains insight (basirah), elevates his thought, mind, and soul above the level of daily life, attains higher truths, and finds a pathway to the Heavenly Kingdom (Malakut)—this path is open. Is this not a blessing? Is this not grace? That the path of illness is halted, followed by all these awards and rewards for someone seeking to heal himself—and not merely heal, but become strong and a champion.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to make maximum use of this opportunity and blessing, and not pass it merely in hunger and thirst, God forbid. Let us strive to make our hearts sound, distancing our soul from grudges, malice, envy, ill-will, and suspicions; for the sounder a person’s heart and soul are, the better his Barzakh will be. Do we wish for our torments in Barzakh to diminish? Do we wish to be in comfort and bounty (ruhh wa rayhan) in Barzakh? In any case, we must pay attention to making maximum use of opportunities during these days; if we want a peaceful life in this world and the Hereafter, there is no way other than these spiritual purifications.

Our Barzakh, our manner of dying, the agonies of death (sakarat al-mawt), the realm of the grave and Barzakh, and likewise thereafter until Resurrection—all depend on our perspective and living in this world. A person living with envy and suffering torment carries this torment with him to the realm of Barzakh, where he will continue to suffer. If we want to live comfortably, die comfortably, and pass Barzakh comfortably, we must color our heart and soul with divine dye. A pure heart, sound spirit, and divine soul cannot coalesce with these preoccupations and troubles we created for ourselves—envy, grudges, unhealthy rivalries. Hunger and thirst exist so that, in the true sense of the word, our soul attains health.

A part of actions in these days naturally involves attending to others in addition to oneself: propagating religion, not merely through speech but through action. The most important thing capable of assisting the strengthening of religion and faith in these conditions is our action and behavior—through noble character, good conduct, proper interaction with people, following up on people’s affairs, and untying knots for others even verbally. Yes, many of us might be unable to solve people’s problems, but verbally we can assist, accompany, and instill hope in people under these tough conditions, alongside many matters that must be addressed in their proper place. This too is a duty. Let us not think we should focus all our concern solely on ourselves; each in its place—we must attend both to ourselves and to others, combining between the two. Just as our own bliss and spiritual health are important to us, the bliss and spiritual health of others must likewise be important to us.

God willing, may Allah grant this success (tawfiq) to all of us; I request prayers from all gentlemen.