Ayatullah Sayyid Mujtaba Nur Mufidi in al-Bahth al-Kharij lesson: Ramadan is an opportunity to return to monotheism
Ayatullah Sayyid Mujtaba Nur Mufidi in a lesson on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan
In the month of Ramadan, God has provided a very suitable environment for spiritual screening and improving the spiritual health of man, and this is one of the greatest blessings of God.
The hardship of purifying the heart and soul from moral pollution is much greater than the hardship of hunger and thirst. Many can endure hunger and thirst, but they do not have the strength to purify the soul, and whoever dies with spiritual pollution from moral vices will be tormented by these pollutions in the world of purgatory.
The fact that it is said that the doors of heaven are opened on the first night of Ramadan and do not close until the last night means that in addition to divine forgiveness and the forgiveness of sins, the possibility of opening the eyes of the heart to the world of heaven is provided more.
One of the most prominent deeds in this month is paying attention to the sorrows and sorrows of others and trying to untie the knots of material and spiritual people. The clergy has a duty towards both directions.
I would like to say a few words about this month and the duties that are incumbent upon us, and I entrust you all to God Almighty and ask for your prayers. The month of Ramadan, for which outstanding characteristics have been mentioned, is a month that is very important for the health of the human soul and body. This is one of God’s blessings that in this world of abundance and the world of nature and matter, which can be a thief for man in every corner, everywhere, at every moment and at any time, and immerse our mind and soul in the manifestations of this world, distract our attention from God Almighty and distance us from monotheism; God has provided us with an opportunity and a time in the form of a command and a duty to return to our origin, He has given us an opportunity to purify ourselves, to recover ourselves, to return to monotheism, this is an exceptional opportunity and a special blessing from God.
At first glance, someone may think that hunger and thirst are accompanied by hardship. It is natural for a person to resist desires, when he has the desire to eat, when he has the desire to drink, when he has the desire for some worldly pleasures, it is difficult to stand against this inner desire and not even fulfill the legitimate desire of the soul. Legitimate desires of the soul sometimes turn into illegitimate desires during the month of Ramadan, drinking water, which is legitimate, is illegitimate on a day of Ramadan. This limitation, hardship, and hardship are aimed at returning a person to the Almighty and returning to the path of happiness and guidance. Therefore, from this perspective, we should be grateful, we should use the capacity and opportunity of this month so that, God forbid, the continuation of spiritual pollution and spiritual illnesses does not take us to an irreversible point. When the human body is afflicted with a plague, if it is recognized early, it can be treated, but if it remains hidden and deepens, it reaches a stage where it can no longer be treated. The plagues of the soul are the same. The month of Ramadan is actually an annual spiritual checkup. That is, God calls all His servants to check themselves during the month of Ramadan. It is a general call, like some screening programs that examine children’s eye health, diabetes, or blood pressure. This is also a spiritual screening, provided that we pay attention to the philosophy of the month of Ramadan, its importance, and its purpose and destination.
The Holy Prophet of Islam (s) said: Fasting is a test for the sincerity of people; in a more precise sense, it is a hardship, a test to purify creation, so that man can be purified from these impurities, to be purified, purification is possible with these hardships, without this hardship it is not possible for man to be free from these impurities. If the routine of life is to continue on the same basis, a man eats, drinks and lives as he does all the time, and does the same during this period, this will not change anything; abstinence from food during physical illnesses is one of the ways to get rid of the illness. A person who gets sick is told not to eat this food, eat this food, and they give him medicine. All the abstinences recommended in Ramadan are for spiritual and even physical purification, for sincerity, for purification. The doctor says don’t eat this food, if you eat it you won’t get well, you should pay attention to it. The human soul is the same. These abstinences that one should do in Ramadan are for his recovery and to distance himself from the unhealthy viruses of the soul that he has been infected with.
In addition to providing this capacity, God has also given man some rewards and advantages, as if He is saying: You should abstain until you become pure, then to encourage people to this path, He says that good deeds are doubled during these days and God will cleanse all your sins.
The Messenger of God says: “The month of Ramadan is the month of Allah, the Almighty, and it is a month in which Allah multiplies good deeds and erases bad deeds, and it is a month of blessings.” If someone is included in this spiritual screening program, God makes him like someone who has just been born. “He erases bad deeds in it.” He cleanses all his spiritual impurities, all his sins, all those black spots that existed in him become white. “He erases bad deeds in it.” At that time, his good deeds become prominent and great, and this encompasses his entire being. This is a special favor that God, the Blessed and Exalted, has bestowed upon man.
Therefore, in this month, one should think about the peaks, not only spiritual purification, but also growth and transcendence of evolution; it makes a difference whether a person is just healthy or becomes very healthy, strong, empowered, eternal, meaning that he sets his horizon of movement and his horizon of destination much, much higher.
The Messenger of God says, “The gates of heaven are opened on the first night of the month of Ramadan and they do not close until the last night of it.”
What does this opening of the gates mean? Part of the gates of divine mercy is the cleansing of sins, part of it is the gates of man’s ascension. For man to gain insight, to raise his thoughts, mind, and soul above the level of his own life and to attain superior truths, to find the path to heaven, this path is open. Isn’t this a blessing? Isn’t this a favor? For the path of illness to stop, then all these rewards and rewards for the one who wants to make himself healthy, not only healthy but also strong, to become a hero.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to make the most of this opportunity and this blessing and, God forbid, not to spend it alone in hunger and thirst. Let us try to make our hearts healthy and keep our souls away from gloom, grudges, jealousy, ill will, and suspicions, because the healthier a person’s heart and soul are, the better his or her purgatory will be. Do we want our torments in purgatory to be reduced? Do we want to be in the spirit and basil in purgatory? In any case, we must pay attention to making the most of the opportunities during these days, and if we want to live a peaceful life in this world and the hereafter, there is no other way but these spiritual purifications.
Our purgatory, the way we die, the secrets of death, the world of the grave and purgatory, and so on until the Day of Judgment, all depend on the way we look at ourselves and our life in this world. A person who lives with envy and suffers, this torment is transferred with him to the world of purgatory and he suffers there too. If we want to live comfortably, we want to die comfortably, we want purgatory to pass easily, we must change our hearts and souls into divine colors. A pure heart, a healthy heart, and a divine and divine soul cannot be combined with these preoccupations and troubles that we have created for ourselves, jealousy, turbidity, and unhealthy competition. Hunger and thirst are for our souls to attain health in the true sense of the word.
One part of the work is naturally, in addition to ourselves, to deal with others, preaching religion, not only with words but also with actions, the most important thing that can help strengthen religion and belief, our actions, and our behavior in these circumstances. With good morals, with good behavior, with appropriate conduct with people, following up on people’s work, untying the knot of others’ work, even if only verbally, yes, many of us may not be able to solve people’s problems, but with the language we can help, accompany, give people hope in these difficult circumstances and many matters that now need to be addressed in their own place. This is also a duty. Let us not think that we should take all our worries and sorrows on ourselves, each in his own place, we should take care of ourselves and others, we should combine these, just as our own happiness, our own mental health is important to us, the happiness and mental health of others should also be important to us.
May God grant us all this success, and we also ask for prayers from all gentlemen.
Keywords: Sincerity, God’s grace, giving hope in difficult circumstances, purgatory, emergence and development, mental illnesses, spiritual purification, preaching religion through action, monotheism, envy and turbidity, open doors of heaven, a pure and healthy heart, divine mercy, good behavior and morals, fasting, spiritual screening, the month of Ramadan, erasing sins, being with people, social duties in Ramadan.