Mukhtar Oyetunji
Have you ever been involved in a race you simply couldn’t finish? One in which despite best efforts the mind and body just could not synergise to see it out.
I was once involved in such… Some kilometres School Marathon. My heart almost gave out and my lungs were close to a burst up. No matter how much I tried moving forward there seemed a force pulling me back.
The reason for my poor performance was simple, I had little to no preparation whatsoever for the race, I simply went with friends despite knowing I was a sprinter coupled with the fact that I had done little to no preparations. Same way some people approached Ramadan since its commencement.
The race through Ramadan is just like a marathon, a marathon that has to be seen out by everyone. The mentality of marathon and marathonists anyways is that completing the race is the most important thing, not winning.
Fairly so, there’s no case of anyone winning against the other in the Ramadan race. Its a race towards accumulating of good deeds and seeking Allah’s pleasure the best way possible.
Simply put its a race against onesself. A personal race against one’s whims and caprices. A race to earn the pleasure and paradise of Allah and be saved from his Hell.
Completion of task, aims and objective is the indeed the way of Allah and Islam. Allah promises in many verses to always fulfil his purpose no matter the circumstance.
For instance Allah says Surah At-Talaq, Verse 3;
…. surely Allah attains His purpose; Allah indeed has appointed a measure for everything.
Also, While instructing the prophet Allah says in Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 67:
O Apostel! deliver completely what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.
The actual word used in both verses is ‘baligh’ a word which can only translated on the surface to mean ‘complete, attain, or deliver’ but in actual sense denotes much more.
In the latter verse, Allah says… if you do it not, then you have not delivered his message implying that if the prophet (SAW) did not deliver the message to completion he hadn’t delivered the message.
The verse explains the action of the prophet before his death where he asked from the congregation of if he had indeed completed the message of Islam and they responded in the affirmative.
Similarly, the Prophet (SAW) informed in narrations that Allah loves when a slave performs a deed and sees it out in the best of ways
In local parlance, it is only one who completes a task that can be congratulated and praised for job well done.
Indeed anyone who doesn’t perform a task to perfection in some instances is no better than one who didn’t do it at all. So at this stage in Ramadan there’s simply no slowing down. If necessary frantic effort must be made like a racer rushing towards the finish line knowing fully well its finish or burst.
As far as Ramadan for the year 1441AH is concerned we are surely in its final lap and proper completion is of essence. Finishing well is also important in bringing about the full sense of gratification that we have indeed given our best for Ramadan while fostering the confidence that Allah will accept the deeds.
Anything short of the best effort till the end now is by any standard unacceptable but this can only be made possible through the help of Allah (SWT). Its the more reason to move closer to him and commit all affairs in his hands.
Our sleepless nights and restless days so far can only be well complemented if we do loose focus like a racer deluded by a red-herring assumed to be the finish line. For even though we can see the supposed end in sight, wee should hasten towards it like a horse race rounding off another successful outing.
In the end, the full recompense of our fasting and other activities in Ramadan lies with Allah. He is the one who knows even the little charity we gave, the numbers of hours spent in worship ant night, the amount of letters recited from the Qur’aan down to the least acts we sometimes think to be insignificant.
As Allah says in Suratul Hud Q 11 verse 115;
Allah does not waste the deed of the doers of good.
May Allah grant us full recompense in this World and the Hereafter.
