{The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.} [Quran 2:185]

"When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and the rebellious Jinn are chained, the gates of Hell are closed till no gate thereof is open and the gates of Paradise are opened till no door thereof is closed. A caller cries out, ‘O seeker of good, proceed; O seeker of evil, desist.’ Allah saves some people from Hell – and that happens every night.” [At-Tirmithi] [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]

Ramadan is a school for learning, education, repentance, returning to Allah The Almighty and a station for acquiring greater acts of obedience and voluntary acts of worship.

Ramadan is an opportunity for the worshippers to stay in seclusion with their Creator during its days and nights and to have a sincere intention for pleasing Allah The Almighty Alone, in their acts of obedience and fasting. "The fast is for Me and I will give the reward for it, as he (the one who observes the fast) leaves his sexual desire, food and drink for My sake." [Al-Bukhari]

Ramadan trains one's soul to fight [one's desires and evil inclinations], endure acts of obedience and abandon disobedience.

Ramadan is a chance to obtain forgiveness, repentance and sweep away one's misdeeds and sins.

What a great reward for the worshippers, those who observe fasts, those who perform Qiyaam (voluntary night prayer) and those who recite the Quran and remember Allah The Almighty!

What a delightful feeling our hearts experience, when we are welcoming the month of goodness and blessings!

How happy are the souls that longed for Ramadan, seeking its gifts and refreshing breeze, and the hearts that yearned for it amid the sound of their weeping and the tears their eyes shed at dawn in seclusion!

Ramadan is the garden of the people of knowledge, a source of immense pleasure for the obedient and an open door for those who repent.

Let us receive it with repentance, returning to Allah The Almighty, seeking His forgiveness, regretting our misdeeds and being determined to stay steadfast upon obedience and endurance. May we be among those who are saved from Hell, those who are accepted and those who enjoy the best ranks in Paradise.

O soul, hasten to repentance and beware of procrastination and negligence.

O soul, how do you receive the month of fasting – with returning to Allah The Almighty and repentance... or with negligence and reluctance?

Has the time not come for you to be deterred [from evil deeds]; has the time not come for hearts to become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah The Almighty and the truth that has been sent?

Has the time not come for you to benefit from admonition and reminders?

How long will you remain in heedlessness, do you think this life is immortal? Have you forgotten about the graves, their inhabitants, the Day of Resurrection and its agony?

Do you not know that there is a decree for every term, followed by reckoning that leads to either reward or punishment? The graves are filled with pangs of regret, cries and howls of anguish and the Fire. "The Fire, they are exposed to it morning and evening..." On the other hand, the gifts of righteousness are numerous: breezes, gardens and flowing rivers, besides a foretaste of the rooms, furniture, clothing, rest and bounty of Paradise within the graves.

There is a great difference between the ranks and degrees of the fearful worshippers and the transgressors.

The former would enjoy the gardens and the latter would be tortured in the Hellfire.

It is time to question our souls: How often were you called to the truth but you declined to respond; yet, when you are called to your own worldly desires, you immediately answer their call?

Do you hear the call and refrain from answering it?

Sincere worshippers have won great rewards and reached high ranks, should you not catch up with them and compete in obtaining an elevated status [in the eyes of your Lord]?

Ramadan is the garden of worshippers and the joy of the lovers of Allah The Almighty.

Will you not come back to your beloved Lord?

Return to your Lord as this is the period during which mercy descends. If Your Lord is pleased with the repentance of His slave, He stretches out His Hand during the night so that the people repent for the misdeeds committed from dawn till dusk and He stretches out His Hand during the day so that the people may repent for the misdeeds committed from dusk to dawn. A sincere slave will continue to have hope that his repentance may be accepted until his last breath.

O soul, your Lord is calling you… O My slaves, you commit sins night and day and I forgive all sins, so seek My forgiveness and I will forgive you.

{And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided} [Quran 2:186]

Respond to your Lord and return to sanity. Let this Ramadan be the key to changing your life and a new page full of obedience, love, fear, hope, desire, awe, repentance and patience.

O soul, come to the assemblies of faith, the gardens of Paradise, the days of fasting, nights of Qiyaam and a life infused with the verses of the Quran.

Perchance the angels of The Most Merciful Lord will surround us, so that we will be written among those who remember Allah The Almighty frequently, and perhaps we will be written in the ranks of those who are saved from Hell in this noble month.