http://www.english.hadhramaut.info This could be your last Ramadhan [The Source: Friday Bulletin (issue: 379)//hadhramaut.info - 10/08/2010] Assalaam Alaykum, Wish you all a blessed month of Ramadhan We are once again blessed with the honourable month of Ramadhan. A month for renewing our faith, strengthening our willpower, and seeking forgiveness, a unique opportunity to strengthen the bond of love with our Creator, through fasting, recitation of the Qur'an, taraweeh salah and through acts of charity. People approach Ramadhan in different ways. Ramadhan means different things to different people. Some people view Ramadhan as a period of expressing their undying love for the Beloved. For them, Ramadhan is a valuable, precious, and rare occasion. They spend all their time doing good, convinced that the reward of each act is multiplied manifold. Patience, sympathy, and generosity beautify their demeanour. They guard their tongues and remain preoccupied in chanting Laa ilahaa illallah and other supplications, seeking forgiveness, begging for jannah, and seeking protection from Jahannam. They are driven by the words of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that say: “The fish in the sea, seek forgiveness for them until they break their fast. Everyday Allah decorates jannah for them and says to it: The time is near when my faithful servants shall cast the great trials (of the world) and come to you." (Ahmad). There are others who 'welcome' Ramadhan with sighs of reluctance. To them Ramadhan is an unfair imposition, a month of deprivation and hardship. They grudgingly keep fast and drag themselves to the mosque for the taraweeh prayer. Their concept of fasting is limited to physical abstention of food, drink, and sexual relationship. They spend their time in gossip, watching sport, and wasting their nights parked at cafe corners and restaurants. They are hardly ever stirred to tilawah, dhikr, and dua, nor are they careful of their salah. Their goal in Ramadhan is to prepare for Eid. The words of Rasulullah(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) aptly describes their spiritless endeavours: “Many are the ones who fast attaining nothing by such fasting except hunger , and many perform salah by night attaining nothing by it except the discomfort of staying awake." (IbnMajah). Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) further stated that: " Allah does not require the discarding food and drink of the person who fasts but does not refrain from bad speech and action." (Sahih Bukhari). There is yet a third group who is hardly ever moved by Ramadhan They neither pray, nor fast. They continue living recklessly in sin. They neither have the will or the time to make any sort of change in their daily routines. The following words of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) should serve as a grim reminder to them:  "Jibreel (alayhis salaam) appeared before me and said: " Woe to him who found the blessed month of Ramadhan and let it pass by without gaining forgiveness." Upon that I said: Aameen. (Sahih Bukhari) He also said: "Whoever does not fast for even one day in Ramadhan, without a valid excuse, shall never be able to repay that day even if he fasts for the rest of his life" (Ahmad). Brothers and sisters in Islam! Fear Allah and beware of wasting your life away in futile activities. Make use of your time by being positive and constructive, for it is by doing so you can achieve the pleasure of Allah. This may well be your last Ramadhan, your last opportunity to benefit from the special blessings and forgiveness that accompanies this month. Know that Ramadhan is a manifestation of Allah’s bountiful blessings on His slaves. Use it as a turning point in your life; a time for transformation towards a better way of life; a change from the ignominy of sins to the glory of obedience; from weakness and laziness to strength and vigour; from bad customs and detestable habits to righteousness and upright conduct.