Even though the arrival of Ramadan is customary for most people, in reality it is a landmark for those who want to achieve the true objective of life i.e. like what Allah SWT specifically mentions in the context of fasting as “La ‘al lakum tat takuun” meaning with it you gain a degree of taqwa to Allah SWT. It has become a rather ordinary thing, this kalimah is being memorized and remembered, “La ‘al lakum tat takuun”, but have we ever reached that level of “tat takuun” when Ramadan comes and Ramadan goes?

Do we reach the stage when the Prophet mentioned to his wives and companions i.e. “Faya ‘ajaban liman adraka ramada na fala yukh farulah”, in which the meaning is “How strange of a person whose age reaches the forthcoming Ramadan, when the Ramadan is over he does not take the opportunity to have all his sins forgiven by Allah”?

No body is free from sins except the Prophet who is maksum. We encounter in this era a lot of things we cannot escape but to swallow. As a result we have to accept the wrath of Allah SWT. As we have witnessed from the disasters, catastrophe, calamities after calamities, we have witnessed from the unpleasant events that tell us that there is a wrath from Allah. Allah would not be wrathful if it is not because of the vast sins of mankind. That’s why when Ramadan comes, it is really strange to find people who have the chances to be alive till this latest Ramadan but when Ramadan is over, their sins are not forgiven.

That’s why Siti Aishah RA earnestly wanted to have the chance to meet the Night of Qadar (Lailatul Qadar), she asked the Prophet, “When is the occurrence of the Night of Qadar?” The Prophet asked Aishah back, “What would you want to do when you meet the Night of Qadar?” Aishah replied “I don’t know.” Then, Aishah asked again “What am I supposed to do when coming upon the Night of Qadar?” The Prophet told Aishah “It is a night in which it is very good to do good deeds and very easy for the doa to be answered by Allah.” Aishah asked again “What is the best doa for me to pray on that night?”

The Prophet answered "If you have the chance to encounter and know that the night is the Night of Qadar, pray “Allah humma innaka ‘afuu ’un karimun tuhib bul ‘af wa fa’ fu ‘anni”" (meaning: O Allah, You are the Lord who likes to forgive, please forgive all my sins)

Actually the Prophet already knows that Aishah would enter paradise, meaning all her sins would already be forgiven by Allah, but why did the Prophet still ask Aishah to beg Allah to forgive her sins? Whereas, it is of course not fitting for Aishah to be put into hell, she only fits to be put into paradise. Her sins and rewards are not so much of an issue, but still the Prophet ordered her to pray to Allah so that her sins would be forgiven.

Let’s relate another story i.e. when Allah informed Prophet Muhammad SAW that there would exist amongst the Tabiin (“Tabiin” means a group of people who had not the chance to meet the Prophet but only have the chance to meet the Prophet’s companions. For those who had the chance to meet the Prophet, they are called “Sahaba”. Those who came into this world after the Prophet died but had the chance to meet the Sahabas, they are called Tabiin). The Prophet advised Umar and Ali RA, “There would be born amongst the Tabiin, a man whose doa is effective, his name is Uwais al-Qarni and he would be born during your time”.

We have already known well who Sayyidina Umar dan Sayyidina Ali are, two persons who had been listed as “al-Mubasyirun bil Jannah” i.e. those who had been guaranteed paradise. The Prophet then said, “During your time soon, there’d exist a man whose doa is very effective. The two of you must find him. He would come from the direction of Yaman, he grows up in Yaman. He would appear during your time, find him. If you meet him, ask him to make doa for the two of you.”

Just like in the story of Siti Aishah earlier, Umar and Ali RA asked the Prophet the same question i.e. "What should we ask from Uwais al-Qarni, O Rasulullah?" The Prophet replied “Ask him so that he would supplicate to Allah to forgive your sins”.

There a lot of events that when the Sahabas saw the Prophet, they asked for good things for themselves, the Prophet told them “Ask for al-Maghfirah from Allah SWT.” Therefore, the subject of al-Maghfirah (forgivenss) has become the most sought after and relevant subject, even to the people who had been listed as “members” of paradise. If according to common logic, the members of paradise would no longer be in need of their sins to be forgiven as they had already been guaranteed paradise, but it didn’t happen like that, the Prophet still emphasized that they ask Allah to forgive their sins.

Siti Aishah did come upon the Night of Qadar, she supplicated all night until the dawn came with the doa that the Prophet had taught her, “Allah humma innaka ‘afuu ’un karimun tuhib bul ‘af wa fa’ fu ‘anni” (meaning: O Allah, You are the Lord who likes to forgive, therefore forgive my sins).

How true was the prophecy of a Prophet, Uwais al-Qarni appeared during the time of Sayyidina Umar and Sayyidina Ali. They deliberately looked for the caravans that came from Yaman to Madinah and in the end they met Uwais al-Qarni.

By looking through the naked eyes, it did not seem possible that he was the person that the Prophet meant. Because in the eyes of ordinary people or the people who came with him in the caravan, he was considered as someone with an inadequate mind, as if something is not right on him in the eyes of the people.

But he had something…..

The Background of Uwais al-Qarni

He originally had a skin disease, his body was all pale, the hated white disease (vitiligo). Even though he had a skin disease, he was a righteous person, very caring towards his sick and paralyzed mother. He worked very hard in order seek the pleasure of his mother. His father had died when he was still young. He was diseased since birth and he was raised by his mother until he reached adulthood.

One day Uwais’s mother told him that she wanted to go and perform the hajj so much. She asked Uwais to try and make some efforts so that she could be brought to Makkah to perform the hajj.

As a poor man, Uwais could not afford to find the funds for her mother, as at that time most people who wanted to perform the hajj from Yaman to Makkah must prepare a number of camels with “Haudats” installed on it. A Haudat is like a small house placed on the camel’s back as a shelter from the hot sun and rain, comfortable and it’s cost was expensive. Uwais could not afford to prepare such a luxury, he did not even own a camel and to rent one was very expensive.

Uwais’s mother was getting more sick everyday and therefore, she insisted and told her son, “My son I might not have much time left to be with you, please try and do something so that I could perform the hajj.”

Uwais found an idea, he thought of something that he could do. He bought a newborn calf that had just completed its suckling. He built a small house (kind of a hut) on top of a “Tilal” i.e. an elevated land (he built a house for the cow on a small hill).

What he did was; in the afternoon he would carry the calf onto the “Tilal”. The next morning, he would carry the calf down from the “Tilal” for it to feed in the field. That was what he did every day. There were also times when he carried the calf and went around the hills.

His actions resulted in people calling him crazy. Of course it was weird, he built a house for the cow on a hill, then carried the cow every day, afternoon onto the hill and morning down from the hill.

But actually his intention was good. If we can do that to the cow, once in the afternoon and once in the morning, from a cow that weighed 20kg and after six months the cow already weighed 100kg, our muscles in the arms and bodies would become strong that it would not be a problem to carry a cow that weighed 100kg downhill and uphill.

After eight months of doing it, the hajj season came. It now appeared that what he did was as a preparation for bringing his mother to perform the hajj. He carried his mother with both his arms from Yaman until they reached Makkah. He placed all essentials like water, food, etc. on his back. If he could easily carry a cow that weighed 100kg, then his mother who only weighed around 50kg was nothing to him. He brought (lifted and carried) his mother with both his arms from Yaman to Makkah, performing the Tawwaf, Saie and be at the field of Arafah with ease. He then carried his mother the same way (with both his arms) from Makkah back to Yaman.

After returning from Yaman, the Mother said, “Uwais, what did you ask in your doa while you were in Makkah?” Uwais answered “I prayed that Allah forgives all your sins”. The Mother asked again, “How about your sins?” Uwais replied, “With your sins being forgiven, mother, you will enter paradise, it’s enough that you are pleased with me, then I will enter paradise as well”.

The mother said again, “I want you to make doa so that Allah will get rid of your disease (vitiligo)”. Uwais said “I feel reluctant to make such a doa, because this is what Allah willed to happen. If we are pleased with His creation, then it’s as if I am not grateful with Allah Ta’ala”. The mother added, “If you want to enter paradise, you have to obey my order. I am ordering you make the doa”.

Uwais finally gave in, he had no choice but to lift his hands and make doa. Uwais prayed like what his mother wanted him to pray, begging Allah to cure the abnormal skin spots he had suffered. But as he was still afraid in case there would be sins on his part, he prayed “Please O Allah, because my mother ordered me to make doa to get rid of this whiteness on my body, but let a few remains.”

Allah SWT cured it instantly, the whiteness on his body was gone except for a spot the size a coin on the back of his neck (for the Prophet SAW, he had the Khatam Nubuwwah i.e. the sign of prophethood, the sign on the Prophet shone). The white spot sign on Uwais was as a result of his doa, that not all skin spots were to be removed as this (the disease) was like a gift from Allah, therefore the Prophet mentioned to Umar and Ali about this sign. "The sign will be seen on his back in the form of a white spot. If you see this sign, then he is Uwais al-Qarni."

Not long after Uwais made such doa, his mother passed away. He had fulfilled all his mother’s requests. After that he had become someone whose status is high in Allah’s sight. His doa was easily answered. According to the Qur’an, Prophet Isa AS had also made doa for the same disease to be cured during his time.

Back to the original point, Sayidina Umar and Sayidina Ali managed to meet Uwais and they asked him only one thing; to make doa to Allah SWT so that their sins were forgiven.

When Uwais al-Qarni met Umar and Ali, he said “I come from Yaman to Madinah because I want to fulfill the Prophet’s will for you i.e. for you both to meet me. I am coming here in order to fulfill that will”.

Then, Uwais made doa for both of them.

The Most Important Doa In The Night of Qadar

Like what has been mentioned in the beginning, “Faya ‘ajaban liman adraka ramada na fala yukh farulah”, really strange for the people who have the chance to live till this Ramadan, but their sins are not forgiven.

If tonight is the Night of Qadar, the focus will always be on asking for worldly gains. People are not interested in asking for their sins to be forgiven, they rather asks for other things, asking for the stock value to rise, for the business to flourish, to be able to marry new wives, to be rich, they predictably asked for the contentment of this world, whereas “Wallah yuridul akhirah”. Allah and His Messenger are more to prioritizing the life of the hereafter, that’s the most important.

Even in all these times, we do not know for sure whether our sins are really already forgiven? Although we feel like the sins have been forgiven by Allah.

If we have the chance like this i.e. the Night of Qadar or the chance to meet people who are confirmed to be like whom we mentioned earlier i.e. their doa are effective like pious people and their likes, the main and most important doa to be asked is for Allah to forgive our sins.

No need to mention others as the best example, even the Prophet who is called “Ghoforollah hu mat taqadaman” (Allah Ta’ala has forgiven all his past sins, if any and also his future sins) also beg for forgiveness. Why did the Prophet still make doa to Allah not less than a hundred times everyday i.e. “Astagh firruka humma waatubu ilaih”. A hundred times each day, in his prayer, supplicating a long doa to the extent that it was also said (hadith Aishah) that his feet were swollen. Siti Aishah had to say to the Prophet, “O Rasulullah, why do you worship exceedingly until you feet become swollen, pray in such a long time, cry in such a long time, didn’t Allah already forgive your past and future sins?” The Prophet answered “If thus are the conditions, why don’t I be a grateful slave?”

Shukr means performing ibaadah to Allah SWT. This is what we said earlier, the system that Islam presents to the ummah, the entire activities of ibaadah, the focus on the preparation called “Wa tazau wadu”, are all aimed at self, heart, aql, and character purification from what is called “al-khush” (all things bad).

Al-Quran gives an analogy i.e. if the land is nice and fertile, it’s easy for the trees to grow which are beneficial and if the land is dirty (meaning; not suitable for crop growing) such as rocky and sandy lands, it’s hard for the crop to grow, even if it grows it won’t be as good as those that grow in other lands.

Hence, it’s the same as mankind, if what’s stored inside us is dirty (disgusting things) then nothing would come out except dirty things as well. If what’s inside us is good, it would produce good things, our deeds are good, our speeches are good, our akhlaq are good, our muammalah (interpersonal relationships) are good and we would be called a good person.

Allah is good, He does not accept deeds except good deeds also. That’s why when Islam first came there were already systems like in the verses of the Qur’an that were revealed early, the surah Al-Mudatsir for example, Allah says: O thou wrapped up (in the mantle)! Arise and deliver thy warning! (meaning to move in one unity of struggle, motioning owns’ souls and the souls of mankind). And your Lord you magnify! (Do not magnify others, magnify Allah SWT only.

By means of giving some analogies, like the cloths we wear, the house where we live, the car that we drive, etc. they must be clean. We must purify them, because this is very fitting to the verses that the Prophet embodied.

Amongst the type of garments that the Prophet liked to wear are white garments which symbolize purity and cleanliness. Though the Prophets sometimes did wear red and black garments in battles but the one he liked the most was the colour of white. That’s the reason why we notice the dress during hajj is white and the shroud for the dead is white. Turbans are generally white though the Prophet’s turban is sometimes green.

If our external wears clean white then the inside of should be free from filths. Islam teaches that the outside must be clean till consequently the inside is also clean. If this was what the Prophet did from the beginning then of course what is important in this month of Ramadan is to cleanse ourselves.

With the fasting that we perform during the day, the taraweeh at night, making doa systematically from the beginning till the end of Ramadan i.e.

“Allah humma innaka ‘afuu ’un karimun tuhib bul ‘af wa fa’ fu ‘anni” (meaning; O Allah, You are the Lord who likes to forgive, therefore forgive my sins).

If we do it every night from the beginning till the end of Ramadan, we would certainly come across a night where that is the Night of Qadar. Because it is certain that the night would come once every year in the month of Ramadan. If we strike that night right, then we would have reached our aim i.e. to beg from Allah SWT for the most precious thing i.e. for Allah to forgive all our sins. If we encounter such a chance we would have reached the goal mentioned earlier i.e. “La’al lakum tat takun”, with it you have taqwa, with it we reached the main life objective.

“Ya ‘ajaban”, it’s of course strange for the people who have the chance to experience another Ramadan but they do not take advantage of that Ramadan by begging Allah to forgive all their sins.

All the crises in the world, all the problems that mankind encounters in this world, chaos, awesome debts, would end when the person dies. We make agreements with someone, quarrel, fight and all the crises in this world, to a person would end when he dies.

But the crises of sins with Allah Ta’ala especially the crisis of iman, the crises because of accumulating sins which involve iman and etc. do not seem to show any problem in this world but in reality it will begin when the time to die is close, problem in entering the grave, problem in the world of barzakh, to the problem in the field of mahshar, the reason is back to the issue of sins again.

That’s why the Prophet had given a guideline which is easy enough for us to understand. We are not asked to beg for gold to come down from the heaven on the Night of Qadar, or beg to be loved by everyone, to be made as a boss forever or huge profits in business, those are not what we ask for. On the other hand, the Prophet gave us an example to show that this really can be achieved, even if we suffer hardships temporarily in this world it will all end when we die.

If we have sins, a new painful life would begin when we die, in fact even at the time approaching the death it would already begin. For the people who are “Zalimi an fusu hum”, those who are oppressive to themselves in this life because of letting sins, doing sins and not trying to get rid of sins, when they are about to die, angels would come to them with hammers to hit their faces, backs and buttocks. The hardship would already begin when the soul want to depart the body, hanging in between the heaven and earth, between this world and the barzakh, and the souls are tormented when entering the grave.

That’s why the Prophet wants to free us from all these torments, through his wife Siti Aisyah he advised, “If you get the Night of Qadar don’t ask for anything else other than for all our sins to be forgiven by Allah”.

Also remember when the Prophet advised the people that he loved i.e. Umar (his father in-law) and Ali (his son in-law), if you meet Uwais al-Qarni ask so that Allah will forgive all your sins. The same goes with his other companions, he advised them to beg from Allah for all their sins to be forgiven.

Let’s make the most of this Ramadan with our focus on all our sins to be forgiven until there are no more sins. The method is by not adding up more sins, settle the ones that we have by begging for forgiveness. Let’s take the opportunity this Ramadan so that we can be included amongst His lucky slaves especially when we return to Allah SWT.