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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Fast The Significance of Ramadhan The Month of Ramadhan is the holiest one in the Islamic calendar and begins with all its social, moral and spiritual blessings.

The following sentences of an invocation point to some of these blessings:- "O Allah, this is the month of Ramadhan, in which Thou didst sent the Quran as a guide for people and as a clear sign to differentiate between right and wrong; and it is the month of fasting, month of prayers, month of returning (to Thee) and month of repentance; it is the month of forgiveness and mercy . . . ; the month in which is the 'Night of Qadr' which is better than thousand months . . . .

; O Allah Bless Muhammad and his progeny . . and keep me free for Thy worship and for reciting Thy Book. " It appears from the above sentences that some amongst the blessings of this month are the Qur'an, the Night of Qadr, the repentance from sins and mutual understanding and forgiveness. According to Islamic belief, every action, whether good or bad, carries more weight in this month.

Thus, charity is a virtue at all times, but is more virtuous in this month; and injustice is an evil at all times, but is more evil in these days. Reciting Qur'an is a commendable deed whole year around, but during the fast it assumes a far greater significance. The Holy Prophet has said: "Everything has its own spring season, and the spring of the Qur'an is the month of Ramadhan. " It was in this month that the Qur'an was revealed to the Holy Prophet.

According to his words, the Qur'an is "the deliverer from wilderness, eyesight for the blind, pardon for the sinner, light in blackness, safety from disaster, rescue for the castaway, clarity in the chaos, and the means to reach safely from this world to the life hereafter; and herein is the perfection of your religion; and the path away from the Qur'an goes to Hell only." One of the miracles of the Qur'an is its everlasting freshness even after such long crushing centuries.

The Holy Prophet said that everything becomes old by usage and passage of time except the Qur'an, because its treasure would never exhaust and its wonders would never cease. Mr. James A.