Ramadan love letter

Day#12- An hour spent in thinking about the signs of Allah is better and far more useful than a whole night standing in worship.

Verily, there are signs for the people of wisdom in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of night and day.[ Sūrah Āl-ʿImrān, verse 190]

In the creation of the heavens and the earth are great signs of Allāh ﷻ. All those divinely created beings and things in the heavens and the earth are included. ‘The heavens’ is inclusive of all heights and ‘the earth’ covers all lows.Āishah رضي الله عنها narrates that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said to her, ‘Allow me to worship my Lord’. Nabī ﷺ rose from his bed, made ablution, and stood up for Ṣalāh. In this standing position of qiyām, Nabī ﷺ wept, so much that his tears trickled down his ﷺ blessed chest. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ went into rukūʿ and there too wept and in sajdah (prostation) he ﷺ wept also. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ raised his head and continued weeping till it was morning. Bilāl رضي الله عنه came to inform the Messenger ﷺ that it’s time for Fajr Ṣalāh. Bilāl رضي الله عنه asked the Messenger ﷺ, ‘My Master ﷺ, why do you weep like that? Isn’t it that Allāh ﷻ has forgiven all your past and future sins?’ The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ replied, ‘Should I not continue to be a grateful servant of Allāh? And in offering this gratitude of mine, why should I not shed tears, especially tonight when Allāh has revealed this verse to me, ‘Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for the people of wisdom.’ – After that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said, ‘Ruined is the person who recites these verses but fails to deliberate therein.’

Thinking about the creation inevitably leads one to realize the presence of the Creator. Look at the enormous expanse of the sky above us with the sun, the moon, the planets, and stars bound with the solar and lunar system working so well for thousands of years without being serviced or refurbished. Then, on this earth, the mountains, rivers, trees, animals, the air that circulates, and the rain that falls. Knowing and realizing that a superior being is in control of all this and more is a great act of worship.

For this reason, Imam Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله said, ‘An hour spent in thinking about the signs of Allāh is better and far more useful than a whole night standing in worship.’

[Ma’āriful Qur’ān, Volume 2]