Allah (s.w.t) with his mercy has opened countless doors for us to erase our sins and multiply our rewards, to a point where Imam Zayn Al-Abideen (a.s) stated - when he heard that Al-Hassan Al-Basri said, “The wonder is not of the one who perished how he perished, but the wonder of who survived how he survived-, “I say: There is no wonder that he who survived how he survived, but the wonder is of the one who perished how he perished with the abundance of Allah's mercy !!”.(2)
One of the best doors that believers should truly take advantage of is the holy month of Ramadan. This month is an opportunity for believers, which will cause wretchedness if they do not capitalize on it. There are literally books about the virtues of the month of Ramadan such as The virtues of the Three months written by Sheik Al-Saddouq and volume 96 of Bihar Al-Anwar written by Allama Majlisi. A Hadith that summarizes the merits of this month is the statement of Imam Al-Ridha -peace be upon him- who says: “The wretched who is truly wretched is whoever exits this month without the forgiveness of his sins, thus he will be a loser when the good-doers win the lord’s prizes.” (3)
Just imagine if a friend told you that they had a winning lottery ticket for you, and all you had to do was to go to their house to pick it up. Yet, you were too lazy to do so, thus you would miss out on the wealth that it could have brought to you. How devastated would you be?! The same is true in the situation with the holy month, as Allah has given us the chance to gain happiness in the hereafter. A sane believer will not be wretched on the Day of Judgment.
One of the best doors that believers should truly take advantage of is the holy month of Ramadan. This month is an opportunity for believers, which will cause wretchedness if they do not capitalize on it. There are literally books about the virtues of the month of Ramadan such as The virtues of the Three months written by Sheik Al-Saddouq and volume 96 of Bihar Al-Anwar written by Allama Majlisi. A Hadith that summarizes the merits of this month is the statement of Imam Al-Ridha -peace be upon him- who says: “The wretched who is truly wretched is whoever exits this month without the forgiveness of his sins, thus he will be a loser when the good-doers win the lord’s prizes.” (3)
Just imagine if a friend told you that they had a winning lottery ticket for you, and all you had to do was to go to their house to pick it up. Yet, you were too lazy to do so, thus you would miss out on the wealth that it could have brought to you. How devastated would you be?! The same is true in the situation with the holy month, as Allah has given us the chance to gain happiness in the hereafter. A sane believer will not be wretched on the Day of Judgment.
(1) The Holy Quran, 21:1
(2) Bihar Al-Anwar, v.78, p.153.
(3) Amali Al-Sadoouq, p.54.