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Shaykh Sadooq (a.r) quoted Imam Ali ibn Moosa ar-Ridha (as) that he received from his Holy ancestors, on the authority of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as), the text of the speech the Holy Prophet (saw) used to deliver at the advent of the blessed month of Ramadhan.

The Holy Prophet (saw) said;

O men and women! Draws near unto you the blessed month, overflowing with advantages, merciful, ready to put up your sins of omission and commission to Allah for obtaining His forgiveness. Its days, nights and hours, in the estimation of Allah, are more select, refined and important than the days, nights and hours of other months. It surpasses all months in merits and favours.

In this month you are the guests of Allah, enjoying His hospitality, you are from among His favourites, your breathing is “praise of Allah”, your sleep is His worship, your prayers receive His approval, your invocations are sanctioned. So, sincerely, free from evil and sinful thoughts and actions, with clear conscience, pray and request that He may give you heart and confidence to observe fast and recite the Holy Quran and dua’s throughout this month. He who does not receive mercy and forgiveness in this month is really an ill-fated unfortunate, condemned to everlasting unhappiness and deprivation.

Thirst and hunger you undergo, feel and live through, here and now, bring to your memory the severity and sharpness of the drought and starvation that will be the order of the day on the Day of Judgement. Give alms to the poor and the destitute. Treat your parents and elders with respect. Be kind and loving to your children and juniors. Take care of and look after your kith and kin. Refrain from talking what should not even be whispered. Shut your eyes to that which is indecent to have an eye for. Turn a deaf ear to that which is too slanderous to be all ears. Be compassionate, gentle and benign unto orphans so that after you, your children, if need be, receive the same treatment from others. Turn repentant to Allah and seek His nearness. After every prayer recite dua’s to invoke His mercy and forgiveness because the most suitable time to get fulfilment of desires is when you have prayed a salat, the Almighty gives answer to His servants who call Him in these moments.

O people! In truth and fact your bodies and souls are held in pledge, strike a bargain to set them free by asking forgiveness from Allah. Your backs are burdened with a hard to endure load of sins, prostrate yourselves in adoration of Allah, a great deal, to make the drag less heavy, because the Lord of the worlds has given His word, in the name of His might and honour, not to take to task those who pray and prostrate in this month, the flames of the fire will not frighten them.

O People! Whoso provides a meal to a faithful, at the time of breaking the fast, earns the recompense of setting an enslaved human being free.

O people! In this month, whoso makes better his or her morals will cross the “bridge of Siraat” with ease and fineness, where people, at every step, would stumble and fall; Whoso gives leisure and respite to his or her employees will receive equivalent leniency on the Day of Reckoning; Whoso takes care of and looks after the orphans and relatives will be treated mercifully on the Day of Judgement; Whoso prays optional salaat will get the immunity from hell-fire, and praying of obligatory salaat, in prime time, multiply the good in leaps and bounds; Whoso recites even one verse of the Holy Quran, obtains the reward of a full recital of the whole Book in the other months.

O people! In this month, beyond a shadow of doubt, the doors of the everlasting bliss and happiness are thrown open, so beseech Allah not ever to shut them off to your face; and the traps of the eternal curse are unhinged, so make a request to Allah to remove them from your path for ever; The devils are held in chains, so pray to Allah not to set them free for leading you astray. The month of Ramadhan is very dear to Allah. It is the most august of all months, pure, generous and merciful. Do not let its nights go waste in slumber, its days in careless omission or loss of remembrance of Allah.