Merits of the Month of Ramaḍān

Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq رضي الله عنه narrated to us, saying that Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Kūfī narrated to him among others, saying that al-Mundhir b. Muḥammad informed him among others, saying that al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Khazzāz said: “I entered upon Abi’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Mūsā al-Riḍā عليه السلام on the last Friday of Shaʿbān, while a group of his companions were with him, among them ʿAbd al-Salām b. Ṣāliḥ, Ṣafwān b. Yaḥyā, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Abī Naṣr, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ, Muḥammad b. Sinān, and his two housekeepers, Yāsir and Nādir, and others besides. He said: “O’ gathering of my Shīʿa, this is the last day of Shaʿbān. Whoever spends it in fasting, seeking the reward thereby, will earn himself forgiveness.” Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl asked him: “O’ son of the Messenger of Allāh, what do you make of that which has been narrated prohibiting fasting for a day or two before Ramaḍān?” So the Imam عليه السلام replied: “O’ son of Ismāʿīl, indeed “Ramaḍān” is a name from among the names of Allāh عز وجل, so do not say: “It came,” or “It passed,” or “It began,” while this month is the month of Allāh عز وجل, and it is attributed to Him.” Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl responded: “So, is it permissible for anyone to say: “I began the month of Ramaḍān with a day or two of fasting”?” To which the Imam replied: “No, for “beginning” only applies to a thing that already exists and can be known. As for that which has not yet been created, how can it begin?” Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl then asked: “O’ son of the Messenger of Allāh, although the month of Ramaḍān has not yet been created before its initiation, we are nevertheless certain that it will be.” The Imam replied: “O’ Muḥammad, you (say that you) are certain that it will be—and how are you certain that it will be?—what if the first night of the month of Ramaḍān extends until morning breaks and it is the Day of Judgement? So then there shall never be a month of Ramaḍān in the world, not ever, and people will wake up in the morning to find that they do not see a sun, or day, or any trace of the mosques of Allāh upon the face of the earth, and Allāh will raise the Kaaba and the Sacred Mosque (i.e. Masjid al-Ḥarām) to the sky. In such an age as that, the Qurʾān would be forgotten by people until you would not find a single adherent of the Qurʾān among them, or anything of those who remember and glorify Allāh. That is when Allāh will raise His decisive proof from the earth such that it collapses onto itself, its inhabitants in tow. The mountains shall tremble, the seas overflow, graves scattered, and the sun will curl up against the sky. The stars shall darken, and the planets disperse. On the day the Great Happening shall happen, and the sky split open, for on that day it will be flimsy.” He عليه السلام continued: “O’ gathering of my Shīʿa! When the crescent of the month of Ramaḍān appears, do not point at it with your fingers, but rather orient yourselves towards the Qibla, raise your hands to the sky and address the crescent, saying—Our Lord and yours is Allāh, Lord of the worlds. O’ Allāh, make it for us a blessed crescent and grant us the ability to fast in the month of Ramaḍān. Keep us secure during it and accept it from us in ease and wellness. Allow us to take advantage of it to obey You, for indeed You are upon all things Omnipotent—there is no servant that does that except that Allāh تبارك وتعالى will have written for him an inclusion among those liable for receiving Divine mercy and establish his name in the registry of those who will be forgiven. Fāṭima عليها السلام, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, would say as such every year when the crescent heralded the month of Ramaḍān, but her light would overpower that of the moon, until she went out of sight and so it would reappear.”