The month of Ramadan, which brings mercy, blessings and well-being to believers, has graced our lives. How should the blessed Ramadan, which relieves Muslims materially and spiritually and opens new doors in our hearts, be revived? What beauties does this fertile month contain? Educator-writer Ömer Arif made very special evaluations to our newspaper about Ramadan, the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.
-Sir, can we get to know you first? Who is Omer Arif?
Bismillah… First of all, I would like to start my words by thanking you and Milli Gazete for giving us this opportunity. I was born in 1973 in Yahyalı district of Kayseri. I completed my primary, secondary and high school education in my hometown Yahyalı, and my university education in Niğde University, Faculty of Education, Department of Classroom Teaching. I studied classical-modern Arabic and Islamic sciences in private madrasah. I wrote in ‘Anadolu Gençlik’ and ‘Yeni Dünya’ magazines. Series of seminars, conferences and television programs, I produce on various topics. We established the Ashab-i Suffa Islamic Sciences Center and the Ashab-i Suffa Association in Kayseri. I am still doing educational activities in Kayseri. Arabic, Persian and English, foreign languages that I work on... I am married and have 9 children.
“THE MONTH OF RAMADAN BURNS AND DESTROYS THE SINS OF FASTING BELIEVERS”
-Teacher, can you briefly talk about the virtues of the month of Ramadan, which is the month of the Holy Qur’an?
The Arabic word ‘Ramadan’ comes from the root ‘ramad’, which means that the sun heats the earth and scorches it. From this point of view; Just as the sun, at that time, burns the soil with its intense heat, scorching it; The month of Ramadan burns and destroys the sins of fasting believers. First of all, it is the first feature worth mentioning that it is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed and that it contains the lailat-ul-qadr. This month, we will transform humanity from the darkness of polytheism to the light of faith, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge, from the darkness of servanthood to the light of servitude to Allah. It is the month of blessings, in which the light of the Qur'an will descend into the hearts of believers as the light of the Qur'an descended into the heart of the Messenger of Allah in Hira Nur. For the sake of the virtues of Ramadan, I would like to present a few hadiths that we all know very well and that we hear a lot in sermons and preaches. “When the month of Ramadan comes, the gates of mercy are opened, the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained.” “Whoever revives the month of Ramadan with faith and hoping for his reward from Allah Almighty, his past sins will be forgiven.” When we look at these and similar hadiths, in the month of the Qur'an, Ramadan, the doors of heaven are opened to the end, the doors of hell are closed all the way and the devils are put in chains, it is also stated that it will cause the forgiveness of sins for believers that the fasts they kept hoping for the reward only from Allah Almighty. This blessed month, whose head is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness from sins, and whose end is freedom from hell, is a spiritual shelter for servants. While waiting for iftar at the iftar table, the happiness of his brothers, who he prepared iftar for, becomes a source of peace and reward. The Prophet's concentration in his worship and dhikr while reviving Ramadan, and his generosity flowing like flowing water should definitely be taken as an example. The first battle of the Prophet (pbuh) at Badr and the Conquest of Mecca took place in the month of Ramadan. For this reason, Ramadan is the month of both material and spiritual conquests. It is the month of conquering hearts. In this respect, Ramadan; It is the month of giving the mind to the command of the commentary, keeping the sane mind, preserving the precious beauty of the nature, good taste, protecting the heart from spiritual diseases, especially disbelief and hypocrisy.
“WE MUST DECLARE THE BLESSED MONTH AS A MONTH OF SELF-REFLECTION”
-Is the month of Ramadan a month of awakening and shaking off for Muslims? As a society, can we benefit enough from the blessings of Ramadan?
Of course, although Ramadan is not fully utilized, a spiritual atmosphere is created. People have made some mistakes before. They choose to leave and do some of the good things they didn't do. Unfortunately, we cannot say that there is a resurrection in Muslims' conscious belief, worship, treatment and the realization of the ummah's consciousness. If people realize what Ramadan means individually, familly, socially and spiritually, then they can better benefit from the blessings of Ramadan. In this way, it cannot be said that we, as a society, benefit from the material and spiritual blessings of Ramadan properly. Opinion leaders and scholars who shape the society need to guide the society in the right way, especially during the month of Ramadan and in general. Since this right direction is not given, people abandon the fard and cling to the nafilahs, committing the haram in a comfortable way and fleeing most of the permissible for the sake of so-called taqwa. In order for the month of Ramadan to cause resurrection, we, as a society, should seriously declare this blessed month as the month of self-reflection.
“EVERY INDIVIDUAL SHOULD ASK ITSELF ‘WHERE IS THIS GOING’”
Every individual should ask himself ‘where is this going?’ We must plan for the salvation of our children, whose morality has been completely destroyed by sacrificing academic careers, and our youth, whom we have fallen into the clutches of wrong habits, and we have to worry about tidying up our family structure, which is facing disintegration. It is not possible for the resurrection to take place without contemplation and self-reflection. We also need to question our way of life and get rid of some of our selfish desires that we cling to like unwavering passion. Those who open the heart to fill the heart while the rains of mercy are pouring down can only benefit from this shower of mercy. Those who open the window of their hearts to the light of faith can only benefit from this light of faith. How can the one who turns the heart cup upside down benefit from this mercy? How can those who draw a dark black curtain on the window of the house of the heart benefit from the divine light? If a Ramadan is still spent without prayer and fasting and some sins are committed persistently, even though the devils are in chains, it is the devil of the souls at the highest level. It turns out that it is characterized by a structure that pleases devil. The month of Ramadan, which has been properly revived, provides the transition from imitation belief to corrective belief and gives its color to the whole year. At the end of the month of Ramadan, if our sensitivity to worship, our family life, our commercial life, and our relations with people are progressing in a positive sense at the level desired by the Qur'an and Sunnah, then it can be said that we benefit from the blessings of Ramadan.
"VICTORY IS FOR THE BELIEVERS AND VICTORY IS NEAR"
-This year, we entered the month of Ramadan with the massacres, persecution and seeds of sedition in Muslim geographies. What would you like to tell about this topic?
As you have stated, the Islamic world realizes a Ramadan amid blood, tears, fitna and many troubles. We entered another Ramadan while the Ummah was groaning in the grip of both external and internal evil outbreaks. Of course, the main responsible for this is Muslims who do not understand Islam and do not make it dominant in their lives. Of course, blaming only foreign outposts would be nothing but facile. Muslims pay the price of moving away from the Qur'an and Sunnah, which are the guides of salvation, and of not being a single ummah. The Zionist and colonialist West, since the day they took power, has brought nothing but blood, tears, oppression and exploitation for the sake of their interests and benefits, especially for the Islamic world and humanity. Since the shortsighted rulers of the Islamic world preferred to be a servant to this cruel West instead of ensuring the unity of Islam within themselves, Muslim peoples groan in distress. It is obvious that these problems will continue unless there is an Islamic unity that emerges in unity, togetherness and peace. This tyranny will not go any further. My belief is that; “Victory is near and victory belongs to those who believe.” We must persist in both verbal and actual prayer for the salvation of the Islamic world and humanity.
“THE MONTH OF RAMADAN CAUSES SOCIAL INTEGRATION”
-What are the sociological benefits of Ramadan?
The month of Ramadan; It has a positive effect on society in terms of material, spiritual, psychological and social aspects. Socially, we see that people compete to help each other, social status is disabled, fusion is achieved, neighborhood and kinship ties become stronger, and a race for charity begins. However, we observe that resentments are compensated, angered ones are reconciled, visits increase and crimes decrease.
"LET’S FAST FOR ALL PARTS OF OUR BODY NOT TO COMMIT SIN"
-Can we get your Ramadan message for our readers?
First of all, I ask Allah Almighty to make me and you among those who believe in the virtues of Ramadan and hope for its reward from Allah, who fast and revive properly. Now it is time to treat the guest we welcome with tarawih, sahur and iftar. This offering is not just fasting. Ramadan means reviving and reviving others. It is not just about fasting on stomachs. Ramadan means fasting not to commit any sin to all members. In summary; let's keep fasting by staying away from harams; Let's be sensitive in our tarawih prayers; Let's focus on reading the Qur'an by thinking about its meaning and realizing that it is a recipe for salvation; Let's take care of the poor, orphans and the needy and make them happy; Let's read useful books with our family every day, let's have and protect our tongue and eyes from backbiting, lying and looking at haram; Let's make every night a lailat-ul-qadr and make an effort to give every day its due. And finally: The rule of the oppressors is often due to the laziness of the righteous. Let us never forget that as the ummah of a prophet who took refuge in Allah Almighty from laziness, we must work day and night for the salvation of humanity.
Thank you sir for your valuable answers, may Allah Almighty be pleased with you.
I would like to thank you and the Milli Gazete for giving this opportunity. May God bless you and make it successful in your broadcasting life.