How taqwa opens the gates of Jannah
Allah says in Surat al Baqarah:
یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَیۡكُمُ ٱلصِّیَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِینَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿ ١٨٣ ﴾
O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may practice taqwa. (Al-Baqarah, 2:183)
Fasting was made an obligation on the second year after Hijrah and is the longest form of continuous ibadah. Why is it the longest? It is a training in taqwa – la alakum muttaqun. What is taqwa? There are different definitions but my preferred definition is fulfilling obligations and recommendations and refraining from prohibitions and doubtful matters. To put is simply, a person who has taqwa is a person of obedience. Taqwa is ta’a (obedience) to Allah. Fasting enhances our obedience to Him.
To encourage us Allah gives us reward to incentivise us and punishments to deter us from being disobedient. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said in the beautiful hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : ” إِذَا جَاءَ رَمَضَانُ ؛ فُتِّحَتْ أَبْوَابُ الْجَنَّةِ، وَغُلِّقَتْ أَبْوَابُ النَّارِ، وَصُفِّدَتِ الشَّيَاطِينُ “. رواه مسلم.
“When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are wide open, the gates of Hell are tightly closed, and the devils are chained.” (Muslim)
There are many wordings of this hadith. In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The gates of mercy are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained” (Muslim)
Scholars have asked if this is literal or metaphorical. Al-Qadi ʿIyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is possible that it is to be understood upon its literal meaning that the opening of the gates of Paradise, the closing of the gates of Hell, and the chaining of the devils are signs of the beginning of the month and a magnification of its sanctity. The chaining would then be so that they are prevented from harming the believers and confusing them.
He said: It is also possible that what is meant is metaphorical, indicating the abundance of reward and forgiveness, and that the devils’ temptation and harm decrease, so they become like those who are chained. Their chaining may be from some things and not others, and for some people and not others. This second interpretation is supported by another narration:
“The gates of mercy are wide opened.” (Muslim)
and in another hadith:
“The rebellious devils are chained.” (Nasa’i)
Al-Qadi said: It is also possible that the opening of the gates of Paradise is a metaphor for what Allah opens for His servants in this month of acts of obedience that do not generally occur at other times, such as fasting, night prayer, doing good deeds, and refraining from many sins. These are causes for entering Paradise and doors leading to it. Likewise, the closing of the gates of Hell and the chaining of the devils is a metaphor for people refraining from acts of disobedience.
Thus, though we may do some voluntary fasts during the year, we never fast continuously for an entire month outside of Ramadan, and we recite more Quran than other months and in addition we do a variety of good deeds, such as giving zakat, although this is not a requirement of Ramadan. Such forms of ibadah and good deeds bring us closer to the gates of Jannah, and this is why the gates of rahma are wide open because of our actions. Allah did put special barakah in Ramadan. But if you did not avail this opportunity, you miss out on the reward. So every night, roll up your sleeves, and make the most of the tremendous opportunity Allah is giving us to avail His mercy.
As we control our tongues, lower our gaze, sacrifice our sleep, our food and drink, and reign in our desires, this makes the month special and the gates of Jannah wide open. The gates of Jannah will be open for us during the rest of the year too, if we replicate Ramadan outside of Ramadan. If we continue to do these actions, it brings us closer to Allah.
This is why Imam Qushayri said in his beautiful tafsir, Lataif ul Isharat:
Whoever witnesses the month refrains from the things that break the fast; and whoever witnesses the Creator refrains, at all times, from witnessing the creation.
In other words, whoever is fasting in Ramadan, will break his fast when the day ends but the one who is fasting for Allah, will break his fast when he meets Allah. He is not just refraining from food and drink but whatever displeases Allah throughout the year.
“Whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it.” (2:185). Whoever witnesses the month fasts for Allah, and whoever witnesses the Creator of the month fasts by Allah.
Imam al Ghazali described three levels of fasting, the top level is fasting from refraining everything that displeases Allah, controlling your whims and actions and doing what pleases Allah.
The fragrance of Jannah is everywhere when the gates are open. Can we smell the fragrance? Some of the companions did smell it. The companion, Anas bin Nadhr (may Allah be pleased with him), smelt the fragrance of Jannah when he was on the battlefield, before he became a shaheed. It is not just on the battlefield that we can smell the fragrance of Jannah, we can also smell it when we fight out desires, fight corruption and stand up to injustice.
The gates of rahma are open for those who accept the invitation. It is a special offer, so take as much as you can carry and don’t waste this chance. Encourage yourself, your family, friends and colleagues to earn as much rahma as possible this month.
The gates of hell are tightly closed, which is literal but also metaphorically, when you stay away from what displeases Allah, then you distance yourself from Jahannam. If you increase in taqwa, you open the gates of Jannah. This why Allah mentioned taqwa in the opening verses of fasting and at the end of them. Ramadan is the month to train yourself in taqwa and grow in righteousness. May Allah make us from the people of Paradise. Ameen.
The Prophet said if you are fasting do not use foul language, and if you are provoked, say I am fasting. Protect yourself from shaytan and his whispers, because his mission is to ruin anything good and fasting is one of the most righteous deeds. Do not be Mr Grumpy while you are fasting. It is not an excuse to be rude. It is the opposite, you have to be a person of good character while you are fasting. Do not give people a bad impression of fasting by being in a bad mood. Do not be a bad mirror for taqwa. Be an ambassador and make people love fasting because of your character.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 20th Feb