His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam urged Muslims to fast and intensify religious deeds during the holy month of Ramadhan to gain multiple rewards.
In delivering a titah to welcome Ramadhan for 1445 Hijrah last night, His Majesty said, “Ramadhan is here again, where the rank is very high in the eyes of Allah the Almighty.
“It is obligatory for us to fast during Ramadhan, the month when the revelation of Al-Quran happened and in it, a night better than 1,000 months.
“Imagine how many years is 1,000 months? It is 83 years. That is a value of reward of a night of Lailatul Qadar, equivalent to a reward of 83 years. Masya Allah,” the monarch said.
“Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a Hadith said, ‘The beginning of Ramadhan is for mercy, the middle for forgiveness and the last for salvation from the fires of Hell’.
“From this Hadith, those who complete one month of fasting are fortunate.
“Hence, we must make the commitment to perform one month of fasting to gain rewards as promised,” His Majesty said.
The monarch also hopes that no one feels uneasy with the arrival of Ramadhan, and instead, has made preparations to welcome the holy month with an open heart without stress or sorrow over the thought of starvation and thirst. “This is the time for us to gain rewards for being patient, especially during Ramadhan, where such patience is unlike other months. Ramadhan is called a month of patience, and the reward for patience is Heaven.
“Let us embrace Ramadhan and enliven the month with fasting, read Al-Quran, Qiamullail (spending the night performing religious acts), perform Sunnat Tarawih prayers, zikir (remembrance of Allah the Almighty), sedekah (act of charity) and other pious acts,” said His Majesty.
“When the month of Ramadhan begins, the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of hell are closed, and the devil is chained so it cannot disturb the ummah.”
The monarch also said, “Performing sunnat prayers during Ramadhan is equivalent to performing obligatory prayers in other months while performing obligatory prayer during Ramadhan is equivalent to 70 obligations in other months.
“That is the significance of Ramadhan. We are fortunate that we are to reap benefits of Ramadhan without any disruptions.
“Alhamdulillah, our nation is blessed with peace. In some parts of the world, there are calamities such as flood, earthquake, landslide and war that keep them from performing pious acts.
“We can only imagine their hardships, and the rest, only Allah the Almighty knows,” said the monarch.
His Majesty concluded the titah by wishing the ummah a happy fasting on behalf of the royal family. – Azlan Othman
