Every year an honorable guest comes to visit us. Every year we await his visit with the greatest longing. And this year too, Allah has honored us with the arrival of this noble visitor. It is the month of Ramadan, which also this year knocks on the doors of our daily lives on time, but never early enough to spend a few short days with us. And as befits a visitor, he too has brought his host gifts. And what a generous guest Ramadan is. And how thoughtful his gifts are! For among his gifts, we find what we desire from the bottom of our hearts. These gifts are the same every year and yet we can never have enough of them. These gifts we have to renew year after year, and no one can present them to us as beautifully and as pleasantly as Ramadan does. These gifts are also its benefits, because as long as Ramadan remains with us, so long we can also benefit from its gifts.

Only when we have recognized these gifts and understood their value can we honor this guest as he deserves, making this short visit the most beautiful event of the whole year.

Ramadan is made up of all-mercifulness and forgiveness. With this, its two most precious gifts are salvation from hellfire and the night of destiny.

In order for us to get the most out of Ramadan, Allah blesses us with opening the gates of Paradise, closing those of Hell, and chaining the Satan. All this so that we may be facilitated in our repentant return to our Creator. Thus, we find our hope in the forgiveness of Allah greater and the way to repentance paved, so that between us and the return to the All-merciful is only the lifting up of our hands. This gift of forgiveness is to be had every day of Ramadan, for Allah appoints for each night people whom He will save from the Hellfire. In order to be among those who have earned this highest of gifts, we must be among the people who fast and protect their fast. We must also belong to the group of people who do not leave the night unused and spend it praying and asking instead. Lastly, this is also the month when we must increase the number of our good deeds.

The second gift is Lailat Al – Qadr, the night of destiny. Allah tells us that this night is better than a thousand months. So, it acts like a multiplier that can make a little, extremely much. If we are among those whose supplications and good deeds catch this night, we can really count ourselves among the winners, because then our supplications will be heard and the value of our deeds will be multiplied.

However, this beautiful gift is a surprise gift. We must therefore make a special effort during the last ten nights of Ramadan so that we can count ourselves among the lucky ones, for it is Allah who allows us to catch this night and it is He who rewards us for our efforts.

Unfortunately, these generous gifts remain with us only as long as our guest is with us. And like every year, the days that Ramadan spends with us will again be too short and over in the blink of an eye. The abundance, the blessings and the divine mercy also do not remain long after he is gone, like the fragrance of a beautiful perfume, a whiff of this beautiful time lingers in our memory, but it never even comes close to the true experience. So, let us duly experience and fill with life the Ramadan that Allah is making us experience one more time in these days.