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| A Faculty of Islamic Studies lecturer warns about the importance of protecting oneself from sins. (Photo: Istimewa) |
Ramadan is the month of blessings and forgiveness for Muslims. Although the month is special, Muslims must fast. Fasting itself not only means refraining from hunger and thirst but also from lust and temper.
Idaul Hasanah, S.Ag., M.HI., the Lecturer of the Faculty of Islamic Studies of UMM, advises Muslims to avoid small things which are purely sins. One of them is to restrain own tongue. "Speak modestly but carefully. Don't hurt people with our words. Many hadiths have also discussed it such as saying bad words, lying, and gossiping, whereas many people are not aware of the sins," she says.
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Besides controlling the tongue, Idaul also warns about the importance of protecting oneself from other sins, primarily since people nowadays use smartphones daily. Then, they must refrain from uploading sensitive content, updating statuses that can hurt people's feelings, holding their desire to browse information that can arouse sexual lust, and gossiping via chat.
"Though they are minor sins, they can affect negatively our fasting quality and eventually fasting only means enduring hunger and thirst," she emphasizes.
The lecturer also encourages Muslims to perform their Ramadan activities seriously by improving their worship quality and maintaining relationships with others. Then, it not only purely focuses on worship affairs but also on charity. As a result, their reward not only increases, but also their sins are forgiven.
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"Ramadan is the month of forgiveness, and Allah will forgive all sins, whether they are major or minor, as long as the concerned person is aware of having committed the sins and intends to say, "I seek for Allah's forgiveness (Translated: Astaghfirullah)" as much as possible, then he/she will be forgiven," she says.
Lastly, the lecturer, affiliated with the Islamic Family Law Department of UMM, shares several tips for effectively utilizing Ramadan. It can begin with planning by improving the quality and quantity of worship, completing the Quran recitation, attempting to use the moment of Laylatul Qadr (Translated: The Night of Power), and maintaining dietary and sleeping habits that the body can stay healthy and fit.
"As ordered by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), today must be better than yesterday. Therefore, this year's Ramadan must be better than last year's by achieving specific targets and being able to be a pious person after Ramadan ends," she concludes. (imh/nel/wil)
