PREFACE
All sections of our society are sensitive about Ramadhan. When Ramadhan arrives, the mosques are filled, tarawih prayers are performed, Qur'an muqabalas are recited. Ladies go to the mosque with their Qur'an to listen and follow the recitations. There are lines for fresh pita bread when the sunset time is closer. The traffic increases on the roads. At the time of iftar, the streets look empty. Even in the modern districts of large cities one could feel this atmosphere.
Ramadhan preparations in the houses start much earlier. People are invited for iftar. Zakah, charity and other help are directed to the poor and needy. Abundance and serenity are felt at homes. Drummers awaken people at night; lights are turned on at suhur time. Days pass with joy.
Are these enough? What is the wisdom behind fasting? What are the virtues and subtleties of Ramadan? How could one benefit from the goodness and abundance of Ramadhan better? What do we need to pay attention for the acceptance of our worship? With the hopes of providing some answers, we have prepared this book. This book includes some of the discourses given by Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad Cosan in various cities in the Ramadan of 1995.
In the first part of the book, information about the blessed three- months is provided. Then the wisdom and benefits of fasting are explained in the light of verses of the Qur'an and the ahadith of the Prophet SAS. It is stated that Ramadhan is a month of taqwa course and training of nafs. Hadith Qudsîs that suggest having taqwa are explained, and recommendations to benefit from Ramadhan better are given.
It has been more than twenty-five years since the original discourses. As the poet stated:
Ali gitti Hakk’a yetti;
Zülfikâr’ı derya yuttu…
Ali left this world, reached his Lord
Dhulfiqar was swallowed by the ocean…
Our beloved master, Prof.Dr. M. Es’ad Coşan has left this life (rahmatullahi ‘alayh). Seha Neşriyat was privatized, printing of the book ceased. As the month of Ramadhan nears this year, we wish to make this book available via internet for those who would like to benefit from the valuable information presented in the book. Thus, we have prepared the second edition of the book to publish in the digital form. The Arabic text have been completed, and the sources of the ahadith are given as footnotes. Also, a discourse dated February 15, 1995 is added to the book.
When we visited our master Prof. Dr. Es’ad Coşan in the evening of February 14, 1995, I asked him if we could prepare a book from the discourses he had while visiting various cities in Turkey. He expressed his consent. He also added that he tries to explain different aspects in the discourses so that the book would be beneficial to the readers. Upon his consent, we contacted brothers in the location of the discourses and asked for the recordings of the discourses. May Allah be pleased with them, they helped us by sending the sound recordings. When I presented the manuscript of the book to our Khawaja, he suggested the title “Ramadhan and Taqwa Training.” The first edition of the book was printed by Seha Neşriyat in January 1996.
We thank brothers who provided the audio recordings of the discourses. We also thank olan Abdüllatif Erkaya, A. Enis Erkaya and Lütfullah Erkaya for the transcription of the audio records and some help with technical matters. We hope that this book will be helpful for us to enjoy and benefit from Ramadhan better. Divine guidance is from Almighty Allah.
Dr. Metin Erkaya
Sincan, March 2021
Translator’s note:
It has been a true pleasure and a great learning experience for me to translate this book. I am sure it will be a priceless treasure for anyone who is interested in learning about the virtues of Ramadhan and the taqwa training.
The translation of the first edition of this book was completed and published on the web in November 2005. I am indebted to the members of naqshi-bridge e-mail group for their patience and feedback and dear friends for their proof reading. May Almighty Allah open our hearts for His love and have us appreciate the message in this book.
Prof. Dr. Hasan Hüseyin ERKAYA
Eskisehir, March 2021
