Oh Allah Change Me Until I Am Someone You Are Pleased With
[شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ]

“The month of Ramaḍān [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’ān, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the crescent of] the month, let him fast it;” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 185]

Alhamdullilah, the beautiful month of Ramadhan is once again upon us! The month during which the gates of mercy are wide open, the gates of hell are shut and the shayateen are chained up.

It is the month dedicated to help the believer to gain closeness to his Creator by making fasting an act of ibadat for Him alone. It is the month in which the Quran was revealed, a perfect and complete guideline for humankind, and it continues to be the month of mercy, an opportunity to ponder over what our goal in life is.

Through our hunger we are reminded of our dependency to Allah and by intensifying our relationship with the Quran we are reminded of the power, knowledge and love Allah (swt) has for us by giving us His guidance and not leaving us to wander the earth in conflict and confusion.

As a person living in the West the need for moments to ponder about the purpose of this life and seeking guidance to deal with what life presents us becomes ever more apparent. As we are living in societies deprived of any divine guidance and we are taught that we ourselves should be the ones deciding how we shape our lives. We are also led to believe that an important feature in shaping our lives is that we should aim to get the most out of it, to seek our own happiness in any way we see fit, to not ponder about the long term consequences of our actions but instead to have a YOLO mentality and enjoy the moment. This message, is consequently creating a moral compass which is solely directed by the individuals own desires and it is creating societies which are becoming morally bankrupt e.g. glamorise crime, illicit sexual relationships, individualism and the exploitation of women.

In this chaos Allah (swt) guides the believers by teaching us that this is not a new phenomenon and He warns us about it.

Allah (swt) reminds us of this:

[أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ] "Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire?" [Al Furqan:43] and Allah (swt) says:

[اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ]

"Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness, He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (for ever)." [Al Baqarah: 257].

And He (swt) gave us His Light, Islam, which creates the perfect balance between satisfying the individuals needs whilst not forgetting the wider community. The perfect balance in being able to worship Him not only by prayer but at all times with every act we engage in and He (swt) gave us guidance for every aspect of our lives, how to take care of ourselves, our homes, our work, and society.

He enriches the believers with many guidelines and tools, to help us not fall for the trap of this life and become blindsided by the superficial pleasures of the dunya. He (swt) helps us to stay focused on what really matters and that success lies in attaining His pleasure. Our salaat is our five daily reminder of the purpose of this life and Ramadhan is our annual reminder given to us by our Creator as a mercy to help us not become misguided by the temptation of this life.

To worship Allah, means to place Allah before our own desires, therefore in ease and hardship we think only of whether Allah is pleased with us.

[فَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ بِنِعْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍۢ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوٓءٌۭ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ رِضْوَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ]

“So they returned with Allah’s favours and grace, suffering no harm. For they sought to please Allah. And surely Allah is ˹the˺ Lord of infinite bounty.” [Aali-Imran: 174]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yasmin Malik
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir