The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 314
314 Essence of Islam II with tuberculosis. The purpose of the prescribed expia- tion is that one may be bestowed the strength for the observation of the fast, and this can be achieved only through the grace of God Almighty. One should suppli- cate: Lord! this is Thy blessed month and I am being de- prived of its blessings. I know not whether I shall be alive next year, or would find the opportunity of observing the fasts that I am missing. Do Thou bestow upon me, by Thy grace, the strength that should en- able me to observe the fast. I am sure that one with such a heart would be bestowed the needed strength by God Almighty. If God Almighty so wished He would not have prescribed limitations for the Muslims as He had prescribed for earlier peoples; but the purpose of the limitations is the promotion of the welfare of the people concerned. According to me the principle is that when a person supplicate God Almighty with perfect sincerity that he should not be deprived of the blessings of the month of Ramadan, he is not so deprived, and if such a one should become ill during the month of Ramadān his illness becomes a source of mercy for him, inasmuch as the value of every action is deter- mined by the motive that inspires it. It behoves a believer that he should prove himself brave in the cause of God Almighty. He who is heartily determined that he would observe the fast but is held back from doing so on account of illness while his heart yearns after the observation of the fast would not be deprived of the bounty resulting from the observation of the fast and angels would observe the fast in his place. This is a subtle matter. If a person finds the observation of the fast difficult on account of the sloth-