In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Dear Muslim brothers and sisters,

We are at the verge of the month of Ramadan, but before that we meet the Night of Bara’at – the 15^th night of the month of Sha’ban. On this night Muslims do their “rehearsal” for the Month of Ramadan and everything they can in order to be closer to Allah (S.T.). They perform acts of worship in order to be better prepared for the meeting with the month of Ramadan, which is the worthiest among all months of the year.

The Night of Bara’at is the night in which Allah (S.T.) responds with forgiveness to anyone who turns to Him. This is the night in which everyone who ask for prosperity, will receive it from the Almighty! That is why Muslims do not miss to make sense of the hours of this night by performing acts of worship.

It is necessary every one of us to do his best, to take stock on himself and to prepare his meeting with the month of Ramadan. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), after the fasting in the month of Ramadan, did the fasting most of all exactly during the month of Sha’ban. So let we take advantage of the remaining days till the month of Ramadan – to fill them with acts of worship, to reconsider our situation, to realize our need of the mercy of Allah (J.J.), to do everything possible to be useful for the people around us!

It is not enough if a person performs acts of worship in this only night – Bara’at. He needs to try to be a good example for the people around him, to prepare for meeting the sacred month of Ramadan, considering the importance of this month. This can happen if he explains the people the importance of the fasting, the importance of Qur’an-i Kerim and why it is so important to be together with the Holy Qur’an that night!

After sending the Night of Bara’at it is important for each one of us to begin an intensive preparation for how he is going to spend the month of Ramadan. Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The best among you is the most beneficial to people!” In this moment the best thing which we can teach people around us, is to make them realize how important it is to be together during the month of Ramadan. We are only few weeks away from this sacred month. But this time is absolutely enough in order to do our preparation, to get in contact with the people around us, to be together, benefiting from the graceful days and nights of the Sacred month of Ramadan!

May Allah (S.T.) accept the acts of worship of all the Muslims!

Dr. Mustafa Hadzhi,

Grand Mufti of the Muslims in the Republic of Bulgaria