Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul Karim Razavi Kashmiri was a Shiite mystic and a student of Seyyed Ali Agha Qazi Tabatabaei and Seyyed Hashem Haddad. “Sharh Kifayat al-Usul” is one of his works. He died in 1378 and was buried in the shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH).
This virtuous scholar had interesting advice for making the most of the month of Ramadan, nine of which are as follows:
1- “Don’t be quantitative; be qualitative!” Don’t seek to finish the verses and supplications; rather, seek to digest them! Chew the small amount of food well so that it becomes part of your soul. Our biggest problem is the narrow-minded approach to religion and Sharia. Think about how much you have done in previous years with the desire to recite a lot, where have you come to?! At the beginning of Ramadan, make sure to make the intention to fast only for Allah; only Allah! Perform the rituals of fasting as much as you have the energy to do so.
2- Contemplation: Be sure to dedicate a few minutes of your mysterious fasting hours to the highest form of worship, and that is nothing but “contemplation”! Be alone with yourself and your God. Think especially about the type of relationship between the Almighty God and you; hopefully, the doors of knowledge will open to you.
3_ One of the most important states of servitude, especially in the month of Ramadan, is a state that the Holy Prophet strongly recommended, and that is “long prostration.” Only God and the saints of God know what rain of mercy and blessings from the world of Lordship will fall upon you during the prostration of servitude. Be sure to have one long prostration during the day.
4- Break your fast at home as much as possible; do not even break your fast in mosques. Let the blessing of breaking your fast and the answered prayer of breaking your fast befall your family and home. In the meantime, do Dalal during Iftar! “Dalal means pampering.” Pamper yourself during Iftar for God! Because you fasted for Him and His Majesty is a generous shepherd.
Bring the first bite close to your mouth, but do not eat! Pray; that is, tell God: “If you fulfill my need, I will break my fast!” This state works wonders!
5- The secret to staying in the divine feast of Ramadan is the alchemy of “good character”. Treat your children, relatives and friends with the elixir of good character and kindness. The moment you are angry and resentful is the moment you are expelled from this divine feast!
6- The dream ship of Ramadan rides the waves of the sea of “tears” to the shore of salvation! Ask God Almighty in this month, especially for the magical dawn of those tears and cries.
7- From the beginning of Ramadan, your goal should be “Laylat al-Qadr”, which is the soul of Ramadan. There is a lot to say about this; however, “it is not good for the secret to be revealed”, let us just try to make the Night of Qadr happen in us, not in the month!
8- This month is our month of "Rabi' al-Quran". In this Quranic spring, choose a verse every day and recite it alternately and meditate on it until iftar. Hopefully, the verse will reveal itself to you at the moment of iftar!
9- Throughout the month of Ramadan, your attention to the true fasting person and the perfect human being, the Imam of the Afternoon, should not be interrupted...
