In His illuminated Book, the Exalted Allah said:
Ramadan is the {month} in which was sent down the Quran as a guide to mankind, also clear {Signs} for guidance and judgment {between right and wrong}. So every one of you who is present {at his home} during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period {should be made up} by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful (Al Baqarah, 185).
In the above mentioned verse, guidance is mentioned for three times:
1-in the Exalted Allah's words: "Ramadan is the {month} in which was sent down the Quran as a guide to mankind";
2- in: "also clear {Signs} for guidance and judgment {between right and wrong}";
3- and in: "and to glorify Him in that He has guided you".
The above mentioned verse summarizes the whole religion. The Holy Qur'an is the book which includes all principles of religion. Furqan (another name of the Qur'an) means the parts of the Qur'an the Exalted Allah revealed gradually. He said:
It is a Quran which we have divided {into parts from time to him}, in order that thou might recite it to men at intervals (Al Isra', 106).
This verse summarizes guidance because the first guidance mentioned in the Exalted Allah's words: "Ramadan is the {month} in which was sent down the Quran as a guide to mankind" refers to Allah's guidance of the heedless hearts that are occupied by the material and are dominated by customs. Consequently, Messengers (PBUTH) were sent, concluded by the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad (PBUH), with whom the Qur'an was sent to waken up people from their ignorance and direct their hearts to Allah.
Thus, the first guidance is wakefulness of the heart, but
How many the heedless hearts of Allah are, and how many the obsessed hearts by the objects are!
" the Quran as a guide to mankind" The Exalted Allah did not say 'guidance to the Arabs', or 'guidance to the Muslims'. He, Exalted He is, said guidance to people to draw our attention to the great mission that the Messenger of Allah charged us with. It is the task of waking up the hearts and reminding them of Allah.
When man is obsessed by life, its pleasures, and by some individuals and the majority of people, his heart becomes unmindful, lost and he becomes unable to turn to Allah in whose hand, the affairs of heavens and earth are, and the One who moves the heavens and the earth; the One Who, alone, is able to raise and abase whoever He wants in the heavens and in the earth.
How astonishing it is to find some hearts turn to everything, and forget the One in whose Hand the control of everything exists! Certainly, it is a great blight.
Thus, the first guidance leads the hearts to Allah so that they turn to Him Alone and turn away from any other object but Him.
The second guidance mentioned in the Exalted Allah's words: "also clear {Signs} for guidance and judgment {between right and wrong}" leads to the guidance in conduct represented by man's activities in his life that might be undisciplined, or subject to a law put by man. But the Exalted Allah wants man to be directed to a heavenly law so that he becomes disciplined by the guidance of Allah that makes him distinguish between right and wrong, and so that man's behavior becomes disciplined by the rules of jurisprudence and the instructions of the Islamic Shari'a on all levels.
Consequently, the first guidance is that of the hearts, and the second one is that of behavior.
The one who understands this verse while he is in the school of Ramadan will graduate from this reminding school every year with a heart directed to Allah and living the state of monotheism of the hearts. Following the second guidance, man becomes righteous, in his behavior and his conduct becomes disciplined by what the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) instructs him to do,.
"So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you" (Al Hasher, 7), i.e., is the second guidance.
To outline the two types of guidance, I revert them to the source, because the favor of the first favor and the second one are from the Exalted Allah Who is the Giver of the two favors. So the Exalted Allah said: "to glorify Him in that He has guided you", i.e., to glorify Him because he has guided your hearts to His Oneness, and guided you to be righteous in behavior so that human life becomes well-balanced.
But what is happening on the surface of this earth today?
Confusion and turbulence spread because man is fighting the law of Allah. He fights the two types of guidance, and tries to prevent the hearts from turning to Allah. He does not want man's behavior to be disciplined by the right guidance if Islam.
Nowadays, the world is living in a state of confusion, anarchy, and dispute. Moreover, our Islamic societies are living this confused state too. I beg the Great Allah, Lord of the Great Throne, in this blessed month, not to deprive us of these two types of guidance. We beg the Exalted Allah to inspire us to glorify Him by following these two types of guidance, and we beg Him to guide us to these two types of guidance, and to make us graduate from this school of Ramadan with all our sins forgiven, and be emancipated form the Hell Fire.
Allahum…, guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.