Hazrat Salman Farsi relates that Allah’s Messenger ﷺdelivered a sermon on the last day of Sha’aban in which he said, “O people! You are on the threshold of a month of great solemnity and blessings. It is a month during which one night is better than a thousand months. God has prescribed fasting in this month and made Taraweeh prayers optional, but it is pleasing to God. Whosoever does one good act in this month will have the merit of having done an obligatory act in other months and who does a prescribed act in this month it will be equal to 70 prescribed acts in other months. This is the month of endurance and the reward of endurance is Paradise and this is the month of sympathy with and care of the poor and needy men of the community.”
(Mishkat)
This is part of a long well-known hadīth in which the merits of Ramadan have been explained in great detail. The Blessed Messenger ﷺcalls this month a Month of Endurance. In this month people undergo a training in self-discipline as a preparation for the rest of the 11 months, and develop a zest for obedience to God. A believing man is very much like a soldier in the battlefield. He has to fight against Satanic temptations and forces of evil. Hence it is necessary for him to nourish self-restraint and endurance.
The Blessed Messenger also calls Ramadan a Month of Sympathy. The word Muwasat includes soothing words as well as monetary help.