✨Continuity after Ramadan

All praise is due to Allah the All-Mighty, the Compeller. The All-Powerful, Prevailing. He alternates the night and day. And everything with Him is by due measure. He created the sun and the moon to follow their precise courses. And He made time periods containers for the deeds. We praise Him for his blessings and favors. And we are grateful for His bestowals and beneficence. He created His servants and tested them. And He elevated and dignified them through His religion. And on the Day of Judgement He will judge and recompense them. Allah Almighty commanded His servant and messenger not to finish an act of worship until he ﷺ engaged with another one. Such that he ﷺ immersed himself in the worship of Allah Almighty all his life.

Ash-Sharh (94) 7-8: (7) So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. (8) And to your Lord direct [your] longing.

So he ﷺ obeyed the command of Allah Almighty. And he ﷺ devoted himself to His worship.

So be conscious of Allah Almighty and obey Him. And persist in performing righteous deeds. For the dearest deeds to Allah Almighty are those done consistently, even if they are few. And beware of abandoning deeds after Ramadan. For a person does not know when his term will finish. And what a good conclusion it is for the one who concludes with a righteous deed that he consistently performed. And how bad it is to abandon a good deed after having performed it.

Islam is distinguished from other religions in terms of application and deeds in that it is a religion with a constant connection with the individual; that does not go away once a ritual finishes. Or disappear at the end of a period of great worship. Rather Islam continues to accompany an individual at all times and all places. In the home, market, work and every place. And in Shaban, Ramadan and Shawwal and every time.

This religion continues to connect a person with their Lord. To elevate him to the highest realm. And it transcends him from the lowness of this world. And this bounty does not appear except to the believer who constantly adheres to Islam both outwardly and inwardly.

Whereas if you look at other religions, you will find that their rites are just rituals that they perform at the time. And customs that they are familiar with. It is nothing more than a false gratification of the heart. It does not connect a person to his Creator. And there is no genuine happiness and tranquility.

Hence, in Islam there is continual servitude to Allah. It stays with a person from the age of accountability until the grave. His connection with Allah Almighty does not go away except if he deviates and strays from the straight path.

Ramadan during the days passed permeated our ears and eyes. We lived it day by day and night by night. And it finished with what people accrued of deeds. Therefore, there were… those who did good and those who fell short… those who did much and those who did little… those who were accepted and those who were rejected. And tomorrow there will be accounting and the doers will be recompensed.

Ramadan is like a warehouse full of faith and reverence of Allah. And people take from it their supply for the whole year. So there are those who take a full share from it. And there are those who watch the people taking and do nothing more than watch.

In Ramadan, people repented from their mistakes. And they promised Allah Almighty that they will not return to disobedience after having tasted the sweetness of turning to Allah Almighty, repentance, submission to Allah Almighty, supplication and reciting the Quran.

In Ramadan, worshipers consistently attended the congregational prayers and sought the first row. And they did not miss the first takbir (the start) of the prayer. So they resolved that they would continue doing so for their whole life. And going early to the prayer has a sweetness only known to those who have tasted it.

And in Ramadan, many people knew the value of the Quran that they forsake throughout the year. They listened to its verses during the night and recited it during the day. And they found in the Quran the best companion: that awakened their heart, motivated them to do deeds that benefit them and refrain from what harms them.

They found in it a warning from sins they had adopted. So they pledged to their Lord that they would leave them. And they read in it a great reward for righteous deeds that they had neglected. So they resolved to safeguard them.

They learned from the Quran what they did not know. And it alerted them to what they were inattentive of. So they regretted the years that passed when they abandoned this great book. And they determined to recite a set amount daily and not leave it no matter what.

In Ramadan, displays of kindness abounded through meals provided to fasting people. And sensing the needs of the needy. And offering the obligatory Zakat and following it with voluntary charity. And the fasting person felt the hunger of his poor brothers. And knew their needs. And tasted the great sweetness of performing acts of kindness towards them and introducing joy to them, their families and children. So his own joy increased through giving more charity and performing more acts of kindness. And at the time of giving, he wished to own all that is on the earth to be able to give even more to his brothers and introduce joy into their households.

And before Ramadan, he enjoyed the fine food and clothes and he did not care about anything else. But when he saw the displays of benevolence in Ramadan, he resolved not leave the way of the benevolent. For he found in kindness to people what he did not find in delicious foods, fine clothes and luxuries. So he resolved to continue being kind to others. And to provide a share of the wealth that his Lord bestowed him to the poor and needy especially with his knowledge of the hadith related that by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Everyday two angels descend and one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate (more) to the person who gives (in charity) while the other one says, ‘O Allah, Destroy the one who withholds (charity). [alBukhari 1442, Muslim 1010]

In Ramadan, many people were keen to honor their parents. And to introduce joy to them by calling them and sitting with them. They secured the pleasure of their parents that they had previously been inattentive to due to their preoccupation with worldly affairs and the needs of their families and children. So they resolved to allocate time to their parents and to designate specific times to sit with them and not to miss or delay it no matter what. For they realize the great rights that their parents have upon them. For Allah Almighty mentioned their rights together with His rights because they are the primary reason after Allah Almighty for their existence in this world:
Al Isra (17) 23: And your Lord has decreed that you worship not except Him, and to parents, good treatment.

Ramadan was a reservoir of Iman (faith), Taqwa (consciousness of Allah), purification of the souls, correcting behaviors and learning the rights. Every believer reaped from Ramadan what he drew. The successful is the one who fulfills his pact with Allah. And does good in the remaining months as he did good in Ramadan. Because he worships Allah the Exalted and he does not worship Ramadan. And it is mandatory to worship Allah in all times, places and circumstances.

Oh Muslims: We miss Ramadan. We miss fasting its days, and praying during its nights, and connecting to the Quran, remembering and supplicating to Allah Almighty, fulfilling the rights and obligations, and performing acts of kindness. For indeed we learned from Ramadan that we are able to perform these worships no matter how busy we get or how much responsibilities we have. And the right of Allah Almighty upon us is the greatest right that we must fulfill. For He is our Creator, Provider, Sustainer and Ordainer. And He is the One who recompenses us for our deeds. And we are His servants and are in servitude to Him at all times. And He ordained for us the voluntary fasts and voluntary night prayers. And He established that we shall pray witr prayer before we sleep except for those who pray voluntary prayers during the last part of the night, and that is better. And He commanded us to recite the Quran, reflect on it and act on it:
Saad (38) 29: [This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.

Just as Allah the Exalted commanded us to be kind to people, those far from us and those close to us. And our Lord Almighty has ordained that the rights of those closer to us, such as the parents, relatives and neighbors, are greater.

We ask Allah Almighty to accept our deeds in Ramadan, our fasting, prayers, recitation, supplications, charity, acts of kindness, and to help us maintain the momentum after Ramadan. Indeed He is All-Hearing Answering.

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