Preparing for the Blessed Month of Ramadan
first Khutbah:
Praise Be to Allah - we praise Him, we seek aid from Him, we seek guidance, and we seek from Him refuge from the evils of ourselves, and our bad deeds. It is He whom Allah guides that is on true guidance; but he whom He leaves astray, for such wilts thou find no protector to lead him to the right way. And I profess that there is no god but Allah alone, & He has no partners. And I admit His lordship, compelling this truth for those who denied Him and disbelieved in Him. And I profess that our master Muhammad, May Allah's Peace & Grace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah, the master of the created and the human race, and I keep professing that for as long as sight can be seen with an eye, for as long as news can be heard with an ear.
O Allah, our Lord, have peace and blessings upon our master Mohammed, upon his folks, his companions, his descendants, and those who allied with him and followed him until the Day of Judgment. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, and let us make use of what Thou hast taught us. O Allah and advance us in knowledge. O Allah show us the righteousness as right as it is, and bless us with following it. O Allah our lord make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of it, and admit us, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Thy Vicinity.
Ramadan is a great opportunity for us to be forgiven for our sins:
Dear brothers, the Noble Messenger of Allah Muhammad, peace be upon him, in a Hadith by Al-Hakim, once said to the Companions (Sahabah), may Allah be pleased with them:
(("Come near the pulpit," and they did. When he ascended the first step of the pulpit, he said, "Amin" When he ascended the second step, he repeated, "Amin", and when he ascended the third step, he once again said, "Amin." When he descended, the Companions asked, "O Prophet of Allah! We have heard from you today something which we never heard before." The Prophet, peace be upon him, then said, "When I ascended the first step, Jibril [Archangel Gabriel, peace be upon him ] appeared before me and said, 'Woe unto him who found the blessed month of Ramadan and let it pass by without gaining [Allah's] forgiveness.' Upon that I said: Amin.
When I ascended the second step, Jibril said, 'Woe unto him before whom your [the Prophet's] name is mentioned and he does not send blessings on you.' I replied: Amin. When I ascended the third step Jibril said, 'Woe unto him in whose presence his parents or either one of them attains old age, and (through failure to serve them) he does not obtain Paradise.' I said: 'Amin'."))
If a person is not forgiven in Ramadan, then when will he be forgiven?
The comprehensive meaning of Ibadah (worshiping):
Dear brothers, we are about to receive Ramadan which is the month of Ibadah (worshiping Allah). All of you know that man is assigned to a great mission in life, which is worshiping Allah as it is mentioned in the following Ayah:
﴾ And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).﴿[Adh-Dhariyat, 56]
This Ibadah has a comprehensive meaning, and it is out of ignorance to assume that it is fulfilled only by offering the ritual acts of worship. As I have just said, Ibadah is a comprehensive concept; part of it is ritual like Salah, Sawm, Hajj, and some of these ritual acts of worship are financial like Zakat, whereas the other part of Ibadah is about dealing with others, like being honest with them and trustworthy. The delicate fact is that when man assumes that the religion is all about ritual acts of worship, this means that he comprehends nothing of Islam. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Islam is built on five pillars: the Shahadah (profession of faith) that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Salah (prayers), Zakah (alms-tax), Sawm Ramadan (fast) and Hajj (pilgrimage)))[Agreed upon, by Ibn Umar]
Islam is a great structure which is based on five pillars (the ritual acts of worship: the Shahadah (profession of faith) that there is no God worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Salah (prayers), Zakah (alms-tax), Sawm Ramadan (fast) and Hajj (pilgrimage).)Let me dear brothers, put forward some Ahadeeth and Ayaht about these ritual acts of worship.
Islam is a complete method and unless it is fully applied, one will not reap its fruits:
((The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Whoever says Laa ilaaha illal-laah (There is no god worthy of worship but Allah) sincerely will enter Paradise." He, peace be upon him, was asked, "How can these words be uttered sincerely?" He, peace be upon him, said, "By refraining from committing whatever Allah forbids.))
Accordingly, no matter how many times you utter the Shahadah, it is meaningless as long as you are indulged in sins, because the main purpose of this Shahadah is to be religiously committed. As for Sawm:
((Narrated Abi Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting)."))[Al-Bukhari, by Abi Hurairah]
Sawm is an act of worship, however, it requires commitment in order to make full benefit from it.
Concerning Salah, unless man is upright on the Path of Allah, his Salah will do him no good. He offers it as an obligatory, but he will be deprived of reaping its fruits. The proof is in the following Hadith:
Thawban, may Allah be pleased by him said: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((I know people of my Ummah (nation) would come on the Day of Judgment with white good deeds like the mountains of Tihamma, then Allah Almighty would make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust." Thawban said: "O Messenger of Allah, describe those people and make them clear to us lest we are among them and do not know that." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "They are your brothers, living among you and pray at night as you do; however, when they are alone with prohibited acts (where no one can see them except Allah) they commit them.))[Reported by Ibn Majah]
We talked about Sawm and Salah, and now we move to talk about Hajj:
((Whoever performs Hajj using unlawfully gained money, when he comes on the camel with other pilgrims and say as he reaches there, " Labbayka Allâhumma Labbayka (O Allah here I am at Your service)," he will be answered, "You are not welcome and your Hajj is not accepted".))
Regarding Zakat, Allah says:
﴾Say: "Spend (in Allah's Cause) willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Verily, you are ever a people who are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)."﴿[At-Taubah, 53]
These are the five pillars of Islam which are purposeless unless they are accompanied with commitment, obedience to the Almighty Allah and applying the detailed rulings of Shari'ah:
Here are some other texts in this regard: Narrated by Abi Hurairah that the Prophet, peace b upon him, said:
((Do you know who the bankrupt is? The Companions said, "A bankrupt is the one who has neither dirham (money) nor wealth" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The bankrupt of my Ummah (Nation) is he who would come on the Day of Judgment with lots of prayers, fasts and charities; but who had offended a person, slandered another, wrongfully taken the wealth of that person, shed another's blood and has beaten still another, so Allah will take rewards of his good deeds and give them to those who had been victimized by him. If all of his good deeds were finished before their dues were paid, their sins will be taken and imposed on him, and consequently, he will be thrown into the fire-pit))[At-Tirmithi, by Abi Hurairah]
((Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: A man asked: 'O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam [peace be upon him])! There is a woman who prays, gives charity and fasts a great deal, but she harms her neighbor with her speech (by insulting them).' The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said,"She will go to Hell." The man said, 'O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)! There is (another) women who is well-known for how little she fasts and prays, but she gives charity from the dried yoghurt she makes, and she does not harm her neighbors." He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said, "She will go to Paradise.")) [Ahmad, by Abi Hurairah]
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((A woman was punished in Hell because of a cat which she had confined until it died. She did not give it to eat or to drink when it was confined, nor did she free it so that it might eat the vermin of the earth.))[Agreed upon by Abdullah Ibn Umar]
Dear brothers, if we track down all the Prophetic Ahadeeth, given the Prophet, peace be upon him, does not speak of (his own) desire and it is only an Inspiration that is inspired, we will find that Islam is a cohesive structure that can never be broken down into pieces. Also, Islam is a complete method whose benefits will not be reaped in the worldly life or in the Hereafter unless it is fully applied. Thus, acting upon the orders which suit you and give you fame and comfort, and avoid acting upon the prohibitions which restrict your desires, has nothing to do with the religion.
Ramadan is the month of Quran, donations and closeness to the Almighty Allah:
Dear brothers, I have dedicated this lesson before Ramadan, because I know that according to the traditions and customs followed in our society, Ramadan has become a month of parties, banquets and T.V shows. It has become the month when some shows have been prepared exclusively to be viewed in. Receiving Ramadan for this purpose contradict the Divine Purpose of it. Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, has intended to make Ramadan the month of worship, repentance, piousness, reciting the Quran, giving Sadaqah, closeness to Allah and feeling His love. This is the way Ramadan is Divinely meant to be. Furthermore, Ramadan is an annual opportunity which gives you a second chance to reconcile with Allah and to have a fresh start with Him. Narrated Abi Salah, Abi Hurairah said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven.))[Abu Dawood, by Abi Hurairah]
Dear brothers, these traditions restrict us and obstruct our heading towards the Almighty Allah. I am saying so in order to warn our honorable brothers that we should observe fasting exactly as Allah wants us to, and in the way which exalts us. Some people observe a purposeless Sawm during Ramadan, for they do not refrain from the forged speech, backbiting, calumny or gazing at whatever is forbidden. Those are mediocre people who just move their daytime mails to the evening and night time, without making any changes (to the better) to themselves.
This month is ordained upon Muslims so that they will exalt in the Sight of Allah, which is the better level, whereas the least needed level is to stop sinning. Accordingly, it is unreasonable to fast (abstain from food and drink) just like the camel which has no idea about the reason why its owner ties it or why he unties it.
We will start soon offering a ritual act of worship (fasting), and the ritual acts of worship in Islam are linked to the transactional ones in the sense that when you lower your gaze, watch tour language, abstain from doing something forbidden with your hand, avoid going to a place that displeases Allah, apply Islamic teachings to your household, make your earning and spending lawful, recite the Quran and perform your acts of worship perfectly, Allah will allow you to establish a connection with Him. This connection will enable you to taste the sweetness of being close to Allah, to rejoice the performance of Taraweeh and Qiyam Al-Layl (night prayers) and to feel deeply that Allah is always with you, that He forgave you and that He purified you.
The fruits of the ritual acts of worship cannot be reaped unless the transitional ones are performed properly:
Dear brothers, the ritual acts of worship are like the three hour exam, while the transactional acts of worship are like the academic year. Thus, he, who does not study, attend classes or memorize books, will be helpless in the exam, and it will be meaningless to him since the significance of the exam is derived from studying hard during the academic year. Similarly, the ritual acts of worship derive their value from perfecting the transactional acts of worship.
The salesman who works for a company goes to the company in the morning in order to receive the instructions, and he gets back to the company in the evening to give the profits and be rewarded for his daily work. Likewise, you come to the Masjid in order to offer Salah and receive the Divine Instructions which you are supposed to follow in your daily life activities, so that when you come back to the Masjid again you will be rewarded by tasting the sweetness of drawing closer to Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to make this Du'a whenever he came to the Masjid, "Bismillah (In the name of Allah), O Allah, open for me the gates of Your Mercy" and whenever he got out of the Masjid he used to say, "Bismillah, O Allah open for me the gates of Your Bounty."
Dear brothers, the ritual acts of worship are very crucial, and they will be offered properly and their fruits will be reaped only when they are accompanied with proper commitment (to the Divine Orders and Prohibitions), obedience to Allah, controlling desires, applying Islam and turning entirely to Al-Wahid (the One) and Ad-Dayyan (Allah the Judge). This does not mean in any way that whoever offers the ritual acts of worship formally should stop offering them, but in addition to performing them, he should obey Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, watch his language, control his evil notions and forbidden desires and remember death and afflictions.
The meanings of Sawm (fasting):
Dear brothers, Ramadan is an annual golden opportunity which allows the Muslim to reconciles with Allah. What does Allah order you to do in Ramadan? Does He order you to leave food, drink and other permissible matters only? Absolutely He does not. When you sin while you are abstaining from doing lawful things in Ramadan, you will become imbalanced. Thus, it is rather more impelling to leave sins at the time (Ramadan) when you are ordained to abstain from permissible matters like food and drink. It is pointless to leave food and drink in Ramadan and keep backbiting, witnessing falsehood, lying and feasting eyes on women's beauty. Doing so makes the one who offers Sawm imbalanced.
Dear brothers one more thing: The one, who cannot leave food, drink, intercourse with his wife, sins and evildoings, is someone who is defeated from inside, and he will never be able to overcome any enemy in his entire life. Unless you can defeat your own desires, you cannot defeat your enemy. Why is our Prophet, peace be upon him, the Master of the entire mankind? Because though he is a human being and he faced life challenges like other men, he defeated his own desires.
Dear brothers, there is another meaning of Sawm, which is being in dire need of the Almighty Allah in your existence, the continuity of your existence, the perfection of your existence, the food you eat and the water you drink. When you eat, drink and sleep you keep your strength, vitality and zeal, but when you stop eating, you become a weak human being who desperately needs a bite. Hence, the one, who thinks himself self-sufficient, and he is so arrogant to such an extent that he forgets his start and end, and he looks down on people with contempt, does not actually come to terms with his reality.
Perhaps, one of the purposes of Sawm is to discover the meaning of being a servant to Allah, and to realize how badly you need Him. Be aware that when you take pride in yourself, Allah will abandon you, but when you acknowledge your need of Him, He will grant you protection, providence and prosperity. We, as Muslims, have two tests: the first test makes us realize how much we are in need of Allah, and the second test strengthens our determination to obey Allah since we are not ordained to refrain from only the prohibited matters, but also the permissible ones (such as food, drink, sexual intercourse). We should control our limps, organs and everything around us from disobeying Allah.
The value of the ritual acts of worship is derived from the transactional ones:
Dear brothers, again, the significance of the ritual acts of worship is stemmed from the proper performance of the transactional acts of worship. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((…And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (prayer or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks))[Al-Bukhari, by Abi Hurairah]
This means that the true Muslim does not listen to anything which does not accord with the Quran and Sunnah, he does not accept anything which contradicts the Divine Revelation or he does not refer to any standards but the religious ones. Moreover, he is not tempted by the vanity of life, because he knows that vanishes after death, and he is not seduced by the pleasure of sins since he knows the consequent punishment for it. Thus, he sees with the Light of Allah, listens to whatever accords with the Divine Revelation, uses his hands to do whatever pleases Allah only, and moves his legs only towards places which please Allah the Almighty:
((…And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (prayer or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) from Me, I give him, and if he asks My Protection (refuge), I protect him))[Al-Bukhari, by Abi Hurairah]
Dear brothers, does Allah not say:
﴾The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)].﴿[Ash-Shu'ara', 88-89]
This means that the most valuable thing with which you meet Allah is your clean heart, but what is the definition of the clean heart? The clean heart is the one which is free from any forbidden desire, free from believing any reporting which contradicts the Divine Revelation, free from seeking help from other than Allah and free from resorting to any laws other than Allah's Shari'ah. This is the clean heart, but having such a heart needs tremendous efforts.
Dear brothers, I am offering you this piece of advice: Make Ramadan a month when you are devoted entirely to the Almighty Allah. Do not make it a month of socializing, invitations, parties, banquets and having fun till dawn (suhoor). Make this month your means to draw closer to the Almighty Allah, so do not give an ear to anyone around you, abandon all traditions and customs and crush them under your feet if they contradict Allah's Method, and if they become the barrier between you and Allah. As long as you please Allah, you should not care about these traditions or customs.
Raman is the month of freeing Muslims from Hellfire:
Dear brothers, Ramadan is the month when the Muslim will be freed from Hellfire and when Allah's Mercy is manifested in the believers' life.
((The Prophet, peace be upon him, was the most generous of the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan.))
((Spend O Bilal, and do not fear from the Lord of the Throne any decrease!))
((Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.))
((Spending one Dirham in charity in your life is better than leaving 100 thousand Dirhams to be spend in charity after your death.))
Ramadan is the Month of charity, relief, donations, comfort and strengthening kin ties, so it is not the month of Fisq (debauchery), moral deviation or mixed-gender feasts where sins are committed as women are dressed indecently revealing their beauty.
Quran should be recited abundantly in Ramadan:
Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to recite the Quran in Ramadan more than any other month, so you should follow his steps and write down a new timetable in Ramadan making this month a 30 day intensive course in order to come out of it a new man.
I ask Allah to help me clarify the following point to you: Whoever makes a qualitative leap in Ramadan (to the best), but he gets back after Ramadan to the habits and activities he used to have before it, makes no benefit of Ramadan. This qualitative leap should continue after Ramadan. You are allowed to eat and drink and do all the permissible matters after Ramadan (which you are forbidden to do during the days of Ramadan). However, watching your language, lowering your gaze, controlling your spending and refraining from all sorts of sins, should continue after Ramadan in order to go on with this qualitative leap every month of the year and be elevated in the Sight of Al-Wahid Ad-Dayyan. Unfortunately, the majority of people become better in Ramadan but after it is over, their situation will be a manifestation of the following verses:
Ramadan is over so give me a drink O bartender
The glass of wine misses me the same way I miss it
Whoever does that displeases Allah. Hence, you should be with Allah every day of the year, you should be upright all year long and you should be submissive to Allah's Method every month and every year of your life, and this is the right thing to do after Ramadan. You will make no use of Ramadan if you stop sinning in it, but you go back to sins after it.
Muslims should prepare themselves to receive this Great Month (Ramadan):
Dear brothers, there are many other meanings of Ramadan. Let me make a comparison to explain the importance of preparing for Ramadan beforehand. Like the engine of the car that sometimes needs warming before the car takes off to its destination, we should get ourselves prepared for this great month a week before we receive it, so that may Allah make us among those who will be freed from Hellfire.
Dear brothers, let me remind you that having knowledge of As-Sunnah Al-Qawliyyah (Ahadeeth of the Prophet, peace be upon him) and As-Sunnah Al-Fi'liyyah (the actions of the Prophet, peace be upon him) is Fard Ayn (Fard Ayn is a compulsory duty on every single Muslim to perform), but do you know why? Because Allah orders us to know about them in the following Ayah:
﴾And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)﴿[Al-Hashr, 7]
How will we be able to take what the Prophet, peace be upon him, gives us and abstain from whatsoever he forbids us if we do not know his Sunnah? This means that we should attend religious sessions in order to know this Sunnah. Someone may say out of ignorance, "I do not need to attend these religious sessions", but we say to him, "Who told you that?"
You are in dire need of the religious knowledge in order to worship Allah properly. How can you worship Allah properly, follow whatever the Prophet, peace be upon him, commands, and abstain from whatever he, peace be upon him, forbids as long as you have no idea about the interpretation of the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah? Consider this example: Can the high blood pressure of someone be treated if he does not measure it on daily basis and see if it is high or not? In the same way, how can you worship Allah if you do not have the religious knowledge? How can you take what the Prophet, peace be upon him, gives you if you do not know his Sunnah? You will stay ignorant unless you know the religious orders and bans. Attending a religious session about the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah or about Fiqh matters is a crucial part of religion. Unless you attend such a session, you will follow something without knowledge, given the problem of the people of Hellfire is their lack of knowledge. Allah says:
﴾And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!"﴿[Al-Mulk, 10]
The crisis of the people of Hellfire is all about knowledge.
Dear brothers, when you pay Zakat, Allah protects your money, and the same goes for your time; when you pay the Zakat of time (by dedicating part of your time for acquiring religious knowledge and be able to know Allah), Allah bless your time. Allah says:
﴾And the slaves of the Most Beneficent (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness﴿[Al-Furqan, 63]
What is the meaning of "Hawnan" (in humility and sedateness)? The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to walk fast but gently as if he was moving fast downhill. Aeyshah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "May Allah have mercy on Umar's soul, I have never seen any one more pious than him. He used to hasten if he walks, to feed up those he fed and to let his addressees hear him". As for the believers, they walk on earth "Hawnan" in the sense that they never let the worldly life distract them from their purpose, never let their problems deflect them from their achievements and never let side battles in the worldly life veil them from their Creator. Furthermore, they dedicate part of their priceless time for getting acquainted with Allah, for attending religious sessions, for reciting the Quran and for reading the Prophetic Sunnah. Being engrossed with the worldly business and collecting money only, will make man face death empty handed when death comes to him unexpectedly:
﴾He will say: "Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my life!"* So on that Day, none will punish as He will punish* And none will bind as He will bind.﴿[Al-Fajr, 24-26]
The different kinds of acts of worship:
Dear brothers, in the upcoming Khutab Insha' Allah, I will tackle Sawm in details. This Khutbah is meant to inspire you, me included, in order to receive this month in a way which pleases the Almighty Allah and according to His Method not according to the familiar social traditions and customs which veil us from Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, and prevent us from reaping the benefits of the acts of worship.
Abstaining from food and drink only during Ramadan is the Ibadah (worshiping) of the ignorant, abstaining from whatever violation that displeases the Almighty Allah is the Ibadah of believers and abandoning everything and stay close to Allah is the Ibadah of Atqiya' (righteous pious believers). Ramadan is our means either to stop backsliding, or to keep exalting. Ramadan is the priceless annual opportunity to have a fresh start with Allah. In a Saheeh Hadith the Prophet, peace be upon him:
((Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven.))
I say my words, and I ask the Forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, for me and for you. Dear brothers, ask His Forgiveness, so that you will be forgiven, as those who are forgiven will be the successful ones.
The second Khutabah:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Truthful and the Honest.
Repentance is one of the most crucial issues before receiving Ramadan:
Dear brothers, repentance is one of the most crucial issues before we receive the month of Ramadan. Imam Al-Ghazali said, "Repentance consists of three elements: knowledge condition and action". Repentance is knowledge, because unless you know the detailed Method of Allah, you will never be able to identify your sins, and thus you will not repent of them. In other words, unless you know that this is a sin, you will not repent from it.
The majority of people are indulged in sins, without being aware of that, and they even think they are upright, they love Allah and they strive for Paradise although nothing of their deeds reflects that. Those are either ignorant or pretending ignorance, but let us have a good opinion of them and say that.
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