✨The Last of Ramadan

Allah Almighty said:
Al Kahf (18) 1: All praise is due to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant [Moḥammad ﷺ ] the Book and has not made therein any deviance.

We praise Allah with plentiful praises and are immensely grateful to Him. He revealed the Quran:
Al Baqarah (2) 185: A guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.

The Prophet ﷺ was the most bountiful of people in goodness. And he ﷺ was the most generous in Ramadan when Jibreel used to meet him. And Jibreel used to meet him in every night of Ramadan.

When Jibril met him, the Messenger of Allah was more generous in doing good than the bountiful wind. [Sunan an-Nasa’i 2095]

Be conscious of Allah your Lord. And perform deeds sincerely for His sake. And excel in concluding this Noble Month. For the deeds are gauged by how they conclude. Perhaps a single accepted deed tips boosts all of a person’s deeds. And perhaps a single accepted supplication brings joy to a person for the rest of their life. Allah said:
Al Ankaboot (2) 69: And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.

Life is short even if it is prolonged. Time flies like the passing clouds. It moves swiftly and does not turn back. Allah alternates the night and day in rapid succession of one another.

And Allah made everything vanish and end except the Everlasting Bliss. Allah said:
Ya-Seen (36) 38-39: (38) And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. (39) And the moon – We have determined for it phases, until it returns [appearing] like the old date stalk.

We lived through a blessed month, full of peace and tranquility. A month in which the souls of the believers peak. And are elevated through fasting, prayers, and recitation of the Book of their Lord to the heights of solitude with Him and closeness to Him. This makes them wish that the whole year was Ramadan!

They are the nights of purification and excellence. Nights of putting forth concerns of this worldly life and shaking them off and being relieved of them. They are nights of the Quran. And what can make you know what is the Quran? It is the Words of our Lord, Most Majestic and Exalted. It has the narratives of those before us. And the news of those after us. And a judge between the people. It is the truth and not amusement. And whoever seeks honor from other than it, Allah will disgrace him.

The Quran was recited in the night prayer of the blessed month of Ramadan. It filled people’s ears with iman (faith), examples and lessons. They recited it starting from the creation of the heavens and the earth to when the people of paradise will enter paradise and the people of hell will enter the fire. And they reflected upon the verses of Allah about the previous communities and punishments that have come to pass against people before them. And what Allah has established of recompense in this world and the hereafter for those who obey Him. And the recompense for those who disobey Him. Allah said:
Yusuf (12) 3: We relate to you, the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Quran although you were, before it, among the unaware.

Indeed, the fruitful tree of Ramadan has shed most of its leaves as it was gusted by the winds of time. Even if there were mistakes in what has passed due to negligence, the greatest mistake is insisting upon negligence going forward.

So see what type of person you were in Ramadan. Among the three types is one, he who wrongs himself, and two, he who is moderate, and three, he who is foremost in good deeds by the permission of Allah.

Indeed this Blessed Month is either a witness for you or a witness against you. So what will you do in its remaining nights? Allah said:
Az Zumar (39) 56: Lest a soul should say, “Oh, [how great is] my regret over what I neglected in regard to Allah and that I was among the mockers.”

And what people feel of sorrow from the departure of Ramadan and the closing of their register of deeds in it is not because Ramadan is leaving without a return. For indeed Ramadan will certainly return until the Hour is established. Rather, a person is sorrowful because he does not know whether he will realize it when it returns another time. Whether he will be a trace after having existed and a narrative after having lived?!

How miserable is the one who has lost the Rayan, the gate of heaven specifically for the fasting. And how miserable is the one about whom the Prophet ﷺ said Amin when Jibreel, peace be upon him, said:
And may a man who realizes Ramadan and then he is not forgiven, or then Allah distances him, be humiliated. So then the Prophet said: Amin, Amin, Amin[Muslim 2551]

This month of Ramadan is bidding farewell, and whatever remains of it, will pass like the blink of an eye. And those racing sprint when they near the finish line. And the successful ones finish in such a good fashion that it makes up for the shortcomings in the beginning. And you never know. Perhaps the blessing of your deeds is in the last part. For indeed, deeds are gauged by their conclusion.

So what a calamity it is for a sinner who did not repent in Ramadan. And how terrible it is for the person seeking paradise to have been neglectful in Ramadan. And what misery it is for the one escaping from the fire to have slept in Ramadan instead of striving. Allah said:
Al Mutafafin (83) 26: So for this let the competitors compete.

So be conscious of Allah and go towards Allah before being driven in the hereafter. Allah said:
Al Haqqah (69) 18: That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgement]; not hidden among you is anything concealed.

Indeed what is between us and paradise and the fire is only for our life terms to end. And not prioritizing important deeds is due to not realizing how short life is no matter how long it is. So may Allah have mercy upon a person who prioritized making repentance. And overcame his desires. For one’s life term is concealed and his hope in living fools him. And between the life term and hope is shaytan adorning sins for people to do them. And shaytan gives a person false hopes that they can always make repentance, so that they delay it. Allah said:
An Nisa (4) 120: He [i.e., Satan] promises them and raises false hopes. But Satan does not promise them except delusion.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said that Allah invited to seeking forgiveness even those who claimed that Uzair is the son of Allah, and even those who claimed that Allah is poor, and even those who claimed that Allah’s hands are tied, and even those who claim that Allah is one of three. Allah said to all of them:
Al Maedah (5) 74: So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Allah invites the believers to repent:
Tahrim (66) 8: O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him.

Oh Muslims: Allah Almighty has prescribed at the conclusion of the month to pay Zakatul-Fitr which is purification and covers deficiencies in the fasting. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ enjoined Zakatul-Fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenities, and to feed the poor. Whoever pays it before the (Eid) prayer, it is an accepted Zakah, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is (ordinary) charity.” [Abu Dawood 1609]

And it is an obligation that the person pays for himself and on the behalf of the members of his household on whom he is responsible for spending. Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
The Messenger of Allah enjoined Zakatul-Fitr, a Sa’ of dates or a Sa’ of barley, on the free and bonded, male and female, the young and old among the Muslims. And he commanded that it be paid before the people go out for the (Eid) prayer. [Bukhari 1503, Muslim 986b]

And in Another: And they used to offer it (Zakatul-Fitr ) a day or two days before Eid. [Bukhari 1511]

And beware of observing Eid in manner that displeases Allah. The one who turns Eid into a day of disobedience is not being grateful for Allah’s favor in realizing Ramadan and succeeding in fasting and performing night prayers. And Allah Almighty says:
Baqarah (2) 185: So that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful.

We ask Allah Almighty to give us success in concluding Ramadan in the best possible fashion and to accept our fasting and night prayers. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

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