Abdullah Hakim Quick – New Muslim Corner – Itikhaaf, Layalatul Qadr and Eid
AI: Summary ©
The importance of fasting during the holy month is highlighted, as it is designed to strengthen the relationship with Allah and increase spiritual blessings. The "we" concept is also emphasized, as it is a large night for Muslims to pursue, and the importance of forgiveness and compensation for sinful behavior is emphasized. The importance of taking time off during the busy busy busy season is emphasized, and dressing up during the festival is encouraged. Additionally, the importance of showing cultural practices and receipts to strengthen one's faith is emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
Okay.
Tell tell me when tell me when, right,
when they're in.
All praise are due to Allah, Lord of
the worlds.
And peace and blessings be constantly showered upon
our beloved prophet Muhammad,
the master of the first and the last,
and his family, his companions, and all those
who call to his way and establish his
sunnah to the day of judgment.
As to what follows, my beloved brothers and
sisters, to our friends,
to our viewers,
We have another opportunity
in the month of Ramadan
to reflect upon
the great blessings
that we are getting during this sacred time.
And
this new Muslim corner,
was established
in order to give the basic foundations of
the faith
and not to go into the complications
and the different
nuances that you get with countries and,
with, you know, personalities,
but to go back to the sources
so you can have
the foundation.
What is the basis of the Islamic concept?
And then from there, you can judge,
what you are seeing around you
and what you're seeing in the world.
Also, it's important for us to understand that
fasting in Islam,
as we have learned,
the essence as Allah told us,
in order that you would have consciousness of
god.
That's the purpose of the fast.
So it's not a struggle,
a physicals, carnal struggle with food and drink
and watching the time and counting the days.
It's something
higher than this.
And
with that in mind,
we recognize that fasting is not punishment.
Fasting is not
a test of your ego
or to prove that you're better than somebody
else,
but fasting is to strengthen
your relationship with Allah.
And at the same time,
we're blessed that the fast, if it's done
properly,
will also strengthen
self control.
It will strengthen
reality in this world
that we're not controlled
by the world,
that we live in the world,
but we're not of the world.
So if we can do that,
we're living in the world, but we're not
necessarily controlled by the trends
and the fashions
and all of the material things, then this
in a sense is a type of liberation.
So therefore,
if
a fasting person
has to break the fast
because they are not well
or they're traveling
or it is, that time of the month,
you know, for a woman,
there's nothing wrong with them.
It's not a lower kind of fast.
It's not about the amount of days,
but it's about the sincerity,
and it's about fit,
understanding.
And
this,
question came about,
recently, you know, with a sister,
you know, who was really not feeling well,
who had high blood pressure,
but wanted to fast and felt it. No.
If I don't fast, something's wrong.
That's not the high standing.
It is better for that person
to break the fast for a day or
2, get themself back together,
and then continue the fast in the strongest
way they can
as opposed to just struggling, you know, with
their body really sick
and then maybe losing the rest of the
month.
So fiqh
means understanding.
It's how you
implement your Islam in your life,
and that is critical for,
Muslims today,
especially with
so many,
deceptions around and so many opinions.
We can't forget,
however,
that the essence of the fast or the
fruit of the essence is the blessings of
Allah.
Prophet
Muhammad has told us an authentic hadith,
That whoever
prays
the qiyam,
the extra prayers at night,
and does this during the nights of Ramadan,
cherishing faith
and seeking reward from Allah,
all of their previous sins,
are forgiven.
So this is a great blessing. This is
a great benefit.
This is something higher than just a physical
struggle with food,
but it actually is a type of, purification,
of the actions that we have done,
in our lives.
And
as we have entered into
the last 3rd of the month remember we
were looking we broke the month down into,
like, thirds.
So it's the 1st 3rd. There's the middle
3rd. In a sense, now we're in the
last 3rd
of the month. And so in this time,
there are special,
activities,
that Muslims do.
There's some special,
qualities
that you find in,
the last 3rd of the month.
And one of these activities that you will
hear is Eretikaf,
and Eretikaf itself,
means seclusion,
and, it can be done really,
at any time in the year. The Islamic
way of Eir Tikaf,
is, you know, seclusion
or isolation,
for the purposes of devoting yourself,
for worship.
And people do
in many different ways. You'll find,
scholars and,
enlightened people during the year will actually take
some time off
and go into a sort of a seclusion
itself,
to intensify,
their worship.
So that is a general iirtikaf
that is done. In Ramadan itself,
there is a special form of iirtikaf,
and that is,
seclusion in the masjid.
And so this is a sunnah.
This is one of the ways of prophet
Muhammad.
It is not obligatory.
Your fast is not diminished if you don't
do it,
but as a chance to get more blessings.
This is about coming closer to Allah,
strengthening yourself, and
is one of those,
ways to do this. And
Aisha,
the wife of the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam, she reported that the messenger of Allah
used to seclude himself in the Masjid
during the last 10 days of Ramadan
until he died.
So this is the last few years.
Then she said, after him, his wives continued
the practice.
Okay? So, therefore,
women are also involved in air TCF.
And,
again, there's a general form of air TCF
that somebody might do. You may even find
somebody who does an iatikaf, you know, in
their home. But this particular one is in
the house of Allah.
Because within the Masjid,
there are active the prayers are there, and
it's it's a heightened,
place, and and this is where the sunnah
is.
So to perform
the,
again, this is not,
a type of,
seclusion
that you find in some religions, monkism,
where the monks go and they seclude themselves.
They're torturing themselves.
No. This is not. You're actually carrying out
some of your regular body functions. So it's
permissible
in. So for instance, there's a masjid there's
a masjid here.
Okay? Now,
Islamic Institute
not is not necessarily was originally
like a a a combination
of
a masjid
and madrasa classes and also gymnasium, and it's
like a community center.
Okay. But you do have some places
that have a section
or, that is a a a house
pure house of worship.
And so what will happen
inside if somebody's doing is
that,
if you wanna do the complete 10,
okay, then the person would have actually entered
last night
because,
or as Friday night, actually. They would have
entered Friday night
because remember that that's when the 10 days
started.
And they would do from Friday night all
the way until when Eid is actually,
announced,
right, at the end of the month.
So while the person is in this area,
and the prophet used to make a type
of tent type of area, just take some
cloth and, you know, block off a certain
area,
and you sort of settle like an area
of the masjid.
Of course, this is based upon
the the Masjid that you're in. There's rules,
and, you have to keep it clean. And
when prayer comes, you can't block people from
coming in and out, you know, to prayer.
Many masjids, what they'll do is they'll even
have a section of the masjid for those
who are doing.
So they can go into that section,
and then they can set up
their seclusion there. And while you're in air
tikaf, it is permitted to comb your hair,
to trim,
or to groom,
to clip your nails, to take baths,
to change your clothes, to use scents.
Okay? So this is not,
torture,
you know, but you obviously are not carrying
out your normal activities like you would,
at your home.
K. So these things are permissible.
Things that can break your a tikaf
is if you leave the Masjid area,
you just feel like going out, you know,
to Tim Hortons and, you know, okay. We're
not having Tim Hortons. We're fasting.
But even at night, right,
you stay in there at night.
So even after the fast is broken, you
don't go out to to to Timmy's.
Right? You stay
in the masjid.
Okay? And so, normally, either the masjid would
provide something for the people or the family
of the people
who are making Ertikaf,
you know, would provide. Or the people who
are doing Ertikaf
can sorta make a little jamak,
and then they will prepare their own food
and, you know, whatever.
But, obviously, it is not
a major iftar.
This is is gonna be something, simple. So
going outside the Masjid,
for other than answering the call of nature,
going to the bathroom.
Right? Or fulfilling some pressing needs. The The
person may have to get food and come
back, you know, whatever. Somebody may be really
sick, and you could actually visit them and
come right back. You can't stop and, you
know, go to your job and do something
on the way
because you made the intention for seclusion.
K? So we're talking about iatikaf,
which is seclusion in the Masjid,
especially in the last 10 days.
Okay? So these things are permissible,
during this time.
Also, marital relations,
are not permissible
This time, you know, loss of sanity, if
a person lost their sanity, then hereticaff is
over.
Right?
If menstruation came, if her sister sister was
making ear to calf and her monthly courses
came, then then she stops or postnatal bleeding,
then that would end the ear to calf,
and then they would leave,
the ear to calf itself.
Okay? So
maybe somebody can't do it for
the total time.
What some people might do is
they might do it on the odd nights.
They might do it on the 27th night.
They might stay there all night until the
next morning.
But when you make,
you gotta make intention to make. So you're
making attention to Allah. Oh, Allah, I'm dedicating
this time
from this point to that point,
you know, for my seclusion.
And that means total seclusion, and and this
cell phone that we have,
you know, you probably better turn this thing
off.
And I don't care what's happening with the
the Raptors or the Blue Jays. I don't
care.
You you have to wait till after you're
at the cap to find out who won
the game.
Don't get involved in dunya. Right?
There's no dunya in this.
Right? It's a way to, like, really strengthen
yourself.
And some people
use this as a way to really
build up their faith,
you know, and you can really strengthen yourself,
during this time.
Okay. So this is,
one of the actions that we do in
the month is.
I wanna open the floor for any questions
that anybody may have concerning. Yes? I have
2 questions. Yeah.
So, like,
Roland, for, like, the past 2 or 3
years, I mean, for students, I've been following
up to take exams here. Right? So I've
been seeing some videos where some students, they
would take, like, their
To be honest,
you know it's it's it's really important to
do your studies
but this is seclusion. This is a bad
that this is making
prayer. This is making dua. This is reading
Quran. This is doing.
It's not things connected to the material world.
And the studies is part of our material
world,
so we're not connected with that. So this
is a special seclusion.
Well, you know, the the the scholars are
dealing with all types of issues. We're talking
about a whole society.
And there there there are cases
where people,
lose their their their sanity.
And, we have a lot of,
mental health issues today.
There's a good percentage of people in this
society
who have mental health issues.
And sometimes when you intensify like this,
it can bring on,
something,
you know, that's really,
really bad.
You know, I was
taking care of a masjid at one point,
you know, and, there was a brother there
and he lost it. And he was just
moving around the masjid
from side to side, you know, talking and
going on.
And so we had to call a Muslim
psychiatrist.
You know, like, they had to, like, sedate
him,
you know, in order to, you know, calm
him down, and
that was it for his time.
Again, you know,
this is not a punishment.
You don't have to do this.
You're just as good of a Muslim
if you don't do it.
Some people do just to show off
so that he's actually worse than the people
who don't do the.
Because remember, he did it for Ria, right,
to show off.
Okay. So the seclusion part is really important.
That's the concept.
Now any other,
questions that anybody has concerning air decaf?
So as we go on now, we'll go
on to another important,
activity,
and that is.
And,
this,
Laylatul Qadr,
the Qadr itself means glory, power, status, you
know, destiny.
And, in the 97th
chapter of the Quran,
Allah
tells us
So it's saying that the Quran is saying,
verily, we have revealed it, meaning the Quran,
during the night of
Qadir.
It could be power.
It could be destiny.
Right?
What would tell you what the night of,
of Qadir is? The night of is better
than a 1000
months.
So this time is better. The blessings you
get during this time
is better than a 1000 months. Some mathematicians
say 83.3,
you know, years.
You know? I mean, we don't wanna get
into numbers. Right?
Better than a 1000 months,
the blessings of this time.
The angels will descend therein,
and the spirit.
And Arora here, the scholars have said this
is the angel, Jibril.
So they will descend with all sorts of
decrees.
There will be peace till the break of
dawn.
Okay. So this is a time when
destinies,
many of the destinies,
things that are written in the,
you know, in the ultimate,
book of of destinies,
coming down into
the lower,
universes coming actually,
you know, taking place. It's coming down.
So so this is a very, very,
auspicious
serious night.
And
the heaviness of the night
really is on a spiritual level.
So even though
it says there will be peace until the
break of dawn,
human beings are gonna continue to bomb and
kill and destroy as you see this world,
right,
And do,
negative things. But on a spiritual level,
this there is peace.
And some people,
some scholars can even,
they can sense.
You have to be really outside of the
urban areas, though.
Like, the cities, the lights, and all the
things going you probably have to be out
of the urban areas, maybe in a mountainous
area or a desert
or by a seashore somewhere,
you know, where you're actually,
relating to the universe.
And some scholars
claim or they feel they can actually sense
it,
on a spiritual level,
which is Laylatul Qadr.
And, originally,
this was the 27th.
So this is a very important,
night because the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, before
he became a prophet,
he used to do a type of seclusion.
And seclusion was being done by certain individuals
within Arab society at that time.
And he used to seclude himself in a
mountain of light in a mountain.
He would go up into the mountain, climb
up there,
and he would spend time by himself.
And, this is a rugged territory too. It's
not a nice
nicely made cave with a door like Hilton
Hotel.
You have to climb up this mountain and
go into a passageway,
and you're by yourself.
And his wife and his,
companions, they would bring
some food
to him. He would go down, and he
would just get this and go back, and
he was really
meditating in a sense,
because he had this strong feeling
of getting away from idol worship
and getting away from tribalism
and oppression,
the weak being oppressed.
He had this feeling that he needed to
be lifted from this.
So he secluded himself
and prayed to the creator,
not knowing
anything about Allah, but having that feeling inside
of himself.
There were certain people in, Mecca at the
time, at the time
who did believe in in God. They were
not idol worshipers.
And,
Khadija, you know, his his wife, Warakah bin
Nofal, was one of them, and these people
were,
Honafah. They were pure type of people.
So there were some people who were believing
in God, but there was no organized,
religion there. The yahood,
who had,
the the, Benny Israel people, they were in
Medina.
So they were but but in Mecca itself,
they were not people who really had
a strong organized tradition
of the belief in in one god.
So the prophet
had these feelings.
And then on the 27th night,
a a force came to him,
and he felt this force,
enter into the cave area, and he was,
like, you know,
smothered, like,
by the force.
And then he heard a voice saying,
saying to read
or recite because he didn't read, like, in
the sense of reading books.
Right? So it meant sort of like reciting.
Right? Recite. And he said, you know, Like,
I I'm not a person
who reads or recites and these things. I
I don't do that.
Right? And
this happened to him 3 times
until
the Quran was revealed.
So these verses are revealed, read in the
name of your lord who has created he
created,
humanity from,
single clot.
So okay. So
this was he said he felt the prophet
felt it. It was, like, imprinted on his
chest.
So it wasn't just words that went in
and went out.
It became, like, part of his being,
this recitation that was happening.
So this is and and, of course, he
was,
he was afraid.
He didn't know because
they did believe in the jinn.
They believed in creatures, demons of smokeless fire.
That was and even the word
was an Arabic word.
You know? So they did believe in these,
demon spirits,
so he wasn't sure.
Okay. And then he left the mountain and
went back,
to his home, and he was literally,
trembling
trembling from fear.
And he told Khadija, his wife, may Allah
be pleased with her what had happened, and
she covered him up. She was very wise,
intelligent woman, very intelligent.
And she covered him up and,
she,
strengthened him, say that this could not be
a demon
because you are a good person.
And, you know, she solidified
the faith.
This is really important
because some people have the wrong impression about
the role of women in Islam. Right?
What is the role of women in Islam?
That men are, you know, the major force
in 90% of the force.
This was a woman, not a man,
who strengthened,
his faith,
and solidified him in this dangerous time
that he was in.
And so,
the angels stayed away for a while,
and the prophet
actually felt,
a little bit lost in a sense,
but then it started to return.
Okay? And so this is how revelation begins.
This is the Quran itself.
So the Quran is not a book.
It was not in a book form.
It was a series of revelations,
oral,
revelations
that were memorized.
And then later on, after the death of
the prophet, peace be upon him, it was
put into a book form,
written form.
But 100 of people and then 1,000 had
memorized the whole book.
And then some people were writing, because there
were a few people,
about 20 or so, who actually began to
write Arabic.
So Arabic, it was an oral culture,
and but they started to write,
basic forms,
you know, to express the Arabic.
And that developed over the centuries
into what we have today
with the written form of Arabic script.
So this is when contact was first made.
Okay?
1st contact.
So this is an auspicious occasion. This is
spiritually,
the greatest occasion.
It is the night of power and destiny,
and something
has remained of this night.
There's a residue
that is actually remaining of the night.
And so we are blessed
that we can actually still benefit from
the residue of this night.
To the point
where Allah said, it's better if you catch
this night, if you can catch on to
the power.
It's better than a 1000 months.
So this is really worth,
trying to put in some effort,
to do. We have a lot of distractions,
here within this this in this society.
That is another reason why people go into
Eir Tikaf.
Because if you're in Eir Tikaf for those
10 days
and you're there for the nights,
then you'll definitely catch it because you're there.
Okay. So that's another reason why somebody wants
to be able to benefit from this time.
But, otherwise,
it was known as the 27th.
The 27th.
And the prophet
said,
Whoever prays during the night of power in
good faith and seeking the reward of Allah
will have all of his previous sins,
forgiven by Allah.
K. So another important reason.
So we seek it out. Now
there's different reports, but in one report, it
is it is it is said
that they used to seek out the night
of power on the 27th night.
And that still is the biggest night where
Muslims seek it. However,
in one report,
there was some
difference of opinion. The prophet, the way the
masjid was set up, his house, Aisha's house
was right
on the masjid.
So his door, he would enter into the
masjid.
So he could hear things
from his house, what was going on in
the Masjid.
And there was some arguing and difference of
opinion
going on amongst the companions.
This is human beings. Right? So we're they're
arguing. Right?
And after this, the prophet
said to his companions
that
probably as a result of this,
you have to seek the night of power
on the odd nights in the last 10
days.
Okay? So odd nights of the last 10
days.
This is when you have to seek the
night of power.
So not necessarily
coming on the 27th.
Although you'll see
Muslims packing the masjids, you'll see people. And
still many scholars say that still is the
strongest,
but it's not necessarily the night of power.
And those who have a spiritual eye,
they say, and Allah knows best, can sort
of sense the night of power, but Allah
knows best.
So it could be
the 21st
night,
the 23rd,
the 25th night,
the 27th night,
or the 29th. And
during that time,
there is a special dua
that is made
where we are saying
to.
All that you are all forgiving and generous.
You love to forgive, so forgive me.
That is the most
looks like a simple prayer.
It is a simple prayer, but it's sincerity.
Right?
And that's important to understand.
The best type of prayer is with quality,
not quantity.
Sincerity of heart
and really connecting it with yourself.
Connecting you with people who are really sick.
People who are really in need.
Right? To to to be practical with,
you know,
you know, prayers during this night
because if this is accepted,
it's very important.
So the question is,
to try to uncomplicate
things for you,
what are the odd nights
for us?
And
that would be,
Saturday, March 30th.
So, unfortunately, and I mentioned it last week,
that was last night.
Okay?
The next that was the 21st.
So the next night would be Monday.
So it's Monday coming.
Right? That's April 1st. That's 23rd.
So try to do something. Even if you
can't come to the to the masjid for
whatever it is,
then try to,
get up at night,
do something special on that night,
Make special prayers
on that night.
Make the most sincere of the prayers that
you can do
or any type of Ibadah,
your giving, your whatever you can do on
on on that day.
Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 3rd is 25th,
and Friday, that's the big night.
And it turns out that Friday's,
now is Jumuah too. Right?
So this place is this place is gonna
be packed.
And I lived in Cape Town,
which is a really unique community. It's a
well,
well kept secret. Like, it's in South Africa,
a 150 Masjids.
It's a, you know, concentrated Muslim community.
Because during apartheid,
they forced every racial group and religious group
into certain areas.
And that was a terrible thing to separate
people. Right? But for Muslims, it turned out
to be good because we're all in the
same area.
I moved into an area
in Cape Town
where 90% of the people in this area
were Muslims.
90%.
Adan is outside.
Halal shops. It's like you're in the Muslim
world.
Okay? So
on 27th, it's a big night,
and everybody's out and they're there, and, you
know, they have this drink,
faluda.
I guess those of you who would do
speaking, you know faluda. Right? It's a pink
drink. It's milk and it's really nice sweet
drink.
And so they would make special, you know,
faluda and special samosas and
some boozas and different things and, you know,
but it reached the point where it became,
sort of like a celebration night.
And some even said it was.
It was the night of the drink.
Right? Because that's when you get the pink
drink.
Right? But not recognizing
the power of this night.
And this is what escapes a lot of
people,
the power of this night.
Okay?
And what misses a lot of people miss
and
then they're there and then you
and finish the month is month is not
over.
Saturday Sunday,
April 7th,
could be the 29th night.
So after the 27th is over, the
is drunk and everybody's gone.
There's angels
coming down, prayers
answered,
and some people might think
it's over. It's not over.
It's not over to the end.
Okay?
So this is,
and
very important.
So I wanna open up the floor for
any questions.
Tajmed online, are there are there any questions
there?
Flow is open. Yeah. So
in in a earlier slide,
there was the you mentioned,
Right.
So, like, how how much category of sin
does that stand over? Something
Yeah. For instance,
for for most of from what I've read
from some, let's say, who is, like, maybe
gone a year without pain or slob, The
only way they
could gain redemption for that is, number 1,
making tovah and then making up those prayers
to be forgiven. Right. And another example is
someone who's maybe a reverse being harmed.
So if someone who seeks forgiveness on this
life or things like that, are they also
Well, you know, again, and I think we
had discussed it before. But remember, in Tobar
itself in repentance,
there is recognizing the sin, asking for forgiveness,
making the attention not to return,
but there's another part that's called
Reparations.
Is a very important concept.
Not only on individual level, international level. Right?
Because countries say we did this and we
did we're sorry for slavery.
We're sorry for this. No. You gotta compensate
the people. Right?
You're not really sorry until you compensate.
On an individual level,
if the person missed a lot
and then got forgiveness
or the prayer, they still need to be
making up the salats.
They still if they owed money, they still
need to pay that money.
Okay. What whatever it is, there's different ways
of compensating.
Okay. It's it's sometimes it's not so clear
how to, but you gotta you gotta compensate.
So the forgiveness is there, but to get
the completion completion,
then it needs to have,
you know, compensation.
Well, again, we believe that Allah is most
merciful.
And and you know the the the key
thing is your your sincerity,
your intention, and you try to do what
is right.
And and the tofik, the success,
you know, the the acceptance is with Allah.
And, you know, we keep it like that
and because we're all sinners, we're all making
mistakes,
and and and and we just try our
best.
Any other general questions, about labeling collect? Question.
Coming into, you know, 1st and talking about
you just coming down and and, I guess,
maybe decrease.
Because I've also heard that in the night
of power,
there is a possibility of when you need
to while your your destiny can change. Yeah.
So can you just tell a little bit
more about that? Yeah. Well, that there is
you know, I mean, this is going back
to the concept of Qadar itself, Qadar and
Qadar.
And there are certain things that will that
cannot that will not change. When you're born
and when you die,
this is not gonna change.
But there are other aspects,
you know, where some change can happen.
And Allah tells us
Allah
erases what he pleases and he
consolidates.
So there is
some things can be erased
from your cutter.
Okay? But not the time when you're gonna
die.
That's
written. But there's some things that can be,
you know, erased. So that's another reason why
we're making this prayers.
Okay? And and and that's really important for
us,
you know, to make it.
Any questions
on this side? Yeah?
No.
It would just be minor things other than,
you know, the major things of the other
itself.
Yeah. We we don't wanna go too deep
into this. This is a top other is
a big,
you know, area. Right?
So we had touched on it, but, yeah,
at this point,
you know, the minor things other than the
major,
issues.
So we're gonna go on so we can
complete, you know, and and open up the
question.
So now we're going through the month.
And, since this is our last class,
because next week, Sunday, you know, could be
also the night of power,
and people are busy on these nights and
everything. So we decided that, you know, next
Sunday, we would not have the class.
You know. And,
if anything goes on, you know, during the
Eid or after it, you know, we'll we'll
inform everybody. Everybody should be on the WhatsApp
group and, you know, whatnot. We'll let you
know if anything's gonna be happening.
So
we're now, inshallah,
going to the end of the month.
And,
then we reach the Eid, Eid al Fitr.
So this is the celebration
of
fast breaking.
So this is literally with 2 eeds. We
have,
Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha. There's another
one after the in the month of Adul
Hijjah,
the 10th of, and this is,
in the time of the Hajj, it's a,
you know, another month,
a festival of sacrifice.
Right? But this is the festival for the
fast breaking.
Okay? And it's strongly
recommended
and, you know, sunnah. It's a sunnah, though.
If for some reason the person couldn't make
it to the Eid,
you know, it's not a sin.
But they should try for the best of
their ability to go to salatulit.
It's really important to try to go to
make this prayer.
And especially it's all over the world, but
especially in this part of the world.
And
it begins with deciding of the the halal,
the first
crescent that comes,
you know, there,
then the new month because we're following a
loon lunar calendar.
So then with the new month, it's it's
really the first of Shawwal, which is the
next
month. So that would be the Eid day.
Okay? And all Muslims should attend. And the
prophet said,
all Muslims should attend Eid
regardless of your age or your gender, male,
female, young, old,
bring everybody out to this. He even, you
know, said if women are on their monthly
periods,
they they should come out.
But the only difference is is that when
the prayer is made, they would not be
obviously making prayer.
Right? But they should come. And in this
part of the world, you can see the
importance,
because, you know, you can feel the power
of the community.
It's the jamaah.
Islam is
it is a group religion,
and you need to feel
this,
group feeling.
And in the classical Muslim countries,
they would have a,
Idga, I think you say in in.
Right? A mussala. So for instance, one of
the places where you can still see these
things, like, we go to Morocco.
If you go to Morocco, and I go
there many times,
but especially in Marrakesh, if you go there,
you'll see it, because they have, like, a
walled city before.
Outside the wall,
you'll see a an open area,
and you'll see, like, one place
for the imam.
And then on e day, the whole city
comes out,
and they make the prayers together
in a Jama.
And and that is a very strong thing
for unity to it.
And it unifies,
everybody, and it's really important here because
we're
very much separated.
We don't have Muslim communities, like,
so much.
So this is important, especially for young people.
Young people need to see this
because, our young people are in danger with
their identity,
your Islamic identity,
and that needs to be strengthened. That's why
it's good for young people and families also
to travel.
If you if your family comes from a
Muslim country,
if you can go back to your country
if it's not in war or something like
this, if you can go back or go
to a Muslim country during Ramadan is really
good time
or for the Eid. Right? It's it's it's
young people travel, you know, to to catch
that group. So this is one of the
times
that is there.
And somebody might say, of course, we are
affected by our cultures,
and some people's cultures are different than others.
And I remember being in one country.
I don't wanna say which one it is,
but,
you know, the the the the women
at that time, they weren't coming out for
the eat.
And so we had group sessions, and then
we said, okay,
to the women, like, you know, Eid day,
where were you on Eid day?
And they said,
we're at home cooking
because the Eid meal
must be made. The samosa has gotta be
fresh.
Right? So you gotta have that meal. When
Abdul comes back,
he has to have his fresh samosas.
So she's cooking while the people are out
in the heat.
That's opposite the spirit of Islam.
And I'll give you an example. This is
a real situation
in our community because you're gonna hear counterarguments.
There was one Sudan brother
from the Sudan. He was a Dawa person
from the field,
and we were in this country, and then,
where they they this section of the country
where they're strong against, you know, woman coming
out to it. And then he he gave
the jummah, and he said, all sisters, women,
families come out to the eat.
Afterwards, a group of the so called Molanas
where they came around him,
and they said, did you say this?
You said this?
And he said, no. I didn't say it.
I didn't say it. Rasulullah SAWSAWA said it.
And he brought 20 Hadiths,
20 sayings of the prophet
where he was saying it. You know what
their counterargument
was?
You don't know our women.
They come to the aid,
and they have bangles, and it makes noise,
and they smell good,
and we can't
pray. That was their counterargument.
Right?
And so
but the line of the men is here,
right, facing the qibla,
and the women is there.
Okay? So if the if a noise is
going on,
what's your problem, man?
Is your Mecca
that way, or is it that way where
the sisters are?
You see?
Why are you being
they say, no. No. If they come put
a giant hijab
up, so we can't see.
But if they're in back of you,
right, why do you need a hijab? You
need a hijab on your eyes
because your is there,
not facing
Mecca. You see?
So for new Muslims,
you need to know your rights, especially women.
You need to know your rights.
Okay?
And
here in Toronto, because we are in an
urban area and whatever,
you have masjids, so the masjids will have
the Eid.
But
what we what some people do
back in the eighties nineties,
where we before the community got really, really
big,
we used to have the Eads in large,
you know, open areas,
or we would rent the
the places where they have the auto,
you know, exhibitions
exhibition center.
You know, one time we even rented part
of the Skydome,
and that's what we wanted.
We wanted to gather everybody together.
That's what we should do and take over
the sky dome
and have all the Muslims pray, you know,
inside of there in the sky dome.
Right? But, of course, we have issues
because how did the traffic and then the
timing because the Eid is generally is early
in the morning, you know, after, you know,
you know, the fajr is is at the
prayer morning prayer.
And,
so
people will do the Eids
and,
different masjids will do it.
What are the etiquettes,
of the Eid?
Once it is declared,
then the takbeer.
It is the takbeer.
So that's in the evening. Remember, Eid starts
in the night. Right?
So once the moon is sighted,
then,
you know, it's the evening. It's it's started.
So the tech BA begins after the prayers
or as much as you possibly can,
and that is saying,
So you gotta hear that over and over
again. Right?
So you hear people saying that.
And when you're in a Muslim society, it's
a beautiful thing because
as the people are going to the Eid,
you're hearing it all over the place, and
people are walking through the streets and they're
saying it and,
you know, that that's what the group spirit
is. Right?
It's a group spirit is of that time.
And,
it is recommended
that after your morning prayers,
we're in a habit of fasting. Right?
So you should break your fast.
So take a light meal,
even if it's just a date or something,
but take a light meal,
yeah, and then go out to the eat.
And you prepare yourself,
you know, wear nice clothes and whatever like
you do at Juma,
you know, your your occasions and, you know,
come out to the eat.
You know, and,
it's a time of celebration.
We greet each other, try to greet everybody
that you possibly can.
There's a tendency to for people to greet
only their family or their cousins or people
who look like them,
you know, but, you know, greet all Muslims,
that you can,
on this time.
And it's an important time also
if a person's working unless it's a crucial
type of job, take the day off.
Because, look, Good Friday is a statutory holiday.
Right?
So it's Good Friday.
Every Friday is good. Okay. But now
this should be our statutory holiday.
Take the day off. The children should remember,
eat.
They should remember it.
Even you can decorate your house, you can,
you know, have gifts for the children.
You don't need a Christmas tree and, you
know, like, we're not. But it it's a
good practice to give them gifts.
And that helps in this society because their
Christian friends are getting presents in Christmas. Right?
And we don't believe in Christmas.
Right? And so give them gifts,
you know, visit family. It's important to visit
family,
visit friends,
you know, whatever.
These are the things,
that is done. But, also, I added there
that Eid is a time of remembrance and
solidarity.
So we cannot forget what is happening in
in Palestine
and in Sudan
and amongst the Rohingya Muslims
in Mainama and other places where Muslims are
suffering.
Can't forget it.
It is a victory for us, and it's
okay to be have joy.
Right? But that joy needs to be converted
into energy,
you know, to assist our brothers and sisters
who are under the gun
and those who are in need.
Okay? So all of these things happen,
you know,
on, the Eid day,
and this is our occasions. This is our
special occasions.
2 of them are the main ones that
we have,
during the Muslim year from the sunnah.
K? So floor is open for any questions,
about the Eid,
Eid day, Eid salat,
whatnot.
The story you mentioned about
those
and your response was whatever it was,
what was the counter to that? And, like,
in today, how how do you counter like,
if if you have fellow members who are
of that opinion, how do you counter? The
own the best way, like, that's Sudanese brother
did. He said, bring the Hadiths, man.
The prophet
is saying over and over again, everybody come
out.
Everybody come out. They say the word they
use is fitna,
and fitna is a trial and a tribulation.
But when you really analyze it, what's your
fitna?
What really is the problem?
Where's the fitna? You're driving in a car.
You go to the place. She goes in
the sister's area.
They have to eat, whatever, then she gets
back in the car. Where's the fitna?
You see?
But, unfortunately,
many Muslims are more affected by their culture
than they are by the actual religion.
That's why the new Muslims, you gotta know
what the religion is, not the culture.
Because sometimes you get caught up in people's
cultures
and and and don't realize that's not actually
the faith.
It's not actually the faith. So you need
to know, you know, what it is and
pray, you know, for these brothers and sisters.
If they don't come out, it's not a
sin
because Eid is sunnah,
highly recommended,
but they're missing out something.
The best way is to show them the
traditions. This is the way of the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. This is Islam.
That's what it should be and show them
what it is. You know? And then show
them that other Muslims,
you know, are doing it and and and
pray for, you know, our brothers and sisters
to help them out of this
cultural Islam.
So, you know,
They use that as
their arguments. That's why they call it.
Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, this goes
into we don't have time now, but this
goes into a lot of thing. That fit
no. A lot of it is not females
doing it.
It's young males hanging out on the corner.
Right?
So it's not females necessarily doing that. They
put the onus on the women.
Right? When, you know, generally, the fitness is
coming from the men.
Okay?
So,
you know, may
Allah accept, you know, your Eid. You know,
I put that picture there of the Dome
of the Rock. Don't forget,
Philistine.
Right?
And may Allah accept your Ramadan and your
fasting and everything.
Tonight, inshallah, we'll be going right downstairs.
This time, we're gonna break our fast downstairs.
Right? And then following that, we will come
up inshallah and have the time. And we
will be in touch with you. Are there
any other questions that anybody has before we
end here?
You know how a lot of people make
a big deal about their
Where does that come from?
This is a cultural thing. Okay. Yeah. You
know you know and again, it's following the
Christians and the Jews. I mean, I'm coming
out of a Christian, you know, background in
society. Right?
On Sunday,
this was, you know, today, we you used
to wear Sunday clothes.
Easter Sunday.
So you dress
up. So it's like following the other societies.
The sunnah is though when you go to
the masjid, you go to our gathering, wear
your best clothes.
You you do wear your best clothes, you
clean up.
You know, you wear your, you know, your
best clothes.
And, you know, this is the way of
Islam.
Sheikh, we're not actually gonna go downstairs, but
we do have something that we need
Okay. So so, Tahmid, so we're gonna end,
you know, the class, Lear.
Have a safe journey home and Eid Mubarak,
Insha'Allah to everybody,
you know, who's online.