Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Getting more for less this Ramadan

hamdulillahi rabbil Alameen wa Salatu was Salam or other Lagertha

Ramadan Lila de mi vida. Lee he was the Abba killer seldom at the

Sleeman theological Iommi deal another my dear friends.

Salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.

There's a hadith that I want to quote, hadith of sahih al Bukhari

where Abu Huraira are the Allahu anhu, the great Sahabi he says

that when the month of Ramadan enters, then there's a number of

changes that take place. He discusses a number of changes that

are taking place. And just to introduce those changes to us,

some of them are cosmic. Some of them are something that we only

told about informed about we can actually see, the prophets of the

Lord Islam said that either the halal Ramadan, then the doors of

paradise are opened up, and the doors of hellfire are closed, and

the shayateen The devils are locked up. Now these are three

things that we can't see. Because they're things beyond us. I mean,

Paradise hellfire and the shayateen we can't. But I

guarantee you that everybody here who's experienced Ramadan with

faith, they would have had the experience of these things.

Doesn't everybody agree that when Ramadan enters you actually feel a

bit more righteous, at least from the day before or the week before

and

you actually feel more guilty if you're not doing extra.

So paradise is opened up, the doors of paradise are opened up,

it's it sounds symbolic. For us we can take it in reality or as a

symbolism it doesn't make a difference. The point is that it's

easier to get into paradise to be decreed to get into paradise in

the month of Ramadan because it's the time when Allah wants to give

us every excuse to do so.

Because the prophets of Allah Islam says In another Hadith, that

every evening of Ramadan in every day of Ramadan, Allah has Otakar

people he frees from the shackles of sin or Hellfire however you

want to take it. And those people are then written to be from

paradise.

The doors of hellfire closed, which basically means that in

Ramadan if anybody wants to get into hellfire, they're probably

gonna have to break they're gonna have to be really miserable, or

really misfortunate to be able to want to do that. Because Allah

says, Look, I don't want anybody in hellfire at this time.

Paradise being opened up, Hellfire being closed shape ons being

locked up. You you feel the mercy in the air. Now let me speak to

our sisters. Well, let's see tall brothers. Actually, first, don't

you see that the women have some amazing inanimate stereotype. It's

just the normal tradition, that it's the women who cook in the

house. I know we may have families with a man maybe cooking in the

house, but that's you know, hamdulillah but generally, it's

the women who can cook in the house and may Allah bless you all.

Have you noticed that there's some really amazing types of foods that

come out during the month of Ramadan, both in the masjid and in

the homes? Where do they get the hammer from to do that, where they

get the strength to do that, despite the fact that they also

fasting. That's another book. This is baraka and blessing wherever

you go, including in the types of food that you will have. That's

why non Muslims they love coming to Masjid in Ramadan. Because

mashallah at least the cuisine is really good. Right? And mashallah,

Muslims are generally very hospitable.

Let's just take shaitan out of the picture quickly. I know that is

the it's the elephant in the room, because I've mentioned it so far.

That is shayateen. This hadith says shaytan is locked up. Many

people will question this idea. I still feel like singing in

Ramadan, I don't just suddenly stop. I may stop a lot, but

there's still certain things that I may still feel inclined to do.

And herein lies the answer to this. What is the way I look at

this narration is that it's not shaytan that is making us do any

sins in Ramadan necessarily.

The reason is that think about it and if you can't think about the

past and think about the future, when Ramadan actually comes up,

think of the nature of the wrong deeds, the wrongdoing, the sin

that we feel like committing, you will notice that it's probably

something that we've committed many times before. You will hardly

people will hardly ever feel like doing a new type of sin in

Ramadan. And this is a lot of people will tell you this from

experience, you'll know this from experience. The reason is that the

sins that we still feel like committing in Ramadan are

essentially just habits. They're not. They're not through the shape

pattern anymore. They just

The knifes the habit that we've been accustomed to them, right?

Whatever it is that it may be, I mean, I don't want to get into

that. But whatever it may be, it's just the same habit kicking in.

It's just like when you go to work at 10 o'clock in the morning, you

there's a nice coffee machine in your place.

Right They have a nice coffee machine with the various lattes

and everything and you have a coffee at 10 o'clock in the

morning otherwise you feel tired.

When Ramadan comes though you're fasting, you're still gonna feel

that the need for that 10 o'clock kick is going to take a few days

for us to overcome that.

So the idea is that generally in Ramadan, if anybody feels like

sinning, it's probably due to a habit. It's an habitual sin. And

Ramadan is then the time for 30 days to kick that habit. Because

che bonds out of the picture.

See the difference what the Buddha mentioned between shaytaan

pestering someone whispering to someone to commit a sin. And the

sin that comes through habit from the soul is that shaytan wants us

to commit any sin. He's just happy that we do a sin. So if we don't

do one sin, it's another sin. But the thing is that number one

Shayateen are severely restricted or imprisoned in Ramadan number

two, if you do any thicker, you read Quran you say La ilaha

illallah stockfeed Allah Alhamdulillah Allah hug or

whatever shaytaan runs away. What's worse in Honduras is Allah

subhanho wa Taala mentions the knifes the self, the soul, the

habit is totally different. You can do all the DUA you want it

will still want to do, it will still push you. I mean us smokers,

and do all the data in the world, it's still a push unless you're

very lucky.

The idea is to suppress it. Generally what the scholars of

spirituality say that if you suppress yourself seven times from

any particular urge, then you will gain mastering mastery over

yourself. If you give in then that soul will take over again. Ramadan

is the time learning the content. takuna as Allah says in the Quran,

so that you can gain Taqwa. When Allah tells us stop eating and

drinking and lawful sexual * the three things which

are normally permissible at other times, they are lawful things

eating and drinking, we're eating and drinking right now. Or we will

be but in Ramadan, you can't do that during the daytime, lawful

things that you can't do, stopping us from getting into the urges of

the soul for lawful things. And thus, also for unlawful things.

Don't let us over let our souls overcome us for unlawful urges. So

it's just a parallel that we're being trained for during this

month of Ramadan.

Now, I want us to because we got a very short amount of time I want

us to understand one thing that this Ramadan that's coming up my

dua to Allah for this Ramadan is that oh Allah.

Make this Ramadan better for me than any Ramadan before it make me

closer to you than I've ever been before. Because if that's not the

case, then it's just another Ramadan.

Let me let's take an example. Does any of you do any of you remember

the first time that you had to go for your interview after maybe you

came into this country or you've you finished your university or

whatever, and then you have to be formal. You have to get your first

suit your first blazer. Right? And you have to go for an interview.

Right? Does anybody remember that? Right? The Blazer you got I'm sure

you weren't looking for a Gucci place at that time. I'm sure it

was like any Primark, blazer Bismillah GA blazer as the blazer,

you know, whatever. The first time you get your Blasi, you just want

to please these want to look smart. Just want to go slowly,

slowly, though, become more refined. I don't want blazes from

Primark anymore, right? I'm gonna go to Savile Row. I'm gonna get a

hand stitch one is gonna have to be canali Giorgio Armani. Right.

The first time you got a handbag, right young girl growing up, she

wants a handbag or any handbag that looks nice is wonderful. But

eventually it has to be Louis Vuitton. Right? You have to get a

Louis Vuitton one because that's the one company which is so

amazing, right? I have to say this. It's the cheaper brands that

put emblazoned logos on the products and the inner city people

they take them up because they need a sense of identity. And they

want to become Adidas or Nike or whatever it is. But generally,

upper class bands, designer brands, they do that they had

small labels, because it was all about the style. Right? But Louie

Vuitton is one of those companies that have plastered their bags

with the LV sign and make you pay 506 100 pounds to promote them.

Thank you very much.

That's slowly slowly with everything in the world.

Has anybody been to Dubai? By the way?

Right? duniya 10.0 on steroids. Do you understand what I'm speaking

about? Basically, in everything of this world if we use the computer

software idea, my you know, I remember when I was on Windows

3.1,

right with a few megabytes of hard drive, but we upgrade and upgrade

and upgrade. That's why when it comes to everything, whether it's

our clothing, whether it is our food, we are connoisseurs every

year we become better we know exactly where we want to eat, and

we don't want to eat. We know we want. We know exactly what we want

to end what we don't want to. So when it comes to anything worldly.

We are on duniya 10.0. Unfortunately, sometimes when it

comes to our deen our religion, we're still in beta mode. What I

mean by that is when it comes into Ramadan, now are we going to the

Ramadan package for this year that we are going to entertain and

adopt? Is it going to be that same no frills generic brand package

that we're going to do the same old thing we've been doing for the

last 10 years for this Ramadan as well. When Allah is making all of

these cosmic massive changes,

showering his blessing and Baraka.

There's a hadith which says that if a person misses a fast in

Ramadan with no excuse,

and then they feel guilty, for example, and then they tried to

force the entire year, the rest of Ramadan outside of Ramadan the

entire year, they will not be able to replace that same level of

blessing and reward they would have attained from that one day of

Ramadan.

When I thought of that was just like, wow, how much of a

concentration of blessing that is being diluted and concentrated for

us in the month of Ramadan.

That's quite amazing. So to miss that is a problem. So how do we

get the best out of the month of Ramadan? The way I have found is

that number one, we need to prepare for it for anything that

you prepare for you will get more out of it. If you don't prepare

for something and you go into a cold, we won't get much out of it.

Because then it's all haphazard. It's then you do things as they

come along. You're sleeping sometimes you're feeling tired.

You're doing this that time well that if we haven't if we know from

our past experiences of Ramadan, both our brothers and sisters,

past experiences, Ramadan, this is how I feel, right? It's going to

be hot probably. This is the kind of thing I have to do. Let us from

now to Ramadan. The next few weeks that we have tried to get rid of

all of the major chores and whether it be at work or at home.

Preparations for things that we need for Ramadan, let's get the

major preparations done. Right in during these weeks. So when we

actually get into Ramadan, we can actually then focus also we know

what we've done for the last several years at least in Ramadan.

Let's up our game during this month of Ramadan. Let's have an

objective in mind. Right? I generally even suggest and this is

what my wife does. For the 30 days of Ramadan. She even has a menu

ready for each day. I mean, our sisters will agree sometimes that

more than cooking sometimes it's sometimes more difficult to think

of the right dish to cook. I know that there's sometimes wives

asking me in the morning, what should I cook I was like anything,

like you know, I don't know what, but but then we're very quick to

criticize when it's not right. Right? Thinking about what to cook

and prepare, especially for somebody who's discerning somebody

who wants to do a good job. It's one of the most difficult things

brainstorm right now make that so my wife does 30 days exactly what

on every day and then try to stick to that. And then you also know

what supplies to buy anything. This is practical things. When the

month of Ramadan comes of course Ramadan is the month of the Quran.

I mean, we have a very short amount of time I'm just going to

quickly mention a few things. But the other thing in the month of

Ramadan that you have an option to do which we find people find

difficult to the outside amount of Ramadan is Tahajjud prayer. I mean

speaking about Tahajjud prayer, which is the special night vigil

prayer assumes that we are already doing our five prayers so I'm not

speaking about them. I'm saying they inshallah if we are in doing

our five prayers Tahajjud prayer is that one prayer that you pray

when people are sleeping, right with generally before Fajr and the

reason why that time is so potent is because the Allama have written

that's the time of the Prophet last summer said son Looby lady

one nurse only pray at night when people are sleeping is because the

same that the Mischief Makers and the evil people of the night have

by then gone to sleep.

I know in England, the time for Fragile depends on which time you

follow which timetable you follow and it could be very early it

could

Be quite late. Right? I know there's that but and then the days

mischief mongers haven't woken up yet. So that's supposed to be the

most pristine time and people are sleeping, and you are waking up

for Allah subhanaw taala.

The women and the men, at least to to rockets of prayer, if not for,

at least make a few minutes of dua, those dollars will be

accepted. Ramadan is the time when Allah is willing to give the

prophets Allah mentions about him that he used to be generous. And

he says that the most generous he used to be was in the month of

Ramadan.

He used to be the most generous in the month of Ramadan.

I know today is a night of generosity.

Right? Tonight is the night of generosity give whenever you want

to give.

But the point about giving is very important the wealth that we have.

Allah has made us caretakers for it. I was with a very important

friend of mine. And he mentioned that he had paid for something he

donated to some institution. And I was like, wow, that's really good.

He says this is what he said to me. And it made so much sense. He

said, You know, if you have a tab with a pipe system with a tub and

you leave it closed for a long time and you've come back after

holding you put that tap on, it's going to come with dirty water

first.

If you continue to release the tap, and you continue to use it,

the water supply will continue to remain a fresh at the end of the

day as the Prophet sallallahu sallam said in the marina Kasim

Wallah who yoti I am just the distributor. Allah is the giver.

And we know we know I mean, you guys have done fundraisers, you've

been to fundraisers and I'm sure our brother here Rahim is going to

mashallah get you guys going with all of that. But there's no doubt

about this fact that when you give in the path of Allah, you will not

miss that money. You will always get the baraka and blessing back.

Unfortunately, we live in a time where we put money in a savings

account, and we see the money increase. Because we live in an

empirical world where you have things are based on observation,

we need to see the money grow, otherwise we don't believe in it.

Allah tells us something that sounds empirical, because we can't

observe it. He says give one in the path of Allah and we'll give

you 70 back. Unfortunately, there's no website that you can

register and log into to actually see that account. That's why it

makes it so difficult. But the bottom line is that Allah

describing us in the Quran right in the beginning says Alina you

may know and believe these are the people who believe in the unseen

This is one of the greatest characteristics of a believer.

Our whole life in this world is based on a belief in the unseen

otherwise why would you be here today? Right? When we give we give

for the sake of Allah. And finally, in Sorrento Manasa Quran

Allah says

yeah, you have Lavina Amanullah told Hickam and we're looking

whether Allah do Command Vickery La MaMa Yep, Allah Lika Allah eco

humble hacia rune were unfuckable me, Mara Sakala. come and spend

from what We have given you

will probably a year to have the communal mode before the time

comes when death comes to you. Fire cool. And after your death,

you will say Rob be oh my lord, Lola hurt me. Had you given me a

bit more time. Now remember, think about the state we're in. We're

about to die or we have died. And there is one thing that we want to

go back to the dunya for. The person here is asking Allah Oh

Allah give me some more time to let me go back to the world. What

do you think that's going to be? Why would you want to go back to

the world? What is the one deed that you're going to want to do?

Lola Horton, Isla Gillian Corrib. If you just give me a short amount

of time, a small period that's it. What do you think it's going to be

people may say prayer people may say paying my debt, you know, etc,

it says for a sadaqa so that I can give sadaqa what a cominciare him

and I can be of the righteous ones. Giving for a cause helps you

to become righteous, because that shows truthfulness. It shows that

if you are moved by a particular court if you are moved to spend

900 pounds on a new iPhone, you have you are basically faithful to

the cause of Apple Mashallah.

right that shows that shows your faith

if you can have the same kind of faith for our Muslim projects, and

you know, unfortunately I have not, I've not had much time to

discuss

Ventura listen as much as I would like to, I must confess that

because I've just been too busy since I've come back from American

and but that's no excuse from what I've been hearing from my friends

who do know about it, they do a wonderful job. And I have some

students in our institute wait for the institute that I've actually

studied at the, at the data room that you have in what's called but

the download that you have and mashallah, there's some really

good good teaching that's taking place there. So we ask Allah

subhanaw taala for acceptance, we ask Allah for facilitation, we ask

Allah for completion. And may Allah bless you all. May Allah

bless us all and may Allah allow this Ramadan to be better than any

other allow us to come out of it closer to Allah than we've ever

been before. May Allah accept May Allah accept working with our 100

like me