Allie Goder – 1. Preparing for Ramadaan
AI: Summary ©
The upcoming month ofoplas is focused on acceptance of the Islam plan, which is designed to achieve goals such as achieving acceptance of the plan for the month of year, achieving acceptance for the month of year without a plan, achieving acceptance for the month of year without a plan, and achieving acceptance for the month of year without a plan. The importance of acceptance and timing for events, including events like the arrival of the waq of the plan, is emphasized. The importance of clear heart and proper deeds is emphasized, as it is crucial for personal health and graduation from ill feelings. The speaker emphasizes the importance of words and good and bad words in people's behavior and faith, and offers a presentation on the importance of good and bad words in people's behavior and character.
AI: Summary ©
We praise
and we glory to Allah
and we send peace and blessings
and salutations upon our beloved prophet Nabi Muhammad.
We be witness that there is no one
worthy of worship except Allah
and we be witness that Nabi Muhammad
is the most beloved
and the final messenger of Allah.
When the sun sets tonight,
the sun will set on the last day
of the month of Sharban
and will be entering the blessed,
generous month of Ramadan.
And the important thing for us at this
juncture is
to have a plan.
We need to have a plan
for the month of Ramadan. And why is
a plan so important?
You may have heard the saying
that
he
who fails to plan
is planning to fail.
And this saying is attributed to a man
by the name of Winston Churchill,
but he is of no importance and relevance
to us.
But I just want to bring
an a point and remind you of what
we mentioned in last
week's Juma'a Akhutba when we spoke about
the psychologist
Abraham Maslow.
And the point we made that is
was that
whenever
we find and observe something
or something is observed in which there is
an element of wisdom.
For example, here we have a wise saying
and indeed it is wise.
Then guarantee the rest assured
that you are going to find a mentioning
of that within Quran or in Hadith within
the Deen of Islam.
So let's see. Do we find this in
our most beautiful perfect way of life, our
Deen of Islam?
And the answer is yes.
What basically is a plan? A plan is
essentially what?
It is a niyyah.
A plan is a niyyah, an intention
to do something.
And how does or where does a niyyah
feature in Islam?
It is in fact one of the cornerstones
of Audeen,
says Nabi Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Innamal Amalu
Biniyat.
Innamal only.
Al Amal, actions, deeds
are only judged
in accordance with the intentions. So this becomes
the cornerstone
of our religion, of everything we do.
There has to be a nia and intention.
There's a plan.
Now what is the plan? What is the
overriding
plan? The main overriding nia
is
for any believer.
Is purely for the sake of Allah,
meaning we love our life
and whatever we do, whatever acts of worship
and obedience
we do and fulfill,
It is purely for the sake of Allah
to earn his pleasure.
Our prayer, our sacrifices,
our life and our death
is all for the sake of Allah, for
the pleasure of Allah
That is the overriding niyyah. That is the
overriding plan.
And if that is our plan, then inshallah,
we will never fail.
So that is the overriding plan, but now
we need to give detail to that plan.
And we need to plan with regards to
the month of Ramadan.
So let's go about doing that.
But first, we look at what the prophet
of Allah had said, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
with regards to this month and the coming
of this month.
This month of yours has dawned upon you.
The messenger of Allah, he takes an oath
by his very status as a messenger,
And he said
by an oath taken
by the messenger of Allah
There is no month that passes over a
believer or the believers
that is better for them than this month.
And nor is there a month
that passes over the hypocrites that is worse
for them than this month.
Indeed Allah,
most mighty and magnificent,
Allah
he records
the deeds and the rewards of those deeds
and the extra deeds.
The extra deeds that a believer does in
the month of Ramadan, Allah records it
before Allah even enters the month into our
lives. SubhanAllah.
So take a moment and think about this,
that we have not yet entered the month
of Ramadan.
Ramadan is a few hours away,
But for many, may we be of them,
Insha'Allah.
The the deeds that we are going to
do
has already been the reward for that has
already been written, Subhanallah.
And with regards to the hypocrite, may Allah
save us from hypocrisy.
Allah
has recorded
his burdens and his misfortune
even before he entered this month upon them.
May Allah save us.
And why is that so for us that
we, Allah, record our deeds and our reward
for that insha Allah.
And that is because
a believer. You
are. Because a believer,
he is preparing himself.
He's psyching himself up, and he already has
a plan in mind and he already has
an intention in mind how he's going to
exert himself
in this month, the coming month of Ramadan.
So may we have those intentions insha Allah.
May we here and now make those intentions
insha Allah so that our rewards are already
written even before we enter the month insha'Allah.
So let's start planning.
Let's start planning for the month of Ramadan.
And the
outcome a plan must have an outcome. And
the outcome of this plan must be
that this Ramadan is going to be
the best Ramadan
of all the Ramadan Allah has given us
in our past years, this Ramadan is going
to be the best. And if that is
so, insha'Allah,
if it is so that Allah's decree is
that this will be our last Ramadan,
then it will make up and that this
is the best Ramadan,
then it will make up for every other
deficient Ramadan in the past.
So
let's give detail to our plan.
The first thing that we're going to plan
for
in order to attain
this end result of being the best Ramadan
is what?
We're going to look at our salah.
Why salah?
And why salah first in line?
And the answer is
that acceptance
acceptance
of our Ramadan
is dependent
on salah. How is that so?
Says Nabi Muhammad
The very first thing
that the slave of Allah will be reckoned
for,
that will be judged by Allah will be
his salah.
So all the deeds
that he has done, including fasting the month
of Ramadan,
including Hajj, including whatever other deeds
we have in our books of deeds,
the very first thing Allah wants to see
and Allah is going to judge us for
is our salah. But here comes the important
part.
And if salah.
If this salah is found to be
in a sound good condition, it is accepted
by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
then the outcome and the result of that
is Salah Hazar I Wa Amari,
then every other action,
every other deed,
action of worship and rebada
will also be found to be acceptable by
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
However,
if fasrad.
If the salah
is found to be unacceptable.
If the salah which has been made
note that this is salah that has been
made.
It is found to be unacceptable.
The quality is such that it does not
make the grade of acceptance by Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
Then then every other action of rivada
will be found to be in a like
manner. So now you can see clearly
how important
the Salah is to the acceptance of the
month of Ramadan, to the acceptance of our
good quality Ramadan.
Then we find another hadith that starts with
the same wording.
And it is in fact
a way of,
making up for our deficient solar. If it
is, and we always try to have a
good solar,
but because we are human, we always need
to have some deficiency.
And one way to make up for that
deficiency comes in this Hadith. The Hadith starts
the very same way.
The very first thing my slave is going
to be reckoned for will be his
And what and good if it is a
good salah, a salah that is good and
accepted by Allah Wa'ilah. But if not,
if the salah is found deficient, qar Allahu
Tabarakawa Ta'ala, then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will
then say and Allah speaks to the angels.
See whether or not my slave has any
extra voluntary salah.
For example, the sunnah salah before and after
the Farut salah,
salah to Tahaju, salah to Doha, etcetera.
And now the unique opportunity of Ramadan
where we can make salah to a Tarawiya.
It's the only time when we can make
this nafil salah. Salah to.
So Allah will then tell the angels, go
and see. Go and see whether you can
find
in
the deeds book of deeds of this individual
any other
over and above the Farafsulah. So in
then
if
there is to be found
extra
He did make extra
before and after
the He did exert
himself He did make
Then it will be said
complete
the deficient forever with this extra solar. So
now we can see that
although sometimes we
we diminish the value,
we minimize the value of Sundar Solar
but now we can see how actually
it can come into play if our Faroe
Sola is deficient.
The next thing about Sola
we can concentrate on is the time. What
do we mean by time?
Your attention to salah, the way you treat
salah is
a direct indication
of how Allah features
within your life.
When the time for salah comes in,
what does it mean to you?
Because Allah is now saying and the agent
of Allah is saying, hey, you, salah. Come
to salah.
And that is
why the best reward, the most reward for
Salah
is in the masjid for the males.
Obviously, now we have a situation where we
cannot attend the masjid.
But also in terms of time, the best
time to make salah
is
immediately when the waq has entered.
That is the best time to make salah
because
it is basically showing Allah what is of
most importance to you. That when the time
of salah comes in, what is on your
mind is pleasing Allah. That's what Allah features
in your life.
And so says Nabi Muhammad
There are three things.
And he speaks and he addresses his cousin
and his son-in-law
that you should not delay.
And the very first thing he mentions is
and it is
when its time enters.
Second thing, while janazetu either halor
and the
washing and the shroding and the salah of
janazet and the burial of someone when they
had passed away while IHIM
and a single unmarried person either
when
a suitable match is found. But the point
we're highlighting here is salah. When salah the
waqf of salah comes in
according to the words and advice and instruction
of Rasulullah
Subhana Wa Salam, it is something that should
not be delayed.
And then second thing about Salah is duration.
The duration, what do we mean by that?
What do we mean by duration of salah?
For
for many of us and I include myself
that we know we have to make salah,
we accepted to be followed and there's no
chance inshallah that we will ever miss a
salah. But is it perhaps something that we
want to get over and done with? That
while we are in salah,
we are already thinking and eager to get
back to our
worldly activities.
Sometimes at worldly activities even just to have
some rest and do something that is not
that significant.
Is that perhaps the case?
And I wanted to make an example
how we should be in our solar.
Let's say
you are attending
a talk
and you have traveled to this talk with
a group of people on a bus.
Huge group of people on a bus traveling
to the Stork and it's at night,
and you are a paranoid individual.
And because your your your paranoia, you are
worried about getting back home again with this
bus. You are worried
that the bus will leave without you.
So will you be
concentrating
on the talk and on the speaker,
or will you be constantly thinking about
going getting,
onto the bus and getting home safely?
And the answer is obviously because you are
paranoid,
you won't be fully concentrating on the talk.
However, let's add something to the scenario.
What if
the bus driver happens to be the speaker
himself,
SubhanAllah?
Will that change things in your heart? Absolutely.
Because now you know there's no chance
of the bus riding away without you because
you have your eyes focused on the speaker,
subhanAllah.
And now that makes a huge difference. Now
let's apply that to Salah.
When you are in Salah,
why is it that you are rushing to
come out of Sala to get to do
something else? Maybe there's something else that you
want to do.
But why are you rushing?
Because
the very being that you are standing in
front of
is the one who is in control of
of everything outside of Salah, Subhanahu wa. Should
you then then not be
the most content
while you are in Salah because that is
the closest
situation you can find yourself to
to Allah
who is in control of everything.
So while we're in Salah, we should be
so content, subhanAllah,
and we should be taking our time and
actually be disappointed
when our salah comes to an end.
And if we
are not doing that and if we are
rushing with our salah,
then perhaps we are guilty of what the
prophet of Allah had said
when he said
indeed,
the worst thief from amongst people,
is the one who steals his salah. He
steals from his salah in another narration.
The
Sahaba responded,
How is it possible that the person steals
his salah? What does that mean? And the
prophet responds and says,
He does not fulfill and complete
the bowing down
nor the prostration. Meaning he rushes with these
two things.
So one thing that we can concentrate on
is
trying try to be relaxed in your salah.
Go with the intention of enjoying your salah
and prolonging
your salah as as much as you can.
And in particular, the ruku and the sujud.
Memorize, know what you are saying when you
say Know what you're saying when you say
Go and learn the meanings
and then say it slower. Slow down the
utterance.
And then instead of saying 3,
say 5 or say 7, an an uneven
number.
But of course, bearing in mind that if
you are the imam, if you are leading
the prayer, then of course you have to
keep it moderate.
So we continue.
The next thing we need to plan for
is
clearing the heart. Clear your heart.
And let's see why this is so essential
and important for the month of Ramadan.
We can agree that the month of Ramadan
is crunch time. It is
equivalent to the month of December for a
retailer.
The month of December is going to make
so much profit, it's going to make up
for losses in
the months of the rest of the year
or the past months.
Similarly, Ramadan is such a month. We are
going to really capitalize.
And within the month of Ramadan, it is
the last 10 days that is really the
crunch time.
And within the last 10 days, it's that
one night, the night of Qadr that we
really want.
And on that night, we are going to
be
repeating the most important words given to us.
Allah,
you are the pardoner.
You love to pardon Faqawanna,
so you pardon us and we need to
repeat these words over and over again and
we're going to be crying and beseeching and
begging from Allah to answer this dua.
But all of this will be in vain
if
your heart has not been cleared.
If you still have in your heart ill
feelings for someone,
then it will be said. Allah will speak
to the angels and Allah will say,
It is an that is if it's a
mutual feeling between 2 persons who are on
batons with each other, Allah will say
that delay these 2.
Delay the forgiveness of these 2
until they reconcile,
subhanAllah.
So now we can see why it is
so important
that we enter the month of Ramadan
with a clear heart. Having cleared our hearts
from any ill feelings to anyone, SubhanAllah.
It is not the easiest thing to do.
But what is,
what is the outcome? What is the result?
Are you prepared to forfeit
forgiveness?
To forfeit
having the best Ramadan simply because you are
too stubborn to clear your heart from ill
feelings.
May Allah soften our hearts
The next thing we are going to
plan for is
our generosity.
We can all agree that in this month
of Ramadan,
we want to grow in our love for
Allah,
and we want Allah to love us. And
there's only one way to do that. There's
only one way
and that is and Allah tells his beloved
prophet, say,
Allah is speaking to his beloved prophet to
give us an instruction, to give us advice
and directives.
That if you love Allah,
then there's only one way to do it.
Then you must follow me,
Allah tells his beloved prophet to say.
And if you do that, you havebibakumullah,
Allah will then love you in return.
So the only way to love Allah
and the only way to earn Allah's love
is through following
Nabi Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
and the most important thing
of the persona of Rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam to be following which often is neglected
and that is what it is,
its character.
And of the character
is the generosity.
The prophet of Allah
was a generous person and that becomes a
sunnah. So we have to follow him in
the sunnah of being generous. So
he said, the messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam,
He was the most generous of people.
And over and above being the most generous
of people,
his generosity would increase and peak
fear of Ramadan in the month of Ramadan.
So
we must endeavor to be generous,
generally speaking,
and then in order to follow the sunnah
and we must then also endeavor
for our generosity to peak in the month
of Ramadan.
And this would happen, says Ibn Abbas,
especially when the prophet of Allah in Ramadan
would meet with Jibril, alayhi salatu wa sallam.
Wakanda Jibril,
yalkahu,
and Jibril, alayhi salam would meet Nabi Muhammad
in every single night in Ramadan or the
nights of Ramadan.
And what do they do when they meet?
Fayuda risuhu al Quran,
Jibril who teach and the prophet Allah would
revise with him the Quran, tilawatul Quran, SubhanAllah.
So this hadith is making a connection between
what? Between generosity
and Quran. And this then brings us to
the next thing that we're going to plan
for, and that is the the Quran.
There's only one place in the Quran where
Allah makes mention of Ramadan.
Ramadan is mentioned only once in the Quran.
If a non Muslim were to ask you
about Ramadan,
I hear about this month of Ramadan, can
you explain to me what Ramadan is?
What will be your first statement
in your attempt to explain what Ramadan is
to this non Muslim?
The first thing that will come to mind
is what? Fasting.
The first thing we
attach and associate Ramadan with is fasting.
How does Allah introduce Ramadan?
Allah introduces Ramadan. Remember, this is the first
mentioning of Ramadan and the only mentioning of
Ramadan.
And Allah chooses
not
to make fasting the first thing he mentions
about Ramadan but rather,
Quran.
Allah qualifies
and characterizes
Ramadan
with the Quran SubhanAllah.
So they can never be Ramadan without Quran.
You're up.
But Nabi Muhammad
complains.
He complains
to Allah,
to his Lord
about this Quran.
And he says and Allah records the complaint
as a verse of the Quran.
Waqal Arasul and Allah says, and the messenger
said, You Rabbi, oh my Lord,
indeed my people,
My people, they have abandoned this Quran, subhanAllah.
Now we should worry. I should worry.
Is it possible that I could be included
among these people of whom the Prophet of
Allah is complaining?
And I need to check. I need to
make sure that I am not.
And so
the Quran basically has three rights upon me,
upon us
As believers of the Quran, if we claim
to believe in the Quran
and believe in Allah and believe in the
messenger of Allah and everything that goes with
it,
then
the Quran has three rights upon us. Number
1,
we must read the Quran. We must make
tilawatul Quran which means we must endeavor to
learn
how to read Quran properly and it must
be work in progress and it must be
something that we continue with for the rest
of our lives.
Quran and always improving our recitation of Quran.
Do not make your homes
graveyards.
SubhanAllah. What does this mean?
You and I, the most essential essential
need that we have
to live
and to continue living
is
oxygen. We need oxygen. That is why this
disease, this virus is so fatal
because it attacks the lungs and it compromises
the breathing the breathing.
So
the soul
also has oxygen
and the oxygen of the soul is
Quran.
And if there's no in the life of
that soul, then that soul is deprived of
its oxygen and the soul dies.
And so if within a particular house,
there is no one making Talawatul Quran which
means all the souls are dead
and the dead only resides in the graveyard
and thus you've made your house a graveyard.
Do not make your homes
graveyards.
The second duty
or the second right
that the Quran has upon us is that
we need to understand the Quran.
It's so logical.
It's common sense
that we need to understand the Quran. What
is the Quran? The Quran is a message
from Allah to you and I. It's a
set of instructions
from Allah to you and I SubhanAllah.
And yet for years years years
I've made so many Tilawatul Qurans
but never ever ever have I attempted to
understand SubhanAllah
after so many years.
And Allah asks the question,
do they not ponder the Quran?
So if I make no attempt, how can
I how do I know whether I'm living
a life in accordance with the Quran
if I have not read through the Quran,
SubhanAllah?
And there are so many non Muslims
who are on a journey seeking for the
truth, who have actually
read the Quran cover to cover.
This is a reality.
But yet you and I,
as born Muslims,
for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, we've been
reading the Quran.
But have we ever made an attempt to
understand the Quran
or make a reading
of the meanings of the Quran from cover
to cover. Have we ever done that?
Quran.
How can we even ponder on the Quran
if we don't even know what is in
the Quran?
So
with regards to this, my dear brother and
sister in Islam, this year,
there is a unique offering.
There's a unique opportunity
because
a few scholars are endeavoring
to do the translation of the entire Quran
cover to cover, one use per night.
And this is an offer for you. So
now you can add to your tilawah, to
your khatam, you can add a second khatam,
SubhanAllah,
And that is going through the meanings of
the entire Quran
night by night, SubhanAllah.
So take advantage of this opportunity
Insha'Allah.
Now
continuing with our rights,
the rights upon us and our duties towards
the Quran is the third one and that
is
obviously
the most important.
It is to love the Quran.
The Quran is going to be
is going to be
a proof,
a witness, a testimony.
Either in your favor. This is on the
day of qiyama.
The Quran is going to be given personality,
going to be personified and given light and
the ability to
speak and Allah is the one who can
do that. And the Quran will then speak
either in your favor
that this individual,
this slave of yours, yeah, Allah,
it
the slave
read me,
learned how to read me properly.
This slave made an attempt to understand
and this slave
lived
his life or her life
in obedience
and taking instructions from the Quran. The Quran
will say this on behalf of you and
I Insha'Allah.
But if not, then the Quran
will say the opposite about us. May Allah
save us.
And the last thing we need to plan
for
is our words.
Who are our words?
Why are our words so important? Let's see.
Good words.
How important are good words to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala? Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala makes an
assessment
of people, of individuals
in accordance with their words.
A good person is judged by the words
that come out of his mouth. A bad
person is judged and assessed in accordance with
the words that come out of his mouth.
Where do we get this from? Surah Al
Mud verse 26.
Says Allah Bad words are for bad people.
And bad people
are attached to bad words.
And
good words
are for good people
and good people
are attached to to good words.
SubhanAllah. So Allah makes an assessment of good
and bad people depending
on the words that they speak.
The extent of your conviction
and belief in Allah
and your conviction and belief in the hereafter
is directly attached to the words that you
speak.
Whosoever
believes in Allah and the final day,
so such a person must speak good words.
Oh, or
or should say nothing at all. SubhanAllah.
Whomsoever
gives me a guarantee
of what is situated between his two jaws,
referring to the tongue.
And what is situated between his two legs,
referring to the private part. Meaning, you use
this
in the obedience of Allah in a way
that pleases Allah and not displeases
Allah.
Then I give such such a person a
guarantee.
You are guaranteed to go to Jannah if
you use your tongue properly and you take
care of your chastity and your private parts.
The prophet Allah was asked SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
man najat, what is the way to salvation?
How can one be saved
from the wrath of Allah, from the punishment
of Allah, from Jahannam?
And what is the very first response of
Rasool Allah salallahu alaihi wa sallam?
Control your tongue. Control
how you use your tongue.
Again, says Nabi Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Indeed, a man
will
speak a word,
a beautiful good word that pleases Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
And this person
has no idea to what extent
this word which he which he had just
uttered pleases Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
But as a result of that and Allah's
pleasure,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala records.
Allah records his pleasure
upon that person. The cause of that word
uttered from that moment the word is uttered.
Up until the day this person eventually meets
Allah Subhanahu
wa
ta'ala.
But then the opposite of that.
And indeed a man,
he speaks a word,
a bad word, an ugly word that displeases
Allah
He
has no idea.
He has no idea to what extent this
word which he had uttered
displeases Allah
But what does Allah do?
Allah
records
And the worst of words,
my dear brother and sister in Islam,
is what Allah mentions and speaks about in
the Quran where Allah says
You should not backbite each other.
We may be
refraining from food and drink during the day
days of Ramadan, from the delicious foods
that our wives and our mothers make,
but we may be
having another type of meal, a disgusting
meal. And that is,
Would any of you like to eat
the flesh
of his dead Muslim brother,
of the corpse of his Muslim brother? How
disgusting.
But yet Allah finds it appropriate
to make that dissimilar, to make that to
liken that to backbiting.
Allah, makhadna. May Allah save us. So
if this is the word that we use
especially during the month of Ramadan,
then what is going to happen? What will
be the bad outcome of that?
Then whomsoever
we had spoken about
in that way, whomsoever we had said something
bad about in their absence,
then
we'll have to give them our good deed.
So whatever we had done in the month
of Ramadan will disappear. Our salah,
our fasting, our tilawatul Quran, our salakat etcetera,
will all disappear
and our Ramadan will come to north in
spite of our efforts, SubhanAllah.
So
we take care of our words and we
save God our Ramadan,
then what have we essentially
essentially attained?
All of that amounts to what? To good
character.
And what did the prophet Allah say about
good character?
He said,
indeed a person
will attain
by virtue
of merely having good character.
You will attain
You will attain the rank of someone who
stands
in salah, Bilayl at night,
and someone who fast the daylight hours. SubhanAllah.
Does it ring a bell? That is exactly
the month of Ramadan. So it's a perfect
match, SubhanAllah,
Allahu Akbar.
But with good character,
when do we have it only in Ramadan?
If good character is your character,
then you have it every day of your
life, SubhanAllah.
May Allah give us the understanding of the
words that we shared. May Allah make this
Ramadan the best Ramadan Insha'Allah.
Well, may Allah make us see many more
Ramadans Insha'Allah.