The Best Pre-Ramadan Gift Ever

smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil aalameen or salat wa sallam weida ashrafi mursaleen cd now whenever you know Milena Muhammad Ali, he was happy as Juma in Santa Monica rahmatullahi wa barakatuh all plays and things be solito low so behind with the ilottery says peace blessings and salutations upon Hamas then exempla Nabi Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and I know certain animals haven't become, I hope and pray that you are all well and enjoying this day of tomorrow. I'm doing a redo of the Juma talk today. It's a bit unusual, but what happened was that as soon as I saw the broadcast afterwards, I noticed people saying that the the sound is bad and really check the

video it was actually terrible. So there was a problem with the connections I thought, let me just do a quick live and explain what the message was really all about. Because

what is exactly meant by the greatest possible p Ramadan gift. Now, I know that it's a bit of a strange topic because, you know, there's nothing in the Shetty as specifically about, you know, giving a gift before Ramadan, or easily. So we explore this topic today in Juma and I'm going to break it down very quickly being Elijah Allah. So number one, I said that yes, the idea of giving a gift is always good, right. So, for example, the prophet SAW Selim said, you know, give gift for it will cause love to, to sort of cultivate between you

the Habu, the hideout the Habu, right, so, give gifts and you will, you will cause love to come forth between one another. So that's the one point and then the other point is that you know, you can actually give physical gifts before Ramadan and that will be a good thing, it's not going to be a bad idea. Some examples of this is, you know, we generally give our family a gift of stocking up the cupboards and stop stocking up the the household supplies. And this is fine. Although there's a caveat to this. Often what we do is in Ramadan, we tend to give the family ourselves included more groceries and and more meals, then outside of Ramadan. So our grocery shopping list, and our food

money is actually so much more in the Ramadan. This is actually quite bad, not from a perspective of being, you know, wrong or haram, but it's detrimental to our development, it's detrimental to our self development. So Ramadan has an element of self development, which is,

you know, basically training the nafs to restrain itself training enough to not indulge in too much so that it can be accustomed to to not just following its own desires, but rather putting the desire of Allah subhanho wa Taala. First, that concept that it is is the beauty in how fasting actually brings about taqwa. So we know that fasting is going to give us taqwa. But one of the methods in which it does so is actually to train enough so the nap says I want and then you told me enough, No, you cannot have because it's not time for that. The Neff says, I desire I long for I crave for 2000 laughs No, you cannot desire you cannot partake, because it's not time for that alone want something

else. So you train the nafs to abstain. And this allows the nerves to grow and it becomes strong like a muscle, you know, you're working out this, this feature, then what we do is the moment we hit mohareb and the advanced sounds when we d train enough, so now everything that we told the nurse during the day, if we over indulge at Madrid time, then we actually telling the nurse You know what, because you agreed today, now I'm going to reward you by over indulging. And when you make called all of our meals. And so this is this is again, it's not her arm per se, it can be it can be, but the line is kind of blurred. But it's detrimental to our self development. So if we're going to give

a gift like this in the Ramadan, let us do it with wisdom, in that we rather spend the same amount of money and this is a challenge. I challenge myself, my family, I challenge all of you to not have additional expenses for food for the month of Ramadan. It is a different story. But for the month of Ramadan itself, it has tried to have the same expenses for food. So we shouldn't be having extra meals and extra things to eat. Rather, let's just eat the same and just change the times that we eat. And I know for me this is like absurd because you have to have your plate of savories and your your dates and your feluda and your soup and your Uber and you meal and enter all we had in another

meal and then dessert and ice cream and you name it. That's totally that's you know, that's absolutely up to you. But this is not going to be ideal for the development of the the nafs. Right. What we should be doing is actually skipping a meal. So you're having breakfast but earlier, you're having dinner but later and then the lunch is cut out. And this is really different from how we generally approach animals.

On so that gift you can give yourself as well give your family and yourself the gift of really benefiting from the self development that does get in us that takes place in the month of Ramadan intrinsically as part of the training that Allah subhanaw taala gives us then there is the physical element of gifts. So you could actually purchase some dates at packs of dates, go to loved ones, families, friends and neighbors and give them a gift of dates before the month of Ramadan and hopefully inshallah they will break the fast with those dates, and manfaat Arosa Eman fella who me through me through actually fairly, whoever feeds the fasting person, meaning they actually give

them something to break the fast with, then that person will get the same reward as the person who fasted and it won't diminish in anyone's reward in the least. And this is why we see if you're going to the masjid for mercury during Ramadan, people will practically fall over the feet to give you a date and say here please and if you go to Medina during Ramadan people will beg you to come and eat at this for the you know, poker table so to speak. This is all in light of the fact that we want to get the reward of the fasting people, how much more don't we want to reward of the first of all of our family members, friends and loved ones. So over and over and above the fact that it will cause

love to to grow between us. And it will bring good memories and, and good wishes and so on. It gives us an opportunity to visit family friends and neighbors before the month of Ramadan and the request or if for example, we can also give them this gift which also causes love and then we will we will actually get the reward if they break the fast with those dates. So that's an excellent one. As far as the Ramadan gift is concerned, there's also other forms of physical gifts like you know you have these pre Ramadan expos nothing wrong with it, per se. You can get good deals good bargains discounted ticket, that's fine. But instead of only thinking of ourselves and filling our own

cupboards and fridges to the point where it's actually more full than any other time of the year, how about we take that as an opportunity to supply the basic needs of those who don't have so when we go shopping for Ramadan, how about we take a few things extra doesn't have to be the most expensive things just has to be of a very decent quality. And, you know, take it to a family that you know are sort of underprivileged family member who doesn't have as much as the rest of the family for example, and this can be done discreetly, of course, keeping the people's dignity intact that's most important. And you know, the more anonymous that this can be done. In other words, the

more the more you can do it in a way that that no one knows you're doing it not even the people you're giving to the beta at ease insha Allah to Allah and then of course you also what is the ultimate gift for Milan what is the best Ramadan gift pre Ramadan gift that we can get? I said it's actually the gift that Allah gives us amazingly enough. So pre Ramadan, Allah gives us a month called shadow ban, and this month that we are currently in is so valuable. It's so important that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam fasted more in this month than than any other month and that includes Muharram which is actually the best manner in which to fast after Ramadan. So when he was

asked why He fasted so often and so frequently in Shaban, he responded to the lightest selam that is a month between Raja Ramadan and many people are unmindful about this month. And in that month, the deeds of the servants are presented to Allah Subhana with Allah. And he said so the line is something that I would love for my deeds to be presented to Allah while I'm in a condition of fasting. So that's amazing. That's the gift of Shaban in and of itself. And of course, we can follow in the Sunnah and fast in the month of shadowbanned. But there's a caveat. What I mentioned in Juma as well, was that the caveat is the Prophet alayhi salatu salam actually prohibited sooner,

voluntary random fasts after the 15th of Sha burn. So if you want to fast in Sha burn in to lead up to Ramadan, you can do so now. And if you have a habit of fasting like Mondays and Thursdays etc, you can continue to do that after the 15th. And if you have fasts to make up for, you know, for the force that you miss, that you must be for that you should also make up even if it's after the 15th but I cannot for example, just decide, okay, it's the 18th of sharp and now so it's after the 15th I would just like to fast today simply because I want to I'm going to start fasting Mondays and Thursdays after the 15th of shabang. Technically, that's not allowed. It's an interesting little

caveat. There are many a hadith did speak about this. There's even a chapter in Riyadh of solly hain of him now we that speaks about this very fact. So if we want to prepay by fasting, then we should do that now add and not wait and I feel

It's probably got to do with the fact that you are going to mirror put your body in a suitable weakest state. If you just start fasting immediately before Ramadan and you're not accustomed to it, as opposed to the people who are accustomed to it. They can fast ahead of Ramadan, and they won't necessarily go into

you know, sort of unwanted weakness. Hello, Anna, I don't know exactly why there is an ease and I don't think anyone really knows but we know that that's the rule.

The ease are ever the ultimate gift. So the title of this talk was actually what's the best possible pre Ramadan gift, right? What's the best Ramadan gift? And the answer is that the base pre Ramadan gift is a three way deal. So Han Allah, it's a gift from Allah. It's a gift that we give ourselves. And it's a gift that we share with others. And in that way, it's the best gift ever. So how is it from Allah, on the 15th of Shabbat and the night of the 15th of Shabbat, which is called Laila to NIST. minchah Oban or laylatul. Bara and in Capetown, they call it right. I'm sure there's other names for it around the world. But this night is special because on the night, Allah Allah forgives

all of creation, but there are some categories of people who are excluded from forgiveness. And the two categories most frequently mentioned are the metallic and the moonshine. So mushnick is someone who ascribes partners and to God. And this of course, has different levels. So you have, you know, pure idolatry, so bowing down and worshipping other gods, right, false gods, and then is also rear right ostentation doing things that supposed to be for God, but you do it to show off to others also, that you can gain a reputation with others. So that's a problem, we need to make sure we are free of that in order to qualify for the forgiveness. And then the second category that's most

frequently mentioned, is the Musha, when those are harbor ill feelings in the heart for others. So this gift of forgiveness, that we will all receive insha Allah on the 15th neither Siobhan requires a qualification from us, that we be free of shake in all of its forms. And that will be free of shahana, free of these ill feelings that we could potentially harbor for other people. Now, this requires some effort from outside. It's not just wishful thinking. It's deliberate introspection, checking to see if there's anything that I hold in my heart for another, and then doing whatever it takes to remove that rancor to remove that ill feelings that that enmity, that hatred, the jealousy,

the malice, etc. To get rid of it. Now, we have to actively do so by either visiting the person speaking to the person giving gifts to the person having a conversation with the person, sometimes it means we actually have to go and ask for forgiveness for something that we have perhaps perpetrated. Maybe it's something that others have perpetrated, and they never asked for forgiveness, yet, we still need to let go of those feelings, because that could potentially stand in the way of our forgiveness from Allah subhanaw taala. And then, of course, this gift we give ourselves when we let go of those ill feelings. So Allah gives it to us, He gives us His

forgiveness, we take the forgiveness by making sure we are not part of those categories. And then thirdly, because we are actually you know, freeing ourselves of ill feelings, towards others, we then cause soul, we cause reconciliation and love form between us and others. And in this way, this three dimensional gift this, this three way gifts that we actually are blessed with in sharpen is the best possible gift that we could give ourselves and to others, and have it Allah Subhana Allah Allah, and we will benefit from it for the sake of Ramadan in sha Allah. So what's the gift really going to impact you know, so you receive a nice gift, let's say, you receive a call. The impact of

the gift is that you're now mobile, you can go places you can do things that you perhaps would have struggled to do before. What would you do with pre Ramadan forgiveness. And amazingly, if you think about it, instead of having to wait for Ramadan to begin the first deal with, you know, baggage and bostes sins and perpetration and bad habits and instead of struggling to deal with that, at the beginning of Ramadan, you can you can hit the ground running as soon as Ramadan comes in. Once Ramadan in this we can focus on attaining of the Rama, of the Baraka of the mafia of the blessings of Ramadan and we can focus on developing ourselves as opposed to having to focus on tober right at

the beginning, we could enter Ramadan already with a clean slate, and be evening Allah if Allah walls with His permission, we can all attain this. We just have to qualify for the night of the 15th of Shaban and that special gift. Now of course, this will be discussed

On that night in much greater detail, but I believe that the gift is not just going to be you know, given to those who Annette night decides, okay, I'm going to do this I'm going to let go of all your feelings. It has to it has to require it has to be earned with some extra effort before the dam somebody flexions I'm thinking some pondering and once we once we really engage in this effort, I believe Allah will open up the doors for us. So reach out to your family, reach out to your friends, your loved ones. Think about this people who perhaps had a diff within the past, it doesn't matter who started it, it doesn't matter who was in the right and who is in the wrong, it doesn't matter if

you tried before the forgiveness of Allah is worth your while inshallah. So reach out, you know, whether it be first via a WhatsApp message or phone call or video call, of course optimum would be to actually go and see the person take all necessary precautions in Java and then just try and move past this hurdle for we do not want to come in the dev kiama and find out that this is the the hurdle that stands between ourselves and Jana, and we do not want to enter into Ramadan, only to come and discover on the def camera that we did not earn Allah's forgiveness because we were not willing to forgive others. May Allah subhanaw taala grant as a blessing chabanne a blessing 15th of

chabanne a blessing 15th night of Sha burn and may we enter into the month of Ramadan with the best possible conditions so that we can actually have the best Ramadan of our lives. I mean your herbal alanine and should this be the last Ramadan of our lives, we pray and we make the idea Allah let it be enough for us to enter into January just to this one Ramadan and let us impact

our souls so much because of its blessings. I mean, Europa alameen do join us later shukran Hussain for your for your beautiful two eyes and new words. much appreciate it. Children for joining me, this was an impromptu live just to make up for the earlier drama, which had some technical issues. And I hope and pray that the message reaches all those who was trying to watch and unfortunately couldn't, you know follow along because of the sound issues they? I do. I do want to tell everyone that later on this evening in sha Allah at 830 we have an important live broadcast with Shahar ruqayyah samsudin who will be telling us about some exciting Arabic and Quran workshops that she has

inshallah to Allah. So do join us live at 830. That's Friday the 19th of March 2021 at 8:30pm.

Chicago, kaya samsudin is an amazing scholar, teacher of Quran and student of Deen Mashallah doing excellent work in the community and one of the leading women in the field of Islamic studies here in South Africa. So we really are pleased to have with us this evening live in Charlotte Allah on the snad Academy Facebook page as well as the YouTube channel. So do join us for that and tell your family and friends about it as well. Jacqueline located on a solo Long Island City in a more primitive handle over how many Subhana kollmorgen how many concerto Allah ilaha IL and Mr. Furukawa to be like I said mo alikum Rahmatullahi wa barakato