What to do Mid-Ramadan?

Vina.

smilla rahmanir rahim al hamdu Lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah y de le he wasapi Rama whatever bad Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. May the peace blessings and mercy of Allah Subhana Allah be upon each and every one of you, our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, and our beloved youth.

We find ourselves at the middle of the month of Ramadan, tonight is the 15th night of Ramadan. Yeah, in our city, Cape Town, South Africa, we are still facing unfortunate circumstances due to the covid 19 pandemic. But a most blessed time nonetheless, for despite not being in the masjid and not being with our physical community. We are enjoying the Bearcat the blessings of this holy month 100 in that in this particular message this Juma message. Since we are being deprived of Juma allow me to take us through some of the most important elements that need to be at the top of mind during this time, especially now that we have reached the 15th

the 15th night of Ramadan, and we will soon be approaching the last 10 days of the month. So I'll be going through in sha Allah some of the wise the who's the ways and the what because we are now at the middle of the month of Ramadan.

It is important for us to acknowledge that many people promote the idea of first 10 days the second 10 days the last 10 days of the month of Ramadan being in a while you who refer also to whomever for you, it comes in and now the first thing is mercy. The second thing is forgiveness. And the last thing is freedom from the hellfire. But it is unfortunately a weak narration that has been made very popular. And it's weak not according to all the scholars of Hadith as according to many, in fact, most scholars of Hadith, some holding it to be very weak. It's not a type of Hadith that we're going to be making any law with. So perhaps not in a few regarded as very weak than problematical or

France. But if we regard it as simply weak, then it's not too big of a problem because it deals with virtues. The problem however, is that many people compartmentalize the month of Ramadan in such a way that they feel that they can only attain Rama in the first 10 the only the malphur on the second thing and only the salvation from the fire in the last thing

while others feel that you know you get more often the first thing and more Murphy's Law in the second day and more salvation from the fire in the last in either understanding

promotes an emphasis and sometimes problematic one because ultimately you can get forgiveness throughout any moment of Ramadan. Every moment of Ramadan has the potential for us to attain Allah Rama. Every moment has the potential for us to attain his ultimate forgiveness. And every moment has the potential to save us and everyone forever from the hellfire. And this is actually a more hopeful message and supported by many a Hadith of the Prophet SAW Selim saying that follows behind with Allah there are 1000s of souls that he flees every night in Ramadan, finding ourselves in the middle of Ramadan in Cape Town we call this op Bay and we usually celebrate the 15th night of Ramadan with

Pooja so Masha Allah, you know, for those who celebrate it in this way, our hamdulillah the middle of Ramadan is also marked with a very special change of the Witter. In that as as those who follow the chef here at school of thought we now perform coup note that starts on the 16th nights or after the 15th night, we start making canoes in the in the last Raka of winter, as we would make for five years.

So that's not on the 15th night, but after the 15th night, according to our film. Now we ask the question, what is it that we need to know and this Friday, the Friday of the middle of the month of Ramadan for the next Friday, we will find ourselves inside the last 10 days. So you don't want to wait until then to be prepared. We want to go into the last 10 days super paid in shallow data. The first is the middle of the verses of fasting right in the middle of the verses of fasting sort of in Baqarah verse number 186 Allah azzawajal says why they're Seneca a birdie underneath in the Quran out when I'm in the shade on the regime with a Celica a baddie omniva in the arriba. Would you do

that with either an earlier study Bulli while you know, be alone You're sure I've mentioned this in the talk I gave last

Week. And I focus specifically on the spirit of Ramadan, pointing out that it's la compacta kona Allah home, Yoshi Dune and La La kodesh Kuru. But I would also want us to understand that these verses parently are disjointed from the rest of the verses which come before and after it that speaks specifically about fasting and the month of Ramadan. And it's the only place in the Quran, we meant the month of Ramadan fasting is dealt with So specifically, then all of a sudden, verse 186, us It seems at the superficial level, as the the conversation is swayed away from fasting away from Ramadan, to all of a sudden speak about do I and the proximity that we share with Allah behind with

the idea that it's not a diversion it is in fact, I believe, although annum that Allah subhana wa ala put this year for us, so that we can understand the essence of what we are supposed to be engaged in. The verse has a suburban result reason of Revelation and that was the Sahaba asking Rasulullah saw Sanam is our Lord near to us. So we should whisper and hold private counsel, who is he far away so that we should, you know, raise our voices and shout? And you know, unlike the usual responses that Allah would given the poor, and he would say, cool, and then he would answer, you know, like in every other instance is about 12. Yes, aluna can aluna can they asked you about this?

they asked you about that? And Allah will respond and he would say cool. In this instance, he answers immediately why they're salika evaded an effect in the Caribbean answers with no call. There's no intermediary, even between myself and my servants immediately says, I am here when my servants asked you or Mohammed says about me, I align you to them.

What are they asking about? You asked me my daughter, Alexis Fuji without the dairy that I Allah I respond to the call to this application of the one who calls when equals. So the moment we return to Allah endora we turn to Allah, Allah Allah is there to answer our failure study, Bulli, seasonality respond to me. In other words, we should respond to that game to the laws of Allah azza wa jal, and we should respond to allies please return to Him into our while you mean to be Lytham believe in me, Allah, Allah whom he or she do and they will be guided. So if it doesn't align with our Eman and expecting Allah, Allah to answer your eyes, then we will be guided in the light Allah. So let this

be a lesson for us that as we go into this middle section of Ramadan, as we are in this middle section of Ramadan, it does not forget to make dua

we may be in the mid Ramadan slum right about now, which is very normal, you know, your body starts to feel the fatigue. You don't feel like making turabi anymore, and it's quite difficult because now you're forced to do it on your own. And, you know, perhaps the first couple of nights it was it was very exciting to do it. But then you're so distracted because this TV and this is the bait that's right they and you know, there's food in the kitchen and you're hungry and you're tired and you want to go and sleep and so on and so forth. So even outside of the lockdown Ramadan, you know, during the middle of Ramadan, generally go through Islam, the machines become empty, you have one or two

soft remaining, and at least for those who want, they have the motivation of the physical Gemma to keep them inspired. Now unfortunately, you either have a digital Gemma agenda with your family in the home, or your man alone with Allah one on one. But that inspiration is more difficult to come by. So if we've been neglectful for this period, or perhaps we didn't have any period of excitement and boost in our Nevada, lit the middle of Ramadan, be a time for us to remember that right in the middle of the verses of fasting, a lot of us to ask to turn to him and call out to Him. If we have not been doing so Ramadan is the most

opportune time to raise our hands and speak to Allah and I'm not speaking about long Arabic as we do is from a book or do as the memorize. I'm speaking about a one on one session with Allah, a counseling session with Allah, where we start out with praise Allah Salawat and Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam to the best of our ability turn to Allah with our sins and big of his forgiveness lessons. And then we put our heart out in our own language and we put our eyes out and we begin

to respond to our needs. Ramadan is the time that Allah wants to see us doing this. So now we can move on to what else should we be doing in Ramadan? In a hadith Abu huraira dlo died and who says that Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam said, All men Kamara, Madonna Eman and rocky seven oh fear Allah who Metapod

de la Hadid comes in Bukhari and Muslim divided many, many

times before it's quoted so often in the normal bond, simple but important. Whatever I said Subala solanacearum said that whosoever stands in the nights of Ramadan because they believe in Allah motivated by the man and because they want rewards from Allah azza wa jal in all these sins will be forgiven. So, let's not try to be complicated about this. It's very easy. What should we be doing in the nights of Ramadan? We should be standing in Salah. Very few of us have legitimate excuses for why we are not standing in Salah. You saying no but I want to decide for an or you know, fine recite Quran you said Quran in Sala we know now that we can stand with our phones without mishap and we can

read in Salah. So let's do that. And if it's too tedious for the family to stand behind you then finish off whatever you need with the family and continue with your own sila, even if it means you must make a second set of soil as you make your taraweeh and in another state that you want to call that Judo Pamela whatever it's called rose by any other name is still a sweet so you stand and you pray to Allah Subhana Allah if you if you want to spend time in the nights of Ramadan spend time in Sala with the Quran and making dua. How do you combine all of that you stand and you read the Quran, when you're going to go you make Vicar when you're going to do you make Vicar and go and you can

spend as much time as you want to in your suit you can lengthen your schedule five minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes and you can literally just sit there or frustrated and speak to Allah subhanho wa Taala Why should you do this because what we want from Ramadan is essentially transformation we want to renew ourselves. So we need to be the root of our old luggage we need to get rid of our baggage that we come with and allow that Allah Allah wipe our slate clean. And this is what the Hideyuki say hope your Allahu Matta Cardamom in Gambia fasting can do this for us. But then there's a separate set of forgiveness that we get just from standing during the night of Ramadan May Allah grant it to

us. Then, before we enter into the last thing that we must know the following, I shattered your loudhailer And Pilate cannot Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you will feel actually our him in Ramadan. waiuku the hero the hero Laila, Audrey feel Ashley our him in Ramadan with African Allah say that I shot a deal and I said that the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa Salaam said he is firstly used to seclude himself in the masjid, we cannot do that. But because we cannot do that we can Alhamdulillah do it in our homes. So we get this from from several things. Number one is, you know, if you should prevent it from doing the fool then you go for whatever you can. So if you if you if

your home is now your Masjid or there's a magic in your home, you know you've made a masala and that's now your place of ethics if you also take this from the Hanafi school of thought where they prescribed for the ladies to have a Attica in the measure of the homeless. So now that we are all confined to the same circumstances, we can actually make the Nia that will be spinning Attica in our homes. And there has to be a difference between just being at home because otherwise you've been in Attica, all all this time. So the number one difference is the new year. So we actually making a new year that we need to be secluding ourselves in a particular space and only leaving that space for

need that so for the toilet for eating, thinking, maybe to take a walk outside quickly just to get the blood flowing. But then we'll come back to that space. And we'll spend as much time in that space as possible in though in the masala so it's the Nia that makes it different. And it's the way we spend time the aitikaf is not just about where you are, it's about how you are it's the condition you have your condition in the moment that you spend there and what you are spending your time with.

Beyond that the prophet SAW Selim would also you would say the Hello or the Habu seek later, the knight of the knight of Divine Decree. Phil actually our him in Ramadan during the last 10 nights of Ramadan. I know our calendars, you know usually have a calendar idea even though it's in black and white, but usually the calendar shows us the the highlighted portion and it usually comes to the 27th night of Ramadan. That's fine, you know, because many of the opinion that it's probably on the 27th night but the reality is no one in this room knows. We like to call it ease the profits are some specifically said secret in the last night. In fact in this hadith say that I showed you Allah

and says that the prophets or some said the Harlow laylat al Quadri Phil, what do you mean I'll actually allow him in the Ramadan sequence to cover in the odd Night of the last night of Ramadan. So by next Friday, we would have already had, if I'm not mistaken, the first odd night which is the 21st night. So that's next Thursday and then we'll have the 2021

2325 27 and 29 and we need to the entire last 10 nights dedicate ourselves to looking for leather together. And in the odd nights we live it up and really put our shoulders to the to the grinding stone and we work work work the secret to how do you see political culture? What should we do? So again, I'm here and I shadowed yellowtail. And when I left Canada Rasulullah saw I saw him either dolla, lashio, in the last 10 nights, I shook our heads in Ramadan, when the last three nights of Ramadan with inter el Laila, he would keep the night alive. This means that he slept very little, or he didn't sleep at all during the nights. What are you covered a level and you would wake up his

family. So you wouldn't you wouldn't perform Siler alone would actually wake up his family, and might ask society to wake up his family, if it was an ethic if the reality is the measure was attached to his home, so he would wake up his family like that. Now, we in a similar situation, we if you were in Africa, before, you know for the few brothers who did that, you could perhaps fonio your family at home. Now as a family, we can actually do exactly what the prophet alayhi salatu salam did, which was to wake up his family, and then we will be in a little space of st calf, and we can pray to Allah to Allah together. Perhaps some members of the family have more responsibility or

different responsibilities. So we need to think and strategize you know, someone is going to stand for the longer portion of the night, perhaps you're going to take turns whatever the case may be. But this is what needs to be done if we want to maximize the month of Ramadan. If you want to maximize our taqwa if you want to maximize the forgiveness that we attain, we need to follow the best of examples when they were shut them or shut them in sorrow. The last part is any used to tie is either submit is that is the time is up. So the translation here says is to prepare himself to be more diligent in worship. The SRA actually explained that what this meant was, he ties his his or

his lower garment. And this was Kenya, hinting at the fact that he would not approach his wives and physical intimacy during this time. It's not how long we know that because I like him Laila to see me refer to in any psycho, it's permissible to for you to engage in intercourse with your with your, with your partners, with your wives and with your husbands on the nights of Ramadan. But, if you're an anti gaff, obviously you can do it in because you're in the masjid number one, when you when you've made the near for Africa. And number two, if you are trying to, you know, have an extra sacrifice, and extra, have a bad and you can do this as well. It's not necessary, but this is what

Rasulullah sallallahu is and indeed that's the one meaning and the other meaning is as the translation says, He prepared himself to be more diligent in worship. So the example my teacher always give is, you know, when you when you're about to do some if you work with roll up your sleeves, or you will roll up your your, your your, your,

your, your legs, your pens packs, you throw that up,

you would roll up, you know, pass if you have a big roll up the silver data. Point being the Prophet Allah said Sam would go into his fifth gear or into the sixth gear during the last three nights of the month of Ramadan. Now we need to ask ourselves the question, how can we plan like that? What can we do? So we have to follow his example if you want to maximize Ramadan, strive and strive harder. Yes, we are in a slum right now but lit that motivation of Laila to color

pink night that's better than 1000 months, not the same as not equal to 1000 months not equal to 83 years there's some I've calculated, but better than how much better than Allah doesn't tell us it could just be an expression to say it's better than what you can count so heinola I showed you alone and it also says cannot also do boy so I sent him yesterday to feed Ramadan man I urge you to feel at the prophet Elisha to some we make each day ahead in Ramadan. This means he would strive in Ramadan in a way that he would never strive in any other time. Well, Phil actually our he means Malaya he to feel it. And in the last few nights of Ramadan, he would strive harder and more

intensely than he would at any other time of Ramallah in the last 10 nights. This is a hygienic comes in the Muslim so we need to look at our own Ramadan shado and find out with ourselves what can we manage, but still have the last in night's shine like a bright lamp compared to the rest of Ramadan and that the rest of Ramadan shine like a brighter lengthen the rest of the year? This is how we're going to throw the rock mavala behind him with it. What should I say and why? A question that say that I should add yellow and actually asked Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam wanna call it pull to your rasulillah I said O Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

I listen to a lady letting me letting

you she said what if I can see and you know, what do you say if I know that it is ready to cut? How would she know? Perhaps the feeling perhaps some some, some divine inspiration that Allah grant she sees the signs of a letter to cuddle citra makuuchi What should I say they? I always found this hobby fascinating because they seem so profoundly simple. You said Carla Cooley say along in the car for women to have will offer Fast Money. So simple. We practically have all memorized that even the you know, the youngest of our kids. And in that lies its beauty. Hadeeth comes in, in the Santa Ana human pyramid, and it's been graded as harsh and so high, it's authentic. And in its simplicity, we

find its beauty. Everyone can participate in the door. Oh Allah Aloma Allah in NACA indeed you are full when you are the the pardoning to have moolah for a new love to pardon for knee ease, pardon me.

Now, of course, this doesn't mean you know you say the do outlines and helaas That's it. You don't need to do anything else for the night, then you can just wake up in the 21st the 23rd 25th 27th and 29th save the die once maybe after certain memory of this battle I share and then go sleep for the rest of the night. But that's not what was intended. She's asking you know what's the best thing I can do on that night not what's the only thing I should do on that night. So on that night, you know you plan that that night like you plan your day of alpha. Today verify you add booklet your head you wrote down to as before the time is sort of different names of people you want to mention different

aspects of your life you wanted to cover jr after all you wanted to cover your parents, your children, your future, your past your mistakes, your sins, when to recover your financial your deenie your health every different aspect. So you plan for it. She should plan for later to cover as well. And then part of your plan is that throughout your night you're going to decide Aloma in the careful window head will ask for funding throughout your ibadah it's going to recycle and then maybe after every call to choose you're going to read this off to every page you can read this to our in every sajida immunity this to our in every in every after every two rockets are we going to read

this to are going to make a lot of space between every you know, rocket Are you going to read this to our you plan the night as it suits you be the night owl if you don't know if all else fails, then you can make a weird you can decide to come in and read one test we have a llama in a cafe. For me 100 times, I'm gonna do the 1000 times or I'm gonna do 2000 times, man unite the weight suits you and the amount of time you can invest in it. It all depends on how much you want to add to the Knights of heinola. And then of course you plan this for every odd Night of the last night of Ramadan. Why this door? Why not allow in Mecca foon

fiddley alum inika in a garage man to a boon to hyper Rama for harmony, you know why not? any of the other

qualities are less pentatonic. Why not?

I've explained this before. And many other scholars have touched on this but I think it's so beautiful. It's worthy of mentioning this again. So Murphy rock comes from the word hoffa which means to cover, right essentially it means that there was something there and it was covered up.

Rough man Rama means mercy, right? It means like to be treated with with kindness that you don't even deserve.

But awful means to pardon.

Apple is different from our era. You see on the left piano, we will come to Allah Subhana Allah with our book of deeds. And if we ask for forgiveness, if we made over from our sins, etc, we will have to acknowledge the fact that we commit to those sins. And we will have to say yes, I did that I did that. But then you'll see that it also crossed through it was all erased, or it was scratched out for for lack of a better term. So that's Mark zero.

That didn't pass through, but we can look at as it's completely raised, but you know, the essence of it, it was the before was they once upon a time. Apple means to be completely removed, like the pages are ripped out of the book, and thrown away. So when you come into dev kiama You don't even acknowledge that there were sins there because it's like there was never sent the this is the beauty of the apple. And on the day off on the night of credit in a night that's better than 1000 months. This is what we want from Allah subhanho wa Taala a fresh start, drip those pages out rip their sins are so that we can start all over again. And, you know, we actually like we did before last year

remember we went through a sudo to cuddle with sudo to cuddle and we spoke about the seed and understanding of what little two quarter is all about this year looking specifically at the recommendations of Rasulullah

Allahu alayhi wa sallam. So whatever we do on that night, and if we plan it, make sure that we have the yam standing because that's what we supposed to do man comma Laila to cotterman comma Ramadan. So we stand but standing is referring to Salah so if you can't stand sit if you can't sit lay down the point is that standing is referring specifically to Sala and do I have because why they're sad, okay, buddy. And if I in your career, as we say the opening, the opening, I have this talk.

And then of course, this door Aloma in the cafe. For me, this is very simple. But this is just so that we know we are on the right track and that we're not spending our energies with less efficient activity better. So we know that we're making the best making the most of the time that we have. Perhaps you can't be together physically, but we can still be together in terms of how we spend the night evening like either. So again, what should I do and why I believe my boss also taught us that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said or why is it either Cana Rasulullah saw Selim enjoyed an ass, he was the most generous of people. What kind of Edward Maya Kofi Ramadan and the time that

he was most generous was in the month of Ramadan. Kenya, would you be real? windy, very nice to meet him. Or can it be real we all have equally let him in Ramadan, and to be real Elisa would meet him every night of Ramadan.

For you, Daddy, so we'll put an end what you would do is they would study the Quran with one another you data say you daddy. So this means, you know mutual study, not the one teaching the other only, but they would study it with each other. And the Shura of Hadith explained to us that they would actually revise everything that was revealed of the Quran, up until that point. And in the last year of his life, I slept with Sam, they did two revisions of the entire plan. Now, this doesn't only mean one aspect of revision, it's not specifically saying that only this only that. So that understanding is that they revised the recitation of the Quran. And obviously what understanding the

profit that is at the center of the dissertation, the company that so what we can learn from this ease, in addition to standing or making salary rather, and in addition to making a lot of dough, and in addition to making the dough I allow my inner caffeine to offer for me. I don't think any of us can stand the entire night in sila, so we can alternate, we can make Sylar sometimes spend some time with blue eyes specifically, and spend some time studying the Quran. This could mean the recitation of the Quran, it could mean actually sitting and listening to a does a lecture on the Quran. It could mean reading the translation of the Quran. And it could mean just listening to the recitation

of the Quran because that's also a beautiful act of ibid that you should not take licked in sha Allah to Allah. It could mean sitting with Arabic and trying to understand more of the language of the Quran. It could mean reading a book of Tafseer on the Quran, or listening to a lecture of Tafseer on the Quran. But this was also a way in which Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam spent the night of Ramadan. And obviously, if it was the entire night of Ramadan, the entire full 30 days of Ramadan in one of them and to include that Okada. We learn a lot of things from this Hadith, we learn that we should spend that time with good company. So we also see that he wasn't alone. He was with GE

video. But we also learned that he didn't choose any company chose the best of company could possibly have. So we need to do the same. We also learn that being in good company and spending time with the Quran was not just some theoretical exercise or some spiritual exercise that confined to the masjid or confined to a particular class. It had an effect on his life, it affected him, and it had an effect on his life. So much so that he became a better and even better person, he was always generous, that he became even more generous, so panela so what are we doing now, you know, my bond needs to spur us on to do better, to be better, to be more productive, to be more, to be more

generous, to be good with ourselves and our families, our wives, our husbands, our children, our neighbors, etc. And to do righteous deeds more. So this is a rejuvenating time for ourselves between like Allah, and with that we conclude this message on the day of tomorrow.

You know, blessings of Allah Subhana Allah be upon all of us. May we have a very special Ramadan this year, none of us will forget this Ramadan, it's really Ramadan to remember, it's very hot. So for for many

I know especially among the elderly. It's it's really unbelievable. Of course, we still going to have some seriously tough times ahead. At this point, I wish to end and make data less behind with data specifically to ask him to alleviate the difficulties that the world is going through. Many people are losing their lives

and many people are basically starving to death.

People are getting hungry and they don't know where the next meal is coming from people who previously could put food on their own tables are now unable to do so. The situation is dire and sometimes I don't know what's killing more disease or the poverty that it's leaving in its places. May Allah subhanaw taala predict or people out there and being is rough man is Murphy's Law removed the difficulty, allow us to see the lesson in all of this to make us better people. May Allah Subhana Allah allow us to gain from the benefits of the month of Ramadan may make us more grateful, more appreciative may make us closer to him maybe learn our lessons. May the difficulties teach us

to come down into our knees and turn to Allah Subhana Allah, may Allah Allah be with us through the last three nights of Ramadan, Allah Allah make the sadness that we are expecting on the day of I need to be bearable for us. Allah Subhana Allah make us Ramadan means for us to attain Jenna, maybe all whether we contract the virus or don't contract the virus may all be safe and healthy. May Allah grant us the motivation of Shaheed for the difficulties that we experiencing as an oma without having to actually die from this particular disease. And may Allah Subhana Allah put sovereign in the hearts of those who need it the most, and in the hearts of those who will need it the most. And

for for everyone who, you know, doesn't Suz was seemingly going through this in a prosperous time Allah subhanaw taala place so much sugar in gratitude in their hearts and repay them for evil may come in the future vulnerable to a gll forgive all the believing men in the believing women who have lost the lives and protect our doctors and our nurses and our frontline workers throughout and reward all of those who are making our lives. We're trying to make our lives better. So Lola alesina, Mohammed's have a handle on how many mechanical home will be alive.

Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.