Mohammad Ali Hazratji – Inner aspects of Ramadan Dr Mohammed Ali Hazaratji at Amherst College
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AI: Transcript ©
All right. So I was asked by our dear sister Nora, to talk about
Ramadan.
I wasn't given any
more directive as to talk about Ramadan in what way. So I'm not
going to talk about the
external practices of fasting, which I assume all of, you know,
the FIP jurisprudence of this buffet of how to what breaks the
fast, what doesn't break the fast if you have questions in that
regard, we have a q&a in the end.
So I'm going to talk more about the spirit of Islam
and the spirit of Ramadan, and what we should try and gain out of
it. Okay, so with that introduction, and I have two more
qualified people here than me. But unfortunately, it's Allah's wisdom
that I should be saying this in front of them, I should actually
be embarrassed but this is what it is.
Smilla Well, hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah.
While Allahi wa Sahbihi women whether
it's my dear brothers and sisters, we are blessed to be approaching
another month of Ramadan, just about two weeks away.
Around the 21st or so will be Ramadan.
And Rasulullah sallallahu Sallam taught us never to assume
anything. He was taught us a prayer as application, part of
which is Allahumma but Latina Ramadan, oh Allah help us to reach
Ramadan. Because we don't know if we are going to be alive in two
weeks. To reach some Allah, we just take things for granted. We
take life for granted. And we learn every day. And you learn two
weeks ago.
You know, 50,000 people who thought they would reach Ramadan
are not going to reach Ramadan, just a little shaking of the
tectonic plates for 1520 seconds. And that's it.
So we shouldn't assume that but we see. Like when you look in the
dawn, I don't know how many kids get up at dawn time. Before the
dawn breaks, there's a light that glows. That's called the true
dawn. It spreads horizontally. And it tells you the promise of a new
day that's going to dawn on you. Okay, so somebody who has looking
forward to that day feels and excitement that the new day is
coming. So we are now at the process of seeing that don't have
Ramadan over the horizon. And there is a little bit of
excitement in among the Muslims that Ramadan is coming and you
feel that anticipation because Ramadan comes with a lot of
spiritual blessings and gifts from the Lord of the Worlds.
So it's my shift says that it's like every year one of your
benevolent uncle's comes to visit you and he always comes with a lot
of gifts. So when you're a little kid you're always looking forward
to the visit. When is he coming and Ramadan is like that
benevolent uncle bringing lots of gifts.
So the fasting of Ramadan, for people who don't know about it is
essentially abstaining from food and drink and marital intimacy
from Dawn which is about an hour and a half before sunrise to
sunset. So these days it's going to be when Ramadan comes about 13
hours in this row nothing not even water Yes, not even water. And
it's easy, little kids fast. And as you all know when your kids you
did
and Ramadan is not a chore that oh Ramadan is coming which is should
be observed with loving, willing surrender, that this is what my
Arab My Lord wants and is pleased with. And Ramadan is an
acknowledgement of His Lordship that Allah is my Lord. If this is
what you decided is the best for me. Then there is benefit in it.
So we should approach it with that
state of mind
and it is also a an acknowledgement of our gratitude
because Ramadan helps us to realize the bounties of God that
we take for granted food and drink moment you feel slight slight
thirst nowadays people don't even look forward to the carry it
around with them under the marketing of or you will get
dehydrated. We never got dehydrated six years ago. Now
suddenly we're dehydrated. Everybody needs to carry water
bottle every five minutes water and snacks. Ramadan teaches you
discipline that you
don't need this, okay? This is marketing.
Anyway,
Ramadan is a reminder of our relationship with the Creator, the
creator, and the creation, that our relationship is one of
acknowledging that there is a supreme being. He is the only one
worthy of worship, he is alone with no partners.
He wasn't born and he did not give birth to anyone, and an
unconditional surrender consciously and willingly and
lovingly to His will.
So God tells us in the Quran, why He created us this has been a
question for humanity always, what is the purpose? Why am I here? I
don't know if at your age and where you are, have been bombarded
with things you this question ever crosses your mind. But sometimes
it does. Does it cross anybody's mind? What is my purpose of why am
I here? Yes, people who think would sometimes do that. And Allah
subhanaw taala tells us very clearly, he says, Why am I allowed
to join? Well, incidentally, Abu Dune, which means that I did not
create you for any other purpose except for my worship.
And in case you take that word worship in a wrong way, that Oh, I
should be only praying 24 hours a day? No. What is worship means
worship means that you do what God has commanded you to do, and what
he's pleased with. And you stay away from everything that he has
forbidden, and he dislikes in every aspect of your life, not
just in your vertical relationship with him. But in your horizontal
relationship with these creatures, whether it's other human beings
with the earth with Greek or animals, that there are rules that
Allah wants us to live by, which is for our benefit. So we do that
every day of our life wherever we are, and that's the worship of
God.
And what that does is, Allah has given us rules, so that we are not
subjected to only our base lowly desires, or our biased
intellectual inclinations, what we call How have I like to do this
and I like to do, what I like to do depends on I, and I could be a
tyrant, I could be a dictator, I could be a evil person or I may be
a very noble human beings, Allah, Allah has given us rules. And
therefore,
every formal act of worship in Islam, like praying five times a
day, hydrogen, fasting, giving zakat, Allah has ordained that
with an objective of making us come closer to him, because the
more we we obey Him,
Allah draws us closer to him closer to who, the source of all
happiness, we all want to be happy. We look for happiness in
different ways. You know, in school, they look for happiness
and happy hour. No, we're looking for happy life. And if you are
disconnected from the source of happiness, who grants happiness,
who grants tranquility, we are never going to have that. He is
the source of absolute freedom. Everybody wants to be free, free,
how free like a cow.
A free like a human being that dignified creature that Allah
made.
connection with the source of all peace as salam. We are always in a
stressful in a state of stress and anxieties and all uncertainties.
You know, there are people from Afghanistan, people from Syria and
Lebanon, there is all kinds of wars and all kinds of difficulties
and people going through.
Where's the peace? You can live in all that turmoil in peace, if
you're connected to the source of peace, okay.
So
Allah subhanaw taala when he orders us to do certain things, it
just for our benefit, she's not in need of anybody.
Not a prayer, not a fasting nothing.
So Allah subhanaw taala told us to pray five times a day and I hope
I'm not going to ask you, I hope some if not all of you pray five
times a day and observe that. Last month Allah says Akima salata, Lee
decree establish Salah was five times a day for my remembrance, so
that you always remember me,
the source of everything. He tells us to give zakat that annual
mandatory charity if you have a certain amount of savings every
year, to purify us from greed and attachment to material wealth. And
so that we have attachment
22 Allah subhanaw taala similarly, He has commanded us to make that
journey of Hajj, the pilgrimage once in our lifetime for those who
have the health and the material means, which is symbolic of our
journey
back to Allah subhanaw taala.
When we go back to Allah and we all will, we are going to go back
with no worldly attachments, no worldly possessions, and that's
what we do when we go for Hajj, they take your clothes off, you
can do that you're given to unstitched pieces of clothes to
wear and go, nothing
for that purpose, and then we have fasting of Ramadan.
Now, before we go there, let me ask you, why do you go to college?
What is your objective? Or why do you go to another have to say
because you guys are elite? Why do you go to Amherst College?
Yes, to learn how to be productive and somewhere in this society,
okay?
To gain knowledge, to gain knowledge, the worldly knowledge,
at least ordinary knowledge. So you have an objective, we don't
come? Yes. I was gonna say, especially like a brand name that
can potentially propel you to higher places, brand names so that
it would be recognized now, I don't know if there any, any
people who come here, attend
Amherst College, and then don't have a piece of paper afterwards
to show that they did.
And if there are some
you'd say it's a wasted effort. Okay. So, just being here is not
sufficient, you have a goal. Similarly, just fasting in
Ramadan, staying hungry and thirsty and, you know, pure in
terms of intimacy is not the goal of Ramadan.
We need to achieve something from Ramadan. Does anybody know what
the purpose of Ramadan is why we fast
or
to gain closeness to Allah? Yes.
Just to increase the call to increase Taqwa. Excellent. What
else and we'll talk about Taqwa.
Don't be left behind, we'll talk about what this thing is he wants
to better appreciate the blessings, to become grateful to
appreciate that. So this is what and who told us this, Allah
subhanaw. Taala Himself tells us this in the Quartet, that we fast
in Ramadan. The objective is that we gain Taqwa.
Now,
for the benefit of my sister here, and as a reminder, for all of you
and for me,
talk a lot. Sometimes it's translated as fear of God,
sometimes it's consciousness of God, but it's a comprehensive
term. So let's not try and put a little label on it.
First of all, there can be no Taqwa without knowing God. So we
have to know God, as much as is humanly possible, as much as he
has told us about himself, either directly in his book, or through
His Messenger, Prophet, Muhammad Sallallahu.
And then to be aware of him at all times, consciousness of God,
and be in reverence or of him with a desire of pleasing him that I
don't say anything, I don't do anything. I don't use any part of
my body in a way that says, God is aware of me at all times that I
displeased him
because I love him, I want to show gratitude to him. So I'm afraid of
offending him.
And I do everything that he asks me to do. So affirmation of what
he wants negation of he doesn't want in our actions at all times.
And that Taqwa there's another meaning of the Hua which is
shielding, it will shield us from the punishment of Allah. It will
shield us from the attacks of our lower desires and it will shield
us from the other enemy we have which is Satan shaitan.
So, now,
Ramadan, as we said, comes with a lot of special blessings. And it
becomes obvious in the world if you are a person who has been
going to the mosques, you will see the mosques that were empty the
day before.
The first of Ramadan they become full and they remain full till the
end of Ramadan.
People like myself who find it hard to go for one Orisha, Salah
night prep will be in the masjid, every chakra the whole month of
Ramadan.
And these are just some of the obvious
As blessings, you see things change, and Muslims experience and
I experience that it is much easier to do good things.
And to stay away from bad things, and to guard your tongue, and to
guard your eyes and to guard your thoughts in the month of Ramadan.
These are the gifts that Allah subhanaw taala gives us to
facilitate us
in this journey back to him.
And the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught
us in narration, where he said that in the month of Ramadan, the
gates of paradise are open, and the gates of * are closed in
the shayateen. The evil devils are chained. And what that means
essentially is something happens in the unseen realm, the spiritual
world, because of which it becomes easier to do good, which is the
gates of Jannah. Open means Allah facilitates things that lead to
paradise. And he sort of makes it harder to do things that lead to
the hellfire. And he removes this evil influence these whispers of
bad ideas that come to us through shaitan and all of his devices.
Today, now it is devices. Okay? That's his major tool. Okay.
So if, after all of this that's going on in the unseen world, a
person still neglects this month of formula and doesn't benefit
from it. That is the ultimate loss. This person is truly
deprived and the most unfortunate, the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam
said that whoever
encounters the month of Ramadan, and comes out of it without
gaining the forgiveness of Allah is really the most unfortunate.
Now we talk about forgiveness in Ramadan.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi salam taught us that we have a
fast Manzanar Ramadan, Iman saben to condition with faith in Allah.
And with full conviction of the rewards of Allah will have his or
her sins forgiven.
And he says one man karma Ramadan, whoever stands in the night of
Ramadan Imana seven the same two conditions. It's a conditional
forgiveness. If you do if you have a man and you have faith, then
your sins are forgiven. Now we talk about sins forgiven. What
does it mean to have your sins forgiven? What does it do to you
so my sins are forgiven?
First of all, let me ask you, any of you in this room? Who are
sinless? Raise your hand
hamdulillah you're honest.
Any of you in this room in need of forgiveness? Raise your hands
from the law, so that's what it is. Now, what does it mean?
Because when we sin in the spiritual world, it produces
barriers between us and Allah subhanaw taala It's like somebody
wearing glasses, wearing glasses. Every sin for every sin, you put a
black spot in your glass, okay?
Yes, what's going to happen? This is the example Rasulullah
Salallahu Salam give not about glass about the heart. Because
it's not the Allah says not the eyes that grow blind. It's the
hearts that grow by the hearts have no clarity they can see how
cuz HAC Truth is truth and falsehood, that falsehood, okay.
Our hearts grow blind by the effects of sin. So, we are
bombarding we are being bombarded to commit sins, till it becomes
like oran or a veil. Now you can see through it. Therefore, now
you're confused. Or somebody gives you an idea and you just jump at
that, because you've lost that.
That focus on what my goal is,
and what the truth is. So removal of Sins of forgiveness of sin
starts to bring back that clarity in our lives. Okay. Now we start
to see things clearly.
Obviously, you're not going to see Allah, but you will see his his
signs.
And you will recognize Allah in everything that happens. From the
little snowflakes that fell yesterday, to everything that
happens outside or within you.
You start to recognize a lot that is your clarity and you become
aware of them. That's what twice
and therefore once those veils of heedlessness, otherwise we go
through life, completely heedless, clueless of what's going on.
just going through the motions like robots
then we start to
want to please Allah subhanaw taala we desire, His nearness and
his paradise. So you might ask, how does the physical act external
act like, I'm not eating, I'm not drinking, how does it have
spiritual benefits. That's how Allah subhanaw taala structured
it, our Ibadat are acts of worship, have
internal effects. I'll give you an example the Prophet Muhammad Salah
lesson taught us when we pray, he said Pray next to each other and
have no gaps between you it's a very physical act, stand shoulder
to shoulder
then he said otherwise your hearts will turn away from each other. So
that just standing there has an internal effect. Similarly,
fasting has a lot of internal effects.
So, the spiritual benefits as we mentioned, it assures forgiveness
of our sins.
It makes us more conscious of him. And therefore once we become more
conscious of Allah subhanaw taala. And we are in in haber or reverent
awe of him. And the more we recognize His bounties, the more
grateful we become. It will energize us to want to
come closer to Him, to Germany to him. And it helps us to obey what
the law giver the only one who has the right to to create or make
laws and who forbids things, the Divine Law, the Sharia, okay.
It helps us to obey that.
So, when we give something up for Allah subhanaw taala as you know,
Allah doesn't need your thirst and and your hunger. But when you
consciously give something up, Allah subhanaw taala always
replaces it with something better.
And those are the spiritual gifts that He will give you.
And it's also the norm of Allah that a person who shows gratitude,
gratefulness, Allah increases bounties on that person. Whichever
you show gratitude for. Allah says we're in Ceccato, the azienda if
you thank Allah, if it was truly fact not just for the words, of
course the words but with your heart, and by using his His
bounties in a way that He is pleased with, he will increase his
bounty so Allah gives you more.
So one of the greatest bounties that came our way
without us deserving or doing anything for it is guidance. And
our guidance is the Quran, the actual word of Allah
lived by Siena rasool Allah, so Allah lolis and so we have
the Quran the guidance in script, and we have guidance in practice.
The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu sallam was the example of the
living
action actual Quran in life.
So, Ramadan, one of the gifts of Ramadan is that Allah chose the
month of Ramadan to send his last and final message and revelation
to mankind. In the windows of of washy of Revelation are closed
forever. No new revelation will come. This is the final
revelation, the actual words of Allah that are preserved by His
Command, nobody can alter them like the previous scriptures.
So again, we should show gratitude to Allah subhanaw taala for
sending us the Quran and for sending us the bath of Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi salam by following his sunnah and by
reading the Quran and understanding the Quran and acting
upon the Quran. It's not just for baraka and blessings that we put
it on the highest shelf and I have Quran or we have beautiful
calligraphy on our walls hamdulillah Quran did not come for
that purpose of that was the Quran should become my life or I should
become a representative of the Quran
now our Dean our way of life is what not one of accumulating
theoretical knowledge I know this I know this I know this. Somebody
knows you're supposed to pray five times a day knows every you know,
pillar of how to recognize and sharpen all the theory, but
doesn't pray.
Is that any good?
We know everything about Ramadan, but we don't fast
This becomes evidence against us because on the Day of Judgment,
you can plead ignorance. Not that ignorance is going to be any
anything in favor, but we can say we didn't know. So when we learn
something in Islam as students as adults,
I should be looking at it within myself not looking at somebody. Am
I acting on this? What I know? And if not, I do step four, I ask
Allah's forgiveness. And I start doing that implementing it today.
Not tomorrow. Okay. So our deen isn't without knowledge, you can't
worship Allah is not worshipped out of ignorance, okay? Ignorance
is not bliss in Islam, okay? It never was and never will be.
So and learning because it's a certain amount of basic knowledge
of Islam is mandatory for every sane adult Muslim, and then that
Ill into what's called an AMA Lord actions, that we have to act
according to it. So Ramadan is a month of action. This is not let
me learn a lot about Islam, we learn all of that. Now put it in
action. Guard your eyes, guard your tongue, be silent, don't get
into arguments, I'm fasting. I'm not going to argue and fight with
you.
I'm going to observe all of this, I'm going to be praying, I'm going
to be reading more Quran. This is a month of action.
So as you have some of you have rightly
told daughters, Allah subhanaw taala tells us the purpose of
this. He says, Yeah, you're letting amanu quotevalet Calcium
comma quotevalet Letting them in publikum La La Quinta cocoon that
Allah has ordained fasting for you or your believers like it did for
nations before you like the Jews and Christians and any other
nations that we don't have knowledge of. So that and he gives
us a purpose. You know, la isla calm so that you may gain Taqwa
that consciousness of Allah Samantha.
And then subsequent is Allah's mantle talks about Shahara
Ramadan. He says that this is the Ramona lady, a lady on Zillow feel
Quran. This is the month in which the Quran was revealed. Who that
leanness guidance for all of mankind will be anatomy and hooter
to one for con to tell you the right and wrong for man shahada
whoever witnesses this month men cook from among you this this
month. Failure some should fast except if you have a valid reason
not to you know if you're seeking a certain way if you're traveling
with difficulty, you uncertain times of your monthly cycles if
you're a woman where you're not allowed to fast
you know last month I listed on my woman Canna Merida who is sick
while suffering who was traveling for either termina Yamanaka they
will make up these the spirit that they miss later.
Allah subhanaw taala tells us you you read the law become a user he
wants is for you. This is not to punish you. Allah has given you is
whenever you you read to become a Lhasa he doesn't want difficulty
when he took me on it, and he wants you to complete this time
while it took Kabila Allama Darko and that you glorify Allah, for
having guided you to this true fate, the fate of all the
messengers that came before from Adam to Noah, to Abraham to Moses
to Jesus, David Solomon, everybody came with the same message. And
then he says, Well Allah calm slash road.
So that again same so that you may become grateful to Allah. So those
are the two main goals.
taqwa and Shakur gratitude, and both of these are internal states.
You know, you don't have a certificate of Taqwa your name
maybe Taqwa mata ki or whatever. But that's not the core is the
prophecy has a Taqwa ha ha nights inside your consciousness. We
don't know. I may look very righteous and pious, but you don't
know what evil thoughts are going on. I'm not in a state of taco.
Similarly, gratitude, you can see some actions of gratitude, a
person being charitable with his money that you showing gratitude
for that. But does he have that in so these are both internal states,
that's where we are focusing on the the internal dimensions of of
fasting. So we have to prepare to receive Ramadan. It's not like,
you know, first of Ramadan, I'm ready.
How often in any of you athletes, you're marathoners anything else?
Yeah. Can you just run a half a marathon tomorrow without
preparing No. takes weeks of preparation and hydration and this
and timing, same thing. You know you can be the number one tennis
player in the world or Rafa Nadal has been injured. He can't win,
because he's not practicing after all these years of 20 years of
winning 22 major titles
If he doesn't practice every day, he can keep it up. And we expect
to enter Ramadan just like that ready to go? No, we need to
prepare. Preparation of Ramadan is first internal preparation that we
need to cleanse our hearts from all the elements of the hearts
what are the elements of the hearts
quickly
arrogance, terrible
greed, greed,
envy, pride, hatred and you can name them jealousy, anger,
excessive anger or all of these
and many more
we look inside if I have some of these traits I first ask Allah
Allah show me because I might have a very good opinion I have this.
This is another disease called LGBT but I'm amazed at myself. I'm
so good. You're allowed to remove expose my true self to me first so
that I can change it and I can ask you for forgiveness. So we ask
Allah subhanaw taala to show us and then we start working on
removing those and they're not going to suddenly go away.
Everything takes time. So this is the way of internal cleansing we
take a muscle bath internally Okay, every we focus on the
external we always like to be clean and all as Muslims, but most
cleanliness we are told is half of our faith and we mistakenly take
it as okay I'm always in a state of purity, internal purity and
external purity and that's what cleanliness is okay? So we want to
enter Ramadan Ya Allah, I want to enter Ramadan with a clean heart.
I have no ill feelings towards anybody. And I have forgiven with
forgiveness. I forgive everybody.
How about somebody who wronged you?
Should you forgive that? Well?
Who else are you going to forgive?
Right? But sometimes is I forgive everybody except that
keeps. That's what is required that you forgive. Why? Because the
prophets of Allah Allah Islam teaches us that those who forgive
here will be forgiven there by Allah subhanaw taala. So we should
be forgive, made a mistake, let it go. Nothing changed. I'm still
away. Even if they sort of set badmouth I am who I am right?
So we should be forgiving.
And we should show rational love merciful love to Allah Screechers
to people
if we want Allah's mercy for us,
and then from the physical perspective, this is the month
before Ramadan is the month of what?
Shabbat, Shabbat. Ramadan is what month in the Muslim calendar nine,
nine and Siobhan is eight. So this is the month of Shabbat, which is
a month of preparation,
that we start practicing guarding our thoughts, you know, we become
in a state of Morocco, which means that we are internally watching
ourselves because Allah is our cave, he watches us he knows
inside. Allah says that Rasulullah sallallahu sallam said that Allah
does not look at your phones,
or your wealth,
or young Guru colluvial Come in your hearts, and your armor and
your actions. Allah is what looks at that. So now I become my own
Rocky in a state of maraca, which means internal watchfulness at all
times. Thoughts are coming to me, is it a worthy or unworthy show?
Is this Allah? Is Allah pleased to see this me entertaining this
thought
or thinking of doing this? And if I see that immediately because I'm
in a state of awareness, I'm standing that guard over my heart.
I reject it. I ignored it, I come back. Allah is greater than that.
I come back. Okay. So start to guard that guarding our eyes.
Outside Allah has given us winter and hundreds of people fully
covered. So there's less to guard outside in the summer when you
have Ramadan. You see Nick naked people watching around. But now we
have shutdowns tool. You got to guard your eyes from your devices.
We want to come to that every time something on the end the screens.
So we got our tongues. That's the most prolific generator of sins in
the body is the tongue. Prophets Allah Allah Allah Islam made a
graphic by saying, Do you know what will make more people enter
the Hellfire than anything else? They said, What jasola He said
just he did this held his tongue to make a dramatic so that people
won't forget. Because the wounds of the tongue, never hear. And we
say things from lies.
due to, you know, backbiting, to slander, to gossip to get into a
bad foul news now it's invoked use foul language for no good reason.
Everything has an impact.
The Prophet sallallahu lism teaches us that a person may say a
word and take it lightly, how light just like a little flight
into gone and that one word will make this person be thrown into
the depths of, of the Hellfire for distance of 70 years means keep
falling in there just for one word that they consider insignificant
and the opposite, that a person may say one word of goodness, not
thinking much of it, but Allah will elevate his ranks in paradise
we have to learn the Preparing for Ramadan is to guard our tongues to
guard our tempo. We are not going to get into fights into arguments
and all of that.
So in this month of Ramadan, this is a month that frequently gets
ignored. Because we do Ramadan is coming. The Prophet salallahu
Alaihe Salam talked about this dialectica chakra
yo follow Nasser and who Boehner Raja Ramadan, that there is this
month that people are heedless of it they don't pay attention, which
comes between somebody who can help him
between the month of Rajab and Ramadan, he said, Well, who are
shuffled, Topher ofI and Armando Ihlara, of Bilaal. I mean this is
the month in which our armor on our actions or deeds on an annual
basis are lifted, elevated to the presence of our Lord dropil Alamy,
the world Lord of the worlds and then you said, because this is
going on in the unseen world, that my actions are being presented to
Allah and this is Rasul allah sallallahu Sallam to teaching us
the best of creation, the best of humanity. He said, For therefore,
or Hibou I love your family. And I saw him that I liked that when my
actions are being presented to Allah at administrated fasting,
which means he used to fast almost all of the month of Shabbat.
Now half the month is almost over, but he used to our mother Aisha
Radi Allahu Allah has said that he did not fast any other month
Ramadan of course, is is mandatory. Outside of Ramadan, he
didn't fast in any month as much as he fasted in Shabbat. And he
said, for him, no gana Yasumi, Shaban Kulu, some time, all the
month of Ramadan, Ramadan, and in veneration, he luckily, except for
a few days, but for us, he taught us that just before Ramadan starts
for a few days or for a week or two weeks, you stop just to
separate this fasting from that fast. Except there are certain
days, people who fast Mondays and Thursdays regularly can continue
fasting. So that's the 50 rule on
next preparation. So we talked about cleaning our hearts,
forgiving people, we talked about learning to guard our fasting in
Ramadan. Next is most important and relevant to you. And this is
something that is new, new jurisprudence, preparation of
Ramadan, it is called digital detox.
And this may be the hardest for you.
How many of you here are addicted to your cell phones? resilience?
And the others are under the myths, you know, understand that
they are not how many hours do you spend minimum on the phone? Be
honest, I mean, there are apps that can tell you how much time
because I have it
that's the average
averages eight to 12 hours.
So preparation we should start weaning off is not going to be
suddenly you know,
weaning off social media. If you love Netflix, if you like tick
tock I mean, it's endless.
Get off that, if any of you have been sort of tested and tried by
terrible sites, the time to get off it, you know,
are Muslims subjected to * and addicted? The
answer is yes. We have to be honest, if you're not see
Alhamdulillah it's a loss protection. Okay.
Adults and youngsters, by normal loyal are the people who are
giving lectures throughout the country on Islam.
And he came to me once and said I'm addicted to *. He
was honest
Looking for a solution?
Nobody's spared. So one thing to do is to start disabling those
notification every little thing. Instant. By instant instant
messages, my social media is going to
disable all of that. If you have to do something set to times
asides morning, evening afternoon, quickly go through important
emails, this don't have it constantly buzzing, I have no
notification except for the emergency room notification,
nothing I looked at afterwards,
because we lived without it before. Okay, but shaitan tells us
and Apple tells us and Samsung tells us you can do without it?
The answer is yes, you can. Okay.
So please take that very, very seriously.
Also reschedule some of your worldly obligations. I mean, you
have to study you have this, if you've got exams coming up to most
of the preparation here, so you have some spare time for doing
some quality family during Ramadan may not be permitted, but try
whatever you can schedule to do before or after, and start
spending some time with the Quran.
Every day, even if it's 510 15 minutes, whatever you can take,
the more the more the baraka
reading it, as the Quran which is Arabic, and reflecting on it
reading the meaning, since most of us don't understand it, directly,
reading it, looking at a few good translations and internalizing it
reflecting what does it mean, what does it mean for me, and am I
acting on it? So start doing that. And also spending some time
at least after to Salah in Doha supplicating to Allah subhanaw
taala because Ramadan is the month where the eyes are accepted. The
special times, Allah has given special windows, so we need to
practice not die is not just something I have memorized. It's a
conversation. It's a pleading, it's a begging of Allah subhanaw
taala like a person who is drowning, okay, who needs help and
will live we are drowning in this, this barrage of worldly
stimulation that comes in the choices and this and that all the
time.
You're like I'm drowning, help and be sincere
and start restricting some of your
food consumption. Don't drink as much water constantly constantly
and stop snacking.
Now, tomorrow day after the following, this is called the
13th 14th and 15th of the month or Shavon.
The Prophet told us Allah Allah Allah says that you should fast
the three white knights which is 1314 so if you can fast these
three those who can that would be great. You will have faster those
followed one sooner you will have fast it in some in the matter
Shaban you would follow that sunnah and there are special
blessings for that. So if you can, I would encourage you to do that.
Then we come across in night which is the night of the 15th of Shaban
which will be between Monday and coming Monday and Tuesday night
that that night. That's been called Laila till Mubaraka bless
it night it's been called. Leila told Bara
night in which you're freed from the Hellfighters called Leila to
fron the night of forgiveness. And there are many narrations about
it. The Prophet sallallahu sallam said about
that verily in Allah, lair Tala o fi Laylat in this min Shabbat that
Verily Allah gazes at his creation gazes especially inside because
you will see what it's looking like inside in the middle.
Fight fire federal Jamil colicky and he forgives all his creation
is again an exception who the most Shrek The one who does shake who
associates any partners with online any form not just an idol
worship, okay, who thinks their abilities and this my means and my
this that's also a form of shirk. And there are smaller forms of
Sheikh of showing off and ostentation and all of that. And
all Moshe Han a person who has rancor and hatred in the hearts
towards others. So again, Allah is looking in our hearts
every fifth before coming to Ramadan, you will be forgiven if
you cleanse your hearts so this is an excellent opportunity that's
coming up
and forgiveness is only granted to those who cleared their hearts
okay.
So this is some of the basic preparation for Ramadan. And for
Ramadan itself, we should set some goals for ourselves and an action
plan,
as
in this Dean, there are no shortcuts.
And Sheffy our teachers, he says,
you have to master what is ordinary, to become extraordinary.
So, everything we do, we should do make everything which we consider
ordinary,
not eating. It's an ordinary thing not drinking what make it extra
ordinary, how is that with sun and sun means doing it in a way that
Allah you're, you're seeing Allah in front of you and since you
don't that Allah is watching you that state of heart that
everything you do is with care with devotion, with relentless
focus on the basics.
Regularity when you perform will do the ritual purification, when
you stand in Salah.
Be aware of that, that Allah sees you. Okay.
And then as you've said in the month of Quran, it's strongly
recommended that you at least complete one reading of the Quran,
those who know how to read in Arabic And those who don't should
read the translation to know what is the message what is the
guidance, okay.
And as we said, and Taqwa is gained by that maraca internal
awareness by by doing things and feeling that Allah is watching me,
and
that this feeling of Taqwa is going to protect me from Allah
subhanaw taala as displeasure in his punishment.
And the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam tells us that Allah says
that my servant comes closer to be to me by nothing other than what I
have mandated for them what I've made for, okay, like the Salah,
like there's a car, like the fasting, and he keeps coming
closer to me by doing extra naoise Not just the basics. So this is a
month to do a lot of extra no acid, you know, Super Girl, Tori,
prayers, I always have trouble pronouncing that word.
So, extra Salah after you finish the lab, you have some time to
Monica and two more and do more with focus, not just to count
numbers.
And Ramadan is also called the month of cyber, cyber is patience,
endurance, to be steadfast fighting against our Lord desires.
A desire is to eat
people to drink, I'm thirsty, my mouth is dry. I'm coughing, let me
drink with no, under control myself. I have other desires like
control. So, our job obedience to Allah subhanaw taala. So that sub
that patience and resilience and and steadfastness is a
prerequisite of Ramadan, and is also a fruit of Ramadan because it
grants you suffer by if you do it properly.
And that fortifies you, to remain for the rest of of the year, the
11 months that are coming in a state of obedience, that when
temptations desires attack, we have that training of Sobor to be
resilient against the disobedience of Allah subhanaw taala. And this
is also a month for generosity.
So generosity, the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi salam
was the most generous of people, one time a person came and he was
given so much that he was a disbeliever that he went to back
to his tribe and Yelton he said, Oh, my tribe,
become Muslim, because I come from a man who gives as if he has no
fear of poverty he had given him he said, Whatever you see the
value in what it contains is yours.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi salam was the most generous of
people because this is a trait human at a human level of Allah,
Allah Karim the most generous at a human level. And yet it is said
that in the month of Ramadan, he became even more generous. And
they couldn't compare it with anything. So they said, you know,
he was as generous as those those fertilizing winds in the in the
springtime, that carry pollen and fertilizer, every with the
touches, the breeze touches everyone regardless. That's how he
was his generosity touched everybody.
And now you say, Well, we are students, we don't have money.
Well,
you can use money. But smile is charity, helping somebody is a
charity. You know, any good deed is considered sort of kindness.
But you can also from now save $1 a day. And then you can give there
is a place called Penny apiece. I'm not advertising for them. You
can set it up that every day $1 of yours will go to
charity, or more whatever Allah gives you
Paying 55 grand a year here must have some money hit up your
parents for some money so I need to give in charity in the month of
Ramadan Okay, let's be honest
we can cry poverty. Yes, we can cry poverty infant of Allah,
you're alive. I'm a beggar, but not your giving me enough. But in
my relationship to you I'm a beggar
so one of the good deeds that we frequently do is to feed a fasting
person, especially a needy. And in that also there is Allah is so
generous that if you feed a fasting person, Allah gives you
the reward of his fast and your fast. So if you feed 10 needy
people in Somaliland, or in Afghanistan where people are
dying, by the way, people are dying from starvation and the
whole world is ignoring you and they've stolen the money that
belong to the Afghani people, our president to 3 billion of it.
Okay, read
from people who have no food, no shot. So if you can reach a NGO
that's working there, say, here's $100 feed a family $100 would feed
a family for a whole month in Afghanistan, I imagine and here we
are over feeding each other. So put it where it really matters.
And you will get the reward of their fasting too. And as was
pointed out, this is a month of chakra and we show gratitude to
Allah subhanaw taala and gratitude for the time that he's given us
that enabled us to reach Ramadan and to take advantage so use that
time in Ramadan wisely. Do your work academic as soon as and then
use the rest of the word not just relaxing and sleeping, cut down on
sleep, use it in worship, reuse it and reading for the Quran
reflecting helping all of those things. And stay away from
everything that is haram and which is forbidden, which is dislike and
even things that are value neutral for all. It doesn't it's not a
sin, but it's not a benefit. Don't use that. For fun. Oh, I just
that's called wasting time.
And time is precious. You know what time is as the person who's
dying.
Because life is time. It's just an accumulation of seconds. Make that
time valuable, especially in the month of Ramadan.
And the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam used to just for your
information, you may not be able to do that he used to seclude
himself from everything, his family and everyone in the last 10
and sometimes the last 20 nights of Ramadan, all completely in the
mosque. Just him and his Rob It's called ethic F or seclusion for
this purpose. Those who can should try and do that. And Allah
subhanaw taala one of the gifts of this month is called Laila to
cuddle. You know what Leila to cadres who knows? Tell me?
Yes, it's a day that's couched as sharp. So like that was a month
where the Quran was.
You are right. But you said it's a day was not to say Leila night you
mentioned it. Here it's a special night that Allah has assigned
value to he is the one who assigns value to time. And it's not fixed
on the 27th. It's not known. It's one of the last 10 Odd nights in
the last 10 nights, and more likely the ordinates. Now odd and
even is also screwed up because our ordinates might be the even
nights in England. So who are we talking about because somebody
sees the moon at some time. So if you want to make sure that you got
little credit, all last night, spend some extra time in worship,
because it gives you that reward. This is that special gift of 83
years and four months of worship.
None of us are going to worship Allah for at three years and four
months. Because first of all, you have to get to the age of 10 or
12. And then 83 years means you're going to live to 95. Plus, if you
live to 90 plus you're going to have dementia, you're not going to
be worshipping Allah anyway. So might as well each year you can do
this right each year.
I imagine a person who for 20 years or 30 years,
worshiped on knowing that one of the old nights last 10 Nights.
So 30 multiplied by what economics 30 multiplied by 84 years that how
much quickly
six.
Come on.
The zero here
Important 184 times 30 It can be six zero, it has to be two because
2420
Okay,
that many years of worship, okay. And and just to make it easy and
just to make it easy, I skipped on what? The four months multiply
that by 30 that will give you 10 years. That's 120 months 10 more
years to that. So that's what you get. We are business people, your
economics major, this is economics. I'm teaching economics
with Allah azza wa
jal
and this is guaranteed This is not like, Oh, my account was HSB and
they've gone bankrupt No.
Okay, no.
Who's treasures never get exhausted.
If he were to give every human being from Adam alayhis salaam
till the last child born,
everything that they desired everything.
It would not diminish his treasures as much as a needle
dipped in the ocean, how much water it takes out
for not diminished illustrations. And this is not something I made
up. This is the one a Saudi Philomene taught us who never
lies, and who does not speak on His own only what ALLAH inspires
him. That's what he said. So guaranteed.
You want to cash in or not, that's up to you. I'm an action. And it's
not enough to know Lila to color it is to
use the little cutter in, in worship and forgiveness and dog
and many things.
Okay, so fasting properly standing in the night, there is a special
reward that Allah has put for this pre Dawn meal, which is called
Soul. Okay, don't sleep late. And I can fast without, yes, you can
fast without the hole. It's still valid. But there is a special
blessing Allah and His angels and blessings on the people who eat
whole, the blessed meal. So even if you have to get up if you're
very tired, geta even if it's a date, half day two glass of water,
whatever, I'm not saying have a big meal. Okay, people from
Pakistan, they're used to having my all the mothers have to get up
at one o'clock to make pasta cause you know, so they can eat, you
know, eat something modestly, moderately, with the goal that
Allah has blessed this meal and it will give me strength from it.
Okay, a light meal.
Don't ignore that. And again, as we said, while we are fasting make
sure to guard our tongues. We don't want to be of those who have
said that. Somebody fast all day and gets nothing out of it except
hunger and thirst. Somebody stands all night in prayer and gets
nothing out of it except fatigue and sleeplessness. Why? Because
they didn't guard the eyes. They use the tongues, okay. So make
sure that we protect our act of worship that we're doing a lot to
stay busy. A lot of Dick is too far asking Allah smart Allah for
forgiveness, Salah Nabi triund,
I recommend 1000 times per day minimum. And it takes only 27
minutes Allahumma salli wa salam ala Sayidina Muhammad Allah Allah
if you just use this or Allahumma Salli, ala sayyidina, Muhammad
Allah Allah, you can do it in 25 minutes, 1000
times, okay.
Whatever you can, I'm just giving you all the tools you have to use.
Also, Allah subhanaw taala loves people
to help boost the wellbeing for your Hepburn motoring. Allah loves
people who are in a state of Toba internal cleanliness, and
externally clean. So try and stay in a state of wudu as much as you
can, when you will do breaks down so I don't have a salon for three
hours I'll do with you know, go renew your will do because Allah
loves you to be in a state of Bihar to try and do that. And it's
not difficult. You can stay in every waking moment in the state
of the heart, and I'm telling you experientially it's possible.
Also, you know that Allah subhanaw taala loves Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi salam and loves every sunnah, everything that comes out
from him of his actions. So be diligent in your observance of the
Sunnah and also I'm just doing the basic form. Okay.
We are in dire need of the Sunnah. Lot of the fasting persons dua is
always accepted as long as he's fasting especially just before he
breaks his fat. So at that time, don't be sitting looking at how
many samosas is this one getting? How many am I
Getting what's next what's next? Close your eyes and spend that
last 510 minutes before you start and
remember, this is your time to cash in that Allah will grant you
what you want.
Okay? Try and do things that you don't normally do of goodness stay
off the TV or news outlets. So, these are the promises these are
the rewards of Ramadan. Hopefully inshallah with this reminder it
will energize us to act and to compete Allah does sorry, oh, Elon
Musk Rotom race with each other for Allah's forgiveness, this
amount of forgiveness, we should be competing with each other. I'm
going to do better than you.
And you are saying no, you're not going ahead of me. That should be
the spirit of Ramadan, compete in virtue and doing acts okay, you
did this. I have something extra secretly that you don't know
about. Okay. You know,
I found a, you know, homeless person quietly, I went and I gave
him some food. Okay.
Two things that you don't normally do.
And as we said, Remember the fasting just again, reiterating,
the actual act of fasting is not a goal in itself.
It's a means of gaining Allah, Samantha Allah's pleasure,
his Koerber His nearness to taqwa and shukran gratitude. And if we
truly
fulfill all the rights of Ramadan, and we we, you will experience the
beauty and the benefit spiritual in your own life. And that's
experiential. Nobody can tell you we can only tell you
theoretically, you will feel it internally. Wow. This Ramadan was
different. It's not like previous Ramadan. But
one day after and I'm back to where I was, I am different, and
in Charlotte will carry you through. So this is a month of
filling up our tank, spiritual tank with Aqua and that should be
enough to carry us through the next 11 months till we have a
chance to fill our tank of Taqwa again. Next Ramadan if Allah grant
says that.
And Ramadan teaches us to deal with challenges with patience and
endurance, it disciplines us.
It purifies our lower desires and helps us to become better as
individuals as a better community of Muslims and as a better nation.
And most importantly, it makes us closer to Allah subhanaw taala It
cleanses and softens our hearts. So we sincerely
beseech Allah subhanaw taala to help us to reach Ramadan, and to
grant us all of its blessings that He is built into it in the true
sense, and make us among his true or a bad his true worship full
servants and slaves and make it a means of pleasure, that you make
this Ramadan different in that alters the life forever and orient
us towards him.
Allah subhanaw taala revealed the Quran in this month. And in the
beginning of the Quran, Allah subhanaw taala tells us about the
genesis of men with through the story of Adam and a Salaam and who
are Adam and Eve.
And how they were created and how they were expelled from Jen and
the rest of the Quran. This is the beginning the story, rest of the
Quran
is to teach us to how to make our way back to our home from where we
came home of our parents which is
so treat the Quran that this is my way back to Allah. And this is the
month. This is where I'm going to start
is aka locker taking over 10 minutes over your time but we will
open this up to any questions regarding what we talked about the
internal aspects of it. And if you have questions about the external
practices of about who can fast you cannot fast what breaks fast
anything else we have more qualified people they'll be happy
to answer your questions.