Mohammad Badawy – Guards your Gains after Ramadan
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We begin in the name of Allah
the exalted, the sublime, the most merciful, and
the bestower of all mercy,
and the king and creator of all existence.
Whoever
Allah chooses to guide, the none can lead
astray.
And whoever Allah chooses in his infinite wisdom
to leave astray, none can guide.
And we testify that only Allah
is the only one in all of existence
that is deserving
of our complete unconditional,
unequivocal love, obedience, and worship.
And as the prophet Muhammad
we testify also that the prophet Muhammad was
his final prophet and messenger to mankind,
sending peace and blessings upon him, and
his wife and his family members and his
companions and all those who follow their footsteps
until the day of judgment, begging Allah
to include us in his mercy and compassion
by including us amongst them.
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
I'm sure
at this point now, almost 1 month after
Ramadan,
you've heard already of post Ramadan,
of continuing after Ramadan.
Encouragement
to increase in your good deed. To not
return to your state before Ramadan.
And even though we've heard it quite a
few times possibly from the beginning of Eid
or from the Khutbah before the end of
Ramadan, it still helps
to remember.
Allah tells us that.
Reminds
meaning the reminder benefits the believers.
Aside of their belief from their faith in
Allah's whenever they're reminded with the verses of
the, they benefit. They remember.
And, also,
because this was the state of the righteous
before us, beginning with the may Allah be
pleased with them, the companions of the prophet
We have many narrations about them and the
righteous people after them, That for 6 months
before Ramadan,
they will be prepping for Ramadan,
increasing good deed.
Preparing for this holy season for the special
opportunity from Allah
And then 6 months after,
revolves around them
asking Allah
to accept from them the Ramadan.
May Allah accept from all of us that
we perform the Ramadan and to give our
shortcomings.
But the point being that we're drawing from
this narration
is that their year,
their life revolve around Ramadan, prepping for it
and then evaluating
after.
Because this is how they viewed Ramadan. It
was not just a limited season,
a small window of worshiping Allah
as many people today and throughout history have
looked at it.
They recognize the opportunity.
They hear the hadith. They hear their encouragement,
so they increase and they do good.
But then afterwards, they drop off. They feel
I've fulfilled the Ramadan. I've done it as
it's supposed to be done until next time.
And this is a good thing that they
recognize Ramadan. It's good that we see these
blessings, these opportunities. We hear this hadith, and
we try to capitalize.
But we're not capitalizing on the full opportunity
if this is how we do Ramadan.
When the righteous was asked
about people,
what do you think of people that we've
seen
who worship in Ramadan and forget afterwards?
That they come towards
Allah. They approach him. They come close in
Ramadan, and afterwards, they neglect.
So he said,
what an evil man that does this. That's
not a good characteristic to have. Someone who
comes to Allah
approaches, comes closer
in just
a certain period of the year.
Islam is not a religion
confined to a Friday or a Saturday or
a Sunday. It's not confined to a building.
It's not confined to a season. It is
a way of life. This is the reality
of what Allah
wants us to do.
It was narrated also from
that he said
that the the people who are steadfast,
the verses where Allah speaks about steadfastness where
he says
and it's mentioned in 2 verses. 1 is
and the other is
praising the people who are steadfast. In one
verse,
Allah
says, those who said our lord is Allah
and remain steadfast upon this.
The people who said, our lord is Allah,
remain steadfast. The angels descend upon them, meaning
at the time of death, to encourage them
to
be by their side to support them,
telling them, do not fear and do not
grieve. Do not be afraid. Do not be
sad.
And receive glad tiding
regarding that which you used to do. So
Hassan says about this verse, what is it
that they used to do? What is it
that's being referenced here? That they were steadfast
in speech and in action.
That they did what they said,
and they said what they did. They stayed
true. They were sincere in their actions, and
they remained upon that.
It was also narrowed from him that when
he would
hear this verse or recite it, he would
make that dua to Allah.
Oh, Allah
make us from the people who are steadfast.
And we ask Allah to make those
who not only claim that our lord is
Allah and our but who are steadfast upon
that in action and in speech. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala he called out to us in
Surat Al Nakhl and
he said,
He gives us a very
illustrous example that I want you to pay
attention to.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said
to us,
don't be like the woman
who undid
her knot,
undid her thread
after it was strong,
after she had sewn it and knitted it
together. You know knitting?
Right? The, you know, the old people who
you know, the the image of old people
always knitting.
This is what's being referenced here. So the
some scholars of says, this is referencing a
literal woman. There's really a woman who used
to do that in Mecca. She was known
by the people that she'd spend all day
knitting,
making yarn, making thread, making knots, making designs.
And at the end of the day, after
spending all day doing this,
at the end of the day, she would
spend the night
undoing it.
So she'd time off in the day. They'd
be strong, good enough. At the end of
the day, she'd spend her time undoing them,
just unraveling them. She was not well in
the head. She was pissed.
So it was known that this is the
lady who does that's all she does. She
was mentally ill. May Allah protect us and
our family. I mean so he's telling the
Muslims, don't be like that woman.
And some scholars of says it's not a
literal woman. It's just an example that Allah
is bringing forth. Either way, the example is
clear. Don't be someone
who puts effort, who strives. Knitting is not
easy, right, to make designs, to make knots.
Don't be someone who puts effort, who focuses,
who tries,
and then just undoes all of it.
What is Allah speaking about? He's speaking about
our faith. He's speaking about our salah. He's
speaking about our attitude
towards him. Don't be someone who started the
path towards him, took a few steps,
and then turned around.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not want that
for you. This is not something praiseworthy.
The same way that we all just heard
this example of the woman and thought why
would anyone do that? What a waste of
time.
I'd hate for my life
to follow a similar pattern, putting effort and
it being useless. No one likes that.
This is something that is a huge demotivation
for us when we don't see results or
when we undo our own hard work. So
Allah tells us this is your favor.
And more so for us here in this
topic, in this context, this is Ramadan.
We all put forth effort. We all struggle,
and we all tried hard more than we
did outside of Ramadan. So let us not
be like the one who undoes their own
work.
On top of that, we have a narration
from Ali
that he says, you should be more keen
asking Allah to accept your action
than you are when you do the action.
Why is that? Because
Allah says,
Allah
exclusively accepts
from the pious, the people of taqwa.
The people who recognize him, who are conscious
of him, who fear him, who obey him,
who love
him. Allah's concept exclusively
accept actions from these people. The people who
do not fit that category of the people
of Taqwa
fear and obedience and consciousness of Allah, he
does not accept from them.
So but the fact that Allah says this,
you should be overly keen
in this evaluation that we're doing now, and
we hope to continue to do until the
next Ramadan. May Allah allow us to reach
it and many more.
So you should be more keen in asking
Allah to accept your actions because he's telling
you he only accepts from the righteous from
the people of true Taqwa. And it was
narrated by many of the righteous as well
that they would say
statements to the effect. If I were to
know for sure that Allah accepted one action,
and one of them said even just one
sajdah, not even a whole prayer, just a
part of a prayer, sujood.
If I were to know for sure that
Allah accepted that from me, I'd be the
happiest person in the world.
It's worth more to me than the entirety
of the dunya and everything in it.
It's worth more to me than friends and
family and wealth because of this verse where
Allah says he exclusively accepts from the people
of.
And there's no coincidence that this is the
purpose of fasting. Allah says in verses
about fasting.
He tells us, oh, people of
Fasting was written upon you. Allah has commanded
you with it the way he commanded the
people before you so that you can attain
taqwa. That's the purpose of fasting.
It was meant to be a temporary training
ground, a boost.
Allah showing you what you can do through
you, through your own actions so that you
can attain this lifestyle of taqwa which is
the purpose, which is the point.
And we have to remember now post Ramadan
that
the prophet,
he
warned us.
He warned his companions and he warned us
of turning away
after taking the right step.
Abandon your good deeds after you had started.
He told
He says, oh,
don't be like so and so.
He used to pray the night, and now
he doesn't.
It's a very simple reminder. Don't be someone
who abandoned good deeds after they became their
norm. And, also, he used to say
himself,
Oh Allah, seek refuge in you
from turning to misguidance after being guided, turning
to the wrong path after
following the right one.
And it was also narrated about him
If he did something,
he made it consistent.
He made it his habit.
He made it a normal normal practice of
his life, salaam alayhi wa sallam.
And the hadith that we all know that
he said, salaam alayhi
He said, the most beloved actions,
not
the largest in numbers, not the ones that
make the biggest splash, even though these are
good actions as well. But what does he
love the most?
The most consistent
even if it is you.
Even if it may appear insignificant to others.
Even if it doesn't take that much effort,
but it's consistent.
It's something that you stay firm upon, that
you show Allah you do not want to
let go because you enjoyed it, because you
know that it pleases him, because it fulfills
your purpose of existence, which is to worship
Allah.
Know also that it's a sign of actions
to be accepted, to be better. And, you
know, there's one person once he was speaking,
and he said this in his speech. He
said, if you are not better after Ramadan,
if you are not keeping up with everything
you're doing,
then your Ramadan is not accepted.
And that's a that's a little too harsh.
That's a little too strong. But it is
a sign of Ramadan or any good deed
being accepted that you're a better actor, that
you do more after.
Acceptance is with Allah, and we hope and
we pray that our was accepted.
But know for sure that is not a
good sign if you do not keep up
with at least some of the good or
if you are not at least better than
you were before.
And there's no point where it's too late
as long as you are aware, you are
listening, you are conscious, you are willing to
do something different. And the proof of that,
there's many
that speak to the effect. One of which
Allah said,
The people who were guided,
who accepted the guidance,
Allah increased them in guidance. They got more.
And Allah,
gave them their piety, their righteousness.
And he also said
Allah
announced
he made an announcement that if you are
thankful, I will increase you. Meaning good gets
an increase of good. So this is you
know, if this is how Allah is dealing
with me and you, he's telling us if
you are thankful
and, you know, we we really have to
think about this for a second. If you
are thankful for Allah's blessing, he will give
you more. What are the sources of blessings?
Where where does the blessings come from?
Allah
himself. Who gave you the ability,
all the faculties that you need, a mind,
a heart, a tongue, eyes to be thankful?
Allah
who guided you to thankfulness
when
billions of people are heedless.
When a huge amount of Muslims themselves are
heedless,
Allah thankfulness.
And then after you thank, which he gave
you the ability to do and the faculties
to do and the guidance to do, then
he increased you with more blessings to thank
him for. So the
the the amazing nature of the
blessings of Allah
and how grateful he is when he deserves
all the credits is something that should motivate
all of us. And as scholars said, how
ungrateful is the person who turns back after
Ramadan,
who got the opportunity,
who came to the masjid, who prayed, who
fasted, and then says that's enough till next
year. That is not a
it doesn't fall in line with the gratefulness
that Allah and the gratitude that he shows
us.
And
he also said that it's important to know
that good deed, righteousness, and obedience doesn't have
a time limit for the Muslim.
He said, that
Allah's did not put a time limit.
He did not constrain
righteousness
or worship
for the believer except with that.
Meaning his entire life. It ends when's the
time limit for for righteousness, for good actions,
for obedience, and worship? It ends with that.
But there's no season, there's no day which
limit the actions of worship for the believer.
They're constantly heading towards Allah
with this in mind and with,
this realization
of who Allah is and what he deserves.
So
to summarize all of it, I'm sure you've
already pieced together the point is you owe
it to yourself
and to Allah to
continue after Ramadan.
We have to change our outlook towards Ramadan
and what it is and what should it
do for us. We should constantly in the
state of
introspection and evaluation
in the week after Ramadan, the month after
Ramadan, the month after Ramadan until we start
approaching
the season for the next Ramadan.
Because Ramadan was supposed to be a boost
for the rest of your year, the rest
of your life, and not a brief moment
of obedience
or worship towards, you know, after which you
just return back to normal life. I ask
Allah
to continually guide us, to guide our hearts,
to keep us firm upon his path, to
continuously
allow us to win this Ramadan in better
and better states until we meet him in
the best of states.
A couple of things that we can do
to continue Ramadan. But first, I want us
to
think of something. I want us to have
a realization.
It's from the
amazing nature of Allah.
His mercy,
his power, his greatness.
That the sign for us to continue after
Ramadan,
the greatest sign or one of the greatest
signs is us ourselves.
I want you to think about it. Who
filled this masjid
a few weeks ago?
Who strove
for their prayers?
Who fasted a month straight?
Who donated more than they do the entire
year?
Who,
despite
waking up in the middle of the night,
despite the hunger, despite the thirst, despite the
tiredness, who still came for taweret prayers?
Was that you, this community, or is it
some others that came from Ramadan and they
left, and they'll come back next to Ramadan?
That was you.
You were the one who did all of
that, and I want you to remember how
sweet that felt.
You know, it's really an amazing blessing that
after Ramadan, we think about it so fondly.
We talk to each other. Remember when we're
on the road and we're praying in the
middle of the night, and I had work
the next day, and the kids were making
a rocket. And despite all of these things
that would sound negative to someone else, we
remember and we reminisce with delight and satisfaction
in our hearts remembering that feeling, wishing you
would come back again.
That was you. Allah
the greatest blessing, the greatest miracle that he
showed you you can do more,
you can enjoy worship.
You will enjoy that path towards him. He
showed you that through you yourself and what
you did in Ramadan.
And this is a huge blessing from Allah
To encourage you, he sent you a snapshot
of you yourself in a better form,
telling you this could be you all year
round, increasing year after year.
And that's a level of piety and consistency
that most of us say, oh, no. I
can't do that.
And that's okay. Allah will never ask you
to fast 30 days in a row besides
Ramadan. He will not ask you to come
to the prayer, the night prayer besides Ramadan.
But he gave you a boost up and
beyond what he asked to show you that
you could very well do everything that he
asked.
So think about how you felt.
Think about the enjoyment.
Think about the tranquility
and the delight that you tasted
despite the tiredness, despite the difficulty
of Ramadan.
Remember the dread you had before Ramadan. How
am I going to manage with work, with
the kids' school, with the exams,
with the heat, with the thirst, and then
how good you felt after you did that?
Because Allah tells us here again that you
can do it.
Suppress the physical body a little bit and
watch your soul ride.
See how you feel. See how you enjoy
it. Why do you enjoy it so much?
Because that's what you were created to do.
Because here,
especially here in Ramadan,
in these actions, you are fulfilling your purpose
in life.
That's why you felt so good. And Allah
is telling you, don't you wanna be like
this all the time?
Wouldn't it be good for you to try
your best
throughout the year
instead of limiting this enjoyment, limiting this progress,
this success to just 1 month of the
year? You can do it all year round.
So the first step to staying on track
to being steadfast after Ramadan is to recognize
in your heart that's only possible through Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
If your Ramadan was terrible,
a huge
miss, wasn't as good as it should have
been, made a lot of mistake, then know
for sure that you're in need of the
mercy of Allah
He told the
hit the mark. Try your best to be
a 100%. If you can't, come as close
as you can.
But he knows, and Allah knows that some
people won't hit the mark, and they won't
even come close. So that's why he said
after that,
that none of you will enter through your
actions.
Know that your actions don't get you there.
Ramadan won't get you there, and the whole
year, your whole life will not get you
there except through the mercy of Allah
He said even me, salallahu alaihi wa sallam.
And if your Ramadan was perfect, they weren't
as good as you thought it would and
even better, then know you are in need
of the mercy of Allah still nonetheless. Because
at the end of the hadith where he
said, even me, the best of the best,
the most pious, the one with the most
taqwa, I will not make it without Allah
enveloping me in his mercy and his forgiveness.
So this is the reality. So recognize that
in your heart that my guidance will only
come through Allah's.
Tell that. Say that to Allah's
I can only obey you through you. I
cannot begin to consider piety or righteousness or
obedience
if you do not allow me the opportunity.
If you do not guide me and give
me that
and that sincerity, and we all ask Allah
for it.
So this is the first step. It's a
recognition in the heart
of the reality of things. I cannot start.
I cannot put forth any effort, not just
in this, but everything without the guidance and
the success
being decreed for me by Allah
Then step 2 is to actually ask for
it, to make dua, and this is something
that the prophet taught us. Again, the most
pious, the most righteous, the most god fearing,
the most obedient
used to constantly make
duaq.
Oh,
Allah, the turner of the heart.
Keep my heart firm upon your faith.
Keep my heart firm upon your path. And
he used to always say like that, the
the we also already mentioned the hadith where
he used to say,
oh, Allah, I seek
refuge in you from being misguided after guidance.
He also said, salaam
alaihi sallam,
If the people
take as their treasure gold and silver, you
see them hoarding gold and silver gathering
physical
wealth, then you what you should treasure or
you should make precious
are these words. And he thought
oh, Allah, I I ask you
for steadfastness upon this matter, the matter of
Islam, and for determination upon guidance. Make me
determinedly guided, not half half,
not just 1 out of 12 months, not
just one day a week, not just limited
certain places.
Make me determined
upon guidance. Have strong determination.
And the 3rd step is
to have patience
and determination
to evaluate yourself
to basically
have discipline.
And this is not a
a tip that you can give and just
do one action. It needs consistency.
It needs knowledge. It needs sincerity. It's going
to be a lifelong process of being patient,
being disciplined, and being determined. So increase in
your knowledge of the state of the prophet.
Increase in your citation of the Quran.
Increase in reading the stories of the prophets.
In there, you will find patience and diligence,
determination, and discipline.
And finally, it's to
keep good companionship. So the first step to
staying firm after Ramadan is to recognize in
your heart that you need Allah to do
that, and you can't do without him. 2nd
is to begin to ask him. So the
that the prophet tells us that, oh, Allah,
keep me firm. Keep me going. Give me
the strength. Give me the fuel. And 3rd
is to have patience and determination and discipline
that you will gain through
reading the Quran and reading the story of
the prophet. And lastly, it's to have good
companionship.
Remember
how beautiful the Masjid was when it was
full with you, when it was filled with
the community, when it was a hub for
interacting in righteousness and encouraging one another.
So
remember the hadith of the prophet where he
said,
whoever fears,
leave that night. Meaning, whoever fears that they
will not reach their destination,
then they leave before the crack
have done. They don't wait for a day
break up with that. They're afraid they're gonna
reach, they leave early.
And whoever leaves early will reach the destination.
So this is the reality
of our situation.
We are afraid. We are in a rush.
It's not something that, okay, next Ramadan. We
don't have that luxury.
We're afraid that we may not reach the
destination. We don't have that security or that
guarantee, so we must leave early. And the
leaving early here is a metaphor for being
prepared, for trying your best, for putting forth
effort. And if Allah sees that from you,
you can guarantee.
If it is sincere that he will not
leave you hanging, this is not who Allah
is. This is not what he does.
So begin with the obligations. Begin with your
5 daily prayers. Remember that you've prayed a
whole month
for at least 2 hours in jama'ah and
then coming back in the last 10 10
nights for even more hours.
So remember that and make it fuel for
you to make sure you never miss any
of the 5 daily prayers as add as
much as you can. Remember that you fasted
for 1 whole month, 30 days almost.
So if you throw in a couple of
days fasting every month, that would be good.
And you've already trained yourself upon that, and
all, appreciate
it. Mondays Thursdays or the 3 days of
every month, the 13th, 14th, 15th of every
Islamic
month.
Remember that you spent so much time reading
Quran, trying to finish it once, twice, three
times. You can finish it once every month
or every other month or a few times
a year. You can do that. Remember the
amount of that you made, saying making a
stafar,
making duas,
saying at, you know, between the and the
staying before in isolation to call upon Allah
how sincere you are, how much it meant
to you. Don't make isolated
to Ramadan.
Call upon Allah He loves that. The only
one in all of existence that the more
that you call him, the more that he
loves it. And if you are not to
call him to ask others, he would be
upset. He would be angry with you. This
is only Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. No other
no one else in existence is like this.
Everyone else is the. So be encouraged by
these things.
Turn towards Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Begin that journey towards him and know that
this is the purpose of Ramadan. This is
why Allah prescribed it. Because if at the
end of every Ramadan,
you're a little bit better,
then every Ramadan is better than the last.
And if that is the case, which will
be the best Ramadan for you?
If this is the evaluation that you do,
this is the outlook that you have.
And every Ramadan is better than the last,
then which Ramadan will be the best for
you?
The absolute last one before you meet Allah
because it's always better,
and you're always following up. So that in
that case, you will only meet Allah
after performing your best Ramadan, and we ask
Allah to make this a reality for all
of us.
Also, simple steps that we will close with
is if you want
to begin simply, you don't know where to
begin, you feel overwhelmed. Again, maybe Ramadan did
not go that well. Then begin with something
very simple, 2 things.
Two items on your list, on your agenda.
1 is an evil action that you began
Ramadan with or was in there, was in
your habit before Ramadan, abandoned
it. Whatever it may be. Tell yourself this
action, this practice will no longer continue even
if it continued in Ramadan.
But make that a post Ramadan evaluation point
for you or both. And then one action
that you know you're supposed to do and
begin with
it. Say, you become my regular habit.
I know that the most beloved of actions
to Allah, the ones that are consistent, so
I'll make this consistent. I'll consistently leave this
action, and I'll consistently do this other one.
And to me, this is an offering. This
is a show of
intent
towards Allah. This is my intention that I
will be better, and I will try it.
And watch how Allah helps you. And in
a in a week or a little bit
of time, you'll be doing 2 things and
leaving out 2 things. And before you know
it,
every single month, every single week, every single
year, every single Ramadan,
you are incrementally better until you reach Allah
in the best of states. I ask Allah
to continuously guide our hearts to purify them
of the rest that indulge them, to give
us the strength to leave all the actions
that are displeasing to him and to give
us the strength to commit to all the
actions that are pleasing to him.