Mufti Menk – Ramadan 2023 – Reviving the Spirit 19

			Laila Rifai
		

			Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh my brothers and sisters as we draw closer to the last 10
nights of Ramadan, from the 21st night there is something known as a decaf that is a sunnah of the
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. It's his way. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him we used to
spend some time in the masjid.
		

			He spent 10 nights the last 10 nights of Ramadan in the masjid, and didn't come out except for
necessity. And it is said that towards the end in the last year he spent more than that, the
narration makes mention of 20 Nights. Now, it is called a decaf, decaf, where a person goes into.
		

			It's not seclusion, but they go into the masjid.
		

			And they will remain in this place of worship, with the idea of it, serving as a spiritual retreat.
For the person. There may be others with that person. But the idea is to develop taqwa and the
consciousness of ALLAH, seek the forgiveness of Allah and more than anything else, find the Night of
Decree or Laila to other.
		

			If les little country is said to be one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, most likely one of the
last odd nights from the last 10 nights of Ramadan, and most likely towards the end of the second
half of the last 10 Nights. So it would make it 2527 Perhaps 29. But it does not mean it's not going
to be the 21st sometimes even maybe the even nights according to some of the narration. So if the
21st Night sets in, as the sun is setting, and you're opening your fast, you go into the masjid, and
you make sure that you've taken whatever necessities you have, you're going to remain in the in
constant acts of worship for the next 10 Nights. It may just be nine if the moon is sighted, you
		

			have one day less and you still have a full reward of having had those last 10 Nights within decaf,
soy decaf, or holding yourself within a masjid for the sake of Allah with certain conditions, is
definitely a sunnah. It is sunnah to the degree that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him has
taught it some of the scholars actually say it is sunnah Alchi fire, which means the community
should have someone doing this decaf in the masjid.
		

			It's amazing because as you spend time in the house of Allah subhanho wa Taala
		

			the place of worship,
		

			your connection with Allah should be
		

			increased, it should develop. You're going to spend your time doing constructive things, you
minimize worldly activity. People ask, Am I allowed to take my mobile phone? The answer is yes, you
can on condition that you don't sit all night playing games, because then you're defeating the
purpose. But if there's a necessity, you want to find out something, perhaps someone wants to ask
you an important question. Perhaps someone wants, you know, you want to order a charity, or you want
to instruct someone to give a charity on your behalf or you want to make a charity nowadays, you can
do it from your phone on the mobile apps where you can send money and so on. So you would be
		

			engaging in an act of charity while in a decaf. What did you leave for I left only for necessity.
Number one, I leave if I need to relieve myself. Number two, I would leave if I need to pass or
shower. Number three, I would leave if the masjid doesn't allow me to consume food within the
Masjid. I can go out into the courtyard or to the nearest place to actually eat some food and come
back. And I will not waste time I'm not going to laugh and joke. I'm going to try to minimize
whatever worldly distractions usually distract me in my life. Similarly, I'm going to ponder over my
condition. Who am I? Where am I? What have I achieved? What am I achieving? What would I like to
		

			achieve? And what am I supposed to be achieving? All of this is part and parcel of the teachings
connected to this beautiful decaf. So if I'm pondering over my condition, and I realize my
weaknesses, I need to develop this I need to develop this you become a
		

			Once you have it, you could make a note of it, whether it is mental or on your phone or in a
notebook. And you could start planning how you're going to change the things you need to change in
your life. The bad habits you have. The decaf gives you an opportunity to be serious about it.
Although it doesn't mean that you need to wait for a moment of decaf in order to change your bad
habits that should be happening anyway. But I'm explaining to you the benefit of this decaf. You're
going to be reciting Quran you're going to be learning you're allowed to attend online lessons of
religious nature to expand your knowledge. You can listen to lectures, this is why I say you can
		

			take your phone with you, you can listen to something that is beneficial. You can have lessons and
so much more. You can even give lessons you can even talk to people in a group that may not all be
in the masjid with you, but through the technology that you have. If it is reminding them of Allah
and it is connected to something to do with your growth and Taqwa and something that's going to
empower them, then why not? It's very beneficial. So as you ponder over your weaknesses and so on,
and methods of improving what you need to quit what you're promising Allah that you're going to quit
this and so on. And you're increasing your prayer, your nephila, your voluntary prayer, your Sunnah
		

			prayer, and it becomes such that Allah makes it easy for you to soften up and change your life. You
change your life, you come out of that air decaf after 10 days and Insha Allah, so much goodness
will be showered upon you by the blessings of Allah subhanho wa taala. Similarly, your duties Unto
Allah, you start promising Allah, I'm not going to miss a prayer. I'm not going to, for example,
		

			bad mouth people, I'm going to abstain from backbiting. I'm going to abstain from abusing people.
I'm going to discipline myself, I'm going to control my temper. I'm going to make sure that I become
helpful. I'm going to do this and do that. These are promises resolutions that you are making. And
you you think about them, like I said, you jot them down and you make a note of them somehow, and
you constantly look at it. This is what I need to do for the sake of Allah. And I'm engaging in
vicar, all the Sunnah, acts that you can engage in the Subhan Allah Al Hamdulillah, Allahu Akbar,
after your prayers after your follow up the other ADKAR of the morning in the evening and you learn
		

			in you expanding your knowledge, you might want to spend time memorizing certain sutras and boronic
versus memorizing Hadith memorizing something important. You might want to spend some time learning
the meanings of the Quran. All of that is beautiful. When you spend those 10 nights in the caf, it
is life changing. And the best part of it is, you will not miss Laila to other by the will of Allah
subhanho wa Taala because the Night of Decree, which is said to be better than 1000 months, is one
of those nights and you're there every night worshiping Allah crying to him, engaging in voluntary
prayer, extra prayer, doing your acts of worship, promising Allah to change and seeking the
		

			forgiveness of Allah. Seeking the forgiveness of Allah is something unique that happens for a martyr
give a martyr give is a person who is in a teacup called a martyr give. So if you're a martyr, give
and you should be seeking the forgiveness of Allah and you're serious about it. It softens you, it
softens you in a unique way. And you become closer to Allah you feel his closeness. And you feel
that he hears you, he listens he, he responds. It's amazing. So this is a beautiful encouragement to
say, at least once in your life, you try out this decaf and engage and participate in it and see how
they will come a time when you will want to do it again. And again. I know in some of the mustards
		

			that I'm acquainted with, sometimes the same people come back for a decaf almost every year or every
other year. And one of the reasons is they have tasted the sweetness that they need to come back for
Subhan Allah Subhan Allah is just amazing. And you know when you read the Hadith that says Eman has
a sweetness that taste of it is such that when you taste it, you begin to enjoy whatever Allah is
instructed you to do. And you become such a beautiful person. You start becoming conscious of
others. Don't for a moment think that I've become holier than other people. Rather you be in
competition with yourself your old self. I'm a better person than myself yesterday. I'm a better
		

			person than I was earlier today. That's what an achievement is. And is if someone is engaging in
charity and reading Quran, you can compete
		

			Then in the sense that you tell yourself if this guy is reading one juice I'm going to read to, if
this guy is given $10, I'm going to give 20. If this guy's made so many nephila or voluntary prayer,
I'm going to do more. So yes, in that way you is the barcode hierarchy, meaning to compete with each
other in doing good deeds that's there. But you don't compete with each other in thinking that you
are holier than everyone else now, because that is defeating the entire purpose. May Allah Almighty
grant a strength to my brothers and sisters, seeking the forgiveness of Allah during Antica is one
thing. Similarly, I must introduce you to something you probably know I can reintroduce you to it.
		

			It's the most powerful dua that you can read, if you were to witness later. So I shall the Allahu
anha asked the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. If I witnessed this month, this Night of Decree
Laila to Qatar, so what should I say? He said, Say Allah Houma. INETA for one to Hebrew law for for
me, Oh Allah, you are forgiving. You love to forgive. So forgive me. That goes to show that the
biggest thing you could achieve from little forgiveness, freedom from hellfire. That's what it is.
And you ask for that forgiveness. Oh Allah, you love to forgive your forgiving you love to forgive.
Now to Hebrew alpha means you love to forgive. ponder for a moment what that means. Allah loves to
		

			forgive, no matter what you've done. He says, I love to forgive, you sinned, enough to forgive. I'm
going to forgive you seek that forgiveness and turn to Allah Almighty and see how Allah changes your
life. So here we go. My brothers and sisters, this is a beautiful encouragement, engaging that
decaf? Yes, you need to be in the condition of fasting. So you can't do this particular Attica,
outside of Ramadan has to be within Ramadan. It's a sunnah and you have to fulfill the rules and
regulations. Perhaps you can see some details elsewhere and learn a little bit more about this. May
Allah bless you all politically have a Salam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh Laila to cada
		

			reifying.
		

			Fish ah