Nahela Morales – Ramadan Making Sense Of It All

Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh welcome back to

another episode.

I'm gonna give it a couple seconds just so folks start connecting in

sha Allah and I'm able to share this out as well. So we'll start

in a couple seconds Bismillah

today we're going to be talking about Ramadan making sense of it

all. So hang tight and we will be starting in sha Allah

Salaam Alaikum everyone. We'll be starting in a few seconds.

I just want to make sure that we share this out with Nila and

All righty.

Okay, folks are connecting from the left.

All righty. So sit on a good water for the lucky Warahmatullahi

Wabarakatuh. Welcome back. My name is Nikhil Morales. And today we

will be talking about Ramadan making sense of it all.

For those of you that may not know, I'm actually a convert to

Islam, I'm Mexican American, and I live in Dallas, Texas.

Subhanallah

we are in the last days of Ramadan. And so first and

foremost, I want to say congratulations, my Brooke

felicidad is for making it here to the last days. And it's truly an

honor. It's a blessing from Allah subhanaw taala. Out of His mercy

He allowed us to reach another Ramadan and hopefully enjoyed it

and benefited. And so today we're going to talk about that

specifically, Ramadan and making sense of it. Where are we some of

us are, you know, more broken than others. Some of us are healing.

Some of us are in a quest, some of us are curious about this

religion. So today we're gonna touch on some of those issues or

topics. As far as what do we make of this month?

Are we leaving the same way we came in? Are we leaving empty

handed? Or are we leaving with more than what we came? And so

I want us to take a couple steps back and just reflect for a

second. How much did you benefit but don't be so hard on yourself

because I have heard that I actually work with reverts. And

oftentimes we are looking for perfection when perfection is an

attribute that belongs only and solely to Allah Subhana Allah. So

Allah is not looking for perfection from us. He is looking

for excellency. And so what did you make out of this Ramadan, we

still have nine days to go we are actually on the 21st day, which is

an odd day tonight will be the 22nd night. And so how are you

making the best out of these last days? So recently I heard

a lecture and the Sheikh was saying you know, sometimes we

start very strong at the beginning and then fizzle out or start

getting overwhelmed or tired, as the days are still long in some

areas, and so by the end of the race, we are exhausted. And so

that's what we want to focus on today in sha Allah that in these

last few days of Ramadan, we make the most of it the best of it for

us individually. So each and every one of us has different goals. You

know we are in different stages of our spiritual journey. We are in

different stages of our Islam, some of us or new into the faith

and are just learning or are celebrating our first Ramadan and

what did that look like for us so I know that most of us make a lot

of goals prior to Ramadan.

On the beginning of Ramadan in the middle of Ramadan, but are these

goals?

attainable? Are these goals really realistic? Are they realistic for

us. And so we need to make sure that as we are ending this month,

we don't leave empty handed, we don't leave with nothing at all.

And so one of the best ways to do that is inshallah to focus on four

things. And these four things, hopefully, and I pray to Allah

subhanaw taala, that we're able to carry them outside of Ramadan. So

whatever we are acquiring in this month, we should be able to take

it outside of Ramadan. And why is that? Well, because, you know,

normally, they say that it takes anywhere from 20 to 27 days to

gain a new habit. And so Allah has blessed us with 29 to 30 days. So

let's just pray that we're able to take something with us, before the

month is over in sha Allah.

I see there's a couple questions coming in. So I'll try to address

those towards the end. Inshallah, if that's okay with everyone.

And I don't see them here. Okay. So number one.

To be generous, you know, we're not generous, not only with the

people outside, but to be generous with ourselves. Sometimes we're so

hard on ourselves. And so we got to give ourselves a break, we got

to be merciful with ourselves, you know, the same mercy that we're

looking for from Allah subhanaw taala. That's the same mercy that

we should have,

you know, for ourselves Bismillah. And why is that? Well, simply

because

I hear this very often, well, you know, I'm not a good person,

because I didn't do A, B and C, or I'm not donating enough. Like,

today I got a message Well, I don't even have a job. And so

we'll talk a little bit about what that means when it comes to

charity. But for now, generosity is something that we should be

working on ourselves. You know, for those of you that are not

aware, Ramadan is broken down in through into three sections,

right, so the first 10 days of Ramadan, they're the days of

mercy, they're known as the days of mercy, the next 10 days are

known

as the days

of forgiveness.

And then finally, we are in the last 10 days, which are the days

where we are looking for Laila to gather, right? And so

let's be generous, let's be generous and generosity doesn't

always mean that you have to give money. Sometimes generosity means

that you are kind simply kind with yourselves, and forgive yourself.

So the same forgiveness that you're looking from, or you're

seeking to obtain from Allah subhanho wa taala. It's the same

type of mercy and the same type of forgiveness that you want to work

on yourself. So like I mentioned earlier, some of us came into

Ramadan, a little bit more broken than others. And so let's work on

that healing. And the best way to work on that healing is to work on

forgiving oneself.

And to be merciful and kind and nice to to one oneself. So number

two would be giving charity and so charity doesn't always come in a

form of finances or monetary charity comes in many forms.

Charity comes in your time, your time, we've heard the phrase Time

is money. And it is because our time is very valuable. And we will

be questioned about our time. You know, on the Day of Judgment, how

did we utilize this time did we make the best of this time did we

waste time. And so in these last 10 days, now nine, we want to make

sure that we're utilizing our time in the best manner.

And we're giving up this time in charity if we're not able to give

monetarily but if we are blessed with resources, if we are blessed

with a love giving us a wealth, we are also responsible to utilize

that wealth in the best manner. And I want to highly encourage

everyone whether you're going to watch it now or you want to watch

it later. Please share this video in sha Allah that giving charity

or sadaqa is a way to purify your wealth and we want to purify our

wealth as often as possible. Allah will

test us, even with our wealth and the Prophet says on said that

every nation is has a test right and is tested with something in

our nation his nation Rasul allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam this

nation is wealth, we will have wealth and we will not know how to

spend it or where to allocate it properly. And so it's very

important for us to get into a habit not only during Ramadan, but

even beyond Ramadan to Inshallah, make it a consistent

to give in whatever manner and capacity we're able to. So we want

to make sure that we give and Hamdulillah I mean, this page does

a lot there's so many beneficial articles and there's so many talks

and so it takes funds to

carry different operations and so we want to highly encourage you

during these nine days left inshallah nine, nine nights

laughter that you digging into your pockets and donate whatever

it is just make it consistent.

Inshallah, and may Allah subhana, Allah, you know, allow us to

always be of those who give for his sake, I mean,

so again, number one, we want to be generous. Number two, give for

the sake of Allah charity. And we understand that the Prophet

salallahu Alaihe Salam also taught us that charity comes in another

form, which is smiling, right, this is another form of charity.

So when we think of wealth, we only think of what we have in the

bank, or if we have a huge house, or if we have a car, the latest

car, the latest clothes, the latest purse, but your smile is

charity. And so, you know, I actually have a neighbor who's

very grumpy. And I always tend to smile, because you never know how

you're going to reach someone's heart. How are you going to, you

know, reach that individual, and you're not only giving charity

with your smile, but it's also a form of Dawa, right for them to

see, the way we carry and conduct ourselves as Muslims inshallah.

And so one of the things I always mentioned on here is that, whether

we like it or not, we are all ambassadors of this faith. We are

all ambassadors of Islam. And so the way we behave, our manners,

our character, they see us and they put us all in a basket. And

if we are not in the best behavior, then they don't say in a

halal they say these Muslims and so we want to be in our best

behaviors at all times. First and foremost, because Allah subhanaw

taala is watching us but also because everybody has eyes on us

as Muslims, especially, you know, if your attire is visible, that

you are a practicing Muslim, such as the hijab or for the brothers,

the poofy or a big beard or what have you. So let's never forget

that that we are a representation we are ambassadors of this faith.

And so we want to make the the best appearance when it comes to

dealing with our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity.

So in sha Allah

Okay, so Ramadan, to worship more and to compromise more.

Absolutely. I think that's very important. So number three, I will

highly recommend to set aside some time we call it the calf, some

people are not able to go to the mosque, but you don't necessarily

need to go to the mosque to be able to experience this, you can

do it in the comfort of your home. And you want to focus on that

relationship with your Creator, you want to focus on getting

closer to Allah subhanaw taala. spending quality time with Allah.

And during this time, in this place of comfort in a place where

it brings you Sakina tranquility, a quiet space, a space where you

can focus. You want to make sure that you focus on that one on one

connection. And the best way to do that is by speaking to Allah

subhanaw taala. After praising him and calling him by his beautiful

names and attributes, you want to go ahead and pour your heart out,

right and the best way to do that is by supplication do us. So make

your list of duas in these next few days and ask ALLAH SubhanA wa

Taala for them. Remember that he is closer to us than our jugular

vein. And so he is there just waiting for his servants to ask.

You know, there's been times where I've asked and it doesn't happen

immediately, but it happens at the time that he knows I'm ready to

receive. And so I was asked this the other day, Sister, why isn't a

law answering my doors? And, you know, I keep asking, asking and

not answering my duas. And I reflected, you know, sometimes we

are always asking, but are we in true submission? And what I mean

by that is, have we ever reflected on how is our salon? Are we

praying on time? Are we praying at all? Are we

praying extra prayers? Are we getting up in the middle of the

night to pray? And so when we ask Allah, we also have to reflect on

what are we giving? Are we being obedient servants? Are we?

Are we exercising the faith the way it has been prescribed to us?

Or are we tailoring it to whatever we wanted. And that's, I mean, I

want to keep it real today, because these are the last days of

Ramadan. And we don't know if we're going to make it to the next

Ramadan. And that's a fact because we have seen so many loved ones

leave, you know, and did not make it to this Ramadan. So you and I

are not promised tomorrow you and I are not promise, if we are going

to make it to next Ramadan. And may Allah subhanaw taala grant us

the ability to get there. I mean, but for the time being, we need to

focus on what matters and what matters is today today, what

matters is that we are being obedient servants and that we are

in full submission to our Creator. And that we try to practice the

Sunnah as best as possible. And so the question is, you know, when

you question Allah, why isn't he answering my duas? Are you? Are

you praying on time? Are you praying at all? Are you giving,

you know, if Allah is blessing you with wealth, or if you know, I

remember my grandmother, you know, she had a loaf of bread, and she

knew her neighbor didn't have anything, she would literally cut

the loaf of bread in half and send it to that other home. And so how

are we with our neighbors? Do we know our neighbors? Do we check up

on our neighbors?

There's an ayah in the Quran. And I forgot to bring my Quran but

it's in Surah Nisa, it's

Ayah 36, where Allah specifically tells us so it's chapter four, I

had 36, where Allah specifically tells us

ever, every one that we're supposed to be taking care of, and

our neighbors are mentioned there. So we're supposed to be kind and

generous and everything that I have mentioned, first and

foremost, to ourselves, because if we are empty, if our glass is

empty, how can we give out to anyone, right? So we have to make

sure that we are okay in order to then take care of our families and

then work towards our community and to organizations or

institutions, or a projects like such as about Islam, and we

contribute in the best possible manner. So do we know our

neighbors? Are we getting to know our neighbors? Are we give them?

Are we giving them the message of Islam? Not necessarily with a

pamphlet or with a Koran? But with our manners? Are we perfecting our

manners? Our character? Is it intact? Subhan Allah

the other day, I

Hamdulillah. Thank you. So the idea that I was mentioning it's on

the on the, on the comments. The other day, I went to pick up my

Iftar at this local restaurant. And there was a gentleman there,

and he was arguing because there it was late, right, His food was

late.

And so Subhanallah

he was arguing, and it really made me very sad. It made me sad,

because the first thing that came to mind was he's fasting. How can

he be treating this employee this way? Secondly, I said it's

Ramadan, we're supposed to be generous and kind to one another.

And so his food was not ready, you know, color of Allah, you are

supposed to exercise beautiful patience. And so it really it

really broke my heart to see this type of behavior in public. And,

you know, during this blessed month, and to one another, it was

a Muslim establishment holiday place. And so I felt really bad

and I apologized on his behalf even though I had nothing to do

with that argument. But I really felt bad for the cashier and so we

have to make sure that we treat one another also with respect, and

we're counting to one another

I'm Bethany law. So it's extremely important that we are always

checking on ourselves, you know, check yourself at all times. And I

always tell my son, I have a 16 year old I said, ask yourself two

questions before you make any type of decision. Or if you're upset,

you know, ask yourself first and foremost, would Allah be happy if

I did this, what I obtained the pleasure of Allah. And the second

question is, what our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa

sallam do this? Or do that or act this way? And if your answer is

no, he wouldn't, then there is your answer. You shouldn't be

engaging in things that are displeasing to our Creator. And

obviously, he sent the best man

to this earth and he is an example to all of us. So we want to walk

in His footsteps through his sunnah. And So may we be of those

that follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi

salam. And finally, you know, we are now in the last days and we

are seeking for Leila together, you know, which is worth 83.4

years or 1000 months. And so

let's focus on, you know, bringing out the best in us in everything

that I mentioned. Whether it's through generosity, through

charity, through your connection and your relationship with Allah.

Finding that space turning off social media for a while, picking

up the Koran, even if it's one idea that you're reading, you

know, Allah, again, is not looking for perfection from us, he is

looking for excellence, try to work on that excellence within

yourself.

It's not always easy, but it's not impossible. It's not impossible

because we were created to worship our Creator, Allah subhanho wa

Taala and so I want to leave you with those four things inshallah.

And let's, let's always remember that you know, if we're going

through hardships if we're going through any type of storms, if

we're going through any type of trials, look at them as blessings

as lessons as what am I going to get or what is a lot trying to

tell me with this in my away from Allah and so he wants me to come

close to him. And so if any calamity brings you close to

Allah, you are of the successful right you have succeeded, but if

you astray and you go far, far away, then really we need to check

we need to check ourselves so let's try to revive the Sunnah

I mentioned this before don't try to implement something you're not

doing without doing what is

a call acquire from you obligatory such as your salon. You don't want

to pray you know, Santa if you're not praying fun, so you want to

make sure that you you remember all of this and so

is there an easy Ramadan? I'm gonna try to read some of these

Let me see.

Here please, I don't understand that question.

Is Ramadan to worship more and to compromise more? Ramadan is the

month of the Quran Ramadan is the month of

rejuvenate our Eman. Ramadan is the month of charity. Ramadan aid

encompasses so many things, everything that I talked about

today, Ramadan, we should we shouldn't walk away empty handed

during Ramadan.

You know, one of the things that I always I always tell the river

community is even if it's $1, even if it's whatever amount just make

sure that you're banking on your head out because that's

essentially what we're doing when we're doing any good deeds here.

We're really banking on on our hereafter. We're working towards

that. And so we will we don't want to leave empty handed during

Ramadan and we don't want to leave empty handed.

You know when our books are closed and when we leave this dunya don't

ever get too comfortable here my beloved brothers and sisters,

every single one of us has an expiration date, every single one

of us will taste death. And so let's strive focusing on our

hereafter

and live this life as travelers as our beloved Prophet sallallahu

alayhi wa sallam has recommended us to do so with that. I ask Allah

Subhana Allah to bless each and every one of you to accept

you're fasting to accept your Ibadah your worship to accept your

good deeds.

I ask Allah subhanaw taala to give you good health and to take any

calamity away. I ask Allah Subhana Allah for patience and hikma

wisdom, and anything that you're asking for, this is the time to

ask our Creator Subhanallah he will be handy Why should Allah

Allah take care of yourselves until next time, Salaam Alaikum

Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh