Riyad Nadwi – What is Ramadan Really About
AI: Summary ©
The importance of fasting, healthy eating, cleanliness, and staying true to one's values is emphasized in Islam's sermon for forgiveness and closeness. The sermon uses body language to describe the heart's power to change one's life and references a book called the Jannah to encourage people to visit the Goddamn place. Islam's sermon also emphasizes recognizing Allah, learning about his behavior, and sharing his (presumably forgiveness) ideas.
AI: Summary ©
Assalamu everyone. Thank you all for joining, obviously, obviously,
it's the fact. So I know a lot of people are tuning in from home. So
thank you for making the time to join today. Obviously, the purpose
of this talk today, we're very blessed to have shahrad here
online to deliver this talk for us today. Of course, we're we're
joining to because it's tomorrow. Potentially, it's the start of
Ramadan. Obviously Ramadan come so quickly. Subhanallah, I remember
the last one. It's come the years gone by so quick. But you know
Subhanallah well, almost at another Ramadan. But you know,
sometimes when a lot of people you know ask us, you know, what is
Ramadan, especially non Muslims, you know, often the result the
answer is, you know, oh, it's a month where, you know, we fast, we
don't, we don't eat or drink water. We don't eat or drink water
from break of dawn to sunset. But you know, subhanAllah Ramadan is
much more than that. You know, it's a month full of virtue and
full of rewards. And it's not, it's a month where, you know,
there's so much blessings in it, and it's a great opportunity for
us. So the purpose of today is, obviously to learn a little bit
more about Ramadan, the virtues, the value of the month, and what
we can do to sort of maximize our award. So with that, I will pass
it over to Sheik
and Inshallah, we will be able to benefit and take something
from it today.
Inshallah, Alhamdulillah. Similar
Alhamdulillah,
Alhamdulillah to Asmaa Muhammad in A diary in a cool While, while
early he
was happy He is ministry
body.
Video
To
while
me Ramadan
lady,
become
a
all become a
URI to become
a bill.
What is this guy? Buddy?
What
either? Okay, but I
wanted brothers
and
sisters.
What is Ramadan really about?
The answer to this question might seem obvious to most of us, and if
we were to ask people what Ramadan is really about, then the majority
of us will give the textbook answer, the the answer that we
find on the tongue of everyone's Ramadan is a month of fasting,
forgiveness, tarawi, et cetera.
But if we attempt to ascertain the answer to this question through
the behavior of people in Ramadan, instead of their statements about
it, through their behavior, by looking at the way we allocate
time and the way we allocate resources, then we find that there
is a whole range of understandings and perceptions of Ramadan,
because just knowing the correct answer of and what is perceived of
that particular question in the heart are entirely two different
things. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, and I will
man that knowledge are of two types,
that knowledge on the tongue and knowledge in the heart.
And the knowledge on the tongue is proof against you.
That it is but the true knowledge is the knowledge that the
beneficial knowledge is the knowledge in the heart. And as we
know, people are prone to acting on the basis of what is in the
heart. The heart is what dictates whatever we have in the heart that
will influence our behavior.
Now, Ramadan, in the modern world,
can be, as I said, a whole host of different things to different
people. Some people see it primarily as an opportunity to
lose weight, and for others, it's a business opportunity. For some,
it's the Muslim equivalent to festivities, to Crystal Christmas
festivities, or a time for celebration and merrymaking, as we
see in the Arab world today, is that it has become a Ramadan is an
opportunity for seeing new TV dramas. Even the word Ramadan is
being used as an adjective for drama. When Abu zubila drama,
Ramadan here, it's still felt Allah. And of course, there are
those who see it as an opportunity to gain forgiveness and closeness
to Allah, but together with that, we also find these people also see
Ramadan as a season for serial feasts. Instead of a month of
fast, it becomes a month of feasts. The feast was supposed to
come at the end of the month, as in Eid. But now every day of the
month is a day of feasting. Allah subhanahu wa taala says that
yakuto ama, who that when he praises the one who fasts, he
says, yatura kutah mahu, that he leaves his food, he leaves and for
that, I will give a special reward, that special joy that He
will get from seeing my reward yet that he leaves the word yaku. He
leaves, he abandons, he gives up, he leaves his food. It's not just
a meal time rearrangement exercise, where, before Ramadan,
we used to eat three times a day, and now in Ramadan, we will switch
to eating four nights, four times a night, and probably with double
the calories. That's not what ya Turok means. What he leaves his
food as for the Hadith which says that the sustenance of the
believer is increased in Ramadan, which is the Hadith, the only
Hadith we seem to remember about Ramadan, we need to ponder on what
is the purpose of this hadith? What? What? What is? What are we
being told here? Is it to facilitate more indulgence in
gluttony, or is it to facilitate generosity? Did the Rasulullah eat
more in Ramadan, or did he give away more food in Ramadan? Of
course, he gave more. He gave away more. He gave more charity in
Ramadan, as we are told in Hadith, it's kind of ajwadiness that
rasulallah was the most generous of people. What kind of ajwadi?
Akun fi Ramadan, and he used to be most generous in Ramadan. He
SallAllahu, alayhi wasallams used to be like the wind, like a
pleasant wind that is blowing and bringing gifts or one after the
other. That is how generous he was. That is how it is described.
Now, this idea of increasing or socializing and partying in
Ramadan is sadly, a result of something called the perky effect,
where we merge perceptions of two familiar phenomena seamlessly,
without realizing that we are doing it and living as we do in
this society, we have a high degree of familiarity with
Christmas festivities, Christmas dinners, Christmas socials. And by
seeing Ramadan as a as the Muslim equivalent to to these festivities
in some way or another, we can end up merging elements of one into
the other without realizing it. In fact, the mere idea of increasing
our our food content and our socializing in Ramadan is in it's
in direct contrast with the spirit of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in
which etikaf is prescribed at seclusion, secluding yourself away
from the world in the house of Allah, with Allah and Allah,
the Salaf Salah, the pious people in the past, they used to bid
farewell to their friends and families and I acquaintances in
Ramadan to mark their seclusion, for their seclusion for Quran and
the Quran as One. Scholar. He writes, he see, he explains.
He says, Ramadan, they used to bid farewell to their acquaintances.
Now I'm not saying that you should cancel your isa iftars and your
iftars in the mosque, which is sunna. I mean, and students are
poor anyway. So Sayyidina, you know the great Sahabi Abdullah, he
used to go and break his fast with the poor people. And if someone
came and said, Give me, give me your food, he would give it to
him. But to come back to the question, if we look at the Quran
and the Sunnah, so.
An answer to this question that what is Ramadan really about? What
we find is that it is primarily about two things. Ramadan is
primarily about two things. It is about curing the heart of clutter
and disease, and two training the heart for consciousness and
closeness to Allah for a consciousness of and closeness to
Allah these curing the heart and training the heart. It is all
about the heart. Now, why does the heart need curing?
We find that the curing for the heart. This focus on the need to
cleanse, cleanse the heart and begin to focus on the heart. This
starts before Ramadan. And you might have heard the Hadith
earlier in the month. In this month we are in in Shaban, that
the Hadith where rasulallah tells us that Allah, Subhanahu wa looks
at the entire creation. Allah, in this film in Shaban, in the middle
of the month of Shaban, he looks at all his creatures, and then
fire, and then he looks at them with mercy and with compassion and
with forgiveness, and he forgives except two categories. One was
well, Mushin the the mushrik is the one who ascribe partners to
Allah, the One who worship others than Allah. And the other is
mushain Al mushakin is the one who has ill will, who has malice in
his heart, hatred in his heart, for people, that person who has
diff who has these ill characteristics, who has ill
feelings towards people. He is supposed to cleanse it. So the
warning is to is to wipe your heart. Wipe your slate. Clean. Try
to work on emptying the heart, the spring cleaning. Clean the heart.
For for this bud bounties to come in, for the training to come into
the heart, we need a cleansing. So the the cleansing starts early, 15
days before Ramadan, he's saying that you have to do that before
then, because then you will start to gain forgiveness. We need to
cleanse the heart before these encrustations, fluctuations,
diversions, distractions, take over the heart, because the heart
is prone to ravagan. Yes, this is the heart is pros to rawagan.
Ramadan is here to help us with rawagan, which is a new word. You
might not have heard this word before that. It's a new Arabic
word you need to learn this word. It is a word that describes with
precision the mindset of modern human beings. Rawah Khan. Now let
me explain a companion of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi
wasallam asked him for the key to success in Islam. In these words.
He says, holy ya Rasul Allah. This is a
kuti ya Rasul Allah, fully Islamic. Coulin, who ahadin Lion,
that tell me something, tell me the key, key about Islam. Tell me
something. Give me Islam that I will not need to ask anyone else.
I cannot. I cannot ask anyone else about it, because this that you
will give me will be a key. It will be a succinct but a an advice
that I can carry with me. And rasulallah said, khul men to be
lahi to mastakim say I believe in Allah. And in other words,
establish your iman Thumma stocking. Then be steadfast
istikama. Now istakama is a vast it includes all the things that
you need to do, but remaining steadfast on it. Steadfastness is
the true meaning of this to be steadfast. As we are told in the
Quran Allah says, woman, woman, terrible
in who be my tamaluna.
So remain on the right course. Remain steadfast as you have been
commanded you and those who have turned back with you to Allah and
do not transgress. Indeed, he's seeing what you do. Allah is Allah
is observing you, and do not be inclined to those who have done
wrong. This is a very important statement. There's a very
important warning that you we don't, we don't take the guidance
from others. We take it from Allah. Wala tarkanu, ILA Dina
dalamu, Fatima sikumunar, do not be inclined to those who have done
wrong. Lease the fire. May touch you, may not touch you.
So what is istakama? Sayyidina Omar the Allah, and who explains
it? And he says, Al istakama and tekima al amriwan nahi, that you
should is to karma, is to remain firm, is to remain steadfast in
the prohibitions, in the command with the following the commands
and the prohibitions, wala, Taru, rawa, Rana, Salib, and that you
should.
Not swerve like the swerving of the fox. Now, if you've ever seen
a fox running at night, and you would have you would have seen
that it never runs in a straight line. It is always changing
directions based on which whiff of smell it picks up, sometimes,
left, right, right, right, left, left and in all different
directions. In other words, the navigation system of a fox is
muddled. This is this fluctuation, this moving from right to left and
left, left, left and right. You can be easily dragged. This
characteristic is known as rawahan, that you're dragged into
multiple directions. Now, for people, in the olden days, this
was in the context of mainly for engaging and thinking about the
lives of others you meet in the marketplace, that people you you
meet in the market. This is where the ravagnan used to take place.
But nowadays, in the modern world, people, people's minds are in a
constant frenzy as a result of being hooked on social media,
where every tweet, every tweet, every post, drags the mind off
into a new direction, a new stream of thought, even before you've had
the time to settle the previous thought, your mind is kept in a
constant frenzy, catapulted in disparate directions with
unconnected content, like a ragdoll in the mouth of a frantic
wild animal. Now this condition of rudderless fluctuation oscillation
is called ravagal, which is the opposite to istakama, which is
well, this strong sense of of direction. A person with ista
karma has strong sense of direction, a mind and a heart that
is subject to a persistent ravagan loses its bearing and forgets
where it's going. And another consequence to this is that the
heart suffers the ineffects of being dragged around persistently
can often result in the hardening and the encrusting of the
encrustation on the heart like like the rusting of of iron when
when water and wind touch it, is left exposed to wind, wind and
water. And as we know in Hadith, rasulallah said in her that
Verily, these hearts rust. They in they they become encrusted either
Asmaa that if, if it's left exposed to water, iron rusts, and
so does the heart. He's saying, if you left, if you left outside,
then, and the Sahaba asked him, Allah majela Uh, that, what is the
curing of this? What is the curing of such a heart? And in response,
he said, Castro to the real mouth, wakatura, tutila, watil, Quran,
that the curing of it, the polishing of it, the curing of the
heart, is in great amount of remembrance of death, remembering
of your direction, where you're heading, and great, great amounts
of recitation of the Quran. And Allah tells us reinforcing.
There's a reinforcement of this in the Quran where Allah says,
Yeah, meaning he will be rahmatihi Fabi. Then
mankind, there has come to you an instruction from your Lord, a
healing for that which is in your breast. That is when your heart,
in other words, guidance and the mercy for the believers, and say,
in the bounty of Allah and in the mercy, and in His mercy, in that
let them rejoice. It is better than what you accumulate, what you
gather. So the Quran as a cure for what is in the breast. In other
words, what is in the heart. This is the curing, the prescription
given by Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, for and
crustaceans on the heart. What two kasra to the krill mouth. Watila,
watul Quran, the great amount of remembrance of death and
recitation of Quran. And I want to,
let's ponder. I want to ponder on these two prescriptions. Take them
in reverse order. Let's talk about recitation of Quran. First, what
was the practice of Rasulullah, sallAllahu, alayhi wasallam during
Ramadan. Ramadan, as we know, is the month of Quran. The Quran was
revealed in this month. It was from the highest heaven to the
dunya, the heaven of this world, and then from there, piecemeal, in
23 years. But, but the month in which this Quran was revealed was
also the month in which Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used
to revise. He used to recite the Quran with Jibreel. Jibreel I
Salam, the angel Gabriel, used to come and he used to recite the
Quran. He used to read the Quran. He used to revise it with Jibreel.
And the Sahaba followed this practice, but first by reciting
it, they recite it in tarawih and also.
By reciting Quran in individually, in especially in this month, this
practice of cleaning the heart and polishing the heart in Ramadan
through the recitation of Quran in abundance, can be observed among
the pious throughout our history. Wherever you look in our history,
you will find it. Look at the lives of any of the famous
scholars, and you will find them reciting Quran extensively in
Ramadan. Because, why? Why did they do this? They understood
something about the effect of Quran on the heart, especially in
Ramadan. Take two examples. Take the example of the well known
scholar who we like to quote, Imam buchari. What was his routine in
Ramadan? He used to complete one recitation of the entire Quran
every day in Ramadan. Yes, the entire Quran. He would read it
every single day in Ramadan. And then we have even more than that,
Imam Shafi, who we know is the head of the Shafi school. Imam
Shafi Rahmatullahi, he used to recite one khatam in the tarawi,
that is for the whole month. And in addition to that, he would
complete 60 recitations of the Quran, 6060, entire Quran in the
month of Ramadan. And like these, like these scholars, there are
many, many examples, many
who people who read the Quran in one night. I know of several
colleagues in India where I was studying who would read the entire
Quran in tahajjud, the entire Quran in one Raka, and Suratul,
ikhla, Allahu Ahad in in in the second Raka. And please do not let
shaitan come and start whispering into your mind now, where? Because
there is a Hadith that says that we should not, we should not
complete the Quran in less than three days. But the scholars have
explained this. They've made it clear what was meant there, that
was meant. And I have, I have the explanation, the quote of Imam
ibraja. He says, Well, in the Quran, he
said that this prohibition is for doing it continuously like this
all through the year, for
dollar tea, as for special occasions of the blessed occasions
Ramadan, especially in the month of Ramadan, ah Leti util, Abu
fiha, Laylatul, other the nights in which you are seeking. Lay
little other then oh, the mechanic, faustinaman,
lid Zamani, that he's saying that for special places, for special
times, as if you are, you're going to Mecca, and you're, you do not
live in Mecca, but you're, you're in that place, then it is
preferable, it is desirable, to read lots of Quran, and this
hadith does not apply for those special moments. So polishing the
heart with an abundance of recitation of the Quran in Ramadan
is one of the ways of curing the heart of its encrustations, of its
rust, of its kaswa, of its hardening, of its raw
now I'm not asking you to follow the example of Imam Bukhari and
Imam Shafi, but at least, but you can make effort to read at least
one Jews every day in Ramadan, one or two Jews, and so that you can
continue with the pattern, with that pattern after Ramadan, the
the one Jews a day pattern can easily be followed. It will take
10 minutes after every salah, and you will easily cover AJs in the
day five daily prayer. And after, you set aside 10 minutes after
every salah, and you will finish ajus That was as far as the
polishing, using Quran for the polishing this month of Ramadan,
this month of Ramadan, which is the month of Quran for polishing
the heart, for curing the heart. The other is the krill mount.
Vikri mount is the remembrance the curing of the heart is to increase
sense of journey, the sense of going back to Allah, sense of
direction. And for this, the experience we have had over the
last two and a half years with the covid pandemic is useful. Useful
to think about it first, first when we heard about the virus,
when it was far away in China, then we were indifferent to it. We
didn't say, Okay, well, it's there. Yeah, fine, but, but as it
got closer and closer, that sense of danger increased in our hearts,
our our behavior began to change. As the sense of danger increased,
it it started to influence behavior. First, we began by
washing hands. Then as the danger got even closer, we decided that
we engaged in social distancing. And as the sense, we start sensing
the danger is even more than people wore masks in venture. In
the beginning, they said no. Masks will not allow what was what was
not necessary. But as the danger increased, the.
Behavior changed, and eventually we started taking vaccinations,
inoculations. Now, inoculations vaccine, the word for vaccine, for
vaccine in Arabic, is vikaya. Yes, is, is actually Taqwa vikaya is
from the same root as Taqwa waka yaki. In fact, one of the
explanations of kakwa, that the Ulama gave is and Allah, that you
should place a that place between you and the punishment of Allah, a
wikiah, a a shield, a protection, a barrier, and that shame, that
that's the same word that is used for, for vaccination, for
inoculation, the place between you and the punishment of Allah, a
shield, a a barrier. So the point being is that protective behavior
in the heart from the dangers of the next life lies in an
apprehension of the eminence of death, ie, the ever present danger
of death. We are all travelers in this world. Every life is a is a
journey. We are all travelers the in the words of the Prophet
sallallahu sallam, describing his own life, his life was
magnificent. Was the most magnificent life on the face of
this planet. And this is not my verdict. This is the verdict of
historians who are studying rasulallah who studied his life.
And they they, they contemplated him among all the famous people in
the world, and they came up with a conclusion that he was the most
influential person in all of history, Rasulullah, sallAllahu,
alayhi wa sallam, that life when he describes it. How did he do it?
How did rasulallah Describe it? He said dunya Illa Karachi bin is
that my life in this world is nothing more than like a traveler
who took rest on the tree for a little while and then he got up
and moved on. That is this. That's how he described his life. So what
about our insignificant lives? What about our lives? Our short
lives? No one can claim that death will not get them, that that
there's no that there, that there's no possibility that that
will death will find them. Allah warns us in the Quran, and he says
kulun When abulukum belhari fit natin wa Elaina, not every soul
shall taste of death, and we will test you, and we test you with
evil and good as trial. And to us is your return. So not only your
hardships are tests, but your good times, your good fortunes, your
happiness, is also a test. This is the world. This This world is
Darul Bala. It is the abode of test. So we should not be deceived
into thinking that, Oh, people who are disobeying Allah still having
a good time in this world and and they are actually getting away
with their disobedience. No, no, no, no. Allah tells us very
clearly in the Quran, he says, for the man, assume,
so when they forgot what they were, what they were reminded of
what, what they were commanded to do, and they forgot all the all
the guidance that we send. And they they, they rebelled against
everything. Then that we open the doors of every good thing to them.
They will enjoy life in this world. And when they rejoice, he
said, they will rejoice in what they will given. And then we seize
them suddenly. We will seize them. We seize them suddenly. And then
they will be in despair. All the riches in the world could not
purchase an extension of even one minute to the time of death, which
is booked. The Time of death is booked. The date is booked, the
place of departure is booked. The cabin crew is booked, the crew in
the cabin of the grave, who will ask piercing questions about Who
is your Lord? Man rabuk, who is your Lord? What is your religion?
Madinah, who is your prophet? Man nabiu, now, if we have lived a
life in recognizing Allah, in recognition of Allah as our
Creator, in recognition of the fact that Allah is Seeing us and
all knowing of what we do and acted on his command and on his
guidance, then Inshallah, we'll be able to give the right answers,
but if we fail at the first hurdle, then what happens? Say the
Osman or the Allah, and who used to cry when he passed the grave
and they asked him, they said, ABC. You mentioned Jannah,
Jahannam, you mentioned * and all other things, but you don't
cry. But when you come to the grave, you cry so much. What? What
makes you cry? And he said that in for in
najamin, who is that
the grave is the first hurdle, is the first.
Stage of the stages of the akhara. So if someone is successful at
this first stage of this first hurdle, then whatever comes after
it is easier, will be easier and easier and easier way in lemyanju,
Minh baguh, that where. But if he fails at the first hurdle, then
everything that comes after it is worse. So apprehending that sense
of danger is one of the ways of ensuring a change in our behavior
and an acceptance of the need for vikaya, the need for taqwa,
thinking of the eminence of death, the imminence of death, and not
being deluded like the person on the platform of the train station
who forgets about his journey and the things that he will need on
the journey, like his luggage and his money and his provision, and
instead, he decides to focus all his attention on redecorating the
waiting room on the platform. When the train comes and the officer
says, You must board and you have no choice, then he will not be
able to say, Oh, give me some time to prepare my luggage, but to
prepare my provision for the journey. Allah reminds us of the
scenario in the Quran. He says, spend in the way of Allah, from
what we have given you, spend your time and your wealth, what you
have been given before death comes to you. Fire, cool. Fire, cool. Or
a be Lauda, and he will say, we will say, what? Oh, my Lord, only
if you delay me for a brief moment, just a little bit, just a
little bit for us that I will then I will give lots of charity, and I
will now become pious, but walay, Allahu nafsan,
but Allah will never delay the soul when it's time has come and
Allah, Allahu Habib, karma Dun, Allah is fully acquainted with
what you do, the provisions, The things we need on our journey is
called zad. Zad in Arabic And Allah reminds us in Suratul
Baqarah, he says, What does zawa do for in the taqwa that prepare
your zad, prepare your provision and the best of provision, equip
your equip the best of provision you can prepare for your journey
is taqwa. What takuni And the best provision? So fear me, the best
provision that you can have on this journey, the best provision
for coming back to me, that breath, that best thing that you
can have on your journey, will be takwa. So takwa, the reason for
which fasting is prescribed, is the best provision for our journey
back to Allah, the best provision in the preparation for death, the
remembering of death is a curing and a polishing of the heart. And
so here is the connection between Ramadan, fasting, taqwa,
remembering death and polishing of the heart. Sahid na Ali or the
Allah. And who was asked, what is tapwa? And he said, tapwa is Al
how mean? Al Jalil, wala amalabi, tanzil wa rigail, Kalil will istir
de Leon Rahim, that Taqwa is having true fear, consciousness of
Allah, having Allah in front of you, that consciousness of Allah,
that Allah is watching me in everything I do, Allah. Allah sees
what I do. Allah sees with which intention I do. Allah sees for
What motive I do things Allah knows. So have that fear, have
that consciousness, have that heart that is thinking about that
rather than thinking about all the rawagan, the dragging in all
different directions and thinking about other stuff that that's the
first al hafum Jalil, well, Ahmed tanzil and obedience to the
commands of the book. Because this book is is your Savior. This book
has all the guidance that you need. Wabit. So Al Ahmed tanzil,
and then, well, what river kadil then? Because the thing that makes
you divert the things that we is that you we, we seek more and more
of the world. So he's saying Rida will is having, having River,
having contentment, having to be contented, to be contented with
whatever Allah has given you, whatever, whatever little you have
been given. In this world, this world is little. Everything in it
is little. And then finally, well, is there a Dadu, Leon Raheem, and
it is preparation for the day of your departure. Preparation for
your departure is taqwa that is so the link here is the preparation
for your departure that is part of Taqwa. So think about how many
people were with us last Ramadan who thought that they would live
to see many more ramadans ahead of them, but their time came now we
have no way of knowing. May Allah forgive them all and raise their
status and give them Jannatul firdos, all of our friends.
Families who have passed away within the last year. But we have
no way of knowing also, if we will live to see another Ramadan. We
need to make the most of this Ramadan, Omar radi Allah. And who
once asked ubayd niqab radi Allah, and who, what is Taqwa? And he
said, Yeah, Amir al meaning
that, oh,
I mean, oh, leader of the faithful, oh, Amir, meaning, have
you? Never, have you? Have you? Have you not traversed the path
with thorns in it? Have you then walked in a in a place where there
are lots of thorns? And he said, Yes, of course. What he said, What
did you do? And then Omar said that I
shamro and satay wanduru ilamawa. They are kadama shok. He said that
I gather my clothes. I pull my clothes up. I gather him close to
me. Look very carefully where I put my foot. I step forward with
one foot and and I step aside, I step backwards, to avoid being
pierced by the by the thorns. And then, when he heard this ubayd
niqab, who was very intelligent, Sahaba, very knowledgeable,
Sahaba, he said, he said, Tilka. He at Taqwa. That is taqwa. That
what you are doing is taqwa. You are being how having a sense of
the dangers around you, the dangers of the thorns that are
trying to pierce your mind and pierce your heart, to drag it
*, to skelter in all different directions, is taqwa having that
sense of danger, having a sense of journey, having looking where he's
going, where, where, where there's caution. And with every step
you're you're cautious and and be careful where you place yourself.
It is that is also Taqwa Ramadan is about disconnecting from the
clutter. It's about disconnecting from the the clutter of
interaction interactions, the rising above the deluge of worldly
pursuits. It is a release from incor stations of the heart that
pile up over our interactions, over our social interactions, our
worldly distractions. Ramadan is about reconnecting the heart. It's
about reconnecting the sense of the journey towards Allah,
training the heart to be focused
on the fact that Allah is Seeing you. Allah in his infinite mercy
and compassion, created a controlled environment for this
training better than anyone would, even for a child. When you're
training a trial a new skill, you control the environment. You you
make sure that they do not have the challenge is not too big.
Allah is concerned about our hearts. Allah is concerned about
your heart. We should be more. We should be concerned about our own
hearts.
The devils are chained, the gates of heaven are flung open in
Ramadan, the gates of * are slam shot, and there is an extra
pouring of countless mercies and offerings of forgiveness His love
and care for our hearts can even be seen in the language he uses to
convey his command for fasting.
Allah subhanahu wa is Lord and sustainer of the worlds, creator
of the heavens and the earth. He has the might and the right to
issue plain and direct commands. He does not need to take into
command, take into consideration what's what we are feeling. He is
He has power and control and ownership of us, of everything we
do and of all all that we own. He can order us,
and we must obey. He says, kun faun be and it is yet when it
comes to Ramadan and ordering us to fast, how does he speak to us?
He addresses the topic with the softness of language, full of love
and compassion and care for our heart first, to make it soft and
easy for us to sake it. He knows he's caring for our heart. He sees
he's looking. He's saying to understand. He's explaining as if
to say, do not feel that you're, you're being you're you're being
picked upon, that you're the only one who's having to fast. He's
saying that I prescribed it on those before you. You know my
teacher, Sheik al Hassan Ali Rahmatullahi. He commenting on
this verse, on these verses, he says, lace
and Jeff and mujarradin, kalkani, well, Marasi, LATAM, Illa, Allah,
Robert is here see, well, it's the Maria and let it akumab For the
well, hakuma that they said that these verses, which include the
command of fasting, are not mere dry legal orders like the like the
language of government, legislation that focuses only on
the links between policy and society, and it has no concern. It
has no no no reference or concern for how you will feel about it, or
what about your heart. But he's saying, in regard to this, he says
in the head, he a.
It. But these verses belong that. These verses are on the contrary,
on the contrary to that even though it's a legal ruling, it's
a, it's a, it's giving you, it's giving you orders, it's a command.
But these verses, he says to heartibu that bilaxim in darik,
tukhati will Emani will akihatibul, Iman fee, waktin Wah
these these verses. They speak to the faith. They speak to faith
belief. They speak the mind, they speak the conscience, they speak
the heart and your emotions all in one. He said, What a Theo kuludig
Kulu dari that it's feeding all the needs, all in one and by so
doing, he said, well, and in this that, he says, Wagga had to hide
the kobuli. Had he heard
why he be well? Istig Bell, well, stick belly. He be not shot in
wahammad that he says, he says that
it feeds that this, these verses are so concerned that Allah is so
it's caring so for so much, for your heart and for your feelings,
that he's feeding all your needs and doing it in such a grand way,
so that you he's laying the groundwork for you for acceptance
and for following the command, and even for welcoming it with zeal
and joy. And this, he says this, that this is in the areas that
this is a mark of immutability or inimitability of the Quran. And
it's, it's a that it's an example of the fact of the jurisprudence
of calling people to Islam. He said that it's, an ertf that is a
reference for the understanding of human psychology,
Hakim, and it's an example of wise prescription. And then he goes on,
he says to me, who lays a imtihan. And then Allah is explaining
further. He's saying that, look, this is not just a test wala
shakat and LASA warah past, and he says that this is not just for for
for putting you in marriage. It's not just for putting you in
difficulty without a goal behind it. He's saying in the WHO real
water, be a tun Isla, what is key? Wamada, rasa to Hulu, that this,
that it is not it's not merely a test, but it is to put to put you
in the it's not to put you in difficulty without a goal behind
it. Allah subhanahu wa explains that it is that this fasting is an
exercise, it's a training, it's a correction, it's a curing, it's a
schooling in good conduct and character, for which you will
graduate, he said, from which you will get graduate, yet for Dylan
kamilan that the you will graduate with virtue and
capacity. Zimu washawati, he yamali Kuna, that you will have
control over your own reigns, your own you will learn to control your
desires. Instead of being in the control of it, being in control of
your desires, you will control he's saying, what that and and it
goes on. He says that you you lowest total either. Anil
mubahati, watery Turkey will Muharram at that when you are
when, when you have control, when, for after being trained to resist
and avoid things that are normally permitted, that are normally good
and permitted, like your food and your water, etcetera, you will be
strengthened in your ability to resist and to avoid the haram. He
said, Okay, for haram, that how a person when, when you are trained,
you'll be trained for this. So leaving, leaving the bad things
that could dulubi, Sahira Hawa, kabiraha is a definition of Taqwa.
Leaving of sins is a definition of taqwa, like Ibn Al Martel says,
Khalid dulu, Khalid dunub, Sari Raha wa kabiraha For, whoa, taqwa,
leave, he said, avoid all sins, small and big. Of it is taqwa,
leaving, avoiding all sins, small and big. Of it Khalid dunuba, Sari
Raha wa Kabir Raha for, who a taqwa, what's not commercial of
the shoki, yahuma, Yara and be as a walker upon the Thor a thorny
ground. Be as a walker upon a thorny ground, cautious of
everything before it, whatever you see so and then Imam
rabal Hassan Rahul, he goes on. He says that look at how will I? And
Allah is then again, addressing it, but trying to make sure that
you don't feel overwhelmed. Then Allah is softening it further, and
he's saying that you should not take it's not that. Look, this is
it is only a Yama Ma. Do that. It's Don't, don't let it. You
don't have to feel that. It's long and heavy burden on ending, he's
saying a yamaguda, it's only a.
Few days, only a few days a year. Do that, a few days, just a few
days. Then then you have the rest of the year to eat whenever you
want. And also don't feel that you have to do it. And then it goes
on. Allah is again going on. He says that, look
a yamamah, do that. And then that you, you will do it for for a
little while. And then you just now, and had a animal, Maria, that
if you're ill, then he says that, look, if you're ill, then you do
not have to do it. And if you're traveling, you do not have to do
it. If you're incapable, you do not have to do it. And
then Allah goes on in these verses and says he's telling you about
the virtue of this month, he says, Al mantiladi, this month in which
the fasting is prescribed, the annahu, shaharu, shahru, nazal,
AFI Hill, Quran, that the Quran was revealed, and what, what a
momentous moment was that that was a moment kind of a Jadin lil Jill
in sunny it was new life. It was a revival. It was a renewal, with a
renewal of renewal of hope for mankind. That was what happened in
this month with the arrival of the Quran. That is reminding us that
this month of Quran, this is the month of Quran, just as the Quran
renewed the guidance to mankind, Muhammad Hayat in Jadid al
bachara, that it's, it's the basis for a new type of human being, a
human being that recognizes Allah. He says that the so it is that
this renewal and this genuine spiritual life on the face of the
planet was revived with the arrival of the Quran. So for a
Muslim, should this month be to renew and revive your iman, to
revive, to revive your inner spiritual self, to remind to
revive your heart through cm and pm and Quran. And then Allah
reassures us again that he wants ease for us and that he does not
want us to put us into difficulty. What does he say? You read Allahu
bikumal, use that Allah wants ease for you now you read, and here you
see the
compassionate language emerging with caring for your heart. Allah
is caring for your heart. That is why he's saying you read Allahu
bikumal, use that he wants it for he what's how you feel, how you
will feel about it. Allah subhanho wa Taala has made this training
season for us as easy as it can be in both the language he uses and
Oh, and also through the many favors and gifts, extra gifts that
he offers you in Ramadan. He gives you the gift of protection from
shaitan by chaining the devils. He gives you the gift of Rayyan, the
special door in which you will be allowed to enter paradise. It
gives you the gift of two joys, joys and break, a joy in breaking
the fast, and the joy on the Day of Judgment when you meet Allah
and get that special reward.
It will be the day that the the the gift of barakah in Soho, the
gift of gaining special bounties, special gift, special blessings in
the morning meal, the increase of the increase of reward, the gift
of increase in reward, the gift of full forgiveness. The gift of
time. Yes, the gift of time in a world that is time, famished.
Everyone today is suffering from a shortage of time. And here Allah
is offering you the possibility, offering you the opportunity for
82 years to be added to your life. That is 82 years of worship can be
added to your book of deeds. All you have to do is spend the nights
doing the right thing instead of gaming and TV drama and feasting
and socializing. We need to spend these nights with PM, with Quran,
with dua, with vicar on the tongue, with thicker in the heart,
which will secure you. Lila til Qatar, if you spend the nights
correctly. When we are asked about, when we ask, you know if
you are seeking favor from someone, if you're seeking a
favor, and you go and it's a big favor, there's usually a hesitancy
in the heart to say, Well, I'm not sure if I should ask for such a
big favor. Will he give it? Will he not? Will he respond favorably?
And Allah knows this. This is natural human reaction in the
heart. So Allah is telling you that if you find a little Qadr in
the Knights of Laila to Qadar, on the nights where Laila tu Qadr is
possible, when you are praying, what he instructed us with a DUA,
a DUA to say, what is the dua? Said Allah in the Kaafu, one that
you are. You are the Forgiver. You forgive
in the Kaafu and Karim tohe bolafu, you are kind and tahit
bulafa that you love to forgive. Please forgive me. Now. Who are we
saying? Why are we saying this? Why are we instructed to say, You
love to forgive. We love to forgive. Did Allah forget that he
loves to forgive? That we have to remind him? Allah doesn't forget.
Allah did not forget that he Allah did not.
Forget. Allah did not forget that he is loving. It is we who are
being reminded in the sentence that look, Allah loves to forgive.
So here again, he is looking, he is looking at what would create
hesitancy in our heart to ask forgiveness, to ask to seek that
forgiveness. He is great. And so he is reminding us, he's making us
repeat that sentence that Allah loves to forgive, so that when we
ask it, we will have yakin mukhi, nunabil ijebati, that we will have
yakin at the way. We will have certainty in the heart of
forgiveness in the same way how he asked us, in the same way as he is
he, as he has instructed us through the Prophet, salallahu,
sallam, to seek, to pray, to make dua. When you make dua, he says
you
should ask Allah unto mukino, Nabila ijabati, that you should
ask Allah and have firm belief in your heart that Allah will
forgive, that Allah will will cleanse. Allah will accept your
your your forgiveness, so Allah subhanahu wa does not want you to
be hesitant. Allah wants you to ask but fully obtained with full
certainty in your heart, not to have any hesitancy that look that
Allah loves to forgive. Once you know that Allah loves to forgive,
this is his kindness. This is your this is the kind Allah who is
instructing you, look at the language we talked about. Look at
the language. The language is all of a loving, caring, Allah,
loving, caring, Lord, who knows your reactions. He knows your
feelings, and he's dealing with them point by point. He's, he's
looking at every aspect of your of your heart, and he's saying,
taking care of all of this, he's taking care of every aspect of it,
and he's controlling the environment. He's giving you
etikav. He's giving you the opportunity to have seclusion with
him, reciting Quran, to have to be secluded in his house, to stay in
Allah's house for 10 days and ask for forgiveness if we stand in
front a person's a human being's house for one whole night and and
beg for something. The more by the morning they are, the hearts might
become soft. Allah subhanahu wa ishim, he will not turn us away.
So spending time, spending time in Ramadan, spending using this time
correctly, not to waste the time of Ramadan. As I said, we don't
know if we will live to see another Ramadan. And so to make
use of it, to make use of this this time. And remember the
practice of the Salahi, the practice of the biased people.
They use this. They used it to polish their hearts, to clean
their heart with the recitation of Quran, so don't waste time. You
know, the scholars say that I thought the Ashdod al mouth that
the wasting of time is even worse than death. And why is that?
Because they said that anka adunya walahala, the death cuts you off
from this world and your family, but wasting of time either Atul
wakt taktanka, a
that
wasting of time cut you off. Cuts you off from Allah and your akhar.
That is what wasting of time does, so not to waste time to make sure
that all these bounties that are available to us are used in the
correct way. Who are focused on the heart for the curing of the
heart and the training of the heart in fasting. That training is
that every time you feel the pang of of hunger or the thirst pushing
you to eat something or to drink something, and you are and you
remember that Allah is looking at me. I can't do this, but Allah
will see me even if I'm alone at home and there's no one around, I
will not eat because my Allah is looking at me that remember, and
that that month long training should then have an effect on the
rest of the year, that that consciousness of Allah should
build, that taqwa, that sense of knowing that you are going back to
Allah, there's no escape. La Manja awala, amanja, mean, Allah, He
Allah, Ilahi, you cannot escape from Allah. You cannot get away
from this, keeping and reflecting on the words of rasulallah about
this, about the fact that Taqwa is in the heart Taqwa that, and this
is one Hadith that I want you to keep in mind, because we're living
in a time of fitna, where confusion and despair is
everywhere, and we often find Muslims trapped in the confusion,
challenged by things that are unclear, by gray matters. They
say, you know, they they end up saying things like, oh, things are
not clear. There are multiple opinions. There are difference of
opinion. And so I don't know what to do. Some people say this. Some
people say that, what do you do? And what you must know is that
Rasulullah, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, the Prophet, did not leave
us in this kind of dilemma without a solution to it. He did not leave
us without a ruling to find.
Know when we are fine, we find ourselves confronted with these
gray matter issues. His ruling in this is in this hadith. And the
hadith is
and Norman Ibn Bashir in God, the Allah, and who called Father
Rasulullah. He was salam al halalu bayin, well, haram obahyn, that
Halal is clear, and Haram is clear, prohibited and permitted
things are very clear, what you want, but you know who am. And
then between them, there are some unclear things, the gray areas.
Not very many people know it. Not many people are familiar with with
the details of it and how to deal with it. And he says that and and
here is the ruling of rasulallah, how you should act, what you
should do if you happen to find yourself in such a situation.
Pamanit tapas shubhu hat is tabarah lidin He wahiddihi, and
the one who avoids the one who avoids the doubtful things, then
he has guarded against. He has protected his religion and his
honor. He's blameless. So if you accept the ruling, the guidance of
rasulallah to that this is his verdict, that when you are, when
you are doing, when you when you are faced with such a thing. Then
the advice, the ruling, the the path that you should take is, is
the is, the is to, is to protect your deen woman, Waka AFI shuba
hat. And then he goes further to say that if you land into, if you
go into these gray areas, Waka afil Haram, that you will end up
in Haram. Karahi ya rahaul, alhima you Shaku Ayur ayorta, that is
saying like a shepherd who takes his animals on the border of the
boundaries, he will, he will cross over fee Allah in nalikulli
melikin him that every king has his boundaries. WA inahim Allah,
wa inahimalahi, maharima Hu and the boundaries of Allah, subhanho
wa taala, his boundary in his kingdom, Kingdom is ala that this
is that Allah, that is maharimo, the things that he has prohibited,
these are his boundaries Allah in Nafil jadi. And then it's come
back to our topic. The hadith says Allah, well in Nafil jesudi, that
there is a piece of flesh, there's an organ in the body. ALA, feel
just as verily that there is a piece of flesh, there's an organ
in the body, either Salu hat, Salah, Salah Al, just that if it
is sound, then the entire body will be sound, waida, fasada. And
if it is corrupted, fasdlu, and the entire body will be corrupted.
If it's corrupted, Allah,
Verily, it is the heart focusing on the heart. This is this word.
So finally, this word, these words where usula Salam is saying a
taqwahana atakwaha una at the location, location of the of tapwa
is in the heart. Allah cares about your heart, so you should also
care about your heart. Fasting in Ramadan is a training in the
avoidance of Ramadan, in the avoidance of the in the avoidance
of helter skelter for touring and Frenzy around the world without
recognizing, without causing you to forget your direction and your
responsibility. Reciting Quran is a curing and a polishing for the
heart, and Taqwa is the best provision for your journey. And so
what is it? Walamu, when, when you get that best provision? Why is
this so, why is taqwa the best provision? Because this Quran, the
Quran itself, was sent hudalil muttaqin, Alif, lamim, dalibu,
hudan. This book is, is hudalil muttaqin. This book is for the
mutakin, for people of Taqwa. And then he says, for the walamu and
Allah muttaqin, that know that Allah is with the people of Taqwa.
Allah is with you if you have taqwa, if you recognize Allah, if
you have Allah in your heart, if you are conscious of Allah, if you
know, if you have that sense of journey towards Allah, then wala
muhanallah, muttaqin, know that Allah is with you. And then
further we are told for the next life this glad tiding, the glad
tiding is was a miracle become Abu Asmaa, what you will write that
little and hasten to forgiveness of the from your Lord. You know,
Rush Go, run towards the forgiveness that Allah has for
you. Allah has for you, and hasten towards, go forth. Rush forth,
towards the blessing the the.
The Jannah that Allah has for you, the heaven that Allah has created
for you that is vast, that is so vast, as vast as the ardu, has
some virtual outlets, as vast as the heavens and the earth that is
from between the sky and the earth. And then all of this
magafira And Jannah is prepared for whom, or that little muttaqim,
it is prepared for you. So this Quran is for you. This Quran is
for people of taqwa, the Quran and the maya of Allah, having Allah
with you on your side is also for the muttaqin and Jannah is also
for the muttaqin. So may Allah, Subhanahu, wa taala, grant us
forgiveness in this month of Ramadan, and cure and purify our
hearts from the deluge of these worldly pursuits and train our
hearts
to have Taqwa all times. This is a blessed moment. It's a blessed
time that Allah is giving us an opportunity again, to to change
our lives, to change the direction of our lives, to cure our heart,
to train our heart. Let's not waste it. Wasting it is where,
where you think, where you misconceive you, you misconstrue.
What the meaning of Ramadan is, what? What is the meaning of
Ramadan? What Ramadan is all about. It is not the equivalent of
a festive season that we see others celebrate. It is something
special. It is something that is focused on the heart. Allah has
sent it to rectify us, to enlighten us, and to revive, to
rekindle the Beauty of iman in our hearts. Let us pray Amen.
My,
my mean Jill, he will namin, who am When I would become
in
Jimena, sherik.
In a
ra, ra,
ra, Allah, open
our
hearts.
Clear. Oh Allah, open our hearts, cleanse our hearts, cure our
hearts. Oh Allah, forgive us. Oh Allah, forgive us in this Ramadan,
Ya Allah, Oh Allah, forgive us and cleanse our heart and train our
hearts. Oh Allah, fill our hearts with the mercy and the compassion
with which you have spoken to us, Oh Allah, fill us. Fill our hearts
with the light of Iman and with the light of yakin, with the light
of certainty, Oh Allah, fill our hearts with the consciousness of
you before us, Oh Allah, fill us. Fill our hearts with the
consciousness of of knowing that you see us and that in front of
you we will stand and you will confront us on the Day of
Judgment. And we will have to give. We will have to give account
for the time spent here. Oh Allah, bless us so that we can cleanse
our heart with Quran. Ya Allah, Oh Allah, allow us the opportunity in
this Ramadan to punish our heart, Oh Allah, allow us to focus our
heart in this Ramadan. Ya Allah, Oh Allah, open. Open the bounties
that you have blessed, that you have blessed this month with, into
our hearts, open us. Open the the opportunities that you have placed
in this month for us in this month, open it in onto our hearts
and make us focus on our hearts and do not, and do not let our
habits, our habits take us away.
From benefiting from this month. Oh Allah, Oh Allah, make us
abandon all the bad habits. Oh Allah, make us abandon all the all
the bad habits so that it does not continue in Ramadan. Make us
change our lives in this month. Make us connect with Quran. Oh
Allah, make us connect with your book. Ya Allah, Oh Allah, make
make the make the polishing of our heart through this Quran that you
have sent, Oh Allah, makely. Make it happen this Ramadan, Oh Allah,
we have between tried many Ramadan. Make this one, the one.
Make this Ramadan, the Ramadan through which you will punish and
change the direction of our hearts and take us on the right
direction, on the right direction without Ramadan. Allah, Oh Allah,
protect us from Ramadan in this Ramadan, ya Rabia, Allahumma Salah
ala Muhammad, I Muhammad come as Ibrahim, by the early Ibrahim in
nakhid Majid, Allah Baraka, Allah Muhammad, by the early Muhammad
come Ibrahim. Why the early Ibrahim in Hamid. There
was a lot
of gems to take from that, you know, seeing Ramadan as a means of
spiritual renewal, not just as an isolated month of worship. So may
Allah and it was to reach Ramadan and make the most of it. I just
like to say it for everyone else who's still listening. Obviously,
this Ramadan, you know, handler, is the first one that we're going
to have, obviously, for the people that are still in Oxford, that
we're going to be able to, you know, share Iftar together in the
PR and sort of RE, have that sort of community gatherings again. So
Inshallah, you know, once Ramadan does come, if we're blessed enough
to be able to see it, please do come, share Iftar together, pray.
Tarawih, there. You know, it's nice community. It's nice time,
especially general, Ramadan, the communities
get together to share the
love with one another and make the most of this. Ramadan, so remember
me in your doors. Ramadan Mubarak, please.
Please Please make dua for me as well. Inshallah, I will try to
remember you all in dua. Inshallah.