Sajid Ahmed Umar – How to bid Ramadan Farewell
AI: Summary ©
The importance of praising Allah and the use of his name is discussed, along with the need to be grateful for his gift and not be a believer until the end of the day. The importance of calibration during the upcoming holiday period is emphasized, along with the importance of acceptance of Islam's deeds and the sadaqah. The speaker emphasizes the importance of avoiding mistakes and giving charity to receive the sadaqah. The history of Islam is discussed, including the use of "hasn't" and the result of "hasn't."
AI: Summary ©
O servants of Allah and O children of
Adam,
we begin
as we have been taught to begin
in the name of Allah
whilst praising him. We praise him, we seek
his assistance and guidance,
and we seek refuge in him from the
evil of ourselves
and the adverse consequences of our deeds. And
we testify
wholeheartedly
that whomsoever he guides, subhanah,
none can misguide.
And whomsoever he misguides, subhanah,
none can guide. And we request praises and
blessings
upon our master,
our teacher, the final messenger,
Muhammad ibn Abdullah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam. I bear witness that there's
no one worthy of worship besides 1 Allah.
He is 1 in his worship,
and 1
in his lordship, and 1 in his names
and attributes.
And I testify that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
is his messenger.
My dearest brothers and sisters in Islam,
I began the khutbah by praising Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala who revealed
a yamanmaadudat.
He revealed
the statement,
the instruction,
a fixed number of days.
And this instruction was revealed
in connection to the command
in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
made obligatory
upon the ummah of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam
fasting,
and it became listed
as a pillar from the pillars of Islam.
I also began by praising Allah, the one
who said
that you will complete
these fixed number of days.
And then you will raise Allah's
name in mention with the takbir.
For the guidance of Ramadan
that he brought to you
and the inspiration,
the health, the ability,
the iman,
the Islam
to
pull through true to the command that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
levied upon you. Not only did he command
you to fast, but he permitted you to
fast. He assisted you to fast.
And you will do all of this in
your attempt to be grateful to Allah
And grateful indeed
for Ramadan
is indeed
a gift, and not just a gift, but
an unprecedented
great gift. A gift that demands
a gift that necessitates
a show of gratitude
after a show of gratitude.
O servants of Allah
and o children of Adam,
I stood in front of you at the
beginning of Ramadan,
during the 1st Friday of Ramadan,
on this mimbar,
at this point in time, during the Jumah
Khutba,
to inform you of a guest that had
just knocked our doors,
and a guest that knocked our doors with
gifts that were truly
unprecedented,
a guest that we
understood not only to have gifts, but gifts
containing within it gifts.
So deep was our understanding of the reality
of Ramadan
that we announced unashamedly
that it is Al Kareem. It is a
month that is generous, and we said Ramadan
Kareem, and to each other, we congratulated
each other by saying, Ramadan Mubarak, congratulations
to you for receiving
the guest called Ramadan.
As I stand in front of you today,
at this moment,
on this Friday,
at this Jumu'ah,
on the same spot that I stood a
few weeks ago, I say to you o
servants of Allah
that our guest
is set on departing,
it's about
to pack its bags,
its tickets
are booked, in fact its boarding passes
have been printed.
We only have, subhanallah,
a dwindling
set of moments with our guest.
And such is the life of this world,
but a believer is one that takes with
him from the temporary
to the perpetual.
A believer isn't one that fits the mandates
of the verses that Allah revealed in the
Quran.
The verses of regret, as we see in
surah al Imran,
Allah reveals about the people of regret.
On the day when everybody shall find present
before him, whatever good he did,
and whatever
evil he did, he will wish there would
have been a white space between him and
that day, meaning the day of qiyama.
Allah warns you about himself.
Allah warns you about your standing in front
of him. Allah warns you about the coming
of the day of qiyamah.
And Allah is ra'ufun bil Ibad. He is
compassionate
to his servants.
So here we see, O servants of Allah,
that mankind regrets loss in the dunya.
But as I've said to you before, when
we discussed Ramadan,
that if the people of the grave had
one wish,
then their wish would be to be brought
back to life to experience
just one day and night of the month
of Ramadan.
Whilst mankind,
on top of the ground, before the grave,
regrets only the loss of the dunya, The
people of the graves,
they regret
missed opportunities
to take to the akhirah.
They regret the misdeeds
that they did when they were alive. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala also says in the same
surah, surahul an'am,
al
Losers indeed.
Losers,
those who are in a state of loss.
Losers indeed
are those who deny the meeting with Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala until
the hour takes them, strikes them by surprise,
then they will cry, woe to us for
having ignored this, ignoring the message, ignoring the
opportunity,
ignoring the proposition,
ignoring the deal that was set in front
of us. Woe to us for having ignored
this, but they will bear the burden of
their sins on their backs.
Evil is indeed
the reality of their actions and evil indeed
is their burden.
He says,
in Surah
So that no sinful soul will say on
the day of judgement, in the context of
Surah Zumr, Allah is revealing guidance, And then
Allah explains the guidance, that we reveal to
you this guidance, so that no sinful soul
will say on the day of judgment, woe
to me for neglecting my duties towards Allah,
for neglecting that fast, for neglecting that night,
for neglecting that Ramadan, for neglecting that sadaqah,
for neglecting that moment with the Quran, and
the list goes on and on. So that
no sinful soul will say on the day
of judgment, woe to me for neglecting my
duties, my duties regarding Allah, my duties towards
Allah whilst ridiculing the truth. No doubt this
is with regards to the disbelievers.
But what is the case with the believers?
Those who have a greater right to Allah
than the disbelievers.
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
yes, Ramadan is leaving, and I don't share
with you these verses to strike fear within
you. But as I've said many a time
from this mimbar, in this masjid, throughout the
nights of Ramadan,
It is only a message of calibration.
It's not a message of disassociation.
I'm not one to stand in front of
you to present to you doom and gloom.
And who am I to do this when
the Sharia
is merciful from a Lord who is merciful,
who gives us a month that is merciful,
days that are merciful, nights that are merciful,
a fast that is merciful.
Who am I to come and present to
you doom and gloom? But we are an
Ummah also that recognizes
that we don't progress by sweeping
weakness,
by
sweeping loss of productivity,
by sweeping mismanagement of our time under the
carpet. This is an ummah that appreciates
the English
saying, take the bull by the horns. The
message is none but a call towards the
necessary calibration.
During dwindling moments,
moments of an opportunity, subhanAllah,
that we may never ever see again. No
one here
knows the list that Ramadan will come with
next year, and whether our name will be
on that list. If our parents' names will
be on the list, if our children's names
will be on the list, if our names
will be on the list, if our loved
ones' names will be on the list. So
this is a time for necessary
calibration. And Ramadan, as I said to you,
is Kareem, is generous, a month that is
merciful.
And not only is it merciful in its
coming, it is also merciful
in its ending
because of this message of calibration.
That Ramazan is here to tell you that
my bags are about to be packed, and
my tickets are booked, and my boarding passes
are printed,
meaning the matter is final, the matter is
final. And this is a message of mercy
to you, O servant of Allah, and O
child of Adam, that just as I have
come,
based on the mandate of a yamamadudat,
a fixed number of days, you too exist
as well upon this idea of a yamamadudat,
a fixed number of days.
Ramadan came, and Ramadan will go. And it's
telling us that you have come, and you
will go. So with this knowledge, oh, servants
of Allah, let's not
weaken, let's not become disabled with the remaining
moments that we have. Alhamdulillah,
we still have 4 nights to come. And
what will make us understand the reality of
these nights? And not only 4 nights, tonight
is the 27th night, and another odd night,
29th night, Nights that the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam
taught us even more when he said search
for Laylatul Qadr. During the last 10 nights,
He was more emphasized
when he spoke about the last
odd nights during the last 10 nights. And
Ubay ibn Ka'ab, regarding the night that's about
to approach us, may Allah give us life
to see tonight. He swore by Allah that
the lay that laylatul Qadr is the 27th.
And the scholars, they have a discussion between
them. Does he mean 27th during his year
because of his searching? And this is most
likely the case because thereafter, when they asked
him why, he said because of the signs
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam taught us,
and he saw the rising of the sun
meet the description shared by the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam. The point is that
according to the sahaba,
27th
was a night in which the night of
power, and decree
and virtue settled in. And what will make
us understand
the reality of this night,
That indeed we revealed the Quran during this
night of power and decree and virtue. That
this Quran touched a night, and this night
will be the greatest night
that the world has ever experienced.
The night of power and decree and virtue.
The night of the Quran. So great is
it, Allah says.
What words can be used? What description can
be given? What idea can be pitched to
help you understand
the reality of this night?
The night of power and decree and virtue
is not equal to a 1000 months, but
greater than a 1000 months. It brings to
you an unprecedented
value proposition,
the ability to live more than 83 years
by just experiencing 1 night. And for a
believer living more than 83 years is about
building Jannah, the building of more than 83
years for just living through a night. Wallahi,
o servants of Allah,
I ask you, who can gift you like
this?
Who can gift you a gift that demands
from you a few hours of worship and
the reward is beyond the hours of worship
that you have given? And even in those
few hours of worship, the weaknesses that you
experienced in your worship, Allah will forgive you
for them, and Allah will reward you the
rewards greater than 83 years. Who can reward
you like this? Oh
mankind.
What has put you in the deception of
your Lord who is kareem, who is generous,
who is benevolent, who is virtuous.
Fasawaka,
fasawaka, faidalak, He created you, he shaped you,
and he made you upright, and then we
can add to it. He brought you the
month of Ramadan, a month in which the
gates of Jannah are open, the gates of
the hellfire are shut, a month that comes
with an act of worship that separates us
from the hellfire,
the distance of 1000 and 1000 of years.
A month that comes to you with the
night of power and decree and virtue and
all other acts of worship, subhanAllah,
that we focus on in Ramadan. Some acts
unique to Ramadan that don't exist outside of
Ramadan, like the tarawih that we experienced together
after the salatul Arisha, in jama'ah, in congregation,
and so on and so forth. This is
the reality, subhanAllah,
of the days that remain in front of
us, of the month that has been presented
to us. So my dear brothers and sisters
in Islam,
let us utilize what remains. This is a
call from the mimbar towards action. This is
a call from the member towards focus. This
is a call from the member towards prioritization.
Nothing else should matter. We need to be
in that race. The race to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. The great race, the blessed race,
the welcomed race, the perpetual
race, where we're racing to Allah through deeds
beloved to Allah seeking out Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala at every opportunity
at every cost
Sleep isn't important.
Food isn't important. Your job isn't important. Your
children aren't as important. Your spouses aren't as
important. This is the time to bring everyone
together.
Upon a common understanding
that the family as a whole understands that
we are on a mission together to be
a family in a great Jannah together. Let
us help each other to be closer to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala during these days and
during these nights. It's not just ayaama ma'adudat.
It's not just days that are numbered in
number. Really, it's moments that are numbered in
number right now. This is what we're dealing
with. We're really dealing with pens and pennies
now, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
in terms of the days and the moments
that remain. So this is the call from
the mimbr, from a heart to a heart,
from one who loves you all for the
sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. My call
to you is not for me. My call
to you is for you, oh, servants of
Allah. So take this message in the spirit
that is being shared. May Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala accept what has passed of our month.
Forgive what has passed. Accept what has been
completed. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept our
deeds with his mercy, for indeed we had
weaknesses in our deeds, And may Allah
bless us in what remains. Ameen.
O servants of Allah
and O children of Adam,
from the moments that remains,
from our blessed month,
and the acts of worship specific
to our month
is
Otherwise known
as Zakatul Fitr.
And this is a charity that's unique to
Ramadan. And from the wisdoms of it,
is so that
we are forgiven for our mistakes therein.
And from its reasons, is so that we
recognize
the unified nature of our month.
That as we eat on the day of
read and that is a day in which
it's forbidden to fast,
We make sure
that there are people from this Umma that
don't have to fast on that day.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
he stipulated
sadaqatul
fitr upon the suhabah,
and he listed it as a measurement of
a saa'a.
And a saa'a
is a fiqh measurement
that denotes a unit of volume,
not a unit of weight, and that's why
we have different understandings in terms of what
weight represents
a saw.
And as we know, my brothers and sisters
in Islam,
when we talk about a unit of volume,
it's natural for weights to differ because it's
dependent on what you place in that space.
Whether it's wheat, whether it's rice, whether it's
dates, depending on what you place in a
unit of volume,
that will dictate
the eventual measurement in grams
and kilograms.
But to facilitate things for us, our scholars
have looked at
various
staples
in our time
and connected it to what was a saw
in Al Madinah, in the city of the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
and they concluded
that it is between
2.1
and 3 KGs, depending on what you give
for the sake of Allah
as sadaqatul fitr.
And a safe way would be to base
it on 2.5.
I have seen different scholars making things easier
for us here,
and they've looked at
eventual avenues to distribute the sadaqah tul fitr.
And based on this, they've done the measurements
and given you a pound price.
I've seen prices range
from £3
to around £5.50.
This sadaqatul fitr has to be distributed
and given
to the entity, the stakeholder that has a
right to it
before their Eid prayer begins in the country
that you are in. It's very important brothers
and sisters in Islam. Many a time we
make a mistake with regards to this Ibadah
right at the end of Ramadan.
And the prophet
said, that whoever completes the sadaqah
before the Eid prayer, then it is sadaqah
tul fitr, and they get the rewards for
it. And whoever does it after them, they
get the rewards for a general sadaqa.
Now ideally, sadaqa tul fitr is given where
the body is.
Whilst zakah of wealth is given, ideally where
the wealth is.
And many people ask this question, where do
I give the money? You may be in
Blackburn, but then you travel to Saudi for
umrah, for example. Should I pay in Blackburn,
or should I pay in Makkah, for example?
The general principle
is sadaqatul fitr follows where your body is.
And the zakah of your money, the compulsory
pillar of Islam, zakah, is given where your
wealth is, meaning where the poor living there
see your wealth. So give them from your
wealth because they see your wealth.
And sadaqatul fitr is where your body
is because people will see you celebrating Eid,
they will see your body enjoying it, they
will see you as a person enjoying it,
So they should have the ability to celebrate
the Eid as well. Now obviously, this is
if it is possible.
We live in different circumstances and different situations,
and
the facilities from the different charities have been
set for you all. The point is,
if you are distributing
your sadaqahatul
fitr, it is upon you to let the
charity that you use know
that your idsalah will be most likely on
Wednesday morning, meaning by Tuesday night it should
be given,
Or better, Monday,
and you can also do it by Sunday
night, meaning 2 days before, Eid.
So if Eid is on Wednesday, aff1. If
Eid is on Wednesday, then you can distribute
it on a Monday and a Tuesday. It's
important to let them know. In case the
distribution is happening in a place where their
Eid is on a Thursday,
for example, and it's only going to be
given to them on a Thursday, you have
to let them know that my body, myself,
I will be celebrating
Eid on this day.
And most likely this year as we said,
because as Allah set the sun and the
moon in motion,
Allah has set the sun and the moon
in motion based on the events of this
motion this year, Eid most likely,
we say most likely out of respect with
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it will be on
Wednesday. Because on Monday night, seeing the moon
is not possible, and Allah knows best because
of the time of its birth. So we
will fast Tuesday.
So it's important to let the entities that
you use know that before takbir for Eid
is done, Allahu akbar fathasalatul
Eid. Where you are, your sadaqatul fitr reaches
the necessary stakeholder.
This is with regards to sadaqatul fitr, and
I wanted to share this with you before
the end of this khutbah because many a
time we make a mistake about this.
Last but not least, oh, servants of Allah,
and again I don't share this hadith to
make you fearful.
I share this hadith
as a means of calibration. In fact, it
is a hadith of mercy and hope if
you ponder over its meaning.
On a Friday,
once upon a time, the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam ascended the mimbar.
But this time it was a different ascension,
For he took a step and he said,
ameen.
Then he took another step and he said,
ameen.
And he took another step and he said,
Ameen.
The Sahaba radiAllahu anhu ajumeen,
who observed
every motion,
and moment,
and movement of the Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,
they caught onto this, and they immediately
asked him at the first opportunity.
We noticed you said Amin 3 times, You
Rasulullah.
Is this a new instruction from Allah?
Is this the new etiquette when ascending the
mimbar?
And the prophet
said, no.
But rather,
today when I ascended the mimbar Jibril descended
from the heavens, and he made
3
duas. From them
was the dua,
that may Allah's curse and downfall be upon
a person
who witnesses their parents in old age, and
their parents pass away
without them gaining the rewards of having served
their parents in their old age.
To this,
He said, aami.
He said, and I'm not saying it in
order,
may Allah's downfall be upon the one who
hears your name, Muhammad,
and doesn't say sallallahu alaihi wasallam. He doesn't
send salutations upon you.
And to this the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam said, ami.
And then Jibril said,
may Allah's downfall,
may downfall reach from Allah a person
who witnesses the month of Ramadan,
and the month of Ramadan leaves them
without them being forgiven.
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, Ameen.
Subhanallah.
I pondered over this narration for
a period of time.
Now what's going on here?
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was sent as
a mercy to the worlds,
a mercy to the worlds.
Even after Pa'if,
when he was given the ability to have
a people crushed
for stoning him,
he chose for them to be preserved.
He was a mercy to the world.
What would make the mercy to the world
say Amin to this dua?
About a people who witnessed the month of
Ramadan,
and the month of Ramadan leaves them without
them being forgiven. Why would he say Amin?
SubhanAllah. When Ramadan is for this Umma, for
his Ummah, for the Ummah of Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasallam,
why would he say Amin?
And the only conclusion
that I reached was
because of the nature of the month of
Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan is so merciful,
to an extent beyond our ability to describe
and imagine.
That only the one
who says, Yeah, Allah, I don't want to
be forgiven.
They won't be forgiven. So may Allah's downfall
be upon the one who says this when
Allah brings to them a gift like no
other gift. That Ramadan is so merciful
that even if by mistake
you tried to be forgiven,
it is a month that you will be
forgiven. This is the only conclusion we can
have, my brothers and sisters in Islam. Such
is the reality of our month. So, oh,
servants of Allah, stand up for you, Lord,
and get forgiven.
Meet the day of read being freed from
the hellfire
with sincere
confirmation,
sincere confidence
in your heart
that I'm experiencing the first of Shawwal
as a newborn
child.
I asked Allah to forgive me, and Allah
has forgiven me. I prayed the nights, and
Allah has accepted it. I fasted the days,
and Allah has accepted it. Then meet the
day of Eid, having good thoughts about your
Lord, subhanah, o servants of Allah. Through this,
I introduce you to the mercy of your
Lord, and I wish for me, and you,
and our parents, and spouses, and children, and
the Ummah at large, our loved ones, the
oppressed ones, those who are ill, and those
who have passed away,
a complete forgiveness during the salamat.
And I ask Allah upon us a complete
reward
with the passing of this Ramadan.
I ask Allah to make this Ramadan our
best month ever. To make us from amongst
those that stood its nights, and fasted its
days, and stood the night of power and
decree and virtually the turqadr, iman and wahdisaban,
believing in him,
and with confident hope that Allah
will accept it from us, so that Allah
forgives our possums.
And I ask Allah to make us reach
the day of Eid, being a people that
witness the night of power, decree, and virtue.
And I ask him, you Allah, to make
us a people who reach the day of
read,
as a people who are successful,
as a people who have written to be
from the people of taqoo, the
objective of Ramadan, aamin, You Rabbilahalamin,
And ask Allah
not to make this Ramadan our last month,
but to bring to us many many more
Ramadans
whilst we are in good health and a
good state of
iman and faith.