Sikander Hashmi – Embracing Ramadan KMA Friday Message
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We begin by praising Allah
who has
once again brought us to the blessed month
of Ramadan.
And just this fact, my brothers and sisters,
that we are here
in the month of Ramadan,
on the 1st Friday of Ramadan,
inside this house of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
This is a tremendous blessing.
This is a tremendous blessing, and we have
been given a tremendous opportunity
to actually be able to witness once again
this month filled with the love and the
mercy and the forgiveness of Allah
and filled with gifts by Allah.
Imagine that you were out hiking one day
and out in the woods, on the trails,
something glittery caught your eye. And you went
closer,
and you got closer, and it glittered even
more, and it was shining, and you picked
it up, and you realized that it's a
beautiful diamond.
And then you're excited now. You're energized. So
you continue forward on your track
and you see something else
and you see a gold coin and you
think maybe someone very wealthy has gone through
here with a lot of gems with a
hole in their bag dropping all of this.
And then you see something else, a ruby,
and you see silver,
and you cannot believe your good fortune. Your
mind is racing that I just came on
this track on this hike to the woods,
and I'm finding this gold and the silver
and this ruby and these diamonds.
And you don't know who put it there.
You don't know how much it's worth. In
your mind, you're thinking it might be fake,
maybe it's a trap, maybe it's a social
experiment,
but just the prospect of the value of
the things that you're finding on that hike,
on that trail keeps you going and going
and going. And you realize that you have
hiked past your regular spot, and you continue
going on though because
you think in your mind, maybe I'm going
to buy I'm going to find something more.
So my brothers and sisters,
for the believer,
the month of Ramadan is somewhat similar.
Because Ramadan for the believer is a gold
mine.
What is it? It's a gold mine. It's
not a burden.
It's not a month of torture.
It's not a month of,
you know, it could be diff it could
be difficult, but it's not
a month
that is seen
with negative eyes and negative attitudes, but rather
it is seen as an opportunity,
a tremendous
blessing,
and a gold mine. So you see my
brothers and sisters throughout this month,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has planted for us
many many opportunities
like precious jewels.
So it's like you have 30 days of
hiking
and each day you have numerous
opportunities
just totally packed with blessings and benefits.
You're fasting,
you're hungry,
you're thirsty,
but there's no other reason for doing that
than seeking the pleasure of Allah
You sacrifice
all these needs and desires
only
for your Rabb, for your Lord, no one
else.
And you think that Allah
will let that pass
without being noticed?
Do you think that you will abstain from
food and drink and intimacy and all the
other things that you're used to doing and
enjoying
from dawn till sunset?
And that Allah
will just leave you like that.
Every act of the child of Adam is
for him
except Asriam, except fasting,
which is exclusively for me, and I will
reward him for it. And the commentators explain
the commentators of hadith explained that the other
actions,
the other good deeds.
If a person wishes,
he or she can do it to show
others,
can do it for impressing others
or for, you
know,
purposes
which
are not good, right? With bad intentions.
Not to please Allah
and we talked about
few weeks ago about showing off.
So all the other actions can be done
so that a person is called someone who
is generous. So that a person is called
someone who recites Quran very well. So that
someone is called
a person who is pious
but not fasting.
Because fasting
cannot be seen and thus it is exclusively
for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
I cannot look, we cannot look at anyone
right now and say this person is fasting
and this person is not.
Maybe by the end of the day, you
know, by looking at your face and how
tired you are maybe, but still it's not
a surefire way of knowing if someone is
fasting.
So this is for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
alone. In another hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam tells us. Right? That or rather the
hadith Qudsi goes that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
rewards each good deed and multiplies the reward
by 10 to 700 times or even more.
Okay. So 10 to 700 times is already
mentioned
and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, except
for fasting.
Except for fasting
for it is for me and I will
give the reward for it. Meaning that the
reward for this fasting
will be even greater than 10 to a
700 times or more. It's something which is
much much much more greater than that. And
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is capable of all
things
and there is no shortage
in the treasures of Allah
when
he rewards to people. And he rewards his
servants
without
any counting.
Allah
can give
without any without any account.
So this is the case for this fasting.
This is how special it is.
You can think that it is an expression
of love
or closeness, Allah
You know, when the sacrifice
or a gift
is for a group of people, it doesn't
have the same effect.
When somebody sends you a greeting,
Ramadan Mubarak,
and they go on WhatsApp, they go
send. Okay? As opposed to someone who sends
you a message with your name. Is it
the same?
No. There's a difference between the 2.
So similarly the actions, when a person does
an action
and they do it maybe
70% for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala but there's
some other motivations there.
Yes. It's not the same as an action
which is done solely and only and only
for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So that is
what is special about
this
fasting.
So Allah wants
us to give something up for him alone.
But Allah
being so merciful
has put benefit in it for ourselves.
So he is not
only, you know, going to give us a
very special reward, but inshallah, there's going to
be a great surprise as well. There is
going to be a great surprise
and all this hunger and thirst and tiredness
that you may feel and sleeplessness that you
might feel,
it will be
way worth it.
When you say when you see the reward,
Insha'Allah,
in Jannah,
you will say, oh, this was it. That's
all I had to do?
I wish I had spent many more Ramadans.
I wish I could have fasted much more.
So I think I have even greater reward.
Right? So insha'Allah Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, then
he accept our fasting and he grant us
the most beautiful of rewards. Ameen.
My brothers and sisters,
you see,
we are people, human beings, all of us
who are Islamically adults, we are sinners.
The human being
is made in a way that we will
commit sins.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala accepts this from us.
He accepts He he expects that
we are going to error and we are
going to sin. Right? Because that's the way
he has designed us.
Rasool Allah has designed us in this way,
but he wants us to try our best.
He wants
us that after we have made mistakes that
we are repentant.
He wants us that we are not arrogant
after committing mistakes.
This is the example that we get from
Sayna Adam alaihis salam.
That when he made the mistake,
he wasn't arrogant about it.
He didn't argue with Allah
which is the opposite of Iblis
because that's what Iblis did. He made the
mistake,
he did not recognize the mistake.
He argued with Allah
He fought with Allah, which is a very
silly thing to do of course,
and he was arrogant.
He was from the arrogant. So we learn
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't expect perfection from
us, but he expects humility
and submission
and repentance from us.
And thus with fasting, we have this opportunity
as well as the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam has told us.
That the person who observed fasting during the
month of Ramadan. Now here's the interesting part.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam did not
say, Mansama Ramadan.
Nah.
Mansama Ramadan
in the state of Imaanu Ati7.
First of all, in the state of Imaan.
This is the foundation of being rewarded for
your good deeds.
To have iman.
So we always constantly need to work on
our iman to make sure that our iman
is solid.
Because whatever comes on top of that, that
is how it's going to be judged.
So if the iman is,
you know, so so, then the actions that
build up on top of that, they're also
going to be so so. Right? So when
we are fasting we have to ensure that
we are working to build our iman. I
mean not just during fasting, generally we need
to make sure, but especially
a person who fast in the state of
iman, in the state of perfect faith.
And while seeking its reward from Allah
So having a good expectation for this action,
having a good expectation from Allah
That what I am doing is not purposeless.
This fasting that I am doing, it is
not without purpose, it is not without meaning,
and it will not be without reward, inshaAllah.
So have good and high expectations from Allah
but not out of arrogance.
Not out of arrogance. Right? But out of
love and out of belief in Allah
k? So fast with iman and expecting a
good reward from Allah
Then insha'Allah, Allah
will forgive your past sins.
Our brothers and sisters,
not only does fasting
break our desires and our bad habits,
it lessens the chance of us being punished
and increases
our,
forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. But on
top of that,
it also grants us a special protection from
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Every slave of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
who fast for one day, one day for
the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Allah
will draw
him or her further away from the *
fire to the extent of a distance to
be covered in 70 years.
How many years?
70
years.
Okay. And if we do that but times
30 days, right? We're talking about 2,100
years. SubhanAllah.
Okay? So this again is the good expectation
of reward that we should have from Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that insha'Allah, insha'Allah
will accept from us. May Allah accept from
us. And insha'Allah, if He accepts, He will
grant us this reward, insha'Allah.
Of course,
it makes us more thankful and appreciative.
And when we become more thankful, Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala gives us more. This is one
of the secrets of getting more from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
If you thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will give more.
If you reject Allah, Allah's not gonna give
you more.
But if you're grateful to Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala And by the way the word kufr
is used in both ways, it comes in
both ways. 1 is to reject faith,
but the second is
the kufr of the niyam of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala which is to reject the blessings
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and not to
appreciate the blessings of
Allah Right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us
that if you are grateful,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will increase.
But if you reject
if you reject what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
gives you, if you reject what Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala has sent you, then Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala warns us of a painful punishment.
May Allah protect us all.
So it makes us more grateful when you
have that cup, that glass of water,
or you have the most basic and simplest
of food that normally you may not even
care about. But when you're hungry and you're
fasting and it's time for sunset,
and you do your fad and you break
your fast with that, it tastes good.
It brings a, you know, like a tickle
to your mouth.
Why? Because
now you've become grateful
after spending all this time not eating or
drinking.
And when you appreciate, you will think of
those who have less, you will think of
charity,
and subhanAllah,
Allah multiplies
it 10 to 700 times,
even more one narration 70 times
So it's packed with so much virtue.
You offer
in 25 times more reward, times 70 times
or more.
1,750
times more.
And if you have to squeeze a bit
and it's tight and it's hot, insha Allah,
greater reward.
Because any trouble that we have to go
through, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rewards us for
that as well. Right? Nothing goes unnoticed by
Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. We offer
a qayam. Same as fasting. If you offer
qayam in in in Ramadan, you stand at
night in prayer
with iman and expecting reward from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Insha'Allah, again, your sins are forgiven.
Insha'Allah. And
we get another bonus, and that is that
the
the
the the extra prayers
are bumped up
to the reward of Fard. Insha'Allah.
Okay?
So you get extra reward for offering these
extra prayers.
You offer salatul fajr in Jama'ah. So you
did a isha in Jama'ah, then you did
fajr in Jama'ah. So the prophet told us
that a person
who offers
in it's as if they have offered half
the night in prayer.
They have stood half the night in prayer.
And the person who then offers fajr salah
in
it's as if they have worshiped the entire
night.
So this is on top of the qayam
that you're already doing. So it's bonus upon
bonus upon bonus inshallah. You recite the Quran.
Each letter,
10 rewards.
Right? Plus one of, the prophet
tells us 10 reward for each letter that
is that is recited. And you'll multiply that
by 70 times, you do the math. Right?
And then if you struggle, you get the
double reward.
If you struggle,
what happens? You You got the double reward.
So bonus upon bonus upon bonus. And of
course, it's the month of patience and Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in
Certainly those who observe patience
will be given their reward in full without
measure.
K. Without any measuring. So if you have
to be patient, yes, your legs are hurting.
Yes, you are hungry. Yes, you are tired.
Yes, you are sleepless.
But it's all worth it because this is
the season to make these sacrifices.
So there are tremendous
opportunities, my brothers and sisters, to right a
lot of wrongs
that have been committed. Now imagine all of
this bonus,
all of these blessings,
all of this mercy and forgiveness. And on
the other hand, the prophet
warns us
that perhaps a fasting person will get nothing
from his fasting
except for hunger and thirst.
And perhaps the one who stands to pray
at night will get nothing from his standing
except sleeplessness.
So brothers and sisters, it is possible that
a person may be doing these things but
at the same time they may be getting
no benefit and no reward. And we don't
want to be
from such people who find gems
and then they lose them.
They find gems,
they're on the path,
they find gems, but then they lose them.
Right? And how do they lose them? They
lose them by
doing things which are obscene,
speaking things about which that are vulgar,
by not giving up false speech,
by arguing and fighting during their fasting,
by backbiting
while they are fasting and in this blessed
month,
by eating
outside of fasting, breaking their fast, and eating
haram, and drinking haram.
So they destroy the good duets that they
are doing.
Right? So we have to be careful my
brothers and sisters that we are sincere in
what we do, and we do it to
please Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
And we try to ensure that no one
is troubled by our actions. We try to
ensure that we have the best of character,
that we have the best of speech, and
this is all training for after Ramadan.
What is this?
This is training
for after Ramadan.
So that we build ourselves up each Ramadan
so that once Ramadan is finished, and Eid
ul Fitr comes, and the month of Shawwal
comes,
then we are at a better state. And
we are an improved
human being. We are an improved servant of
Allah
We are a better
companion and a better colleague and a relative
and a loved one to those around us.
Finally,
this narrated, the prophet said, the month of
Ramadan has come to you as a blessing
in which Allah covers you with his mercy.
He remit sins and answers supplications.
Allah sees your competition in good deeds
and takes pride in you over his angels.
Thus, you should
you should show Allah goodness in yourselves
since a miserable one is the one who
is deprived from Allah's mercy
even during this month. So we want to
be the ones who are blessed, those who
benefit from this month and not be the
losers. We ask Allah
to grant us the best Ramadan ever. We
ask Allah
to shower his mercy and forgiveness upon us.
Ask Allah
to make us truly those who gain benefit
from these actions and who are accepted by
Allah
as the dua of Sayed Ibrahim Alaihi Salam
was mentioning last night in sunset life.
We ask
Allah to accept from us and to grant.
Let us take a break.