Sikander Hashmi – Farewell Friday Friday Message
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I hope and pray that you're all doing
well by the grace and mercy of Allah
on this tremendously blessed day
because today is the last Friday
of the month of Ramadan.
And
we know from the prophet
that Friday is the most blessed day of
the week
and that Ramadan is the most blessed month
of the year. So here we have 2
types of blessings
coming together
and particularly in a way,
that we are not going to see,
at least for another year,
if ever. Right? Because at the end of
the day, Allah
knows best as to what decree has been
issued with regards to us, what Allah has
decided with regards to
our time in this world as we discussed
last week.
May Allah
make all his decrees regarding us good for
us and and beneficial
and easy for us.
So brothers and sisters,
you know, last night,
we had,
drive in,
night prayer and we had dua
and,
number of, families came out,
and many people also prefer to pray at
home, which is very good, if you're establishing
prayers in your homes.
That is excellent. May Allah accept, from us
all.
I hope that you're able to get some
sleep,
because,
I know many brothers and sisters who are
up all night,
and perhaps, you know, you have work and
you're busy, so maybe you do not get
too much sleep.
But, really, you know, if we sacrifice our
sleep for a few nights for a few
of these nights, really, it's really worth it.
Right? Because the last thing that we want
is that when there's something happening, right, when
there's something being given away, when there's something
that's valuable, that's available to be taken,
that we are sleeping through that. Right? So
if we have to sacrifice or sleep a
little bit
and, if it means that, you know, we're
not gonna sleep well for a few nights,
Ramadan or, you know, a few nights a
year,
because we are worshiping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
and we're making dua, and we are hopeful
in the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
and then receiving the the reward, the benefits
of Laylatul Qadr,
then, definitely, it is, it is worth it.
Now, of course, if you have some issue
and you need to sleep and rest,
certainly, you know, you should do that. And
indeed our bodies have a right over us
as well as the prophet
has told us. So our bodies do have
a right. Our families do have a right
over us.
But if it means sacrificing a little bit,
you know, on these few days and nights
and being a little bit patient,
then inshallah, that will be really, really worth
it. May Allah
grant each of us the reward of Laylatul
Qadr every single year of, and every single
Ramadan that we are alive. Ameen
So my brothers and sisters, we find ourselves
on which day are we at today? We
are on the 25th
day of Ramadan. Right? So the last night
was, last night was the 25th night.
So we are now on this, 25th
day of Ramadan.
And
subhanallah, you know, we embarked on this special
journey, or you could say we welcome the
special guest 24 days ago.
And, you know, some of us, were ready,
hit the ground running.
Others perhaps were slow to start and now
are warmed up. And by the way, it's
possible that compared to other Ramadans,
this one has been a bit more challenging,
a bit more difficult
because, subhanAllah, you know, the the effect,
the impact
of the pandemic spiritually,
right, is gonna be felt in Ramadan. Right?
So if the or the past year,
you know, we have not been able to
go to the masjid or our attendance at
the masjid has, you know, has come down.
We have not been able to attend salatul
Jum'ah for no fault of our own. But
just generally, you know, those types of things
are going to have an impact on us
spiritually,
perhaps negatively, but there could also be a
positive impact as well because
they're due to the restrictions, there are probably
many activities
or, you know, scenario situations that we have
not found ourselves in during the past year
because of the pandemic and because of the
restrictions. So, I mean, it could have an
impact either way. But if you're finding it
a little bit difficult this Ramadan,
don't be too too harsh on yourself because
the situation that we are in obviously is
not normal.
They are, you know,
extremely,
you know, rare and challenging circumstances.
May Allah
forgive us for our shortcomings.
But nonetheless, perhaps, you know, you're slow to
start, but maybe you have warmed up by
now. And usually that's when it hits home.
Right? It's like when there's only a few
nights left and there's, you know, the last
10. And even the last 10 are getting
less now. And the possible
is even even getting less. And, you know,
you sort of think to yourself
you say to yourself that, you know, what
is my state that I have not been
able to focus until now? I have not
even able to shed a single tear until
now.
I haven't felt anything in my heart until
now. You know? And if doesn't happen now,
when is it gonna happen? And subhanallah, a
lot of times it's that thought,
it's that feeling, that thought of helplessness and
of resignation
about one's own spiritual state that actually leads
to it happening. Right? That is what triggers
it and actually causes it. Because then you
think, you know, am I really at that
state where I'm not even feeling anything even
after so many days and nights of Ramadan?
What if I don't feel anything? And what
you know, I can't even shed a single
tear. That's how hard my heart has become.
And subhanAllah, if a person really reflects on
that deeply,
then, ta'ala, maybe that will be the cause
for them for their heart to actually soften
and for those tears and for those feelings
to actually come forward. May Allah
purify and soften our hearts, fill them with
love for him and his messenger We
ask Allah we ask we also ask Allah
to accept whatever we have been able to
do this far and to forgive our shortcomings.
And remember, when we say what we have
been able to do, it's really what Allah
has facilitated,
what Allah has allowed and given us the
strength and the tawfiq to actually do. Right?
At the end of the day, you know,
it's really interesting when we talk about spirituality
and the journey of spiritual path
in in Islam.
And when,
you know, you start off, you know, learning
about Allah
getting closer to Allah
seeking forgiveness,
glorifying Allah, remembering Allah, building love and attachment
for Allah
But at the end, at the very end,
sort of like the final stage
is when you realize
that that you're just basically nothing in front
of Allah
and that, you know, you have no power,
you have nothing, you've you've there there's, you
know, you you're just absolutely
minuscule in front of Allah
and you're totally dependent on the mercy of
Allah. Right? At the end of the day,
that's what that's the true feeling that we
want inside of our hearts. Especially at this
time, this is the feeling that we want,
that we are in front of Allah
We are needy in front of Allah
We are destitute
in front of Allah. There's no goodness that
we do except that it is through Allah's
guidance. There's nothing of ours. There's we're just
totally incompetent. And it again, it shouldn't make
us as I discussed previously, it shouldn't make
us despondent.
It shouldn't make us hopeless,
But it's just to give us the feeling
of our neediness in front of Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala. And the more needy a person
fears and feels in front of Allah, the
more they rely on Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Then inshaAllah, the greater the response from Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala as well. So the more
things you wanna take care of yourself and
the more you think about yourself, the more
Allah will leave you and say, okay. Well,
you think you can do it by yourself,
you go do it by yourself. The more
needy you feel in front of Allah, the
more, you know, empty you feel in front
of Allah, the more the more need you
feel for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, then Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will respond according to that.
And now my brothers and sisters, just like
this month seems to have gone by in
a flash. For most people, it's gonna feel
like, you know, Ramadan just started yesterday or,
you know, didn't start a very long time
ago.
So just like this month may seem like
it has gone in a flash, our lifetime
will also seem like a flash when we
reach our end. When we come to our
end, you know, on the day of judgment,
when people look back to how this life
went, it's literally gonna seem like it was
a flash. Just a few moments, just a
few minutes,
but maybe a few hours. Right? That's how
it's gonna feel like. Because at the end
of the day, that is how little it
is compared to
our true existence or, you know, any our,
in terms of eternity,
which we have been created for. Right? The
the life of this world is just a
minuscule part of it, you know. And, the
example I'll give you is for those who
who do video editing or if you do
audio editing. You know, when you zoom into
a time line, you know, a few seconds
may seem like they're really big, like, on
your screen. Right? If you're doing video or
audio editing and you're trying to edit a
clip or, you know, you're just trying to
slice something up and you zoom into that
moment on your time line, it seems, woah,
it's really big. Right? When you actually play
the clip, you realize that maybe that moment
was only a couple of seconds. Right? So
it's all about perspective. So our life in
this world is the same thing. When we're
inside of it, it seems like, woah. It's
so long. It's so many years. It's all
in love. But when we're actually taken out
of it, and then we realize we look
at it and say, woah. This was only,
you know, this was really just in in
the true sense, it it was only a
few minutes and a few hours. Right? So
it's gonna go by just as fast.
Now the fact that Allah
has brought us to this day is a
great blessing.
Right? And, you know, it's it's it's one
thing to recognize the blessing.
Most. Right. So what matters most in our
journey is that our destination as Arab Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Right? And we want to be getting close
to him. We want to be earning his
love and his pleasure.
And the more closer you get to Allah,
the more beloved and special you become to
him. And, you know, yesterday during sunset live,
we were talking about Nawafil. Right? We were
talking about extra acts of worship,
optional acts of worship. And there's a there's
a beautiful hadith, Qudsi,
the prophet
has related from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. That
in Allah
said, that whoever shows hostility to a friend
of mine, I have declared war upon that
person. Allahu Akbar. Allah is saying, whoever shows
hostility to a friend of mine,
right, then what happens? Allah says that he
declares war upon that person. Now you tell
me, if Allah
declares war upon a person, what's gonna happen
to that person? What hope? Like, what chance
of success do they even have? Okay? So
war shows hostility to a friend of mine,
Allah said, I have declared war upon him.
Now Allah talks more about friendship and how
to get closer to Allah
Allah.
Allah says my servant does not grow closer
to me with anything more beloved to me
than the duties I have imposed upon him.
This is really profound
because Allah is telling us basically the pathway
to getting close to him. If you want
to get closer to Allah, at which, honestly,
like, everybody should wanna do because if you're
close to Allah, it means you're closer to
the mercy of Allah.
Right? And on the day of judgment, that's
what's gonna matter most. Right? Even more than
our actions. The mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. But Allah tells us how to get
closer to Allah. How do we get closer?
So Allah says my servant does not grow
closer to me with anything more beloved to
me. So if you wanna do something that's
beloved to Allah, that's gonna get closer to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
Right?
With
anything more beloved to me than the duties
I have imposed upon him. And so the
the
obligations that Allah
has put upon us, these are the things
that bring us closer to Allah
in the most beloved way to Allah. Because
because if you really wanna get closer to
Allah if that's a resolve you made this
Ramadan,
you wanna get closer to Allah
then first and foremost, focus on the Farahid.
Focus on the obligations
and then trying to do them well. I'm
trying to
do them well. You know, a lot of
times, we're focused maybe on a lot of,
you know, other things, optional things, which are
good and which are important. We're gonna talk
about that. But we're not really focusing on
the fraud. We're we're letting go
of the obligations or not taking care or
paying due attention to the obligations
and instead focusing on things which are relatively
secondary. So the first thing to focus on
is our our perfection of our our obligations
towards Allah
But the others, the optional is also important
because the prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala rather said,
He goes on to say, my servant continues
to grow closer to me with
extra good deeds. So the obligations are the
pathway to getting closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala,
and a servant of Allah gets keep keeps
getting closer to Allah through the optional deeds.
Okay. So, yes, the the obligations will get
you closer to a certain point, but then
the optional deeds are also closer also important
if you want to continue to to get
closer to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then
he says,
until
I love him or her.
So in person, a servant of Allah continues
to get closer to Allah first through the
obligations,
then through the optional acts of worship until
there comes a point where Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala says
until
I love that person.
And then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells
us, When I love him, what happens?
What happens?
Then when Allah
loves that person,
he says, I am his hearing with which
he hears, his seeing with which he sees,
his hand with which he strikes, and his
foot with which he walks or, of course,
for same thing for woman as well, with
which she walks and she sees and she
strikes and she hears.
So
Allah is telling us that when he starts
loving a person,
right, he blesses them in such a way
that all of their faculties are like supercharged.
Right? They're guided by Allah
They are given divine blessings.
Right? This doesn't mean that the person becomes
divine, but it means that they are blessed
by Allah
in such a way that their normal activities,
you know, their their faculties, the normal things
that they would be doing, all of them
become supercharged because they are blessed by Allah
They're guided by Allah
Allah's blessings
are totally upon that person. So everything that
they do is blessed. Everything that they do
is,
is more profound and has greater impact
and is more beautiful.
And then Allah
says,
And at that point,
if that person were to ask for me,
I would surely give it to them. I
would surely give it to them. If they
make dua, Allah says I would surely give
it to them. Why? Because the person is
beloved to Allah
Allah says that were that person to ask
something from me, I would surely give it
to them. Were they to ask me for
refuge,
I would surely grant it to them. I
do not hesitate to do anything
as I hesitate to take the soul of
the believer
for he, she hates death and I hate
to displease him. And why do they hate
death? Not because, you know, they're afraid of
death or not because they love the dunya,
but rather they want to
continue basking in this love of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, continue getting closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, continue spending time in worship. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, serving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
getting closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And
we gotta remember when we talk about worship,
we're not only talking about specific acts of
worship. Yes. Those are important.
Right? Those are absolutely important to get closer
to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. A person can't
go get close to Allah by ignoring the
prescribed acts of worship
or, you know, the the specific acts of
worship and just, you know, doing other other
good deeds. Right? They they both go together.
So, yes, establishing the obligations, the acts of
worship,
the, you know, the the all of the
things that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala wants us
to do that specifically bring us closer to
him. But then also
also
serving the deen of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
serving humanity with the intention of pleasing Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Right? Doing good works with
the intention of pleasing Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
alone. Right? So all of those things together,
they make a beautiful package
that help a person that lead a person
to get closer and closer to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. This person wants to continue doing
those things to please Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And that is why they hate death. And
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, I hate displeasing
them. So that is the closeness,
you know, that that develops between that person
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in this beautiful
way, SubhanAllah. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala make
us from amongst these people.
Now my brothers and sisters, on the day
of Eid,
is coming most likely,
expected to be on Thursday, May 13th, but,
you know, it's gonna be based on global
moon sighting. We'll have the announcement at 10
PM on Tuesday night,
but we're expecting it to be most likely
on Thursday.
So on the day of Eid, we want
to be more closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
More beloved. Feel more loved than we did
on the 1st day of Ramadan. We wanna
keep it that way. Right? Like, I think
sometimes we sort of expect that we're gonna
slide after Ramadan. And perhaps some of that
expectation is natural. Right? Because, of course, we're
actually in our laptop. Rewards are multiplied. We're
more focused on Ramadan. So Ramadan is over
than, you know, maybe the level of intensity
won't be the same. So maybe there will
be a bit of a slide.
Okay. But we don't wanna slide
all the way down to how we were
before Ramadan.
K. And I always give the example
of using Ramadan as a stepping stone to
get closer and closer to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, to build self improvement, to reform our
character,
Right? To become better human beings, better servants
of Allah,
better brothers and sisters, better relatives, better spouses,
better members of the community, better neighbors, better
members of society. Right? So Ramadan should be
a stepping stone. Otherwise, it's like a person
who goes forward and then reverses.
They're in a parking lot. They just go
ahead a bit and then they drive they
reverse back.
Are they going anywhere? No. They're not going
anywhere. Right? They're just going a little bit
forward, and then they're just losing everything. So
So we don't wanna be those per those
people, my brothers and sisters. And the purpose
of this journey that we're on is to
purify ourselves,
right, to elevate our level of taqwa,
to come out permanently
better people towards others as better slaves to
Allah
Now over the last 24 days,
you've probably most people are fasting.
Those who are not able to, may Allah
grant you the reward of fasting according to
your good intentions.
So last 24 days, many of us have
felt hungry and thirsty during the day. And,
actually, you know what? If we haven't felt
hungry and thirsty, maybe that's a cause for
reflection. How come I've been fasting for 24
days and I haven't felt any hunger or
thirst?
Am I eating too much at suhoor, or
am I not, like, doing enough activity? Like,
what's going on? Right? Just just come to
think about it. Maybe Allah has blessed you
and you don't feel any hunger at all.
So I'm not saying it's a bad thing,
but it should cause us to think a
little bit. Okay? So many of us have
felt hungry and thirsty during the day. We
felt it in the stomachs. Maybe your mouth
and throat has felt dry.
But the impact should be felt in our
hearts.
And how so? Because
we know that the primary purpose of fasting
is taqwa,
right, is to build our piety, our fear,
and our consciousness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And the prophet
has told
us
that and the narrator says,
where the prophet
pointed towards his his his chest
and his his heart. And he said that,
you know, pointing 3 times that a taqwa
taqwa resides here. Right? Meaning it's in the
heart.
Right? So taqwa, which is the purpose of
fasting, has to do with the heart, not
with the stomach. Okay? Not with the mouth.
Right? Those are just pathways to getting here,
right, to building taqwa here. Now, Imam An
Naww
he said something really profound. He says that,
that the outward actions,
right, taqwa is not really attained through those.
Taqwa is not really attained through outwardly
actions,
but rather
That instead says need you know, taqwa is
attained
through what occurs
in the heart
with regards to the greatness of Allah
and
the fear of Allah
and muraqabah,
Allah Those are the things
that build taqwa. That is what gives us
taqwa. Right? So the fasting, it's a means.
It's a very rewarding beloved action to Allah
Right? Allah,
you know, tells us that fasting
right? The fasting is for me, and I
will give the reward for. Because other actions,
you could do it for other people. But
fasting, only Allah knows that you're actually fasting
through the entire day. So it's exclusively for
Allah
But
the the taqwa is gonna come. Right? It's
gonna come through what we feel in our
hearts, not what we feel in our stomachs.
What we feel in our stomach should lead
us to build up something in our hearts.
Now with regards to muraqabah, one of the
best or finest definitions we find is that
muraqabah of Allah
is being on the way to him at
all times
with overwhelming glorification
and inciting nearness
and urging joy. So the overwhelming glorification
is to have the heart filled with the
glorification of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Such a state makes the servant unconcerned with
glorifying others or paying attention or unnecessary attention
to others beside Allah. So a servant ideally
should always have the state, especially when remembering
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So basically turning our
entire existence, our entire lives
into
purposeful,
servitude of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala which is
really the purpose of our lives. When Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells us
that that I have not created the the,
the the, jinns and the,
human beings except for my worship. That worship
really is in the sense of servitude.
Right? That entire life,
everything that we do is
done in a way that it is worship
of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
grant us the state. Ameen You Rabbana Alameen.
So, my brothers and sisters, you can think
of it as the foundation,
k, or the roof,
you know, of your house.
So
the foundation leaks or the roof leaks, and
it keeps damaging your your house.
Your home keeps damaging your furniture, your, you
know, the things you have inside of your
house, and you keep repairing. K. You don't
repair the foundation. The person doesn't repair the
foundation. They don't repair the roof. They just
keep replacing the carpet, and they keep, you
know, doing redoing the drywall and replacing their
their items and their objects.
Okay? And they're not actually taking care of
the the real root cause.
So the damage is being caused because the
root problem is not addressed. Right? So similarly,
taqwa is at the root of our symptoms,
the consequences of spiritual illnesses. It's a lot
of the problems we find today in our
lives.
Really, a lot of the problems that we
find find inside our in our lives,
the challenges that we are, you know, that
that we are, preoccupied with. That's not to
say we don't have real challenges. We do
have real challenges. Right? But many of them,
right, many of the things that we face
or that we are concerned about or that
causes us, you know, anxiety or causes us
worry, right, that causes us to be disturbed,
that causes problems in our relationships,
you know, that,
that,
you know, is impacting us negatively,
a lot of it can be traced down
to taqwa because that's at the root of
it. Right? That's at the root of it.
And and and because
there's a lack of taqwa, then there's all
these other things that start appearing.
Right? So a lot of times, we try
to address the symptoms that are visible.
Right? But we don't actually get to the
root cause. Right? So the if if the
root problem is not addressed, the lack of
taqwa if if that's not addressed,
you know, if the the the distractions,
that take us away from Allah,
they are not addressed. If you have a
lack of mindfulness and consciousness towards Allah,
if that is not addressed, then the other
problems will continue to to to to flourish,
right, in negative ways. They're not gonna go
away. And if we try to put band
aids and patches on these symptoms, but we're
not getting to the root of it. Right?
So the root of it is
mindfulness,
consciousness of Allah
So the question is, my brothers and sisters,
and how will this Ramadan change you after
Ramadan? Okay. What you've done in Ramadan, alhamdulillah.
Allah guided us. May Allah accept from us.
But what's gonna happen after Ramadan?
Change after Ramadan. And, masha'Allah, I have to
say, you know, first of all, we should
always be focused on ourselves. Right? So we
should always be doing introspection.
But, you know, as someone who's who's responsible
for the community,
I I don't look at individuals specifically, but
overall as a community, look at how things
are going. Right?
We're finding that, you know, the pandemic has
thrown a wrench in some ways. It's been
made it a little bit more more difficult.
But overall, we found that people are coming
closer to Allah
apparently. Right? People more people wanna come to
the masjid, want to come together for goodness,
want to, you know, give sadaqa, want to
contribute in building the masjid. They they want
to volunteer. They wanna feed others. So, I
have to say, may Allah bless you all.
May Allah continue to to bring us closer
to him.
But we see some very positive signs,
so this is great.
So, you know, I don't want you to
feel bad. I know many people have been
making an effort, and I've taken this to
heart. May Allah continue to strengthen me and
all of us.
K? So
but, again, we keep doing going through this
process so that we keep getting closer to
Allah
So the question is, how will this Ramadan
changes even further after Ramadan? Maybe last Ramadan
changes us for the better. Alhamdulillah.
But again, this Ramadan changes even more for
the better. Right? Again, going back to the
analogy of stepping stones. Every Ramadan should bring
some positive change. So the leak may have
been fixed in Ramadan, but is it gonna
spring again after Ramadan?
Right? And that example, you know, one scholar
gave, which I love is is your bucket
of good deeds going to be like a
leaky bucket.
Right? That you put something in, you got
some good deals, but then they start leaking
out. They all leak away. Right? At the
end, there's nothing left in the bucket. Right?
We don't want that type of bucket. We
want our bucket to be solid so it
doesn't leak. Right?
And,
you know, so this change, my brothers and
sisters,
is transform
transformative changes more than just 1 month. Right?
We start seeing many impacts of taqwa. And
one of the foremost is to truly value
Allah,
truly value his words, truly value his pleasure
more than myself,
more than my wants and my desires and
the desires of others. So really, psychologically, in
terms of our attitude, putting Allah
at the top of every decision,
right, of every choice, every step and every
breath and putting the prophet
in his way at the top as well.
So giving true value in consideration
to his teachings and his example and his
guidance
so that Allah's likes
becomes my like become my likes and Allah's
dislikes become my dislikes. The likes of the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam become my likes. Allah's
dislike the dislikes of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam become my dislikes. So molding ourselves
according to the likes and dislikes of Allah
and his messenger
So to put the pleasure of Allah
ahead of ours, that is what the sacrifice
is about.
You know, Jannah doesn't come cheap. Right? There's
sacrifice that is required, struggling and sacrifice and
striving and feeling.
And, you know, if to put the pleasures
of Allah to put the pleasure of Allah
after all our needs and pleasures,
you tell me, is that really sacrifice?
Is that really sacrifice? Is that really genuine
love for Allah
And I say, okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna
do what Allah has wants me to do,
what the prophet has taught. But first, I'm
gonna do what I feel like doing. First,
I'm gonna, you know, do everything I want
and then I'll see and then, you know,
I'll sort of fit in a line as
messenger salami somewhere.
That's not really how it should be. I
just gotta be the other way around where
my focus is, okay, what do Allah and
his messenger salami want? What have they taught?
So that is first and foremost on top.
What I want and what I like and
what anyone else likes, that comes that's all
secondary. Right? First, it has to be the
pleasure of Allah and the guidance of his
messengers
Allah
tells us
All you have believed, shall I guide you
to a transaction
that will save you from a pain of
painful punishment?
It is that you believe in Allah and
his messenger
and strive in the cause of Allah.
Strive, struggle in the cause of Allah
with your wealth
and your lives.
Okay? So physically and financially.
That is the best for you if you
should know. So my brothers and sisters, let
us take advantage of these final few days
and nights of Ramadan. Let us reflect on
what impact this Ramadan is going to have
on us after Ramadan and then for the
rest of our lives. Otherwise, we might end
up like a leaky bucket losing all of
its contents, left dry and empty, which we
do not want.
Ibn Qayyim
has enumerated many signs for the acceptance and
non acceptance of Tawba and from among the
signs of acceptance of Tawba, of repentance, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is that the servant should
be better after repentance than before.
Right? So what does this mean? This means
that the repenting person
should see whether or not they have increased
their good deeds and decreased their bad deeds,
especially after Ramadan. Because in Ramadan, everyone has
an incentive, everyone's doing it and, you know,
there's greater rewards. Shaitan's locked up. Hey, shayat,
you know, locked up. So, you know, it's
the there's obviously a reason why we would
be doing that.
It's Ramadan. We hope. We ask
But after Ramadan, right, we wanna see, okay,
where do we stand? Have we added anything
good in our lives? Have we taken away
anything negative?
Right? Because that is a sign of acceptance
of Tawbah. Another one of the signs is
that the person should become more humble and
benefit from their state of mind by resorting
to supplications of humility and servitude,
right? So making dua and feeling that neediness
in front of Allah
even after the month of Ramadan.
Now we have undoubtedly made mistakes during this
month. We've not done everything the way it
should have been done especially when it comes
to our fasting. So Allah has prescribed zakatul
fitr to be paid before Eid. Right? So
whatever you wanna call it.
Related
related
That the messenger of Allah sallallahu
alaihi wasallam
obligated zakatul fitra as purification
of the fasting person, purification of the fasting
person from vain talk and misbehavior
and as food for the or, as food
for the poor. So the form of purification
expiation is through what? Food for the poor.
That whoever pays it before the Eid prayer,
it is accepted as zakat from them.
Whoever pays it after the e prayer, it
is part of their voluntary charity. So, basically,
it should be offered
before a prayer. Now,
the actual the asl is actually to give
food. Right?
Right? That's the actual. So if someone is
able to give food,
to to those who deserve it, to the
needy, to the destitute,
in the form of food, then that is
good. And according to some, that is how
it should be done and that is preferable.
But, you know, scholars, especially nowadays, some of
them have given the the, this,
option,
of
paying instead for the food. K? So if
you're not able to find someone who's needy,
you don't know who to give it to,
then you give money and the calculation is
approximately,
we would say, minimum $10 per person, right,
for every single person of your family, $10
to be paid before before I eat.
If you could give more, by all means,
give more, so more needy benefit. They can
get more food and better food.
But minimum, let's do $10.
There's a link on our website, kranamusims.ca/
donate. There's a link for zakat zakatulmalandzakatulfit.
Click on the link and then choose which
one it is, and you can contribute and,
it will be given to suddaqa food bank.
It will go to those who are needy,
May Allah
accept from us all.
Let us make some dua, my brothers and
sisters.
Oh, Allah. We praise you, and we thank
you for all of your blessings.
Oh, Allah. Even if you had given us
blessings, you would still be worthy of praise
and thanks, my love.
Oh, Allah. We thank you for all of
your blessings. Oh, Allah. You have blessed us
in so many ways. Oh, Allah, you have
brought us to this point in this blessed
month, this last blessed Friday of this blessed
month.
Oh, Allah, for who of us, it is
going to be the last Friday of our
last Ramadan ever. Oh, Allah, only you know
best. But, oh, Allah, please accept us on
this day. Oh,
Allah, we cannot thank you enough for all
of your blessings.
Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah.
We don't know how many of us, who
which of us, who of us will see
another Ramadan.
Oh, Allah. We are your weak servants. Oh,
Allah. We are filthy with sins. Oh, Allah.
We have nothing to offer. Oh, Allah. We
have nothing. Oh, Allah. We are poor. Oh,
Allah. We are destitute in front of you.
Oh, Allah. We are needy in front of
you. Oh, Allah. Please forgive us for our
shortcomings, You Rabbal Alameen. Oh, Allah, please forgive
us for our many mistakes, You Rabbal Alameen.
Oh, Allah, forgive us for all of our
shortcomings, You Rabbal Alameen, that we did openly
or secretly,
Oh, Allah, knowingly or unknowingly,
Oh, Allah, whether we did them with our
hands, oh, Allah, with our eyes, with our
ears,
oh, Allah, with our feet, oh, Allah, with
our minds,
oh, Allah, with, our mouths, oh, Allah, or
any other part of our body, oh, Allah,
please forgive all of them, You Rabbalameen.
Oh, Allah, please accept our meager deeds. Oh,
Allah, please accept our little deeds.
Oh, Allah, they do not compare. Oh, that
they're not they're not to to to the
the the extent. Oh, Allah, they're not to
the perfection that you deserve.
Oh, Allah, there are no match the deeds
done by your pious servants.
Oh, Allah. But we are also needy. Oh,
Allah. We are also members of the ummah
of your beloved messenger, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Oh, Allah. Please accept from us, You Rabbi
Alameen. Oh, Allah. Please do not leave us
without your mercy and forgiveness on this day,
Oh, Allah, please accept us for amongst the
grateful, oh, Allah, and the pious and the
people of Taqwah,
Oh, Allah, please perfect our faith, You,
Oh, Allah, please remove all the doubts and
misgivings from our hearts,
and the hearts of our young ones and
our and our older ones and all of
us,
Oh, Allah, please give us the correct understanding
of you and your your religion and of
your beloved messengers
and his teachings and your book,
Oh, Allah. Please protect all of our loved
ones. Oh, Allah. Please protect all of our
relatives and our friends. Oh, Allah. Please protect
all of our fellow brothers and sisters in
faith and humanity. Oh,
Allah. So much death. Oh, Allah. So much
pain and suffering. Oh, Allah, especially in India,
other parts of the world as well. Oh,
Allah, please cure all of our brothers and
sisters. You Rabbi Alameen. Oh, Allah, please ease
the grief of those who have lost loved
ones. You Rabbi Alameen.
Oh, Allah, please cure those who are ill.
You Rabbi Alameen. Oh, Allah, please relieve those
who are in pain and hardship. Oh,
Allah, please make us all the people of
goodness in this life in the next.
Oh, Allah, please keep us and our future
generations
safe in every way, in every possible way
in this world and in the hereafter,
especially.
Oh, Allah, for many years we have been
struggling. Oh, Allah, we have been striving to
establish your house of worship in our locality
here in Kanata. Oh, Allah, we are small.
Oh, Allah, we are ignorant. O Allah, we
are uneducated.
O Allah, we are not worthy or capable,
O Allah, but it is for your pleasure,
and it is to serve you and your
deen. O Allah, please accept our meager efforts.
O Allah, please make it easy for us.
Oh, Allah, the cost and the numbers seem
big. Oh, Allah, for us, they're tiny for
you. Oh, Allah, we are trying, but you
are the doer. Oh, Allah, please make this
journey easy for us. Oh, Allah, please guide
us and grant us success in all of
our affairs with unity and togetherness and love,
You Rabbil Alameen. Oh, Allah, protect please protect
us from all types of evil, You Rabbil
Alameen. Oh, Allah, please grant us security and
continue to guide us to a result that
you are pleased with, You Rabbil Alameen. Oh,
Allah, please grant an immense, tremendous reward to
all of our supporters,
You Rabbal Alameen. People who have sacrificed, who
have trusted us, and have given their wealth
for your for your pleasure, for your cause,
Oh, Allah, please reward them immensely, You Rabbal
Alameen. Oh, Allah, all of our supporters, our
volunteers, our staff, our board members, oh, Allah,
the countless of hours that they have put
into this project, oh, Allah, in this effort,
oh, Allah, please accept from all of them,
You Rabbi Alameen. Oh, Allah, please protect them.
Make it a means of protecting them and
their loved ones till the day of judgment,
You Rabbi Alameen.
Oh, Allah, please
grant them all the best place in Jannah.
Oh, Allah, please continue to guide us and
strengthen us.
Muhammad, my brothers and sisters, for your attention,
for your sincerity,
for your for your, good intentions.
And I know it's been difficult by not
being able to come for with
just, you know, 10 people and we conduct
draws and things like that. And I know
it's not hard. It's it's hard especially for
our elders, our children, our sisters who haven't
been able to come for a long time.
May Allah bless you, keep you all safe.
May Allah
reward you for
at home, and may Allah increase your reward
because of your patience that you're exerting at
this time when you're not able to come
and offer salah together. Please go ahead offer
for prayers,
and, we look forward to seeing you tonight,
KMA sunset live, and tomorrow night, 27th tonight,
Saturday morning Saturday night into Sunday morning,
we'll have a live special broadcast, from 10
PM to 11 PM. We'll also have, an
opportunity for drive through donations,
you can also donate now on this blessed
day at kannadamasolutions.cedonate.
And
there's many options for donating.
So please don't let this go this day
go by, without contributing something, for the cause
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. May Allah bless
you all and keep you all safe. And
really my duas are come from the bottom
of my heart for each and every one
of you.
May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala always grant you
what is best and grant you all that
is good for you. May Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala protect you and your family, your children,
your parents, your loved ones, from everything that
is evil till the day of judgment.
Take
care of yourselves.