Sikander Hashmi – Life After Ramadan KMA Friday Message
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Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, my young
friends,
We gather here on the first
Friday
after Eid al Fitr.
And while we miss
Ramadan,
we take solace in the fact
that we still have the opportunity
to reap the blessings that Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala has designated
for this blessed day of Jum'ah for this
blessed Friday, Alhamdulillah.
Said as quoted by Ibra Rajab Rahmahullah
in
That the companions of the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam,
they would supplicate
to Allah
for 6 months
prior
that they would reach the month of Ramadan.
Then they would supplicate to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala
for 6 months afterwards
for acceptance of their deeds, for the acceptance
of their Ramadan.
So, their state was such that they were
constantly thinking about Ramadan.
Either asking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to allow
them to reach the month of Ramadan and
once Ramadan had passed, asking Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala
to accept Ramadan from them.
So
Ramadan, ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to accept
all the good deeds that he had guided
us to in the month of Ramadan. We
make the dua of prophet Ibrahim alayhi salam
with his son, Ismael, as they were raising
the foundations of the Kaaba as Allah
tells us in Surah Al Baqarah.
Our Lord,
accept this from us. You are indeed the
all hearing,
the all knowing.
My brothers and sisters, the people of Jannah,
once
they enter Jannah, they will say, as Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us,
They will say that praise be to Allah
for guiding us to this. We would have
never been guided
if Allah had not guided us.
Praise be to Allah for guiding us to
this. We would have never been guided if
Allah had not guided us. So at this
point, my brothers and sisters,
ideally, our hearts should be swelling with gratitude
and humility before Allah
thanking him for guiding us and enabling us
to do the good that he guided us
to do in the month of Ramadan
and seeking his acceptance.
May Allah grant us this.
See the prophet
told us as related by Abu Ayub Al
Ansari
Whoever fast the month of Ramadan,
whoever, when Ramadan,
whoever fast, the month of Ramadan,
and then follows it with what?
With 6 days of fasting in the month
of Shawwal, which is the month we are
in now. It will be as if he
has fasted for the entire year.
It will be as if he has fasted
for the entire year. And another hadith from
and
Prophet saying that fasting,
the month of Ramadan, the month that we
did
fasting the month of Ramadan
is like 10 months of fasting. What is
it like?
It is like 10 months of fasting
and fasting 6 days of Shawwal
is like 2 months of fasting and thus
they are like fasting for a year. How
is this? Because Allah tells
us
that whoever does good, whoever comes with good,
there is 10 times the reward. So, 1
month, 30 days of fasting, it is it
is like
10 months of fasting
and then if you add 6 more days,
then that is like 60 days more of
fasting. So, therefore, you have the whole year.
Subhan Allah. And the scholars explain my brothers
and sisters that
it is
recommended
sunnah to fast
these 6 days in Shawwal
after the day of Eid. So not on
the day of Eid, but after the day
of Eid because it is not permissible to
fast on the day of Eid. Now, any
6 days
of the month of Shawwal apart from the
1st day, which is not allowed, will fulfill
the sunnah inshallah.
But there is there is some you can
say or or slight preference
for doing it early and
consecutively
if you're able to do so, but it
is not a requirement.
So if a person decides
to fast 6 days of Shawwal
near the end of the month, it is
still permissible and it will still fulfill the
sunnah Insha'Allah. You could do it in the
middle. You can choose, you know, maybe you
want to do on Mondays Thursdays as an
example, or you want to do it on
the, you know, the
the 13, 14th, 15th of the lunar month
and you want to add a few, you
know, before, 3, and after 3. Whatever the
case may be, you can do it as
you wish.
As long as you get the 6 in
in the month of
But like I said, there is some preference
of doing it consecutively and also doing it
early if you're able to do so. But
there is, you know, it's not a requirement
to do so. Another question that often comes
up is with regards to
combining
intentions.
With regards to combining intentions. Meaning, if someone
had missed for some reason fasting Ramadan,
so then you say, okay, well, you know,
I'm going to try to make it up
in the month of Shawwal and
you know, I'm hoping that I will get
the reward for the 6 days as well,
Right? That the prophet has told us about.
So,
combining intentions
at the very least is not ideal. Okay?
So, if you have missed fasting in the
month of Ramadan and if you're able to
make it up in
make it up first if you can, all
of them.
And then
try to do the 6 days of Shawar
inshallah. If however, you are unable to do
so, you cannot make up all the fast
that you have missed in Ramadan.
Then make up
as much as possible that you can make
up in the month of Shawwal
and have this hope, this desire that Allah
will grant you the reward of fasting the
6th of Shawwal as well. So combining the
intentions is not something which is ideal. Some
of the scholars say that it is permissible,
others say that it is not. But in
this case, you know, we should try to,
separate the actions as much as possible. Inshallah,
there will certainly be greater reward. But if
you're unable to do so, then
if for example, if I would say that,
okay, you can make up the fast, miss
fast Ramadan now or you can make it
later in in in the rest of the
year. So make it up now. It's much
better. In the month of Shawwal and hope
that Allah will also grant you the reward
for these 6 days.
The wisdom
behind these 6 days. So the scholars write
that
one of the wisdoms is that it is
the sign
of acceptance
from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. If a person
is able to fast these days,
if a person desires to and they're able
to, they're physically able to and they do
it, it is a sign of acceptance, Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Because
a sign of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
accepting
a good deed
is to be granted
the ability
to perform
similar good deeds with consistency, which is loved
by Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you fast
in the month of Ramadan. If Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala guides us, he enables us to
fast after Ramadan as well. That this is
from the signs of acceptance from Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Acceptance. Some of the signs of
acceptance, the scholars explain is to be able
to continue the deed even afterwards. Right? Of
course, not in the same way. So not
to continuously fast. That's actually not even permitted
or, you know, not allowed by the prophet
but, you know, to be able to continue
the good deeds that we did, this is
a sign from the from acceptance of Allah
Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. And
consistency, consistency
is something which is loved by Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. Right?
Right? The most beloved actions to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala are those that are
consistent even if
they are small, even if they are less.
Another,
another wisdom is that it is a sign
of thankfulness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for
the reward of Ramadan fasting. So the reward
of Ramadan fasting is immense.
And this is from the most beloved actions
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fasting. So it
is also from
these signs of thankfulness to Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala
that
guided us to
fast in the month of Ramadan for those
who are able. And
we will have restored, received the reward from
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala for that. And now
we show gratefulness, thankfulness to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala by fasting some more. It is also
a sign of commitment
to continue the worship
and submission towards Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala willingly.
Because why? These fasts are they're not obligatory.
Right? They're from the they're they're optional fast.
Right? It is recommended by the prophet So
we say that it's sunnah,
but it is optional versus the obligatory fasting
of Ramadan. So, it shows a person's commitment
to continue worshiping and submitting to Allah
willingly
not just because Allah had commanded it but
also because we willingly want to submit to
Allah
and seek
His rida, seek His pleasure. May Allah grant
us this.
And finally, the optional acts, the nawafil
acts which are not obligatory.
The Prophet
has told us that they help fill the
gaps. They help fill the deficiencies
in the obligatory acts.
Because when we do the obligatory acts, certainly
we are unable to do them perfectly, exactly
as as, you know, how Allah would want
us to do them. So the optional acts
on the day of judgment after a person's,
you know, obligatory acts have been presented, then
the optional acts will be brought into fill
any gaps, fill any deficiencies in the obligatory
acts. So this is why we should be
eager to try to do these sunnah actions
and then the the nafil actions
because they will help inshallah. Not only do
they help us get closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and make us more beloved to
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but they also
can help fill in the gaps and fill
in the deficiencies in our obligatory
actions. Now, if someone is unable
to fast
the 6th of Shawwal, or even if they
were unable to fast in the month of
Ramadan,
then it is good for us in that
situation
to develop this intention, this feeling, you know,
that if it wasn't for this genuine inability,
this barrier to fasting, whether it is, you
know, health related or anything else, that if
it wasn't for this inability to fast, then
I would have certainly fasted the 6 months,
the 6 days of Shawwal. I would have
certainly fasted in the month of Ramadan.
Right? Inshallah, Allah will reward you according to
your sincere intentions and feelings.
Right? We get a number of a hadith
that give us this indication
of, of course, actions being rewarded according to
their intentions.
Prophet telling us that a person who intends
and is unable to fulfill his his intention
of good deeds is still rewarded. You know,
at least one good deed for for, you
know, the intention that they have made and
you know, we also learn from the prophet
that if someone is regular and doing actions
and doing good deeds, for example, coming to
the Masjid offering salah in Jama'ah, and then
they are traveling or they are sick and
they are unable to join,
then Allah out of his mercy, he still
writes for them that action as if they
have continued doing it even though they were
not able to do it. So if someone
has been fasting throughout their lives
in Ramadan,
in Shawwal, in these days, and they value
them, but then they come to a point
where they're unable to fast anymore, We hope
good from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that Allah
will write for them as if they have
fasted even though they are not able to
do so,
In these days as well, my brothers and
sisters, let us be careful.
Shaitan
is now out of the penalty box.
Shaitan
is out of the penalty box back at
full force.
So now, you know, we have to be
very careful. And
before we restart any of the activities that
we have paused in Ramadan, the the things
that we normally do, and we stopped doing
them in Ramadan out of
reverence for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the
month of Ramadan,
let us think twice before restarting activities
and ask ourselves,
is this action, this habit of mine, this
thing which I am restarting now after Ramadan.
Is it pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala?
Or is it angering to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala? Is it likely to bring me closer
to the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala?
Or is it likely to drive me further
away from the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala that I have bed Allah for in
the month of Ramadan.
Because if it is the latter,
then why we start it?
If Allah had given us tawfiq to stop
it in the month of Ramadan,
then why go back to it? Right? This
is a beautiful opportunity, a moment for us
where we have proven to ourselves into Allah
that we can live without this activity. We
can survive without this addiction or this habit
that we have.
So now that Allah had enabled us to
stop in the month of Ramadan,
the same Allah is still present, of course,
let us
try to
continue without engaging in those activities anymore. We
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us
strength and grant us sister kamah,
We ask Allah
to keep the spirit of Ramadan
alive within us. We ask Allah
to continue
to guide us, to forgive us,
and to make us in the Ummah continuous
recipients
of his special mercy. You know, her brothers
and sis my brothers and sisters, we are
at this critical juncture.
Right? We are at this critical time in
the state of this Ummah and Allah has
chosen us to be present and to be
alive, to witness
everything that is happening.
So we have a special responsibility at this
time. Right? As I mentioned in the I'll
mention very quickly. Right?
To resolve, to do a few things. Number
1 is to continue to maintain
and strengthen our personal relationship with Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
Even after Ramadan, through humble worship, through dhikr,
through through sincere dua and servitude of Allah
because Allah tells us, yeah.
Allah says, oh believers, when you face an
opponent,
stand firm.
And remember Allah much
so that
you may triumph, so that you may be
victorious, so that you may be successful.
So hold on to the remembrance of Allah
and stand firm. Number 2, do not allow
divisions and differences
to overtake our hearts. Because in the next
ayah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us,
Obey Allah and his messenger and do not
dispute with one another. Why? Or you would
be discouraged and weakened.
Dispute
and these differences are gonna lead us to
become weakened. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
in this context, do not do that. Obey
Allah and his messenger salallahu alaihi wa sallam
and
do not dispute with one another, or you
would be discouraged and weakened.
Persevere, have surah. Surely Allah is with those
who persevere.
Thirdly,
to resolve to firmly stand against injustice and
oppression
with wisdom and a laser focus. Don't get
distracted,
especially against the root and the source of
the oppression.
And the that we are seeing in falasleen,
that is the branch.
That is the symptom. It is not the
root.
That is not where it is originating.
It is originating from somewhere else,
from somewhere which is much closer to us.
So let us now
focus on the root, the symptom we have
been focusing on.
Let us now focus on the root because
we realize that that is the source
of the oppression and the source of the.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala lift this oppression
from this world and from this.
And number 4, my brothers and sisters, to
appreciate those who are not from us, yet
they are making efforts to promote justice
and to speak the truth and to stand
for the truth.
Show them appreciation. Thank them because the prophet
said
that
whoever does not thank people does not thank
Allah. So we should recognize those people who
have no relation. They have no link, yet
they still stand for justice and for truth.
We we should thank them and appreciate their
efforts. And finally, number 5, to improve ourselves,
our own discipline, our own character,
our adherence to the Quran, and the beautiful
sunnah of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
because it is the only path to success.
It is the only path to success and
the only path to honor
for us.
Right?
Right? So
it is the honor lies with Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala with the prophet
and in being true followers
of Allah and his messenger
we ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant
us these qualities.
Let us take a quick break and we'll
continue.