Sikander Hashmi – Ramadan of the Heart KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The state of one's heart is crucial for their well-being and the development of empathy and self-reflection. The importance of physical and mental health is emphasized, including the need for physical and mental health. Islam is focused on the heart and requires self-control and seeking forgiveness. The focus is on the heart and the ability to sweat and be patient with one's behavior. Stronger heart health is essential for achieving their spiritual health, and incentives for pursuing interests like rewarding deeds and increasing rewards are offered. The council of Imams of Arwa has instructed everyone to pay $10 for missed starts of the year, and anyone can pray for global victims of war and the presence of the sun. Twenty rakaas of prayer for their families and anyone who wants to pray for the global victims of war and the presence of the sun is offered.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters,
my young
friends,
Allah
has brought us to the cusp
of yet
another Ramadan.
And by Allah my brothers and sisters,
we need this Ramadan.
We need this Ramadan which is
hopefully
going to be the first normal Ramadan
after 3 years.
And we need this Ramadan
more than ever. SubhanAllah. When we think
about everything
that people have gone through
and that people are going through.
All the loved ones
that we have lost.
All the illness
and the loss of income
and the wars and the struggles and the
challenges.
So my brothers and sisters,
the time has come for us to
surrender in front of Allah
To spill it all out
in front of Allah
So Allah
tells us
That all humanity,
it is you.
It is you who stand in need of
Allah.
It is you who stand in need of
Allah but Allah alone
is
He is the one who is self sufficient
and he is the one who is Al
Hamid, who is praiseworthy.
You are the ones who are the Fuqara.
Oh humanity,
doesn't matter who you are.
Doesn't matter how much strength you have,
doesn't matter how much power you have,
doesn't matter how much knowledge you have,
doesn't matter how much wealth you have.
Every single one of you
is a faqir in front of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Is needy in front of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Needs Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. So my brothers and sisters,
as we begin the month of Ramadan insha'Allah,
let us stand in front of Allah
with the feeling of neediness,
with the feeling of weakness,
with the feeling of humility in front of
Allah
All of this, of course, has to do
with the state of our hearts.
When Allah
tells us about the injunction of fasting in
Surah Al Baqarah.
The purpose of fasting,
the highest objective of fasting Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala tells us
is to develop taqwa,
to develop
the reverent fear of Allah
to develop mindfulness of Allah
to
develop
piety.
And the prophet
said very clearly
that that
the
is here in the chest, in the heart.
That is where
it is placed.
So we learn from this my brothers and
sisters,
that at the end of the day, the
injunction
that has to do with fasting, that has
to do with abstaining
from food and drink and intimacy and everything
else that is forbidden
during fasting,
all of that has to do with
our hearts.
And we know the importance of a physically
healthy heart
for our physical well-being in this world. We
all know it. The importance of having a
healthy heart. We eat foods which are good
for our heart.
Do cardio, do do exercises that are good
for our heart.
But spiritually,
a spiritually healthy heart
is critical
for our well-being
in this world, but especially and more importantly
in the next.
As it is related by
Anuraman Abu Basheer radiAllahu anhu, from the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
That he sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
There lies within the body,
a piece of flesh.
If it is sound,
the whole body is sound. This is how
critical this piece of flesh is.
That if that piece of flesh is sound,
the entire body is sound.
And if it is corrupted, then the entire
body is corrupted.
And verily, this peace is the heart.
The prophet
highlighting the importance
of the state of our spiritual hearts.
And Abu Horeira
said reported to have said that the
heart
is like a king.
And the limbs and the
the heart is like a king and
the limbs and the other body parts
are like the soldiers.
That is the relationship between the heart and
the rest of the body. The rest of
the limbs. The heart is the king, the
rest of the limbs are soldiers.
If the king
is good, meaning the heart, his sound, is
good,
then the soldiers
will be good.
But if the king is evil, then the
soldiers will be evil as well. It is
the heart which sets the tone, which sets
the direction
for the rest of the body which follows.
In fact, no one will be saved on
the day of judgement except
for those with clean or sound hearts as
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
tells us with regards
to the day of judgment.
The day when there will be no benefit,
they will not benefit anyone,
wealth or children, but only the one who
comes to Allah with
a sound heart. May Allah
grant us
all hearts which are salim and ameen.
So our physical heart needs exercise.
Our spiritual hearts
also need exercise
as well.
They are the regular exercises consisting of the
remembrance of Allah
But the month of Ramadan
is one of the greatest
exercises
of the spiritual heart.
Because it tames
the nafs,
the inner self
that is by default commanding evil unless it
is rectified.
It reforms it
or fasting
and Ramadan is a means of reforming it
and purifying it of
its evil
influences. When fasting in Ramadan,
when we start fast fasting, it is most
it is very likely that we will feel
some hunger.
But the purpose and we're gonna feel some
thirst as well. But the purpose is not
just to stay hungry
for the sake of being hungry.
That is not the point
of fasting. To stay hungry
simply for the sake of being hungry.
Rather we are training ourselves,
or we are being trained
to develop self control,
to control the desire
to eat and indulge,
ultimately to increase
the consciousness
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and piety. And this has to do with
the heart. So this is why I say
that when we feel the hunger in our
stomachs,
when we feel the thirst on our tongues,
the dryness in our throats,
let that be channeled
here into our hearts because at the end
of the day, that is what it is
all about.
When we develop
empathy for the less fortunate,
that has to do with feelings and has
to do with the heart.
Fasting, of course, is more than just avoiding
fast, food and drink and intimacy, but also
refraining
from frivolous
talk
and filthy language
and anger. And again, this has to do
with the heart.
What's developing
self control and purifying
the inside.
Because what comes out
is a reflection of what is inside.
What comes out, what we express,
is a reflection of what lies inside.
So this is what which needs to be
dealt with.
When there's restrictions
on intimacy which is otherwise halal,
that is also about controlling
our desires.
So Ramadan is teaching us
self control.
The increased focus on the Quran, The
month of the Quran is the Ramadan.
The increased focus
should lead us to, yes, recite Allah and
to recite it properly. That is good.
May Allah
grant us tofiyyah.
But the objective
is
is
to be a means of guidance for us,
to be our source of ethics
where we turn to to figure out when
if something is right or wrong.
And ultimately, that guidance
is supposed to touch our hearts.
So the Quran as well has to do
with our hearts.
The increase in charity, which is encouraged
because the prophet
was the most generous of people and he
was even more generous in the month of
Ramadan.
It was described as like the wind.
The wind that brings goodness.
Prophet charity was like that in the month
of Ramadan.
So when we increase our charity, what happens?
There's a battle of the nafs.
There's a battle inside the heart
because we have a desire for wealth.
As the prophet
said, the son of Adam.
If he has one valley of gold, he's
gonna want to have another valley of gold.
That's human nature.
Nothing can fill him up except
the dirt once
we get buried into the ground.
So we have this innate desire for wealth
unless we deal with it.
So when we try to give,
there is that struggle that occurs and that
also has to do with the heart.
When we stand in prayer at night,
we are sacrificing
to show gratefulness
and to seek forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala because the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam will
stand long
prayers at night.
Feet,
his blessed feet,
you know, would crack.
The skin would crack, would be swollen, could
see the effects
of that long standing.
And Aisha
famously asked him, well, why do you do
this? Most has already dealt with. You have
nothing to worry about. There's no sins to
worry about.
Shall I not be a grateful servant?
So when we stand, we want to stand
with the feeling of gratefulness,
but our sins are not forgiven.
We are not protected from sin like Rasulullah
alaihi wa sallam. So we have to stand
for forgiveness as well. And guess what that
has to do with? That also has to
do with the heart.
Right? So all of these things our brothers
and sisters are linked
to the heart. So the focus of Ramadan
is on the heart.
And
the only way to purify the heart
and to rectify
the snuffs of ours
is by struggling against it physically and making
sacrifices.
You've got to struggle against it.
Right? You've got to struggle. There's no struggle.
There's no benefit.
Right? Or very little benefit. It's like the
person who goes to the gym,
right, but they're just lifting £5.
They're able to lift 50, £100, but they're
doing only £5. Are they gonna gain anything
from that?
Hardly. Negligible.
Right? Because there's no pain in that. Right?
There's no struggle in that.
It's when your heart starts beating faster and
you start sweating when you know that physically
there's something happening to your body, you're getting
some benefit.
Right? Yes. There may be some minor benefit
otherwise. It's not like it's totally devoid.
But in order to get real benefit,
in order to truly get in shape, you've
gotta sweat.
You've gotta feel some pain.
Right? Otherwise,
you're not gonna get there.
Right? So Ramadan, my brothers and sisters, is
the annual prescription
to give us the training that is gonna
get us through the rest of the year.
It's the 30 days of detox and training
that's gonna get us through the rest of
the year. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is our
creator.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows us better than
we know ourselves.
So he has made this an annual prescription
that renews. You know, you have prescriptions that
renew for a certain number of times?
So this is a 30 day course which
renews every single year because we need it.
It is for our own
benefit.
Because after 11 months, the effects really start
to wear off, and we need that booster.
We need that booster shot. We need that
boost after 11 months.
And the sacrifices, of course, can be challenging.
It's not easy
to go to work, to go to school,
in a state of fasting, to wake up
early, to sacrifice to sleep, to stand up
at night as much as possible.
So
Allah has offered us great incentives
as motivation.
Great incentives
with regards to there's different levels of people.
Right? There's those who do worship out of
fear.
There's those who do worship
to trade.
Right? With the feeling of the intention of
trading. I do some good good deeds. I'm
gonna get some rewards.
Right? I'm gonna get Jannah. There's some incentives.
Right? And then there's those who worship Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala out of love.
For Allah
Right? And in Ramadan, there's something for everyone.
There's something for everyone. The person who does
it out of fear, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is giving deliverance from the fire in the
month of Ramadan.
For the one who does it for good
deeds, for rewards, Allah
is increasing the rewards.
And the one who does it out of
love, Allah says, well,
fasting is for me and I will give
the reward for it. Right? So whichever level
you're at, you obviously wanna move to the
highest.
Right? Which is worshiping Allah out of love.
Right? But it's fine because in the Quran,
we know Allah is using these different means.
He uses fear.
Right? The carrot and the stick. There is
the the approach of the fear because that
works for some people. The fear of punishment.
There is the incentives.
Right? With promises of reward
in Jannah and good things in Jannah. And
that works for some.
So different things work for different people and
that's fine. Right?
But remember that the greater the sacrifice,
the greater the reward.
Special entry into Jannah for the people who
fast from the gate.
Forgiveness
for Allah
for those
who fast, for who stand at night, who
stand
multiplied rewards 70 times up to 700 times
even more.
Knows best. There's no shortage.
And the treasures of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
he can dish out as much as he
wants to whoever he wants.
And attaining the special love of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
May Allah
grant us a blessed Ramadan.
May Allah grant us in Ramadan of acceptance.
Ramadan of Taqwa. Ramadan
of Baraka.
Ramadan which is love, which is filled
with his love.
The Council of Imams of Arwa Gadna has
released a statement with regards to start of
Ramadan and the sighting of the moon. So
I'll read
that.
All praises
for Allah Almighty. May the peace and blessings
be upon the Messenger of Allah,
his family, his faithful companions all of those
who follow them.
Based on the moon sighting confirmation according to
the global moon sighting
criterion, the Council of Imams of Ottawa Gatineau
hereby declares that the first of Ramadan will
be on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Accordingly,
prayers will begin tonight, Friday, April 1st 2022
Since COVID-nineteen restrictions are now over, everyone is
encouraged to attend your local masjid and benefit
from the congregational prayers and their respective reward.
We should also express our gratitude for Allah
for getting us through the pandemic and once
again enabling us to resume our prayers together.
As for the amount of zakatul fitr or
sadaqatul fitr following the rules of fiqh on
the type of on the type commodities and
their respective weights, the council has set
$10 as a bare minimum to be paid
per person on behalf of all family members
including underage children, which of course is due
before Salatul al-'Aid.
Anyone wishing to pay more may do so
since there is no upper limit for this
obligation.
Now that we embark upon this blessed month
of Ramadan,
the Council of Imamzalwar Al Waggad now extends
its best wishes to all Canadians and Muslim
communities nationwide.
We hope that our fasting and good deeds
will be accepted and well received by Allah
Almighty
we call upon all Canadians and Muslims to
pray for the global victims of wars
and the resultant sufferings.
Let us encourage one another in earning the
pleasure of Allah
through the acts of piety, righteousness, and service
to humanity.
Signed by the council members, Imam Ahmad
from the Otawi Islamic Center,
Imam Amir Mallam from Jammu Omar, Imam Ismael
Al Batnouni from Assurullah Muslims Association, Masjid Al
Rahma, Imam Mohammed Badat from Masjid Bilal,
Imam Mohammed Saliman the Arab Muslim Association,
Imam Maylu Tajiri from the Elmer Mosque, Imam
Ois Tilly from Jamia Omar, Imam Rashid Al
Qasri from Majid Taqwa,
and I'm Sami Matwali from the Islamic Society
of Gloucester.
You're surely myself from the Canadian Muslim Association
and Imamzia Dalich from the South European Muslim
Community,
SNMC.
So with that, we will be starting,
Assalaatul Tarrawi tonight.
Here at 9:10,
Adhan is, you know, 8:56 as I see
on the screen.
We'll be starting at 9:10
afterwards.
We will be completing the restitution of the
entire Quran
in 29 days. As
is our practice,
and as is done in, in Masjid Al
Haram and Masjid Al Abu, inshallah, we will
be offering 20 rakaas of prayer. There's obviously,
you know, different,
opinions, different interpretations.
The established position in the whole form of
that is to have a minimum of 20
We will be doing that, but you're encouraged
to offer as much as you're able to
If you wanna do 8 and you're tired,
no problem. If you wanna do 20
no problem. So whatever you're able to do,
may
Allah accept from us all. It also gives
us an opportunity to allow,
some of our youth and different people to
lead as well because we have more, spots.
So, we will be, Tarabi prayers will be
led by Sheikh
Lohi as usual. But, Sheikh Hisham and, myself
and other brothers as well will be will
be leading as well. So we look forward
to seeing you here tonight,
brothers are welcome, sisters Sisters are welcome. Children
are welcome. We do have a mother child
room in basement hall 2 with a live
video feed. And we also,
especially wanna emphasize that children, of course, are
always welcome, and we love our children. But
we must ensure that children are always with
their parents and are especially not running around
whether inside the building or in the parking
lot because it is an extremely
serious safety hazard.
Tragically, a young girl, 2 years old, passed
away, was hit by a car in Houston
in 2018 during Ramadan,
and,
she she died from that. So,
we cannot, at any cost, have children running
around in the parking lot. If that happens,
I'm gonna have zero tolerance. I'm gonna start
the prayers if I see on the cameras
that there's any children still running outside. So
please bring your children with you. Keep them
with you. If there's school age children, if
they can't pray the whole time, you know,
give them a quiet activity they can do,
whether it's reading a book or playing with
a car or whatever.
Keep them with you. And if it gets
too much for them, then you can you
can take them home, and
except for me.
Okay. So brothers can please come forward and
fill in,
all the gaps.
So we make space for everyone.
Our dear uncle,
brother,
Niaz Ahmed,
is in hospital,
the father of our dear brother Latif.
He's going through a procedure this morning and
probably over by now. So let's, make special
dua for him and continue to make dua
for him and all of those who are
ill.
Please grant him and all of those who
are ill a complete and speedy recovery. Oh,
Allah. Oh, Allah. Please
ease all of the pain and suffering.
Oh, Allah. Anyone who is physically ill, mentally
ill, emotionally hurt. Oh, Allah. Please remove all
of their pain and suffering. Oh, Allah. Please
purify their bodies and their minds and their
souls from all types of illnesses and
pain. Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah. Please restore them
to perfect health and well-being.