Sikander Hashmi – Ramadan Ready KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
The Lord of the universe,
our creator, our sustainer, our nourisher.
And we begin by sending peace and salutations
upon his beloved messenger, Muhammad, the son of
Abdullah,
sallallahu
alayhi waala alayhi wa salaam.
My dear brothers and sisters,
imagine,
for a moment,
if you won a shopping spree
at Tanger Outlets,
30 minutes
to pick up whatever you want
from whichever store you want,
no matter the cost. You just go in,
and you go to whichever store you want
to go to, and you pick up whatever
you wanna pick up.
Or imagine if you are able to purchase
the latest gadget, whether it's an iPhone
or any other gadget,
for 75%
off,
but only for 1 night.
Imagine a developer
offered new homes. We know where home prices
are going.
If a developer offered you no new homes
for half the price,
an $800,000
house
for $400,000,
but with one condition,
that you have to wake up
at 3 in the morning and line up.
Imagine if the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
announced today
that mortgages will be reduced,
forgiven
up to 70%.
And there's so much demand
that you have to line up.
And there's so many people lined up
that you take turns with your family members,
and you have to stand for a few
hours each night.
Or imagine if your employer
increased your overtime pay
by 70 times for a month.
In all of these scenarios,
the vast majority of people,
the overwhelming majority of people,
will be ready to do it without skipping
a beat.
Without thinking for a moment, people will say,
yes, I am ready for this.
Yes. I am willing to make that sacrifice.
And they will not just be ready, but
they will actually be excited.
They'll be posting about it on social media.
They'll be telling their friends about it. They
won't be able to stop thinking about it.
They're gonna start planning. Okay. Which store am
I gonna go to? What am I gonna
buy?
Which are the most valuable items I can
pick up? The most expensive items.
How am I going to line up? What
are the things that I need? And so
on and so forth.
And they will prepare for it to the
best of their ability.
They will pray
that they don't do something to mess it
up.
You know, sometimes you get some good news
and you wonder, oh, was it a mistake?
You won a prize. Oh, was it a
mistake?
What if I do something? You know, roll
up the rim to win is on.
Right? There's a skill testing question. What if
I answer the question wrong, and I lose
out on a car or on a bid
prize?
So they're trying they're praying, and they're trying
their best
not to do anything to mess up their
chances
and to miss this opportunity that they have.
My brothers and sisters, for our pious predecessors,
Ramadan
was much more
exciting.
Ramadan
was much more deserving
of more preparation
and more prayers
for the opportunity
to witness it and to live it in
the best way possible.
It is related from
some of the pious early Muslims from the
Sahaba
radiAllahu anhu, and even
potentially from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
that they will make this dua that Allah
Ramadan.
Oh, Allah,
safeguard for me the month of Ramadan.
Safe or rather, safeguard me for the month
of Ramadan.
Meaning,
make me see the month of Ramadan in
a state in which I am healthy
and fit,
and safeguard the month of Ramadan for me
by making the conditions in it. Meaning, that
by making the conditions in it such that
I can take maximum benefit from it, What,
in a state that it is accepted from
me.
So making dua to Allah
for Ramadan to be sound for us, for
us to be sound for Ramadan,
and for it to be an accepted Ramadan.
May Allah
grant us all of this coming
Brothers and sisters, the month of Ramadan
is a blessed month in every way.
In every way, it is a blessed month.
Every moment of it is immersed
in blessings.
It's blessed in its time.
It's blessed in its actions
that are done therein. It is blessed in
terms of rewards,
and it is blessed
with the night of light at Luqadd.
And most importantly, my brothers and sisters,
it is a gift.
It is a gift from
our rub for this ummah.
See, the way we look at things,
our perception, our attitude
determines
how we deal with it, how we perceive
it,
how we take it,
how we feel about it.
Many times, we think of Ramadan as a
burden.
Oh, we have to fast.
Oh, no. I'm gonna have to stay up
at night.
Oh, my schedule is gonna be messed up.
So we look at it as a burden.
But Ramadan is not a burden. It's the
opposite.
It's the complete opposite because it is a
tremendous gift and opportunity from our lord, from
Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. It is something
that is actually needed for our spiritual well-being.
We need it.
We need it for our well-being.
But perhaps because it involves hardship
and let's face it. Many things that we
need do involve some hardship.
If you want to succeed at school, you
have to study hard.
If you wanna succeed at work and get
a promotion, you have to work hard.
Right? People who want good health, as I
was mentioning last week, they go out. They
work
out. Like I said, they were jogging, you
know, 5 AM in the morning every morning,
no matter the weather.
So when we need when we want something
and we desire something, we have to work
hard.
Ramadan
is needed for our spiritual well-being, and therefore,
it does involve
some hardship.
But perhaps it is because of those hardships
that our merciful
has surrounded that hardship with his love,
has surrounded that hardship with his mercy, has
surrounded that hardship with his forgiveness,
has surrounded those hardships with blessings
and increased rewards.
It was narrated from Talha bin Ubaidullah,
radiAllahu an,
that 2 men from Badi came to the
messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
They had become Muslim together,
but one of them
used to strive harder than the other. One
of them was a
harder worker.
The one who used to strive harder
went out
to struggle
in the path of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
and he was martyred.
He was
made a shahi.
The other one stayed for a year longer.
So 2 men,
similar circumstances,
both accepted Islam at the same time.
The first one used to work harder.
He went out and struggled in the path
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
and he was martyred.
The second one, who did not work perhaps
as hard,
he lived for another year, and then he
passed away.
Talha radiAllahu anhu said, I saw a dream
that I was at the gate
of Jannah,
and I saw those 2 men.
Someone came out of Jannah
and admitted the one who had died last.
Isn't that interesting? Someone came out of Jannah
in the dream and admitted the one into
Jannah who had died last, meaning not the
one who was a shayid
and not the one who used to work
harder.
Then he came out and admitted the one
who had been martyred.
Then he came back to me and said,
go back, for your time has not yet
come, meaning to Tal Harrudu.
The next morning,
Talha told the people of that, and they
were amazed.
News of that reached
the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
And they told him the story, and he
said,
why are you so amazed at that?
And he said, you Rasulullah,
the first one was the one who strove
harder.
Then he was made a shahid,
but the other one was admitted to Jannah
before him.
Rasulullah he sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
that did he not stay behind
for a year, meaning for a year, longer
than the first
one? Lubala, he said yes.
And did not Ramadan
come?
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam asked, did
not did Ramadan not come, and did he
not fast?
And
he offered such and such prayers during that
year.
He said,
Rasulullah,
he
said, the difference between them is greater
than the difference between heaven and earth.
SubhanAllah. The difference between them
is
greater than the difference
between heaven and earth.
Why?
Because he got one more extra Ramadan in
which he fasted,
in which he prayed sincerely to Allah
So my brothers and sisters, the opportunity is
tremendous,
and it's important to prepare
ourselves
to maximize benefits so that we don't lose
out.
Because what we don't want to be
is a loser at the end of Ramadan.
And the loser at the end of Ramadan
is the person, not the one who is
tired, not the one who has less wealth
because they gave them charity,
not the one who is feeling exhausted,
but rather the loser at the end of
Ramadan is the one who ends Ramadan without
forgiveness,
without being forgiven by Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala without gaining the rewards, and Rasulullah
has warned us that there might be
And the.
May Allah
protect us from being among such people, Ameen.
Preparing some decorations
to excite our children
is fine for Ramadan,
but that's not exactly the type of preparation
that I'm referring to.
Preparation
is of 2 types, of course.
Physical well, 3 types, really. Physical, mental,
spiritual.
We prepare ourselves mentally
by thinking about Ramadan, by hearing such words
about Ramadan, by getting excited about Ramadan.
But we should always we should also
prepare ourselves
physically as well.
So first of all, of course,
fasting is something which takes a toll on
our bodies
or most people. Right? Masha'Allah, some people, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, has given them great strength.
They are strong as we were discussing last
week, and it may be easy for them.
And as the days get shorter, it becomes
easier, alhamdulillah,
in the wintertime for us.
But one of the things we can do
to prepare physically for fasting, apart from actually
fasting in the month of Shaba'an, which is
highly recommended, is to space out our meals
as we get closer to the month of
Ramadan.
So the first pass of the month will
begin around 5:16
AM,
and
it will end at 7:35
PM
in Ottawa.
So it's a good idea to prepare,
like, maybe having earlier breakfast, lighter lunches, later
dinners. So we prepare our body so that
when the first day comes,
we are not in,
you know, sudden shock and withdrawal, number 1.
Number 2, very important, is to seek medical
advice.
Because fasting is obligatory,
but not at the expense of one's health.
K? So schedule a checkup. If you are
able to,
consult a doctor and, ideally, a Muslim doctor
who understands the importance and the value of
fasting in Ramadan.
And find out
if there's a strong possibility
that fasting and not taking your medications, if
you are on regular medications,
especially for long hours, could be damaging to
your to your health.
And if there's a good possibility that by
you know, if you're skipping a dose
or if you're taking them early and early
in the morning and and late in the
evening,
if there's a strong possibility that that could
be damaging to your health,
then speak to someone, a person of knowledge,
a scholar, an imam, and get a religious
opinion on what to do.
Adjust your schedule because your sleep schedule
will be shaken
in Ramadan,
and energy levels will fluctuate during the day.
So if possible, plan your workday in advance,
your work hours, your holidays, your time off
so that you can maintain
a good balance between work
performance
and worship performance.
You know? How many prayers can you offer
in the masjid every day?
You know? Are you able to take some
vacation maybe for the last 10 days of
Ramadan?
Maybe you can work shorter days.
Right? Aisha, in the 1st week, will be
offered
9:10
PM. So after that, of course, about 15,
20 minutes later, we start salatul Torah here.
And, you know, if you stay for the
full thing, it goes on for another hour,
an hour and a half, so you can
plan accordingly. Also,
important to cut the addictions.
You know? Right now, do you find it
difficult to get through your day without having
coffee or tea?
Or maybe smoking, which
is not permissible?
If so, then this is the time to
start weaning off those addictions.
Because, otherwise, it can become really, really hard
to get through the day and especially to
maximize the benefit
if you're gonna be suffering from withdrawal.
Getting organized.
You know, physical energy, brainpower will be at
a premium
in Ramadan.
So plan your meals,
prepare Ramadan, and even Eid grocery lists,
you know, gifts,
organize your closets, pick out your Eid clothes,
figure out your finances.
Anything else that you you know you're gonna
have to deal with in the month of
Ramadan,
try to get that out of the way
before Ramadan.
Never heard shufan early so that your Ramadan
is smooth.
Activities, because
things are opening up again. So things you
can you can do with your family
with regards, you know, activities in terms of
worship
or iftars,
attending taraweeh, lectures, or arts and crafts activities
you can do with your kids, whatever your
you want to do or you think of
things that you can do in the month
of
Ramadan to build that Ramadan spirit and to
keep it going. You wanna think about those
things right now if possible. But, of course,
most importantly,
apart from the physical
and the mental preparedness is the spiritual preparedness.
Because at the end of the day,
the point of staying hungry, that feeling we
have in the stomach, and the tiredness of
the legs and the sleeplessness,
it's not so that it just stays there,
so that we just feel hunger, or that
we just feel tired, or that we just
feel sleepy. But all of that is supposed
to channel here into our hearts.
Because at the end of the day, the
ultimate purpose
of fasting of Ramadan is to build tahm.
So it has to come down to this,
to the heart. So the spiritual preparedness
is the most important.
Right? So if you are not regular in
your prayers, you want to start thinking about
that and trying to get in as many
prayers
per day as possible,
especially on time. If you're already doing that,
alhamdulillah,
and seeing how many you can offer in
congregation, in jama'ah,
or and or adding
extra prayers.
So you get used to offering the nawafir.
So you get used to offering prayers at
night if you're not already used to it.
But also very important is
reconnecting
relations and cleaning our hearts of those feelings
towards others.
Because the forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
can be held back.
Forgiveness can be held back for people
who are on bad terms with others, who
have cut off relations with other relatives
and other brothers and sisters.
So it is very important to mend our
relationships
before Ramadan comes around, especially before Ramadan comes
around. Paying attention to halal and haram,
in terms of our food, our income, our
drink,
our clothing,
our behavior, because these things also affect the
acceptance of dua'a
and the acceptance
of our worship.
Phrasing out spiritual pollution,
media,
Netflix,
music,
movies, things which are not beneficial and potentially
contain haram.
Those are the things you want to phase
out now
so that your mind, your body, your ears,
your eyes, your heart
is ready to accept that which is pure,
is ready to accept that which is pure.
Right? You have to purify yourself
in order
to put in purity and to keep it.
And so think of those things that you
consume, not just in terms of physical
consumption
of food and drink,
but the things that you consume with your
eyes and your ears.
And start weaning those off as well. And
here's a little tip.
After Ramadan, once you have successfully weaned yourself
off for a month,
try not to go back to those.
Or even if you do, if you're not
able to stop yourself, then at least try
to go
back at a lower level,
not at the same level that you were
at before
Ramadan.
And, of course,
lastly,
we're connecting with the Quran. Allah tells
us,
Ramadan is the month in which
he sent down or which was sent down
the Quran as a guide
to mankind.
And also clear signs for guidance and judgment
between right and wrong.
Right? So Ramadan is the month of the
Quran when it's recitation, and even listening to
it is more meritorious.
So you don't want to suffer from withdrawal
once you increase your Quran to intake.
So start phasing out the other things you
listen to and the other things that you
read, and start making more time for Quran,
whether it is listening while you're driving or
taking a walk,
or reciting and especially with meaning,
reading the Tafasir,
the commentary,
whatever you can do to increase your relationship
with the Quran and try to enjoy it
as well. Remember, my brothers and sisters, for
the believers,
the benefits and rewards of Ramadan
are more valuable,
more valuable than any worldly items or possessions
or benefit
that we can possibly attain in this world.
So we ask Allah
to make us among those who are blessed
with witnessing Ramadan once again.
Not just witnessing,
but may I ask Allah
to make us, those who are well prepared,
those who derive maximum benefit from the blessed
month, those who are granted purification
of the hearts and Ramadan of love and
acceptance.
We have a number of, events coming up,
related to Ramadan. We've already had some, already,
some more coming up this Sunday.
Be having a special sisters lecture,
and discussion with regards to Ramadan planning, and
especially
challenges faced by,
by sisters and particularly mothers in the month
of Ramadan.
You know? Because it's, you know, it's it's
not easy with the various responsibilities
and duties. So therefore, insha'Allah, the sisters will
be having a special session, 1:30 PM, is
on
Sunday. And then after that, the session will
take place. All sisters are welcome to attend.
There's no registration required. Just show up.
We also have a, the youth council is
organizing the sisters halaqa for ages 13 to
18 next Friday,
March 25th.
And then, we also have children's circle on
that day, at 6 PM. The girls event
is at, Abdul Maghrib at 7:30 PM, Insha'Allah.
The next day, meaning not tomorrow, Saturday, but
the following Saturday, you'll have Imam Ahmed Limam
here from Gatlin, Insha'Allah, talking about Ramadan and
Allah's words. And the following day, we also
have the evening of Ramadan,
French activity for, our our children, inshallah, in
preparation of Ramadan. All of these events are
listed on our website atfradamsystems.ca/events,
and also on our Facebook page. So please
do check them out and do attend at
the local level.