How to prepare for Ramadan 2020
Tahir Wyatt – A Unique Ramadan
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AI: Transcript ©
And Alhamdulillah
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Because I don't want to.
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be in La hytera. Today
we're going to discuss how to prepare for Ramadan of 2020 or Ramadan 1441, which will probably go down in history as the year of the virus.
And
this is definitely a different Ramadan than the Ramadan's of old. For the majority of us. This will be the first time we've you know, we're looking forward to Ramadan without having total we're with the mid massage it being closed without having the big avatars that we are accustomed to. And so it's very important that we look at how to prepare for what is coming in front of us we could look at in corrib, as they say, everything that is approaching is close. And so what I'd like to do is, I want to take a step back
and have us recognize the importance of preparing for Ramadan in general. So we're going to talk about how to prepare for Ramadan in general and then specifically, how to prepare for Ramadan this year, because
there are going to be some common denominators, the way that you prepare for Ramadan any other time of the year is going or any other in any other year is going to be there's going to be some similarities for how you prepare for Ramadan. This year. The The first thing that I want to note and I think we'll just go through this step by step Neela. Hey, Jana, and if you have questions, then you'll be able to ask those questions at the end inshallah Hosanna. Because the the point here is to go through a practical way of really trying to get ourselves ready for it this month.
First and foremost, why do we fast the month of Ramadan? If we are able to answer this question? Why do I fast the month of Ramadan? If we're able to answer that question, then inshallah we'll be able to understand how to prepare for it and why preparation this year is not going to be that much different than the way we prepare. In other years.
We fast the month of Ramadan, dear Muslims, because Allah commanded us to fast the month of Ramadan. And it really is that simple. We are Muslims. And a Muslim is someone who Aslam and someone who submits someone who submits their will and their desire to what Allah Subhana who was either wills and we recognize that what Allah wants for us, what Allah has prescribed for us is for our own good.
This fasting of 29 or 30 days during the holy month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar. That is for our benefit, not because of loss of handouts, added benefits from it.
So we fast first and foremost to show our full submission to Allah subhanho wa Taala to show him that we recognize that he is our Lord and our caretaker and our cherisher and our master he is subhana wa tada and we are His servants.
So establishing or what is known as p. d, to establish our true servitude and our bondage to a loss of Hannah, who was Anna is the first
First reason that we fast Allah subhanho wa Taala has told us in the Quran yeah you are Latina Amina coochie Valley como si mo command kuchibhotla Latina man cobbly comme la la Khun cocoon, O you who believe fasting has been katiba and it has been written for you. And that construct in the Arabic language is used to show obligation. It has been written for you it has been obligated for you the way that it was obligated or now, it has been obligated for you just as it was obligated for those before you live the content so that you attain taqwa.
This takes us to the second point after a tabooed which is our worship of Allah Subhana who was Allah showing our servitude to him. Allah subhanho wa Taala says that he prescribed this fasting so that we would attain taqwa so that we would attain taqwa. And as we'll come to see, inshallah, tuck what is about what you do. And it is also about what you do not do and that is very important, because a lot of people think that tuck was simply that I increase in my prayers and that I increase in my bed that I, but they don't realize that Tuckwell also requires that you leave off things that are displeasing to Allah subhana wa Tada. So it's not enough that we increase in the good things,
while we're still doing things that are displeasing to Allah subhana wa jal and disliked by him. So Hannah who wattana and so in preparing for Ramadan, we have to understand well what is my objective? Why did a loss of Hannah who was Allah prescribed this fasting he says so that we attain taqwa tuck was oftentimes trans translated as the fear of Allah.
Sometimes it is translated as God consciousness. And that may be a little closer because ultimately what taqwa is, is that you are constantly aware of a loss of Hannah who was added and therefore because of your awareness of Allah, because you know that Allah Subhana Allah is watching you, you know that Allah subhana wa Taala is listening to you. You want him to see you do the things that are pleasing to Him, and you want to say things that are pleasing to Him. subhana wa Tada. So you want to make dua and you want to do as car and you want to recite the Quran, and you want to pray, you want to do those things that are pleased him and you want to avoid those things that are displeasing
to Allah subhanahu wa Tada. So both of those God consciousness and fear, some of the Sahaba of the Allahu Tana and home, described taqwa
when talking to one of their students said, Have you ever walked through like a thorn bush or rose garden and there's thorns? And he said, Yes. He said, What do you do? He said, a turkey. And I move out the way I moved to the right, I moved to the left. And so in doing that, he said, that is a tough one. That is a tough one, that you're avoiding those things that would subject you to the punishment of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So this part is very important for us to understand as we go along, we start talking about how are we going to prepare for Ramadan of 2020
you're going to have to keep in mind that the ultimate objective is a tough one. I don't want to jump the gun. But what you're going to see down the line is that even though we're not able to do some of the things that we previously were accustomed to doing in Ramadan, we can still achieve that goal of a taqwa in sha Allah who tada Another important element. Or another important objective related to Rama bind that is oftentimes overlooked,
is that we increase in the sugar of Allah subhanho wa Taala that we increase in gratitude.
And this Allah subhana wa tada also says, if you look at the
the end of the Iowa last man's alysus shouto Lama Bonilla, he was either he hit a chord on the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed at the end of that it says what he took me a while to come to LA had my dad come while I come to school, he says so that you complete the count. Okay, that is that you complete
The month of Ramadan that you complete the count. This has two different interpretations according to the minimum quota v. Rahim Allah to Allah, He says that the first is that this is a reminder for those who have not fasted the entire month of Ramadan. So they, they fasted, some of Ramadan, but they broke their fast on certain days because they were traveling or because they were ill or for other reasons. And so it's a reminder for them Leeteuk milliliter, so that you complete the count. So if you fasted 27 days, and you you know, you traveled on two or three days or something like that, to make sure that you make those days up. Okay, the the other interpretation is that you
complete the month, and it's 29 or 30 days, in other words, that you fast until the * out of show while is seen and that is when
eagle feather begins. And they're not mutually exclusive. Those statements, play what he took me to lead so that you complete the count while he too kept below law.
And so that you will magnify and glorify Allah Subhana which either for having guided you
while Allah come to school, and so that you are thankful so that you show sugar to Allah subhana wa Tada. This is actually one of the objectives of Ramadan. And a lot of times, people limit the gratitude to
material things that is that because you were fasting the entire day, and it's hot outside, for example, you were fasting for 14 hours or 15 hours or whatever the case may be.
That now you are appreciative of food, and you're appreciative of drink that you would normally take for granted. And so now we'll either come to school and so that you show gratitude, that you show gratitude to Allah Subhana Allah for his material blessings, and that's true. That that's not
that that's not wrong. However, the greater sugar is, goes back to the last minute I mentioned at the very beginning of the of this of the idea, he says shall hold on, hold on and let the Uzi to feel chorion
who deadliness s the the month of Ramadan in which the Koran was revealed as a guidance to mankind
Subhana Allah.
What
we are fasting for, in fact, is a commemoration of the revelation of the Quran. That we appreciate the fact that a loss of Hannah who were to Allah has given us guidance in the form of his speech, that is protected until yo metal pm.
Though core on is guidance, it is divine guidance from Allah Subhana which Allah that cannot be tampered with, until the day of judgment, that is that Allah subhanahu wa tada will protect this book, and protect his speech until the day of judgment. And that is profound. That is profound, because no other nation can claim that they have a book that has not been tampered with that they have direct revelation from Allah Subhana, who was added and on top of the direct revelation that we have from Allah subhana wa Tada. We also have his explanation in the sooner in this era of our Prophet Isaiah Salatu was salam, who lives the Quran, who brought its meanings to life, who taught
those meanings to his companions, while the Allahu tida and home. And so it's important that we understand that from the objectives of Ramadan is that we increase in gratitude that we increase an hour, thanks to a loss of Hannah horchata. And our sugar, of a loss of hand was added, yes for the material blessings that He has given us, for our food and for our drink and other things that we would normally take for granted.
That we want experiencing thirst and hunger and a different way that we appreciate more, what allows for hands on it has blessed us with but also that we appreciate the guidance that a loss of Hannah who what Allah has given us that is in the form of Revelation. And this type of sugar through fasting was known in the previous nations and without going into a lot of detail. When the prophet Isaiah Salatu was Salam
talked to the Jews of Medina about the fast of Musa
his sudden, He fasted musala a slam fasted Yo man shoot off. After a loss of hands either saved Moosa and his followers from theater own and his army, sama who shook Quran Allah, He fasted that day, out of thanks to Allah subhanahu wa Tada. Fasting is one of the ways that we show our gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa Tada. So all in all,
there are many other wisdoms, if you will, behind the fast, but if we can focus on these three, that is that I
show, express, my servitude, my bondage, my dear to a loss of Hannah who was added, by doing what he has commanded me to do. And I do what Allah tells me to do, whether I understand how I benefit from it or not. And I this is a point
that I really hope that we give some attention to.
Because
the way that I see some of the dour of Islam going, especially in the West, but I'm sure that it is in other places. It's almost as if some of us out are teaching people that you have to you have to be able to see the wisdom in the bed. You know, in other words, that if you don't really see any personal benefit out of the worship of Allah subhana wa tada then you know, it really is not that important to you. And that's, that's the wrong concept as Muslims, we have to realize that we are slaves first. And we do what Allah Subhana Allah commands us, whether we understand what we benefit from that, for what we benefit from that command or not. So we have to be worshipers of Allah
subhana wa tada and that is why we fast because Allah spent Allah made it an obligation. And when the prophets of light was selling was asked by jabril what is Islam? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Islam is to testify to lay the law, Muhammad Rasulullah. It is to establish the salaat it is to pay this account. It is the fast a month of Ramadan. This is one of the pillars of Islam. Again, whether we know why Allah Subhana Allah whether Eliza will reveal to us why he made it an obligation and that that really is beside the point. Now, out of out of Allah Subhana Allah is mercy for us and him knowing the human psychology knowing because He created us pen with Adam. He
knows that we are inquisitive beings that we do want to know why it is that we're doing certain things. So Allah Subhana Allah revealed to us in those is the solar tillbaka which is the only passage in the Quran that deals specifically with the month of Ramadan, Allah Subhana Allah says Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah contest Quran so that you attain taqwa, so that you will be grateful. And so understanding those meanings are very important as we prepare for the month of Ramadan, recognizing that it is important for us to reach those objectives, that we reach those objectives tight.
Also, it's important as we prepare for the month of Ramadan, to realize the great benefit
in fasting from the perspective of the hereafter.
What I mean by that,
meaning that we know that this life is temporary, we ask Allah subhanaw taala to make us for most those who reached the month of Ramadan, and who fasted he meant and what he said about a llama. I mean, we ask Allah Subhana Allah to make us from amongst those who reached the month of Ramadan and who fast it with Amen, and seeking his reward Allah whom I mean. So because we're not guaranteed this life is temporary we need to be we need to remind ourselves of that frequently. And especially in these times, you know, when we are dealing with a global pandemic, and people around us are contracting this virus and they are dying from this virus.
I know that not all of you are watching, obviously from the United States, but the United States where I'm at
has the worst case or the most deaths now in the world.
And yesterday alone, you know, something in the 4600 deaths in one day, and many of them are Muslims. I've myself done. Genesis, since this thing has started. I just got word yesterday about someone else from the community who passed and so we've been affected by this. And so panela who would have thought and when you look when you look back at Who would have thought so
Nobody in their 40s last month was going to die from a virus before Ramadan came. So
the point being is that this life is temporary, we're not guaranteed any time. We're not guaranteed, you know, to live to the month of Ramadan, even though it is only a week away. Now,
that being said, when we talk about the benefit of Ramadan for the hereafter. Well, what does that mean? That means that a loss of Han with China is giving us this opportunity to turn back to him. He's giving us a special month, where we refrain from our normal activity, where we now begin to starve our material selves, so that we can nourish the spiritual self, what I mean by that, that we are made up of body and soul. And when that soul leaves the body, then we are no longer alive. That soul right now is inside of us. It needs to be nourished. But oftentimes, because we're so busy feeding ourselves, drinking and doing other things and being very comfortable, we're able to neglect
our souls. Allah Subhana, Allah gives us this month of Ramadan to try to reset some level of balance. And so now we starve in effect, we starve our physical selves, these bodies, and now we're able to focus more on nourishing the soul through the care of a loss of hands and making reciting the Quran, focusing more on our salaat in the end, the other things that help us to create that strong bond with our creators of Hannah who was added. And so this month of Ramadan is a great opportunity to prepare for our meeting with Allah Subhana who was added in if we are able to do it in a way that is pleasing to Allah subhana wa Tada. We will finish Ramadan haven't been forgiven of
all of our previous sins being cleaned. We didn't lie to Allah. The prophet Isaiah Salatu was sent in told us and there's so many Hadith that we could go over to deal with the virtue of Ramadan. That's not really the point here. Hopefully someone else has already done that and you can benefit that from someone else. But I just want us to look at three things that the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said all of you have heard this hadith but I want it to sink in the Prophet sallahu wa sallam said min sama, Rama Ivana amen and YT Sabha, who fear Allah who metta Kadima mean then be he who ever fast the month of Ramadan with IE men
and pay attention here. He says with a man that is with faith. Okay, I'm a Muslim, what do you mean with faith? Yeah, and why else would I be fasting the month of Ramadan? Well, Why else? Some people fast on a bomb because it's cultural. Not really because of he man. But because everybody in the family fast from a bond
because my name is Mohammed affairs, the month of Ramadan. It is it really because I truly believe that Allah Subhana Allah has made this an obligation and I recognize that I am a servant of Allah, that I'm not on this earth, you know, to just work all day and be a consumer or to take other people's money because their consumers or whatever else, you know, to enjoy these temporary pleasures I'm on earth to serve a loss of habitat. ie men and and you fast
look, and this is how you can ask yourself this question.
If everybody else in your house
last month Allah forbid, but if everybody else in your house is you know what? Not fasting this month, this Ramadan it's just a little too difficult.
You know, with the whole COVID thing and can't go to the masjid and we can't have our nice if tars and all its events. No, I'm not fasting everybody else in the house.
You will say I don't know what's wrong with you people but I'm fasting the month of Ramadan. Amen. And because I have true faith and allows fans out forget if it was just your house. What if everybody in the neighborhood What if the whole country just decided you know, we're just not going fast this mother woman once this thing is lifted, we'll make up Ramadan, we'll come back maybe you know, November or something like that which is all fast. Let you say no. I'm fasting. Amen. And that's number one.
Number 287 that you are seeking reward from Allah subhanho wa tada and from Him alone, from him alone. Okay.
In other words,
you're not fat.
thing because you're you want your parents to be happy with you, because you want your community to be happy with you, or for any other reason except that you want your reward from Allah subhanho wa Taala in the hereafter. And that's why you fast, whoever fast with mn YT Serbian, Allah subhanho wa Taala our prophets lie Selim told us who fear Allah who mazzucato means MB, all of his previous sins will be forgiven hamdulillah Subhana Allah. Now, I'm going to ask you as we start to prepare for this month, for this month, that is coming up where the messages are closed. Can you still fast Eman and YT server?
The answer is absolutely. So you can still be forgiven of your sins. Even though the messages are closed. Even though we can't get together for Iftar
you can still be forgiven of your sins. You can fast and you will and Sharla and you'll refrain from those things that are loss of Hannah who were to add dislikes are prophets alive. Someone said before I get back to this Heidi The prophet SAW he sent himself as cmo June fasting is a shield and shield from what a shield from you doing things that are displeasing to Allah subhana wa tada
That's it, it helps you It protects you, fasting protects you. And you will need the protection that fasting offers you you're going to need that in this life and you need that in the next. So
the problem is a lot It was some of them went on to say woman karma, law Medina, he man and what he said and who fear Allah who massacred gamma men then v. And whoever stands I'm going to do a direct translation of that I'll talk about what it means. Whoever stands in Rama bond
with a man and with
faith and a loss of hands on seeking his reward alone. not seeking the the the you know, praise of the community or anything else but you stand in the month of Ramadan with truly man allows for his honor
and seeking for his reward will feel at home in society mentored him and me he all of his previous sins will be forgiven. Now
here's where many of the questions come in. How can I stand in the month of Ramadan and the message is closed? What am I supposed to do? Well
let's take a step back. The Companions
prayed
in the nights of Ramadan
for several years
during the lifetime of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam
How many times did they pray total? We're
three nights
three nights the pre total we're in the masjid
with the Prophet sallallahu wasallam
matched it was open
they weren't praying totally
what were they doing? They were praying in their homes
What about during this he'll ever have a bucket acidic? All the low tide? No.
They were praying
but not in the masjid not total we they were praying in their homes
were all of the companions who fall no no they weren't
let's look at the time of Armada we know how Pablo tada and who the beginning of his khilafah
they did not pray total we're in domestic
or they were not praying tada we're in congregation
until oh my god Allahu Tana and who Gemma whom and he he brought them all together behind one Amen.
It was obey even cab really alone China and who and then others who would lead the Sahaba and then that became the practice of the Muslims from that time until today.
Now, what does that mean for us?
How do we get this reward of standing in Ramadan? He meant and what he said now standing here as the scholars of Hadith mentioned, it refers to the night prayer refers to the night prayer meaning the prayer that is after salata Alicia and before fidgets, so that entire time there is a time for pm will leave. Okay. It is called to huddle
If you go to sleep first and then you wake up and pray that prayer is called to HUD but the entire night is called pm Elaine Damiani did this prayer that is done during the night after slots in Asia before its allotted budget, that is called tm LA.
So what can you do? Some people say, Well, I'm not a half of the Koran, well, neither would a majority of the Sahaba the majority would not have fun at that particular time.
That is not a condition for you to be considered to have prayed the nights. If you memorize for example, from soda to Lhasa, just sort of the last sort of finesse.
You can pray with soda to Lhasa, soda to ness. Those are that's 12 sodas you can pray 12 Records and then finish with one for selected wizard. And the Prophet sallallahu. wasallam is established in Sahih Muslim that he prayed 13 rocks now his normal was to pray 11 Records. We're not going to get into how the night prayers pray. That's a different topic. We're talking about how to prepare. How do you prepare from today we're about a week away from Ramadan. Start now reading over the Tafseer of some of what you've memorized from the Quran.
So that when you recite the Quran,
you're not speeding through it. You can actually go from soda to Lhasa to soda to NASS, and you'll pray just about as long as they pray in the masjid. 45 minutes for example. How do you do that? You do that by contemplating what it is that you're reciting.
So when you say Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim well as the start don't will actually underline senator because Allah denominator don't read like that will also let it sink in. What am I saying here? I'm saying the last panel to Allah here is swearing by alacer.
In the lasser is not just time, it's alasa, which is a specific time, the specific time being the evening. So after that, it's the afternoon but now we're going in tonight,
which is a reminder that time is running out.
The time is running out while also by the time that is running out. It's going away it's about to be night day is going to be over the life is going to be over and then there is night
in Al insana left the house.
And the mankind is in loss and loss. And so you think about that, let that sink in for a minute. Wait a minute, this whole life um, I mean, me, my family, my children, we're all at loss, except for those who have these following four qualities. When you resize one or two losses that way, you're not going to recite it in five seconds.
And then you say Allahu Akbar, and you stay in your
record
Subhana Allah, Allah subhana wa vilavi and the other car that are mentioned in record and you can stay on record for a minute, for longer, send me a la halimun hamidah benoa Cal Hamed Hamden, Catherine, Eben Mubarak can feed to the end. And then you make sure that you can stay in situ for a long time and make do I in the correct opinion of the scholars of Islam is that you can make do AI and sujood in any language. So if you don't, if you don't, if you don't know Arabic, like if you can't make the DA in Arabic, the make the DA in any language you like Institute, after you say Subhana Allah, Allah Subhana Allah bl Allah, you want to say it 10 times 20 times, make your select
count. And guess what?
I genuinely believe
that you will find this very rewarding. Yes, it's not the same as going and praying and congregation behind the man. But a lot of times, we allow the man to do the heavy lifting and we don't do any work for ourselves. We after celestial mother stuffs and boosters down our you know capsa and everything else, and we just go to salaat you can't even think about the salon because you've eaten so much.
And then you just let the man do his thing. You wait till noon and then you wake back up a little bit and you just say me
I mean me, and then call us Salaam out to the right to the left and Mashallah, Danny, we've stood the night,
this year is going to be different. This year, you're going to have to take some initiative to work. And what I'm saying is each person
does. Whatever lost parents, Allah has given them the ability to do. If you are happy with Hamdulillah, lead your family, and salaat
if you're not a half, but you've memorized the good portion of the Quran, then lead them with what you have memorized in the Quran. It is not a condition to do a hotma in the salon for you to get the reward of those from the prophets of light it was some say whoever stands the nights of Ramadan with Amen, and seeking the laws reward who fear Allah who massacred them and then be that they will be forgiven of all of the previous sins. You don't have to do a hotma to get that reward.
Is it best to do a hotma? Absolutely. That is what some of the scholars have deduced from the Hadith of the Prophet Isaiah Salatu was Salam
where he mentions that jabril would come to him during Ramadan, and they would only get to that code on unquote, metadata. Soon, they would study the Quran, I need the prophecy sentiment recite to jabril and they would complete the entire Quran. So from that, the scholars say that the hutzpah in the salaat itself is something that is desired. However, if you cannot do that, that's not in your ability, do what you can and be in the light to it, you'll still get that reward.
For those of you who may know how to recite the Quran well, but haven't memorized much it is permissible for you to hold the most have that is the one that is leading the slot.
Not the ones behind him is better that they do not hold the most half, but that he holds the most half leads the leads his family and salada leads himself into salaat and inshallah, you will be amongst those who are forgiven for the previous since then the prophet Isaiah Salatu was Salam went on to say, woman comma, Laila telecom God, amen and yT serba who fear Allah who menchaca dama mean then be he and whoever stands the night of Qatar with Eamon and Mt. Sam, and his previous sins will be forgiven. And from that, we you know, when we look at the practice of the prophet Isaiah is selected with Sam and what we understand is that here a person should should worship Allah Subhana
Allah for the majority of the night of Laila Takata and only stop for those things
for example, that would
that are necessary like you know, he's got to eat something he for example, you know, whatever else a person needs to do, but other than that, other than that, that they should spend Laila Takada doing as many bad dat as possible. For those who might be asking about, you know, if if I can hold the must have in my, in my salon, during the salon, can I use the phone because we have a mishap on the phone for example, that is permissible to use the phone
anything else I mean, you don't have to hold the entire must have sometimes people have a 10th of the Quran for example, sometimes there's each Jews, you know, so it doesn't have to be entire must have. So if a person wants to use their phone, then that is fine to use the phone tell you I want to end this talk I actually wasn't planning on speaking for for as long as I have already which is almost 40 minutes. And the reason because I actually have to give a hook by and not too long. inshallah. So I'm going to wrap up with some general advice in the 90 to Allah about preparation for Ramadan, I asked a lot of friends Allah to forgive me for my shortcomings. There's a lot that I
would have liked to have said, but don't have the ability to get to this point. So I'm going to you know, hopefully give some advice. This advice is for me first, and hopefully you all benefit from it. And maybe if there's anything that you're going to start writing down, then I would recommend that you start writing down from now
the first piece of advice that I have in terms of preparation for this Ramadan
is to begin from today. rekindling your relationship with the book of Allah subhana wa Tada.
Do not wait for Ramadan to start reading the Quran.
So start from today. Prepared
yourself to lead yourself and salaat
start from today getting your tongue loose with the Koran. Start from today, reading the meanings of the Quran in whatever language you are more familiar with. Start from today, reading the Tafseer of the quarter I
start from today. And if not today because it's late wherever you are, and you're going to sleep, then from tomorrow, but don't wait until the beginning of Ramadan. Start getting in the habit right now, of rekindling that relationship with the book of Allah subhana wa tada because ultimately we are fasting this month of Ramadan out of sugar to lots of hands out if I haven't revealed this book to us. This is the month of the Quran, we need to spend as much time with the book of Allah subhanho wa Taala as possible. So if you are a half, or you have studied the Quran before Alhamdulillah If not, don't despair. And don't think that you can't memorize the Quran because you haven't in the
past. Go to look at it, that comm m UQ ri.com or find some other website mocha is really nice and hum de la noche el mocha mocha.com. And it'll take you to the English version. And you can set what shape you want to listen to, which is you want to listen to how many times you want it to repeat and so forth, so that you can get used to reading the Quran. All right, start that from now. That is one of the things that is necessary for preparation for Ramadan. To build on that.
Make yourself a list. Make a list of goals that you have for yourself and this Ramadan. those goals should be tangible, meaning you should be able to measure those goals as you are going along. So don't just make abstract goals. Like for example, if one of your goals is to become more thankful, in the month of Ramadan, okay, set set aside a tangible way to measure your gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa Tada. For example.
The Prophet it is Salatu was Salam semalam, Yesh. quirinus Let me show the law, whoever doesn't think that people hasn't thanked a lot. So make it a goal
that you think your spouse at least 20 times a day.
Believe me, you can find 20 things that your spouse has done for you throughout the day that you should be thankful for that we normally take for granted. We normally take them for granted. So panela. And we just think that it's something that the that my wife was supposed to do or something that my husband is supposed to do. So be even if it's something that they're supposed to do, should we not still be thankful for those things, even though it's my obligation
to do A, B, C and D?
Wouldn't it be nice if the other person was appreciative of the fact that I'm fulfilling those obligations, some kind of law? So the reality is, is that thanking one's spouse, thanking your children thanking your parents, so panela so that you become used to giving thanks that you start because when you start giving things when you start, you start to pay attention to some of the things that you haven't paid attention to before my point is, if you want to become more thankful, don't just write down on a piece of paper, I want to be more thankful that set set tangible goals for yourself. The other thing that is directly related to what we just talked about, is during the
month of Ramadan,
you need to be spending at least an hour a day trying to memorize the Quran or reviewing which you have already memorized of the Koran. And it would be best if the entire family did that at the same time.
Make that an objective for you this Ramadan figure out before Ramadan make a schedule figure out when you're going to use certain times for what if you come together as a family and you read Tafseer now Tafseer Dominica theatres in English, it's the summarized version. But tafsir ibn katheer for a lot of people, especially for younger people and for people don't have a lot of patience to associated with you can be a bit involved to have sera sera the commonly known as Tafseer. Sadie is also available in English and 10 volumes. It's it's an easier read than tough theater because theater is a different style of Tafseer and I recommend it highly and you can get it
on PDF, you know if you don't have the the hardcopy available, take some time spend some time with your family as a whole reading this you know
rekindling redeveloping that relationship with the book of a loss of Hamlet out of the book of Eliza. Adele is not just Arabic words that only Arabs can understand only people who understand Arabic Yes, you know, in order to get the full meanings, you're going to have to do a deep dive in Arabic. But what I'm saying is, yes, there's a blessing for every letter that you recite of the Quran. But it means that much more, and it has that much more benefit, when you actually understand what you're reciting. You understand what the loss of data is telling us, because that's where the guidance comes from. That is that that is where the guidance that you need in your life comes from
understanding the book of Allah subhanho wa Taala. So so the first thing is start from now, you know, reading and reciting the Quran, and getting your tongue loose, and so forth. And reading the Tafseer. And number two is to develop a schedule that allows you to take advantage during the time during the daytime of Ramadan, and spending that time with the prime. The third thing that I think is very important for you to do from now is to start memorizing a do i a day or do I every other day? Because the normal line is also the month of the Do I have, do I? You'll notice that the only passages I mentioned before in the Quran, that directly addresses the month of Ramadan, there are
five is okay. begins with Yeah, you're Latina mo kuchibhotla, como si M, which is the I think the it's in sort of tillbaka, maybe 183rd, I may 182nd 183rd eye, and it goes to
*, alaikum laylatul cm or BufferedReader any set equal, it is made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the night of mama bond. So that's where it stops. So it's from 183rd to 187 I Five Eyes, right there. In those eyes, a lot parents Allah says what
do I need for in the accardi? If my servants ask you, oh, Mohammed Salah is about me. I am near huji boo Tao today he that died, I answered the Do I have the one who calls upon me when he calls upon me.
So Ramadan is also a month of law. And the best two eyes of the two eyes of our Prophet Isaiah Salatu was sent in. So spend some time starting from now
looking at the do eyes that you can make.
And I would I would recommend starting with a quarterback.
And he those two eyes that the Prophet sallallahu wasallam made consistently in the morning and in the evening.
Start with those two eyes, because those two hours you're going to start making them in the month, you're only starting from now. And you're going to increase gradually, don't look at it and say oh my god 22 eyes and I got to learn these long ones, and so forth that take your time, memorize one by one, but as you memorize it, incorporate it, because once you memorize it, now you're seeing it every morning and every evening, it becomes a part of your life. And then you do that with the second one. And the third one and the fourth one, by the time you finish trauma bond, you now are spending for example 10 minutes in the morning 10 minutes in the evening and the remembrance of
Allah subhanaw taala calling upon him, you will gain his protection you will gain his aid you will gain victory from a loss of hand was added because you are remembering him. So take the time, take the time to start from now. And making those do it and incorporating them and figuring out a time specifically that you will begin to memorize them in the month of Ramadan. Now, that being said, those are just some practical things that you can do. Scheduling is very important. And the Muslim is very diligent and keen on not wasting his or her time as a hustle and bustle either him or her alongside us. So you have an Adam in the mat and a yen for either they have a Yeoman they have about
look, Oh son of Adam, you are nothing but days. And if you look at our construction, we are constructed of days. I mean, yes, physically were constructed of, you know, 75% water and you know cells and so forth, and flesh and bones, but but if you look at what our lives actually are, we are what we are days. Every day that goes by a part of us goes and we get that much closer to our lives being over. And so Muslim is key you got to take advantage of of your time and doing so requires that you have some type of schedule for yourself.
Now, last thing, because we've gone over the time that I dedicated to this. And if there are any questions, I'm going to ask that the administration, send them directly to my phone because I'm not able to read them off the computer. So if you can send them to my phone, I'll answer questions for another,
you know, five to 10 minutes, Max inshallah. But I want to leave you with this point here. And that is, it's not always about what you do. As I mentioned before, tuck was about what you don't do as well.
So, from now,
delete all of the time wasting apps that you have on your phone. after Ramadan, you want to bring them back, and you want to waste your time. That's your business. But respect the month of Ramadan, we're not talking I'm not talking about here. halaal and homasote haram should be left period. Okay, but if there are things that are allowed, you want to play a little game. grownups playing video games, I'm not I don't understand that concept. But even for the children, get rid of your video games. It's the month of Ramadan, no Netflix, no television, movies, get rid of that stuff. Get that stuff out of your lives. It's a month, dedicate that month to the Quran. Dedicate that month to do
dedicate that month to reading things that are beneficial dedicate that month to helping yourselves grow and develop as a family.
You know,
don't spend so much time consuming news we are not government we don't have any say in what goes on Okay, you need to know world events for what exactly are you changing the world? And I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I'm not trying to talk them but we have to be realistic about what this month means we can't we took me late Do you want to you want complete days you want to be complete in those days, you want the complete reward from Allah subhanahu wa Tada. So, it's very important that, you know, we take advantage of our time in Ramadan, and part of taking advantage of that of that time is cutting out the fat, get rid of that stuff, you know, things that aren't going to benefit you a
whole bunch of social media. Okay, fine. If you're listening to YouTube videos, and you, you know, you're benefiting from those during the month of Ramadan, okay, but don't do the rabbit hole YouTube thing, you start one video. And then somehow four hours went by, you don't even know what happened. And you're not using your time for you. You know, again, a lot of times what has happened in the month of Ramadan is we've gotten used to allowing everybody else to do the work for us, while the master was open, and now we've got to take and do some work for ourselves. In fact, and I'll say this, a lot of times the avatars are very nice. And the Prophet alayhi salatu salam said he saw me
for 10 for the one who fast he has two times of enjoyment. One of them is when he breaks is faster than the other one is when he meets his Lord. Part of the beauty of if taught is the communal element, right, we get together, we break fast together and so forth.
That's not happening this year, in most places, if not in all places. But but then that may be a blessing in disguise, because a lot of times those social gatherings can sometimes devolve into things that are not pleasing to Allah, Allah weathers backbiting and showing off or whatever else it might be. And so now you can have a little extra time because you're not, you know, cooking these elaborate meals for neighbors and you know, each family trying to outdo the other family and so forth. And now you may have a little more time so the point being is this, take advantage of your time, get rid of the fluff, get that stuff out of your life and be in Atlanta either that will help
our spiritual growth during this month of Ramadan which is definitely going to be different than the ones that we've experienced in the past and we asked Allah Subhana Allah to lift from us this burlap this trial and to allow us to appreciate his blessing Subhana who was added and to make us from amongst the righteous and make us a from amongst the guided who guide others will all Island Solo is one of Avada and Amina Mohammed. I'm going to look at the questions here. One of the questions says, Can one read from the phone instead of the mishap? I didn't answer that question. Yes, if you have a mishap on your phone is permissible to hold the phone and read from there. If that is that is for
the Imam as for the ones following the Imam
there is no point to hold the most have just listened to the recitation of the Imam
and that would differ in a scenario where the Imam is reading from his hip in the masjid and he needs somebody to follow behind him but only that person type. Next question if one is diabetic is fasting compulsory. diabetics are of different types. And so I'm not going to answer that question. In general, I would recommend that each person who has diabetes
Who has not fasted in the past? Or,
you know, has not consulted their physician in the past that they consult their physician dealing with that question.
Next advice for new Muslims who will be experiencing their first Ramadan, I would actually say new Muslims this year may actually have it easier than the rest of the people because they don't know what they're missing, right Subhanallah so they don't know that experience of you know, that that the communal element of Ramadan, but but my advice to them would actually be my advice, actually, to the people who know those new Muslims who are not new Muslims themselves, make it easy for them, try to help them work through what they have to do, you know, in terms of making sure that they're up for support. Because it's very important that that meal, especially for people who haven't fasted
before, you know, the longer days, it's very important that they get the meal of support and
helping them
occupy their time throughout the day with things that are beneficial, so that they're not constantly thinking about the fact that they're
home hungry, or that they is thirsty. And I believe that that's very important. For the first five or six days after that, they will grow accustomed to the fast themselves being the night sign up, perhaps, you know, some type of meetings online where there's some Quran study that is done for the new Muslims online, that would be very beneficial and that can be led by you know, somebody who has some degree of knowledge but it doesn't have to be somebody who's a you know, bona fide tolerable. The idea is just to occupy the time reading Tafseer study or, or something else along those lines, that the new Muslim is not different from any other Muslim, in that sense, in the sense that, you
know, spending your days fasting, spending your nights doing some type of prayer, and avoiding those things that are displeasing to Allah subhanho wa Taala will won't get the reward per letter if reading the English Koran. The reward that was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah Salatu was Salam per letter is for reading the Quran in Arabic, which is an encouragement for those who do not know how to read Arabic to take some time to learn how to read Arabic, many people and Alhamdulillah we have experienced in this area, a lot of people are able to learn how to read the Quran in three months or less, with very little daily effort, meaning that it doesn't take them a long time to learn how to
read the Quran in Arabic. reading the Quran in English is still very beneficial, but there's no specific reward for it but it is without a doubt rewarded by Allah subhanho wa Taala because you are striving to learn his Deen and striving to learn his words. Can me and women pray same Jamaat, in different rooms have an M have an apartment due to lack of space? Yeah, as long as you all are in the same apartment building and they can hear you and they can see you and or in other words, they can see the movements or they can hear your recitation and be able to follow you the stipulation is that you are all in the same place. Okay? And you know, even if you are in different rooms of that
apartment, that you are still all in the same place that you've congregated for that purpose, and that they can follow you shake when we're reading the Quran and Eliza wrong to look at translation to understand what we are reading. Yes, it is not correct to look at the translation while you are in the salon itself. So you should do that before the salon and just try to understand you'll start learning words as you go along. And the salon has its own tastes. So the same way that when you would go pray any photo salon you're not
reading the you know, you're not following you know with with the translation you also would not do that in the nephila salon type.
Is it okay to leave fast and for a 74 year old or she has stone in kidney and needs a lot of water during the day to flush out the stone and also high blood pressure. So this would be considered a temporary illness and they can break the fast and make up the fast at a later date. If the 74 year old
is somebody who has reached the point where they do not have the ability to fast at all like and not just right now because they have a stone in their kidney that they are going to do kathrada for every day, and that cafardo would be to feed a person for each day. A needy person for each day. Not just any person but a needy person.
If they give them dry goods, it needs to be half of a SAR, which is approximately a kilo and a half of whatever it is that they choose whether it's rice or something else. Or they can, they can feed them a meal. That is if they don't have the ability to fast at all, but if this is just a temporary thing, for example, she fasted last year when she was 73. she expects to be able to fast a little later once her health gets better, then she doesn't have any kathrada all she has to do is make up the days that she missed. And the last thing is Allah knows best what to do if someone worries about what will happen during this COVID-19 time our business will be affected and so on. So how to
motivate this person that's beyond the scope of what we're talking about today will almost and hopefully somebody else can deal with that question.
I really have to stop now just answer this these this last one kind of person have intention fasting for a lot and losing weight. The intention needs to be for Allah subhanho wa Taala alone for the month of Ramadan it needs to be for a loss of hematite alone. The fact that may be secondary in their mind is that inshallah I'm going to lose some weight as well. That doesn't affect the the class that does not affect the class the fact that it's in your mind that oh hopefully I can also lose some weight but the fashion not be for the purpose of of losing weight. What's the nussey High Performance t calf in current times there is no it can't because there's no mention it to calf has
to be in the measured according to the scholars of Islam. Can my 13 year old son leader since a lot because he knows more crime than me absolutely. The 13 year old can lead you and so I will always add to it. I have to go now exactly located on for tuning in Santa Coloma. We have to go shadow a little code to retake