Tariq Appleby – Productive Ramadhan For Proactive Youth

			Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah hard early he will be here tomorrow in
Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Time to relax in order for me to be here tonight I ask
Allah subhanho wa Taala to make the time that we spend together beneficial, that whatever we learn,
we learn only for his sake that Allah subhanho wa Taala makes us of those that will act upon what
they know, the topic that we want to cover tonight is an important topic. I suppose that every
person before the month of Ramadan, depending on your culture, I'm going to make a guess and say
that regardless of where you come from in the world, Ramadan is very important. For those of us that
		

			have grown up, you know, fasting, we were 567 years old when we started, you know, this is an
exciting time, and we look forward to the month of Ramadan. But there's something that nags at the
back of our minds at the end of every Ramadan and that is that feeling that we haven't made the most
of it. That feeling that I could have done better, I should have done better would have could have
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said do not say if or should have or could have because that
opens up the door for shaitaan. The Muslims Nagin is never negative is not a pessimist or she's not
a pessimist, but rather we are positive and we are optimist you know optimistic about the future
		

			optimistic about the present and we don't dwell on issues. So this Ramadan in sha Allah tala, we
want to take stock of the last Ramadan and so this is what I will begin with. The first thing that I
want us to do tonight is to take stock of the last Ramadan to talk about the good points to think
about them. What did I do last Ramadan that was truly productive? That was truly beneficial. What is
it that I did that I don't regret that I'm happy that I was doing? What was it about last Ramadan in
terms of my relationship with the Quran? Was I attending taraweeh every night that I find myself
very generous last Ramadan? Did I maximize my time? If not, then let's move on to the second part of
		

			this this question or equation and that is what was I doing last Ramadan that I should not have been
doing? What was it about last Ramadan where I fell short? What were my shortcomings in the last
Ramadan? So this is we we need to be before we start we only a few days away four or five days, and
now we have to take stock of the last year. What have I been doing? Think about this for a moment.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said what Ramadan is allowed Ramadan cafardo to Lima Bina,
Houma that one Ramadan to the next, ease and expiation for whatever happened in between. So since
last Ramadan, raise your hands if you have not sinned or disobey the law. Raise your hands if you
		

			have not fallen short in what Allah has made compulsory upon you. Let's start with sila. How many of
you have Mashallah have been praying five times a day regularly since the last Ramadan. How many of
us have been fasting regularly on Mondays and Thursdays are many of us, you can see where this list
is going. So in the last 12 months or 11 months, we have numerous shortcomings. It doesn't matter
whether you weigh a job bar, you've grown your beard, your way and ABA, none of that matters. We all
sin, regardless of who we are, and where we come from. whether we've studied Islam, or we haven't
studied Islam, we all have our shortcomings. We all have our sins. The last, you know, 12 months
		

			have, you know, I've proven that to be true. So now is an opportunity for us before we start this
month of Ramadan, to look at it as an opportunity to wipe away everything that has happened in the
last 12 months as if it never happened. But yes, something important that we need to think about as
well, that even though this month that's coming is a month in which Allah subhanho wa Taala has
increased the Baraka and the blessings of doing good deeds so that when you do good deeds in the
month of Ramadan, they are not like the deeds that you do outside of Ramadan. At the same time, we
need to remind ourselves that that applies to sins as well, that what we do in the month of Ramadan,
		

			that is, you know, disobedience to Allah subhanho wa Taala it's not like the rest of the year. So
for instance, if you're in for hydrofarm Allah and you found yourself in the masjid will harm unless
you do gnabry How would you find yourself there? People are even scared, you know, they they bump
into someone and they apologize profusely. I'm so sorry, you know, because they don't even want to
hurt another Muslim or hurt the creature or you know, cut down a tree because it's so sacred, so
holy, while the month of Ramadan is like that. And so before we enter this month, let us start to
think about the sacredness of this month. That no we are supposed to be people that feel a loss of a
		

			higher nostalgia that possess taqwa that are conscious and aware of Allah at you know all this
		

			Time, but the month of Ramadan is more deserving of that consciousness. That's why we find Subhana
Allah doesn't matter where you go in the world, you go to a machine on the first night or the night
before the first day of Ramadan, what do you find? It's packed, is you can't even you can't even fit
in and into that message. Am I right? People are praying outside of the masjid. Why? Why all of a
sudden, where did this come from? You know, when I was growing up. And you know, yesterday, I was
teaching a course in Kota damansara. And it was janaza course. And I was talking to them about, you
know, thinking about death. And I was telling them that when I was younger, we were coming back from
		

			the club, and we were hitting home, and the driver was speeding. And, you know, we drove into
another car at 180 kilometres, and the person that was in the passenger seat, you know, was
paralyzed, I broke my collarbone had a massive gash in my head. I was about 1617 at the time, and I
thought I didn't become automatically, you know, a practicing Muslim after this incident. But I did
ask myself this question, what if I died in this accident?
		

			You know, what if I died? It wasn't a religious question. I wasn't thinking what would my
relationship be with Allah, if I had died in that state? You know, half intoxicated, coming back
from the club didn't pray a single prayer that day, or anything of the sort. So I asked myself this
question. So many people in the audience of people that were coming back to Islam, many of them
weigh in their 20s and 30s and older, they are not been practicing practicing Islam since they were
young. And now they were coming back and they came to attend this course, they want to know more
about, you know, the fake rulings about Salatu janaza. And many of them had questions and it was
		

			important for me to connect with them, you know, regarding this very important question, because if
the month of Ramadan is coming up, and we are going to take full advantage of it, then these are the
kinds of questions that we need to that we need to be asking ourselves, or what if we met Allah
subhana wa tada today? What if tonight molekule mode was to come and take our souls the angel of
death? If we met Allah now before the month of Ramadan? Would we be able to feel content that
Alhamdulillah I feel secure and safe regarding my future in the year after? That's a question we
have to ask ourselves because we so focused on on now and our lives as we live them now that we
		

			don't think about that often enough. So before the month of Ramadan comes, we really need to think
about it. So the first of the three main points I want to make in this lecture is the following. The
month of Ramadan is an amazing month, Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us in the Quran, that shadow
Ramadan and lady on Zee Hill Quran, that the month of Ramadan is the month in which the Quran has
been revealed. And I want to spend with you and I want to share with you what is it about the Quran
that makes it so amazing? What is it about the Quran that really, you know, makes it so special so
that when we end off on the virtues of the Quran tonight, you can walk away out of this lecture
		

			theater, and you're going to be focusing on these four things that I'm going to mention in sha Allah
for the whole month as you read the Quran, the first of them, and it's not really accessible for us
until we begin to learn the language is that the language of the Quran is miraculous. The language
of the Quran is a language that Allah subhanho wa Taala challenged the people of Makkah and Arabia,
the language, this language that they were so proud of that they competed with one another. No, we
don't have really competitions like that, do we? poetry competitions, where people come in, they try
to outdo one another in English or in Bahasa Melayu, or any of the languages that I know you speak.
		

			Do you have this in your country, we poets come around from around your country, they gather in the
capital, and they try to outdo one another thing poetry is not very common most most of our cultures
don't have that. But the Arabs have that. And Allah subhanho wa Taala challenges people to bring
something like it, which they couldn't do. The second thing that the Quran
		

			points to when it talks about its miraculous nature is the fact that it gives us information about
the past that we would not have had access to how many of you have made your own and qarun and
Harmon and Moosa and Harun and Ibrahim and no, we don't know anything about them. We would not have
known anything about them if Allah had not told us about them. The second part of this information
that Allah gives us is that he tells us about matters of the unseen things that we would not have
known about he tells us about himself. None of us here have seen a loss of a high no Tyler, none of
us here have met him. We have not seen a law we have not seen jedna and jahannam paradise and how we
		

			have not seen the angels and allow us have a handout that talks about that in great detail in the
Quran. Number three, Allah tells us about future events, things that have not yet happened.
		

			And perhaps the best example is the fact that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would be
victorious at the Battle of butter. And so it was or the fact that the Romans would defeat the
Persians. Allah tells us who he tells us when and he tells us where all of this in the Quran at the
beginning of soda to room so we have information about the future that has become a reality. Is this
not miraculous? They lost Li Allah subhanho wa Taala tells us about those issues that we would not
have known about if Allah subhanaw taala had not told us about them. The what what am I talking
about the thoughts and the emotions of the people that Allah subhana wa tada revealed the Quran to
		

			them, they believe is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reads these Ayah to the Sahaba. During
the Battle of Allah, Allah speaks about their fear, while bender hottie lulubelle hanergy they were
so fearful during that battle the Muslims, that their hearts were in their throats, how would we
know what they were feeling if Allah subhanho wa Taala had not told us but also speaks about the
emotions and the thoughts and the secret meetings of the hypocrites in Medina, we would not have
known about this if Allah had not exposed them to us. And also Allah talks about fear own the
pharaoh when Moosa came to him and threw down his stick and it became a snake. Allah says they saw
		

			these signs, but and they believed it in their hearts, they had absolute certainty, because I'll let
me be let me ask you this question. If I took this stand right now, and I threw it on the floor, and
it became a slithering snake. And I then told you that I was a prophet of Allah, would you at least
give it some consideration? You think about the drive. If I made that claim, I'm not saying because
the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the last prophet. But if something like that
happened, you'd be like, Oh, well, that's, you know, I need to that's something strange and
fulfilled. When he saw that in many other signs, they believed in their hearts, but with the
		

			tongues, they rejected the message. So this is number two information in the Quran. Number three, is
this amazing legal and moral and ethical code that we find in the Quran, something that we need to
think about. And I encourage you throughout the month now, starting tonight, and throughout the
month, and even after the month More importantly, I want you to think about these points that I've
made tonight about the Quran. Because today when I teach my students about when I teach them Islamic
Studies at the school where I teach, I don't go into I don't talk about, you know, praying five
times a day, I don't talk to them about fasting the month of Ramadan or performing hajj. Why because
		

			we as Muslims today, we don't recognize that the Quran is from Allah subhanho wa Taala we don't view
it as being miraculous or divine. We just view it as a book that we take off the shelves in the
month of Ramadan, something that if it falls on the ground, we pick it up and we kiss it then we
touch it to our foreheads. It's a book that you know, you're supposed to respect equal do before you
touch it. It means it's it's it as it says it has lost its significance in the hearts of the
Muslims. And so this is why I want to talk to you about this today. So that when you open up this
book, you pay attention to the language you pay attention to what Allah subhana wa tada is informing
		

			you of. And then number three, you pay attention to the laws, the morals and the ethics and the
ethics of this. Let me give you one example of many insalata gerat. Allah subhanho wa Taala
prohibits us from backbiting. Think about a community with spying, suspicion, excessive suspicion,
and backbiting was eradicated. Think about your campus. Think about all the scandals and the
backbiting and the you know, people carrying tails between one another all the false accusations
that happened between students will happen between people that are colleagues at work that happened
in Communities and Local mustards. Think about a society with this was eradicated, we you could
		

			leave this, you know, leave this lecture theater, and no one would back by two. Oh, did you see that
brother? I can't believe he attended the lecture. Did you see that sisters have a hand Allah Who
would have thought all of that backbiting? But you and I because we have taken this, you know, this,
this amazing ruling from Allah subhanho wa Taala. We leave. And we have nothing bad to say about our
brothers and sisters. We are not overly suspicious of what they do and they intentions and the
actions and we definitely do not spy on them in any way shape, or form, or mock them or call them
offensive names. All of this mentioned in only one surah and I'm only mentioning one aspect. Think
		

			about a community with this isn't the case. Look at what we have on the internet right now. All
these websites, all these YouTube channels, all they deal with is gossip isn't itself a look at how
it destroys relationships and how it destroys people and what they think of others. One shift
		

			martial law is amazing, everyone loves him. And then the next day, there's a an article about him,
he did this or he did that. And many times, it's just a rumor and your interview, I have seen people
leave Islam because a chef of theirs was accused of, you know, stealing funds or having an
inappropriate relationship. And then after investigation is not true. Many they, you know, they, the
opponents or the enemies wanted to tarnish their name. And if we had what Allah subhanho wa Taala
mentions in this surah of not being overly suspicious, giving people the benefit of the doubt of
verifying information when it comes to us, then we would be so much better for it. So this is this,
		

			this, these are some of the laws. And lastly, number four, I want you to pay attention as students
as people that are at university right now with access to amazing journals, and amazing you know,
references a loss of a hand or blood in the Quran draws our attention to the signs. He draws our
attention to the sun and the moon and the universe in general, the planets and the stars, he draws
our attention to the embryo and his development in the womb of the mother. He draws our attention to
the fact that everything that is living has been created from water, he draws our attention to the
fact that the mountains have been placed as pegs to stabilize the earth. He draws our attention to
		

			the seas and the oceans, he draws our attention does not say fly on Luna Island, he barely gave a
wholecut do they not look at the camel and how it's being created? Have you ever spent time thinking
about a camel?
		

			I mean, the only time I thought about a camel is when I was eating it. But have you paid attention
to a camel and how it's being created perfectly for its environment. For those of you that are
studying biology and other related sciences, it is for you to pay attention to what Allah is, is
calling you to ponder and think about it. So behind Allah, you know, I'm reading a book at the
moment called basic economics. It's a book written by an American professor. And I've never thought
about these concepts from an Islamic perspective, supply and demand price, the markets, fluctuation
all of these types of things. And now I'm thinking about what does Islam really have to say, about
		

			capitalism? Or socialism, communism? What does Islam have to say about the free market? And you and
I, we have this amazing source of knowledge that the month of Ramadan it was revealed in this month.
So let us turn to it. And let us ask these questions about our lives about what I'm feeling. You
know, some of you might be saying at this moment, I miss home, I'm feeling depressed, I'm feeling
overwhelmed. I'm suffering from anxiety, what is the plan? And soon I have to say about these
things, I'm going through financial difficulty, what is Allah and His Messenger have to say about
these things? I'm having a relationship problem, what is a lie these messenger have to say about
		

			these things. So the Quran if it's the source of amazing knowledge, then you and I in the month of
Ramadan, and before he went off to eat, we need to turn back to it so that we can solve our problems
and get answers that we desperately need. So this is the first thing that I want to remind you of
the second thing is the month of Ramadan, is a month in which Allah subhanho wa Taala has opened up
the doors of gender. And he's closed the doors of jahannam and Michelle teen have been chained and
the deeds that you're doing this month they are multiplied. So if you know that, if you know that,
would you not now start this month and it's preparation with hope in Allah subhanho wa Taala as
		

			reward? Would you not be more motivated to make the most of this month if you knew that, and I can
go on and on talking to you about the virtues of the month of Ramadan, but I'll share that in a
later point inshallah not to share the details, but to encourage you to learn as much about Ramadan
and fasting as you possibly can. Now that we've been we've introduced the topic, let us move now to
our second question. And that is how can we make sure that Ramadan is more this Ramadan is more
productive? The first thing that we want to mention is that we have to mentally prepare ourselves.
		

			Many of the things I mentioned will be helpful to achieve that. How do we prepare ourselves for this
month if you know that this is a special month, if you know about all these, all these verses in the
Quran, and all of these are Hadith that motivate us to fast the month of Ramadan, if we know the
rewards of fasting the month of Ramadan, if we know that being in the company of the believers is
going to further encourage us then half of the half of the effort has already been made. We have all
of this information, but we have to sit down and really prepare which brings me to the second point.
The second point that we need to do is to make dua is to ask Allah subhana wa tada now before the
		

			month starts, your Allah the month of Ramadan is upon us, you're allowed to make this Ramadan better
than every other Ramadan that has preceded it. You're alive week and I make mistakes and I
		

			I send daily but all along only you have the ability to change my heart to make me better so that I
may be the best Muslim that I can be in this month and every other month off to eat until I need to
Yeah, Allah. So what did what in preparation, what can you do? You can turn to Allah subhanho wa
Taala because only he has the power and the ability to make you successful and productive in this
month. Many times we rely upon ourselves, isn't it? So, you know, when you study and you get
excellent results, and you are being headhunted by companies in sha Allah make do either this is
going to happen for all of you. You get headhunted. And then you achieve this amazing position at
		

			this new company or the startup or something similar, and you rise up the ranks and you become a
senior executive or something higher than that. And you feel after 20 years Mashallah look at what I
have achieved. It's so amazing. You go online, you check your bank account and you feel good. And
you look at your home and you feel it's amazing. You think about your holiday house in Cape Town and
I mentioned Cape Town because of course it's the most beautiful city in the world. But you have your
holiday home your vacation home in Cape Town, you know it's on the ocean there, Masha, Allah with an
amazing view, you think about all of that. And one of the things we fall victim to is that we think
		

			all of that is because of us.
		

			That Allah subhanho wa Taala had nothing to do with that. That is because when I was in Malaysia,
Taylor Taylor's university, I put in the hours I worked hard, I made the sacrifice. I didn't go out
I didn't party. I didn't. I didn't you know, waste any time I got that degree, I got that, you know,
postgraduate degree, I did the work. And now all of this is me. All of this is me. But in reality is
it
		

			when someone passes away, what do we say? In alila? He was in LA he raggio we belong to Allah and to
Him we will we will return when we when we give words of condolences to someone who's lost a loved
one. What do we say? Lila he bajada what he lahemaa appa to Allah belongs what he has taken. And To
Him belongs what he has given everything that we have, whether it be a lot or a little is from Allah
Subhana Allah to Allah. So when you make do I think about that, think about the fact that your
knowledge, your intelligence, everything that you have is a gift from Allah subhanho wa Taala you
will do our will be more sincere, it will be more heartfelt it will come from the deepest recesses
		

			of your soul, it won't just be something that you say with your tongue. So do Allah is the second
thing. Number three, we need to clear our schedules as much as possible. I know that's difficult for
you. The university exactly doesn't shut down just because we are having the month of Ramadan does
it? Oh, Mashallah, let me see how many Muslims, okay, you know, students, we are going to end all
classes, classes will be suspended for the next for me, and for June, we'll come back off their aid.
That doesn't happen, right. And if you working, it doesn't happen either. Unless, of course, you
know, you like myself, I used to be a student in Saudi Arabia. And being a student in Saudi Arabia
		

			was awesome in the month of Ramadan, because classes would start at like 10 and 1230. Instead of
being like, from 730 until 130. Right. Now, I'm going to say that in Saudi Arabia, that people are
lazy, I'm just going to say that it was amazing. And many companies would, many companies would
close, you know, early, etc, etc. But many countries don't have that. Like, if you're living in
South Africa, or you're living, you know, in the West, no one really takes in a case about that.
Like for us in Cape Town, we have to fight to be to be able to go for Juma every Friday. I mean, we
have to threaten our employees, you know, with legal action, if they don't allow us to go for Juma.
		

			It's like our legal right. Yeah, in Malaysia aid is a public holiday in South Africa. Your boss is
like, No, you need to be at work tomorrow. We have this we have a meeting we we have a project
deadline. You're like no, but it's aid. Yeah. So it's a religious holiday, not a public one. Right.
So what I'm saying is that I understand as a father and as a husband, we all have and as someone
who's employed, we have responsibilities, but what we should try to do is all the unnecessary
commitments that we have all the things that distract us that are not necessary all the appointments
that you know, you could possibly delay until after Ramadan, do so clear your schedule as much as
		

			possible so that all of your free time can be dedicated to being as productive in this month as you
possibly can. Well, I I wish that I could say to all of the people that you know I work for or work
with, I'm like, you know, sorry. I think I'm gonna take a break this month in sha Allah right I'll
see you all in author Ramadan you know, often like you
		

			week, I was even telling the principal of the school today I said, Subhana Allah, I wish that I
could take the next month and a half off and come back fresh in July. And he looked at me, he's
like, Nah, that's not gonna happen. Right. So I'm gonna have to go to class every day and teach
people and from eight to 920, etc, etc, I'm not going to get a break. But there are so many other
things that in the month of Ramadan, we can lessen. And we can make sure that you know, they don't
distract us from making the most of this month number four, and that is organizing your time with
the schedule. You do that now as students, you do that now, you know, whether you're a student or
		

			not, you have your schedule for the day. These are my classes, you have tutorials, you have other
things that you need to get done. But what have you written in your calendars for Allah? subhanho?
wa Taala? What have you written in your calendars for after 500 in the morning? What have you
written regarding when you will help out feeding the poor and the refugees and those people that are
in need? How much time have you set out to make sure that you are holding and keeping good family
ties? The month of Ramadan? I don't know about you, but when I was a student, obviously we did not
have. And now I am not sure I should I should mention this because you know, now you'll know how old
		

			I am. But when I was a student at university, we did not have mobile phones. Okay, the first phone
that I saw people using was a Nokia 3310. You know, those bricks, you could you could actually harm
someone with with one of those things, right? They were massive. But the point is that I can only
speak to my parents once a month, we get our stipend from the university, we'd go to you know, for
those of you that come from the Gulf, in Saudi Arabia, specifically, they used to have this like, we
call them cabanas, and you go in, you pick up the phone and you dial the number and then you speak
for how long and then afterwards you go and you pay. That's how I that's how I kept in touch with my
		

			parents with for many of you. It's you know, you sit in your room lying on your back, you're
texting, you're Skyping facetiming that they do they call it facetiming because I've never had an
Apple phone, FaceTime. All right, just making sure because I don't want to be like the other chef
that said, you know, he wanted to say our tweets you and then he said I will forget you know, I
forget what he said but it was embarrassing. I mean, even for me, I was like oh that's a mistake is
like another shift that you know he was giving a football and he was saying that Imam Al Bukhari
Rahim Allah had a very photogenic memory, and no one lost except me. Because I was thinking, Masha,
		

			Allah, that memory must have been really beautiful, you know, to get great pictures, he meant to say
what?
		

			photographic memory, right and another shift once he gave a talk, and he said that this No, this
shift, he was a suppository of knowledge. You get it, a suppository of knowledge. He meant to say a
depository of knowledge. Anyway, that's the Let's Move on. So organize your time, make sure that you
are specified your time, I'm going to sit off the pleasure every morning, I'm going to read the
Quran, I am going to do my Vicar, I am going to do this or that so that you have organized your time
as one of my my professors used to say, Baraka tool worked feet on the me. If you want to have
blessings in your time, then you have to organize it, you have to make sure that it's organized that
		

			it's scheduled. And you know that as students that the more organized you are in your time, the more
productive you become. And so of course, the month of Ramadan is more deserving of this kind of
productivity and organization of time and scheduling than any other time of the month. So this is
the fourth issue. Number five,
		

			something where we fall short in and we don't pay enough attention to and that is that we don't
learn about the virtues and the merits of Ramadan. We don't learn about the fifth of Ramadan and
fasting. And the only time we really pay attention to this is if something happens in the month and
we're not sure. For instance, someone calls me and he says
		

			I accidentally drank some water what's the ruling on my fasting? You know, I it was the first day of
Ramadan this happens a lot, right? It's the first day of Ramadan, you fasting, but you're not
accustomed to it. It's been a while. And then you start drinking like oh, no, someone tells you you
know, or something happens and you're reminded, so is your fasting still valid?
		

			Is it
		

			You sure? Well, the only way you can be absolutely sure because I saw some people were not so sure.
The only way you can be absolutely sure is if you have knowledge if you are studying and perhaps the
best book that I can recommend on this topic, if you really want to get the most out of this is a
book called provisions of the year after by Rahim Allah, it's available in one volume. It's the
abridged version published by Dr. Salah. It's called provisions of the year after and it describes
the guidance of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in Ramadan and in fasting, how would we
		

			Know what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to do? How would we know what's right and
what's wrong in the month? If you want to get the most out of something you need to know as much as
you can about that. How many of you study this university before you came here?
		

			Did you just come? Like eeny? Meeny? Miney? Moe? Okay Taylor's hollows, right? And then maybe if it
just you know, maybe if you if you had just missed your finger bet you would have gone to siggy or
UI a or one of the other universities? No, you planned. You asked, maybe you had friends and family
that came to this university, you asked how much is gonna cost to study? You wanted to know how you
know how long it would take, you wanted to know where you would stay, you wanted to know how much it
was going to cost you on a monthly basis? What's the price of the ticket? How do I get the visa is
it going to be an easy, you know, easy process or not, is in itself. So if the month of Ramadan is
		

			important to you, like you're studying was important to you and is important to you, then you will
make the time to learn as much about it as you possibly can. There is no doubt in my mind that if we
truly recognized how important this month is, we would leave no stone unturned learning as much
about it as we possibly could. Now let's move on to the last of my questions. We discussed the
virtues and the importance of the month of Ramadan, we spoke about how we can begin to prepare and
get our affairs in order before the month begins. Let's talk about ourselves in the month of
Ramadan. It's beautiful. We wake up in the morning, and I always find this amazing. every other time
		

			of the year. It is super difficult to get people awake for fudger isn't itself. You're like, come
on, come on. It's time for Sadat. And then people are like, No, I don't want to get up Wake me up
later. But when you tell them come, it's time for Soho, they jump out of bed, they run to the
kitchen. And you know some people they prepay so much that the night before everything is already
laid out, isn't it so they got the cereals and the milks and the this and they that the jams and the
cheeses, everything is ready. So that's amazing. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he tells
us the Sahara inofficial harati Baraka have sold because in it, there is blessings. You all know the
		

			difference between fasting without having soror and fasting, when you've had Soho, there's a major
difference between the two. So we do that. And later in the day, when the time for if thought comes,
you find that the people are absolutely, they are absolutely happy. You know, there's this very
funny Nando's advert that used to play in Cape Town or in South Africa. And as it's a video of a
guy, he's sitting and he's got the chicken in his hand, and his mouth is like, you know, he's just
sitting like that. And then you thinking, what is this? What is this ad about? Like, why is this guy
sitting, and then the, you know, the camera turns, and it's facing the horizon, and the sun's about
		

			to set so and then they say Happy Ramadan, Muslims, you know, Muslims or South Africa or something
similar. So you you and I alike that we make so much effort to have so hold to make sure that if
thought is really look at the amount of effort that goes into the foods that are prepared. Now, you
know, what we need to think about is how can I take
		

			that same? That same goodness, and how can I channel channel into something that is going to be even
more beneficial than that? That eagerness that you have? Just think about this support? You're doing
it because it's the Sunnah is far with a date, if not what the date then would work if you're doing
it because it's the sunlights the practice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you were
doing these things, not because I told you to do them, but because your parents told you to do them,
you are doing them is because this is what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught, so this
is something that I want us to feel in the month of Ramadan, that what we are doing is what Allah
		

			subhana wa tada revealed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to show him to teach us what to
do. We are being created for the worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala. And this month of Ramadan is
one of those many forms of worship, and we do them and we do it the way that we do it. Because that
is how Allah subhanaw taala wants us to do it. We now in the month of Ramadan, I want you to think
that what you are doing is something beloved to Allah subhanho wa Taala listen to this hadith could
see, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, well, Mercado de la mdbc in habla La Jolla be
mustered to LA that is nothing that my slave does, which is more beloved to me than that which I
		

			have made compulsory upon him or her. Think about that. In the next few days, you're going to start
something which Allah has made compulsory upon you. And I want you to think that while you are doing
it, this is what Allah has commanded me. And here I am fulfilling that command. This is something
which Allah
		

			Subhana wa tada has commanded me and the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that he has commanded
and made compulsory. And here I am doing them
		

			that one of the most important aspects of Islam is that we obey and follow the messenger sallallahu
alayhi wasallam, because he's the most perfect role model. And here I am in the month of Ramadan,
following that man that Allah subhanho wa Taala has chosen and sin for us to follow and to obey, and
to walk in his footsteps to do as he did, and to, you know, live our lives the way that he did. So
this is the first of these preparations that we need to do in the month of February. I apologize. I
mean, this is how we need to feel in the month. You know what we are doing something that is beloved
to Allah subhanho wa Taala number two, and this is not difficult, because number two is the
		

			intention or the media. And that's not something difficult, because if you are fasting in the month
of Ramadan, and you are staying away from eating and drinking, then no one knows that you're doing
that you guys go back to your dorm room, and you alone there, you open up your fridge, Mashallah.
And you have all this this amazing things to eat and drink, open up your little cupboard. You've got
these biscuits and you know, you can order pizza and no one will know, isn't it so?
		

			You guys know what I'm talking about?
		

			So you have all you have access to all of this food. But you're in your room alone, and you don't
eat or drink. Why is that? Why would you not? You know what, what's the point of fasting. It's in
this month, we truly understand. Lakota Dakota, perhaps you might have Taqwa you might be conscious
and aware of Allah subhanho wa Taala. You might know that Allah subhanho wa Taala I am not seeing
you, your parents are not seeing you, your spouse is not seeing you. No one sees you. No one knows
what you are doing. But in the month of Ramadan, we begin to develop that idea that Allah subhanho
wa Taala sees us that if I if I was if I was to eat or drink right now, it would nullify the whole
		

			purpose. A few days ago, a couple came to me and said, Sure. Our son is contemplating thinking about
leaving Islam. His young is in his 20s is a Malaysian he grew up as a Muslim, but he he believes
that he doesn't want to be a Muslim anymore. And he has told his parents that he doesn't want to
fast the month of Ramadan. You know, he's he has decided that he doesn't really believe in Allah, he
has decided that you know, all this all this religious, you know, all this stuff, rituals, he
doesn't want to do them anymore. And you know what, I admire that.
		

			So these parents looked at me like you're looking at me now. And I do this a lot when I talk to two
teenage my teenage students, because many of them, they come to my classes, they come unwillingly.
You know, the, you know, that feeling, right? Yo, you don't want to go to an Islamic class with your
parents, you are going or else. So I tell them listen, if you don't want to be, then tell me and I
will convince your parents not to make you be not to bring you not to force you. eyes when I started
memorizing the Quran, I was 18 years old, right? And I was just started to practice my religion just
starting to pray, you know, just starting to stay away from my old friends. And so when the the
		

			school that I went to, there was so many of of my of my colleagues, by classmates that were like me,
but unlike me, they were still doing the things that I was trying to, to leave behind. So Monday
mornings during break, they'll talk about clubbing they'll talk about the drugs that they you know,
they had over the weekend, the drinking and remember, these are people doing what?
		

			Studying accounting and finance and you know, and, and no, these were people memorizing karate,
		

			they will memorize the Quran Mondays to Fridays, full time to feed students, but who was still no
sila, no fasting in the month of Ramadan doing everything which Allah had prohibited.
		

			What's the point? If we are doing it if we are not doing it for the sake of Allah? What's the point
of doing it if it's done only because we don't want people we don't want our reputation to be
swelled in some way. It only means anything if it is done with Ignace and sincerity. I'm only doing
this because I love Allah subhanho wa Taala I hope for his reward. I want to I want to be able to
reach those those guardians of genda because otherwise, you should do what I said. You know, to the
to those parents, let him go.
		

			Because ultimately, as a father, that will be probably that ever happened to me May Allah protect me
and you but if that ever happened to me, it will be probably the most painful thing that could ever
happen but my son or my daughter, they are responsible for themselves in the sight of Allah subhanho
wa Taala
		

			Yo Yo, ma Omen Aki on the Day of Judgment the man will flee from his brother will only be and his
father and his mother was saw he bet he was he and his wife and his children, everyone will have
only their own fear own affair that they will be dealing with on that day, you will run away from
your own family members, your own children on the day of the AMA, because they are responsible for
themselves. So to come back to the issue of Islam. There's just two things I want to mention in
relation to that. The Hadith could see where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says that a law
said that all of the actions of the son of Adam, all of our actions, right are for us, except
		

			fasting because that's for me.