How to Strive in Ramadan A Glimpse Into The Deeds of The Female Companions

In Alhamdulillah, the mother who was dying Omona still fit who want to go lay. When they're older we love him in surely unforeseen ailments say at Dr. Molina, mega de la who Fela mobila One may you bill fella hurry Allah wash Hello Allah Ilaha illa Allah what the hula surely Gala was shadow and Mohammed Abdullah who was also hosted Allahu alayhi wa sallam, or prays for law. We praised him, we thank him. We asked him for his help. And we asked him for his forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allahu Allah from the eve of ourselves and the eve of our actions. Whoever is guided by Allah, then no one can misguide them, and whoever is misguided then no one can guide them except for long to

Allah. I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his final messenger and my bad. First of all, my dearest sisters are Salam. aleikum wa rahmatullah hear what I care to.

So I just want to first of all, welcome all of you here. And I asked Allahu Allah that You know, whatever we're going to share here tonight will be a means to to inspire you to have the best Ramadan that you've ever had yet inshallah. Now the topic that I gave for this, tonight's session is held to strive in Ramadan, a glimpse into the deeds of the female companions.

And the reason I chose to speak about this topic is because, you know, as we all know, the greatest goal that we need to seek Yani what we're trying to get out of the month of Ramadan is the taqwa of Allahu Taala as a lot of data tells us, tells us instead of Bukhara Yeah, are you Hello Dina? I'm in quotevalet como CM will come and put you by leadin Emil bodily con la la comme Poon Are you believe? Verily, fasting has been prescribed for you just as it was prescribed for those who can be for you. Now looking at the content you may gain a Taqwa you may gain the Taqwa of Allah azza wa jal.

So we all have that goal, we all wish to achieve this goal, right. But one of the greatest struggles that many of us face in trying to achieve this goal, especially in these times that we live in, is the busyness of our lives, and the countless distractions that come in between us and wanting to do the best we can in this month, you know, and especially in trying to keep yourself focused.

So that's why what I wanted to do today is firstly give you a snapshot of how it used to be for the Sahaba yet the female companions, when Ramadan would come to them. And then Inshallah, what I'm going to do is I'm going to speak about some of the things that we can do to get the most out of this month, despite how busy we may be.

Alright, in order to, like, the whole idea of tonight's session is in particular is to reflect upon how this the hobbyists, you know, we live in Ramadan, and then to speak about some of the things we can do, Inshallah, despite how busy we may be in our schedules. And the idea is Inshallah, that we, you know, through this motivates us to do our very best in this Ramadan.

So, I want you all to imagine, first of all, how much simpler or how much more simple life would have been back then. Right, they did not have the busy schedules that we have today. And they did not have definitely did not have, you know, the distraction of like devices and social media.

They also did not go as, as we all know, that they didn't go to the extremes, that, you know, many people tend to go to extremes, you know, in preparing the food for thought, right? So there's, there's a lot of differences in their lifestyle, it was much more simple is much more laid back. And then on top of that, can you imagine that, you know, And subhanAllah the best of all, is that they had the enormous blessing of having the prophets of Allah when he was seven amongst them, to show them how to dedicate themselves to Allah azza wa jal in this month.

So that's what I do is just as you know, when Ramadan would come to them, you find that they would, you know, leave off a lot of the normal, you know, worldly affairs that they had, and they would use this month to focus as much as they could on seeking Nina's to Allah subhanaw taala you know, through through all kinds of obviously, acts of worship and righteous deeds.

So we're gonna go through some of the main deeds that they would have been focusing on this month and have them first for a start is like praying Tada, we, and praying prayers at night. So we need to realize that in particular, the wives of the prophets that are longer Salam were leaders and role models to the other women

in the acts of worship, right, and especially in the month of Ramadan. And it's related that I showed you, Allahu on her. You know, she used to lead the women in prayers, and she would stand in the middle of their row like in order to leave the women she was standing in the middle of the row.

And another thing we know is that sometimes women would get their servants to lead them in the night prayers. And this is something that I show by the Allah one on how used to do, as is related in Sahih al Bukhari and how you know, she, her slave that one would sometimes, you know, lead her in the night prayers, and he would, you know, recite while holding them was tough. And that's because he wasn't strong in his memorization of the Quran.

We also know that the Prophet saw Lord As Salam used to gather his wives and daughters, and pray the night prayers with them. And of course, you can imagine that this is all in addition to the forearm, you know, to the compulsory prayers, because especially in the month of Ramadan, the Sahaba would be even more careful to pray you know, all of their fight prayers at the beginning of their times.

I mean, that's one of the most love deeds to Allah, Allah subhanaw taala you know, a solar to Allah walk Do you hear it from the greatest deeds? When we say Ocelot, Allah walk the hell we mean, it the beginning of the times, not not the minute that the prayer time comes in, but, you know, within the first half an hour or so, you try to pray at the beginning of the time when the preface comes in.

And in fact, um, we also know that that it was from the habit of the Sahaba to attend you know, many of the congregational Fajr prayers and share prayers in the masjid with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and other Sahaba um, you know, I show what your loved one has she mentioned in a sahih Hadith in Bukhari and Muslim how, you know, the believing women would pray the fajr prayer with the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam, and then they would return home, you know, wrapped up in their clothes, so that they would not be recognized by anyone.

And also from the deeds of the Sahaba yet and Ramadan is that they would keep themselves you know, busy with the recitation of the Quran, because as we know, the month of Ramadan Jani, this is the month in which the Quran was revealed to mankind as a little Dallas's, instead of baccara Shah who Ramadan and Ledi on Zillow fie hippo and moodily Nursey whether you know Tim Minal Houda, well, on that the month of Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guidance to mankind. And it came with the evidences of you know, of guidance and the criterion to distinguish between the hump and the bottom, the false Yanni the truth, and the falsehood.

And no doubt, no doubt, the Sahaba it was from their practices, you know, to complete the recitation of the Quran more than once in this month. And they would strive in the recitation in a way in which they did not strive in other months of the year.

And no doubt as well. But the Sahaba used to recite the Quran with, you know, complete to bore, you know, pondering over the meanings of that yet, in a way that, you know, would strengthen their Eman and you know, let them feel the sweetness of being close to Allah azza wa jal through their recitation.

Now, we know from the habits of Ayesha, where the Allahu anhu, in particular is that, you know, many times, she would recite verses over and over again. And you know, she'd be reflecting on that verse so much, that it would cause her to, you know, to cry due to the effect that it had on her heart.

And there was a time when, why the nephews came to visit Aisha radiAllahu anha. It was around about the time and you know, he found her reciting one of the verses in through the tour. And she was repeating it over and over again reflecting on that verse and it was affecting her so much and the verses when Allah Allah, Allah says, For men, no long why Lena will fire now either this symbol, right Allah, Allah says

that, you know, this is the believers speaking after they've reached Jana and they've survived, you know, all the trials of this life. They've gone through the hardships of trying to hold on to this reduce the pain and keep their you know, religion firm. We all know how much were tested in that. And now they're finally made it to Jana, Allah hotel has made them you know, help them to safely reach her Jana. So now they're saying for men, no, Allahu Allah, Allahu Taala has truly blessed us with honor or their best moment he has saved us from from the blazing fire Subhanallah so she's reflecting on that. And, you know, the more she kept reading it to herself, the more that you know,

subhanAllah she was crying.

And she was making dua as well to Allahu Taala And subhanAllah. Her nephew said that, you know, I was waiting for so long for her to finish reciting that AR But she's he said that my colleagues got tired, waiting for her to finish. And so he said that he went to the marketplace he went to buy something. And you know, he came back when he came back later, he found that she was there still reciting, you know, reciting the Quran reciting the AR, over and over again and still crying and fixed.

reflecting on the AI

so you can see how much they used to be connected to the Quran this month. And like I said to you, this is you know, how much they used to be connected to the Quran in general, and the penalty effect, you know, that the Quran had on the hearts, right?

So obviously, you know, reciting the Quran focusing on reciting the Quran, obviously, is one of the major deeds that the sahabi would do in this month. Another, you know, another example of the deeds that we're doing this month is a great deal of vicar of Allah subhanaw taala. Now, from their habits, you know, from their habits of many of them is that they would, you know, after they pray their fajr prayer, they would stay, you know, in their place of prayer, and they would sit there and make that time for the the Acropolis of pantalla and saying like the morning of car, reciting Quran and it's knowing that you know, what mean in Judea, Radi Allahu on her, she used to stay for so long

after her prayers making Vic, that once the Prophet SAW THE Lahore Assam lift to him in the morning, you know, while she was there, busy in her place of worship.

And, um, he came back to her at the time of Buddha. And he found that, you know, it's kind of like she was still sitting there. And so, you know, he asked her, you know, have you been sitting here all this time. And, you know, she said yes, and then he told her that Subhanallah he said to her, verily, I have, you know, recited four words three times what he means by you know, four phrases, three times, since I left you and if these were to be weighed against what you have recited all this time this morning, then what I have, what I have recited would outweigh those, all those words, which you have said in the and those words, and this is why it's good to know these words for

ourselves, this particular Vic, is Subhanallah it will be handy he added a halter he was born at sea he was in the Archie when he died, I can imagine right Glory be to Allah whole Tyler and may He be praised the amount of his creations and you know, the pleasure of you know, the his self, and the weight of his arms, the weight of his throne, and the extent of his words Subhan Allah Allah so this is how much you're praising Allahu Taala in this, Vic, and this is why these words are so heavy in the museum with Allah azza wa jal.

So, this is a victory, you know, you can find this vicar in the fortress of a Muslim. And, you know, this is a victory that you can say, especially when you don't have much time during Ramadan, and you're not able to sit for a long time remembering the loss of pantalla This is an example of one of the cards that you can see Inshallah, you know, in order to get great Hassan that evening there.

Now, from the another example of the the main deeds that the Sahaba would focus on, during Ramadan, was giving a great deal of sadhaka.

And this was a characteristic, of course, of all of the, you know, wives of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, but in particular, the one who was, you know, the most famous for amongst all of the wives for her scribing. And so the bar was then had been judged, to the level that, you know, she would exert her, what she used to do is penalize is that she would actually strive in, you know, basically producing leather goods like should make leather goods and, you know, work with, you know, hides leather hides, and then, you know, she would use the money that she made out of that, and give it in South Africa.

So, this is why when the wives of the Prophet sallallahu, actually they asked him, which one of us would be following you first. After you pass away, the messenger of allah sallallahu Sallam told told them that it's the one with the longest tense. And so, the what when when he told the wives that they thought it was sold, right they thought sold, because mashallah sold, you know, she had a bigger frame than the other wives. But when Zayn had been Josh what he Allahu on how was the first pass away after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that's when they all realized that what was meant by with you know, the prophet statement of the one with the longest hands was in fact, the one

who used to give the most other car for the sake of Allah.

So, this is, you know, this is the, you know, the in Ramadan particular they would be striving with this other part. And, you know, I shot in particular as well, she was known for the huge amount of soda that she would give to the level that many times she would give away whatever she had, and she would forget to leave something for herself.

Now, another thing that I want to mention,

before we continue as well is that you have to realize that the sahabi you know, the female companions, if they were not able to pay or fast, that would never, you know, stop them from keeping themselves busy with a Dickov Allahu Taala and with giving sadaqa and you know, other righteous, you know, acts of worship.

Why because

They knew that they knew the huge rewards that are out to be attained in this month of Ramadan. So sisters, I just want to remind everybody here that, you know, it's not just about when you're praying or fasting, that, you know, this is when we strive in Ramadan, even if you're not able to pray or fast, you still, you know, realize there's so much Hassan that to be gained in this in this blessed month. And you know, because we all know that a lot of sisters when they're not praying or fasting, some of them will just like lie down and, you know, basically not do anything they think I'm not praying or fasting. So, you know, that's it for me. But But I want you to understand, you

know, really understand what, what is this month of Ramadan, what is the significance of this month, and realize that every moment is so precious, you know, and there's so many chances and opportunities in every moment of this month, to gain the forgiveness of Allah subhanaw taala. So we haven't got time to be just, you know, on, going on, you know, having a break and just taking things easy, right.

Um, and you can imagine also, you can imagine, also, you know, the wives of the Prophet SAW long list,

how they would be in the, you know, in the middle of the women, you know, teaching them encouraging them towards righteous deeds, and especially in the month of Ramadan. And, you know, you can imagine how much they would have been spreading the knowledge of the Prophet, so long as that I'm, you know, to, to, you know, to the rest of the Sahaba, and even the tabby later on, and, you know, especially regarding the rulings relating to fasting and Ramadan,

and here, it's important, I think, to reflect upon the amount of rulings that have been fact been passed down to us concerning fasting that have come to us through through the wives of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam.

And also from the deeds of the Sahaba yet in this month, is that you know, especially in the last 10 Nights, that would be extremely keen in in seeking out the night father.

And this is what we find our show are you ready? Allahu on her, asking the prophets that along with your salon, you know, one time she asked the Messenger of Allah Ya Allah so Allah, if I know which night is not the other, what should I say in it? And we know that the Messenger of Allah so Allah has taught her to say, Allah in the cow for one to Hebrew alpha for ni, O Allah, and you are very, very, you are the most pardoning you love to pardon. So therefore pardon me.

And only Allah hotel and also knows how much they used to exert themselves, you know, in their prayers and in their worship in these last 10 Nights.

One of the things that shows you, you know, the keenness of how much you know, there's a hobby I used to strive in there EBA is, you know, one time the Prophet sallallahu sallam, he entered the masjid. And he saw a rope tied between two pillars. And, you know, he asked, Who is this rope for?

And they told him it was for Xena, Radi Allahu Unha, you know, and that when, you know, what she does, is that she prays, and then when she feels tired, or she feels lazy, she'll hope she'll hold on to the rope to keep herself standing up.

But what he actually told her to do, what he actually told them to do actually was, you know, to take down the rope. And that, you know, verily, you know, one should, you know, pray when they, when they have the energy, they should pray. But when one feels tired, they should, you know, rest and lay down. So, the point of mentioning this particular ration is not, you know, to say that we should go to extreme extremes in our worship in Ramadan, like, of course, we try our best we strive as much as we can. But,

you know, ultimately Islam, Islam does not encourage us to, to go to the point where you're actually exhausting, exhausted, and you don't even feel sure anymore, right? That's not the point.

But just the idea here is to show you how much they would so keen to strive. And

also from the habits of the wives of the Prophet sort of longer term, you know, in particular, in the last, you know, 10 days of Ramadan. We know that they used to go for our decaf. They used to, you know, stay in the masjid. And this was in particular after the prophets that a lot of them passed away. And this is something that I SHA radiola, one had mentioned to us in a hadith in Sahih, and mahadi.

So, this is just what I've mentioned so far, is just basically a small snapshot of you know, how the Sahaba how the female companions used to spend their Ramadan. And, you know, no doubt, it's not easy to try to reach a level of worship, like the level of the Sahaba yet, but what I wanted to speak about now are some of the things that we can do to get the most out this month. You know, despite how busy our lives tend to be at this time, especially,

you know, especially the way we live our lives today

and

And we went insane giving these points to you to put that in, you know, the perspective of how it was, at the time, that's the hub yet, right? So

the first point I wanted to share was, you know, don't lose sight of the overall aim and goal of Ramadan. Okay, so the most important thing to keep in mind is that the goal of Ramadan is to get the forgiveness of Allah subhanaw taala and come close to him ultimately, that's, you know, the ultimate aim for all of us, right? And now, what happens with some people is that they, you know, they get caught up with the idea of all of the extra outward actions that you're supposed to do, or you know, checklists. And you know, what often happens is they lose sight of the whole purpose of what Ramadan is supposed to be about, which is, like I said, getting close to Allah subhanaw taala and basically,

trying to realign yourself with your true and ultimate purpose of creation like, we know that Allah Allah, Allah says, well, mahalo Apple to Jinnah, well INSA il le Abu Dewan, right, I did not create the the jinn and the ins and mankind except to worship me. So Ramadan is about realigning ourselves and coming back with our purpose of creation, right, and learning how to have that that true, you know, submission and surrendering to Allah subhanaw taala.

Because we get so busy with our lives, we forget why we're even here, what's our purpose in life, right?

So, that's what I'm saying to you. You know, keep your mind focus on what the goal of Ramadan is. And then also, don't compare yourself to others, you know, and don't feel low. If you can't do the same amount of deeds that you find other people do. You know, you have to realize, my dear sisters, that, you know, someone could stand longer in prayers. But that person is not getting as close to Allah subhanaw taala as someone else who prays a shorter amount of time in their prayers. So it's not always about how much you pray. Often it's the, it's the quality is the quality and it's about the whole Sure, and it's about, you know, you know, finding a little Buddha in your prayers, right,

this is what we should be trying to find that that feeling of submission, or feeling the sweetness of worshiping Allah. This is what we're looking for in Ramadan. Okay. So, that's why as well, like what I recommend,

is that as much as you can try to create, what I would call spiritual moments, in this month,

these are moments where you feel the true sweetness of you men. So some examples of what you can do to create those moments, right. So for example, one of them is um, you know, calling upon Allah subhanaw taala, sincere

and calling upon Allah Subhana Allah from your heart, and you know, even getting tears due to that do.

Another one would be Toba, making a sincere Toba talam as sincere repentance to Allah, you know, thinking about your life, thinking about where you're going, think about the mistakes you've made, thinking about how much you know you've wasted of this life and what am I doing with my life? Asking a lie your ally helped me to redirect myself helped me to get back on track helped you know saved me from the fire. Your Allah helped me to enter Jannah safely forgive me for my sins to give me my past. You know, all of that, that's going to help you to have that sweetness.

You know, calling upon Allahu Taala by his beautiful names. Yo, man, yo Rahim.

Right Omus of OMOs merciful, almost forgiving

call upon Allahu Taala by his beautiful name, this is another way of getting close to a level Tyler in this month and feeling that sweetness of this month. In particular, right? Another one as well would be like giving sincere sadhaka for the sake of Allah. Right? Recite reciting Quran praying, praying your prayers in the middle of the night praying to Hadoop. So these are examples of, you know, moments that we can create in Ramadan, in which we feel the true sweetness of a man, this is what we're trying to generate. Because like a lot of us are just running on spiritual emptiness the rest of the year. Okay, this is why we need to really make the most of Ramadan to really revive

ourselves. And that leads me to the second point that I want to mention and that is that when you come to Ramadan, what I normally advise people

is trying to treat Ramadan as if you're going on a spiritual retreat, you know,

where, you know, the idea is to try to as much as you can try to slow down, slow down that busyness and you know, take a break from this dunya and just allow yourself to basically soak up very bad or soak up you know, that worship, right that those times for worship, and just realize how much your need for this a bad though, right?

and how much um, you know, realize how much this a bed that Allah Tala has prescribed for us in this month is actually reviving and nourishing your soul, like, know how much we spend, you know, worry about our food, you know making sure we get the right vitamins and minerals and all of that, okay, because we never neglect our bodies. But when it comes to our souls, that's what we find that one of the modern day problems of mankind in general, is that there's, there's souls actually starving. And this is why there's so much unrest in the world today, you know, within people, there's so

people don't feel that, like that, that piece of heart and mind anymore, it's very hard for them to feel that.

So that's why, like, what I always remain recommend as well is, you know, try to simplify your life down as much as you can, like, consider the, you know, the time of the Sahaba how simple it was. And just think about how much more complex our lives have become, and you know, how full our schedules are, you know, so

obviously, we can't change everything, but you know, as much as you can try to cut down like extra appointments, you know, try to get most of you, if you've got to clean your house, try to do before Ramadan so that you don't have to waste your whole Ramadan, you know, doing all these major spring cleans and things like that.

Even if you've got like study commitments, work commitments, as much as you can think about ways that you can reschedule things, and especially in the last 10 Nights, you know, you want to try to keep that that time in particular, free for you to really focus on your acts of worship, right.

Now the other thing as well in when we're talking about simplifying Ramadan

is that we want to try to reduce the usual outside noise. Now what I mean by that is like, like things like social media, things like your phone, things, like

you know, cereals, TV, you know, TV serials, whatever

they are, all things that you have to understand are going to distract you from being able to, you know, really stay focused in this month.

Now, I'm not saying especially when it comes to your phone and social media, I'm not saying that, you know, you have to like if you call it would be amazing if you could totally give up your social media for the whole month. Most people don't have that kind of, you know, self discipline to be able to do that. One idea is, you know, during your day, you know, focus on your prayers and you know, reading grant those things and then you could keep off the grid for time of going on your phone. If you can't do that, then try to like you know, spend some moments or have some periods of like reciting Quran or praying or you know, doing you know, a car or whatever and then after you've spent

a certain amount of time maybe an hour or so then allow yourself to have a quick time going on your phone or something like that you understand but you have to always like reflect on the

understand that you know, just think about how much of your life has already passed by and what have we actually done? What have actually done for me, you know, so what I always say is if we're not making the most of Ramadan, when are we going to start making the most of our lives? Right so this is our chance to make up for so many missed opportunities in our lives.

And like I was saying before, just keep reflecting about like reflecting upon you know, how simple life used to be for like this hobby and you know, for the female companions and and how much easier it was for them to you know, to stay focused in the month of Ramadan and, and then just try to replicate that type of lifestyle as much as you can. I know that that's got constrained a lot of constraints, but I'll be speaking a bit more about that inshallah. Soon.

But, look, the next point I wanted to mention is about, you know, another thing is, it's very important that when it comes from a bond, one of the most important things to prepare is our hearts. Okay, so, we're talking about preparing our heart for our bond. One of the most important things you need to begin with is purifying your Nia, purifying your intention. And you know, really put it into your heart that you want to do your very best in this month. Okay.

A lot of time in the Quran says, women you mean Billahi? Yeah, and you call whoever sincerely believes in Allah, Allah, Allah to Allah will guide the hearts. So this is something that Allah shows us that as long as you have the sincere intention for Allah, Allah will guide your heart to the higher and to that which pleases Him. Subhan Allah Allah.

So we need to realize that, you know, attaining success in this month, ultimately it begins with ourselves, right? It begins with, you know, our own sincerity and how much we truly want to do well in this month being delayed to Allah because, like I said, if Allah sees the good in you

Then, then Allah Tala will give you the tofield Insha Allah, he'll give you the success.

Another thing that's really important is making Tober. Right? Because, like, you have to also realize that none of us is able to do even one Hasina. Not even one deed in this month. And this Allahu Taala guides us to be able to do it. Right but in order for us to be able to receive that guidance in our hearts, then we first need to rectify our hearts and we need to realize that the sins and blackness that builds up in our hearts over the year or even having you know, bad feelings towards others, right all of that all of that like shackles on our hearts that you know can block us from getting close to a level Tyler in this month. Like Allah hotel in the Quran says a fella yet a

dead baboon and Anna and Marla KHUDOBIN appleford Oh her this is

joint they were reflect and ponder upon the Quran or are they like shackles on their hearts. So showing us that having a shackles having those sins, having that blackness, having those bad feelings towards others, all of that can block us from, from feeling and feeling the words of the Quran and getting close to Allah subhanaw taala.

So that's why I'm saying to you that it's very important that if we really want to do well in this month, then we need to start it by asking Allahu Allah sincerely to forgive us, you know, for our sins and ask him to remove the hardness from our hearts. Because over the year, you know, as part of our hearts become hard, we have so much love for dunya

you know, we had the Think about Allah in the next life as much as we should. So this is why we wondering, you know, why do we get that sweetness of Moroccan Ramadan, it's due to the hardness of our hearts. And so if someone's struggling in Ramadan, not finding that sweetness, it's very important to to sit and reflect, you know, doing what has to knapsack do like call yourself to account, think about your life, ask a lot of time to remove, you know, that hardness in sha Allah and ask him to, to fill your heart with a man and sweetness of you man, Inshallah, especially in this month.

Okay, so another point I wanted to mention, as well was, you know, be flexible with Ramadan goals. Um, of course, you know, it's recommended for us to have goals, like, we all want to have goals for Ramadan, what we want to achieve, as you know, over Ramadan as a whole, and also what we want to achieve, you know, each day in Ramadan, but also I want to mention that it's important to be flexible with that. And you know, don't beat yourself up if you don't actually get to achieve everything that you hoped for. Because we all have different individual circumstances.

And so this is why it's very important to keep in mind that Allahu Taala rewards you according to you know, the level of your if loss the level of your sincerity and how much you really tried, right? And one of the eight I love a lot of Dallas's incident and lead the follow up on multiple hire Talia Balu welcome a you call us and one Allah, okay, the Allahu Allah tells us that,

you know, he's the one who created death and life. Why Leah Balu ACOEM a Yukon, us and one Allah to test those of you who are best in the deeds.

So in order to see that he does not say, you know, the one who does the most deeds, rather, he says the best in their deeds.

So this is what we try to aim, you know, to, you know, whenever we do in Ramadan, we try to do our best, even if it's not any more than not, if it's even if it's not as much as other people. Okay. And that goes back to what I was saying before about, you know, don't compare yourself to others.

And I'm saying,

obviously, as well, I like to reflect here for a moment as well and, and just acknowledge that we all have, you know, unique life circumstances and not all of us is able to, you know, Delegate delegate, what our responsibilities to others, you know, from amongst us, you know, we're a huge amount, you know, that everyone has all different types of responsibilities, you know, amongst us as those who are, you know, caring for a special needs child, amongst us are those who are caring for elderly parents, right? Some of us have got young children that we have to get wake up at night for.

So if, if, if that's the case for you, you know, you've got all these extra burdens on yourself. Right? Don't compare yourself to others. Um,

and, and what I would say too, is, you know, one of the best things that you can actually do in such a situation is just like, embrace your individual circumstances and and realize that this is what Allah hoteller chose for you. Alright, so, so seek newness to Allah subhanaw taala by, you know, accepting your situation. And then what you do is you strive for his sake, and

strive for you strive for him.

seeking it you know in seeking His pleasure for what you're doing, right whether that's looking after your child or looking after your, your elderly parent looking after your, you know, whatever you have to do

you strive for his sake seeking His pleasure through that, that through that role.

And one of the eight that I absolutely love is the iron which a lot of doses in na sala T one Uzuki one na Yeah, you wanna Matty Lillahi Rabbil aalameen, right, a lot of says, say Verily my prayer and my sacrifice, and my living and my dying is all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds right. Now, the reason I love this so much, is because it shows you that no matter what your circumstances may be, right? It gives you a whole new mindset towards everything that you're doing in your life. So that you no matter what you have to do, no matter what your responsibilities are, you wake up living your life for Allah, right? You go to bed, living your life for Allah. So it gives you that whole

framework of just living your life with whatever you're doing. You do it for the sake of Allah subhanaw taala.

So we need to realize that, you know, as well that, you know, even in the case of Sahaba, like even I gave you that idealistic idea of you know, how to worship Allah in the month of Ramadan earlier, in a ton of Sahaba. But you have to also remember too, that not every Ramadan that they leave through was had the perfect circumstances for worship, either, right? There are battles that took place like Battle budget took place in the month of Ramadan, so there was months, no, there was some Ramadan that came to them, where they had to go out for battles. There was some Ramadan's that came to them, they had to deal with the loss of loved ones, you know, there were disruptions. So we

shouldn't expect that every, every Ramadan that comes to us is going to have all the ideal circumstances, alright, so realize that some of our bonds are going to come along, in which we're going to need to learn to seek close knit closeness to Allah, through our sub, through our perseverance through our, you know, patience, and more than we are able to see closeness to Allah, that, you know, in performing extra acts of worship, right, because we all know that when, you know, when you're busy with problems, when you're busy with trials, you're you're usually not able to do as many acts of worship as other times. And this is something Allahu taala, in fact, acknowledges in

the Quran, like Allahu taala, if you look at the end of Surah shot, Allahu Taala says for either for on the phone sub, what you know, Pika phobot. So, at the end of this surah, Allahu Taala says that, you know, when you have, you know, finished, basically being busy with your, you know, with your affairs, what not be comfortable, then, then, you know,

make yourself busy in your worship, like, focus completely on your worship. So what we learned from that is, like, you're going to have times where you're going to go through misfortune, you're gonna go through trials, and you're distracted from your normal types of the the normal level of worship, you would have done, right. But when you get through that time, when you get to the other side of that time, that's when you go back to really focusing yourself on you're a birder.

Okay, so the last thing I want to speak about tonight was some of the specific things that you can do to maximize your Ramadan, especially for those who have a really big, busy schedule.

Like maybe you have to work, maybe you have to study maybe you have small kids to look after, there's so many different, so many things that can come up in our lives, right. So one of the tips is basically obviously time management. It's, you know, very important, for example, to make the most of your early mornings, if you're very busy, if you've got to go to uni all day, if you have to go to work.

Then after fajr, you'd want to make the most of that time might, you know, by setting up the ledger and you know, reciting Quran doing vicar.

If you don't have to go to work on the leg, you don't have to, you know, go to uni, then what you can do is, for example, at the Doha time, which is around about the 10, you know, 10 o'clock, nine o'clock, 10 o'clock in the morning, you can use this time to sit and recite Quran do and pray your

prayer, Doha, of course, because when you pray, Doha, it's like you've thanked Allah hotel and give some given sadhaka for every joint of your body, right.

And also before going to bed, that's another time you can make the most of making the most of that time

in order to know that, you know, in order to feel for yourself that you've actually made the most of your day, right, because what happens to a lot of sisters I know off is that their day is so busy, especially when you're running around all day and then looking after the kids and everything. And often they go to bed feeling like what I've actually done today. I haven't had any time to read on. I haven't. I haven't had any time to do the cover law. So that's why I'm saying to you you've got

Looks nice sort of pockets in your time with like I said after Federer in particular could be after your five prayers could be too hard time when you put the kids down to sleep for example, or especially before going to bed, but just have those times where you really sort of delegate those times to really focused on doing some a better for yourself.

Then the other thing, obviously will be to have a basic daily plan that also helps you stay on track. Now, the basic plan I normally recommend for people and of course, you have to adjust everything I'm saying to you here, you have to adjust that to your own life and your own circumstances. But for example, a basic example would be you know, you wake up to have stuff or in the morning with your family. And you might want to pray some 200 there. And then you know,

you pray you know, after the time for federal comes in, you pray your sunnah of Fajr and then you pay your father Fajr. And then you can sit and do your car after the after the

you know, after the fajr prayer, and you can stay until the sun rises. And then after about 10 or 15 minutes, you could you could pray to her at that time if you wanted to. Or you could just go to sleep and then wake up and pray to her later on. And then you know that time of Buddha which I was saying before about nine or 10 you could use that as your Quran time.

Um, besides that, you know what try to pray the 12 Nowhere filled prayers, the 12 Nowhere filled prayers because the prophets that are longest and um, he told us that whoever prayed the 12 the 12 like Rawat said prayers, that Allahu Taala would build for them a house in Jannah. So that's the two rocket the rocket team before fudge the two centers before fudge for sinners before and two after though, and two after maghrib and two after Alicia

then, okay, so you've paid your, your four records before you know.

And then you've paid your two after though.

And then you've got your four suppress your acid record, sorry. And then you've got your mug grip. And so, you know, as you know,

when the time for Madrid comes, this is the best time to make Docherty for you to break your fast.

And so make do at this time, and you know, break your fast in sha Allah and pray your mothering. And then you know, have your thought and then go pray your shot, and then you've got tunnel which prayers. So that was a very, I had to have that very fast because I don't want to take up your time too much. But just to have that daily plan in place, you know, try to make certain aims for your day. And the other thing as well is to try to incorporate vicar, you know, through throughout your day as much as you can with whatever you're doing.

And that is something that's the Sunnah of the Prophet so low, some teaches us it's also the easiest of actions that have the greatest rewards. So, you know, when you're doing your cooking, for example, when you're driving, you know, driving your kids to school or, you know, you're going on the train, you know, you're sitting in the doctor's surgery, take, take the Quran with you, for example, if you're going out and you're gonna stick in the doctor's surgery, and just try to fill your time and day with vicar of Allah subhanaw taala because this is heavy in the scales with a loss of handler and realize how much Baraka that the decree of Allah brings into your day, right? And

realize also that the best time management can never compare to the baraka that dhikr of Allah hoteller brings into your life. And this is why in fact, we see how when Fatima Radi Allahu Unha, you know, she complained about like, you know, she was finding it difficult with the amount of work that she had to do. And so she asked the Messenger of Allah a little longest, to, to give her servants and yet we see how the Messenger of Allah told her that before she goes to bed, to say subhanallah 33 times, and to say Alhamdulillah 33 times and to say, Allahu Akbar 34 times, and this is better for her than having a servant. So one of the things that this shows you is, is the is the,

you know, the, the baraka that Allahu Taala can put into your life and time through the vicar of Allah subhanaw taala that, you know, the vicar of Allah, how much it can energize you and how much you know.

It can give you strength in a way that you could never have had by yourself.

So that's, that's, I'm just trying to give you some ideas of how you can when you're busy, no matter how busy you are, right? You can always do the Acropolis a panel you can always find time to do the Acropolis or pantalla.

Um, then another thing as well is what I always recommend people to do is you know, to aim for quality over quantity.

Right so whenever you do

You get time off, you're a very busy person, right? Whenever you do get that time for a better, whenever you do get that time for worship, then what you do is you aim to have a listen as much as you can, in whatever act of worship you do, like, the Messenger of Allah so long is that, um, he told us, he told us, you know, what is the meaning of a lesson? It is in double the law, how can the kiddo Rahu for in them to control Rahu for in the whole Europe, right? That you worship Allahu Taala as if you can see him. And even if you cannot see Him, then you worship him as if he can see you. So you get into a state of Morocco, where you feel a lot of times watching you and everything that

you're doing. So you've got to try to develop this, especially when you're fasting, you know, especially in Ramadan, and especially when you're praying in Ramadan. So what I'm saying to you is, if you're a very busy person,

at least, if you're only able to pray your phone press, and try to aim to get into this type of level with Allah subhanaw taala, where at least you're praying and feeling Allah is watching you when you're praying. And is if you're standing in front of Allah subhanaw taala.

Okay, so this is what I want, like, you know, this is what I'm trying to give you some ideas of how you can maximize your time in Ramadan, even if you're busy.

And that's why like, when it comes to your fun praise, like a lot of people, why did they not feel short in their prayers, because they pray their prayers very fast. And they're not taking the time in their prayer to like, turn their heart towards Allah subhanaw taala and pray as if they can see him.

Alright, and then the other thing too, is, even with your fasting, okay, so you know, even if you're not able to do a lot of a lot of acts of worship, you know, during the day, because you're so busy, but you can perfect your fasting.

And try to aim for the highest possible reward that you can add if you're fasting. And we know that the more that a person gods, they know their tongue, gods, the AIS Gods there is, from what Allahu taala, you know, has forbidden and he's not pleased with, the greater the reward will be with Allah subhanaw taala. And the higher level of their, you know, their fasting will be compared to somebody who didn't do that, right.

Another thing you can do as well, something recommended by the Scholars is to turn your daily habits into activity badder by your intention. So, you might have to clean your house, for example, and that's just a daily thing you do. But if you do it for the sake of Allah subhanaw taala, you know, with the intention for loss of pantalla, then that, that mundane task becomes like an act of worship for you. Right, and it's the same thing with other things, you have to do whatever you have to do in your daily life, as long as it's something permissible, then you try to turn, you know, make it that it's for the sake of Allah subhanaw taala

besides that, my dear sisters, if you at any time during Ramadan start to feel a bit bored with a routine because a lot of people they start out, you know, they started the month, you know, really enthusiastic, you know, fasting and they're going to turn away at night.

If you, you know, find that it's you start getting bored with it, then what you should try to do is to find another activity, another activity, that's also considered to be an act of worship. So for example, just say you're a bit bored with you know, just sitting there at home reading Quran or something like that, go and visit a sister for the sake of Allahu Taala someone who's in need, cook someone, you know, food, who's, you know, maybe I'm pregnant, or you know, they're struggling with it, you know, maybe they've even got COVID, you know, there's still people getting tested with COVID, right. But the make the most important point is just don't waste your time in this month of

Ramadan. So what you want to try to do is to try to stay in a state of continually seeking the pleasure of Allah subhanaw taala in whatever you do.

So again, if you're feeling not motivated, you know, listen to some lectures about Ramadan. What I always do advise to is trying to go to total prayers in the masjid, because for a lot of people, they need that to feel motivated. Not everybody needs it, some people are able to pray at home and they feel humble and motivated. But if you know yourself that you're the type that needs that motivation, then pray tidal wave because it's not just about the prayers, it's also about the whole environment that you find inside the Masjid. Everyone, you know, around you or worshiping Allah subhanaw taala you feel, you know, you get that whole, you know, vibe from a bond that really helps

to motivate you. And besides that, you know, another thing you can do is like organizing the farm,

you know, with with other sisters, for example, this is a way to also help yourself to keep very motivated.

The other just one more thing before I finish too is, you know, if you don't do well on one day, like if there's one day that you felt like you didn't do well. Always say to yourself, I can start a new tomorrow. It's not like the end of it. You know what I'm trying to say?

So, just use that

They, you know, to consider that in sha Allah, even if I didn't do well today, but in the letter Allah, I'm gonna do extra bit, you know, extra better tomorrow, inshallah and you know, besides that if you if you start feeling you know, like I said before, not like a bit lazy or something like that just keep focusing on those days that are easy for you. So maybe you can't read a lot of Quran you don't feel motivated, pray extra extra sort of prayers for example, or you know, give some more stuff or or go visit, like I said before sisters who are sick or help other people this will help you to, you know, get more motivated to want to do extra acts of worship, inshallah.

So, finally, in finishing up in sha Allah, you know, the best advice that I can give is, you know, to simply make sincere DUA and ask Allahu Allah to help you to worship Him, him, you worship Him in the most perfect way, in this month.

Because ultimately, when it comes down to it, if we want to do well in this month, then realize that the only ones who are going to be successful in this month are the ones who Allah gives them Tofik to do whatever they're able to do in this month, right? That's what it comes down to. We will not be able to do anything by our own efforts. It's only through the you know, as we say, La hawla wala Quwata illa biLlah there's no strengthen there's no ability except with Allah hota Allah. So this is why the most important thing, if you want to be successful in this month, is to make dua sincerely from your heart and just ask Allah,

especially the DUA that the Prophet SAW Allah Assam taught us a llama had a knee. holodeck Rica was Shoukry cap, who's the better tick? Oh Allah helped me in the Allah decree cow helped me to mention you helped me to thank you, and help me to worship you in the best way and had the best the better of you. So I asked a level Tyler that he helps us all to feel the sweetness of Ramadan. And I asked a lot of talent to make this Ramadan, the best Ramadan that any of us any of us has ever had. And I asked Allahu Taala to fill our hearts with the love for the Quran. The love for the Prophet sallallahu Sallam the love for Islam, the love for the deen that you know may Allah hoteller Feel

our homes and our hearts with the you know with the lights of you know of Islam, and you know the love for you know the earth era more than this dunya well holo polyhedra were a star for Allah will he will not come and finally my dear sisters, a llama by living in Ramadan May Allah Allah help us to reach Ramadan safely and bless us with all of our deeds in this month. So paddock along with your comedic Nacho alert EULA heikkila and nesto felucca when a taboo like a Salaam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh