Life Changing Ramadan – Part 2
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Channel: Yahya Ibrahim
File Size: 23.67MB
Episode Notes
Life Changing Ramadan | Part 2 – Yahya Ibrahim
AI Generated Transcript ©
Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah sallallahu alayhi wa early, he was so happy with Salima that
we always begin with the praise of Allah, we send our prayers of peace upon Nabhi Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
we're continuing
we're continuing with our discussion about finding that love and connection with a lot in the month of Ramadan. You know, we want that Baraka to enter into our life, we want it to be something that is
significant for us, and life changing for us, and we want it to be a permanent change in the law, he to Allah. And the third thing that we you know, we want to talk about is to remain in the service of Allah. And in the month of Ramadan, sometimes you can get distracted with a few things. Now,
it's important to always kind of set some broad rules and, and try to stick with them as best as we can. There needs to be balance in life. Of course, the month of Ramadan isn't just a month where you just stay at home, don't go to work. It's not just a month, where you just sit there and report on 24 hours a day, it's a month where you carry on with the normal duties of life, but you add value into it by going beyond what you would normally do in other months, and you ask a lot to strengthen you with that ability in the month of Ramadan.
I've, you know, just on Friday, was the deadline for the students here at Curtin University. And I'm sure there's a few here to them, send me an email with their exam details for me to reschedule their exams, if it's at a time of breaking their fast, and I got something like you know, 120
different applications for exam shifts. And of course, you know, if your exams at five o'clock or 530, it's a three hour exam and you know, you haven't hydrated all day it is, of course within your right to do that. And those guys, so don't send me any more because the deadline is done, just in case you were sleeping through or something. But that is something that's important.
So we're not saying that you you you shouldn't do your normal fact no, you should do normal functions, there can be exclusions to it. And the exclusion shouldn't be that we sit at home as monks, we're not monks, we don't just sit with SSV or with the Koran and do nothing else for 30 days. Except this. There are the concept of erotica, which we will talk later on today, where we do try to take some time out and the Prophet would do that in the last 10 nights or in the second part of the last 10 nights in the month of Ramadan for the one who is able.
So remain in the service of a law as best as you can. Sometimes we underestimate the things that earn the greatest reward. Sometimes we assume that I have to do something major for a lot to accept it and bless my life. You don't have to necessarily give hundreds and 1000s of dollars for you to have a charitable spirit. A charitable spirit is not about the dollar amount. And in fact the profits I sell them in his whole life, Sierra, you see that at times he would mention that there would be people who would come with a handful of dates. And a law will make and accept those dates as being the size of the mountain of hood. Because they were meaningful. They were given at a time
of scarcity in need. And I illustrate this with the Hadith narrated by the man Muslim. Shadow the Allahu alayhi wa she reports that she was home and the Prophet was at home with her and a woman knocked on the door. And she said to her Yeah, I mean, my children and I were starving. We have nothing to eat. We came to the house of the prophets, I send them to find food. Like there's no one else if, if you no one wanted to take from the prophets, I send them he's the last person that you would say give me from your food and put him in inconvenience. But I have no one to turn to except you. So I shadow the law on her. She said what law he by our Lord. For the last two weeks we have
not lit fire in the house of the Prophet meaning we haven't turned on an oven. We haven't turned on a stove. We haven't had that food. All and I have left it three dates. And she says she gave the lady the three dates and this woman she had with her two young daughters 100 right 100 left. So the woman immediately took the three day Thank you she gave one to this daughter, one to this daughter. And they gobbled it up and they turned and looked up at her looking at that third date. So there's this mother who hasn't eaten. She's taking the final dates from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam comes home and she wants you know, it's my last day heat. Ah, have you
Got one date. But she she splits the date in half
a shot got it. She broke the date in half. And she gave each of the girls one of them. And she departed from the house of the profits, I sell them at Chateau de La Hoya and when the profit return, she says yasu Lysa, something amazing. I saw this woman who gave each one a date and then broke the other date in half. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, because of that act of kindness, a lot open to her all of the doors of gender.
It's your own kids, you might say, That's nothing Jani. It's my kids. If my kids are starving, I'm gonna give them a date as well. But what's even greater? And I want you to think of this. It's not entirely evident initially, but you know, our teachers, they would say, Well, what about the one who gave them all three dates in the first place?
And he said, we didn't turn on fire in the house of the profits. I
mean, we got nothing. And she only had three days. What did you do with them? Did you think I'll give her one? And I'll take one and one that one for the profit? Did she calculate it all? No, she gave everything
if that reward for the woman who are own kitschy broken up, what about the stranger who preferred them to their own selves, and therefore Allah says in the huddle on, where you Runa and footsy him when you can have him kasasa and they would give in charity, even though they were maybe in more need of it than the one who received it. That was the attitude of the Sahaba. That was the concept that they had in, give, and Allah will give back to you. Right? So that service of others becomes a primary primary source of reward that we seek in the month of Ramadan. The prophets, I seldom would say the one who serves people should be the last to eat. Now, this is actually
in our day and age. I remember in messenger Tada, where I grew up in Toronto, the Toronto and region Islamic Center, and what's your thought? We used to have Ramadan, and we used to serve people food for Ramadan. And I remember, you know, the, the chef's he mentioned this, my chef, a chef Hammad. He said to the people we're serving, remember the prophets I send him said, the one who serves people should be the last to eat. So I remember this one brother, he actually put a plate for himself.
Because he didn't want anything good to get, you know, he wanted to taste everything. So he put a plate for himself, and he put it under the table. And he said, Okay, so I'll eat last. But he preferred it first. Which, which is, of course, the opposite of what the prophets Isola means. And that returns to fifth you know how people understand the Hadith of the prophets, I seldom means that particular thing. You don't just understand that the way you want. And that's really quite significant. Why does the Prophet say the one who serves as the last to eat, because your aim is to be as generous to everyone and if at the end of it, there's nothing really left for you. That that
is the best food that is destined for you by Allah subhanaw taala those last little hard, crusty burnt bits or rice is some of the best Baraka field morsels of food. Remember, I told you initially Baraka is in about the jewels in the incrusted places. The Baraka is sometimes in those last remnants, and that's why the prophets I sell him would say to the people don't eat from the middle of the plate, don't go for, you know, people, when you put me in the middle of a shared fight, you always put in the middle, right? So people got to work their way to it.
You don't just you know, you don't, you don't put it on the sides. So you got to work your way through. But the Baraka descended that middle of the flight, the end of the meal, the last pieces, the scraggly bits, that's where Baraka enters into your life. So have that concept of the service of others seek out to be one of those who is a greeter to the people who come to visit them as needed.
Be trying to be one of those people who brings a few extra bottles of water that you pass on to someone at you know, they're praying total, we'll be a person who brings a 24 case of water and just leaves it at the door of the masjid at the front row where second row were third row, that the people when they're thirsty, they look to it. I don't have to leave my spot to go get some water. Right? find unique ways. It's just $8 for 24 bottles of water. In Canada, they're probably falling over when they hear that, you know, a case of water in Canada is 90 cents.
Like 20 and you know, when my family they come and visit like, why are you paying water
$8 $10 it's not people wouldn't even pay it. They would only make them pay it so they actually carry it like you
You pay the 90 cent, that's the only reason
we Subhana Allah, you know, help people in their ibadah if you see someone you know, someone has gotten up, they went to the bathroom, save their spot. This is also from the student of the profit center. Someone says to you, I'm going to come back, the Prophet says, Don't sit where someone was seated, you know, that person wants to sit there, you know, they're with their family, you know, they're, you know, they this will solve all the famous the feuds up in the crowds today, right? Oh, that was my seat, hi, don't sit where people were seated, it puts bad, they don't respect me, they took what's mine, right? All of those are things in the help in the service of people try to help
out in that if thoughts of, you know, that are done by community organizations, so that people can take part of it, and then share and enjoying the food, tried to be from those who makes collections and passes it on to reputable organizations, charities that that will give it to those who are needy insha Allah. Finally, when we talk about service is to be humble. Don't think because you're helping someone that that makes you somehow meritus with Allah subhana wa, Tada. Allah is not just accepting of what we do, but the intentions that we have in our heart at the time, and why we do it. Number four, is to reconnect with the ones who have cut us off. And this is actually an important important
process in the month of Ramadan. It's not just looking out for our family and so on. But it's actually searching for those who we are not actively friends with someone I used to be friends with someone that we used to get along someone that was a part of my life. And for some reason, one or another good or bad, whether it's my fault or their fault.
For some reason that we've lost that completely we have nothing that connects us. No, you do have something and that is a loss of Hannah Todd. So connect with other people for Allah. I had this one brother, you know, he was arguing with a family member. And I said, just call him in the month of Ramadan. Just ring him.
Well, I shaved my head.
He's not gonna answer me. If he sees my name, he might not even at my age, he will never answer. I said just call you. He rings the brother picks up on the first ring. So rather than what do I say? I say say said I want to
say the other guy says we're at a call center.
I say talk
say Ramadan Kareem Ramadan, Mubarak Say something. And all of a sudden in the month of Ramadan, where you assume that that relationship could never be healed because of the Baraka in the month of Ramadan, it's healed.
Where you assumed it could never be made better. It could never be transformed. We will die this way. No, the month of Ramadan is a month of blessing from its beginning to its end. So men, the hearts and lots of parents want to either you know instructed the prophets I send them on numerous occasions, indefatigability here,
reject and push back against hostility. push back against emnity push back against the hatred you receive from others with gentleness. push back against evil with good push back against volume with ad with justice for either lady v neck or V Mahadeva. Now what do you mean? In so doing, you can turn an avowed enemy into a close friend once again. The prophets I seldom would say,
forgive the one who for forgive the one who wrongs you
for
forgive the one who wrongs you.
While swill men katok and reconnect the one who has cut you off, they cut me off. They're the ones who wronged me forgive the one who wronged you, and reconnect with the one who cut you off
and do good to them.
And do go to the one who has done wrong to you.
In the levy as late do assign to the one who has done something wrong in their dealings and in their treatment of you
and speak the truth. We're calling help whenever I learn and speak the truth even if it is against your ownself such was the words of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam fifth and finally in finding that love in the month of Ramadan is to seek the company of the righteous Yani sometimes the people that we will have in our homes for thought and in the month of Ramadan. Sometimes they're just family and family is good. And we said that that's the first step. But don't just make it just family. Just people that we know just Who are we obligated to see people
I have to say, just because we're related somehow, or we work together or whatever it would be wrong, it would be rude if I didn't invite them. But you should also actively seek out the people who will bring bottle kit into your home. Have people who may not be from your social status may not be from your ancestry may not be from your family background may not be your friend that work may not be. But there are people who are committed Muslims who come to the masjid, there is a beautiful brother, she's a beautiful sister. They're a good person, their heart is genuine. They're there every night in taraweeh, and in prayer, and you don't have any room for them, but you have room for
other people, just because you're obligated. No. And therefore that brings back into your home righteous people bring righteous company with them from the unseen angels, and the forces that add value to our home. So fill your home with that Baraka and happiness and contentment. The prophets I seldom Allah would say, was big enough to come and live in a room or a bedroom, will actually, you know, make yourself content to be with those in patients with those who are consistent in their remembrance of Allah in the mornings. And in the evening, when I toggle back and home to the to the hotel Hyatt Indonesia and don't turn away from them, just on account of them being weaker, or not
socially desirable, and status, just to be with those who are mighty in the people of college, it was easy for the prophets, I send them to invite someone from Orion, who isn't a believer in to his home and to try to placate him and to make them feel Islam is a good thing common and ignore the others. But the prophets I sent him was warned about this. And one of the problems that we have as Muslims is that we always, you know, placate to power, the one who's above us somehow in authority or whatever, we kind of try to suck up to them. But when it comes to Allah, and when it comes to the search of Baraka, that's not what you do. You actually Humble yourself to the one who Allah seeks
from us companionship with.
Let's talk a little bit about fasting. Now, you know, if you turn back to your manual, and if you get to page number five, four and five. Now, we said, you know, initially that
No, I'll do the next one.
On number four, and five,
on page four, and five at the end, we mentioned that, you know, fasting became an obligation in the fourth
in the second year after his Utah.
And this doesn't mean that the Sahaba and the Prophet didn't fast before it. They use the fast but not in terms of obligation. And therefore it has always been a certain of the prophets. I send them too fast certain days, certain particular combinations of days, certain particular opportune times. You know, while in Europe, they were cursing the full moon and associated with werewolves. in Arabia, the full moon was a time of connection with a law and fasting and will be the 13th 14th and 15th, which is the 15th. Today, depending on which calendar you're following, we're always days that were fasted by the prophet Mohammed Tyson. He would fast Mondays and Thursdays, and he gave the
reason on Mondays but because it was the day he was born, and on Thursday, because Mondays and Thursdays are the days that our deeds ascend to the heavens, right. your deeds ascend to a law for that week for that part of the week, up into the heavens on those two days. So the Prophet always wanted to seal his day with an obligation of turning to Allah in worship. Now, the day that is next to be fasted after the month of Ramadan that was most strictly adhered to, by the prophets, I send them with the day of Ashura, which is the day where Allah saved Moosa from Freetown and it is a day of the exodus of Moses from Patreon and the prophets I send them notice that the Jews would fasting
it and he said, We are more we are at closer to most of them they are so we would fast two days, the day before I showed up on the day of Ashura, or the day after it with the day of Ashura. Also the Sahaba those who were not performing hajj, they would fast the day of alpha. And that was a consistent sin of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. It is a way of joining in commemoration with the worship of those who stand in answer to a loss.
Then through Ibrahim to enter the Hajj, also, the nine days of the hijab, and those were done by many of the sellers many of the Sahaba they would fast the nine days of the hedger compulsively in seeking other reward of a law and the law says well fed, well, early Nash. In fact, most of the demands of admission
sooner they declare that there are no greater days, not even in Ramadan, that are better than those 10 days of Lula hijjah that lead up to the day of alpha in terms of you maximizing your award of earning. So up in your worship, Mondays and Thursday throughout the year, the middle three days of 1314 and 15 of every month, when the moon is at its brightest. And there are
numerous statements from the prophets I send them with regards to those. Why is fasting in general, not just Ramadan, but fasting in general, ordained by Allah, and has always been ordained by Allah. Now, of course, if we look from a scientific perspective, you know, you can just, if you were just to Google, just google the word fasting, and ignore all the Islamic website searches that come up, and just read about, you know, there's people now that are talking about the five day to day diet, right? You eat normally five days and then fast two days, and make them two days that are kind of spread apart. And that's really the student of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. In just two
days of fasting, your immune system is triggered to regenerate. And that's most research, recent research that's come out of Harvard University, just putting Google immune system and fasting and read what what comes with it. It's one of the great triggers in your body, to detox and to remove radicals from your system that may be present. But if we look at it from a spiritual perspective, from an insular Islamic perspective, there's a few things that are important. The first is that swam is meant to increase our taqwa.
And, you know, always the prophets I said, I'm never stood in front of people to talk to them about anything, except that he reminded them of taqwa. He always began by saying, Yeah, you're Latina am and tequila. Be conscious, be mindful of Allah. And Allah ends the verse of siyam by saying, quotevalet como cm Kamakura la Vina Min publikum, la la
tahune, perhaps through this fasting of this month of Ramadan, perhaps maybe by chance, if you do it right. If your intention was pure, if you're lucky, you will attain a higher measure of consciousness of involvement and awareness of your relationship with Allah, the Almighty suparna who went to Allah taqwa is something that is a missing ingredient in many of our life, our lives, my life and your life. And I want you even if you just take a second just to think, think of how many people you know, who actually have Taqwa.
Like, I want you to close your eyes, you know, just try to imagine how many people you know who you would describe as being people of taqwa? Very few will lie. I've traveled far away. I can tell you maybe on my fingers, maybe? I don't think I can reach 10
no insult to anyone in the room.
Right? Yes, sir.
Yeah, so it's not a judgement.
Yeah, so it's not a judgement of what amount of taqwa but from what we know of tough one, it's got signs. And therefore the people of taqwa have always been people who were luminous. How many luminous leave the word tougher? How many luminous people do you know in your life? It's few. How many people put a law before everything all the time, every time at all occasions, very few people.
And that isn't a measure just on ourselves for others. But it's a way of of considering that taqwa isn't something that's attained and maintained. And therefore the people who attained to taqwa at a point in time, whether myself or yourself or whoever, we ascend in those levels of taqwa. It's not something that's guaranteed because you've arrived there you maintain it, we go up and down in our relationship with a lot. And therefore the concept behind the month of Ramadan is that when you attain a level of taqwa, the aim is of Ramadan is that you have more consciousness of a law at the end of it, then you entered into it,
that you become a better person at the end of it. Then you are at
The beginning of it irrespective of your place, and time.
The second important reasoning and rationale for Selenium and its audit ordinance is to learn the spirit of bearing hardships while remaining resilient and patient.
It's not a very difficult Ramadan for us this year and hamdulillah in Perth, you know, inshallah, what is it like 510 or something that we break our fast. But for those who are fasting, you know, in the month of Ramadan, just say in Mecca this year, or in Medina this year, it's going to be in the hottest months of the calendar, you know, it's going to be June, it's going to be you know, or omad. It's going to be really Ramadan, in Mecca and Medina, they'll break their fast 745 750. And it is an difficult, difficult, difficult experience, not because we don't feel it at the moment as much as other localities in the world. The aim of Ramadan is that you learn that there is a threshold that
you have, and you can exceed it. And that patience is one of those key fees that you can develop, and the concept of patience for us as Muslims scheifele Islamic nucleon he says that the things that we will be required to be patient for that will have the greatest difficulty in doing is in the obedience of Allah. It's not in staying away from haraam. It's not when a lot tests us with illness or poverty or death or whatever it may be. The most difficult things to be successful in in life is in to remain firm, resilient, and patient in the worship of Allah subhanaw taala in the halakha Viola it's an enormity, to be regular with your slaughter, to order and to ordain it upon your
family. Look at how Allah uses the word in the Quran. To the prophet SAW Selim, what more electabuzz sada was popularly
ordain and fulfill the obligation of Salah with yourself and your family, and be obnoxious, really resilient and patient in it. Like it will be the measure of your whole life the rest of your life, you must be patient upon that solder. The reason the first thing you will be asked for on the Day of Judgment is prayer, because it's the most difficult deed. And the prophets I send them says the first thing a person will be asked about their obligations to Allah is Allah in Santo Hatano. Hello, I'm Luca, Luca, it's accepted, all of the rest of the deeds are accepted, all of them will be done. Because it's tough.
It is much easier for you For you to stay away from the hot arm, to stay away from liquor to stay away from the sinful practices to stay away from Jehovah than it is for you to be resilient each and every day, you know, in your Salah.
And to have your family along with you for the rest of their life until death surprises us difficult enormity, in health and in success or not.
So obeying Allah Subhana Allah that learning to obey Allah, it requires that resilience and its training ground is in Robben lon, all of a sudden, if you begin to think correctly, there you are standing in Tel Aviv for an extra hour and a half of prayer that you would not normally do hold on a second if I can do is here. I can do in other times. If I can stand up to a law for an hour and Ramadan, maybe I can do 15 minutes outside or maybe five minutes, maybe two o'clock if not 20 or eight. But it takes that mindset to develop that taqwa and patience. Number three, of course,
it is to help us understand the importance of holding back from natural desires, food lost anger,
to be able to govern ourselves in a way that we normally might assume that we are lacking.
One of the greatest ingredients of success and some social psychologists say he is the greatest ingredient of success, worldly success or other success is that ability for a person to hold themselves back and to delay gratification to say if I can wait I can get more and to hold back. Some of my students, I could see them smiling up top, they know all about the marshmallow test. There's a marshmallow test. What is it? You know, in the early 50s, they used to give these little kids they they'd walk them into a room camera setup. And they would say here's this marshmallow. If you wait until I go to my office
Come back and not eat it, I'll give you two.
And what they found was there were three or four kinds of kids. And it's a very well known psychological test, that some kids before, like, I walked out the room, they already ate it, they had no ability to delay gratification whatsoever. Before, that's okay. I don't, you don't even have to go. It's alright. I like this, you know, don't need to walk out there. Others, they would do certain things to delay that gratification, but fail near the end. Some of them, they would look at it, they would like to take a piece of it, they would lick it, they put it back, right? They would say no, I didn't touch it. And they would lie about it. Right? They you know, and they would, you
know, they even eat half of it. And they're doing the best they can to delay their gratification. But eventually they cave in fold and eat it and it's got helaas they they just couldn't wait. Then there were the third group, by far the smallest section 15% less than 15% who have that natural ability,
completely natural ability to delay gratification. They look at it, they sometimes they'll turn away from it. They might even push it on the side of the desk, so it doesn't smell nicer. And so it's not within I range. And it doesn't matter how long you ask them to wait. in their mind. I will wait on Detroit helaas. Even if you were to Okay, that's it? No, where's my okay. They when they finally got it, some of them even went further, that even after they got the second one, they said if you if I wait more, will I get another one? Like they actually I'm able to hold myself back. Now what and they actually followed those kids for 40 years. So that test that was done in Harvard and UCLA, they
follow those kids for two years. And what pattern Do you think emerged, the ones who were not able to hold themselves, they ate it before the guy walked out of the room, those same children grew up to be impulsive, adults, they had the least savings were the least likely to hold down a job were the least likely to finish their education were the most likely to have failed relationships were the most likely to have bounced around from one city to the next and not be settled. The middle group were the ones who succeeded but then ruined it. Like they got married, they were having to get divorced in a way that it was their fault. They got a good job, they Oh, they got a good education,
but then they cheated or they got kicked out of school or, you know, something happened, that it shows that they would make it just about there. And then they would bring about their own ruin. They just couldn't hold on long enough. That very final group, they were the ones whose parents also displayed the same traits. Because it's a nurtured behavior. It's something that you can teach your children. You know, sometimes you gotta you gotta break a few eggs to cook a cake. You gotta you know, you gotta be sometimes a little bit tough. Sometimes your children not everything they want you give it to them. I say this often, sometimes you go visit someone's house and like they have a
Toys R Us in their in their home. Right? It's like they bought Toys R Us put it in their house. It's like, here you go kids. Right. And that's not good. It's not good for your children. It's not good for them to have everything on demand on tap, that something breaks, it's replaced. Immediate, that there's the expectation Why ask for why didn't you give it to me? Or that if they've saved up and they bought something that somehow it's there and they're entitled, there's no rooms or limits? No, there's always room in limits. Right. And that becomes a very important that that final group that 15% they were the ones who attained advanced degrees, had productive relationships, had good savings
had good job titles were people who were in their normal in what we consider normal life, people who were successful, and Islam intends to teach us delayed gratification. And therefore the Prophet actually spells it out that way. He says Lisa, Amy for hotton, the one who's passing has two moments of gratification and happiness. The moment they break their fast, because you've been holding on hold hamdulillah that sip of water in total all over LA, you know, my veins are full of water again, like I've irrigated myself again. It's a moment of happiness, I'm gratified and the moment they meet Allah that that becomes the next moment of happiness in their life.
The final thing, of course, and one of the outcomes that we usually talk about first, but it's really not. The first reason is that we understand the needs of other people, and we begin to become much more empathetic. Even if we cannot become sympathetic. We can be empathetic with what people's needs.
are in life. And therefore the month of Ramadan is a very significant month, it's an important opportunity to consolidate that. Let's look at the conditions for the obligation of fasting. Now we're going to look a little bit of fear. And I don't want to get too stymied into the fifth macaron, which is the different viewpoints of the different imams as it relates to certain obligations, and so on with, so we're going to go right down that the center, we're going to look at the things that everyone agrees on. And when there's major points of dispute, I will mention them in glancing and in passing. inshallah, in general, when we talk about the obligations of fasting,
four things must come together for a person to be obligated to Allah, that is a request, by a shadow by a law of the law giver, for them to fulfill their past. The first of them is an Islam. And therefore, although it's nice that we get people to fast along with us in campus, it's not something that is treated as the fast that we as Muslims fast. So for them, it's more of a diet or something else, right? So it's experiencing the fast, but it's not rewarded by a law as a fast. Number two is that there has to be a level of
discernment, and that the body is ready for it. And one of the things I think that's important is sometimes we ask of our children things when they are not really ready for it. So puberty becomes an obligation as a threshold, that a child is now obligated, they become mature enough before a law, that they are to be requested and prohibited not from breaking their fast. But in terms of alkalyn, understanding or discernment. sanity becomes the third requirement that a person understands what Allah has obligated for them, they have the intellectual capability to understand it. And therefore they know that there is an expectation of reward, and that there is punishment for the one who
abstains from it. And finally, number four ability that the person who is fasting is able to fast and this is where a lot of dispute comes in, who's the one who's able who's the one who's not able. And that's where we need to spend a little bit of time talking about the excuses for a person not to fast on a day. There's a huge storm that's raging in the United Kingdom at the moment where the Department of Education has written to schools and said, don't change exam times. The final exam, GCSE and all these kind of exams are in Ramadan. And a lot of schools, especially those that have dense Muslim populace, you know, Muslim students, they began to make alternative exam arrangements
for their students. And the Department of Education said, No, don't do it.
Don't fast. You don't need someone gave him a federal law.
They went and asked some some guy, hey, what do you think they asked a think tank. And they said, Hey, if there's exams, you don't need to fast that you have an excuse. You have something that necessitates that. And they took that federal and they said, Look, we have we've been informed by Muslim scholarship that you don't need to fast. And because you have an exam coming up, so don't change the exams, everyone's going to do the exam in the same time. And that's the end of it. Now, of course, the United Kingdom, there has been a, you know, a raging theological battle over that. And the truth of the matter, of course, is that there are two types of excuses. From from
jurisprudence perspective, from a fiscal perspective, the first and type are temporary excuses. And the second are permanent excuses. When we talk about who is required to fast, and who is not required to fast, when we look at the excuses that are provided, the temporary excuses, relate to things that have a definite timeline where they will come to an end. You have an illness that is recoverable. It's not terminable. It is something that you will heal from it, eventually, you're traveling but you will eventually get to the place that you're traveling to. You are for our sisters in menstruation or in postnatal postpartum bleeding. Those are temporary reasons for terminating the
fast pregnancy and breastfeeding are also valid reasons that we will talk about and then there are other miscellaneous reasons that will come up. So let's look at each of them in sha Allah. If you can turn
To page number six
let's talk about the things that break the fast and that way we can understand why temporary excuses are relevant.
Firstly, the pillars of fasting of course is Nia intention. A person can't just wake up hungry and say okay, I'm fasting. In the month of Ramadan know the month of fasting is a month of everybody and every body every action in that sense, is rewarded in accordance to the knee. And when we talk about Nia intention, it's three things. Leah is three things The first of them is that it intends to be rewarded by Allah. I'm doing this because I expect a lot to give me something in return. And therefore you hear this in the Hadith of the prophets I send them men sama Ramadan he man and wacky seven, the one who fasts to Allah with belief and with accountability, knowing that Allah will
account for these days in reward, Wolfie Allah, Masha, Allah will forgive their sins, right? So there's a part of the Nia is, Oh Allah, this is for you. And I expect something in return as a reward. Number two, Nia is that I'm doing this, in pleasing Allah subhanaw taala is first number two, so that I'm not accountable for not having done it. Meaning that Oh Allah, I'm fasting these days so that I prevent myself from being punished for being one of those who is lawful or miss those days. So that's number two. And the third aspect of Nia is that I am doing this without seeking any reward from anyone but you Oh Allah. So I'm not fasting because if my parents No, I'm not, they will
be upset with me. I'm not fasting because my husband is fasting. I'm fasting because I want the reward from you. I don't want to be held accountable to you. And this is only for you. Oh Allah, it is heartlessly what he learned he Subhanahu wa Tada. And the second part of the sium is the abstinence the things that we stay away from. And there's a list of things and we will go through them in shot law. Eventually. Temporary illness is a flu reason to break one's fast. What do you guys think?
All right, speak up, speak up.
So who's the one who determines how bad it is?
Doctor, can I determine it?
I see I don't go to the doctor for every flu. Like I know I have the flu. If you wake up just say you know you wake up your wife wakes up. She's got the flu. You got the flu. But you're three days into the flu she's the first day in the flu. Your flu is almost over her flu is just beginning
Can you look at a new battled it out you were usually it's men who kind of cave in actually where the cry babies but we'll pretend we were strong. So there you are. You battled it out for the two days third day lamb delay, you're feeling a little bit better. You look at your wife, and she's a pancake toast. And you look and say well, I've asked it can your judgment of your flu be the same judgment as her flu now so when it comes to
the assessment for the temporary illness itself, indicating I know myself because see the more ominous we already made the first premise what Who am I fasting for? A lot, nothing to do with you. So I know I'm sick. I know what it feels like to be this sick in comparison to another sick. So even if your flu yesterday, you fasted in it? Oh, it's only till five o'clock. You know, some people try to convince you. Oh, it's only till five o'clock. Just you know. And you're I know myself. I'm not feeling well, hair loss. So when we talk about temporary illness, the one who diagnoses whether they can break their fast or not, with their knowledge of the concept of Nia or not, is who the person
themselves. So that's the first thing. So there isn't a there isn't a level of Oh, you gotta be vomiting before you break your past.
You gotta have lost like two liters of blood before you break your head. Now, none of that the illness is known to a person. Some people, they don't get ill a lot in the year, but when they get ill, it wipes them out. for that person, they know them so helpless. I'm not, I'm not the normal person that I used to be. And a loss of Hannah went to Allah tells us in the verses, where he talks about these concessions, he makes the rule to judge by Allah says, you read the law who Beco model use whether you read up close a law once for you ease and facility and doesn't want you to be in hardship or strain. The concept of cm, although it has the hardship of hunger and thirst, it should
not be compounded with illness, travel, and sickness. So that's the first if a person feels they cannot fast, and they believe I don't know about your flu, but my flu is different than they can make that determination. So that sickness doesn't necessarily need a doctor doesn't necessarily need the qualification of someone else. A person can self indicated themselves. This today for me is a day that I need to break my fast between me and the law. What is the balance the balance is the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Now this is the balance listen to why it's such a difficult decision. The prophets I seldom said the one who breaks as fast as reported by
Lima Muslim
without a valid reason can never make up that day. While I will saw muda Hakuna can never make up that day, even if they fasted the rest of their life.
So if you break your fast intentionally in Ramadan without a valid reason, even if you were to fast every single day after that,
you would never be able to make up the reward and the loss of that day. Right? So it's a heavy determination
number two, the traveler. So some of them are that they may travel determinant by number of miles. So for example, for those who are following the method of Lima hanifa, they determine it by 48 miles. Now, you know from here to Bumbry isn't really that difficult. driving in my car where I put it on cruise control, I'm not even pushing the pedal anymore, right? Is that does that constitute travel? How does a person assess what is travel?
Is it hardship? Or is it distance? So the brother said hardship? What about distance?
distance? Is 48 kilometers on bike the same as 48 kilometers in a car? No. Right? So there's a different level of determination. What about routine? Just say I work 200 kilometers outside Perth each and every day I travel 200 kilometers and come back 200 kilometers
it's a part of my normal routine. Does that routine make it
the same as outside Ramadan? Why would I make the conditions different in Ramadan?
Travel therefore is also self assessed and this is very important.
It's not about what other people think of your travel. It might be me I travel just say on a plane regularly. I don't have a problem getting on a plane flying into Kuala Lumpur. I'm there I don't I skip the meal on Malaysian Airlines or whatever flight it is. I skip the meal I land An hour later I have my wife talk Halas.
For for me, that might be fun for someone else. They're not used to traveling in a plane. They get dehydrated, and they get nervous and they get anxious. Oh my god, we're going to a different country. It's definitely more than 48 miles away.
No for me, I'm gonna break my fast.
It's not by number of length of miles. It's not by just the hardship that everyone might think it's by my determination of it. It might be a routine kind of business travel for one person, while another person it's the first time they've had a trip and for five years on a plane. No, I think I need to break my fast. So that becomes a heavy assessment once again, in light of the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam where he said that a person cannot make up that day. If they did it without reasons
trouble
now.
And the Haji said that one of the statements of Sahaba and metatheory is that Allah loves when we take his concession so for LA said when you're traveling don't fast Allah loves that we take that concession a lot doesn't want us to burden a lot. I would rather love for you to break your fast when you're ill than to fast when you are sick and hate the fast. Does that make sense? Yeah, just like we were actually going to come to that Allah a Vedic fee.
Now that next point, I'm going to leave actually the menstruation and postpartum bleeding, pregnancy and breastfeeding until we come back for our break inshallah. We'll take a quick just five minute break and start again. Let's say 1210. Vanilla heeta. Allah Subhana Allah homovanillic shadow Allah Allahu Allah and as the Furukawa to Lake wa salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah.