Zia Sheikh – Ramadan and its Benefits 5192017
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AI: Transcript ©
I bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship
except Allah.
My dear respected elders, brothers and sisters, our
life seems to be passing us by at
a lightning pace.
And it just seems that we completed a
Ramadan just maybe a couple of months ago,
and yet here again we are standing on
the doorsteps of another Ramadan.
A whole year has passed, but it flashed
by so quickly, it's as if it was
simply a matter of days since the last
Ramadan until this Ramadan.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessing us with
having another month of Ramadan, it is truly
something that we should appreciate and something that
we should thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
for.
And I often quote a Hadith in which
some Sahabi approached the Prophet ﷺ and said
to him, Ya Rasulullah, I saw in my
dream two brothers.
One of the brothers, he became a Muslim,
and shortly after that he died as a
martyr, fighting and struggling for the sake of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And the other person, he died one year
later, but he died a natural death.
But yet in my dream I saw that
the one who died a natural death one
year later, he entered into Paradise the first.
So the Prophet ﷺ said to him, Why
are you astonished by this?
And obviously we would have the same question
that a person who gets martyred, he has
a huge status in the eyes of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, and his sins are
forgiven.
But in this situation, the Prophet ﷺ said
that you should not be astonished when you
see the person who died one year later,
but died a natural death, that he's entering
Paradise first.
Why?
Because he got the opportunity to pray for
one more year.
He got the opportunity to make istighfar for
one more year.
He got the opportunity to fast one whole
month of Ramadan more than his brother who
died as a martyr.
So the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala enables us and gives us the tawfiq
again and again to partake of this blessed
time, this is something that we should truly
be grateful for, and we should try to
use this opportunity the best that we can
to get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, which is the actual purpose of the
month of Ramadan anyway.
Many of us, we enter into Ramadan and
we come out exactly the same as we
were before, not understanding what the purpose of
the blessed month was.
Many of us assume that it's just an
opportunity to diet, an opportunity to lose weight,
it's an opportunity to kind of cleanse oneself,
a detox if you will, and in focusing
on these minor benefits, we lose sight of
the main purpose of Ramadan, which is to
gain taqwa and get closer to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And we hear this verse all the time,
which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He addresses
us and says, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ
عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ O people of Iman, fasting has
been written for you.
The word Kitaba, it means to write.
So written for you, meaning when you have
something serious, something that you want to write
down, a memo, the memos are in the
news a lot nowadays, you write it down.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that
this fasting has been written down for you.
It has been made obligatory upon you.
And it's not just this Ummah that was
given this blessing, but other nations before you,
they also had forms of fasting.
كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ So previous
nations, the Jews, the Christians, they were also
obligated to fast at certain times of the
year.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions
what the purpose of the fasting is.
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Maybe so that you can attain
Taqwa.
So that you could get closer to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And I'll mention later on the different definitions
that the scholars have given of Taqwa.
Many people loosely translate it as the fear
of Allah, but that is not a correct
translation.
Inshallah I'll come back to Taqwa later on
in the khutbah.
But prior to that, I'd like to mention
a hadith for you which mentions one of
the specialties of this Ummah or some of
the specialties of this Ummah.
Abu Huraira r.a. narrates that the Prophet
ﷺ said, أُعْتِيَتْ أُمَّتِي فِي رَمَضَانَ خَمْسَ خِصَالٍ
لَمْ تُعْتَهُنَّ أُمَّةٌ كَانَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ This Ummah of
ours was given five things or has been
given five things that no previous nation was
given before.
We just heard that previous nations, they also
had the obligation to fast.
But this Ummah was given specifically five things
which no Ummah was given before.
What were those five things?
Firstly, خَلُوفُ فَمِن صَائِم أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ
رَائِحَةِ الْمِسْكِ The bad smell that comes from
the mouth of a fasting person because of
the fact that the person is dry or
the stomach is empty, this is more beloved
to Allah SWT than the smell of musk,
than the smell of fragrance.
Allah SWT loves this smell.
And of course this does not mean that
a person should not take care of his
oral hygiene during the month of Ramadan thinking
that okay, I should let my mouth smell
bad because Allah SWT likes it.
No.
The scholars say that this smell is due
to a person being hungry and thirsty.
It has nothing to do with the dental
hygiene.
So a person should use the miswak, clean
his teeth, make sure as much as possible
to try to clean his mouth.
And then after that, still when the smell
comes because of the dryness of the mouth
and so on, this smell is more beloved
to Allah SWT than the smell of fragrance.
And this is all about love.
When Allah SWT loves us, or when we
love something even, even the smell of that
person which would be normally regarded as body
odor or the smell of sweat, it is
pleasing to us.
People that are married are probably aware of
this situation.
And I don't need to go into details
about that.
So anyway, that was the first thing that
is mentioned in this hadith.
The next thing that is specific for this
ummah, the Prophet ﷺ said, وَتَسْتَغْفِرُ لَهُمُ الْمَلَأِكَ
حَتَّى يُغْطِرُ The angels, they pray for this
person's forgiveness until the iftar is done, until
the fast is broken in the evening.
The angels continue to pray for a person's
forgiveness.
What are the angels?
The angels are a special creation of Allah
SWT that are always in his worship.
لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ
They never disobey Allah SWT.
They are innocent of committing sins.
So just imagine how powerful their istighfar is
for us.
How their forgiveness is beneficial for us.
So all through the day, the angels, they
make istighfar for this person who is fasting.
To make things easy for us, وَتُصَفَّذُ مَرَضَةُ
شَيَاطِينَ This is the third thing.
The rebellious shayateen are imprisoned.
So you'll find that many people who may
be committing sins out of the month of
Ramadan, they tend to stop committing those sins.
Simply out of what they say is the
respect out of the month.
And the second reason is that the shayateen
are imprisoned and they do not provoke a
person to commit sins.
So, again, somebody might have a question that
how come some people still commit sins?
So then the answer to that question is
that because many people, they have made sins
their habit.
And because it's now become a habit, the
shaytan does not need to provoke them anymore.
And because it's a habit, they will continue
to do it even though the rebellious shayateen
have been imprisoned in the month of Ramadan.
And also, another answer could be that the
rebellious shayateen, the most severe of the shayateen,
they are the ones that are imprisoned, and
the smaller shayateen are still outside.
And also we have, unfortunately, we have humans
that have satanic influences, bad company, bad friends,
bad companionship, people that will influence us in
a negative way because of their habits, because
maybe they are not Muslim or they are
not good practicing Muslims, and they undermine the
importance of the month of Ramadan.
And because we are companions with them, we
are friends with them, we go along with
that peer pressure, and we do whatever it
is they say or do.
So this is why people will still continue,
some people will continue to disobey Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
But the most dangerous thing is that a
person, he has a habit of committing sins,
and he doesn't lose that habit in the
month of Ramadan.
So this is a kind of a gauge
for a person to measure himself, where he
stands in his closeness to Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
If he cannot even stop his sins in
Ramadan, then really he needs to reflect upon
changing his life for the better, and to
become a better person, and to get rid
of all of these habits that have become
part of his life.
So that was the third thing, the rebellious
shayateen are imprisoned.
The hadith goes on to say, فَلَا يَصِلُونَ
فِيهِ إِلَى مَا كَانُوا يَصِلُونَ إِلَيهِ These shayateen,
they do not reach in the month of
Ramadan as much as they reach outside of
the month of Ramadan, meaning they cannot influence
the people.
The fourth thing, وَيُزَيِّنُ اللَّهُ جَنَّتَهُ فِي كُلِّ
يَوْمٍ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala beautifies his
paradise every single day.
Now, if you have ever been in a
marriage, or at a wedding, how is the
house decorated for the new bride that is
about to come into the house?
How is the decoration, and how are the
lights put up, and the different kinds of
the balloons, and the silver paper, and everything,
it's beautified.
Why?
Because the new bride is coming home, and
she wants to be welcomed, and we want
to welcome her.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he beautifies
the paradise for each one of us, because
of the fact that we are fasting.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to
this paradise, يُوشِكُ عِبَادِيَ صَالِحُونَ أَن يُلْقُوا عَنْهُمُ
الْمَؤُونَةَ وَالْأَذَاءَ وَيَصِيرُوا إِلَيْكَ It is very close
that my pious slaves, they are going to
throw aside, cast aside, the difficulties of their
worldly life, and come towards you.
So really, this world is all about difficulty.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says لَقَدْ خَلَقَنَا
الْإِنسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ Indeed, we created the human
being in hardship.
From the very beginning of his life, until
the end of his life, there is hardship,
and difficulty, and trials, and tribulations, and ups
and downs.
And this is basically what life is about.
And when a person leaves this world, having
been a pious slave of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, he casts aside those trials and
tribulations, and he enters into the paradise that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has prepared for
him.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells this
Jannah, that my pious slaves are going to
throw aside their difficulties, their hardships, their trials,
their tribulations, and they're going to come towards
you.
And finally, the fifth thing, وَيُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ فِي
آخِرِ لَيْلَةٍ مِّن رَمَضَانِ Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala forgives the sins of the fasting people
on the last night of Ramadan.
So the Sahaba said, يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهَ هِيَ
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ Is this night, لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ that
you're referring to?
The Prophet ﷺ said, No.
That has a different reward.
That has a separate reward.
That has its own virtue.
But, وَلَكِنَّ الْعَامِلِ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى أَجْرُهُ أَجْرَهُ عِندَمْ
قِضَاءِ عَمَلِهِ The person who's a worker, a
laborer, when he finishes his work, he gets
his salary.
He gets his wages.
And when we've completed the month of Ramadan
as much, the best as we can, keeping
in mind the etiquette and the rules and
the regulations, and making sure that we do
not contaminate our fast with sins, then Allah
SWT hands us this forgiveness on the last
night of Ramadan.
What a beautiful gift that we are given
on this last night.
So we have to make sure that we
are doing whatever we can to fast in
a way that is pleasing to Allah SWT.
I heard a saying that is always stuck
in my mind, that things which are normal,
normally halal, in our lives, they become temporarily
haram for us.
Eating halal food, drinking something halal, and intimacy
with one's wife, all of these things are
halal.
But temporarily, during the daytime, they become haram
for us in the month of Ramadan.
So when halal has become haram for us,
what is your opinion on the things which
are already haram?
That is a question that we need to
ask ourselves.
The things which are already haram, what do
you think is the status of those things?
So we really need to make sure that
we don't assume that fasting is just simply
to stay hungry and thirsty.
Rather, fasting is a fasting of the eyes,
that we should not see what we are
not supposed to see.
We should not be, we should have a
fasting of the ears, we should not be
listening to what we are not supposed to
listen to.
We should not be walking towards the things
that we are not supposed to be walking
towards.
Meaning each and every part of our body
should be in the subservience and submission of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his obedience.
The Prophet ﷺ he said, There are many
people who fast, but they don't get anything
out of their fast except for hunger and
thirst.
What does that mean?
They contaminated their fast by disobeying Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala and committing sins during the
day.
So we need to make sure that we
avoid these sins as much as possible and
make sure that we are obedient to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala with the intention of
practicing until after the month of Ramadan.
Going back to the definition of taqwa, Ali
ibn Abi Talib r.a he says, A
very beautiful summary of what taqwa is.
He said that it is the fear of
Al-Jalil meaning Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Al-Jalil is one of the qualities of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
To practice what is in the Tanzeel meaning
the Quran that has been revealed to us.
To be satisfied with a little.
With whatever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
given us.
To be satisfied with that and not to
long for or yearn for or chase after
more and more and more.
And finally To prepare oneself for the day
of the journey.
Meaning for the journey towards the hereafter.
The journey of death.
Ibn Mas'ud r.a after reading this
verse which says people of Iman have the
taqwa of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as
he deserves and do not die except in
the state of submission.
He said that Taqwa is that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala should be obeyed
and not disobeyed.
And he should be remembered and therefore not
forgotten.
And he should be thanked and ingratitude should
not be displayed towards him.
And the gratitude he goes on to say
All of the actions of obedience are included
in the gratitude of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
And when we say the remembrance of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala it is not just
to say this is a form of remembrance.
But when we say the remembrance of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala Ibn Mas'ud r
.a who says that to remember Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala in his heart the commands
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala all of
the commands that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
have given us to implement them in our
lives.
And the things that he has forbidden us
to get them out of our lives that
is the true meaning of dhikr.
To remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala his
commands and the things that he has forbidden
us from doing.
I've run out of time.
There were other things that I wanted to
discuss but in any case inshallah in the
coming khutbas I will be discussing that.
I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
gives us tawfiq to understand and practice what
has been said and heard.
Just a couple of announcements inshallah.
Firstly, you're requested to contribute at least $20
per week for the monthly costs, operational costs.
We have the month of Ramadan coming up
and the costs increase substantially the electricity and
the water and so on in this blessed
month so please try to do whatever you
can to cover those costs by donating at
least $20.
If not $20 then $10, if not $10
then $5 but just please do put something
in the box.
We have a lecture after maghrib tonight by
Sheikh Kareem Abu Zaid who is visiting us
from Denver, Colorado so please try to participate
in addition to that after fajr tomorrow community
breakfast and a small lecture also so please
come for that.
Community bazaar is taking place from 11am to
7pm tomorrow.
It's going to be in the multipurpose hall.
Everyone is welcome to come and tonight at
6pm sisters are welcoming Ramadan.
It's a sisters program and they're going to
have a potluck at 6pm today.
ICI kids summer camp registration is taking place
and also the Tanzeel Academy summer program is
taking place for the memorization of the Quran
and please make dua for the sick and
the deceased of our community.
I pray that Allah gives us tawfiq to
understand and practice what is being said and
heard.
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