O You who believe, – Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not
except as Muslims.
O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward
word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes
Allah and His prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory…
My respected Brothers and Sisters,
We are in the first week of Ramadhan. This khutbah is a short reminder
about the Holy Month. Why do we fast? What do we expect to gain from
fasting? And, how can we make the best of Ramadhan? What should we do to
get the maximum benefit?
“O You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed
to those before you, that you may learn self-restraint.” [2:183]
Those of us who are fasting, enjoy the satisfaction that we are giving
up our delicious food and drink, our leisure and amusement so that we
can please our Lord and Sustainer. Allah tells us in His Holy Book, all
our other duties concern the poor, the needy, our families and
ourselves, but Fasting is for Allah alone, and He rewards whom He
pleases. We must always bear in mind the purpose of our fasting. It’s
not only to stay hungry and thirsty. It’s to be conscious of Allah at
all times. Fasting teaches us to tame our lower passions,
al-nafs-al-ammara-bis-sow. This is the lower self that clings to the
earth, and drags us towards all the hateful and shameful actions, envy,
greed, sexual lust, jealousy, anger, hatred, revenge…
Fasting helps us to be disciplined. It helps us to strengthen our
conscience, the higher self, which in Arabic is called
al-nafs-al-law-waamah. This is the self-reproaching nafs, this is the
higher self that constantly blames itself and seeks to put right all the
errors and sins of the lower self..
This struggle to cultivate self-discipline is not only for Ramadan. It’s
a lifelong struggle. Shaitan will constantly offer temptations and make
our evil nature seem pleasing to us. But we must be on guard, and we
must remember what pleases Allah. We must say, A-oothu bil-laahi minash
shaytaanir rajeem: I take refuge in Allah from Shaytaan, the Cursed One.
We must constantly keep in mind that Allah will hold us to account for
our actions. We do not want to be among the losers, the ones whose end
is hellfire, Jahannam, wal A-oothu bil-Laah! We want to be among the
winners, the ones who will enter paradise. We want to spend our lives,
purifying our thoughts and words and actions, so that when we die we
have a purified heart and soul. We want our Ruh, our soul to be as pure
and unblemished as the day when we were born. The last verses of Sura Al
Fajr, are indeed the words we would all like to hear from Allah, when we
die and return to Him:
“O Purified Soul, well pleased with yourself, and well-pleasing to Me,
enter you among my devotees, enter you my garden.”
Ramadan is also a time for us to remember those who are fasting every
day of their lives, not by choice, not because they want to fast, but
because of poverty. They simply don’t have enough to eat or drink. We
who enjoy clean drinking water, hot meals every day and a warm
comfortable home, we must remember that we are very fortunate to have
these blessings. Ramadhan is a time to remember others less fortunate.
It’s a time to show Compassion and Mercy. You know, every time a Muslim
begins an important action, he says the Basmallah: Bismillaahir
Rahmaanir Raheem! He says: I begin this action in the Name of Allah, the
Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate!
Dear Brothers and sisters, how many times a day do we say these words?
Surely it must have some effect on our behaviour, if we are conscious of
the meaning. Surely compassion and mercy must flow from our words and
actions. In time our whole character should be infused with Allah’s
mercy and compassion. This is one of the big lessons of Ramadan. And
that is why it is important for us to pay our Zakat during this month.
Zakat is the 2.5% of unused wealth that goes to the poor and needy. Let
us try to remember these important lessons of Ramadan.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the
greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad SAW; and upon
his family and upon all of his companions.
Behold, Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O you who
believe! Ask for blessings on him, and salute him with a worthy
greeting.
O Allah! Send your greetings upon Muhammad and his family, just as you
sent your greetings on Abraham, and his family. O Allah, send your
blessings on Muhammad and his family, just as you blessed Abraham and
his family. In both worlds, you are praiseworthy and exalted.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Many of us think that Ramadan is a time to ‘go slow’ and to avoid
exerting ourselves. Some of us, if we had the opportunity, we would want
to sleep all day until iftar. This is completely wrong. Ramadan is not a
time for hibernation. That’s for the polar bears and other bears in the
cold Arctic winter. It’s not for Muslims!
Ramadan is the time we should be busy reading and understanding the
Quran, studying our faith and trying to improve our knowledge and our
character. It’s a time of spiritual renewal and revival.
Many important events took place in Ramadan:
The Holy Quran was revealed in Ramadan.
The Battle of Badr took place in Ramadan.
Makka was conquered in a bloodless battle by Prophet Muhammad sws during
Ramadan.
Tariq bin Ziyad conquered Spain during Ramadan. The list goes on and on…
So remember, Ramadan is not an excuse for laziness. It is a time for
improving ourselves, improving our mind and body and spirit. We must
welcome Ramadan like a long lost friend.
May Allah accept our fasting which we do only for His sake. We do not
fast just to lose weight or to show off to others, how religious we are.
We fast because we love Allah, and we want to please Him. We owe Him so
much. Fasting is a very small thing that HE asks us to do, only for Him.
May Allah spread His richest blessings on us, and on all those who fast
during Ramadan, purely out of love for Him. May He help us to purify
ourselves, by forgiving our sins and may He join us in the company of
His friends, the awliyaa Allah.
O Allah, help us to purify ourselves in body, mind, heart and spirit.
Help us to seek and find your good pleasure, and O Allah, remember us in
the company of your beloved friends.
“O Allah, do not let our hearts deviate from the Truth now that we have
been guided , but grant us Mercy from Your very Presence, for You are
the Grantor of bounties without measure.”
My Lord, help me to perfect my prayer, and of my descendants, Our Lord,
accept this prayer….
My Lord, forgive me, and my parents, and all Believers until the Day of
Reckoning..
Glory to Allah, Lord of Majesty and Honour, and Peace on the Prophets,
and Praise to Allah, Lord of all creation!
