A Prophetic Ramadan | Ramadan Essential

A Prophetic Ramadan | Ramadan Essential

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

And upon those who followed my Sunnah and were guided by my guidance on the path to the Day of Judgment. Peace and blessings be upon you. The greatest example that we have ever seen in our life.

The greatest one we want to follow. The role model. The one we love more than ourselves.

He is the topic of our conversation today. The Ramadan of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ's Ramadan is mentioned, there are some activities, some qualities mentioned about the Prophet ﷺ. Some things that would occupy his mind and some things that he would occupy his month with. And some things are just unsaid — they are not even described. And let's talk about those things first.

1. Fasting, Not Feasting

What did the Prophet ﷺ eat in Ramadan? What food did he consume? Because for you and me, as the month draws near, that is the first thing on our mind. Because for many of us, Ramadan is the month of feasting — not the month of fasting. It's not the month of I'tikaf, it's the month of… I'tikaf. I thought about that one all by myself. Trademark.

And so for many of us, in many cultures, when Ramadan comes there are special food dishes that are reserved for Ramadan. Special fried objects, special fritters, special sweet dishes only for Ramadan. Ramadan has become a feasting festival. A month in which we meet lots of people, we eat, we fill our bellies, we get too exhausted for Taraweeh.

The Prophet ﷺ, his norm when it came to eating was that nothing would be cooked in his house for months on end. Three months, four months, five months might go by and the fire — the stove in the house of the Prophet ﷺ — would never be lit. He would wake up on some days and ask his wife Aisha, is there any food at home? She would say no. He'd say, I'm fasting today. And this is outside of Ramadan.

What did he live on? Anybody know what was the main staple diet of the Prophet ﷺ? Al-Aswadan — dates and water.

So this is the first thing. Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ — food and feasting was not a part of it. But it is a part of our Ramadan. So there's a challenge I give all of you, especially the fathers and especially the heads of the household. It's called the one meal challenge. Every day in Ramadan for iftar, try not to have more than one meal prepared. One dish — one rice dish, one curry, one pasta dish, whatever — one dish. Because what happens when you have 16 dishes on the table? Who spends the vast majority of their time cooking in the kitchen rather than worshipping Allah? And all the focus, the emphasis becomes the food.

When we learn about the Prophet's Ramadan, food is not even mentioned there. What did he eat? Where did he eat? Because it was not even a point of concern for him. But for us it's the first point of concern.

That's the first thing. Stop doing I'tikaf-of-the-food and do I'tikaf. Stop feasting and start fasting.

2. A Living Relationship with the Quran

The second is the relationship of the Prophet ﷺ with the Quran. In the hadith of Ibn Abbas in Sahih al-Bukhari, he says: the Prophet ﷺ was the most kind, the most generous, and the most lovely of people. But he was even more lovely, even more generous, even more sweet, even more kind when it came to Ramadan.

Why? Because Jibreel ﷺ would come to meet him. And he would meet Jibreel ﷺ on a daily basis. They would study the Quran together. He would recite from his memory and Jibreel would check it. Or he would present what he had memorised to Jibreel and Jibreel ﷺ would check it and present back to him. So on a day-to-day basis in the Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ, the focus is on nurturing that relationship with the Quran.

But there is something very interesting here. The effect of the Quran on the Prophet ﷺ is visible. People can see that this man has been spending every day with the Quran because he is different. We know the Prophet ﷺ was the greatest of people, but he was even greater in Ramadan. Why? Because of the impact the Quran would have on his heart. The Quran would enhance his generosity. The Quran would increase his kindness. The Quran would increase his sincerity.

So you and me — every day we open the Quran to read our juz of Quran. We treat it like a chore. We treat it like a ritual. We want to get rid of the pages, get to the end of the pages. And if you ask a non-Muslim colleague at work, do you see any difference in Abdul Rahman this month? Do you see any difference in Muhammad and Fatima and Maryam this month? Or are they the same as they are outside the month of Ramadan? You know what they will say? Actually yeah, there is a big difference this month. Muhammad is more irritated. Muhammad has a short temper. Fatima has snap-checked me three times today. And when I say, what's up? They say, well I'm fasting. So fasting becomes the excuse for us to become worse in our character — more harsh, more short-tempered, more quick to answer back, more quick to slay and cut people.

But the Prophet ﷺ, his closeness to the Quran in Ramadan had a visible impact. People could see the difference on him. And the way they described the difference in him — they said his generosity, his kindness in Ramadan was like the pleasant breeze. You know when, on a hot day, a gentle wind passes and you feel — ahh — coolness. You feel the leaves ruffling. You hear the chirping of the birds. Everybody loves the gentle breeze on a hot day. When the Prophet ﷺ, in Ramadan, his behavior would change. Ibn Abbas says it was like the pleasant wind that would pass by — everyone would be touched by it. If the wind passes by here, it will touch all of us. We'll all feel it on our skin, on our surfaces.

When the Prophet ﷺ had a daily connection with the Quran and his Quran teacher Jibreel, it made a difference in every moment of his life. And it touched everyone around him.

You and me — this Ramadan, a non-Muslim should be able to tell the difference in you and me. They should be able to tell: I don't know what's got into him or her, but this person has started to behave extremely patiently. Extremely kindly. So punctual. So generous. So soft-spoken. So pleasant to be around. Like the pleasant breeze. Someone who is a non-Muslim should be able to tell. That is the Sunnah, that is the Ramadan our Prophet ﷺ lived — that people could not tell he was fasting because he was agitated and angry and irritated. They could tell that daily he is taking from the light of the Quran, and that light is spreading everywhere in his behavior.

As Ibn Abbas says, he was even more sweet and pleasant than the beautiful breeze. And the way you can check is that every day when you recite or reflect or memorise the Quran in Ramadan — whatever your goal is with the Quran — you have to ask yourself the question: has the Quran affected my behavior today? Or has it just gotten stuck in my throat?

The Prophet ﷺ, when he was criticising some people, he said:

"They will be reciters of the Quran but the recitation will never go past their throats."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5058; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1066)

Is the Quran for you and me just something nice to recite? To make some nice sounds with? Or is there a visible impact on your behavior? Ask your mum, ask your father, ask your friends, your housemate, your cousins. Can you see any difference in me? If not, this is not the Prophet's Ramadan. This is not the way the Prophet ﷺ lived the Quran. He lived the Quran. He didn't just recite it — he lived it. Even if that slows down your recitation, even if that slows down your progress in reading the Quran, if it impacts your life in a way that everybody can see, you are now living the Quran as the Prophet ﷺ lived the Quran.

The Prophet ﷺ — the greatest man to walk this earth — complained about people like that:

"And the Messenger will say: O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Quran as a thing abandoned."

The Prophet will complain on the Day of Judgment — O Allah, my people abandoned the Quran. He will complain about you and me. We abandoned the Quran. Because abandoning the Quran is about not acting on the Quran. Not letting it change you, impact your mind and your body, and just sufficing with recitation alone. I'm not saying that you are sinful by reciting, but I'm saying it's not enough. That is not the way the Prophet ﷺ engaged with the Quran. We have to act on it. It has to show in our actions, in our behavior.

The Quran should have such a visible impact on you that everybody should be able to tell. This guy is reading the Quran, man. Look at him. Look at how he talks to his neighbor. Look at how he serves his family. Look at how he talks to his kids. Look at this person — look at the way they are in the masjid. People should be able to tell the Quran is changing you, is transforming you. Otherwise, our relationship with the Quran is superficial. It's surface level.

3. Seclusion — I'tikaf and Al-Khalwah

The last thing I want to mention about the Ramadan of the Prophet ﷺ is seclusion — I'tikaf. The Prophet ﷺ lived for 9 Ramadans. In 8 of these Ramadans, the last 10 nights, he would live and stay in the Masjid. And in the last year of his life, it was for 20 nights. Those who are working, try to get the last 10 nights off and try to practice this part of Ramadan — living in the Masjid for 10 nights, secluding yourself.

Those who can't practice it — make your last 10 nights, and make this Ramadan not a social thing, a social phenomenon. When we think of Ramadan, we think about all the places we're invited to, the people we're going to meet, the restaurants we're going to eat at, the nice food we're going to order in. For us, Ramadan is a festival — some kind of eating and socializing festival. For the Prophet ﷺ, Ramadan was about seclusion, about hiding away from people, about being on your own.

Today, if you go to a restaurant, you go to the hospital, you look at people in the waiting line — no one can be on their own with their thoughts anymore. We need to look at our phones. We cannot sit by ourselves without any stimulation for 5 minutes. If you can't do I'tikaf in the Masjid, do I'tikaf from your phone. Seclude yourself from social media. Deactivate the socials. Get away. Uninstall WhatsApp for 10 days. What's going to happen? Those who really need you are going to call and SMS you. Don't worry, you're not going to get away. But practice Al-Khalwah — practice being by yourself.

Because when you are on your own, this is when the most sincere du'a comes from your heart. When you're on your own, this is where the most deep contemplation of the Quran happens. When you're on your own, you might weep from the fear and the consciousness of Allah. But when you're always with other people, it's a sign — you're not comfortable being on your own. You're scared of your thoughts. You're agitated. Being on your own brings a calmness. Imagine 10 days and nights in the Masjid, secluded from everybody else, just you and your Quran and your prayer mat.

Practice that from day 1, not just the last 10. Practice a bit of seclusion every day — one hour — where you are in your corner, away from the eyes, away from the people. It's just you and Allah.

And this is why — the Prophet ﷺ, how many times did he pray Taraweeh, the night prayer, in congregation? According to some scholars, two times. According to others, three times. For many of us, we can only imagine Taraweeh in the Masjid. Try it once on your own. Because the Prophet's Ramadan — he would pray the night prayer on his own. Coming to the Masjid was the exception; it was not the norm. Try it on your own, in the corner of your house, in the darkness, and you will hear your own sobs out of the fear of Allah and the connection with Allah. Because there's nobody else — you're not relying on an Imam or someone else's recitation — it's just you and Allah. Try it once.

Summary

So we said:

First — fasting, not feasting. Stop making Ramadan a culinary festival and return it to what it was in the life of the Prophet ﷺ.

Second — the Quran should have a real-life impact on your behaviour, not just its recitation. A non-Muslim should be able to see the difference in you. They should say: look at how he talks to his neighbor, look at how he serves his family, look at the way they are in the masjid. The Quran is changing you, transforming you.

Third — seclusion. Practice being alone — in the night, in the day. Not just socialising and jama'ah, which is all good as well, but practice some time just for you and Allah, nobody else. Quality time. One-to-one time.

And with that, I come to the end of my talk. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.