Reflecting On Ramadan's Virtues And The Blessings Of Jumu'ah

Opening

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَكَفَى وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِيْنَ اصْطَفَى، أَمَّا بَعْدُ

It has been said by Allah in his noble revelation, after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan:

Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon those before you, so that perhaps you may gain taqwa.

Allah has given us this beautiful month as an excuse to come close to Him.

The Honor of Selected Times and Places

Allah is the one who has granted honor to this month over other months. Allah is the creator of time and space, and Allah selects certain times and certain spaces and grants them virtue and fadila over other times and spaces. Allah says:

Allah is the one who creates, and Allah yakhtaar — He selects and chooses. He grants honor to some days over other days, some nights over other nights, some months over other months, and Allah grants honor to some places over other places. Mā kāna lahumu al-khiyarah — no one else has the authority, the right, the jurisdiction to declare something as extra holy or more virtuous from their own side.

The Virtue of Jumu'ah — Especially in Ramadan

This day of Jumu'ah, Allah has granted it immense honor, and it being a Jumu'ah of Ramadan, even more so — it is multiplied in its honor and in its significance. Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1084)

Verily, Jumu'ah is the leader of all days. It is a more important day, and it has a higher rank in the eyes of Allah than Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. It is on this day that Adam alayhi s-salam was created, and Allah sent Adam alayhi s-salam down to the earth on this day, and it is on this day that the Day of Judgment will take place. And there is such a moment on this day that whenever any servant of Allah asks from Allah, Allah will accept his du'a.

Just like Laylatul Qadr has been not precisely defined — we have been given certain parameters that it is one of the last odd nights of Ramadan, but exactly which night was knowledge kept by Allah — similarly, we find from among the Asma' ul-Husna, Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned there is one name called al-Ism al-A'dham, the greatest, most powerful name — al-ladhi idha du'iya bihi ajaab — when that name is taken and Allah is invoked by the virtue of that name, Allah will immediately reply. But that name was again kept hidden, so we try all of the names. And on the day of Friday, there is a sa'ah, one moment, that if the du'a is made in that moment it will again readily be accepted. But that moment has been kept hidden in the hikmah of Allah, for us to continue to strive, for us to continue to try to see if we can get that moment.

Muhasabah: Reflection Toward the End of Ramadan

My dear respected brothers, respected sisters — we are also all aware that we are now coming towards the end of the month of Ramadan. This is an opportunity for us to reflect, an opportunity for us to make muhasabah. Ramadan has come and we have passed the mid-mark; we are now in the final quarter. How much have we truly changed?

Allah, when He says la'allakum tattaqun — "perhaps you may gain taqwa" — this is a promise that you will be granted this opportunity, but it is not a promise of the final result. You may gain taqwa if you fast in a proper manner, if you fulfill the huqooq of fasting. So we have to look within ourselves: do we find a change in the condition of our heart? We have been listening to the Qur'an in taraweeh and reciting the Qur'an. Has that actually begun to change the condition of our heart?

Allah describes the condition of the mu'minun — the believers — using the particle innamā, which gives exclusivity, meaning only the believers are the ones who have the following qualities. Allah says:

The believers are only those that when Allah is mentioned — Allah's name, Allah's sifat, His attributes — and we begin a discussion about Allah, then their hearts should begin to tremble in awe of Allah, of the glory of Allah, the might of Allah. And when the ayat of the Qur'an are recited upon them, when they hear the ayat of the Qur'an, then their iman should increase. And it is upon their Lord, their Rabb Allah, that they rely. They are those who establish salah, give zakat, and spend from that which Allah has provided them.

The important thing here is that when they listen to the Qur'an, their iman increases. This is the condition of the mu'minun. So we have been listening to the Qur'an — how much has our iman increased by listening to the Qur'an? This is a question we have to ask ourselves. How much has our taqwa increased by fasting? How much has our iman increased by the qiyam? Siyam and qiyam — the amal of the day and the amal of the night.

Inspiration from the Jinn: The Transforming Power of the Qur'an

In fact, we can even be inspired — despite ourselves being the best of creation, the ashraf al-makhluqat. Allah says:

We have honored the children of Adam. Allah made our forefather, Adam alayhi s-salam, masjud al-mala'ika — Allah instructed the angels to bow down to Adam alayhi s-salam, not the other way. And definitely, we are more beloved to Allah than the jinn. But we can gain inspiration — look at the jinn: they listened to a little portion of the Qur'an, and how did it transform their lives?

We heard a very strange Qur'an. It is so wonderful. It is the one that is guiding to the right path. And now we accept it, we believe in it.

Even though this was a search party sent by Iblis on a mission — they were shayateen, the disciples of Iblis — they were sent on a mission to go and find out: why have the heavens been blocked? Why are the heavens blocked with the angels not allowing them to continue to go up into the skies and spy on the commands of Allah to the mala'ika? They had this huge racket where they would come down and speak to the fortune tellers and the priests in the temples about what they had heard. But now, whoever wants to go there, there are meteors being shot at them by the angels who are blocking it. So when they went out, they heard the Qur'an — and it transformed their hearts. They became believers, they became inviters. They went and invited the rest of their nation, the rest of their tribes of the shayateen, to accept Islam as well.

So how much change has happened in our heart?

The Danger of Deeds Without Acceptance

My dear respected brothers, respected sisters — we have to realize that just doing a good deed is not sufficient guarantee that it will be a means of salvation. The good deed has to be accepted in the court of Allah. Allah only accepts the actions of those who have taqwa. There are many people who may be fooled by the outer performance of the deed, expecting and looking forward to the reward — but they will have no reward because of the batin, the inner dimension of the deed not being up to par as desired by Allah.

Allah refers to them as akhsareena a'mala — those who are in the greatest loss. This is a question Allah asked Nabi ﷺ: shall I not inform you who are the greatest losers when it comes to deeds?

They are those whose worldly efforts went to waste. They did sa'i, they made effort, but their efforts were wasted, did not come to benefit them when they needed it. And they were under the impression that they are doing good things, good deeds, and will get rewards. So why was their action rejected? Either they did not have iman itself, or if they had iman they did not have ikhlas and sincerity.

Whoever performs salah, tahajjud, and taraweeh to show others has committed shirk. Whoever is fasting in the day and praying at the night — both are mentioned — but there is riya involved, to impress others — faqad ashraka, he has committed shirk. So we have to ponder and reflect over the condition of our heart, condition of our niyyah — make muhasabah.

Take stock of your actions today before Allah will take you to account on the Day of Judgment. Weigh your deeds today — your good deeds and your bad deeds — weigh them today before they will be weighed in the scales of justice. One is the weighing of the good deeds and the bad deeds in the mizan on the Day of Judgment — the mizan al-qist, the scales of justice. And one is the weighing you do today. Do it today before they are weighed for you tomorrow.

When you are being presented in the court of a king or someone of higher rank in this world — whether it is a job interview, an admission board, whatever the case may be — you prepare yourself for that presentation. This is the statement of Umar radiyallahu anhu: prepare yourself, beautify yourself for the greatest presentation of all time. He concludes by adding an ayah from Surah al-Haqqah — that day you will be presented in the court of Allah, and nothing will be hidden from Allah.

Innamal A'malu bil Khawatim: What Counts Is the Ending

My dear respected brothers, as we are coming to the end of the month of Ramadan, I want to remind myself and yourselves of the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1; Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 4692)

Actions are based upon intentions. This hadith receives a lot of attention and rightfully so, because it talks about the foundation of all actions being based upon intentions. It is the first hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari, the first hadith of the primary books of hadith, the secondary books — even Imam Nawawi in his Arba'een al-Nawawiyyah starts with this hadith. Because it is the beginning of all actions.

But arguably a more important hadith — arguably more important — is the same structure, but you change the last word. You switch out the last word:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6493)

Actions are judged based upon their endings.

How can this be actually more important? It is because this hadith is on one side terrifying, and on the other side extremely hope-inducing — it creates hope within us.

How is it terrifying? It is terrifying because a person who had innamal a'malu bin-niyyati on the starting side — had a very sincere intention, a good, powerful beginning — it does not guarantee that he will have a noble ending. And what counts in the court of Allah is the ending. That is the terrifying part. Just having a beautiful beginning is no guarantee. What actually matters in the court of Allah is to have a noble ending.

The hopeful element is that even if a person had a deficient beginning, a deficient middle, there is still hope. Because all of that loss and deficiency can be redeemed — it can be a kaffarah — if there is a sincere conclusion. There is something supremely powerful and that is called tawbah. And with tawbah, all the past accounts can be cleared off and they are gone. The sins are erased. If there are huquq al-'ibad, of course, a person has to return those rights. But the huququllah — Allah is ready to forgive if we turn to Him in repentance.

So what counts is the ending. Let us try to ensure that we finish strong.

Laylatul Qadr: The Night of the Qur'an

Allah is giving us this opportunity — and Allah knows best — if Laylatul Qadr is still to come, then we should not miss out on this night. Allah says:

We have revealed the Qur'an on Laylatul Qadr.

The Qur'an, the kalam of Allah, is such a sifah of Allah — an attribute of Allah — that has so much honor that anything associated with it becomes honored. It was revealed in the month of Ramadan:

That month became Ramadan. The night it was revealed in became Laylatul Qadr. The angel who was bringing it was honored and became Jibreel — sayyid al-mala'ika, the most obeyed angel, the leader of the angels. And the heart of the individual upon whom it was revealed was the heart of Rasulullah ﷺ. And the ummah that received it became the khayrul umam. Anything associated with the Qur'an is the best. So the night in which it was revealed is the best night, because the Qur'an was revealed on that night.

Worship Allah, Not the Season

To remind ourselves: when Rasulullah ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu said: man kana ya'budu Muhammadan fa-inna rabbahu qad maat, man kana ya'budu Allaha fa-inna Allahu hayyun la yamoot — whoever is worshipping Muhammad, his lord has passed away. But whoever is worshipping Allah, let him know his Rabb is eternally alive. La yamoot — He will never die.

So likewise, the Rabb that we are worshipping is not the Rabb of Ramadan only. He is also the Rabb of Shawwal. He is also the Rabb of all times and all places. He is the Rabb al-'Alameen. He is not the Rabb of Ramadan, nor just the Rabb of Laylatul Qadr — He is the Rabb of Shawwal as well.

One of the signs of acceptance — yataqabbalAllahu min al-muttaqeen, is our action accepted or not — the 'alama, the indicator for that, is: do we change our lives, and do we continue to increase in our taqwa, in our tilawah? If we abandon whatever few steps we are taking in the direction of Allah and turn our backs, then this is a very, very sad sign, a very difficult sign. And we have to make tawbah urgently — this is an emergency situation. This is a situation of grave concern if our a'mal go down. We have to continue increasing towards Allah. The sign of acceptance is that we continue.

Concluding Emotions: Shukr, Khawf, Raja, and Iftiqar

As we conclude this month, our hearts will be filled with a few emotions.

Number one is shukr — thankfulness to Allah. How many were there last year and are not here this year? How many did not get the opportunity? There was a sahabi who saw a dream: one was a shaheed and another person died a natural death a year later, and the one who died a natural death a year later was in a higher level of jannah. He was very much confused by this, because the martyr who gave his life is the ultimate sacrifice — how can the person who died a natural death a year later be in a higher level in jannah? He brought his dream to Rasulullah ﷺ and said, Ya Rasulullah, can you interpret this dream? It seems absolutely illogical and wrong. Nabi ﷺ said: did he not have an additional month of Ramadan? Did he not have an additional year of salah? So all the additional ibadah he did elevated his rank, subhanAllah. So we got an additional month of Ramadan — the fact that we were given this gift itself is something we should make shukr to Allah for.

Second is khawf — fear. Will my amal be accepted or not?

Third is raja — hope. We should continue to have raja and hope as well. The reality of iman is between hope and fear.

And concluding: iftiqar. Iftiqar before Allah — declaring our poverty in front of Allah, faqir — that we are in need of You, Ya Allah. We are continually in need of Your guidance. Having this realization, having this inabah — turning towards Allah — and keeping this up until when? Until death comes.

So if we lead our entire life until death like Ramadan, then death itself will come like Eid. May Allah grant us the happiness of Eid at the time of our death. And allow us to lead our lives until we die as if it is the month of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah.

Announcements

A few important announcements, inshallah. Just a reminder that Sadaqah tadfa'ul bala' — charity wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. There are also kiosks in the lobby for the increased expenses of programs in Ramadan. The sadaqah given on the day of Jumu'ah is more rewarding per the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ. You can also donate at masjidds.org or zakat to zakat@masjidds.org. Please also ensure you pay your Zakat al-Fitr. You can visit the website masjidds.org for more information.

Next Jumu'ah will most likely be Eid, so we should fulfill it before Eid, inshallah, rather than delaying it to the last moment.

We have a special guest speaker tonight: Mufti Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad Rizvi, who is the head of the supreme body of Islamic theologians, Jam'iyyat al-'Ulama in Sri Lanka. He is coming all the way from there, representing 10,000 ulama in 155 branches in madaris in 24 districts. He is a global Muslim authority and has delivered a special address at the United Nations Social Forum in Geneva on Religious Tolerance, and at the 16th United Nations Minority Forum, among other engagements. His biography is available on Wikipedia. Inshallah, he will be speaking tonight after taraweeh. The title will be: How the Ummah Was Built by Rasulullah ﷺ in the Masjid to Benefit Humanity.

Also save the date — our annual retreat is coming up April 24th to 26th. A very important theme this year that is very relevant: the signs of the Day of Judgment and how we can prepare.

We also have a very special program tomorrow — the Chicagoland Spiritual Fest. This is dedicated to a day for spiritual nourishment for the heart and soul: Qur'an recitation circles, du'a sessions, reflection corners, nawafil prayer spaces, dhikr and tasbih stations, knowledge bites. This is tomorrow, Saturday, March 14th, from Dhuhr to Maghrib, for men and for women, for young and old — the entire family.

Then inshallah on Monday, March 16th, we have the blessings of Laylatul Qadr — the 27th night of Ramadan program after taraweeh.

We also have a community announcement: early voting in the March 7th primary election. The polling locations are at MSI and ICW. Early voting is also ongoing now at Glendale Heights Sports Hub. All eligible community members are encouraged to take advantage of early voting to avoid long lines on election day. The primary election day is Tuesday, March 17th. MSI and ICW masjids will serve as official polling stations on Tuesday, March 17th, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

And inshallah, our Khatm al-Qur'an is on March 18th, Wednesday — the 29th night of Ramadan. Isha' iqamah at 8:45 p.m. Please arrive early to avoid parking delays and follow the instructions of our parking staff on entry and exit.

The Eid al-Fitr salah — based on the announcement, most likely on Friday — but will be officially announced upon the sighting of the hilal of Shawwal. We have two prayers. The first prayer is right after Fajr: Fajr iqamah at 6:15 a.m., address begins at 6:45 a.m., and Eid salah at 7:15 a.m. after sunrise in the Ishraq time. The second prayer is at 9:30 a.m. with Eid salah at 10:00 a.m., inshallah.

Guest Appeal: Institution Building for the Next Generation

But how many of us know Nuruddin Zanki, or Imaduddin Zanki? Everyone wants to see a united ummah. We want to see an ummah that has the upper hand. But what institutions are we leaving behind for the next generation? In Toronto, for example, many churches that are empty are being bought by Muslims and converted, because those churches are empty. The question is: what institutions are the Muslims investing in to build the Salahuddin Ayyubis that can uplift the ummah?

By the will of Allah, we are here from Toronto to ask you to invest in the project that we have — ask the help of Allah, be part of this beautiful investment for your akhirah, for the future of our ummah.

Let me tell you a little about the project. We have about 5,000 graduates over the last 10 years, alhamdulillah, across 5 different cities across the country of Canada, focused on nurturing and developing leaders of the next generation from an Islamic perspective. We have multiple programs: we have a Muslim Blueprint program that orients the Islamic mind of the person. Then we channel into different areas — we have men that come out of that program on the front lines battling the red pill movement, taking the men away and the youth away from the Muslims. We have women that are combating feminism from this organization, so we can strengthen that front of the ummah. We are working on 20 influencers right now that can combat the media attacks happening on the Muslims.

These programs have developed many leaders. One product of that is many brothers we see here today. I, for example, am from Saskatchewan. We have 9 khutbas across the two cities of Saskatoon and Regina, and we have hundreds of people we have already taught there. We got brother Uzair — subhanAllah, 15 years ago he came to the masjid, someone yelled at him, and he was turned away from the masjid. Now, after going through the program, after learning what Islam is all about, taking ownership of the ummah, through the institution that we have built, he came back, and now he is on the board of Masjid al-'Izz, replicating that effort for many youth. May Allah bless this masjid that is taking on the same initiative of filling the masjid with the youth. But in Canada, we need your support.

We are here to ask, inshallah, $50,000 for those people who can help. And remember, Rasulullah ﷺ said: a sadaqah does not decrease wealth. A sadaqah is an investment. Allah says:

In tough challenges? Spend. In good affluence? Spend. At night? Spend. In the daytime? Spend. You want a good death? Spend. A shade on the Day of Judgment? Spend.

So I am here to ask: who can invest in this institution building for the next generation of the ummah, inshallah?

Our acquisition cost to develop one leader — one leader on the front lines of the media, one leader on the front lines against feminism, one leader on the front lines against the red pill movement, one leader that can become an imam — is $1,000. We also have an online university with the same concept — an 'Alamiyyah program, bi idhnillah.

Allah says about the Ansar in the Qur'an:

They have nothing, but they give even when they have nothing. They prefer others over themselves. We know the famous story — a sahabi's house had no food. A person came to Rasulullah ﷺ saying, Ya Rasulullah, I need your help. Rasulullah ﷺ asked his family, "What do we have?" They said, "Water and dates." He asked the people, "Can someone help him?" The sahabi went home — "What do we have?" "Nothing." "Well, even if you have only one meal, turn the lights off, feed him, and let's go to sleep hungry." Allah revealed an ayah about that.

And remember, even if you do not have the money, make the intention of donating. You will get the ajar. Innamal a'malu bin-niyyati — like our Imam said today — as your intentions count. Jazakumullahu khayran. Wa as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.