Deepening Your Faith: The Believer's Continuous Growth

Opening Recitation

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah. And peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen.

Allah, the Exalted, said in the book of His revelation — after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, my dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Addressing the Believers

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in these ayat that I mentioned — He speaks about the month of Ramadan, He speaks about fasting, and there is a specific beautiful order in the way Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala touches upon these topics. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first says, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O those who believe. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is addressing the believers.

This is a general principle in the Quran: that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He invites humanity towards Islam — يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to say:

O mankind, O humanity, say lā ilāha illallāh — then you will be successful. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 16022)

So the da'wah of Islam — of entering the fold of Islam — is to the non-Muslims. And those who have already accepted Islam, they are the believers; for them the da'wah and the reminder is to increase in their iman and to increase in their a'mal.

Like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

O those who believe — they are already believers — āminū, work on strengthening your iman. Work on strengthening your iman in Allah and in the scripture, in the revelation, which was sent prior to Rasulullah and was sent upon Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

So this is what the scholars say: da'wah of Islam to non-Muslims, and da'wah of iman to Muslims. We are not above and beyond da'wah. We are not only on the giving side — we do not need to receive da'wah, we do not need to receive reminders, because we have already taken the shahadah.

Yes, it's true to say, I am a Muslim, so I do not need to be invited to Islam — but I need to work on strengthening my conviction on that deen, which is iman. Until it becomes like the iman of the sahabah, as Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, prepared the sahabah — and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned, their iman is the standard. You have to believe not however you feel like it, but the way the sahabah believed. If you believe the way the sahabah believe, then only you are rightly guided.

And the sahabah, they continued to work on their iman. He used to tell some of his companions, "Let us sit down and revive our iman for some time."

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us that when we are inviting non-Muslims towards Islam, we invite them towards the central articles of faith — āmantu billāhi wa malā'ikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulihi wa al-yawm al-ākhir. But after a person accepts Islam, then only do we talk about ahkam and injunctions — amongst them being fasting.

The Prescription of Fasting

So over here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not inviting all of humanity towards fasting — He is inviting the believers, since they have already signed up, they have already accepted Islam.

O those who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you, like it has been prescribed to people prior to you. Meaning, if they also fasted in the past and survived, you can as well. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives a command and it seems difficult — how are we going to be able to do it? — then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts giving us takhfīf, making it easier for us, right in the same ayah. So He says, kamā kutiba — like it was prescribed upon people prior to you. They did it, you can do it.

And then Allah ta'ala mentions the benefit: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ — perhaps, if you do it properly, then you may gain taqwa.

The Word "La'alla" — Opportunity and Warning

I wanted to go further, not just get stuck on this ayah, as we discussed it last khutbah of Sha'ban. But just as a reminder once again — Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi, rahimahullah, says that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the word la'allakum — perhaps. And there is an opportunity here, and there is a warning as well.

The opportunity is — subhanallah — وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — the best ending, the husn al-'āqiba, is for those who have taqwa. Those who have taqwa are successful in the dunya, the qabar, the hashr, the akhira. Those who have taqwa are the ones who are beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All their affairs will be taken care of. So if a person fasts properly, la'allakum tattaqūn — if he can develop taqwa through this, there could be no better deal. That is a great opportunity to increase in one's taqwa.

But at the same time, the warning element here is that the word la'alla — meaning "perhaps," "possibly" — is not a word of yaqīn, of 100% guarantee. Meaning it is also possible that you may not gain taqwa if you do not fast in the right manner, if you do not fulfill the haqq of the fasting.

So Ramadan is a great opportunity which could be taken advantage of, or could be lost. Both options are there.

The Two Sides of Fasting

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 38; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 760)

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with iman in Allah and looking forward to the reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — all of his past sins are forgiven.

And on the other hand, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1690)

How many people are fasting — he does not get taqwa, he does not get forgiveness, he doesn't get anything. The only thing he gets is hunger and thirst.

The exact same comparison applies to the amal of the night. There is an amal in the day, which is fasting. There is an amal in the night, which is qiyam — standing in ibadah.

This amal is also throughout the year — you have Yā ayyuhal muzzammil and Yā ayyuhal muddaththir. Yā ayyuhal muzzammil is for the whole year: قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا — stand up at night in ibadah. And Yā ayyuhal muddaththir is for the whole year — it is not to fast the whole year, but it is قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ — to give da'wah and invite people towards Allah the entire year.

So effort of da'wah in the day, effort of ibadah at night. In Ramadan: effort of fasting in the day, effort of qiyam in the night. So for qiyam, the Prophet ﷺ said the exact same:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 37; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

Whoever stands up in ibadah at night in the month of Ramadan with iman and ihtisab — all the past sins will be forgiven. And the flip side:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1690)

How many people are standing at night — the only thing they get to their credit, the only benefit, is staying awake and getting exhausted. Sahar and ta'ab. They are staying awake and getting exhausted, but they are not gaining anything else. Na'ūdhu billāhi min dhālik.

Are We Maqbūl or Mardūd?

And that is why — even though I've said this so many times, it really resonates with me and I keep repeating the statement of one of our mashayikh. On the day of Eid, he said, "I'm hayrān — I'm confused." So everyone said, "Why are you mutahayyir? Why are you so perplexed?" He said, "I'm very perplexed. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to greet people." What's the problem — social anxiety? Not sure how to talk to people? He said, "No, the confusion I have is: lā adri — I do not know who is maqbūl amongst us, so I may go and congratulate them on their maghfirah, on their taqwa; and who is mardūd amongst us, so I may go and console them."

So if there is a birth in a family, it's a different scenario, and if there is a death in a family, it's a different scene. One is bushrā and glad tidings and celebration — "it's a boy," or "it's a girl" — celebrating the birth, good news. In fact, good news has a literal meaning — ma'nā haqīqī — it means any news which is basically a good news, the news is positive. And majāzan, allegorically, figuratively, it is used for the birth of a child — "There's some good news at home," "When's the good news?" — meaning they're referring to the birth of a child, subhanallah.

Another place, there is wailing, lamenting, and crying, because someone near and dear has passed away — the pangs of loss. So if you're going into a house and you have to go and talk to the people, and you don't know if someone died or someone was born, then you would obviously be in a very confusing position. He said, "That's exactly how I'm feeling on the day of Eid."

The Concessions of Fasting

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says — if someone says, "How in the world am I going to do this?" — Allah ta'ala says: Look, there are only a few days that you can count. 29 days or 30 days. You can count them, ma'dūdāt — it is not difficult to count. Even the kids in kindergarten count to 100. So, ayyāman ma'dūdāt.

And then Allah ta'ala says — if somebody says, "What about if I'm sick? What about if I'm traveling? What about all these excuses?" — so all of those excuses, one by one, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala addresses. "Do not worry, I have you covered."

If anybody is sick — so sick that he's not able to fast — or they're traveling. Traveling in the past was very, very challenging. It was not like, you know, people say economy tickets are really challenging too — but it was way worse than economy flights.

So, if somebody can fast while they're traveling and fulfill the azīma and get the reward of fasting in Ramadan, they should try to do so. If you're flying west, yes, your fast may be a bit longer. But if you're flying east, you will actually have a shorter fast — the farther east you go, the sunset will be earlier. And subhanallah, your fast will become shorter. So this is a mercy from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — a rukhsah from Allah ta'ala.

Two Types of Sickness in Relation to Fasting

Now, there are two categories of sickness in this regard. One is a sickness that you hope to recover from — it is an acute illness, not something chronic, something that, inshallah, you'll get over. So for those individuals, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ — you can make it up later.

But if someone says, "Ya Allah, You're saying that if I'm sick I can make it up later — but I have a terminal illness." A person who is 90 years old, al-shaykh al-fānī, mustaḥḍar — a person who is expecting death. He's in hospice, in end-of-life care. 95 years old, 99 years old, or 110 years old. Subhanallah. This individual, if you tell him, "You cannot fast now, but when you recover, you can fast" — he knows he's not necessarily going to be on the path of recovery. So when is he supposed to make it up?

Likewise, if somebody — maybe not that old, is young — but has such an illness, like juvenile type 1 diabetes on an insulin pump and is not able to manage his blood sugars — not just type 2 that could be controlled with the help of a righteous Muslim endocrinologist — then this individual may also say, "How will I ever make up qadha? How does فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ apply?" This applies to the traveler — the traveler, when he comes back home, can make up qadha. But how am I going to make up qadha?

So Allah ta'ala mentions that in the next ayah:

If you reach such a stage that you cannot make it up ever, then you can resort to monetary compensation — fidya. You give a sadaqatul fitr amount for every day that you miss.

A Common Misunderstanding About Fidya

There is one major misunderstanding in this regard. A lot of people, if they're sick, they come and ask, "What is the fidya? How much do I have to pay for the fast that I'm missing?" So we don't just give the answer — we have to ask them: what type of sickness are you talking about? Somebody has a flu, somebody has a cold or this or that, and they want to start giving a fidya. We cannot resort to the monetary compensation as long as you have a strong likelihood and chance of recovering. So you just wait it out and then make qadha.

If there is a woman who is not able to maintain the necessary caloric intake during the daytime hours while being pregnant or while nursing a baby — she can also wait and then make qadha afterwards. So we cannot just jump to monetary compensation because it's easier. The monetary compensation is the sadaqatul fitr amount per day — like $8 a day. So a person will just want to give $240 and call it quits and say, "That's it, I got out of a whole month of fasting."

Adā', Qadhā', and Qadhā' Nāqis

From a usūlī perspective, when you fulfill the fast in its actual time, it's called adā'ul kāmil — you made adā' of it. And if you are not able to do it in this time and you make it up later, it's qadhā'ul kāmil — you make qadha of it exactly as is. But if you resort to financial compensation instead, that's called al-qadhā' al-nāqis — you're making qadha, but it's nāqis, incomplete. And you can only resort to al-qadhā' al-nāqis if you are 'ājiz — incapable of qadhā'ul kāmil — meaning you are not physically able to make it up, therefore you give monetary compensation.

And if some people say, "What's the big deal, why can't I just write a check — or swipe the card, it's less painful?" — na'ūdhu billāhi min dhālik. Ibadah should not be termed as painful. Our teacher used to say, by giving an example it becomes easier to understand.

If you go for hajj — may Allah ta'ala take us all for hajj — and you give your car to a friend and say, "Keep this car as an amānah, and when I come back, I'll take it from you." So when you come back, if the friend says, "Let me check the Blue Book value, the Carfax value of the car — this is how much it costs, I'll give you this money." You'll say, "What happened to my car? No, I want to keep the car." "But why are you worried? I'm going to give you the value of the car. I'm going to resort to financial compensation instead of giving you back the car." You'll say, "Are you out of your mind? I need my car back." You only resort to the financial compensation if the car is totaled or lost — like, "I was supposed to keep it safe in the garage, but one day I took it out and it got totaled." Now it makes sense. Subhanallah.

So if we can fast — an actual fast to make up the fast we're missing — we have to fast. We have to give the car back. If you cannot fast, only then do you give monetary compensation.

The Importance of a Muslim, Righteous Physician

In this issue as well — when I was a student, I remember it used to be mentioned in the books of fiqh that when you are making mashwarah regarding your fasting, whether you are exempted or not, it should be a ṭabīb ḥādhiq muslimun ṣāliḥun — an expert, Muslim, righteous physician. Since we grew up here and always have different objections and questions in our mind, I used to always wonder: he should be an expert physician, fine. But what does Islam really have to do with it? Because we grew up in an environment of all non-Muslims around us. What is the reason he has to be a Muslim, and a righteous one at that?

Later on, when we were in the field after graduation, I realized that there are so many scenarios where if the physician is not a Muslim and is not righteous, he will very easily say, "Oh, that's it — forget fasting. Are you crazy? No food, no water? No, no, no. You are exempted." They will very quickly exempt you. Because their schedule is 5 minutes per patient anyway — quick, in and out, look at your chart, sign, move on to the next one.

It is only a Muslim physician who is also righteous who understands: we are talking about a farḍ fast. If you fast not only the entire year, but your entire life — entire life nafl fast — it cannot equal one farḍ fast. Your entire life of nafl fasting cannot equal one farḍ fast. The closest a person comes to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is through the farḍ.

So the righteous Muslim physician will say: "If I just sign this exemption, I will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment." Because this Muslim doctor — who is an expert, who is an endocrinologist, who understands your sugars and blood sugars and insulin and how it works — he is also a righteous Muslim. So he will have the sense of accountability.

When a physician is writing a prescription, he has a sense of accountability: I don't want to get sued, I don't want a malpractice case against me, I don't want to lose my license. There is a sense of accountability. But this additional word of muslimun wa ṣāliḥun means there is a sense of accountability to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Being here with people asking questions, we see over time that many people who are absolutely capable of fasting just have to reduce some of their medication. They're taking full diabetic medication and then they're like, "Oh, I'm becoming hypoglycemic — my sugars are going to get so low." Yeah, because you didn't adjust your insulin. You're taking long-acting, short-acting, you're pumping yourself up with all this insulin and all this medication, and then saying, "Oh, I can't fast." A righteous Muslim doctor will actually take the time — because "I'm signing this off and I'll be held accountable, not by the licensing agencies here in the dunya, but by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So I better make sure I've spent extra time to work out a plan, before I just say you're exempted."

Closing Reminder: The Danger of Ignorance

So these are the two types of sickness and the two ways of making them up — one through qadha, and one through fidya. And then the ayat go on that we were planning to cover, but we got to this point and the time has ended.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to understand the deen correctly. There are many mistakes in all the a'māl — from salah, to zakat, to sawm, to hajj. In all of the farā'iḍ, the pillars of our deen, we are making mistakes left and right. And the root cause of it is jahl — because we are not taking time to learn. Or we're just asking the online Mufti Google. Now the worst thing is AI.

AI — forget about istidlāl and coming up with rulings and fatawa — I was just looking into it, and I saw that it was completely misquoting the Quran. It's not hearsay; it was messing up the ayat of the Quran. It gives completely wrong ayat. And then I looked at why it was making a mistake, and I realized it was a mutashābih — it confused two different ayat and put them together.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. Allah ta'ala says:

Ask those who have knowledge if you do not know. We should not use AI to cheat in our homework at school or our assignments — but we definitely should not use it for asking fatawa. And then we have all of these mistakes in rulings, and this is impacting our akhirah. May Allah ta'ala give us tawfīq. Alhamdulillah.

Announcements

A few announcements inshallah.

Sadaqah: Please pass the donation box from left to right. This is a mubarak day of Jumu'ah in Ramadan, so our sadaqah will be multiplied many fold. There are also kiosks in the lobby on the way out. Please give something for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Sadaqatul Fitr is also up now — please visit the website to give your sadaqatul fitr.

Kids Edition — Boys 7 to 15: This is a special 24-hour program in the masjid. From Saturday, March 7th Maghrib to Sunday, March 8th Maghrib. This is a program for boys ages 7 to 15. Fathers are required to remain with their child for the duration of the program. Father and son i'tikaf program — one day. Details at masjidds.org.

Sisters Recitation Circle: An online Quranic recitation program continues from Ramadan 1st to the 20th.

I'tikaf Registration is also up.

Civic Duties and Responsibilities: As citizens, we urge everyone to vote in the March 17th primary election. Early voting has started. Whoever we believe to be the best candidate — for the Muslims and the non-Muslims, for all the citizens — we should try to vote for those individuals. As a non-profit we cannot endorse anyone, but we are encouraging everyone to vote.

Jumu'ah Salah Time Change: The first session will be 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. (this session right here). The second session will be 2:00 to 2:30 p.m.

Du'a Requests: Please make du'a for sister Sadia Tahir Ali, who is suffering from stage 4 cancer. One of our students' fathers has been hospitalized due to ongoing cancer treatments and will have a surgery — please make du'a for the surgery. And du'a for the entire Muslim Ummah, and those who are suffering in all the wars everywhere.