Gratitude, Forgiveness, And Quranic Reflection At Ramadan's End

Opening Praise and Salutations

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ، وَعَلىٰ عَاقِبَتِهِ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ، وَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِيْنَ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَرَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا وَنَبِيَّنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ وَالْمَبْعُوْثُ رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِيْنَ، صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالىٰ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلىٰ آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ الطَّيِّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْنَ، وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَتِهِمْ إِلىٰ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ۔

My dear respected brothers and sisters, respected elders and friends and students, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ. It is indeed with the favour of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we welcome the month of Ramadan, and it is with deep sadness that we are now nearing the end of this sacred month.

Two Conditions of the Heart at the End of Any Good Deed

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala showers upon His ummah untold blessings and forgiveness in this sacred month. As we are coming to a conclusion, this is an opportunity for us to reflect and make muhasabah of ourselves — how much we were able to accomplish and how much is still left behind. At the completion of any amal, there are two kaifiyyat, two conditions of the heart that our mashayikh, our elders, derive from the Qur'an and the Sunnah and tell us should be dominant in our hearts.

One is the feeling of shukr for whatever we were able to acquire, whatever we were able to do. And the second is the feeling of nadamah and istighfar, seeking forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for whatever deficiencies there definitely remained. Both of these are lessons we can learn from the Qur'an and from the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Shukr — Gratitude for What We Were Able to Accomplish

With respect to making shukr to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we have to realize that we were able to do something. Alhamdulillah, we were able to fast. Alhamdulillah, we were able to make tilawah of the Qur'an — minimum, I'm sure, one khatam and beyond, as this is the haq of the Qur'an. Under the tafsir of the ayah — those to whom We have granted the Book, they make tilawah of the Qur'an, they recite the Qur'an and they fulfill the minimum haq, haqqa tilawatihi.

The scholars of tafsir say that, at the minimum level — the lowest opinion — the haq of the tilawah of the Qur'an, the right of it, is that it should be completed once in Ramadan and at a very, very bare minimum once outside of Ramadan every year, meaning a minimum of two khatams. Again, I cannot overemphasize that this is the bare bare minimum; this was not a general practice. Among the Sahabah رِضْوَانُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَجْمَعِيْن, we have the likes of Uthman ibn Affan radhiyallahu anhu who would complete the khatam in one rak'ah, and many who did so every night; others would do it every two nights, every three nights.

Fair enough that they were not the vast majority — they were a distinct minority among the Sahabah. The vast vast majority, the biggest bulk of the Sahabah, would make a khatam throughout the year every seven days. That is why the Qur'an is divided into manzils. There are seven manzils in the Qur'an and a person would recite one seventh — one manzil — every day. This was like the general masses among the Companions رِضْوَانُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَجْمَعِيْن. So we are not talking about two khatams a year — we are talking about a khatam every week.

Outside of Ramadan and inside of Ramadan, then significantly more, as Ramadan is الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآن — the month of the Qur'an. Imam Mahmud al-Hanif rahmatullahi alayhi was making 61 khatams — one khatam every day, one khatam every night, one khatam in taraweeh. So in 30 days, 61 khatams. And this too was considered as the right, not something impossible to achieve.

But unfortunately, it is very, very hard to say how far we have gone from tilawah as an ummah at large. نَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ ذٰلِك. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala awaken us from our slumber and our neglect of the Qur'an, and not make us among those concerning whom Rasulullah ﷺ will say: "O my Lord, my people — after me, they abandoned the Qur'an." The Qur'an will testify in your favour or against you on the Day of Judgment. May it testify in our favour, insha'Allah.

Do Not Belittle Your Good Deeds

So we were able to recite Qur'an, we were able to perform taraweeh. Whatever we were able to do, whatever tawfiq we had, whatever guidance we had, whatever ability we had to do anything — it was from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we make shukr to Allah for that tawfiq.

When we attribute the good deed back to Allah — the guidance for the good deed back to Allah — and we make shukr to Allah for this tawfiq, then this is a way to secure more tawfiq. Because:

"If you will be grateful to Me, then I will further increase the blessings upon you." This is a way to secure the blessing so that we do not have the zawal al-ni'mah — we do not lose the blessing — and this is also a way to ensure that it will, insha'Allah, beyond that even increase.

We have to make sure that we do not completely negate our actions and say that it was nothing. We acknowledge it. If we negate our actions, belittle them, and say "this was nothing, I did not do anything whatsoever" — this is called tahqeer of your good deeds. And the Nabi ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 144)

"Do not belittle any good deed, even if it may be to meet your Muslim brother with a smiling face, even if it may be to pour from your bucket into the vessel of the one who asks for water." Looking down upon one's actions and negating them completely 100% may seem like a person is actually just being humble. But in reality, this is the first step to the abandonment of good deeds. And this is an attack of Shaytan. He will say that your good deeds are worthless, your prayer doesn't really count, it's not really that effective anyway. So if a person begins to believe that, it will lead him on the path to give up doing the good deed altogether.

Istighfar — Seeking Forgiveness for Our Deficiencies

The second thing is we have to balance it with the realization that we are very, very far from fulfilling the haq — the right of Allah, the right of Ramadan, the right of the blessings of Allah upon us. How many blessings He gave us — we did not fulfill the right of shukr. How many tests He gave us — we did not fulfill the right of sabr. How many blessings He gave us — our eyes and ears, our wealth and our health — instead of thanking Him, we used those very same blessings in disobeying Him.

So there is a huge gap between what we were able to accomplish and what we should have. And regarding this gap, we should have nadamah — a regret — and we should make istighfar. This is what is required at the end of every amal. That is why the Nabi ﷺ, after completing the salah, would say: أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ — "I seek Your forgiveness, O Allah."

The Story of Surah al-Nasr and Abdullah ibn Abbas

That is why when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed Surah al-Nasr, in the tafsir of this surah, there is a beautiful narration. Imam Qurtubi writes in his tafsir that there was a lot of objection against Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the Khalifah of Rasulullah ﷺ, when in his Majlis al-Shura — when they would be sitting and deciding matters of the entire Khilafah — there was a young boy that he would allow to come and sit, not only as an observer but rather as a participant. He had a seat and he was giving his opinions. So some of the senior companions would object and say: "O Umar, these are the Ashab al-Badr, these are senior companions. Why is this young boy sitting here? He is like our son or grandson even. Why did you bring him into this closed-door meeting?"

So Umar was very patient with their objections. But one time when it became too much, he said: "I don't want to embarrass anyone, but you are pushing me. Why is Abdullah ibn Abbas sitting here? I will now take a test and ask everyone a question, and it will become absolutely manifest and clear why he is here."

Abdullah ibn Abbas had received the du'a from Rasulullah ﷺ — a spontaneous du'a that had come from his heart when he was doing the khidmah and serving Rasulullah ﷺ. He did not go with a request, "Make du'a for me, Ya Rasulullah," but rather the Nabi ﷺ spontaneously made du'a for him. When he had asked his mother if he could sleep over at his maternal aunt's house, he didn't plan the sleepover to stay up all night — rather, he planned it based on the calendar of the Nabi ﷺ. He knew that the Nabi ﷺ would be sleeping at his aunt Maymunah's house that night. So he planned his sleepover with no intention of sleeping, but rather with the intention of observing and serving.

The entire night he conducted a kind of sleep study — but of a different nature, studying the Nabi ﷺ. What does he do before he sleeps and what does he do when he wakes up? When you open a book like Riyad al-Salihin and find the du'a of tahajjud that the Nabi ﷺ recited upon waking — إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ till the end — it says: "Narrated by Ibn Abbas." The question may not come to our mind: how does he know, and when did he see that? This is one of the things he narrates from the night he was observing Rasulullah ﷺ.

So when the Nabi ﷺ woke up, he saw that a fresh miswak was ready and there was a pot of water ready — drawn from the well for him to make wudu. He asked, "Who prepared this?" So Abdullah ibn Abbas came out from the shadows and said: "I have brought it for your khidmah, Ya Rasulullah — I hope it is okay." The Nabi ﷺ was so happy because this was unexpected — the noble practice of the Nabi ﷺ was to serve himself in his home and to serve his family members. Now, someone else was doing his khidmah. He was overcome with joy and spontaneously said:

"O Allah, grant him deep understanding of the deen, this young boy, and grant him the knowledge of tafsir." His cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas, was at the time of the Nabi's ﷺ passing only 11 years of age.

So Umar asked everyone: "What is the meaning of this surah? How can you describe the gist of the surah?" The majority of the Sahabah in the shura said: "This is a great bisharah — glad tidings. That is why it's called Surah al-Nasr, the surah of the help from Allah. When the help from Allah will come and you will see people entering the fold of Islam in large numbers, then say SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah — praise and glorify Him, وَاسْتَغْفِرْ, and seek His forgiveness, إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا — He is the one who accepts the tawbah." So they summarized it as a surah of glad tidings and victory.

Then Umar asked Abdullah ibn Abbas: "What is the maqsad of the surah?" He said: هٰذَا نَعْيُ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ — "This is the news of the impending passing away of Rasulullah ﷺ." Everyone was shocked and looked at him — how did you figure that out from this? He said: "Because when this surah was revealed, everyone was happy — but Abu Bakr radhiyallahu anhu was crying." The reason is that in this surah, Allah is telling the Nabi ﷺ that there will be victory and people will enter the fold of Islam, وَاسْتَغْفِرْ — and you seek istighfar. And istighfar is the obligation and the wazifah that is done at the time of the completion of the mission. When you complete the task.

Just like when Ibrahim and Ismail alayhima al-salam built the Ka'bah — at the end, what did they say?

So after doing a good deed, you make istighfar for the deficiencies in the performance of that deed. That is why Allah, when telling the Nabi ﷺ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ — this is Surah al-Nasr, the 114th surah in revelation, one of the last surahs to be revealed. Only one or two ayat after this were revealed. Then the revelation came to an end and the Nabi's ﷺ time in this world came to an end, and he was called back by Allah.

The Worry of the Salaf on the Day of Eid

So the lesson for us as well is: when we come to the end of the month of Ramadan, we have to make istighfar, we have to seek forgiveness from Allah. Because we do not know where we stand. That is why one of the Salaf mentioned that on the day of Eid, he had great hayrah and great worry. He was asked, "What is your worry?" — and it wasn't where he was going to find parking. His worry was: "I do not know who amongst us is accepted by Allah so I can go and congratulate them, and who amongst us is rejected by Allah so I may go and console them."

So there are two groups — those who are maqbool and those who are mardood, those who are mahroom. May Allah make us among the maqbooleen. May Allah protect us from being among the mahroomeen.

May Allah accept us for the Ibadah of Laylatul Qadr. On one side, whoever performs true Ibadah on the Night of Qadr — all his past sins are forgiven. But on the flip side, whoever is deprived of Ibadah on that night is truly a deprived soul — mahroom. May Allah protect us from being among the mahroomeen.

Ramadan — A Month of Sadaqah and Spending in the Path of Allah

Alhamdulillah, on this very blessed day, as we are making shukr to Allah for this tawfiq and as we seek His forgiveness and make istighfar for the deficiencies — shukr and istighfar, the two kaifiyyat, the two conditions our hearts should be in — also, as this month is a month of sawm and a month of tilawah of the Qur'an, it is also a month of sadaqah. This is part of our deen. When Allah speaks about sacrifice for His sake, He says:

"You strive in the path of Allah with your wealth and with your persons." And He mentions wealth first, in fact — بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ.

The Darussalam Parking Lot Expansion Project

Alhamdulillah, as we are all attendees of Darussalam — those who come regularly for the programs and are here for the Jumu'ah — we know about the situation with the parking. There are different pieces of property, and there are buildings in between the car lot that need to be demolished and smoothed out so that there will be easy access for the musallis — the men and the women, the young and the old — to be able to come and perform their salah. This is our parking lot expansion project, which we hope to accomplish this year, number one with the fadl of Allah and also with your support. It will make the entrance and exit from North Avenue and also from Swift Road, with a new additional entrance and exit, much smoother for everyone.

This is an opportunity for us to invest in this project, which is now, alhamdulillah, ready to start. Before the ground freezes in 2024, we want to complete this. This is the timeline, insha'Allah.

So on this blessed day of Jumu'ah — blessed time and blessed place — for a very, very blessed project for our masjid. These different properties that Allah, through your donations, we were able to purchase — now is the time to consolidate them and make them part of the overall campus.

Who wants to give Allah this loan? Allah will multiply it many times over.

Whenever Allah asks us to spend in His path, He says: وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ — "And from that which We have provided them, they spend." If Allah has not given us, then He will not ask us to give. But He is the one who has given us.

Rasulullah ﷺ said:

"Removing something harmful from the path is sadaqah." In this case, it is actually making the whole path — flattening it, smoothing it, the curbs, the entrances, the lighting — the entire project requires a lot of help.

Shaytan promises you that if you give, you will be poor, you will face poverty — and then when you withhold that money, he makes sure you spend it on wrong things, on obscene things, fahsha. Whereas Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He is promising maghfirah — forgiveness — and additional bounty. So let us believe in the promise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

This is a project right here, in front of your eyes. You have seen it expanding and you have seen the track record. You know that, trusting in Allah, bi-idhnillah, this will happen. The question is: will we be a part of it or not? Do we want to remain on the sidelines — spectating, watching — or do we want to have ownership and say, "Alhamdulillah, I was part of this," insha'Allah securing our position in Jannah.

It is like a beggar who comes to your door and knocks. You don't say, "There are other beggars in the world — I'll see you later." No — he is the one on your door. Why did Allah send this beggar to your door?

"The one who comes and asks from you — do not rebuke him." There are other beggars in the world, but they are not on your doorstep. This project is the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and it is begging you right now.

One is you know about something — ilm al-yaqeen. One is you see it — ayn al-yaqeen. One is you are sitting in it — haqq al-yaqeen. You have the highest level of certainty about this. And we should not make tahqeer — as we just learned — of any good deed. Whether it is $1,000 or $100,000, everything is accepted in the court of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, insha'Allah.

May Allah accept all the brothers, all the sisters, all the young and old who have given and will continue to give. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant you more and more barakah. May Allah forgive your sins. May Allah elevate your status. May Allah grant you all that you desire. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward everyone else for their patience.

Announcements

A few quick announcements: alhamdulillah, we should pass the donation boxes for those who want to give cash. You can continue donating on your way out.

The Khatm al-Qur'an here in Darussalam Taraweeh, the main jama'ah, is on the 29th night — Monday night.

Salat al-Eid will be performed here as well, most likely on Wednesday, based on the declaration of the Hilal Committee. The Eid address, the first one, will be at 5:45 AM with the Eid Salah at 6:35 AM. The Eid congregation is after the sun rises at 6:35. We should try to be here for the Fajr iqamah at 5:30 AM. The program will begin after Fajr till the sun rises, and then we will perform the Eid. The second salah is later at 10 AM, with the Eid address and prayer at 10:30 AM.

We will also have ASL sign language interpreters coming for the Eid prayer.

We have a two-day workshop, "Reviving Islamic Literacy", with Mawlana Tamim coming from California — April 19th to April 20th, Friday and Saturday.

We have our last Mother and Daughter Evening tonight, Friday, April 5th — separate halaqah for mothers and sisters, and dinner, dessert, guided individual ibadah, crafts, and Eid activities for girls, 5 PM to 8 PM tonight.

We continue to make du'a for the Muslims in Palestine.

Hafiz Muhammad Talha has passed away in a car accident. Salat al-Janazah will be held after Jumu'ah at Masjid Medina, Chicago. His sister is also in the ICU. Please make du'a for the shifa of the sister and maghfirah of the brother.

Tanweer Zaman is suffering from pancreatic cancer. Please make du'a for his shifa.

May Allah grant shifa to all of our brothers and sisters. And may Allah grant maghfirah to all the marhumeen.

Second Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ —

O beloved ones in Allah — have taqwa of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in private and in public. Shun all obscenities — those that are apparent and those that are hidden. Guard the Jumu'ah and the jama'ah. Train your souls upon hearing and obeying. And know that the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. The worst of matters are newly invented ones, every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

بَارَكَ اللهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيمِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيمِ، أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هٰذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

وَاذْكُرُوا اللهَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ وَادْعُوهُ يَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.

Please fill in the gaps, there are a lot of brothers, insha'Allah. The i'tikaf brothers can make niyyah nafl if they prayed the first session — you can join with the niyyah nafl for the second. And the rest of the brothers, please fill in all the gaps, insha'Allah — definitely make niyyah fard for your Jumu'ah. Fill in all the gaps, insha'Allah. Do not leave any space. There are many brothers outside — please continue moving forward quickly. There is space in the corners of the masjid in the back, right and left. Do not leave any open space — سُدُّوا الْخَلَلَ، أَتِمُّوا الصُّفُوفَ الْأَوَّلَ فَالْأَوَّلَ.