Sustaining Ramadan's Spirit: The Journey Of Istiqamah Continues

Opening Praises and Supplication

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ، اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ، وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلٰى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِيْنَ، نَبِيِّنَا وَحَبِيْبِنَا وَسَنَدِنَا وَمَوْلَانَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلٰى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِيْنَ۔ أَمَّا بَعْدُ

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the glorious Qur'an — أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ:

And Allah also says:

Dear brothers and sisters, respected friends and elders, Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.

The Journey of Ramadan — Beginning and End

In life we go through all sorts of ups and downs. Sometimes we feel as though we are at a peak in whatever endeavor we are pursuing. And sometimes we feel as though things aren't going as well. Sometimes we feel things are going great and sometimes it could be a little better.

Right now we've kind of arrived at a point in our timeline as Muslims where we think, you know, I wish we just went back a week. I wish we just went back a few more days. I miss how my nights were spent just 3, 4, 5 days ago. I miss how my days were spent just a week ago. And you know, I just wish I could go back. That's what everyone is thinking right now and everyone is saying that, and all of our conversations are, you know, how has your week been? You know, it's been very great but, you know, it's nothing like Ramadan.

Ramadan, like many other things, has a journey, has a story. The story of Ramadan is something that starts well before Ramadan. Why? Because the story of Ramadan — the first chapter — is not the night we spotted the moon. The story of Ramadan begins many days or weeks or months before Ramadan comes in. And that first chapter really depends on us.

When do we want our journey of Ramadan to begin? For some, it started many months before. The first chapter of my story of Ramadan began 4 months in advance — when I started getting into the habit of fasting, or I started increasing my normal amount of daily recitation of the Qur'an, or I inculcated this habit into my life.

Similarly, the ending and epilogue of Ramadan does not end when we spot the moon of Eid. For many, the journey of Ramadan — the story — begins with the first page, with the first words: we spotted the moon of Ramadan, and the last words of that story are: and then we spotted the moon of Eid. But that is not how the story of Ramadan is supposed to play out.

It begins much in advance and technically there is no end to the story of Ramadan. But if you were to put an end to this story, if you were to put the last chapter, if you were to understand Ramadan as a storybook, then that last chapter would be much beyond that and it would sort of transition into another story — which is the story of pretty much how our life will go. Ramadan does not end with the moon of Eid. Ramadan is supposed to continue on much longer.

Feelings vs. Actions — The Importance of Istiqamah

And so now, yes, does Ramadan have a special feeling to it? Yeah, Ramadan has a special feeling to it. Did we feel much more motivated when Ramadan was here? Yeah. Were we much more inclined to come to the masjid in Ramadan? Yes. Did we feel like spending our nights in our ibadah in Ramadan, and now that same feeling is not there? That's fine. And that is the case. That is what makes Ramadan special.

But we are not bound and we cannot simply act based on our feelings. Sometimes we will feel as though we are at spiritual peaks. And sometimes we feel as though, you know, I could be a little better. However, our a'mal is what's supposed to never change. Istiqamah. Istiqamah.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even commanded our Nabi ﷺ for istiqamah. Nabi ﷺ once said that Surah Hud made me feel very old, made my hairs white. It really shook me up.

And for any of us who may know how Surah Hud plays out and the stories which it mentions, you might think, oh, maybe it was the story of Nuh ﷺ — how when his son was overtaken by the wave of water and he sought forgiveness, and he called out to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and Allah ta'ala responded to him by saying: Do not ask Me what you have no knowledge of. And Nuh ﷺ then repented and sought forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Or maybe it was Shu'ayb ﷺ, how his nation was involved in impermissible transactions and their business, their economy was completely corrupt. And how when he came to his people and called them to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, they said, Oh, is your prayer, is your religion telling us to leave what our forefathers did? And how he called out to them with extreme sincerity and he said, I just want the best for you. And they completely turned him away — much like how the people of Makkah were consistently turning away Nabi ﷺ. And so Allah ta'ala did away with them. Was it that story? No, it wasn't that story.

What was the story? What was the ayah?

Be consistent. Have this quality of istiqamah. Istiqamah means whether you're feeling spiritually at a peak, or whether you feel you're at rock bottom — you keep going.

And Ramadan is something which is supposed to build this quality of istiqamah within us. Ramadan is not that if one day you feel like fasting, then you fast, and if another day, you know, I didn't wake up for suhoor, let me just not fast today. No, that's not what Ramadan is about. Ramadan is every single day we're fasting, we're spending hours — 12, 14, 16, some places 18 hours. People are fasting, hungry, thirsty. People are frustrated. But what? They're still doing it, regardless of the feeling. The feeling is not there. At night, people are tired. But where are they? Are they on their beds? They're in the masajid.

And so now, this journey of Ramadan is supposed to continue. Now that the feeling of Ramadan has gone, it doesn't mean that now our actions of Ramadan end. It's supposed to continue.

Shaytan's Strategy After Ramadan

Shaytan, being our greatest enemy, who swore to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he will find every single way to deceive us and turn us away — he makes it a point to make everything feel a lot worse than what it really is. And so now, everyone feels the sadness and the emptiness of Ramadan leaving them. But what will Shaytan do? He will make that emptiness feel so overbearing that it will end up making us leave the actions which we did. Oh yeah, you know, I miss Ramadan. I've just been so down. Okay, so how much Qur'an have you read since then? Oh, you know, I haven't even picked it up since Eid.

That is the case with a lot of individuals. And we ask Allah ta'ala that He protects us from being from that group. And if anyone is from that group, we ask that Allah ta'ala brings them out of that state and keeps them connected with the actions of Ramadan.

The Solution: Consistency and Seeking Refuge from Shaytan

So now, what can we do to keep Ramadan going? What's the solution? What's the way out? Because everyone feels this.

1. Be Consistent with Your Actions

Look at what you were doing in Ramadan. What were the actions which really stood out for us in Ramadan? If we can do everything, follow the Ramadan schedule even outside of Ramadan. But if it's very difficult for us, then let's find 3, 4, 5 actions which we were doing. If we were reading a juz of the Qur'an every single day, then let's keep that up. If we could keep it up in Ramadan, we could definitely keep it up after Ramadan.

And if that becomes a habit in our everyday life, the next Ramadan will be even better. The feelings that we felt this Ramadan — they will be much greater the next Ramadan. And so we're constantly accelerating. Instead of — we're accelerating in Ramadan and as soon as Ramadan ends, we are the ones who press the brake. But no, we're supposed to keep going, and going, and going.

2. Seek Refuge from Shaytan Throughout the Day

Nabi ﷺ, and in fact Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Qur'an on different occasions, reminds us to seek refuge from Shaytan. Shaytan being our greatest enemy will constantly try to sway us away, deter us, turn us away from a'mal, make our hearts rusted with the negligence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with the negligence of deen. However, the solution to that — you see, this is a spiritual problem, and spiritual problems require spiritual solutions.

Nabi ﷺ taught us to seek refuge from Shaytan — isti'adhah. When do we do isti'adhah? We only do it when we open up the Qur'an. But it is not something which is limited to the Qur'an. This is something which we must do throughout the day.

In the Qur'an, Allah ta'ala says — say to Nabi ﷺ, and of course to all of the ummah — make this du'a a part of your daily life:

O my Lord, O my Rabb, I seek refuge in You from the pushes and the attempts of Shaytan upon me. And I seek refuge from them even coming in front of me.

Shaytan will constantly do his job. Now our job is not to say, oh, Shaytan is coming, okay, let him come to me — I can't do anything about it. We've been taught by Nabi ﷺ to seek refuge from Shaytan.

And there are so many du'as which we are taught to seek refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — from Shaytan and in fact from all harm.

But especially now, when we feel that decline after Ramadan, it's mainly because Shaytan is trying to pull us away from that. He will not come and tell us in Ramadan, don't do anything. But then you know what — I can do some damage control. And after Ramadan, everyone's already feeling down, let me just push that a little more and push this agenda.

Closing Reminder

So the lesson for us today is: do not let our story of Ramadan come to an end solely because we are feeling that decline from Ramadan. The way we can get over that is by — one, keep the ball rolling. It doesn't matter how you're feeling, it doesn't matter how we're feeling. If we're feeling good, use that to our motivation. But if we're feeling down, that's where istiqamah really lies. And secondly, make it a habit every day that we seek refuge from Shaytan. We have been taught to do so by our Nabi ﷺ. Why has this become something limited to just when we open up the Qur'an? When this is something we're supposed to be doing throughout the day — after every salah, try to do it; in the mornings, try to do it; in the evenings, try to do it. This is something prophetic. So let us try to adopt this prophetic supplication in our daily lives.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

Just a couple of quick announcements. First and foremost, if we do see any empty spots in front of us, let's fill them up. Individuals are coming in, so if we're all sitting in the back it will become very difficult for them to find any space. So if we do see any space in front of us, let's try to fill them up.

Second, let's pass the donation boxes — they're situated at the left, and we can pass them towards the right.

Also, there is no curb parking. So please don't park on the curbs behind the seminary building or the Swift Highway. There are additional parking spots in the used car lot.

We have a special announcement for a two-day workshop we are hosting here, titled Reviving Islamic Literacy: The Straight Path Simplified, which is dedicated to discussing and clarifying the principles of tasawwuf and tazkiyah. This two-day workshop will take place on Friday, April 19th from 7:30 p.m. to Saturday, April 20th, 4:30 p.m. This is open to brothers and sisters. Speakers will be Sheikh Tamim Ahmadi, Sheikh Kausar Hussain, Mufti Azimuddin Ahmed, and Dr. Salim Niazi. There is a registration link at tinyurl.com/RILChicago. For more information, you can find that on our website.

Also, our annual retreat, titled Islam and Artificial Intelligence: Navigating New Frontiers in the Modern World, will begin Friday, May 10th until Sunday, May 12th. You can register at masjidds.org/Retreat2024.

Our Mini-Muslims program is for young children every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — young children meaning ages up to five years old — in the Sister Side Banquet Hall, which is in the lower level of the seminary building.

A look at some of our summer programs: our Tamheed Summer Arabic Intensive is for young adults and older — brothers and sisters 18+ can register. Then we have a Qur'an, Islamic Studies, and Sports Camp for kids — boys and girls, ages 6 to 14. And we have our Tarbiyah for Tots program for boys and girls, ages 4 to 5. You can register for all of that at masjidds.org/summer.

Our weekly programs are also resuming. Team Fajr begins tomorrow — Fajr Iqamah will be at 5:30 a.m. Our Tuesday Tafsir will continue after Maghrib, and we will begin Surah Mumtahanah. And our weekly Salawat and Khatira is every Thursday after Maghrib.

Du'a Requests

There are a couple of requests for du'as. First and foremost, a humble request that we all make du'a for our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine, and of course all the Muslim brothers and sisters who are suffering throughout the world.

Dr. Yaqub Putawala's mother-in-law has passed away. Please make du'a for her maghfirah. And Tanwir Zaman is suffering from pancreatic cancer — please make du'a for his shifa as well.

Closing Du'a