Ramadan: A Guest Or A Burden

Opening Du'a

Beloved brothers and sisters, youngsters and elders, esteemed and honorable guests of the house of Allah — السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

We are so fortunate — الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ثُمَّ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ثُمَّ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ — that the month of Ramadan is at our doorstep and we are just about to begin this month, this time of the year wherein there are innumerable, limitless amounts of mercy of Allah which are descending. This is such a time in the year which is so auspicious, it's so beloved, it's so blessed that Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has mentioned in a hadith:

That no month in the year passes for the Muslims which is better for them than the month of Ramadan.

Two Groups of People

But when the month of Ramadan comes, then we find that there are two groups of people. There are those that are looking forward to it, and there are those — may Allah protect us — there are those of us that see it as a burden.

The Story of the Town and the Guest

There was once — our teachers would share this story every year with us — that there was once a scholar who was passing by a town, and this was a remote town in some rural area. It was a town that wouldn't regularly get knowledgeable people passing through it. They would very rarely have an alim who could speak to them about the deen of Allah, who could speak to them about the hadith of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, passing by.

So when they found out that this individual was coming by, they greeted him, they hosted him very well and they asked him a special request. They said, "You know, Mashallah, you are a very knowledgeable person. Can you come and please address our entire community? Very rarely do we get these opportunities. It would be so wonderful if you could share a few words, share a few things that you have learned." So then he agreed, a huge announcement was made, everyone was gathered in the community masjid or community hall or community center. And then he began speaking to them and addressing them, and it was right before the month of Ramadan came.

So he told them that there is a very special guest that is coming your way. A very blessed guest. This is the guest of Ramadan. When the guest of Ramadan comes, then there is so much of benefit. But at the same time, there are various different things that a person should carry out. When this guest comes, then you have to fast. You have to refrain from eating from the morning till the evening. Then you should also ensure that you read a lot of Qur'an. Then this is a time also where a person should pray at night — not only your normal five daily prayers, but you should also perform the extra voluntary taraweeh salah at night. This is a time where we should engage in dua.

As he was talking, you see all the smiles, all the brightly lit faces that were so enthusiastic to hear him and listen to him — you see all of them slowly, slowly are becoming duller and duller. And the smiles are turning upside down into frowns. And then he finished his lecture, and then they thanked him, and he went on his way. He was stopping there for a brief time.

But the leader of the town didn't let everyone go. No, there was a mandatory meeting that was going to take place. And he announced, he said, "What are we going to do? We have to have a meeting. We have to determine how we are going to take care of this guest. We will not allow this guest to come to our town. How are we supposed to refrain from eating the whole entire day? How are we supposed to read the Qur'an all of a sudden, the whole entire day, and pray in salah? This is completely — it is such a daunting task. This is not a guest that we should welcome into our town." After all, they were away from society. They didn't get these opportunities to learn.

So what they decided to do is they set up these posts on the outskirts of their town. Anytime a person was coming by, they would ask and inquire, "What's your name?" Someone would say, "Oh, my name is Abdullah." Another person would say, "My name is Fatima, my name is Amin," so on and so forth. "Okay, you can go, you can go, no problem." Then all of a sudden, one day there was a person. Sadly, he came by, they asked him, "What's your name?" "My name, my name is Ramadan." "Your name is Ramadan? We found him! This is the guy!" They took him, they beat him, and they sent him packing home.

Then, eventually, the alim was passing through the town again, going home. As he was passing by — it was a month afterwards — he asked them, "You know, how was everything? How did the month of Ramadan go? And how did you spend your time? Hopefully everyone enjoyed their time and took full advantage of it." So they said, "What are you talking about? You know that guest you were talking about, the guest of Ramadan? We never allowed him to step foot in our town. We sent him packing home. We continued eating, we continued merrymaking, and we didn't have to change our schedules at all." So then the alim realized — how foolish are you? Don't you know that the guest that I was talking about is not a human being? It's the month of Ramadan. This is a time in the year.

The State of the Sahaba Regarding Ramadan

So may Allah protect us. This is something that we should reflect on ourselves. When the month of Ramadan comes, which category of individuals are we in? Are we in those who are welcoming this month, looking forward to this month? The ulema — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali — they write that the Sahaba رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ, after the month of Ramadan passed, for six months they were worried and they were concerned that all of their ibadah that they did — it shouldn't be such that it's not accepted in the court of Allah. And then for the next six months, they would be eagerly looking forward to the month of Ramadan again. This is the state of the hearts of the Sahaba رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ.

So we should ask ourselves — which boat are we in? Are we amongst those who view the month — may Allah protect us — as a burden? That "We're gonna have to start fasting again" or "We're gonna have to start reading Qur'an, praying taraweeh salah — such a burden." Or is it such that we're looking forward to this month to come closer to Allah?

The Blessings and Gates of Ramadan

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has mentioned that this is a time — there is no better month for the believer. In a hadith he has mentioned:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1899; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 1079)

When the month of Ramadan comes, the doors of Jannah — all the gates of Jannah — are opened up, and all of the gates of the Fire are closed.

Some ulema mention that this is literally so — we believe that Jannah and Jahannam are already created, and literally the gates are opened up. In other words, for the auspiciousness of this month, to welcome this time, it's as though Jannah, Paradise, has its gates wide open for the hundreds and millions and billions of people that are going to enter it. And the Fire of Jahannam realizes that no one is going to be able to enter because of the immense amount of mercy that is coming and pouring out from Allah in this month.

Others say that this is metaphorical — to show that there is no other time in the year that a person will be able to come closer to Allah. It's a sign to show that doing good in this month will be far easier than any other month of the year.

The Two Main Enemies: Shaytan and the Nafs

What are the two main enemies that a person has — the two things that are holding a person back? One we understand:

That Shaytan is number one — man's sworn enemy. From the very inception of man, he was the one being stopping man from progressing. And the second thing is a person's nafs — a person's carnal desires. In Surah Yusuf, Allah talks about this state of the soul that it constantly incites a person towards doing things which are incorrect.

So in the month of Ramadan, it's a time where one of those beings — one of those creations that prevents man from progressing — is locked up. The hadith mentions all the shayateen are locked up. So this is a time when a person can critique their bad habits and they can inculcate good habits. There is no other time in the year which is easier for a person to reform their lives than in the month of Ramadan.

Purifying the Heart

We understand from the hadith of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that every time a person commits a sin, there is a black spot which is placed on his heart. Until a time comes — if a person ignores the state of his heart, he forgets Allah, he forgets to make tawbah and istighfar and repent — then his heart becomes completely rusted. And then Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ referenced the ayah:

He talks about the ayah in Surah al-Mutaffifin — how it applies. And Allah talks about how the state of a disbeliever's heart is such that it's completely disconnected from Allah. But a believer's heart is never like that. A believer's heart is always connected to Allah, provided that his heart is clean.

Sometimes — if a person loves white clothing that they are wearing, usually on the day of Jumu'ah many people wear white, or on special occasions you wear bright, nice clothing — then if something drops on your shirt, if you really care about it, you will rush and you'll go clean it. You'll go to the sink immediately, put some soap on it, water and wash it off. So that even if you don't completely get rid of the stain, when you do wash it formally, properly with the washing machine or other cleaning agents, then it'll be easier to come out.

So too is the heart of a believer. Sometimes throughout the year we may commit sins. If a person is regularly making tawbah and istighfar, the state of his heart will be cleaner. But if a person ignores that and lets it sit, then you'll find that that stain settles. And once it settles, it's extremely difficult to remove. But like you have special cleaning agents — such as bleach — which will be used at the time when stains are very difficult to remove, similarly Allah provides the believers such a time in the month of Ramadan wherein such special mercy comes, wherein it's extremely easy to clean a person's heart.

And if you take a poll after the month of Ramadan, 99% of people are going to say that they feel spiritually more connected to Allah than before the month. Why? Because you have all of these various different actions that we are being involved in.

Steps Towards Progress in Ramadan

So what is the first step towards progress? The first step towards progress is recognizing sin and ensuring that we refrain from it in this month. The mercy of Allah can be like gusts of fresh air — can be like, on a burning hot day, the AC that is running in a person's home or in a person's car. But if you're going to keep the windows down, keep the doors open, the mercy will come but you are not going to benefit. It's not going to change the environment. It's not going to change a person's life.

So if we want to benefit from the mercy of Allah, if we want to truly change our lives, we want to come closer to Allah, we want to benefit from this rahmah — then the first thing that we have to do is we have to eliminate sin from our lives. We have to eliminate things that could cause us to slip up.

1. Guard Your Eyes and Limit Social Media

Such as our devices, our phones. No one intends to engage in sin. A lot of times, outside of the month of Ramadan, in general throughout our lives, we're not careful about protecting our gaze. Our eyes fall on such things which are prohibited for us to look at. Sometimes it's innocent surfing of the web and one click leads to another, which leads to another, and before we know it — may Allah protect one and all and forgive us — a time comes where we may be somewhere where we should not be.

So to ensure that we limit that — if we are normally spending time on social media — in the month of Ramadan this is a time to completely eliminate it. To get rid of it. How can we do this? Either, number one, get rid of it on your phone. But if you know that you're probably going to download it again, then a safer way is to go on to your settings, set a passcode. If you're married, then go to your spouse, ask them to input the code, and put such a code that you are unaware of, so that the month passes and you're not wasting your time on that. Or if you're a parent, then you can set this up on your children's devices as well — at least for the month of Ramadan. Eliminate Facebook, eliminate Twitter, eliminate YouTube — these things that we would waste our time on, or things that would also cause us to sin. We should eliminate that.

2. Replace Music with Listening to the Qur'an

Secondly, if we are engaged in listening to music — this is something that we should stop, of course, throughout the year, but especially in the month of Ramadan. Let us take this as an opportunity to swap it out — and I hate to say "swap it out" — but to swap it out for listening to Qur'an. A person if they listen to Qur'an, it shouldn't be swapped. It should be something independently which is done. It's an independent sunnah of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in the month of Ramadan. Jibril عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ would come and he would recite the entire Qur'an to Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. That shows that he would listen to the Qur'an. Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would ask other Sahaba to recite it to him. This is a separate sunnah of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

So in the month of Ramadan we should make it a point to listen to Qur'an as well. We are doing it in salah, but if we have the habit of listening to music — maybe on the way to work, or from time to time just for the sake of boredom — then we can switch it out for Qur'an. And we'll notice — the ulema mention — a person whose heart is clean will be able to continuously listen to Qur'an non-stop. But a person has to start. The beauty of the Qur'an is so mesmerizing, it can affect the hearts of people even though they may not even have iman.

On one occasion, Sheikh Qari Abdul Basit — he was reciting Qur'an in Russia. He went with the President of Egypt for one of their conferences, a long time ago, when he was alive. He recited Qur'an. You could find that the kuffar at the time were so affected, so mesmerized by the way he recited Qur'an, that even their eyes began to flow with tears. That's the power of the Qur'an. So if we bring this into our lives, this will also be a khayr.

So: eliminate music, get rid of social media.

3. Fast Properly

And then number three — when we are fasting, we ensure that we are fasting properly. Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has mentioned in a hadith that fasting is a shield. In one narration: so long as it's not broken, it will be a shield protecting a person from unpraiseworthy ends, from ending up in Jahannam — may Allah protect us all. How? If a person utilizes this properly. In another hadith, Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentions:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1690; also recorded in Musnad Ahmad)

How many people are there that are fasting but they are not benefiting from their fast whatsoever, except the fact that they are going hungry? How many people are performing salah and they are not benefiting, except for the fact that they are getting tired? Why? Because when you are fasting, you are supposed to fast not only from food — you are also supposed to protect yourself from backbiting, as Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

That individual who fasts but he does not leave out lying, he does not leave out backbiting, he does not leave out engaging in all of these other sins — then Allah has no need for his fast. Fasting is prescribed for one purpose:

So that you may come closer to Allah, so that you may develop this relationship with Allah. So when we are fasting, again, we ensure that we stay away from backbiting, we stay away from lying, we stay away from all of these things and all such scenarios which may lead us towards that. Try to minimize talking and try to focus more on adorning ourselves with ibadah.

Maximizing Ibadah: The Hadith Qudsi

Which are the different ibadah that we can do? In one hadith, Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned — it's a Hadith Qudsi — that Allah says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

That no servant of mine comes closer to me through anything better than that which I have placed as an obligatory action upon him. In other words, let us be that basic Muslim. What does it mean to be the basic Muslim? To ensure that all of our prayers are being performed. Especially in the month of Ramadan, we should try not only to ensure that we're praying but also come to the masjid whenever possible. When it comes to fasting, then we ensure we fast properly. When it comes to Qur'an and tilawat — this is something also which is an obligation upon the servants, that they read and learn how to recite Qur'an. This is fard 'ayn:

That this is a part of — the believer is such that he recites Qur'an. And then beyond these basic actions that every Muslim should do, set a schedule for ourselves to maximize on our time, to ensure that we're hitting on all of these ibadah. Fasting is there, prayer is there — that's normal. But beyond that: are we taking out time to read Qur'an? Are we taking out time in the day to make dua?

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has mentioned that a fasting person's dua is accepted. So then are we taking out time to benefit on that? Every single day we're gonna be waking up for suhoor to eat — that's the time of tahajjud. Are we gonna take advantage of that opportunity? If we schedule time right now, and we limit our exposure to social media throughout this particular month, then we will find that we will make strides and we will come extremely close to Allah. This will be a time to revive our connection with Allah.

May Allah grant us all the ability to act upon what has been said.

Announcements

In the main prayer hall we will also have a seven-day taraweeh which will be led by Qari Suleiman Mahmood Ibrahim and Hamza Qadri — in the gym for the brothers, and in the banquet hall B for the sisters. Alhamdulillah, the speaker system was also revamped, all to ensure that everyone has a better experience, and the amount of space was also increased.

We also have a program which will be occurring after every Fajr salah, titled Habits: Break One, Build One, by Hafiz Suleiman Mahmood.

We have our sisters' online recitation circle with Alimah Nikat Muqeem — a daily recitation of the Qur'an, Prophetic prayers, and 40 short ahadith, online and for sisters only.

We also have a daily after Asr salah program led by Mufti Azimuddin Hafizahullah, titled The Power of Prophetic Prayers.

And every day after taraweeh salah, Mufti Munhajuddin Hafizahullah will be conducting a program titled Asbabun Nuzul: The Context Beyond the Text.

We also have for our children: Pray, Play and Learn — Young Muslims Taraweeh. This is a program which will be available throughout the month of Ramadan for mothers who want to perform taraweeh salah in peace. Children will perform taraweeh, enjoy snacks, and engage in Islamic activities organized by age groups to provide an enjoyable experience for each child. However, registration is required — please visit the website to register or join the Dar es Salaam WhatsApp community group for quick updates.

I'tikaf will be on the 20th to 29th according to the moon sighting. Registration is required on masjiddeas.org. All of our weekly programs will continue after Ramadan.

Also, a kind reminder to pass the donation boxes from left to right and ensure that we donate generously. We have date boxes outside for Ramadan which are being sold at the food stall.

Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) is here today to raise funds for Ramadan food. They are providing Ramadan food packages for suhoor and iftar for those in need, to over 60 countries — SubhanAllah — including global refugees. Their addresses and details are on the flyer outside on the table. Donations can be made via check, cash, etc. You can stop by there to see.

Du'a for the Ummah

Let us all make dua for our brothers and sisters that are suffering throughout the world. May Allah alleviate their condition. May Allah grant them all a wonderful month of Ramadan. May Allah grant us the ability to regularly remember them in our dua, wherever they may be residing — whether it's Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, or all the various different Muslims throughout the Muslim world, throughout the world.

Special Du'a Request

Additionally, we have a special dua request for brother Waseem Murtaza, who has passed away.