Ramadan's Acceptance: The Enduring Lesson Of Adam's Repentance

Khuṭbah: Ramadan, Repentance, and the Lesson of Adam عليه السلام

All praise belongs to Allah, the Creator of existence from non-existence. He makes light from darkness, and He brings out patience from pain. So we thank Him for calamities as we thank Him for blessings. And we pray and send salutations upon His Noble Messenger — with the honor of the Asham and the light of the Atam, and the perfection of the Prophets and the perfect Book. The Master of the Children of Adam, with whom Jesus the son of Mary gave glad tidings, and he prayed for the mission of Ibrahim peace be upon him, when he was raising the foundations of the Sacred House of Allah. And with whom Allah blessed all the Arabs, including the non-Arabs. Glory be to Allah, who did not take a son, and did not have a partner in sovereignty, and did not have a guardian from humiliation — and glorify Him greatly.

Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book to His servant, and did not make for it any crookedness — to warn of a severe calamity, and to give glad tidings to the believers, including those who do good deeds, that they will have a good reward.

As for the rest, O people, Allah says in His Book — after we seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate:

"And when My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls. So let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, that they may be guided."

"O you who have believed! Fasting has been decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may be righteous — for a few days. And for those of you who are sick or on a journey, for several other days."

"The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed — a guidance for the people and clear signs of guidance and distinction. So whoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast. And for those of you who are sick or on a journey, for several other days."

And Allah said that Ramadan has come to you as a blessed month, and in it is a night better than a thousand months, as the Prophet peace be upon him said.

The Question: Was My Ramadan Accepted?

When the month of Ramadan ends — even before it ends — we're already thinking about different plans to go back to those actions. So the question was: does that mean that my month of Ramadan was not accepted? All the ibadah that I did in the month of Ramadan were not accepted? And all the forgiveness that I was seeking from Allah — did it mean that I was not forgiven?

So I started thinking about the answer, and it gave me a reflection into the life of Adam peace be upon him. When you look at the life of Adam peace be upon him, you see that there is a direct connection between Adam peace be upon him and the month of Ramadan. You find him to be closest to Allah. That very close being — an individual that Allah chose.

Adam عليه السلام — The Chosen Deputy

As Allah said:

When Allah used the word khalifa, He meant by that a deputy of Allah on the face of this earth. Before that, there were other creations of Allah that had done fasad on the face of the earth. That's why Allah says, when He implements the law laid down by Him:

If you're going to be like the previous creations which were before you — they did not adhere to the commandments of Allah — and if you will be similar to them, what's going to happen? There's going to be a lot of fasad and discord amongst the inhabitants of earth.

So when Allah chose Adam peace be upon him specifically — إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً — the angels were skeptical. They said:

They had prior experience. It's not that they were questioning the decree of Allah. They said: O Allah, are you sending someone on the face of the earth who's going to cause a lot of problems, just like the way the previous creations have done? What did Allah say?

"I know what you do not know."

So you notice that Adam peace be upon him is very close to Allah. And the place that Allah chose for Adam peace be upon him happened to be Jannah — جَنَّةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَىٰ — a Jannah in which you're going to live forever. And it's a place where you'll never be turned away from.

Mankind has always been infatuated with living infinitely, living forever — since the beginning of times. Even they say that the ultimate objective of medicine is how to find life on an infinite basis, that people can live forever. And when you look at the miracle of Isa peace be upon him according to his times, Allah had given him the capability of bringing the dead back to life.

Iblis Refuses to Prostrate

The place that Allah chose for Adam peace be upon him was Jannah itself. And now Shaytan, who was ordered by Allah:

Everyone fell down in prostration before Adam peace be upon him — the creation of Allah. The one who refused was Iblis. He denied. If you look at the meaning of Iblis, it comes from the root word ablasa, which means hopeless — he has no hope whatsoever in the mercy of Allah, in the treasures of Allah.

So Allah says:

"What prevented you from falling down in sujood?"

And this is a similar situation we face as well. Because Shaytan happens to have a heavy influence on the son of Adam.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2038; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2175)

He goes through the veins of the son of Adam, just like the way blood flows through your veins. So at times we find ourselves also being arrogant in the face of seeking forgiveness from Allah. And Shaytan puts multiple thoughts in our minds — one of them being: all year round you never sought the forgiveness from Allah, you were the one who turned away. Now if I turn back towards Allah, there's a hint of arrogance in it. What if He says to me: why now? Why have you come back to Me? When you needed Me the most, you did not look towards Me. When you did not need Me, you did not look towards Me. Now, when your heart has been softened and you're frequenting the masjid and you hear the word of Allah being recited — all of a sudden you realize that you need to seek forgiveness from Allah.

So that's the same element where Shaytan came from. The very first thing that came out of his mouth was:

"I am better than him. You have created him from dust, from clay. And I have been created from fire. And fire is better than clay. I'm better, I'm more powerful and I'm strong. That is why I did not want to prostrate in front of Adam peace be upon him."

So what was the answer given to him by Allah?

"Leave! You do not belong here. And the curse of Allah is upon you till the end of times."

What was the response from Shaytan? Did he say, "O Allah, please forgive me. I will never repeat it again. I'll fall down in sujood"? No. We find ourselves in similar situations and scenarios when faced with the orders of Allah, when faced with the commandments of Allah — and it is a test from Allah. How do we fare? That in the face of difficulties and adversities, when the nafs wants you to go in the opposite direction, when you find yourself in the month of Ramadan in everything you call a muwafiq environment — an environment which is in sync with what you want. Your heart is soft, you're inclined towards the word of Allah. That's when you most want to turn back towards Allah.

The question is: how do you fare when the month of Ramadan departs? Because that is the most important question. The month of Ramadan will be one month, and the rest are 11 months. You know, the Sahabah would spend six months preparing for the month of Ramadan, and then the rest of the months after Ramadan were the effects that were upon them from the month of Ramadan.

So the question is, when the month of Ramadan departs, how do we behave towards Allah? Do we become like Shaytan? When his nafs did not want him to prostrate, when his nafs did not want him to obey Allah — are you going to become like Shaytan? Are you going to turn away and set a different example?

The response from Shaytan was not, "O Allah, forgive me, I'm going to make tawbah." No. What did he say?

"I will make each and every single one of them go astray." This is the purpose of my life from now onwards.

So Allah said:

"Then what am I going to do? I am going to fill Jahannam with you and every single one of those individuals who follows your lead till the Day of Qiyamah."

Adam's Descent — Not a Punishment, but a Divine Plan

When Adam peace be upon him was tempted by Shaytan, he was tempted to partake from the fruit which was in Jannah — the fruit he was specifically forbidden by Allah to consume. And Shaytan tempted him, as his enemy he is with the son of Adam, because he blamed Adam peace be upon him for him being far away from Allah and the curse being upon him. So he tempted Adam peace be upon him, and Adam peace be upon him ate from the fruit.

Now, many times we think that the coming of Adam peace be upon him on the face of this earth happened to be a punishment. That's the version of the Ahlul Kitab — I believe they call it the original sin that was done by our great grandfather Adam peace be upon him. But that's not how the Muslims see it. We see it as a decree of Allah. It was the plan of Allah from the very beginning. Allah was going to send a deputy upon the face of this earth who was going to adhere to the commandments of Allah and please Allah in the utmost way possible. So this was the plan of Allah from the very beginning.

When Adam peace be upon him was expelled from Jannah and sent down upon planet earth, who else was sent down with Adam peace be upon him and Hawa peace be upon her? It was Iblis himself. The temptation of Iblis came down with Adam peace be upon him. So naturally, Adam peace be upon him would feel far away from Allah — a time of despair, hopelessness.

That's just like the way we feel when we're outside the month of Ramadan. That's how we feel when we try to turn back towards Allah. A lot of times, people start making amends in the month of Ramadan, or they leave the amends to be made in the month of Ramadan. They say: I won't seek the forgiveness of Allah now — I will wait until the month of Ramadan comes. But life has no guarantees whatsoever. Why would we wait for the month of Ramadan? The rest of the eleven months should be the same when it comes to the obedience of Allah.

So now Adam peace be upon him felt as if he was far away from the mercy of Allah. Before, the communication was going on directly between him and Allah. Now the communication goes through an angel. The direct communication has also diminished. So there was a lot of remorse in the heart of Adam peace be upon him. But the cure for that remorse was, once again, repenting. That's why:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2499; also recorded in Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith 4251)

"All of the progeny of Adam peace be upon him frequently make mistakes. But the best amongst them are those who turn back and seek the forgiveness of Allah."

The Qur'an — The Rope of Allah

When Allah sent down the Qur'an upon Rasulullah peace be upon him, the word of Allah, the kalam of Allah, the Qur'an — the Book — has a direct connection with the month of Ramadan. As Allah says:

"The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed — a guidance for the people and clear signs of guidance and distinction."

And when Allah sent down Adam peace be upon him in that state of hopelessness, there was one message given to him:

"Know, O Adam, that from this moment onwards, the ones who seek guidance and remain steadfast on the path of guidance — they will be given hidayah by Allah, and they have no fear whatsoever in this world or in the life hereafter."

That was the standard which was sent down by Allah. Now let us take a moment and look at how the Quran is at times described — as it was mentioned:

(Musnad Aḥmad, Hadith 21763; also referenced in descriptions of the Qur'an in Sunan al-Dārimī)

The Qur'an happens to be a rope from Allah — from the heavens all the way to planet earth. That hope that we need to hold on to. And that's why the month of Ramadan has a special connection with the Book of Allah. The month of Ramadan serves the purpose of hope for all those who have been transgressing and sinning and going against the limits of Allah outside the month of Ramadan. But if you hold on steadfastly to the commandments of Allah — وَهُوَ حَبْلُ اللَّهِ الْمَتِينُ — the rope which has been given — لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا — there are no breaks and no cracks whatsoever. And it is the rope that has been given as a lifeline to mankind itself, so that through it they seek repentance and remain connected with Allah.

Allah is Near — Never Despair in His Mercy

Lastly, the final point I would like to mention before I conclude is what Allah mentioned:

"When My slaves ask about Me — when they ask, 'Where is Allah?' — tell them: verily Allah is very close to you." And the thing is, many times we have this same feeling — that I'm far away from Allah, and now if I turn back to Allah, it will look as if I only need Allah in times of need, while at other times I do not turn back to Allah. What did Allah say? That whenever you ask for Allah — be it even after a year, two years, five years, ten years — tell My creation:

إِنِّي قَرِيبٌ — I am very close. أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ — I answer the calls, the du'as that are being made by My creation. فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ — Continue on believing in Allah, and continue on hoping in the mercy of Allah.

That's why Allah says:

"Verily, My mercy far exceeds My wrath and My anger."

So the message is that we should not despair in the hope of Allah. No matter how far away we are, and no matter how long it has been since we have sought the forgiveness of Allah.

I ask Allah to give us all the tawfeeq to frequently seek forgiveness from Allah — specifically in the month of Ramadan — and to develop that necessary connection that we need with the Book of Allah, both in the month of Ramadan and outside the month of Ramadan.

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Du'ā Request

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