The Top 10... | The Prophet's Welcoming Gathering (SAW) | The Classroom of the Sahaba

The Top 10 Series: The Prophet's Welcoming Gathering ﷺ — The Classroom of the Sahaba

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Welcome brothers and sisters for one of our last sessions, inshallah, for the Top 10. I hope everyone is doing well and everyone had a good 27th night of the month of Ramadan — hopefully the 26th and 25th as well. But last night obviously there were many khatam of Qurans and there was a lot going on. We ourselves had a khatam over here at our campus, alhamdulillah. So welcome everyone.

We have people joining from London, Virginia, Cambridge Ontario, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Troy, California, Dallas — the city of scholars now, may Allah reward you — Maryland, Tampa, Seattle, Melbourne Australia, Atlanta, and even Hamburg. SubhanAllah, may Allah reward you all for joining.

Introduction to the Hadith

So inshallah, the hadith that we are planning to speak about today is more of a niche, more of a specific thing — but inshallah it will still be beneficial for all of us. The hadith is from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri radiyaAllahu anhu, where he says:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4820)

"The best types of gatherings are the ones that are the most vast." In other words, the best types of individuals are those that are welcoming to others — despite differences in ethnicity and background, they are still open to other people. And it's not just something they hold in their heart — like "yeah, I want everyone to come" — but they actually make it happen in person. They actually make sure people feel welcome.

A lot of times many people turn themselves away from certain gatherings just because of the way they are made to feel. And other times they just go to a gathering not knowing who the speaker is, not knowing what the topic is — but they just want to have that feeling again. It felt good. So the Prophet ﷺ was saying, when asked about the best types of gatherings, that the best gathering is that gathering which is open to everyone.

Abu Bakr and the Welcome of Abbas رضي الله عنهما

The first hadith that comes to mind on this topic is the hadith where the Prophet ﷺ is sitting:

Abu Bakr and Umar radiyaAllahu anhuma are sitting. Then Abbas radiyaAllahu anhu walks in. There is no space around the Prophet ﷺ. Now, if you know Abbas — if you know the background — Abbas radiyaAllahu anhu accepted Islam very late. He was the last muhajir, the last person to do hijrah, right before the conquest of Makkah coming into the 8th year.

He walks into the Prophet's ﷺ masjid. Nobody moves an inch. It's packed — like Eid. Every day was an Eid around the Prophet ﷺ. Everyone was gathered around, everyone was excited, everyone was trying to soak in the moment. Abbas radiyaAllahu anhu walks in:

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu moves back and makes space for the Prophet's ﷺ uncle. Then the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Only the people of honor can truly appreciate people of grace and honor." And then he got up for him and made space for him.

There are three things you are not supposed to reject. Number one is milk. Number two is إِطَر طِيب — perfume. And number three, you cannot reject a cushion — a pillow. The Prophet ﷺ said that if somebody makes space for you on a sitting area, and honors you by moving — just repositioning themselves to honor someone, especially an elder — Allah emancipates this person from Jahannam just for that act.

The Prophet ﷺ Honored the Leaders of Every People

The Prophet ﷺ's gathering was such that:

He would honor the most honorable person of every nation. So even if you were from another part of the world but you were an individual that was honored by your people, the Prophet ﷺ would still honor you, still give you respect, still give you a moment to speak and shine.

To such an extent that even Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the munafiq — when the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah al-Munawwarah for the first two years, he was the person who used to make the announcements on the day of Jumu'ah. The Prophet ﷺ would give him that spot. He would stand before the khutbah would start and say:

"Come closer, come closer. Make sure you make space for each other." And he continued doing this all the way until Uhud. When Uhud happened, he was exposed. So after Uhud he came up to make the announcement again, and Umar radiyaAllahu anhu got up and grabbed him by the collar. He said: "Sit down — not anymore."

This is found under the tafsir of this ayah, which you can find in Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir:

The Quranic Command: Make Room

The narration mentions that there were people sitting in the front rows and the Ahl al-Badr — the people of Badr — walked in and were standing with no room. The Prophet ﷺ told the others to make room, moved some people aside, and brought the people of Badr to the front. The munafiqoon used this as propaganda — claiming the Prophet ﷺ favored certain people. Allah responded:

"O you who believe, when you are told to make room in gatherings, then make room — Allah will make room for you." If the Prophet ﷺ tells you to open up a little bit, then open up. And if you do that, Allah will open up your hearts and Allah will open up your homes.

No Elitism in Islam

This should be the attitude of our homes, our hearts, our masajid, our sitting areas — wherever we sit. Everyone feels welcome. There is no exclusive seating for anyone. There was no nepotism in Islam. There was no elitism in Islam. There was no cabinet place where the members of the cabinet would sit.

They would all sit in the same place. When we look for a dinner table, we should look for a dinner table that can fit the most people — not a dinner table that looks the best. We should look for a room that can fit the most people — not the room that sits people in the most comfortable manner.

When Uqbah ibn Amir radiyaAllahu anhu was informed about all of the difficulties that were to come, he asked the Prophet ﷺ: "Man najat?" — How do we save ourselves in those difficult times? The Prophet ﷺ gave him three pieces of advice:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2406)

Number one: Amsik alayka lisanak — hold your tongue. If you want to be able to get through, hold your tongue. Number two: Wal yasa'aka baytuk — open up your home for people. Let your home be spacious for people — not in the sense that it has to be a large house, but a house that is welcoming. And number three: Wabki ala khati'atik — to cry on your sins.

The Prophet's ﷺ Halaqa: Transformational, Not Just Educational

Understanding the seerah — the Prophet ﷺ's halaqa was not only educational, it was transformational. The objective of the Prophet ﷺ's halaqa was: how to transform this human being? How to allow them to become better people? How can they experience this motivation? How can the Prophet ﷺ bring about change in their lives?

This is why the Prophet ﷺ was purposeful — there was intention behind everything he did. Nowadays with our halaqat, our lectures, how we place people — the setting — all of that is just done because it's there. But in the Prophet's ﷺ time, the design of the halaqa and how the classes were delivered at different times served different purposes.

After Fajr, it was more of a communal discussion and the Prophet ﷺ would allow people to speak. After sunrise it was the time where he ﷺ would teach — hardcore classes. Later on, the Prophet ﷺ would come to the masjid and that would be life experience — challenges that people had in life. People would come and ask different questions. It's no longer the Prophet speaking — it is them asking.

It's beautiful how the Prophet ﷺ was able to change his community because there was niyyah behind everything he did. The halaqa was a halaqa that brings about change.

The Middle Path in the Halaqa

Why did the Prophet ﷺ say may Allah's curse be upon a person who sits in the middle of the halaqa? The Prophet ﷺ had two lines — a line on the right side and a line on the left side — and the middle, in front of the Prophet ﷺ, was kept open for people who wanted to ask questions, people who wanted to walk up.

When Jibreel alayhis salam came to ask the Prophet ﷺ — as in Hadith Jibreel — Jibreel was not disrespectful. Jibreel alayhis salam did not jump over people. He just walked straight to the Prophet ﷺ, placed his knees touching the Prophet's knees, and placed his hands on his thighs. He walked calmly and easily straight to the Prophet ﷺ because the middle path that led to the Prophet was open. Anyone who would like to ask the Prophet ﷺ had access to him.

A Judge-Free Zone

Part of the Prophet's ﷺ halaqa — this was a judge-free zone. Anyone would ask questions. There were women who came and asked the Prophet ﷺ questions that even Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha radiyaAllahu anha was embarrassed by. One lady came and said: "Ya Rasulallah, what do women do when they have a dream that requires them to shower? They notice some wetness — what does a lady do?"

Aisha radiyaAllahu anha said, "Oh my God, you've just embarrassed us women." And the Prophet ﷺ said: just take a shower. Women felt that comfortable in the Prophet's ﷺ halaqa to ask questions. And I feel that until now, in the 21st century, you will have women that can't even ask such questions — they would be embarrassed, and people would look at them. But in the Prophet's ﷺ time, a young man would come and say, "Ya Rasulallah, allow me to commit zina." They had reached that level of comfort.

The Prophet's ﷺ halaqa was filled with sakinah — tranquility — with rahmah. When we say rahmah, it was not only rahmah descending — it was rahmah being shared by the Prophet ﷺ through his teachings. It's not just physical space being expanded — it's also an emotional space being expanded where people feel welcome.

Imagine with the father — where the child feels comfortable around the parent. Brothers feel comfortable around other brothers. At the same time the Prophet ﷺ was welcoming, he didn't lose his respect. He was able to communicate with people at a level that they loved him.

Whenever there was any form of a strong personality trying to disrupt the openness of the session — for example, if Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllahu anhu got up to say something — the Prophet ﷺ would say: "Ijlis" — relax, let him speak. Even when someone came from Makkah and Umar radiyaAllahu anhu grabbed him by the collar, the Prophet ﷺ said let him go — and then the Prophet spoke to him and eventually he converted to Islam. That was the beautiful character of the Prophet ﷺ.

Hearts Joined Across Distance

I feel like sometimes we think this hadith is only referring to physical gatherings. The reality is that the Sahabas were away from the Prophet ﷺ more than they were close to him. They were away from the Prophet ﷺ for many years. Ja'far radiyaAllahu anhu was away from the Prophet ﷺ for the majority of his Muslim life.

We do all of these things — shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, salam bit-taslim, shaking hands and musafaha — all of this to build closeness and inclusivity. But yet the hearts are still disconnected. Even though Ja'far was far from the Prophet ﷺ, and Abu Dharr was far from the Prophet ﷺ, when they came the Prophet ﷺ still met them with so much love.

This is a sign of true love — that regardless of how much you speak to each other, when you end up meeting each other, there is nothing but love. This is the narration of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyaAllahu anhu, where he says: "Our companions — we never used to always meet, but when we did meet, we would joke a little bit, and then we would cry together, and we would enjoy together as well."

So it's not that you physically always have to be together. If the hearts are joined, then hopefully the gatherings can also be connected and joined. It's not the opposite — the gatherings don't have to be physically joined first. The hearts have to be joined, the hearts have to be connected, and through that the gatherings will also be connected.

The Danger of Exclusive Gatherings

There is something very scary that happens when we allow our gatherings to be exclusive — when we allow VIP seating, fast passes and normal passes, first class and second class. We never had that among the Sahabas. That concept was never a norm among them. Yes, once in a while the Prophet ﷺ would show virtue to someone, but it was never the norm.

There is an ayah which tells us the negative effects of what happens when we start doing the opposite of what used to happen in the gatherings of the Prophet ﷺ. Allah says:

This concept of being alone and exclusive — closing people out from your gates, closing doors — min al-shaytan. It is from shaytan. Li yahzuna alladhina amanu — and this is to make other people sad. It's like: "Yeah, we're happy sitting over here. You can't come. We want to make sure you feel like you're missing out."

This is what would happen when the munafiqoon would be sitting in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabas would walk in. They would be whispering, and in the moment that they would see them, they would stop talking. The Sahabas would feel: "Okay, do you want us to join? Yeah, yeah, come, come." But then the conversation would end entirely.

That is why when two people are talking to a third person, you are not allowed to whisper:

This concept of wanting to be exclusive is a sunnah of shaytan. And to break this we have to be generous with our hearts. Allah says:

Do not bring gatherings that have sins and are exclusive with one another. Rather make sure your gatherings are open enough for people to join and benefit.

Ka'b ibn Malik and the Power of Feeling Welcome

The only reason that Ka'b ibn Malik radiyaAllahu anhu was so affected by his experience is because the gatherings of the Prophet ﷺ were always welcoming. So when he felt like he was not welcomed, it had a devastating effect on him. If we don't welcome people today, they don't even feel affected — because they haven't felt the experience of feeling welcomed. They haven't felt the experience of feeling loved. Those people felt it and they realized the greatness of it.

Also — when someone was absent, their absence was noticed. SubhanAllah. This was Thabit ibn al-Qais al-Shammas — fulan ibn fulan. In that hadith, one of the Prophet's ﷺ strongest qualities was that he would look and search for the companions that were missing. Not to call them out — because they are part of that majlis, they are part of the gathering. Imagine everyone was like that, where everyone felt welcome.

Against Religious Branding and Exclusivity

What happens unfortunately is that some denominations become a little religiously exclusive. They start wearing clothes a certain way, they start wearing a turban in a certain style, someone's hijab is a specific color — and they become exclusive. This is not anything close to the sunnah. There was no one more spiritually entitled to be exclusive than the Sahabah and the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ — and yet they were inclusive. There was no such thing as branding of clothing or recognition of a cult. It was all open.

We naturally click with people who have similar mindsets, mentalities, similar shaykhs, and similar ideologies. But that's not how it's supposed to be. When we are Muslims, we are supposed to welcome everyone — whether it's race, whether it's practices, whether it's opinions — we are supposed to be welcoming. Unfortunately, we have used the brand of Islam to become exclusive. Which is an injustice.

Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i: A King or a Prophet?

There is a hadith that gives people a perspective of how the Prophet ﷺ was — for those who want to visualize the Prophet ﷺ when it comes to his halaqa and how he was able to capture people's hearts.

Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i was the son of Hatim al-Ta'i, the most generous Arab. Adi had animosity towards the Prophet ﷺ — he didn't like the Prophet because the Prophet ﷺ brought an end to all their personal agendas. But Adi came up with a strategy. He said: "I'm going into Madinah and I will sit with Muhammad, and based on that sitting I will draw my own conclusions — whether I will embrace or reject the message of the Prophet ﷺ."

He walked into Madinah with only two possibilities:

"Is he a king or a prophet?" There was no third conclusion. Then he said:

"I walked in and the Prophet ﷺ was just sitting among his companions."

"I knew that kings will never do such a thing."

"I knew that he was a prophet — just by seeing him."

The Prophet ﷺ then asked who he was. He said, "Adi." The Prophet ﷺ then got up and took him to his house. On the way:

A young girl stopped the Prophet ﷺ and she spoke to him, and spoke to him, and spoke to him — until the Prophet ﷺ answered all her questions and she was fully satisfied. Then he left.

Adi said: "I knew that kings don't do this. A man that behaves in such a manner — there has to be a Rasulullah." They entered the house, and the Prophet ﷺ had a small mat:

He took that mat, placed it under Adi, and said: "Sit on it, O Adi." Adi said, "How can I sit on this? This is your house!" They went back and forth, but the Prophet ﷺ declined to sit and enforced Adi to sit on the mat.

He then knew that this man cannot be a king — he was a messenger of Allah. And through that type of behavior, Adi radiyaAllahu anhu embraced Islam.

This shows you that he didn't put much effort. Embodying such character is just us being natural — just being nice, just being people that care, people that love, people that are aware of people's emotions. It doesn't take much. But it shows you that we are so far from the sunnah that stories like this are stories we've heard since we were kids — and it ends there. It's not something we can truly bring about in our lives and allow to affect our communities.

Do Not Make People Feel Uncomfortable

There is a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ said: do not pause as you look at people that are suffering from leprosy — people that are struggling with illness. Why? Because the Prophet ﷺ never wanted them to feel uncomfortable.

When people walk into our masajid, we may make them feel uncomfortable because they've joined once, twice, or they're not consistent in our halaqat. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged looking at people when you greet them, when you give them salam — but he said be careful, because sometimes when you look at a person in a different manner it may affect them negatively. And the Prophet ﷺ said that if this may push someone away from the masjid, do not look at them in a way where you just pause.

We look at people who just come for Ramadan and say, "Oh, these people only worship Allah in Ramadan." We welcome everyone. Anyone that walks in through those doors is a guest of Allah — not our guest. A guest of Allah. But we honor the guest of Allah because we honor Allah.

SubhanAllah. It's not just the apparent text of a hadith. There's a batin, and that is the character of Rasulullah ﷺ. There is a hikmah:

Sisters are feeling very judged — coming to the masjid after a long time, and people are coming up to them and judging them, telling them: "This is inappropriate, this is inappropriate." There is a time to teach. But there is also a time to respect the house of Allah. Honestly, someone coming after a year, after nine months, after two years — because last Ramadan the masajid were closed — coming to the masjid on the 27th night.

It can't be as bad as the person who urinated in the Prophet's ﷺ mosque. And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Leave him. We will settle the case." It can't be as bad as when a new Muslim was in salah, someone sneezed and he said yarhamukallah — he knew the Muslims around him knew that — and the Sahabas started slapping the backs of their hands, trying to silence him. He said, "Why are you staring me down? Why are you trying to make me silent?" And then he started speaking in salah, and the Sahabas stayed quiet. He said, "I just became Muslim."

Then the Prophet ﷺ called him — and he had never seen a teacher so beautiful. He never yelled at him. He said: "Salah — this is the salah that has the dhikr of Allah. You can't say this kind of stuff." But the Prophet ﷺ made him feel welcome and gave him love.

Our Youth and the Masjid

Sometimes people wonder: why don't our youth come to the masjid? Okay, let's get them table tennis. Let's spend two million dollars and make them a gym. Maybe we need a youth coordinator — he's not doing his job, she's not doing her job. It's a lot of things. It's not just that. When they come — how do they feel?

I've literally heard people say: "We don't want youth to come to the masjid. They make it messy. They make so much noise." I say to them: this is how you get them close to the house of Allah. You develop a connection with them.

Imagine — a blind man walked in during salah and he slipped and fell, because it was muddy. The Sahabas started laughing — they were young. And the Prophet ﷺ didn't yell at them. He said: "Guys, go do wudu. You're not supposed to laugh in salah." But this was the Prophet ﷺ — so welcoming, even with big mistakes. He diffused those problems and he corrected them.

Welcome Everyone — It Has to Be Set Up That Way

Our gatherings should be like that as well. Inshallah we are able to have physically wide gatherings where everyone feels welcomed — and not by default. Sometimes we say "everyone is welcome" but we don't do anything to welcome them. It's not by default. It wasn't like "you can come if you want to" — but the way you situate it, they can't come. You have to set it up in a way that everyone is actually able to feel welcome, and then they can actually come and enjoy those gatherings.

There was once a man who walked into the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ on a day of Jumu'ah. He used to sit in a specific spot, and he went to that spot, and there was someone already sitting there. He asked that sahabi to make some room. The man said there was nowhere to scoot. This was while the Prophet ﷺ was giving his khutbah. The man started telling him to move over, and he called him a name — "Son of a woman that used to be my slave, you better move over."

The Prophet ﷺ heard this during his khutbah. It is very rare — there are very few instances in seerah where the Prophet ﷺ stopped everything and corrected a mistake right at that moment. Generally he would wait and correct it later so people don't feel bad. But because this mistake made someone else feel bad, he wanted to make sure people knew what to do.

He called this person forward and said to him — he didn't ask him what he said, because to ask the person what he said would be even more infuriating. All he said was: "Look at the faces that are all in front of you. Just look. I'm not going to say much. Just look, and then tell me what you see."

The man looked and said: "Ya Rasulallah, I see different faces from different colors and different places." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Well, that's what we are. And don't give us virtue over one another based upon who you were in your Jahiliyyah and who you were before you became a Muslim. Now we have reached an equal playing field. The equal playing field is that now we hold iman in our hearts."

The Sahabas in Battle and Making Space

The Sahabas — one of the reasons this ayah was revealed — in the gatherings before battle, the Sahabas would want to stand in the front. They would want to be in the first line because they wanted to earn shahada first. So they actually had a positive intention to constrict the gathering — they wanted to be the first people to receive shahada. So sometimes we say: "Well, my intentions are pure, my intentions are good." Your intentions are good in front of Allah. But what people see is also important.

Even though these Sahabas in the battle of Uhud were standing in the front and wanted to be the first to become shaheed, Allah revealed the ayah — even though you have the best intentions, make space and let other people also come to the first row to receive shahada as well.

It may be more permissible to restrict gatherings in our homes, but it is not permissible to restrict or make a gathering exclusive in the house of Allah and in places where people can receive reward. Specifically these gatherings — we should open them up.

And not be judgmental in both ways — not only if we see someone who hardly comes to the masjid, but also if a person sees someone wearing a specific type of clothing, we shouldn't push them away from our gatherings either because they're "too pious for us" or "too righteous for us." We're not going to invite them to our gathering because they're always wearing a turban or always doing a certain thing. Sometimes we feel that from Muslims more than non-Muslims — Muslims discriminating against other Muslims. If we're being real: when you go to a masjid and Muslims are looking at you like you're a robot that came from somewhere — it hurts.

Thumamah ibn Uthal: From Hatred to Love

As Shaykh Abdul Wahab was speaking, the story of Thumamah ibn Uthal comes to mind. He came to the Prophet ﷺ and the masjid and said: "There is no city that I hate more than your city, and there is no face that I hate more than your face." And then sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, he completely changed — "Your face is the most beautiful face and your city is the most beloved city."

You have the same phenomenon — people that came in and they disliked the Prophet ﷺ and his halaqa and his message, and they left completely transformed. That should be our intention — that when people walk in, their intention is that they are seeking change. So never push them away where that experience becomes an experience that pushes them away from Allah.

The Rawdah and Generosity of Place

There is a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ said the best people are those who have the softest shoulders when they are praying — they don't flex too hard, they are not stiff, they are not trying to show their position, they are not fighting for their position.

Think about the Rawdah. In the Rawdah, after completing one's ibadah and du'a, a person might see other people waiting. They get up and leave right away — even if they could stay all night, even though they have come from far away with a whole list of people to make du'a for — sisters, brothers, parents, their mother — they spend a few minutes, get up, and leave. And being generous with that spot, that place — Allah knows that you gave away that spot and you had a lot of du'as to make. You step out of the Rawdah — do you think Allah won't accept your du'as? Du'as are accepted anywhere. Allah wants to see the heart. Allah wants to see your character and your kindness.

Give Others Opportunities

One of the things in the gatherings of the Prophet ﷺ was also to give other people opportunities. Giving other people opportunities should be something we try our best to do in our gatherings and within our masajid. The Prophet ﷺ would give everyone opportunities so that they feel welcome and they feel a sense of ownership.

And another thing he would do — when someone would walk in, sometimes he would say their name to make them feel happy. Or when Sa'd ibn Mu'adh walked in, he said: "Stand up for your leader." So sometimes, if we go out of our way and say a few things, that means a lot.

Closing Recitation

Bismillah. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan.

"And We have created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein."

Closing Du'a

O Allah, accept our fasting, accept our praying. O Allah, accept this virtual gathering. All those people who are tuning in from all across the world — we ask You, Almighty, to accept their prayers and accept their du'as. Make their children the coolness to their eyes. Those who have parents, give them health and barakah. Those whose loved ones have left their company and have joined the souls of the righteous in the heavens — we ask You, Almighty Allah, to give them Jannatul Firdaus bi ghayri hisab.

O Allah, those who are sick — we ask You to give them shifa. Those who are worried — we ask You by Your infinite mercy to remove their worries, their pain, and their anxiety. O Allah, we ask You for the sabr jamil — the ability to be patient for the losses and the difficulties that we have gone through.

We ask You, Almighty Allah, to give Abdul Raheem rahmatullah alayhi Jannatul Firdaus bi ghayri hisab. We ask You, Almighty Allah, to give the mother of Shaykh Ahmad the highest level in Jannah bi ghayri hisab.

O Allah, make our children from the righteous. Make them huffadh of the Qur'an — those who learn the Qur'an, who recite the Qur'an, who become du'at salihin.

O Allah, so many people are tuning in to Miftah programs throughout the month of Ramadan consistently — O Allah, only for the love of Islam, for the love of the Prophet ﷺ, for the love of acquiring more knowledge. O Allah, accept their passion. Convert it into knowledge. Convert it into action. And convert it into acceptance.

O Allah, all those who listen, all those that participated — O Allah, make them amongst the salihin, from the righteous people. Accept their du'as, all their needs that they ask for — all the wishes and the prayers that they made, O Allah, grant them.

O Allah, bless our parents — give them health, give them barakah, give them happiness, give them joy, give them the best of this dunya, give them the best of akhirah.

O Allah, bless Miftah Institute in the work of Allah. The little work that we have done — expand it, multiply it, and accept it. O Allah, make us amongst those on the Day of Judgment who come and the words that were said are accepted. And we ask refuge to be amongst those who spoke a lot, who claimed to do a lot, but have very little to show on the Day of Judgment. Make us from the sincere people.

Forgive our shortcomings — the sins that we did openly, hiddenly, knowingly, unknowingly. O Allah, You know the secrets of our hearts. You know the sins that people commit in the darkness.

O Allah, we ask You — Ya Sattar al-Uyub, Ya Ghafir al-Dhunub, Ya Raja al-Muznibin, Ya Aman al-Kha'ifin — O Allah, there is no one else to turn to in the situation when we sin. O Allah, the doors shut, but the doors of Your rahmah are always open. O Allah, You love us more than our mothers, You love us more than our fathers. O Allah, You are the Most Merciful.

O Allah, let not this month of Ramadan conclude except that we have been forgiven, and we have been emancipated from the fire of Jahannam, and we have been granted Jannah — the gardens of Firdaus — and the company of Muhammad ﷺ.

O Allah, accept our little work and grant us tawfiq to do much more with aafiyah. O Allah, forgive us, forgive us, forgive us.

Bi hurmati Muhammad al-Mustafa. Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.