01. Post Taraweeh Talk | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 2022-04-02

Opening Du'a for the Deceased

O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, forgive him and let him enter Paradise. O Allah, purify us from our sins, as You have purified the white from the black. O Allah, make his grave a resting place for us in Paradise and do not make it a pit of the Fire. O Allah, do not deprive us of its reward and do not test us after it. And change it into a better home than his home and a better family than his family. O Allah, revive him. Make him happy in Paradise and grant him a place in Paradise and open for him Paradise. O Allah, connect the rewards of what we have recited and what we have prayed to his soul and to the soul of all the dead Muslims. And peace be upon the deceased. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Ameen.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad and bless and grant peace. My Lord, expand for me my breast and ease for me my task and untie the knot from my tongue that they may understand my saying. أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

First Day of Taraweeh

Today, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ blessed us with being our first day of Taraweeh. We started obviously one day later. I just arrived today a few hours before at Maghrib after Asr from Umrah, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. May Allah accept. And so we weren't here. I wasn't here last night to begin. So we decided, you know, we wanted to catch up because this is a 20-day Taraweeh. And now it's going to be a 19-day Taraweeh.

The purpose for doing this actually is to, إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ, give opportunity for i'tikaf. For those who want to do i'tikaf anywhere, they can complete their Qur'an here 20 days and then move on for i'tikaf. So I hope at least some of you present here can join me. I've made niyyah. I hope Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ accepts me and makes it easy for me. But I'm asking all of you also to make niyyah, إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ, and give da'wah to others as well to dedicate the last 10 days, إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ, in the ibadah, in the worship, by spending those days in the masjid for the entirety.

The Virtue of Surah Al-Baqarah

Today, what I was saying is that in order to catch up, we recited the entire surah - the first surah, Surah Al-Baqarah. And I wanted to share just some hadith on the virtue of this. Hadith related by Abdullah Masrood, may Allah be pleased with him. He said, the Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5009)

And then, another hadith mentions, Rasulullah said: "Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, which we did in the last ruku' - whoever recites these last two verses, Allah will, and these two last verses will suffice for him. It's sufficient. It was sufficient for protection from evil. Sufficient for protection from shayateen, from jinn, from evil things befalling you. And it's sufficient in terms of the power and the intensity of the reward. Intensity of the reward that this will give.

Recitation at the Grave

It's interesting that when we go to a janazah, these are the very same ayats that we recite. Do we not? We recite the first portion of Surah Al-Baqarah at the head, after we've lowered the body into the grave, and we recite these final two verses at the feet of the deceased. And that just tells you that this is kind of like protection for the mayyit, from going through difficulty, by reciting the first portion till مُفْلِحُونَ at the head of the deceased, and the last two verses at the feet of the deceased. As a means of protecting - Allah, you're going to sleep a long sleep. And you need every protection, everything that's out there, to protect you from the evil of what you have already sent forth. May Allah forgive all the deceased, and may Allah allow us to be prepared before that day.

Reflections from the Haram

You know, it's just amazing, when the khateeb yesterday, in Masjid Al-Haram, Allah blessed me to listen to the khutbah in Masjid Al-Haram. And I'm just reflecting. It was hot, it was 107, 108 degrees. And people are in the mataf, and مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ, those who have himmah, the ashiq of Allah, they're just doing tawaf, and like majnoon, like they lost their mind, I don't know what's happened to their skin, they're just doing tawaf after tawaf in the heat, and after the khutbah begins, and they're listening to the whole khutbah in that 108 degree temperature, without any shade.

And I was just so lucky, I found a little tiny spot of shade at the end of the mataf. You know, it's small, maybe like 20 feet. And I sat there. And of course, after a few minutes, the police came and said, "yalla rooh," move, move. And they kicked us out. And so I moved out somewhere else, and eventually I thought, let me give one extra try, let me just go back, outside of the mataf, there's exit, let me see if I can find a spot. And they were absolutely not allowing anyone, but سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, I found the police were looking here, there, there was a lot of space there, under the roof there, one area, AC roof area, but where you have full view of the Kaaba. And I just got in there and sat, with majority police people, some other people too, like me, just sitting there.

And I'm telling you, as I was sitting there, I was making du'a, I said, "Ya Allah, allow me to sit under your throne, just like this on the Day of Judgment." Because you realize, it's just literally the fadl of Allah. You know, just like that happened per chance, per se, you couldn't really achieve that. It was just officially, you're supposed to stand under the heat, without any shade, that's where it is, that's where they want you to stand. But الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, Allah made a way, and to sit and to be able to actually, I don't know if I would be able to even listen to khutbah, if I was in that heat. You know, to be able to listen quietly, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, under the shade, like that was very, very enjoyable.

And I was continuously just thanking Allah, and just reflecting on the Day of Judgment. Ya Allah, please, without any of us doing anything worthy to be given a chance under your throne, grant us a spot just like that. Wherein the sun will be, not 93 million miles away, but the sun will be a mile away from our heads. That's the sun of the Day of Judgment. Allah knows what the intensity of that will be. How people will be sweating. اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ.

So at that time we say: "O Allah, grant us shade under your throne, on a day when there will be no shade besides your shade." You understand the meaning of a hadith like this only when you go in places like that, of extreme heat. And when you don't have any umbrella or any shade, you understand the meaning of this hadith.

Reflecting on Those Who Didn't Reach Ramadan

So Suratul Baqarah is being recited as a means of protection for the one who is deceased. And one of the things mentioned in the khutbah was reflecting on how many people we've lost in the past year. Past year, past two years. Who did not make it till Ramadan. And the fact that he said it in the khutbah: "O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan." And I'm thinking, it's Jumu'ah time. And there in Saudi Arabia, they had already announced it beforehand. We know that. It was based on calculations and they may say whatever they say, but everyone knew that it was gonna be that night they had decided to do it.

So I was thinking six hours left. You know, six or seven hours left till Maghrib. But then I thought, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, there is genuinely in Masjid al-Haram, there's gonna be a janazah. 100% there's gonna be janazah at Asr time. We know that. After every salah, there's janazah. And there will be janazah at Asr, there will be janazah at Maghrib. And not only in Masjid al-Haram, everywhere, in the whole world, there will be.

So you realize that the fact that you and I are sitting here today, how lucky we are. Because there are thousands who are not here today. From the past year, from the past month, from the past week, from the past day. And when a person thinks about that, we realize that every single second must be valued and made most of.

Ramadan has already begun for us over 24 hours. Now it's, we should really have a count, how much did we spend? From last Maghrib till now, and now it's 11 o'clock. So we're already almost at 28 hours. That needs to be in our mind. These 28 hours, those who have passed away will never have.

They said, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, there was a saying of a scholar, he said: "If any dead deceased person were to be asked, give me one wish, what would you like to have? Any deceased person would say, give me one night from the nights of Ramadan. That's all I need. Any night. Not Laylatul Qadr, not Khatmul Qur'an, just give me one night of Ramadan, one day of Ramadan. That's all I need to be able to make up for what I've lost."

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ. I mean, something to think about for all of us here, is that this is the first, you know, day we're sharing some words, but the fact that this is already the second night of Ramadan. And before we know it, we're gonna be on the 29th. Just like our whole life has been spent, you know, like this life is moving very fast.

The Protection of Surah Al-Baqarah

So Suratul Baqarah, first and last are recited at the grave. First and last are recited before we go to bed. First and last should be a habit of all of us reciting the 30 verses of the Qur'an for protection from Hasad, from A'in, from Sihar, called Manzil, the 30 verses. If you look at in there, any type of ilaj, any type of treatment that any scholar will give you, they will always include the first and the last verses of Suratul Baqarah in there.

So this is something that we should all memorize. From the beginning, الم till مُفْلِحُونَ, and from لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ till the end. If not from آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ, we can memorize the whole page. That will be great. And so this is one virtue.

Nabi عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, what did he say? It will be sufficient. Once Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned that the khawateen, the ending of Suratul Baqarah, this has come directly from where? From under the throne of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. From under the Arsh of Allah. This is a virtue given to this Ummah that no one else has.

Don't Make Your Houses Graveyards

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 780)

Another hadith talks about the entire Suratul Baqarah. The Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said: "Do not make your houses graveyards." Do not make your houses graveyards. What does that mean, don't make your houses graveyard? Put in a lot of lights? Put Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Mubarak lights? Not necessarily. It means do the amal of Ramadan. Meaning recitation of Qur'an. He says for indeed, shaitan runs away from a house in which Suratul Baqarah is recited.

So recitation of Suratul Baqarah is the way we push away shaitan from the grave and shaitan from the homes. Otherwise, you don't have to wait to die. Your house is already a graveyard if Qur'an is not being recited. And especially if Suratul Baqarah is not being recited. What happens in a graveyard? How many of you are excited to go spend on a night like this, go walk around a graveyard? You're not gonna do that because it looks scary.

So, a house in which Suratul Baqarah is not recited becomes what? A graveyard meaning it's filled with shayateen. Every little reason. The children are becoming disobedient to the parents. The parents are getting mad at the kids. Husband is getting tripped at the wife. Wife is getting upset at the husband. You know what we call? Angry. Irritability. Where does irritability come from? It comes from shaitan. Shaitan makes you irritated with each other. Mom is supposed to love the children. But she's getting irritated. I'm tired of these kids. The kids are supposed to love their mom. The children say, we hate mother, we hate dad. What is this? You're supposed to love your spouse. Spouses are saying to each other no. You know what? My biggest headache in my life is that I got married. And both of them are saying this.

Cleansing Our Homes with Surah Al-Baqarah

Where is all this coming from? Because shayateen are playing a huge role in our homes. They got the big markas. Every house got shayateen in there. And the biggest thing they wanna do is cause fights in the house.

So how do we clean our house? How do we do deep cleansing? You don't need to get any spray in the water bottle of what this chemical COVID spray is. No. We don't need to put bleach. We need to recite Surah Al-Baqarah. Recite Surah Al-Baqarah out loud in the home. And yes, if someone were to blow it on water and sprinkle it in the house, there's nothing wrong with that. That's fine. There's definitely barakah in drinking the water upon which Quran is recited. There's benefit of that to give it to a sick person, to give it to someone who is going through problems. And sprinkling on it is fine as well. But even if we don't do that, just reciting out loud Surah Al-Baqarah in the home is something that a person must do.

The Virtues of Surah Al-Baqarah and Al-Imran

Nabiya ﷺ mentioned another hadith. He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 299)

Recite the Quran, because the Quran will come as an intercessor for its reciters. And then he said, Recite the two surahs, Baqarah and Al-Imran. Today we did Baqarah. إن شاء الله tomorrow we'll be doing Al-Imran. Because Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Al-Imran on the Day of Judgment will come like big clouds. They will start defending those who recited it. Like huge clouds, they will defend.

I mean, who has the ability to speak in front of Allah? What do you say? People say they go in front of the Ka'bah and you feel overwhelmed. You're looking at the Ka'bah and you feel like overwhelmed. That's a very common feeling. This is مخلوق. The تجلّي of Allah, the نور of Allah is descending on the Ka'bah but yet you feel awestruck. Do you really think you can speak in front of Allah? Do you really think you can argue on your behalf in front of Allah? Do you really think you can try to smart your way out in front of Allah? No, my friends. We cannot even think of opening our mouth.

Who can open their mouth in front of Allah? Allah's speech is the only one. Number one, Allah's own speech which is the Qur'an. The Qur'an can have the ability to say, Ya Allah, I'm from you. I'm yours. I'm gonna speak. And I want you to let these people go because they took care of me and especially Surah Al-Baqarah and Al-Imran. You see what I'm saying?

On that day when no one will have the ability to open their mouth, on that day when no one will have the ability to move, there will be certain blessed things that will be able to speak up. Fasting, prayer, and then Qur'an number one. Number one Qur'an will be a شفيع.

The Special Virtues of Surah Al-Baqarah

And so, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 301)

Recite Surah Al-Baqarah. Why? To take Surah Al-Baqarah is Barakah. Baqarah, Barakah. Remember that. Taking and reciting Surah Al-Baqarah is Barakah. And to leave Surah Al-Baqarah is Hasrah. What's Hasrah? Remorse. You're going to pay the price. You're going to cry about it if you leave out Surah Al-Baqarah. And those who are lazy and those who are not motivated will not be able to recite it. Will not be able to recite it.

So this is the beautiful virtue amongst many other virtues that Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned. For example, Rasulullah ﷺ once chose an Amir to be in charge of an entire expedition, an army. And he chose a Sahabi who had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah even though he was the youngest from the rest because he had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah.

Ayatul Kursi: The Greatest Verse

One of the beautiful ayats we covered in Surah Al-Baqarah was Ayatul Kursi. The most powerful, amazing ayah in the Qur'an. Greatest ayah. The Prophet ﷺ said once to... Ubayy ibn Ka'b mentions, Rasulullah ﷺ said, O Abu Mundhir, Abu Mundhir was the كنية of Ubayy ibn Ka'b. He said, Do you know أي آية من كتاب الله معك أعظم which... ماشاء الله you already have Qur'an in your heart. Which ayah is the greatest ayah?

He said, Allah knows best. He said, Abu Mundhir, Do you... Again, Do you know which ayah is the greatest? He knew the answer, but he didn't want to give the answer without giving Rasulullah ﷺ maybe an opportunity to teach him a lesson. You know, sometimes people ask you a question, they want to teach you a lesson. So if you act like, Oh I know the answer and say it, then you lost out on an opportunity. So that's why he said, See this thing no one knows, especially this generation has no concept of this. Right? Of when to speak, when not to speak. We don't know, unfortunately.

So here you learn from hadith. That's what we gotta learn from hadith. This is not just a hadith on virtue of Surah Al-Baqarah. This is the etiquette on how to answer your elder. He said, Do you know the answer? Yeah. Maybe he wants to teach you a lesson, so why don't you just keep quiet and say whatever you say. Allah and his Rasul and you know best whatever you would like to say. That's the point.

So then Rasulullah ﷺ repeatedly asked him a second time. This time he said, Okay, maybe he really wants me to answer. He said, اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ. فَضَرَبَ فِي صَدْرِي. Rasulullah ﷺ out of love and out of appreciation, he hit him on his chest. He said, وَاللَّهِ لِيَهْنِكَ الْعِلْمُ أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ. Glad tidings of knowledge for you, O Abu al-Mundhir. شاباش. شاباش. Great, good job. May you have the glad tidings of knowledge. The fact that you knew this answer.

So here now you see appreciation. Rasulullah ﷺ is appreciating someone who knew something. So that's another etiquette. When someone gives a proper answer, we should definitely appreciate them and make dua for barakah in their علم. Because if they didn't study, and they didn't prepare, and they didn't have مطالعة, they wouldn't be able to answer the question. So they're already in the right path. So now we need to encourage them further so that they continue.

The Protective Power of Ayatul Kursi

And Nabi ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2311)

When you go to bed, read Ayatul Kursi, اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ, till the end. For indeed, you will have a protecting angel with you all night. You will have a protecting angel with you all night. No shaytan will be able to come near you until you wake up in the morning.

So my beloved brothers and sisters, we should make نية of reciting which one? First ayat of Surah Al-Baqarah, last two ayat of Surah Al-Baqarah, and then Ayatul Kursi before we go to bed.

Lastly, an Ayatul Kursi, one more virtue. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(An-Nasa'i in Al-Kubra, Hadith 9928)

Whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after every fardh salah, Nothing will prevent him from entering Jannah except the duration between now and death. Death is the only thing. As soon as he dies, his soul will be going to Jannah. That's all you gotta do. Read Ayatul Kursi after every salah. Think about that.

Now you say, really? If that's so easy, then I can do whatever I want and just read Ayatul Kursi? No, my friend. That person who is blessed to recite Ayatul Kursi after every salah, you think he's gonna be taking usury and interest? You think he's gonna be committing zina? You think he's gonna be drinking haram? You think he's gonna be disobedient to his parents? No. If you are performing, if you're reciting Ayatul Kursi after every salah, that means you're praying five times a day, first of all. And then if you have the ability to, after that, to sit down and do dhikr and Ayatul Kursi, you're 1% of 1% of 1%. So automatically, recitation of Ayatul Kursi after every salah will keep you away from so many sins that you'll be worthy of Allah's mercy to get you into Jannah.

So if you wanna know, am I on the right track or not? Ask yourself, are you reading Ayatul Kursi? So let's do it. From today, all of you know Ayatul Kursi, make نية, many of us are already doing it, but let's remind ourselves. That's why once you finish your salah, just recite a little bit loud, اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ. So the rest of you in the home and the rest in the masjid also can be cognizant and aware of this.

Fighting Your Nafs During Ramadan

So there are two and a half juz we covered. There's so many ayats to reflect on. But we wanted to talk about just the main aspects of it. Shayateen are, the major shayateen are tied up, yes, in Ramadan. But the small ones are all over the place. And the ones that are within us, how about we become, what about our nafs? Nafs has become a student of shaytan. He's with us all along. That's why we're still able to commit sins.

So if we want to achieve some major spiritual goals in this month, it's easy because a lot of the major obstacles have been tied. Not to say all of them, but a lot of the major ones are tied. So now your hand's a little bit free to do stuff. So this is a great time to stand up and fight.

So basically you're in a street fight, right, in an alley. This massive guy is twice your size and much more professional. He's fighting, you've been beaten up, you're on the ground now, bleeding from all over, a couple of bones broken here and there. And then from somewhere, some guys showed up and they're holding this big massive guy who's about to take his final shot on you and send you somewhere else. Two people came and grabbed him. But they only got him for a few minutes.

This is your opportunity to quickly get up and do something. Either run for your life, or get reinforcements, or do something. If you just sit there and say, let me just take a little bit rest over here. It's gonna be a matter of minutes, that guy is too strong. Within two, three minutes, he's gonna be able to get rid of those two guys who are holding him down, and he's gonna be after you again.

That's how quickly Ramadan is gonna release shayateen. As soon as Ramadan ends, the shayateen are out. 27 days left. 28 days left. That's it. This is the time for us to really make نية from right now. Saturday night. Right now, go back.

Make Your Ramadan Plan

All of us, as you're going home, and if you're already at home, make a list. What am I gonna do this month? What am I gonna do this month? How many juz of Quran I'm gonna recite every day? Or how many minutes I'm gonna recite Quran? How many minutes a day? How many minutes I'm gonna spend doing dhikr? How many minutes a day I'm gonna make dua?

My beloved sisters and brothers who are listening online, on-site, later on, I request you and encourage you to please make a list ASAP. Exactly what your goals are and how much time you're gonna spend on each one of those things. And then tick mark every single day that you've done it.

Daily Spiritual Goals

So for example, 20 minutes of dua. We must do every single day at least 20 minutes. If you can't do it one shot, do it 10 minutes of suhoor, 10 minutes of iftar. Or do it 5 minutes after every salah. But do it! You have to, have to, have to do long dua every single day in your own language. Allow your heart. You don't have to even move your lips. You don't have to move your tongue. You can allow your heart to do the talking. Do that.

Daily dhikr. How much? Two tasbeeh. Tasbeeh 100 times. 100 times morning and evening, istighfar. 100 times morning and evening, durood sharif, salawat. 100 times morning and evening, third kalimah, سبحان الله، الحمد لله، لا إله إلا الله، والله أكبر.

And then, how much Quran you're gonna be reciting. And then, daily sadaqah. Find an opportunity. Find something. Wherever it is, just give a small amount every single day, if possible. Or whatever is easier for you. But every day, why not? Every single day, even a few dollars. Many of us will be giving our zakat this month, etc. That's different.