The Opportunities of Ramadan - Shaykh Abdul Bary Yahya

Khutbah Opening

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, we ask His help and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the evil of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, no one is misguided. And whom He misguides, no one is guided. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. There is no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear your Lord who created you from one soul. And He created from it her husband. And He spread from them many men and women. And fear Allah with whom you ask for mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right word. He will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph.

As for what follows: the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah. And the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of things are its innovations. And every innovation is a creation. And every creation is a misguidance.

The Du'a of Jibreel at the Minbar

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took the first step up his minbar and he said, Ameen. And then he took the second step and he said, Ameen. And then he took the third step and he said, Ameen.

The companions of course were wondering — what were all these Ameens for? Who was making a du'a that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was saying Ameen to? The Prophet ﷺ turned around and said, "Just at this moment, Jibreel came to me. And he made a du'a. He said, 'Say Ameen, O Muhammad.'" And the Prophet ﷺ said, Ameen.

So what was this du'a? The du'a of the best of the angels, with the Ameen of the best of mankind. The Prophet ﷺ said: Jibreel said, "Whoever witnesses Ramadan — whoever is able to be alive during the month of Ramadan — and he is not forgiven, and Allah enters him into the Hellfire and distances him — say Ameen, O Muhammad!" And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, Ameen.

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3545; also reported in Sahih Ibn Hibban and al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim)

This hadith sends shivers through our spines. For the month of Ramadan is at our doorstep. And it is a very serious hadith, because this is a du'a — the du'a of Jibreel, asking Allah for the one who is not forgiven during the month of Ramadan to be distanced from the mercy of Allah. How does a person enter the paradise of Allah except by the mercy of Allah? The du'a is from Jibreel and the Ameen is from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. How is this du'a not accepted? It is the du'a of the best of the angels, with the Ameen of the best of mankind.

Why is this so serious? Because during the month of Ramadan, Allah gives us so many opportunities to have all our sins be forgiven for. The one who does not take advantage of those opportunities — what kind of iman is in his heart? If you don't change during that month.

Three Opportunities for Complete Forgiveness

First Opportunity: Fasting with Faith

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 38; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 760)

An opportunity to have all your sins be forgiven for. Whosoever fasts the month of Ramadan — إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا — with true faith in Allah and seeking the reward from Allah alone — will have all his previous sins be forgiven for.

It is not because the month of Ramadan is coming that it is an opportunity for me to lose weight. Yes, that is something secondary — you may benefit health-wise. But why do we fast? Because Allah has ordered us to fast. And if we fast sincerely, seeking the reward from Allah alone, we will have all our sins be forgiven for.

So the month of Ramadan is not the month just to lose weight — it is the month to lose sins. Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan, with these conditions — إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا — with true faith in Allah and seeking the reward from Allah — and you also do it correctly. The Prophet ﷺ did not say two weeks, or three weeks, or three days. No. And if you do so correctly and sincerely with true faith in Allah, you have all your previous sins be forgiven for.

Second Opportunity: Praying at Night in Ramadan

But let's say maybe your fast is not up to par. Maybe there are deficiencies in it. Allah gives us another opportunity during the month of Ramadan to have all our sins be forgiven for. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 37; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

Whosoever stays up at night in the worship of Allah in the month of Ramadan — إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا — with true faith in Allah and seeking the reward from Allah alone — will have all of his previous sins be forgiven for. Allahu Akbar. Another opportunity.

Third Opportunity: Laylatul Qadr

But let's say some of us are busy. Many of us still work during the month of Ramadan and others are still in school. Maybe we missed a couple of nights in the masjid. Or we come back very tired after we pray 'Isha. We're so tired that we sleep until Fajr, or close to Fajr, and we don't have the opportunity to stay up that night. Allah, in His mercy, has given us another opportunity to have all our sins be forgiven for — even though we are negligent. Maybe in the daytime we are negligent, at night time we are negligent in our worship, and maybe there are deficiencies in our fast during the day. Allah gives us another opportunity. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 35; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 760)

Whosoever stays up in the worship of Allah during Laylatul Qadr — the Night of Decree, or the Night of Power — will have all his previous sins be forgiven for. Allahu Akbar. One night — you have all your sins be forgiven for. Opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. You don't take advantage of these opportunities — what is left of your faith?

The Month of Tawbah and Change

The month of Ramadan that is coming up is a month in which the scholars used to ask Allah before its arrival to keep them alive — to be able to witness this month — because of its great blessings. The month of Ramadan is also the month of tawbah, the month of repentance, the month of change. The Prophet ﷺ said:

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

When Ramadan arrives, the doors of heaven are opened, and the doors of the Hellfire are closed, and the shayateen are all shackled. The shayateen are shackled during the month of Ramadan — why? To give us an opportunity to change and train ourselves.

Because when a person needs to go into battle, before he goes into battle, he has to train. He has to wake up early in the morning. The drill sergeant wakes him up early in the morning, and then he runs obstacle courses every single morning. Then he practices shooting. But when he misses those targets, those targets don't shoot back — because it is training. The enemy is taken away. The enemy is not there. It is to strengthen you, so that when you do meet the enemy, you will have the skills, the weapons, and the strength to be able to defeat the enemy. So Allah has shackled the shayateen to make it easier for us to change and repent and be better.

And thus if we do not do that — if we do not benefit from it — then we will be victims of the Eid day massacre. Have you heard of the victims of the Eid day massacre? Do you know what the Eid day massacre is? The victims of the Eid day massacre are the ones who are no longer reading the Qur'an. The ones who are no longer coming to the masjid. The ones who are no longer charitable after Ramadan. Why? Because the first day after Ramadan is over, they have gone back to doing what they did before. Ramadan did not change them because they did not take provisions from that month. They did not train properly during the month of Ramadan. And so when the enemy is released, they are the first victims of the shaytan. Don't be the victims of the Eid day massacre this time.

The Month of Du'a

This is the month of tawbah. It is also the month in which Allah accepts du'a — He gives us the opportunity to change. It is the month of du'a, to supplicate to Allah. After mentioning the verses of fasting, Allah says:

O Muhammad, if My servants ask you about Me, then surely tell them I am near. I respond to the one who calls upon Me, when they call upon Me. Allah did not say, "I respond to the muttaqeen, the salihin." When He mentions this verse — and this verse is mentioned after the verses of fasting and Ramadan — He says: أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ — I respond to the one who calls upon Me, when he calls upon Me.

But what does Allah want us to do? فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي — But then let them respond to Me. If we want Allah to respond to us, then we have to respond to Allah when Allah tells us to do something. We have to be quick in doing so. And if Allah tells us to stay away from something, then we should not procrastinate.

Some people, when Allah tells them to do something or stay away from something, they say, "Insha'Allah, next week... Insha'Allah, after I make Hajj... Insha'Allah, after I get married... Insha'Allah, after I graduate... Insha'Allah, after I retire... Insha'Allah, Insha'Allah." The sun may rise tomorrow, but we may not.

A Story of Sudden Death — Never Procrastinate

One week before Ramadan — this was three or four years ago, in Sierra Leone, where I'm from — a brother finishes the Qur'an. He had memorized the whole Qur'an one week before the month of Ramadan. He had a very beautiful recitation. We were assigning those who would lead the people in prayer in Ramadan, and we were thinking about putting his name for one of the two weekends.

He finishes his session in memorization of the Qur'an at the school, and a new group of students come. He was 17 years of age. He had just started driving. He was about to go home to bring his two sisters to come to the class — to the Qur'an class. This was one week before Ramadan. He never got home. He was involved in an automobile accident. He passed away one week before Ramadan.

We never know when death will come. Don't ever procrastinate. Make that change right now and repent right now — even before the arrival of Ramadan. Everyone, all the time. Repent to Allah and ask for His forgiveness. Especially during the month of Ramadan — if you are not forgiven during that month, the du'a of Jibreel will be against you, with the Ameen of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Let's make this year and this Ramadan the best Ramadan that we can make it. To be the best that we can be. To make that change. Take advantage of it. For maybe — maybe — this might be the last Ramadan that we will ever have. And if it were the last, how would you behave? What would you do? We never know when death will come. Like that brother, at 17 years of age, just finished the Qur'an. He went home — he never arrived at home. He never came back with his sisters.

Responding to Allah — The Key to Change

And so we ask Allah that He forgive us. Allah says:

When My servants ask you, O Muhammad, about Me, then tell them: surely I am near. I respond to the one who calls upon Me, when he calls upon Me. Allah is giving us an opportunity that anytime we want to change — anytime — when we ourselves make that commitment to respond to Allah, then Allah will respond to us.

And that is why sometimes we make du'a and we say, "Ya Allah, Ya Allah," and then things sometimes seem to get worse, or it seems like the help is not coming. And some of us may even say, "Ya Allah, why aren't You responding to me?" But that is not the question we should ask. The question we should ask is: why are we not responding to Allah? Because when we respond to Allah, Allah responds to us.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2803; also reported by al-Tirmidhi — from the advice of the Prophet ﷺ to Ibn Abbas)

Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship. And that is why we have to make that change.

Often when we see things go wrong around us, we are always blaming other people and we refuse to look at ourselves. But the change around us will not happen unless we change ourselves. And that is why Allah says:

Allah will not change what is in a people until they change what is in themselves. And that is why we have to change and we have to be the change that we want to see. We have to be the Muslim that we want to meet. We have to be that change. And unless we commit to that type of change, the change around us will not happen. We have to exemplify the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — his humbleness, his honesty, his trustworthiness. We have to embody those teachings in our daily lives.

The Month of the Qur'an — and a Warning About Social Media

The month of Ramadan is the month of Qur'an. This is the month that we should spend our time reciting the Qur'an. This is the month in which we should not just fast from food and drinks, but we should fast from everything that will divert us away from the Qur'an — the word of Allah.

And that is why one thing that I think everyone should do during the month of Ramadan is to also have a social media and internet fast — not just the regular fast — because it takes so much of our time during the time we are living in right now. Do you know the average person touches his or her phone 2,600 times a day? 2,600 times a day we touch this phone. If we were to recite a verse every single time we touched the Qur'an, we would all be huffadh already. We would have already memorized the whole Qur'an.

So if you want to do that — before you check your emails, before you make a call — recite at least one verse. And if you were to do so consistently every single day, the average person touches the phone over 2,000 times, and the top 10% touch their phone 5,700 times a day. And do you know the average person now spends over 5 years on social media? I'm not talking about just the internet — I'm talking about Facebook, Instagram. Some people, before they say Bismillah, they say Instagram. The average person spends over 5 years on social media.

Yes, social media is very beneficial. But there are times in which it distracts us a lot. And so during the month of Ramadan, be careful of the time that you have and take advantage of it. Use it in the recitation of the Qur'an. Use it in doing good. Use it in learning your deen. Use it in standing up in prayer, in making dhikr. And indeed, if we do that, insha'Allah we will benefit from this month.

Fasting to Attain Taqwa

Because Allah does not need that we just fast from food and drinks. Why do we fast? We fast to acquire taqwa. And that is why Allah says:

Fasting has been made obligatory upon you, just as it was prescribed upon those before you — so that you may have taqwa. And what is taqwa? It is to be conscious of Allah. And how do we attain taqwa through fasting? It puts us in a state where we are conscious of Allah — and we are used to being conscious of Allah all the time.

How? When you make wudu in Ramadan and you put water in your mouth while rinsing, why don't you swallow the water? You don't swallow the water because you know that even if your mother does not know, even if your family does not know, even if no one knows — you know that Allah knows. And that your fast will not be valid if you swallow it. Even if nobody knows, you realize that Allah knows and you cannot hide anything from Allah — because Allah sees all, He knows all. And so that is why you don't swallow that water.

In the same way, if you are confronted with sins, if you are used to fasting, then you are used to being in a state where you are conscious of Allah. And you say, "You know what? Allah knows and sees me even if nobody sees me." So even if you are by yourself and alone, and you are thinking about doing bad things or going to bad websites, you say, astaghfirullah — Allah knows and He sees me all the time. It is like when I don't swallow that water — I know that Allah knows, and my fast will not be accepted if I do. So I am going to abstain from this sin also. It helps you acquire taqwa. لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ.

And that is the fuel that we need — the fuel to reach our destination. Allah says:

On our journey to Allah and our journey to the Hereafter, our fuel is taqwa. That is our fuel. And that is why we have pit stops to refuel ourselves every day.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 233)

The five daily prayers, from Friday to Friday, from one Ramadan to the next — these are expiations for our sins if we avoid the major sins. And so these are our pit stops. The daily pit stop are the five daily prayers. The weekly pit stop is the Jumu'ah. And the yearly pit stop is Ramadan.

And if we don't refuel ourselves — just as our cars will not function properly and will not bring us to our destination if we don't change the oil once in a while — in the same way, if you don't fast properly, if you don't refuel yourselves during this month, you will not reach your destination. No matter how close you may get — if you don't refuel yourselves constantly, if the finish line is right there, and we don't know when the finish line is — if you stop right before the finish line in a race, you will not win. You have to cross the finish line. And in order to cross that finish line, you have to have taqwa.

And that is why our success in this life and the Hereafter is dependent upon our success in perfecting our worship of Allah — in learning our deen. So take advantage of the opportunity to fast correctly and to learn.

Closing — A Noble Guest at Our Doorstep

We ask Allah to give us the best of this world and the Hereafter. And in order for us to be informed about the events that are happening, and to also know when Ramadan is, please join the WhatsApp group for the masjid. So when the announcements are made, immediately you will know.

And it is part of the excitement of the month of Ramadan. During the time of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, the people used to go out together. They did not have a group or a committee. They went out and everybody was excited. They wanted to be the first to see that crescent, because it was an exciting time.

And so Ramadan is at our footstep. A noble guest is at the doorstep. Are we prepared? Let us prepare ourselves for it, insha'Allah, and make this the best Ramadan.

Straight after the Jumu'ah prayer, we will be praying a janazah salah. So we ask the brothers and sisters not to pray the sunnah prayers and to wait, because we wish to pray the janazah prayer straight after the Imam finishes the main Jumu'ah salah, insha'Allah. So please do not pray your sunnah prayers until after the funeral prayer has finished.