Connecting with the Qur'an - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

The Blessing of Ramadan

On this blessed day of Friday, Yawmul Jumu'ah — the first Friday of this month of Ramadan — we praise and thank our Lord and Creator Allah for having given us all the ability to once again within our lives witness this blessed month. We ask Allah that just as He has allowed us to witness this month, He makes it a month in which we take maximum benefit of the opportunities that Allah has placed before us — that He makes it a month in which we fast and we pray and we give charity and we recite Qur'an and make du'a and do all of those other good deeds that earns the pleasure of Allah, and through those deeds that Allah frees us and our parents, our wives, our children and our families and everyone in this ummah from the fire of hell.

Indeed it is from the greatest blessings of Allah that He has chosen me and you, selected us and given us this great opportunity to witness the month of Ramadan. And because the vast majority of us have witnessed many Ramadans — some of us maybe this is our 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, maybe even 50th Ramadan and maybe even more — sometimes the problem when something comes upon you so many times is that its significance drains within your eyes. You think that it is insignificant because it is something which you expect to come upon you over and over again. Just like most of us take for granted the fact that we pray five times a day every single day, because it's something that happens every day and so many times it's something which we take for granted — even though we know that our Prophet told us, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, that when a person dies and is within the grave, for them just to come back and pray two quick short rakahs would be more beloved to them than everything else in this world. But for me and you we take it for granted.

The month of Ramadan is like that as well. Because we've witnessed so many Ramadans and it comes and it goes every single year, and we — because of the deception of Shaytan — many of us think and expect and believe that we will witness many more Ramadans. May Allah give us that opportunity. But we take it for granted, and so we think that it's something that we can take lightly.

Seizing the Seasons of Allah's Mercy

But our Prophet told us, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, in a hadith narrated by his servant and the illustrious companion Anas ibn Malik, he said: perform good deeds throughout your life, but take benefit and grasp the opportunities of the mercy of Allah, for there are times and seasons when Allah bestows more of that mercy and gives it to whomsoever He wills from amongst His slaves. So ask Allah that He conceals your sins and mistakes and that He allays your fears. Allah — from the seasons of His mercy — is this month of Ramadan.

And that's why the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — even though he was the greatest of people when it came to the worship of Allah, and there was no one more subservient, more submissive to his Lord and Creator than our Prophet — even though if you were to look at all of the very many different acts of worship that we as Muslims can perform, whether prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, charity, good character — any act of worship, you would find that there is no greater example than our Prophet. And that was just his usual, normal self at any time throughout the year. But even he, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, when this month of Ramadan came upon him, he would excel and he would do more and he would become more generous and he would spend more time praying and he would give more charity and he would spend more time reciting and understanding and reflecting upon the Qur'an.

Connecting with the Qur'an

The Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, did this as an example for us. It is difficult to summarize all of this in a single khutbah, but I want to take a single aspect from the life of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, in terms of the act of worship that he used to perform and how it is something that we need to concentrate on at the beginning of this month of Ramadan — and that is the connection of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, with the Book of Allah, with the Qur'an.

Not just in terms of its recitation — because inshallah most of us, if not all of us, in this month of Ramadan will attempt to recite more Qur'an, and inshallah the vast majority of us at the very least will finish the recitation at least once from cover to cover. That is the goal and aspiration that we all have. However, the thing that I want to focus on is how the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, not only used to recite the Qur'an more, but he would spend more time studying the Qur'an, analyzing its meanings.

The Problem of Distance from the Qur'an's Meaning

Because if there is a problem that we face today in our ummah in general — whether it's us as Muslims in our personal lives or with our families, or as a community and as an ummah — it is that we have become distanced from the Qur'an. Not distanced in the sense that we don't have a Qur'an at home, because in fact we probably have more copies of the Qur'an now than our parents or our grandparents did. Now everyone has a copy of the Qur'an on their mobile phone, on their tablet, on their computer, on their laptop, and even if you don't, there are many websites where with the click of a button you can find the Qur'an. The way that it's now been bound, the calligraphy, the type of cover that we have — all of these things are much better than they used to be before.

The problem isn't that there are fewer copies of the Qur'an, or that we can't find the Qur'an, or perhaps even for some of us that we don't recite the Qur'an. But one of the greatest problems that we face as an ummah is that we have become distanced from the meaning of the Qur'an — that we don't understand the Qur'an, from the smallest of surahs to the greatest of surahs, from verse number one to the last verse in the Qur'an. We have a difficulty, and it is a problem that we face: we don't understand the Qur'an. And because we don't understand the Qur'an, we cannot reflect over its meanings, we cannot contemplate and ponder over the message that Allah wants to give to us.

Jibreel's Study of the Qur'an with the Prophet

And so the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, as is in the famous hadith, in the month of Ramadan he would be more generous than he would be at any other time. And the reason for his generosity was that Jibreel, عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام, would come down and he would يُدَارِسُهُ الْقُرْآنَ — he would study the Qur'an with the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Not just simply its recitation, not simply revising its memorization. The word dirasa means to study and to analyze; it means to ponder and reflect. And this is the problem that we face.

The Prophet's Interaction with the Qur'an

The Hadith of Ibn Mas'ud: Tears Over Surah An-Nisa

Our Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, was someone who when he recited the Qur'an it would affect him, because he understood the meanings and he contemplated over them. And there are many narrations that tell us that this was the case in Ramadan and outside of Ramadan.

In the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, collected in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, he said: I came once to the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and he said to me, "O Ibn Mas'ud, recite the Qur'an to me." So I replied:

"How can I recite the Qur'an to you, O Messenger of Allah, when the Qur'an was revealed upon you?" The Prophet replied:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 1905)

"Sometimes I like to hear its recitation from someone else." So Ibn Mas'ud — this great scholarly companion — began to recite from the beginning of Surah An-Nisa and he recited and he recited until he reached a verse in which Allah says:

"Then what will your case be when We bring from every single nation a witness, and We will make you, O Muhammad, a witness amongst all of them?"

When he reached this verse, Ibn Mas'ud said he heard the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, say حَسْبُكَ الْآنَ — "Enough." And because of the aura and the presence and the respect that Ibn Mas'ud had of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, whilst he was reciting he was lowering his head and wouldn't look directly at the face of the Prophet. But when he said, "O Ibn Mas'ud, enough," he raised his head and he saw tears flowing from the eyes of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Because the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, when he recited this verse, he understood that it applied to him — that Allah was addressing him — that a time will come on the Day of Judgment when all of the Prophets will give testimony against all of their nations, but those nations will not accept the testimony of their own Prophets. They will ask for witnesses to be brought to attest to the truthfulness of the Prophets that Allah sent to them. So Allah will make us witnesses against them — why? Because Allah has told us their stories over and over again in the Qur'an. We will bear witness against them. But who will be our witness? Who will bear testimony for us? Who will testify on our behalf? That responsibility will fall upon the shoulders of only one man — the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And even though this is something which Allah is speaking about many centuries in the future — about the Day of Judgment hundreds of years to come — yet still the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, was affected so much that it made him cry.

The Hadith of Abu Dharr: One Verse All Night

And this is only one such incident. In another incident, the hadith of Abu Dharr, he said: I was with the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, one night praying Qiyamul Layl, praying Tahajjud. And by Allah, he only recited one verse — one verse the whole night — and he didn't move from it. And that is the verse in which Allah says:

"If You choose to punish them, then these are Your slaves — You can punish them if You wish. But if You choose to show them mercy and forgiveness, then You are the Almighty, All-Wise."

The Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, understood that this verse was applying to me and you — that if Allah chose to punish us, then who can stop Allah? Who can delay His punishment? Who has the audacity to stand between us and Allah and demand that Allah not punish us? "They are Your slaves, O Allah." But because of the love and the mercy and the care of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, that he showed to his ummah, he repeated this verse over and over again.

In another narration in Sahih Muslim, the same verse that he was repeating — the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, began to cry, and he said:

"O Allah, this is my nation, my nation." So Allah said to the angel Jibreel, عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام: "Go to Muhammad, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and ask him what makes him cry" — and Allah knows what makes him cry, Allah hears and He sees and He knows — but as an example to me and you: "Go and ask him what makes him cry." So Jibreel, عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام, came and said to the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "O Muhammad, what makes you cry?" So he told him that it was fear for his ummah — that me and you, if Allah chooses to punish us, He will punish us, that Allah may enter us into the fire. So Jibreel, عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام, went back to Allah and told Him what made him cry. So Allah said to Jibreel: "Go back to him and say:

"We will make you pleased, We will make you happy when it comes to your ummah, and We will never harm you."

But look at how the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, interacts with the Qur'an. Look at how when he recites this verse, he repeats it — he is unable to proceed and continue because of the weight of the verse, because of how heavy it is, because of the burden that he feels. And even though this verse does not apply to him, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — his position with Allah is guaranteed, his place in Jannah has already been reserved — it is about me and you. But this is how the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, would interact with the Book of Allah.

The Hadith of 'Aisha: A Night of Tears

Yet another example — in the hadith of 'Aisha, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا. She said: the Messenger of Allah, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, came to me one night and he said to me: "Tonight, O 'Aisha, let me worship my Lord — do not disturb me." So 'Aisha, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, replied: "Indeed I love, O Messenger of Allah, that which you love." She said he began to pray, and as he was praying he began to cry — and he cried so much that his cheeks became wet with his tears, and then his beard became wet with his tears. And then he went into ruku' and he continued to cry, and he came out of ruku' and he continued to cry, and he went into sujud and he continued to cry. He cried so much that the ground around him became moist and wet with his tears. He cried and he continued this way until the time of Fajr came in.

And as the time of Fajr came in, Bilal, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, the mu'adhdhin of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, came to tell him that the time of Fajr was approaching. He came in and he found him crying — he found him in this state. So Bilal said to the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "O Messenger of Allah, do you cry like this — and Allah has forgiven you for all of your sins, past, present and future? This is how you cry?" So the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said to him: "Should I not be a grateful servant of Allah? For verily this night Allah revealed to me verses — woe to the one, may he be destroyed, the one who recites these verses and doesn't think about them."

Those verses are the final passage of Surah Ali 'Imran, in which Allah says:

"Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and indeed in the changing of the day and the night, there are signs for the people of understanding — signs for the people who reflect, ponder and think. Those who remember Allah whilst they are standing and whilst they are sitting and whilst they are lying down, and they think about the creation of Allah — they think about the creation of the heavens and the earth — and it leads them to that realization: 'O Allah, O our Lord, You didn't create this in jest, in mockery, in play. So glory be to You, O Allah, and save us from the punishment of the fire.'" And the verses continue and continue.

This passage of the Qur'an stopped the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and made him cry for a whole night — cry to such an extent that the ground around him is wet. But look at how the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, would interact with the Qur'an — when he recited a verse it wasn't just simply about verbalizing or saying the words, but rather it was about the meaning: what is the message that Allah wants me and you to take away?

The Hadith of Wahb ibn 'Abdillah: The Qur'an Made Him Grow Old

In another hadith, in the narration of Wahb ibn 'Abdillah, he said: a group of companions one day was sitting with the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and some of them said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, you have become old — O Messenger of Allah, your hair has become white." The Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, replied: "It is Surah Hud of the Qur'an and surahs similar to it that have made me grow old — that have made my beard go white, my hair go white." In another narration he said: "These five surahs of the Qur'an — these are the surahs that have made me grow old."

Imagine that — the recitation of the Qur'an is physically aging him. The Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, doesn't say: "I have become old because chronologically my body clock has become older." He doesn't say: "I have become old because of the stress of my family and my ummah and all of those many things that I had to deal with." Because of these five surahs — because of the way he understood them, the way he internalized them, the way that the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, pondered over them. And more than once Allah has mentioned — as Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ, mentioned — that the reason why these surahs in particular are mentioned is because they speak about the punishment of Allah and they speak about the Day of Judgment and the punishment that Allah has in store for those people that He chooses to punish. May Allah save us from that.

The Companions and Scholars with the Qur'an

So the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, interacted with the Qur'an in this way, and it wasn't just him — his companions and the scholars who followed them, when they would recite the Qur'an, it wasn't just simply about its recitation. In fact, it is narrated from more than one companion and from more than one scholar that they would actually frown upon those people who simply recite the Qur'an so fast that they don't understand a single word, or they recite the Qur'an simply to finish its recitation. Even though its recitation in and of itself is virtuous and there is much reward to be gained, when it becomes your habit and your custom to recite the Qur'an in this way, very few of its meanings enter into your heart. And one of the greatest purposes of the Qur'an is for you to understand it — to interact with it, ponder, reflect, contemplate over it.

Abu Bakr and the Verse of Recompense

Abu Bakr, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, said that when he heard the verse being revealed — "Whosoever does evil, he will be punished" — he came to the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, who from amongst us has never committed evil? Allah says if you commit evil you will be punished." Abu Bakr was afraid — who from amongst us doesn't commit evil? So the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said: "O Abu Bakr, do you not become sad? Do you not become ill? Do you not have hardships in your life? That is the way Allah is punishing you for those mistakes" — meaning that for the believers in this life, the trials that we go through expiate our sins, they cleanse us from those mistakes and those sins, and Allah will punish the disbelievers with the fire.

'Aisha and Surah At-Tur

The companions used to interact with the Qur'an in this way. Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, the nephew of 'Aisha, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, said that he would often go and enter upon 'Aisha — this was many years after the death of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. He said: I entered upon her one day during the daytime and she was standing and praying, and she was reciting a single verse and she kept repeating it over and over again and all she would do was cry. And it was the verse in Surah At-Tur:

— that Allah has conferred His favor and His blessings upon us and He has saved us from the punishment of the scorching fire. He said that he sat with her waiting for her to finish so he could speak to her, but she took so long and she kept on crying and repeating this verse that he left her house and went to do some other chores. Then he came back later and found her in exactly the same position, crying over exactly the same verse of the Qur'an. This is how the companions, رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ, would interact with the Qur'an. This is how the recitation of the Qur'an and its meanings and its understanding would affect them.

'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz and Surah Al-Qari'ah

And it wasn't just them, but even the scholars who came after them. 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى, the great and illustrious Khalifah of the Muslims — his wife Fatimah says that she saw him one night praying. He would stand in prayer and he started reciting Surah Al-Qari'ah — one of the smallest surahs of the Qur'an, there is probably not a person here except that he has memorized Al-Qari'ah. But she says that when he reached the verses:

"On that day — meaning the Day of Judgment — when the people will be like moths which are dispersed, and on that day when the mountains will be like fluffy wool" — she said he began to cry and he cried so much and so loudly that he collapsed. He fell down, and he cried so much that she feared he was about to die. And then when he stopped crying she thought he was actually dead — but then she heard him continue to cry. And he didn't stand up again until the Adhan of Fajr. Over two verses of the Qur'an that we recite often within our prayers and hear recited by the Imam.

Thabit Al-Bunani and Yahya ibn Sa'id

The scholars of Islam — when we hear these stories sometimes we are amazed about the profound effect it had upon them. This wasn't them showing off; it wasn't them putting on a display. This was how they were — that when the Qur'an would be recited to them or when they would recite it themselves, it would affect them in this way.

Thabit al-Bunani, رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى, one of the scholars of the past, would cry so much when he would recite the Qur'an that he began to lose his eyesight — it affected his vision. So the doctor came to him to see what was wrong and said: "The only cure is for you to stop crying." Thabit said: "In that case I will continue to cry, for there is no goodness in an eye which cannot shed tears — there is no goodness in an eye when it hears the recitation of the verses of Allah and is not moved to shed tears."

Imam Ahmad, رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى, said: I was with Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan, رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى, and when the Qur'an would be recited to him he would often faint and collapse. And Imam Ahmad says: I know by Allah that if anyone was able to stop himself from crying in public or stop himself from collapsing and fainting in public, it would have been Yahya ibn Sa'id — he disliked that in public people should see him cry or see him affected in this way. But he was unable to stop himself. This was how the scholars of Islam interacted with the speech of Allah.

Ramadan: The Month of the Qur'an

We are at the beginning of this month of Ramadan, and if there is anything which is closely associated with this month and synonymous with it, it is the Qur'an:

"The month of Ramadan in which We revealed the Qur'an."

"We revealed this Qur'an to you on the Night of Decree."

There is nothing that you can achieve that is greater or more beneficial in this month of Ramadan than connecting back with that Book of Allah — understanding its meaning and contemplating over what it is that Allah is saying to me and you. We ask Allah that He softens our hearts and that He makes us from amongst those people who recite the Qur'an and understand the Qur'an and contemplate over the Qur'an — and that He makes us from amongst His chosen, selected few, that are the people of Allah, the special people of Allah, for they are the people of the Qur'an.

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا

Second Khutbah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا أَمَّا بَعْدُ

The Tricks of Shaytan in Ramadan

From the tricks and the deceptions of Shaytan that he plays upon us is that every single good deed that we're trying to accomplish and do in this month of Ramadan, he will come and try to place a barrier between us. He will whisper to us. And the Prophet told us that the month of Ramadan is a month in which the devils are chained. But some of the scholars said that the devils that are being referred to in this hadith are the devils that roam the earth. As for the Shaytan — the devil that Allah has placed with each and every single one of us, the one that whispers to us, the one who tells us to sin and disobey — those devils are still there. They are still with us, even though they have become weaker in this month of Ramadan. And one of the things that they will try to do is distance you from the Book of Allah.

A Realistic Goal: Understanding What You Recite

I don't expect anyone here to recite the whole of the tafsir or to read the whole of the tafsir of the Qur'an. I don't expect anyone here to memorize all of the Qur'an. I don't expect anyone here to listen to an explanation of all of the Qur'an. But each and every single one of us must make that determination and discipline ourselves from this very beginning of Ramadan that — at the very least — by the time this month ends, the surahs that we know, that we recite, that we memorize, that we teach to our children — Surah Al-Fatihah, Ayat al-Kursi, Surah Al-Falaq, Surah An-Nas, Surah Al-Ikhlas — these surahs of the Qur'an, at the very least we should understand what they mean. At the very least, when we recite them, we should be able to stop and ponder over their meanings. It is a beginning, yes, but it is a beginning that inshallah is blessed and that will spur you to continue after this month finishes.

Don't let this month of Ramadan go by like many Ramadans have passed before — when Ramadan comes we're full of enthusiasm and vigor and passion and energy, but by the time Ramadan finishes we look back with regret and remorse that we didn't achieve our goals, we didn't meet our expectations and our targets, we fell short, we were deficient in the way that we should have worshipped Allah. Make goals that are realistic for yourself. Include your family, your children, and make sure that in this blessed month you connect with the Qur'an. And alongside that, do all of the many good deeds that Allah has placed before you in this blessed month of Ramadan.

And from the greatest of those acts and the most noble of them is to give charity. On that note, we ask you that on this blessed day of Jumu'ah — this first Friday of this blessed month of Ramadan — that you give generously to your masjid and you donate generously to the way of Allah. Perhaps by giving this charity, Allah will purify our hearts and cleanse our souls, and that Allah will make it easy for us for the rest of this month to continue to worship Him in a way that pleases Him and in a way that grants us His mercy and grants us freedom from the fire of hell — for us and our families.