02: Eid al-Fitr 2024 | Prayer & Khutbah - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Eid al-Fitr 2024 — Prayer & Khutbah

Delivered by Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Opening Recitation

First Khutbah

Opening Praise and Testimony

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَخَلِيلُهُ

Gratitude for Ramadan

My beloved brothers and sisters, alhamdulillah. It is with the blessings of Allah and with His guidance that we have concluded the blessed month of Ramadan, and for that we should be thankful — thankful for every single moment of worship that we have done, thankful for every single day of fasting that we were able to do, thankful for every single good and righteous deed that we have done. For indeed it was because of the guidance of Allah, and part of why we say Allahu Akbar so often during these blessed days — why we keep repeating the takbir — is to glorify Allah for guiding us:

…and so that you may show your gratitude to Allah. For we say glory be to Allah, Allah is the Greatest, for guiding us, for giving us this beautiful guidance, for providing us with another Ramadan — another opportunity to gain Jannah, another opportunity to be among those that are freed from the Fire. May all of us and all of the believers be among those that have gained a spot in paradise and in Jannah, ameen.

Fasting the Six Days of Shawwal

My beloved brothers and sisters, inshallah, this short khutbah — or shall I say two khutbahs — I will remind all of you of a few hadiths of the Prophet, peace be upon him. The first one I want to share with you is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, advised us to do after Ramadan. He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1164)

"Whoever fasts Ramadan and then adds to it six days of Shawwal, he will be as if he fasted the whole year."

My brothers and sisters, among the signs that your good deeds and your fasting has been accepted is that you have the ability, the guidance, and the tawfiq to also add those six days. So I am encouraging all of you — ensure that you fast the six days of Shawwal. Because if you are continuing good deeds, it is a sign that you had a good Ramadan, and not to mention it is a sign that Allah is showering you with His blessings by giving you the guidance to continue on doing more good deeds.

So number one: ensure that you are fasting the six days of Shawwal. And my brothers and sisters, as the hadith indicates — "whoever fasts Ramadan" — so for my sisters that were not able to fast the whole month because of natural reasons, or for my brothers and sisters who could not fast the whole month because they were ill or travelling, ensure that you make qadaa first, meaning that you make up the days you have missed, and then add the six days of Shawwal. So let's say there is a sister who has six days that she missed in Ramadan — if she wants to gain the reward of those that fast six days, she has to fast the six she missed first and then add to it the six days of Shawwal. You have 30 days — which is a month — plenty of time and opportunity, inshallah. Please benefit from this opportunity.

Fasting Three Days of Each Month

The second thing I want to share with you, my brothers and sisters, is also related to fasting — that the Prophet, peace be upon him, encouraged us to fast three days of each month. This is something most of us can do. Please do not let this Ramadan be another Ramadan where you have not built good habits. Fast three days of each month, and preferably it will be the Ayyam al-Bid — which is when the moon is at its fullest — the 13th, 14th, and 15th, these days in the middle of the month. If not, just pick three days of the month and fast, and build that habit, inshallah.

And remember the great virtue that fasting has, for indeed Allah said in a hadith qudsi — a divine narration — that Allah said:

"Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting — it is for Me, and I give its reward." Fasting belongs to Allah, and He gives it a special reward. May Allah accept your fasting and make you among those that fast Shawwal and those that continuously fast, inshallah.

The Most Beloved Deeds to Allah

The other narration and hadith I want to share with you, my brothers and sisters, is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"The most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are done continuously and consistently, even if it's a small amount."

My beloved brothers and sisters, pick some good deeds that you can do regularly and continue doing them. We managed to fill the masajid and come to the masjid regularly — if not every single night — in Ramadan. What will you be doing after Ramadan? Make sure that your visiting of the masjid becomes regular as well. Make sure that your tahajjud and your qiyam is still part of your life. Make sure you either come to Isha or Fajr when you come to the masjid, inshallah. Make sure that you continue doing good deeds, including the sadaqa that you gave.

And brothers and sisters, remember — sadaqa is what extinguishes your sins. As the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2616; declared Hasan Sahih)

"Sadaqa and charity extinguish sins like water extinguishes fire." May Allah extinguish all of our sins. Which is why I am encouraging you all, my brothers and sisters — continue being generous. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was the most generous in Ramadan, as we know, but do you think he was not generous the rest of the year? Of course he was. Which is why we are all encouraging you — find good causes to donate for. And there is no greater cause today to donate for than our brothers and sisters in Gaza, which I will briefly comment on in the second khutbah.

Second Khutbah

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله.

The Joy of Eid and the Believers' Condition

My brothers and sisters, when you think about Eid, you think about joy. You think about happiness, spending time with your family, laughter, and being joyous. But I ask you a question — are our brothers and sisters who are suffering all over the world, but especially those that are being oppressed — may Allah deal with the oppressors — are they not going to be joyous today?

Wallahi, they will be joyous today. And why is that? Why are they being joyous today? Because the believer's joy is related to worship. Our joy is related to opportunities of worship. We are happy and we are celebrating because we had Ramadan. We are happy and we are celebrating because we got to worship Allah and fill the masajid. That is the point of Eid.

Which is why, no matter what difficulty one is going through — no matter what personal situation or communal situation we are in — when it comes to Eid, regardless of your situation, there is an element of joy in every believer's heart. We are joyous for having lived another Ramadan, having prayed another Taraweeh, having had the opportunity to worship Allah, having witnessed another Laylatul Qadr. This is the point of Ramadan and Eid. Which is why all believers today are joyous regardless of the difficult situations that they are in.

Our Collective Responsibility Towards Gaza and Palestine

But my brothers and sisters, it is our collective responsibility to alleviate the difficulty of our brothers and sisters wherever they may be. Which is why I am imploring you and asking you — continue supporting the efforts, which includes feeding and healing and supporting and aiding our brothers and sisters in Gaza and in Palestine. Please continue doing so, and perhaps you can increase some joy in their hearts by providing them with medicine, providing them with food, or whatever else that we can do. There are plenty of initiatives here in this masjid that you can support, or other initiatives as well. Keep them in your heart, and remember the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him, where he said:

"The believers, in their love, mercy, and compassion for each other, are like one body — if one part of the body is in pain, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever." This is supposed to be our situation. So remember your brothers and sisters wherever they may be.

Acts of Worship on Eid and the Path to Jannah

And finally, brothers and sisters — there are many sunan and many acts that we can do on this joyous occasion. Remember to fill it with acts of worship, visit family members, make the greetings, make dua for each other, instil joy in your children, give them gifts, and remember to spread the greetings.

Allow me to conclude with this one hadith. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3251; declared Sahih)

"Spread the greetings and peace" — which is what we all should be doing, especially today. Then he said, "Feed the hungry" — and I already commented on the opportunity to aid those who are suffering from famine right now, as there are many people who are hungry all over the world that we can be feeding. Then he said, "Pray at night while others are asleep." What happens, O Messenger of Allah? What will happen if you do those three things? He said: "You will enter into Jannah peacefully."

May Allah make us among those that enter Jannah.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ