Consistency in Worship - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ 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 وَصَفِيُّهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَخَلِيلُهُ أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَبَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ وَتَرَكَنَا عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا لَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا هَالِكٌ فَصَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنِ اهْتَدَى بِهَدْيِهِ وَاسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِهِ وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

My brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah Almighty and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Ikhwani wa akhwati fi Allah, alhamdulillah, we are in the midst of the blessed month where you can see the blessings from our gatherings, our congregations — the mosques are packed, everyone is involved in worship. May Allah Almighty accept it from us and make us of those who continue to do so during the rest of the month and even afterwards.

What I want to speak about today is certain perhaps misconceptions or misunderstandings, or things that must be clarified.

Obligatory Acts vs. Recommended Acts

Ikhwani fi Allah, a lot of the things that we do in the midst of Ramadan — some of them are obligatory and others are recommendations, or they are sunan, nawafil, things that are extra; they're not wajib.

And what you've noticed is, because the people are so passionate in their ibadah and everyone wants to do as much khair as possible, that we're doing a lot of the nawafil, a lot of the extra acts of worship — which we should do — but that shouldn't be a reason for us to neglect that which is obligatory upon us. An example would be: one might be eager to go to the taraweeh prayer but might not attend the masjid for the isha jama'ah, although the isha is a lot more important than the taraweeh prayer. Or one might stay up so much for the taraweeh and the tahajjud and the recitation of the Qur'an during the night, that they might sleep and miss fajr.

And you are not allowed to miss your obligations while you are focusing on the sunan — those things that are not even wajib upon you. What is important for us to learn is which acts of our religion are wajib and which acts are not wajib. We know the five daily prayers are wajib upon you — you cannot miss them, you cannot delay them, you cannot take a break from them. Similarly, fasting the month of Ramadan is wajib upon you, unless you have a valid excuse or you are among those that are excused.

So do not neglect the wajibat in hope of looking for the mustahabbat. I'm not saying don't attend the taraweeh prayer — it is like one giving sadaqah but neglecting the zakat, or one praying the taraweeh prayer but neglecting the wajib prayers. It is very important that we distinguish between what is wajib and what is sunnah.

The other thing, my brothers and sisters, is that you also remember the haq that your family has upon you, because that is also wajib, and to not neglect that. And the acts of worship that you do for others — helping others — sometimes are more beneficial than the ones that are limited to yourself as well.

Remember Our Sisters and Mothers in Ramadan

Another thing that I want to highlight, ikhwani fillah, is with regards to the month of Ramadan: alhamdulillah, our mothers and sisters prepare the iftar and the suhoor meals and they are busy in the kitchen. And ikhwani wa akhwati fillah, this is the month of worship. The husbands in the congregation, the brothers and the sons — they should be either helping, so that their wives and their sisters and their daughters could also engage in ibadah and worship and recitation of the Qur'an.

Imagine they start cooking in the afternoon, all the way to iftar time, then they are dealing with the dishes and dealing with all of this — while the rest of the family is reciting the Qur'an and making dhikr. Now, inshallah, Allah will reward them for the khidmah of their families, but we have to remember this. Maybe some nights — especially as we get closer to the last ten nights — maybe some nights you want to order in some food so that everyone has time to focus in ibadah and worship. This is something that we have to appreciate, ikhwani fillah. These acts of ibadah are for everyone, not just for the men.

The Most Beloved Actions to Allah

Another thing, ikhwani fillah, I want to highlight: which acts of worship are the most beloved to Allah? In the hadith al-Qudsi, Allah Himself mentions that the most beloved actions to Allah are the fara'id — those that are obligatory upon us. Allah says in this hadith:

"There is nothing more beloved to Me that My servant comes near to Me with, except that which I have made obligatory upon him."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

So the fajr prayer is better than the sunnah before fajr, and the isha prayer is better than the sunnah after isha, and better than the witr and the taraweeh. If you pray the whole night, the isha has more reward and is more beloved to Allah. So the wajibat are more beloved, they have more reward, and they are more important. This is why whoever leaves a wajib — whoever does not do a faridah, an act of worship that they have to do — then they are sinning. But if you, for one night, take a break from the taraweeh, you are not sinning.

And of course I am not saying we should not come to the taraweeh and pray the qiyam, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"Whoever stands in prayer during the nights of Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 37; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

So come and attend — but remember that the fara'id take precedence. They are more important.

Consistency in Worship

Ikhwani fi Allah, another thing that is important to highlight: do not overexert yourself to the point where you have a lot of zeal and passion, you do a lot of ibadah in the beginning, and then you burn out.

The companions asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam a question. Look at the beauty of this question:

"Which acts of worship are the most beloved to Allah?" — beloved to Allah. Ikhwani fi Allah, what you want to be doing is that which Allah loves. That should be what your focus is on: Am I doing what Allah loves, or am I doing what angers Allah? This is a beautiful question that the Sahabah posed.

And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: the most beloved actions to Allah are those done continuously and consistently, even if they are small:

"The most consistent of them, even if it is little."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6465; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 783)

Even if it is small, it has to be done continuously. It is better for you to do a continuous act of worship throughout your life than to do a lot of it once. This is more beloved to Allah. It has more effect on your heart as well. It shows that you gave this ibadah importance. It proves that it wasn't just a moment of iman boost that you got for a few days and then it was gone. It shows that you were consistent.

Examples of Consistent Worship

Consistency, ikhwani fi Allah — and you can be consistent with something that is easy. So do not make it difficult upon yourself. Imagine someone prays the Dhuha prayer — two raka'at of the Dhuha prayer, the early morning prayer — consistently. Two raka'at. If you do that every day for a year, you know how many raka'at you've prayed? About 700 raka'at for Allah. Isn't that better than the one who does it once and then leaves it?

Imagine you fast every month — three days — as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam advised. This is not wajib; you have to fast Ramadan. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recommended this to many of his companions, such as Abu Hurairah and others. If you fast three days every month, you have fasted a whole extra month alongside Ramadan. If you count it all together, it's going to be a whole extra month alongside Ramadan, if not more.

Again, it shows you, ikhwani fi Allah, that it is all about consistency. Imagine giving sadaqah consistently — every Friday you give some sadaqah, or every month there is a certain portion that you give. And it is consistent. This is more beloved to Allah than someone that might have given the same amount but only once.

Good Deeds Increase Iman

Another benefit, ikhwani fi Allah, of doing acts of worship consistently is that it shows we know good deeds increase our iman:

Good deeds increase your iman. So if you are doing something consistently, you are consistently working on your iman.

Carrying These Habits Beyond Ramadan

Ikhwani fi Allah, even when Ramadan is finished, take some of the habits you've learned. You've been coming to the masjid every single night and praying 11 raka'at or more or less. When Ramadan is over, take that momentum and get into the habit of praying the night prayer, even if it's just one raka'ah. Do the witr. Take the habit of fasting and continue fasting. If you can't do it every Thursday and Monday — perhaps that's too demanding on you — at least fast three days of every month. These acts of worship, build on them and do them consistently.

As well as reciting the Qur'an, ikhwani fi Allah. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam complained about his ummah abandoning the Qur'an:

What's interesting is I was just reading the other day that Abu Hanifa, this great imam, was asked: what does it mean to abandon the Qur'an? He said if someone doesn't finish the Qur'an twice in a year, he hasn't abandoned the Qur'an. That was the mindset they were in and that was the level of iman they had — that you have to at least finish the Qur'an twice in the year. That looks like a lot, but it's really not a lot if you do it consistently. If you read one page or two pages a day, you'll get there.

Now, even if you can't — if you haven't learned the Qur'an in a way where you can finish it — whatever Qur'an you know, start reading it. What is stopping you from every night before you go to bed reading some of the Qur'an? What is stopping you from doing regular dhikr, building on it, and doing it consistently? This is not a lot, ikhwani fi Allah.

Among the amazing things in the Qur'an is when Allah says:

"Those who believe and do righteous actions." Some of the scholars pointed out that Allah used the word الصَّالِحَاتِ — al-salihat — the plural form which is also the feminine form in Arabic, which indicates few good deeds. Whoever does few good deeds. So it is almost as if Allah is telling us: I don't want you to do a lot.

When the prayer was made fifty, Allah — with His mercy — and our Prophet's sallallahu alayhi wa sallam eagerness to make it easy for us — it became five, but the reward is fifty. For every prayer it is times ten. So Allah made things easy for us. Our worship is easy. Take it easy on yourself, but do it consistently. And inshallah you will be doing an action that is the most beloved to Allah.

The Importance of Intention

My brothers and sisters, remember all these a'mal that we are doing — all these good deeds that you are engaged in. Ensure that there is always a spiritual element. Do not let it become just another thing that you do, just another custom, just another routine. Every single time you come to the masjid, have the intention: I am coming for the sake of Allah. I am fulfilling the sunnah of the Prophet. I am getting near to Allah. I am acting upon the hadith of the Prophet — whoever stands and prays in Ramadan. Be conscious of that fact.

Because when we stop being conscious of our ibadat, they might turn into adat — mere habits. How often our acts of worship become just a regular thing that you do. This is why, my brothers and sisters, with our intention, we have the ability to turn regular mundane acts into worship. And with our intention, we can turn a regular ibadah into a more virtuous ibadah with more reward, as long as you are working on your intention.

So this is something I really want you to focus on as well — your niyyah. Every time you stand up and pray, have the niyyah that you are doing ta'dheem of Allah, that you are worshipping Allah. Have the niyyah that you are seeking Allah's approval and pleasure. Have the niyyah that you are a servant of Allah. Work on your intention. Remember that you are engaged in an act of worship.

A lot of the reasons why we can't focus in the taraweeh prayer, why we can't focus in the regular prayers, is because we don't have that intention. The moment we say Allahu Akbar, that's it — our mind wanders, because we are not focused. And the best way to focus is to work on your niyyah, your ikhlas, your sincerity. To remember where you are standing, why you are standing, and who you are standing in front of. This is extremely important, ikhwani fillah.

The Reward of Consistent Deeds Even in Hardship

Among the benefits of doing something consistently: let's say someone used to consistently fast — every month he would fast three days. If one month he is sick, or traveling, or cannot do it, Allah will still write the ajr for him, because he wished to do it and would have done it if it wasn't for this valid reason. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"It will be written for him what he used to do when he was resident and healthy."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2996)

So the benefit of doing something consistently is that when something happens to you, you still get the reward. And this is the rahmah of Allah.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to accept our good deeds, to make us those who benefit from this month of Ramadan. I ask Allah to increase our iman by the good deeds that we are doing, to forgive our shortcomings, and to bless this Ramadan for us. I ask Allah to make us among those that are freed from the hellfire, those that enter into the highest place of Jannah.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.