Bid Ramadan Farewell - Shaykh Omar Al-Jazairi

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ 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

أَمَّا بَعْدُ — فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ جَلَّ شَأْنُهُ وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِ أَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ وَأَتَمُّ التَّسْلِيمِ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ أَعَاذَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِنْهَا

Ramadan: The Noble Guest Has Departed

My brothers and sisters, a month ago a noble guest knocked on our doors, and we welcomed that noble guest with open arms, and we rejoiced the arrival of that noble guest. And as the nature of the guest dictates, it has to depart — a guest does not stay there forever. That guest was the month of Ramadan. We welcomed Ramadan and we rejoiced the arrival of Ramadan, we hosted Ramadan, and now Ramadan has departed — we bid farewell to Ramadan.

However, my brothers and sisters, during that month of Ramadan, some of us may have fulfilled the right of the guest — some of us fulfilled and treated Ramadan as a guest should be treated — and some of us perhaps did not treat and honor Ramadan as it should be treated. So I'd like to remind you and to share with you two important points.

First Point: Fear That Your Deeds May Not Be Accepted

The first one is that the Salaf as-Saleh were very concerned, when it comes to the departing of Ramadan, about one thing: they were concerned that Allah Azza wa Jal, despite all their efforts and the sacrifice made in that month, would not accept from them. That is why the majority of the Salaf — as narrated by Imam Ibn Rajab — said that they used to pray to Allah and make du'a for months that Allah Azza wa Jal would accept from them. They were worried and concerned that Ramadan would not be accepted from them. And this is the state of the righteous people.

Imam Ali — the companion, Ali — and also Ibn Mas'ud, they used to say:

Which means: be more concerned and worried about your action being accepted than about the action itself.

And Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, once heard this verse in which Allah Azza wa Jal described the qualities of the righteous people and the believers:

— and those who spend and give away, and by extension those who worship Allah Azza wa Jal, while their hearts are fearful that they will return to their Lord — meaning they are fearful that the action won't be accepted when returning to their Lord.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, asked the Prophet, peace be upon him:

"O Messenger of Allah, are those the people who do good deeds but follow them with evil deeds — such as drinking alcohol, committing zina, and so on?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied to her:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3175; also recorded by Imam Ahmad)

"No, O daughter of al-Siddiq. Rather, they are the people who pray, who fast, and who give charity, yet they are afraid that their actions will not be accepted from them — they are the ones who hasten in good deeds."

So what we learn from this instance, and what we learn from the statement of Ibn Mas'ud and Ali ibn Abi Talib, is that we should be hopeful for the reward of Allah yet fearful that Allah may not accept our deeds. Why? Because of the sin that — unfortunately, in human nature — we are all familiar with. And this is called self-conceit (al-'ujb): we feel that we fasted in the month of Ramadan and we achieved it because of our own selves, we did it — we do not attribute the praise to Allah, we do not attribute the source of well-being and goodness to Allah Azza wa Jal. Al-'ujb could destroy your good deed. That is why the majority of the Salaf used to pray to Allah Azza wa Jal to accept from them.

This is what we should be doing — we should ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He accept our good deeds. That is the first point.

Second Point: Do Not Nullify Your Ramadan

The second point, my brothers and sisters: do not nullify your Ramadan and the good deeds that we performed in Ramadan — do not nullify them. Allah Azza wa Jal said in the Quran:

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and do not nullify your good deeds.

This was revealed because some of the Sahaba used to believe that evil deeds would not affect good deeds — just as a disbeliever or a mushrik: whatever good deed they do, Allah Azza wa Jal will not accept from them. Likewise, some of the Sahaba thought that for a believer, whatever evil deeds they do may not affect their good deeds. But Allah Azza wa Jal revealed this ayah to prove otherwise.

My brothers and sisters, the second point is very important. It reminds us not to go back to the old habits, not to go back to the old ways. Especially most of us — alhamdulillah — we've come from afar and we spent hours, we spent sleepless nights, and we fasted 12, 14, 15 hours a day. But then after Ramadan, you follow the good deed with a bad deed, and because of your sin, your Ramadan and the reward of Ramadan may be nullified — wa 'iyyadhubillah.

So my advice to you, my brothers and sisters, is that you should follow the good deed with another good deed. And this is a sign — the second point is a sign. If you follow the good deed with another good deed, this is a sign that Allah Azza wa Jal has accepted your Ramadan. This is a sign that Allah Azza wa Jal will reward you for your effort and reward you for your sacrifice.

The Example of Ibrahim and the Fear of Non-Acceptance

And Allah Azza wa Jal mentioned some of the stories from the prophets to show that they were really worried about their actions not being accepted. They are the best of examples — the prophets — and the best example is the father of all prophets, Ibrahim, peace be upon him. Allah Azza wa Jal commanded Ibrahim to build the best house in the best place, and the command came directly from Allah. And once they raised the foundation of Mecca — the foundation of the Ka'bah — Ibrahim, peace be upon him, with his son Ismail, the first thing they said after raising the House of Allah:

Some of the Salaf, when they read these verses, would cry and say: a prophet of Allah, receiving a direct command from Allah, fulfilled and established the command of Allah to build the best house in the best place — and yet he was fearful that Allah may not have accepted from him. Ibrahim, peace be upon him.

My brothers and sisters, yes — we should be hopeful for the reward, but yet fearful that Allah Azza wa Jal will not accept from us. We ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He accept from us our good deeds, our worship, our sacrifice.

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا

Second Part of the Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّاهِرِينَ وَأَصْحَابِهِ الْغُرِّ الْمَيَامِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ — يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ — فَإِنَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى اللَّهَ أَنْجَاهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ النَّارِ.

My brothers and sisters, I'd like to remind you to fear Allah, for whoever fears Allah, Allah Azza wa Jal will save him from the Hellfire.

Signs That Your Ramadan Was Accepted

My brothers and sisters, one of the signs that your Ramadan may be accepted is that you become a better person once you bid Ramadan farewell, and that you ask Allah Azza wa Jal with yearning for other Ramadans. That is why many of the righteous would ask Allah Azza wa Jal to live many more years in order to experience many more Ramadans. This is one of the signs that your Ramadan may be accepted. May Allah accept from us.

Another sign is that you try to make this Ramadan that you just fasted — in which you spent the nights in prayers — a stepping stone to develop your spirituality. If last year you did not used to pray at night, or you only prayed three rak'ahs at night, make a resolve; try to make a pact with Allah that this year you'll be praying five rak'ahs instead of three. If last year you were not used to fast at all, then this year try to make a resolve with Allah that you'll be fasting three days a month. Try to develop — but be consistent.

Because consistency is what Allah Azza wa Jal loves. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, when she was asked about the worship of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him — Kayfa kana 'amaluhu? — she replied, may Allah be pleased with her:

His deed was consistent. The Prophet's, peace be upon him, deed was consistent. And he used to say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6465; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 783)

That Allah Azza wa Jal loves the deed that is done consistently and regularly, even if it is little — even if it is little.

It's important that we develop ourselves, that we strengthen our resolve for the coming year, and that we ask Allah Azza wa Jal to help us with that, just as He helped us in the month of Ramadan. That was a month of training. So it's important that you keep up and maintain that spirit of worship, that spirit of connection with Allah Azza wa Jal. If we do so and gradually progress and develop spiritually, then this is your sign that Allah Azza wa Jal has accepted your Ramadan. This is a sign that your Ramadan was a successful one.

And remember: the success of Ramadan is in its entirety goodness, because the Prophet, peace be upon him, mentioned the reward for the one who successfully fasted — forgiveness. He mentioned the reward for the one who spent the night in worship — forgiveness. He mentioned the reward for the one who fasts and spends the night in prayers successfully — that he will be saved from the Hellfire. And if Allah Azza wa Jal accepts from us, then we will be from those whom He has forgiven and from those whom He will save from the Hellfire. May Allah make us from them.

The Blessed Hour of Jumu'ah

So my brothers and sisters, remember — especially at these hours of Jumu'ah — in which our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 935; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 852)

He said that in this Jumu'ah there is a time — there is an hour — in which if any Muslim worshipper asks Allah for anything, Allah Azza wa Jal will give it to him. And he showed with his two fingers — like this — indicating that short time.

Ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He accept from us. As'alullaha Azza wa Jal an yataqabbala minna — may Allah accept from us our deeds, may Allah make us from those who will be forgiven, may Allah make us from the people who will be saved from the Hellfire.

Salah 'Alan-Nabi and Du'a

أَلَا فَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُمْ كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ — He said in the final revelation:

وَقُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللَّهُ