Increase Your Du'a During the Last 10 Nights - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَسْتَهْدِيهِ 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 أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا فَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ الطَّيِّبِينَ الطَّاهِرِينَ وَمَنْ سَارَ عَلَى نَهْجِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

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

Indeed, all praise and thanks and glory belongs to Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone. And I bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam is his final messenger.

Ayyāman Ma'dūdāt — A Fixed and Precious Number of Days

Allah tells us in the Quran, after telling us about the obligation of fasting, that these days and this month are أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ — ayyāman ma'dūdāt. And here we are now on the 20th day of Ramadan. Just a few moments ago it feels like that we heard the call that the moon was seen and that we are about to begin this blessed month of Ramadan.

And just a few moments later here we find ourselves preparing ourselves for the last 10 nights of Ramadan. And how Allah said it so beautifully and clearly — ayyāman ma'dūdāt — that these are a fixed amount of days for you and I to take an opportunity to gain a prize, if you like, from Allah that is not available at any other time during the year.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, upon the beginning of the month of Ramadan, would give the glad tidings to the sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them: the paradise — its gates are opened. Jahannam — its gates are closed. And that Allah has slaves that are freed from the hellfire every day, every night. We ask Allah أَنْ يَجْعَلَنَا مِنْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ — to make us from among them, O Lord of the worlds.

So these days that have gone past — whatever has gone past — and whatever remains is the opportunity for you to become of those chosen people, freed from the fire, by the permission of Allah.

The True Objective of Fasting — Taqwa

I wanted to concentrate on something: the fact that Allah tells us the actual objective — the single most important objective of fasting:

So that you can gain piety and an awareness and a consciousness of Allah. So what is that link? What is the understanding between you and I fasting every day and being conscious and aware of Allah?

Fasting is that type of ibadah that you go against your natural self — wanting to eat, wanting to drink, wanting to spend time with your spouse — you forsake that not for one day, not for one week, not for two weeks. You forsake that in the daylight hours for an entire month. From the morning — maybe you missed suhoor or you're particularly energetic during the day in your workplace and you feel thirsty — immediately you are reminded, أَنَا صَائِمٌ, that you are fasting. Whenever you feel hungry, immediately you remember: I am fasting.

So fasting is unique in that from every moment that you spend fasting, you realize you are continuously worshipping Allah — continuously. Salah has its time — you begin with Allahu akbar and you finish with assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah — and you do that five times a day, and that may take a portion of the day. If you add those times together — half an hour, 45 minutes, however long you spend in your five daily prayers — let's say it was an hour in the 24. But fasting is continuous, from the very start until the very end.

And Allah mentions in the hadith al-Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1904; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1151)

That fasting — it is done for Me and for Me alone. A Muslim will not give up their food and drink and time with their spouses continuously — not because they want to lose weight, or for some regime or for some routine — they do that for Allah. The Muslim is reminded that you place your forehead on the floor for no other reason, for nothing else, only out of your submission to Allah.

Understanding Taqwa

So the fact that Allah says — so that you may gain taqwa — fast so that you may gain taqwa — this awareness, this consciousness of Allah — this term which is mentioned more than 200 times in the Book of Allah — it is something that the salaf, the pious predecessors, would go to great extents to define for us, to explain to us the meaning of what taqwa is. From them: it is fear of the Most Glorified; it is to act upon the revelation; it is to be satisfied with a small amount that you may be decreed or given; and to prepare yourself for the day that you will make your journey to Allah.

Taqwa is: imagine a path that you are walking along and that on that path there are thorns, and you are wearing your best clothing, and that while traversing and walking upon that path you wouldn't want any of those thorns to tear your garment — so carefully you step along that path, being sure not to step on any of those thorns.

Notice — while a person is fasting — the same feeling you should have: that as you are going through the day you are careful not to fall into any haram, not to say anything haram, not to engage in any transaction which is haram. Because remember, while fasting you are constantly reminded — you are worshipping Allah — and while worshipping you are trying to attain a level of al-ihsan:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 50; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8 — Hadith of Jibril)

You want to attain perfection in your worship — as though you see Allah, and though you do not see Him, you know that Allah sees you. So while you are fasting, you stay away from bad speech, you stay away from foul language, you make sure that what you see is halal, that what you hear is halal, and you engage in dhikr and the remembrance of Allah. This is you walking along that path — this is you showing and manifesting that while fasting, this is what taqwa is.

Taqwa is that. And imagine doing this for one entire month. Putting aside — trying to fast the Monday and Thursday and the other times during the year, or the three white days — the 14th, 15th and 16th of every month — imagine a person who was to engage in fasting in this manner throughout the year. No one is asking any one of us — there is no obligation to do the fast of Dawud, peace be upon him — one day on, then one day off — for many of us that is far above us; we cannot do that. But just fasting the month of Ramadan, two days a week — you can't do that? Three days in the month? You will see an impact in your life. You will see that your taqwa is raising in your life and you are living your Islam, because you are aware of what Allah wants from you. And this is the great blessing of fasting — this is the mercy of fasting that Allah obligated upon us. All praise belongs to Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His final messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Preparing for the Last 10 Nights

And so, while we are all fully aware now that we are about to embark upon the last 10 days and 10 nights of Ramadan — as Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, described so beautifully how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would prepare himself for this very special time.

And for you and I, alhamdulillah, the schools are closed — there is no issue of waking up your child or waking up your family to offer some qiyam al-layl. Searching out Laylat al-Qadr — but it's on the 21st, 23rd, 27th, 29th — maybe on the odd nights, and Allah knows best. You are not going to put all your eggs in one basket and say it's the 27th night. It could be on any of the odd nights. So therefore we have this opportunity — Allah has facilitated for us that we can wake up our families, come to the masjid and pray qiyam al-layl, or pray qiyam al-layl in your homes. Make du'a in these times like you've never made du'a before.

The Du'a of Laylat al-Qadr

And Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, not letting an opportunity like this pass by, said: "Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah — the best supplication — what do you advise me to say during these special nights?"

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam responded:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3513; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3850 — graded Sahih)

"O Allah, You are the One who pardons, and You love to pardon, so pardon me and overlook my mistakes." Say this du'a as much as you can.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who lived in the house of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — she was privy to be in his space more than anybody else — and she would ask Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam very specific questions, very beautiful questions.

And on the topic of du'a — supplication — where you ask Allah anything:

"And your Lord has proclaimed: Call upon Me and I will answer."

"And when My slaves ask you about Me, O Muhammad, then tell them: I am close. I will answer the call of the one who supplicates to Me."

So in these days and nights that are remaining — in your sujud, when you are closest to your Lord — make du'a to Allah like you never made du'a before. Du'a that your souls, your bodies, your families are saved from the hellfire. That you implore Allah to save you, to guide you, to protect you — everyone that you know, everyone that you love.

The Prophet's Du'a for Aisha and for His Ummah

Let me mention an example. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

There was an occasion that I saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in an especially good mood. So she said:

"O Messenger of Allah, make du'a for me" — taking an opportunity. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"O Allah, forgive Aisha of her sins — that which preceded and forgive her in the future, that which she did in private and that which she did in public." A very special du'a of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, asking Allah to forgive Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. What an amazing and special du'a from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her.

But here we are talking about خَيْرُ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ — the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — the best man ever to live on earth. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would make sure that he would answer the request of the one who is asking but also give more. So upon hearing this, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was so happy that she fell off the lap of the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"Does my du'a not make you happy, Aisha?" Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, responded:

"How could it be that your du'a does not make me happy? You asked Allah to forgive me of all of my sins!" The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam then said:

"By Allah, this is the du'a that I make for my Ummah in every one of my prayers." Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — who never met you, never met me or our families — yet asked Allah to forgive you and I.

Closing — Du'a for the Muslims Around the World

In this month of Ramadan, my brothers and sisters, there are many Muslims around the world who need help — who need the help of Allah. These nights that are in front of us — beg Allah to protect and to guide the Muslims around the world. You ask Allah to give victory to Islam and all those who support Islam.

O Allah, forgive us our sins, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, help the brothers in Gaza, O Lord of the worlds.