Preparing for Ramadan - Sheikh Abu Abdillah Yunus Mahmud

Preparing for Ramadan

As-Salaamu Alaikum. My dear brothers and sisters, in a hadith we find in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, as well as Ibn Hibban and elsewhere, with an authentic chain, in which the Prophet ﷺ ascended the pulpit. And then he said, Ameen, Ameen, Ameen.

So the Sahabah asked him — you said Ameen thrice, you said it three times, what happened? So he said that Jibreel, alayhissalam, came to me and said to me:

(Musnad Imam Ahmad; also narrated by Ibn Hibban — authenticated)

He said that a person who reaches Ramadan, and then is not forgiven — his sins are not forgiven — enters into the Fire, is entered into the Fire, and Allah, Jalla wa 'Ala, casts him far away. He said, "Say Ameen," so I said Ameen.

And then he said, "O Muhammad, a man who witnesses — meaning his parents, both of them, or one of them is alive — and he doesn't show kindness and dutifulness towards them, enters the Fire, and Allah casts him far away. Say Ameen." So he said Ameen. And then he said, "A man in whose presence your name is mentioned, and then he doesn't send blessings upon you, enters the Fire, and then Allah, Jalla wa 'Ala, casts him away. Say Ameen." He said Ameen.

Why is this, my dear brothers and sisters? The second two — that's not the focus of the khutbah — but the first one: that a person enters into Ramadan, and then is unable to be forgiven. For in the month of Ramadan, there are ample opportunities — too many opportunities — for a person to be forgiven for all of their sins. A person to be forgiven, yet a person doesn't jump onto these ways of being forgiven for all of their sins.

What Changes When Ramadan Enters

In the month of Ramadan, as soon as that month enters, many things change — it's like the universe, there are major changes made — as the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him:

When Ramadan enters, the gates of paradise are not just opened — they are flung open. And the gates of the Hellfire are fastened, tightened, closed completely. And then he says the devils are chained up. In some of the narrations in Muslim, it mentions that the senior ones — they are the ones who are actually chained up — so it's still possible for them to whisper. Whatever the case, the fact that everything changes: paradise, the doors are flung open; the gates of Hellfire are tightened and closed; and the devils are tied up and chained. A person has so many opportunities to do good.

Prepare Now — Before Ramadan Arrives

But it's important, my dear brother and sister, for a person to think about it from now. Don't have all of your eggs in one basket and expect — you speak to a lot of brothers and sisters, they're doing a lot of things which are not pleasing to their creator, and you say, يا أخي, Ramadan is next week, less than a week — and they say, "Don't worry, I'm going to stop doing it the day before." If a person has such an intention, before they know it, because they haven't been able to withdraw themselves with ample time, a lot of the time they return back to it very easily.

You need to make a firm intention from now — if you haven't already made one — what are your goals, what are your targets for this Ramadan? And you need to start from now, whether it's in terms of buying your groceries for the month, the things that you don't need to buy every day or every week. Go and buy them right now. A person wants to buy some nice Eid clothing, or they want to buy some gifts — you have ample time, you have more than enough time to buy them right now. Why do you need to disturb yourself during the month of Ramadan to do this? So a person prepares themselves from now, so that when the month of Ramadan enters, their mind is not occupied with doing other things — their mind is focused, completely focused on doing what you're supposed to do during this month.

This is once every year. And Allah knows — as we say all the time, this is more like a cliché type of statement — that we don't know if we're going to make the next Ramadan. The point is, regardless of whether we're going to make it or not, a person needs to make sure that this Ramadan — have this intention from now — that it's going to be better than all of your previous Ramadans. If you're alive next year, Alhamdulillah, that's a bonus. Regardless of whether you're alive or not, try to have an intention from now that this Ramadan is going to be special. You are about to raise the bar: "I'm going to do something the likes of which I've never ever done before."

Cleanse the Heart — Remove Animosity Before Ramadan

And one of the ways of preparation is to have your heart clean and your chest clean from animosity, hatred, and ill feelings towards your fellow brothers and sisters. Like the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the hadith in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurairah:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2565)

Every Monday and Thursday, the gates of paradise are opened up, and every servant who does not associate partners with Allah is forgiven, except those between whom there is animosity, hatred, and problems — between a brother and a brother, or a brother and a sister, or a sister and a sister. And it is said: "Leave these two until they reconcile." So a person is missing out outside of Ramadan, and there is a big chance they're going to continue to miss out in Ramadan.

The Story of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and the Verse of Forgiveness

When Aisha was slandered by a relative of hers, her father Abu Bakr As-Siddiq used to sponsor one of his relatives who had financial difficulties. He used to give him money to sponsor him. So this man, whose name was Mistah, spread the rumour claiming that Aisha had committed something haram. So when Allah revealed the verses proving her innocence, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq swore upon Allah and said, "By Allah, I'm never going to sponsor this relative of mine again." So Allah revealed the verse:

Let those who are noble and who have been given ample provision from amongst you not swear upon Allah that they're going to stop sponsoring their poor migrant relatives. Rather, a person forgives, and they forget, and they pardon. And then the most important thing — the part after that in the verse — Allah says: "Do you not love for Allah to forgive you?"

As soon as Abu Bakr As-Siddiq heard this verse, what happened? He said, "By Allah, I'm never going to stop sponsoring him again." This is in Sahih al-Bukhari, my dear brothers and sisters. Ask yourself — you've heard this verse now — how are you going to be? Are you going to be one of those who hear the Qur'an and act upon the Qur'an? Or will a person say, "No, they were special people"?

Zayn al-Abideen and the Example of Forgiving a Cousin

Even those who came after the Companions — like the famous Zayn al-Abideen, 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's great-grandson. There was an issue with him and his first cousin, al-Husayn ibn al-Husayn, as Imam al-Dhahabi called him in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'. They had bad feelings towards one another. One time, Zayn al-Abideen was in the masjid, and his cousin entered and released everything that was on his chest — said everything and embarrassed him in front of others.

The same night — how did Zayn al-Abideen retaliate? What was his response? The same night, he went to his first cousin's house, knocked on the door, and said, "Ya Akhi, oh my brother — if you were wrong, may Allah forgive you. And if I am wrong, then may Allah forgive me. As-salamu alaykum." And he walked off. And then his first cousin — who had, wallahu a'lam, all of these problems in his heart towards his cousin — it melted within seconds, and he was following him, saying, "Please forgive me, I was in the wrong," and he said, "Look, I've already told you my brother — I've forgiven you."

Ibn Taymiyyah and the Death of His Enemy

And Ibn Taymiyyah — one of his greatest enemies passed away. Ibn al-Qayyim said: "So I walked up to him as if I was giving him the glad tidings of the death of his enemy." So what was Ibn Taymiyyah's response? He rebuked him, admonished him, said إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, and then said, "Let's go." They walked to the house of the children of the man who had passed away — his archenemy. And then he said to them, "Today, I take your father's place. Anything you need, I'm here. Do not hesitate to ask me." They made du'a for him, and it placed real happiness into their hearts.

This is a way a person wins hearts, my dear brothers and sisters. This is a way a person wins hearts. When they look at the people of the past and they analyze their conduct with others, they start to try to emulate their footsteps.

Forgiving Does Not Mean Befriending

We are not saying — if someone has harmed you and they have continued to remain how they are, and you know that if you were to go back to them they will harm you again — a lot of brothers and sisters tend to get mixed up between forgiving others and needing to be their best friend. When you forgive someone, after you've forgiven them, you don't need to be their best friend, specifically if they're going to harm you again. Leave them as it is. But it's still possible to forgive them. As the Prophet ﷺ says in the hadith of Abu Hurairah:

A believer is not stung from the same hole twice. So a person learns from it. A person does wrong to them — they can forgive them. They don't have to go and entertain them and then be stung once again. But at the same time, you have the ability to forgive them, and inshallah, Allah will forgive you, my dear brother and sister.

Guard Your Tongue — Especially from Backbiting

And from the actions that a person would be advised to try to exercise from now and work on is their tongue — in terms of ghibah, backbiting. A person tries their best not to backbite their fellow brothers and sisters. Why? So that in the month of Ramadan, whatever good deeds they accumulate — they keep those good deeds — not that you're working through all these hard days and then after that you just give them away for free, bismillah, one by one.

If you're not going to be questioned about something, it's better for you to keep silent. Specifically if you're uncertain and unsure, a person safeguards their tongue. And even foul language — a person who swears a lot — act like the people of paradise. How does Allah describe the people of paradise? He says they were guided to pure speech. They didn't abuse their speech. If a person is limited in their vocabulary, a person — a brother or sister — needs to make sure that they purify their speech. So as soon as Ramadan enters, you don't backbite others, you don't swear. If you're a person who swears regularly, perhaps try to replace that swear word with a more subtle word inshallah. This is a nice way to hopefully move out of that habit and protect and exercise your tongue.

Begin Reciting the Qur'an Now

And start reciting the Qur'an from now. Don't expect that somehow you're going to just wake up in Ramadan on the first day and, bismillah, alhamdulillah, mashallah, you're going to finish the Qur'an one time. No. Start from now. Just do a few days — get yourself in the rhythm and in the mode of recitation of the Qur'an, so that as soon as the month of Ramadan enters, as soon as the month of the Qur'an enters, you start finishing the Qur'an.

The people of the past — when a person wants to follow them, let us follow them in every possible way. If a person wants to just flick through the 27 volumes of Imam al-Dhahabi's masterpiece, they'll find it is very rare to find a scholar from the people of the past who would take longer than 3 days to finish the Qur'an in Ramadan. 3 days — what does that mean? It means that they finished the Qur'an 10 times. That's what it means — 10 times.

We're not saying — when we tell brothers and sisters — they may feel overwhelmed: "This is overwhelming, asking us to finish it 10 times. I haven't even finished it once." We'll say: if you haven't finished it once, let this be your first. Let this Ramadan be your first Ramadan that you plan it — one juz' a day — bi idhnillah ta'ala you'll finish it. But if you have finished it once, at least aim for 3 times. 3 times only requires 3 juz' a day — 3 chapters of the Qur'an daily — and you finish the Qur'an 3 times in the whole month. Every 10 days you would have finished a khatmah.

And think of it like this: even if you're a person who struggles, every letter that you recite, you're receiving 10 good deeds. It's a win-win situation, my dear brother and sister. Every juz', you're getting more than 100,000 good deeds. A person who finishes the entire Qur'an — it's over 3 million. A person really cannot lose out in the month of Ramadan. And they need to make sure that they start reciting the Qur'an from now, so if they have any knots on their tongue, you find them and you get rid of them very quickly. And as soon as the month of Ramadan enters, you'd see that you're going to be flowing in your recitation inshallah.

It's like a person who hasn't read a book in English for a long time — even though this is how they were raised — they'll struggle to read quickly and for it to flow. But as soon as they start reading for a few days and invest a bit of time, in a very short space of time they'll be able to get somewhere very quickly. Just like the Qur'an.

Tadabbur — Reflecting on the Qur'an

A person needs to have — even if it's one verse a day — where they try their best to do some tadabbur, some reflection and contemplation. Whether they listen to something, or they attend a small circle, or they read themselves and contemplate: "My Lord — He's addressing me. He's addressing me. What do I make of this? Am I implementing this verse? How do I see myself in respect to this verse?"

One verse — as Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned — for your iman and your spirituality and elevating the way you feel, he said one verse that a person recites and they contemplate over and give it its due right, is more beneficial at times for the iman than completing the entire Qur'an cover to cover. Why? Because when they contemplate over the Qur'an and they implement it and live with the Qur'an, it's very different to just reading, reading, reading — just doing it for the sake of barakah. Rather, a person wants to benefit from the Qur'an and see: "This is a message." It's like imagine you received a letter from a king or someone you really respect, and it's in a different language. You would go search for someone to translate it for you. Would you not do that? Of course you would. And you would probably read it 10 times, 20 times: "This guy is addressing me — not someone else — he's addressing me."

This is a human being. Imagine the creator — the Almighty Allah — who has given you every single thing that you have, when He is sending you messages through the Qur'an. Do you not want to understand what Allah is telling you? Of course you want to understand. But now is the time. If a person says, "I've never done it in my whole life" — now is the time, my dear brother and sister.

Fasting and Night Prayer with Iman and Hope for Reward

When your speech is pure, you recite the Qur'an, and you seek reward — you want to help your iman, full of faith, seeking reward — then the Prophet ﷺ says in the hadith in Bukhari and Muslim:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2014; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 760)

A person who fasts the month of Ramadan full of iman, and seeking reward from Allah, all of his previous sins will be forgiven. And he also says in the hadith in Sahih Muslim, encouraging his companions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2009; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 759)

A person who stands up — meaning in prayer, the night prayer — in Ramadan with iman and hope for reward, all of his previous sins will be forgiven. And he mentions in another authentic narration in Tirmidhi:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 806 — authenticated)

A person who stands with the Imam — starts the Tarawih, the Qiyam, after the 'Isha prayer, prays his sunnah, then starts the prayer — who stands with the Imam until he has finished the prayers, the entire night will be written for him as if he performed the entire night prayer. كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ — it will be recorded in this person's good deeds that he stood up the entire night.

So a person during the night, my dear brother and sister, really needs to make sure — if it's possible for them to actually take some time out from their work, do so right now inshallah ta'ala. It's sad when you find brothers and sisters who increase the amount of hours they work when they don't need the money — they're not in dire need — they increase because they're getting double pay during the last ten days and such. It's very sad, as if they're making a few pennies or a few pounds at the expense of abundant reward which they're going to regret on an unbelievable scale in the next life.

And brothers and sisters who live far away from the masjid, or sisters who are at home and don't come to the masjid during the month of Ramadan — there's no harm. But it's sad when you find sisters, or even brothers, who perform the prayer at home and all they recite is from Surah al-Ma'un —

— until the end, finishing in 10 to 15 minutes, and the rest of the night is wasted. We ask Allah to protect us. That all of this is how a person spent the month of Ramadan — it comes once a year — and you've spent 10 or 20 minutes finishing from al-Ma'un to the end of the Qur'an. No, no. These days need to go. They need to end from now, and from this Ramadan, a person needs to make sure they can't do this sort of thing anymore. If a person had an exam the next day or something, then fair enough — that's acceptable. But on a daily basis, and specifically during the last 10 nights, reciting from Surah al-Feel or al-Ma'un — one of these last 8 or 10 surahs — and finishing the night prayer at home in the space of 10 minutes: this person has lost out on an unbelievable scale. They've missed out big time, my dear brothers and sisters.

I'tikaf and the Last Ten Nights

Why is that? The Prophet ﷺ in Sahih al-Bukhari, on the authority of Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with him, mentions: as soon as fasting was made an obligation, the Prophet ﷺ entered into the state of i'tikaf at the beginning of Ramadan. Then Jibreel came at the end of the first 10 days and said, "That which you are requesting is ahead of you." So the Prophet ﷺ did i'tikaf — meaning stayed in the masjid doing ibadah — for the second 10 days of Ramadan. Then at the end of the second 10 days, Jibreel came once again and said, الَّذِي تَطْلُبُ أَمَامَكَ — "That which you are requesting, that which you are desiring — meaning Laylatul Qadr — is ahead of you, you haven't reached it yet." So then he made i'tikaf in the final last 10 days as well.

And as a side point, the Prophet ﷺ never left i'tikaf since he started fasting in the second year after Hijrah, except for 3 times. He would enter on the 20th day before Maghrib, according to the majority of scholars. The first time he left was for the Battle of Badr. The second time was when there was a bit of a dispute and competition between his wives — he got upset, left the i'tikaf, and made it up in Shawwal. And the third time was during the Conquest of Mecca.

The last 10 nights, my dear sisters — this is when Laylatul Qadr is.

Better than a thousand months — meaning better than 83 years. Most of us will not even live 83 years. And you have this opportunity that only comes once, and it's only 10 nights. And from Maghrib to Fajr — as you know, which is the night from an Islamic perspective — is for a very short space of time in England. Maghrib to Fajr is for a very short space of time. So a person only needs to do ibadah for a few hours, and before they know it, they would make Laylatul Qadr for sure, if they do this every night during those 10 nights.

Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned an amazing statement. He said: "If we didn't know when Laylatul Qadr was, we would stand up in the night prayer the entire year — because this is a golden opportunity. How can a person miss out on getting their deeds multiplied by 83 years, plus?" And he says: "So how about when we do know? When it's only 10 nights that you have to dedicate — and for sure you'd be making Laylatul Qadr." You have Allah's permission alone, my dear brothers and sisters.

Gratitude — Learning from the People of the Past

Let us try our best. Look at the people of the past and see how they used to do things. Give shukr. Many of us have been given amazing things — we eat whatever we like. When we look at the people of the past, you find Sufyan al-Thawri visiting 'Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam al-San'ani — who is from the teachers of Imam Ahmad — in Yemen, in the city of Sana'a. What did he offer for dinner? Meat with some vinegar on top, and Zabib — meaning raisins of Taif. Most of us probably wouldn't even eat this. But Sufyan al-Thawri ate it, and then he said to 'Abd al-Razzaq, the host: "Give the donkey some food, and now use it" — meaning do shukr, you've been given this amazing food. Now we need to show thankfulness.

Not that you go to an amazing restaurant, or a person's wife made some amazing food, or their mother or sister — and the best of us will just say, "Alhamdulillah, that was amazing." But how many of us actually do more than that? What did Sufyan do after eating this food? He performed the night prayer until Fajr. This was his shukr. This was his shukr.

Another person saw him prostrating in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. He said: "I started with tawaf" — and tawaf, as you know, is seven rounds. You finish one and then you perform two rak'ahs. He said: "I did this seven times" — meaning he circumambulated 49 times — "and he is still in that same prostration." When a person looks at the people of the past, my dear brothers and sisters, they think: SubhanAllah — where are they and where are we? But at least when we learn about them, we can try our best to get close to them. At least try to get close to them. And this is what we want to make sure — that this Ramadan, my dear brothers and sisters, is going to be unlike any other Ramadan for you and I.

By Allah's will, I say this, and I ask Allah for forgiveness for me and for you, and I ask for forgiveness for all the Muslims for all their sins. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Part of the Khutbah

May Allah bless you. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.

Or even if it's possible and you don't need the money — clear the entire 10 days to perform i'tikaf. Or even if you come — according to the majority of the scholars, there is no minimum amount of time for i'tikaf. So even if a person came from 'Isha all the way to close to Fajr with the intention of i'tikaf, that counts. And a lot of the time, we advise this to sisters — as you know, in the vast majority of masajid, they don't accommodate sisters performing i'tikaf. Or even if they did, and a sister was unable, at least if she came in with the intention that it's going to be even a few hours of i'tikaf, alhamdulillah. At least they've got those 10 nights free and they make the most of it.

And from now, have an idea in terms of what you're planning to do. Even a sister who is thinking about it — "What if I'm in my time of the month during the last 10 days, and I can't pray, I can't fast?" The vast majority of things she can still do. She can still make tons of du'a. She can still give in charity. She can still make istighfar. She can still make tawbah. The vast majority of things — near enough everything — she can do. The only few things she can't do are fasting and performing the prayer. Everything else, generally speaking, she can do.

So let every brother and sister from now set your targets. Have basic targets, and then have bigger things. You want to finish the Qur'an once? I need to finish one juz' daily. Don't say, "I'm just gonna leave it in Ramadan, however much I recite." People who think like this don't normally complete anything. Set a specific amount: "I'm going to finish this. If it's a day I'm free, no problem — I'll do two juz', I'll do three." But you need to have a set amount that you finish on a daily basis.

And have your targets from now: "This Ramadan, I want all of my sins forgiven. I want to make Laylatul Qadr. I want to complete the Qur'an. I want to do this. I want to do that." Have your goals from now. And even the goal that you want to be completely forgiven — that in itself is a noble goal. And most brothers and sisters don't even have this goal, that they want to be forgiven for all of their previous sins.

The Man Who Had Committed Every Sin

It reminds us of the amazing narration that a number of the scholars have authenticated — from them Hafiz ibn Hajar and others — from the narration in the Mu'jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani: that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "What do you think of a person who has committed every sin in the book? He hasn't left any sin. Is there any tawbah for such an individual?" So the Prophet ﷺ said, "Have you embraced Islam? Have you become a Muslim?" He said, "Yes, I testify that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is his Messenger." So the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Yes, there is tawbah for this person." He said, "Do good deeds, stay away from sins, and Allah will make all of your bad deeds into good deeds." So the man was a bit surprised — he didn't even ask me to elaborate on some of the sins that I've done. So he replied back to the Prophet ﷺ: "But there were a lot of betrayals involved in my sins as well, a lot of immoral acts." And the Prophet ﷺ said, "Even all of those. Even all of those." So the man was over the moon. He started saying, "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," until he disappeared.

A person, my dear brother and sister, starts from now. They have the intention — they want all of their sins forgiven. They want a clean slate. A new chapter that they're about to enter into their life in the month of Ramadan. And inshallah, if Allah takes their soul in the process, alhamdulillah — at least they were in the process.

There was once a sister who didn't really used to do things that please Allah. One day, she decided to make tawbah, attended a class, made tawbah, left the masjid — and she got run over and passed away. Alhamdulillah. She had just made some changes immediately. What counts is how you are now and how you end, my dear brother and sister.

Like the Prophet ﷺ says in the authentic narration in Sahih al-Bukhari:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6607)

Actions are based on endings — a person may do a lot of bad, like the man who came at the Battle of Uhud and said to the Prophet ﷺ, "Should I embrace Islam first, or should I fight?" He said, "Rather fight." And he passed away that same day. So the Prophet ﷺ said he had done little work, but he was given amazing reward. He entered paradise. And Abu Hurairah would speak about this person and say, "Remind me of a man who entered paradise and who never performed even one prostration."

A person tries their best. They have a pure heart. And Allah knows best what they intend to do. And if Allah takes their life in the process, inshallah, they've got a lot of khair to look forward to in the next life. We ask Allah finally, my dear brothers and sisters, to grant us the most noble of endings and the most noble of Ramadans so far in our lives, and to make it a new chapter of our lives. Ameen.

Announcements

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Just a few important announcements.

Task Force GLM has partnered with various bread factories in Idlib, Syria, with the aim to bake enough bread to provide up to 12 million Syrian refugees with bread free of charge inshallah. Hence, every Friday after Jumu'ah, we will be holding a snack stall outside both brothers' and sisters' entrances. All proceeds will go towards the bread project. Please visit the stalls on your way out and make a purchase.

GLMCC presents to you Getting the Most of Ramadan — the biggest event of the year so far. Join us for a unique weekend with one of the senior students of Sheikh Ibn Baz. We are honoured to announce that Sheikh 'Abdul 'Aziz al-Sadhan will be with us delivering lectures on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of June. All lectures will be from 8pm to 11pm inshallah. It's a free event and overnight stays are available. For registration, please visit our website.

Are you interested in holding a stall at one of the largest Eid gatherings in the UK? This year Celebrate Eid is facilitating a huge bazaar at the Eid event in Small Heath Park. For more information and to book a stall for this amazing day, please come to reception through door C.

Tonight's Urdu lecture will take place after Salatul Maghrib.

Beginning on Monday and running every day for a month, Sisters Tarbiyah are running a very special course — Journey Through the Quran — covering a chapter of the Qur'an every day, pondering over the meaning and learning how to apply the lessons to our daily lives. No registration required. Sisters only. Mezzanine floor via door E, from Monday, 12:00pm to 2:30pm inshallah.

Islamwise will be holding a special short course on Ramadan for new Muslim brothers on Sunday 14th of June at 2:30pm in the old library. Entrance is via door G. For further information, please contact Islamwise.

Our food bank services urgently require food donations. We are currently running low on cooking oil, milk, rice, and drinks. Please leave your donation during office hours at the Masjid reception, door C.

If you are struggling to find work, need help with completing your CV, or need interview skills, we are now offering a service for you. GLMCC Job Club is running every Monday with morning sessions for sisters and afternoon sessions for brothers. For more information, please come to reception through door C.

We have some Ramadan timetables available at the office. We apologize for the delay — there are unfortunately only a limited number; more will arrive on Monday inshallah.

Lastly, we apologize for the inconvenience caused by the building work in the Masjid. We are trying to improve the site for your comfort, access, and your worship. Please have patience with us.

Once again, please donate generously on your way out. Jazakallah Khair.