Sh.Kamal Elmekki

What We Learned in Ramadan

Brothers and sisters in Islam, the title of our khutba today is what we learned in Ramadan. As we all know, the purpose of Ramadan is that we will incur some kind of change during the month of Ramadan that we will continue with for the rest of the year. We spent the month of Ramadan close to the book of Allah, close to the Qur'an, regularly reciting, learning, memorizing, and contemplating its meanings.

And the question is, are we going to continue that close relationship with the Qur'an after Ramadan is over? The scholars say when you love someone, you love their speech. You'll see parents listening to their small children, and their children are saying nonsensical things that don't make sense, but the parents love to hear their speech. Or someone will speak to their fiancé for hours upon hours because we love someone, you love their speech.

So they said then, how much do we love the speech of Allah? And that's indicative of how much we love Allah. Do we get tired when we're listening to the Qur'an or reciting Qur'an? Do we get bored when we're reading Qur'an? And for some people they can compare that to when they listen to music — do they get bored of listening to music? Do they get tired of listening to it?

The Love of Ibn Mas'ud for the Qur'an

The companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, when you would give him a copy of the Qur'an — because back then they didn't have printing presses, so if someone gave you a copy of the Mus'haf, that means they sat down and painstakingly wrote it all out — they said when you gave Ibn Mas'ud a copy of the Qur'an, he would take it and he would press it against his chest and he would say, كِتَابُ رَبِّي، كِتَابُ رَبِّي — "The book of my Lord, the book of my Lord." Just from his words you feel his love for the Qur'an.

In Surah Sad, Allah says:

A blessed book that We sent down to you so they may contemplate its verses. So first and foremost, the Qur'an is a book of guidance and the idea is to contemplate the Qur'an.

Ibn Baz and the Advice to Contemplate

One of the interesting stories — the late scholar Ibn Baz: they said that a group of students came to him and they said, give us advice. He said, memorize the Qur'an. They said after memorizing the Qur'an? He said, memorize the books of hadith. They said after memorizing the books of hadith? He said, contemplate the Qur'an. They said after contemplating the Qur'an? And the shaykh just smiled. Because the meaning is, you are never done contemplating the Qur'an.

There's no one who contemplated all the ayat and figured out all the gems and wisdoms in the Qur'an. It's never ending and you always continue doing that. One of the early Muslims had a waleema — food and a gathering at his house — and the occasion was that after 20 years he finally completed contemplating the Qur'an.

He said, خَتَمْتُ الْقُرْآنَ — after 20 years I finally completed reading the entire Qur'an. So they said, 20 years — it took you 20 years to finish reading the Qur'an? He said, wallahi, I never passed by a verse except that I asked myself, what does Allah want from me from this verse? What he means is, he's going through the Qur'an in slow contemplation, and that's why it took him 20 years. It's not about singing through it or reciting it quickly, but rather: what is the lesson? What is required of me when it comes to this verse? Do I act upon this verse or do I just ignore the rulings and the commands of this verse? He's saying that's the kind of khatam he did, and that's why it took him 20 years.

The Advice of Ibn Mas'ud on Reciting the Qur'an

Going back to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, he used to give advice about reading the Qur'an. He would say: do not sing it along like it's poetry. And do not rush through it, but pause and contemplate its meanings. And do not let the concern of one of you be the end of the Surah.

Many times someone will sit down to read a juz' or to finish Surah Al-Baqarah, so they put the bookmark at the end of the Surah. And then every few minutes after reading, they'll check how thick the pages, how much is left — how many pages left. They want to get to the end of it. And Ibn Mas'ud said, don't let your concern be the end of the Surah. Enjoy the moment. Don't rush through it. Don't just sing through it, but contemplate its meanings.

Allah says:

And fear Allah, and Allah will teach you. So fear Allah and Allah will teach you.

So the scholars said, so many people come expecting to be moved by the Qur'an, but nothing happens. And they argue: how can you be moved by the words of the Qur'an if you have thrown the values of the Qur'an behind your back? For the Qur'an to have effect, there's something you have to do first. Allah said, fear Allah and Allah will teach you. Come with the fear of Allah, respecting the values of the Book of Allah, and then you will get benefit from it, and then you will learn from the Book of Allah.

Many times people will come and say, I didn't feel the salah, or this imam didn't do it for me. And the scholar said, it's not about the imam — it's about you. Do you follow the values of the Qur'an? Or do you expect that you will turn your back on its values, and its meanings, and its lessons — and then what are the chances that the words are going to have some kind of effect on you?

The Body and the Soul

The scholars also said something beautiful. They said, the human being is composed of two things: you are composed of the body and the spirit. And as long as these are connected, that's what life is. The minute they're disconnected, that's what death is.

So they said, the body was created from earth. As we know, the angels came and they took handfuls of different parts of soil from different parts of the earth. So the body was created from this earth. Therefore, everything that takes care of the body, everything that brings peace to the body, will also have to be from the earth. And that's why eating, drinking, sleeping — things that take care of the body — they're all available on earth.

But the spirit — nothing ever said the spirit came from earth. The spirit came from the heavens. So therefore, what will take care of, nurture, and bring peace to the spirit, the nafs, the soul, will have to be from the heavens. And by that they're referring to the Qur'an. What takes care of the soul is the Qur'an. And it came from the heavens, just like the soul itself came from the heavens.

Shaytan's Mission to Distract You from the Qur'an

The shaytan's job is to distract you from the Qur'an. In Surah An-Nahl, Allah says:

So when you recite the Qur'an, seek the refuge, seek the protection of Allah from ash-shaytan ir-rajim — from the shaytan, the outcast. So we're taught that when you recite the Qur'an, that sends the shaytan away. So why do I have to seek protection from the shaytan before reciting the Qur'an? The shaytan runs away from the Qur'an. So why don't I just start reciting? Why do I seek the protection of Allah first?

The answer comes from Iblis himself:

Iblis is telling you where he's going to lay in wait for you. Iblis is waiting for you on the straight path of Allah. So he's waiting for you to distract you from the Qur'an. He's waiting for you in the places where the believers will go.

And if you contemplate the du'a of entering the masjid, narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud, you say:

It's a very strong du'a. You're seeking the protection of Allah Al-Azim, the Magnificent, by His noble Face and His eternal sovereignty, from ash-shaytan ir-rajim. So you're entering the masjid and making this powerful du'a, seeking protection — as if there are shayateen in the masjid. And that should be the du'a of entering the nightclub or the bar or something, because that's where the shayateen would be. But why are you making it before you enter the masjid? Because Iblis said he's going to be waiting for you on the straight path of Allah. So he waits for the believers in the masjid. He comes to distract the believers when they're reciting the Qur'an. The minute some people start reciting, the shaytan comes to put them to sleep or to distract them or to confuse their understanding. And that's why you seek the protection of Allah before you start to recite the Qur'an.

He's going to put all this effort just to keep you away from the Qur'an. If we abandon the Qur'an after Ramadan, that means the shaytan was successful with us. Ramadan made us better people. It made us better worshippers of Allah. It made us better believers. And abandoning the Qur'an is an indication that we didn't get the lesson from the month of Ramadan.

The idea was to pick up good habits during the month and continue them for the rest of the year. And it's not that we have two lifestyles — lifestyle A is how I behave outside of Ramadan, and lifestyle B is how I am in Ramadan — and then when Eid comes, I go back to lifestyle A. No, the idea is to try to continue lifestyle B for as much and as long as possible.

This was just a reminder to you and to myself, so that we do not abandon the book of Allah. I say this and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you from all my sins. So ask His forgiveness, O you who seek His forgiveness.

Continuing the Fast After Ramadan

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon His trustworthy Messenger and upon his family and companions.

So just as the month of Ramadan was the month of the Qur'an, it was also obviously the month of fasting. And many people abandon fasting once Ramadan is over. They have nothing to do with fasting again until the next Ramadan comes. But we are to continue also this good deed and this act of worship of fasting — whether you fast Mondays and Thursdays or you fast every other day, which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, described as the most beloved fast to Allah. And that is the fast of Dawud, the Prophet of Allah, Dawud, peace be upon him. He would fast one day and break fast the next day and would just continue like that.

Advice for the Youth: Marriage and Fasting

This is excellent advice, especially for those who are single. Those who are single — their recourse is to fast, and to fast a lot, if they're not able to get married. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, specifically said that in the famous hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5065; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1400)

He said, oh — he's talking to the youth — he said, whoever of you is able to provide al-ba'ah... the scholars say al-ba'ah, and you have to be careful because they describe it according to what fit the description in their times. They said: any roof over your head and just a few bites a day to sustain you — that was acceptable back then. Today you can't go ask for someone's hand and say, I have some makeshift shelter and I'll just eat some donuts that get thrown away or something. So it has to be what is the minimal acceptable level today. If you can provide that, then you should get married.

فَإِنَّهُ أَغَضُّ لِلْبَصَرِ وَأَحْصَنُ لِلْفَرْجِ — It is better for the gaze, meaning it helps you lower your glance, and it is better protection for the privates. وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَيْهِ بِالصَّوْمِ — Whoever is not able to provide the basics in order to get married, then he has one solution and that is to fast.

We used to know brothers who would fast every other day for 10 years straight — every other day for 10 years straight — because they couldn't get married. Because this is the solution of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. So take it.

One time a young man came to me and he said, it's summer and people are dressed poorly and we're students and we can't afford to get married. Find us a solution. Don't tell me lower the gaze. Don't tell me fast. Give me a solution. So what is he saying? In other words, he's saying, I want you to give me a solution — don't give me that solution that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave. Give me something else. No, I will give you that solution. And as a point, sometimes people come and ask you something and then they tell you, don't give me the right answer. No, I will give you the right answer. It's like someone telling you, what's 1 plus 1 — and don't say it's 2. I'll say it's 2, because 1 plus 1 is 2. Yes, I will tell you to fast, because that's the solution of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. You don't want to take his solution and then you want me to come up with something better — it's not going to happen.

But people take this seriously. Single brothers — we knew single brothers who would fast 10 years straight every other day because they were single. But a young man will come to you and say this is difficult — but do you fast? No. Do you put great effort into lowering the gaze? No. What do you think will happen? So especially for people who are single: fast. Fast continuously. Fast as much as you can.

The Six Days of Shawwal

And with that, we'd like to remind you that of course, when Ramadan is over, you are to fast the six days from the month of Shawwal. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1164)

So whoever fasts Ramadan, then follows it with six days of Shawwal — it is as if he fasted the entire year. The scholars explained: as you know, the good deed is multiplied by ten. So you fast 30 days of Ramadan, multiply that by 10, it's 300. And then you fast another six days multiplied by 10, that's 60. So it's 360 in reward — it's like fasting 360 days, like fasting the entire year.

A Fiqh Issue: Making Up Missed Days vs. Fasting Shawwal

The only thing we'd like to conclude with is a fiqh issue. When you have days that you broke fast — and especially for the ladies, they will have days that they missed in Ramadan, or for some men who were traveling or were sick and missed some days — do you make up those missed days first? Or do you fast the six days of Shawwal first? The six days of Shawwal are optional, they are sunan, they are not obligatory. And this is an issue of debate amongst the scholars.

Some scholars said the hadith says مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ — and then fast six days of Shawwal. So that means you have to finish fasting all of Ramadan first. So if you have three days left over from Ramadan, you have to do them first, and then you fast the six days of Shawwal — so that you complete Ramadan first.

The other group of scholars said: if for example a woman missed a lot of days — maybe she missed 14 days in Ramadan — we can't expect her to make up those 14 days before she does the six days of Shawwal. They also say that Allah said:

And He didn't specify. Allah said, if you miss some days, you can make them up from other days — He didn't specify when. So they argue that بَابُ الْقَضَاءِ مَفْتُوحٌ — the door of making up missed fasts is open — while the days of Shawwal are restricted and limited. So they said in a case like this, you would be able to fast the six days of Shawwal, and then you have the rest of the year — though the sooner the better — to make up the days. Allah made it more relaxed. So in that case, you could do your six days of Shawwal, and then you can make up the days of Ramadan, as Allah didn't specify when you have to make them up.

Conclusion

So with that, the idea is that we do not abandon the Qur'an, and we do not abandon the act of fasting itself. With that, we ask Allah to make us of those who hear the truth as clear truth and follow the best of it, and to make us of those who recognize falsehood as clear falsehood and abstain from it.