Farewell to Ramadan (Audio Only)

Opening — Praising Allah and Sending Blessings upon the Prophet

All praise is due to Allah, and His praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and his followers until the Day of Judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad his last and final messenger.

Bidding Farewell to Ramadan

My dear brothers and sisters, yesterday we welcomed Ramadan and today we bid it farewell. Yesterday we planned our deeds and what we're going to do in Ramadan, and today we entrust our deeds to our Lord. Yesterday we were asking Allah to help, and today we're asking Allah to accept. Yesterday we were so happy with the arrival of Ramadan, and today we are so happy because we're expecting Eid.

We're so happy not because Ramadan is departing and leaving, but we're so happy that we were able to make it — and we made it. It is a hard moment when something that you love is about to leave, about to depart. It is not an easy moment when you're about to be leaving behind something that you are attached to.

So those who attach to the khair — to the goodness, to the ibadah — these hearts which attach to the worship of Allah feel the pain of the departing of Ramadan. Yes, I'm not trying to be idealistic here, and I'm not saying that it is easy to fast every day and to disturb your sleeping schedule and to commit to all that. That's natural. That's normal to be exhausted. That doesn't mean that your iman is weak or bad. No, that's you being a human.

But the sweetness of the act of worship, the sweetness of faith, the sweetness of salah, the sweetness of reading the Qur'an, listening to the Qur'an, the sweetness of being together, helping one another to do something good — that's something hard for a person to let go.

The only things that give us sabr are really two things. Number one, that we know that so many other opportunities are coming, and we ask Allah:

That we ask Allah to grant us the ability to witness Ramadan for years to come while we are in good health and good iman. Allahumma ameen.

And also the other point is that we ask Allah to accept and to reward us. And those who are happy simply because it's just over — because they just wanted to get rid of this — Alhamdulillah, I don't expect any one of our crowd here, the people of Ahlul Masjid, of Salatul Jumu'ah, to have that feeling.

I remember someone telling me about Ramadan — a young man once, I'll never forget it. He told me, "Ya Sheikh, for me it's a good break." I didn't get it in the beginning. What do you mean by a good break? He said, "A good break from all the bad things that I do during the year." Straightforward. He was being honest, I guess. So that means just a break, to go back to the way he was before.

May Allah make Ramadan a turning point — even a person who enters Ramadan with this intention, you don't know how people's hearts change. Those who have not done much during the month of Ramadan, those who have a feeling that they wasted so much of their time and so many opportunities — you still have time. Ramadan is not over yet.

Maybe this is the last night of Ramadan. If it's Eid on Sunday, that means this is the last night. And the Prophet said that Allah frees so many people from the Hellfire in the last night of Ramadan. He accepts so many people every night, especially the last night. There is an abundance of forgiveness, an abundance of people who will be saved from the Hellfire in that night. Make sure that on Saturday you are still fasting, and upon breaking your fast, while you are fasting, your deeds are accepted and your du'a is accepted.

Make sure that you increase your istighfar during these days, and your sadaqah, and your reading of the Qur'an, and your good deeds — in whatever hours remain in this blessed month.

The Religious Blessings of Allah

We should recognize the following fact: that the ni'ma of Allah — the blessings of Allah — are both worldly and religious. Allah's blessings and bounties upon us are not only in money and health, a good job, a good wife, good kids, a good career. No, that's one part of it. But there is also another part: the religious blessings that Allah has given you. And on top of that, the iman that you have — that is a bounty, that is a gift from Allah.

The faith, following the sunnah of the Prophet, being upon the correct aqeedah, having the love for Allah, having the love for the Prophet, being able to pray, being able to fast, the opening of the door of repentance — these are all gifts from Allah. The amount of rewards that He gives for all the good deeds that we do — all these are gifts, bounties, and blessings from Allah related to religious matters.

And just as we will be asked about the worldly bounties and gifts, Allah will ask us about the religious ones as well. Allah will ask us about all the blessings and gifts that He gave us in this world and what we did with them. He will ask us about Ramadan and what we did in it. As He will ask you about your money — how you earned it and how you spent it. And He will ask you about your health and your lifetime in this earth. He will ask you about the Qur'an that He gave you. He will ask you about Muhammad and the sunnah that he delivered to you. He will ask you about the faith that He has ordained for you.

And as we have been asked to be grateful to Allah for all the blessings He has given us — we have so many times thanked Allah for the worldly blessings, but we do not thank Him enough for the religious blessings. And that is why we should increase our thanks to Allah at the end of Ramadan. Because Allah said:

"If you are grateful and thankful, I will increase you." It's not going to give you another month of Ramadan. No, but He will increase your relationship with the Qur'an. He will increase your relationship with salah. He will increase your relationship with sadaqah. He will increase your relationship with the masjid. He will increase your relationship with your brothers and sisters in Islam. And all these blessings and all these beautiful things that we experienced in Ramadan — you will have more of them.

The Alive and Dead Heart

Ibn Mas'ud said:

"Ruined is the person who does not have a heart to recognize goodness from evil." If your heart cannot recognize what is wrong and what is right, this heart is ruined. That shows the absolute weakness of iman. Because the blessed heart is the heart that will always prefer what is good over what is bad, what is beneficial over what is harmful.

"The healthy heart prefers what is beneficial over what is harmful, and the sick heart is the opposite of that."

The Sweetness of Faith — The Story of Bilal

Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about his perseverance in faith despite the severe torture and being thrown into the scorching sands of Mecca. He said:

"I would hear the sound of the charcoal being extinguished by the melting fat of my own skin burning over it." Abu Jahl would even bring his children just so they could witness what kind of torture this man was experiencing. Bilal said: "One of them would come to my open wound and put his finger or a stick inside and touch my bone from within, and I would scream from the pain while the children laughed." That is a type of torture. Yet he always showed nothing but strength:

"Allah is the only One, the only One — the only One I will submit myself to, not to these deities and these gods." So he was asked: how did you manage that? He responded with these famous words:

"I mixed the bitterness of torment with the sweetness of faith, and the sweetness of faith prevailed." Allahu Akbar.

That is something you should ask for at the end of Ramadan — to taste the sweetness of iman, so that it will always prevail over the sweetness of any sin or the joy of committing any sin. Always ask Allah to put that sweetness of iman in your heart.

Two Reasons the Sweetness of Faith is Lost

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"A person loses the sweetness of faith only because of two reasons." The first is the lack of sincerity — when you are not sincere enough, when your intention is not pure enough, when you are not mindful of your intention when you do good deeds. The second is the lack of following the Prophet. The second is that you are performing the ibadah incorrectly — you are not following the sunnah of the Prophet. Otherwise, if you fulfill these two conditions, you must experience the sweetness of iman.

Lessons We Learned from Ramadan

1. Controlling Our Desires

In Ramadan we learn how to control our desires. Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Know that your soul, your nafs, is like your mount. If it senses diligence from you, it will strive. But if it senses laziness, it will take advantage of you, seeking its desires and pleasures." That is why Ramadan gives your soul the strength to see how strong you are. You control your desire — otherwise you will be controlled by your desires.

2. Complete Submission to Allah

In Ramadan we learn how to submit ourselves completely to the will of Allah, sincerely for His sake. Nobody knows you're fasting except Allah. You can break your fast by mere intention. Nobody will know. But you do this for Allah. Nobody is forcing you to do it. But you do it for Allah — that is absolute submission.

Many non-Muslims tell me: "I understand you don't eat, whatever — good diet — but why don't you drink water? It makes no sense." And this is the point: this submission to Allah gives you ultimate freedom.

This is a side point for those who enjoy the Qur'an and reflecting on its verses. One of the things I was reflecting on is how Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that the people of Hellfire will be in chains — tied and put in chains. And I thought: subhanAllah, because the people of Hellfire — we see them in this dunya — all they want is freedom. They live their life free from any restrictions. "Whatever I want to do, I do. I don't care about God." So Allah punished them with the opposite: they will lose even the freedom of movement of their hands and their bodies. They will be chained and put in Hellfire. But those who tied themselves in this dunya and restricted themselves will be given the ultimate freedom on the Day of Judgment.

3. The Power of Collective Action

We learn in Ramadan how, collectively, we can help one another to be better Muslims. Collectively, we can raise a good amount of funds. Alhamdulillah, our fundraising every year — because of the inspiration — this person donates $10, this person donates $5, this person donates $100, this person $20,000 for the endowment fund — we all come together and you see things happen. If I told you the masjid needs $500,000, just one or two people would be overwhelmed. But all of us coming together — I saw this in the fundraising for CARE, for Iman Academy, and in many events — Human Appeal and many others I witnessed this Ramadan. When we come collectively, we can accomplish. We distribute the work — everybody brings suhoor, everybody brings food for iftar — we pray together, we help one another. Collectively, we can make a difference. One drop of rain will not hurt you. But collective drops of rain can delay you and can cause damage if they accumulate.

4. Time Management

We learn in Ramadan the importance of time management. I always emphasize this with my kids. There is a specific time to break your fast and a specific time to stop eating — you have to respect that. Respecting time. May Allah make us among those who benefit the most from Ramadan.

5. This Dunya Passes Quickly

One of the things we learn from Ramadan, as we reach the end of this month: we exhausted ourselves, we gave our best effort, we gave extra. Wallahi, it is not easy to read a whole juz or two juz a day. It is not easy to pray eleven rak'ah every night. It is not easy to fast a whole entire day. It is not easy to donate money — you worked so hard to earn it, but you give it for the sake of Allah. It is not easy to make du'a and be consistent. It is not easy to tolerate people, and sometimes people can be mean and rude. It is not easy to overcome social anxiety but still force yourself to come to the masjid. It is not easy for kids who have exams and tests at school but still come to Ramadan and stay up all night. It is not easy. But we put in the effort.

And then Ramadan, this short period of time, is gone. All this effort comes to an end in a day or two. That is a lesson for us to learn: the same thing applies to this dunya. This whole life is nothing but moments. How old are you? Do this exercise on your way back to work. Whether you are 50, 40, 30, 20 — just think about your whole life. All you can think of is moments. Fifty years, and you can go through it all in ten minutes. That is the reality of the dunya. It is so short. What will really remain with you is the good deeds that you remember — or that you don't.

6. The Importance of Night Prayer

We learn in Ramadan the importance of night prayers. Night prayer does not require waking up in the middle of the night or the end of the night if you cannot — but at least pray before you go to sleep. The Prophet said — and Jibril came to him and told him this — as recorded by al-Hakim:

(Al-Mustadrak by al-Hakim, and reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

Every time I narrate this hadith, it is hard to narrate — imagining the Prophet receiving this from Jibril. "O Muhammad, live as long as you want — in the end you are dying. Love whomever you want — you will leave that person at one point. Do whatever you do — you will be held accountable for it on the Day of Judgment." And: "Know that the honor of the believer is in his night prayer. And the most dignified person is the one who is not in need of anyone."

We learn the reading of the Qur'an. We learn how to commit ourselves to making du'a. We learn so many things.

Closing — Gratitude, Reflection, and Du'a

And it is a time for us to review what we have done in Ramadan. To thank Allah for whatever good we have done, to praise Him for it, and to ask Him to forgive our shortcomings. To ask Allah to accept from us whatever we have done — little or more — and to make it sincere for His sake. We ask Allah to bring Ramadan back to us while we are safe, and to preserve our deeds from this month until we meet Him. And we ask Allah to bring Ramadan for many years to come for us and our ummah in a much, much better state. And we ask Allah to forgive our parents, our children, and our families, and to grant all of us jannat al-na'im, and to free us from the Hellfire.