Ramadan The Month of Duaa

Khutbah Opening

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.

Ramadan: The Month of Du'a

The Days of Fasting Must Be Different

One of the common statements and practices from the early generations — from the time of the Prophet moving on, in the life of the scholars — is that the Muslims cannot have the days which are outside Ramadan the same as the days of Ramadan:

The days of fasting cannot be the same, cannot be the same like the days of not fasting. The days of fasting have to be filled with ibadah, filled with worship, filled with good deeds, filled with righteousness, with purity, with abandoning and avoiding the haram as much as you can, and abandoning and avoiding what is disliked, and doing as much as you can from the obligations and from the recommended acts.

The Last Ten Days Are Even Greater

And if this is the case during the month of Ramadan, know that the scholars — and the Prophet at the top of that list — taught us:

That the last ten days of Ramadan will not be the same as the rest of the days of Ramadan. And it cannot be the same. Whatever you've been doing during Ramadan, the last ten days has to be way more.

The Prophet would put an extra effort in the last ten days which he would not do outside the last ten days of Ramadan. So in the last ten days of Ramadan he would maximize whatever he was doing during the first twenty days.

The Hadith of 'Aisha About the Last Ten Nights

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2024; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1174)

That the Prophet in the last ten days of Ramadan would tighten his lower garment. The scholars said this could mean that the Prophet would not be intimate with his wife because he would be in i'tikaf during these days, completely focused all night on ibadah. It could also be because of the result of the first twenty days — he lost so much weight, and during these ten days he made so much salah, that his lower garment became loose and he needed to tighten it. In any case, it is an indication or an expression to show his dedication to the ibadah during these days.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1174)

Imam Muslim reported that the Prophet during these ten days would do what he would not do in the other days. He would maximize — not do something entirely new, but add way more. If it's sadaqah, he would add more. If it's reciting the Quran, he would add way more. If it is prayer, he would add way more. If it's du'a, he would add way more — more than the first twenty days.

And because of that, the scholars, for generations, in the last ten days would pray in the beginning of the night, some of them in the middle of the night, and in the end of the night — they would add extra. It cannot be the same as the rest of Ramadan. It has to be something more, more acts of worship done during these ten days.

The Prophet يُحْيِي لَيْلَهُ — he would fill his whole night with life. Here it means that he would literally pray the whole night, or more likely — which is most probable — most of the night:

Waking Up the Family

وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ — He would wake up his family. And that's a wake-up call for us: we have to care about our family during these last ten days, especially the young ones among us — the teenagers, the young boys and girls in our homes who don't know, and maybe even those older than teenagers who don't really know the value of the ten nights of Ramadan and don't really care about them. Same thing with the children — we need to raise our generation to know the value of these things.

As adults, many of us understand the value of the ten nights of Ramadan because our families did that for us, and we have to teach that to the next generation. Text message them, quote this hadith and send it to them, send them a point, send them the link to this khutbah — some form of awareness about the importance of these ten days.

Don't get distracted in these last ten days with anything other than the ibadah, anything other than the acts of worship. And I mean by that the simple basic things: salah, sadaqah, reading Quran, praying taraweeh, praying qiyam al-layl, making a lot of du'a, and so on. These are the things that you should focus on.

One of the early scholars said:

Those who regularly pray in the masjid and when they come to the masjid they read Quran — they fill as much act of worship and deeds as the size of the land and the sea in this earth.

The Prophet would go to his daughter:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1127; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 775)

He would knock on the door of his daughter Fatimah and his son-in-law 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and say: "Wouldn't you wake up to pray in the night?" And the Prophet would say:

Referring to his wives — "O women of these rooms, wake up and pray." The Prophet used to care so much to make sure that they prayed.

'Umar ibn al-Khattab — as reported in Al-Muwatta' — used to pray by himself all the way until midnight, and after midnight he would wake up his family to pray, saying to them: "The prayer!" And he would recite the words of Allah:

I know that you have work, I know that you have a job to go to in the morning — but at least do this on the days where you're off. If you can take days off, if you can take hours off, if you can manage your time in a way that you keep a good portion of the night where you can pray. At least, just don't make them the same. If during Ramadan you used to wake up for suhoor, just add 10 extra minutes, 15 minutes. Just don't make them the same. Just make a commitment that it will not be the same — the last 10 days of Ramadan will not be the same as the first 20 days.

If you used to read one page from the Quran, read two pages. If you didn't used to come to the masjid, come to the masjid. If you used to come late, come 10 minutes early. And so forth — take advantage of that weekend. In the last 10 days of Ramadan we will have, inshallah, part of it this weekend and the next weekend, so plan for it from now.

Dressing Well and Beautifying for These Nights

Hammad ibn Salama said: I used to see Thabit al-Bunani and Humaid al-Tawil — they would wear the best clothes, be well dressed, and dress the masjid well. And on the night in which Laylatul Qadr was expected, they would put perfume in the masjid, making everything look so special — hoping and looking for Laylatul Qadr. Because in Laylatul Qadr, as you know, the angels and the spirit descend — Jibreel comes down and the angels come down. And you want to make sure that when they come down they look nice, they smell nice, the masjid smells nice and looks nice. And more importantly — that the masjid looks calm, not with loud voices and chitchat. It's like a calm place, ready to receive the mercy of Allah.

Tamim al-Dari purchased a hullah — a garment — worth 1,000 dirhams, which he used to wear only in the last 10 days of Ramadan. There is an interesting concept we are very familiar with in modern days among those who are interested in psychology — they say physiology impacts your psychology. The way you carry yourself, the way you look, it impacts how you feel. So I think that's part of it: when you treat it as special — "I'm wearing very special clothes, not the same clothes I've been wearing all day long, not the same clothes I go to sleep with" — when you also receive that special treatment, in return you will be able to focus on it.

Many of the salaf took a shower every night in the last 10 nights of Ramadan before they came to the masjid — they would prepare and beautify themselves to meet Allah, so that when the angels descended upon them they would find them in the best form.

And no doubt the best zinah — the best beautification — is not just outward appearance, but inward. To purify your heart, to clean your heart, to repent to Allah, and to show Allah from within your heart that it is filled with goodness. Allah says:

The clothes that Allah has blessed you with are one of His bounties — but He said the best thing that you wear is taqwa. As the poet said:

If the person does not have taqwa inside, no matter what clothes he puts on, he will always look naked. Whenever you go to meet someone special, you dress well — and this is a special night, especially on Laylatul Qadr.

I'tikaf: The Forgotten Sunnah

One of the things that is highly recommended — and unfortunately a lot of people don't practice it as much as they should — is i'tikaf. The Prophet never missed i'tikaf in Ramadan. In the last years of his life, he used to make i'tikaf in the last 10 days. Before that, he used to do the first 10 days, the middle 10 days, 20 days — but he consistently focused on the last 10 days for i'tikaf. Why? Because he was informed that Laylatul Qadr is in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Al-Zuhri — one of the young tabi'in, in the very early days of Islam — said:

Al-Zuhri said this is one of the things that he found people had abandoned, not practicing — and that was in the very early time of Islam. He was reviving that sunnah and said the Prophet never ever in his lifetime missed making i'tikaf. His sahabah used to make i'tikaf, and his family used to make i'tikaf — his wives as well. And the Prophet, one year when he did not make i'tikaf, he made it up in Shawwal.

A lot of people don't make i'tikaf because they think they have to do the whole 10 days. If you can do the 10 days — perfect. But if you can't do the 10 days, know that the 10 days start from the night of the 21st — which according to our calendar this year will be Saturday night. So Saturday night is the first night of the last 10 nights of Ramadan, which is the night of the 21st. You enter i'tikaf at Maghrib and end at Maghrib on the last day of Ramadan — or some scholars say at Fajr on the day of Eid, you go take a shower and come back for Eid prayer. But if you can't do the full 10 days, you can even do 24 hours, or a day, or half a day.

There are some ulama who became more lenient and said even a short period of time with the intention of i'tikaf counts. However, I don't believe that is the strong opinion —

I'tikaf in the Arabic language means something that you dedicate a good portion of time to — so half a day is a good portion of time that you spend in the masjid. So 24 hours, or a whole day, or a whole night — that would be called i'tikaf. And when you do that, you focus on the salah, the ibadah, and reading the Quran.

Yes, you are allowed to talk, you are allowed to eat, you are allowed to go eat and come back — but it is much better for you to reduce that engagement, to reduce social media, to not be online shopping while you are making i'tikaf. It basically involves learning, listening to lectures, listening to Quran tafsir, reading Quran, reviewing Quran with someone, and so forth.

May Allah benefit us from these 10 days and make us among those who witness Laylatul Qadr. Allahumma Ameen.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Daily Sadaqah and Laylatul Qadr

One of the things in these last 10 days of Ramadan — I encourage you to make a daily sadaqah, a daily donation. Make sure that every night during these nights you are giving something for the sake of Allah. And one of the best times is Friday — the sadaqah on Friday is highly recommended and more rewarded than any other night — and also the night of the 27th, and the night of the 23rd.

The Prophet said in regard to Laylatul Qadr — which is better than a thousand months. A lot of khatibs sometimes say it is equal to a thousand months — no. Allah said:

Better than a thousand months. A thousand months is almost 83 years — better than that. Can you imagine if you prayed for 83 years? It is more than that. If you donated for 83 years, if you read Quran for 83 years, if you made tahajjud for 83 years, if you gave zakat for 83 years. As Al-Razi said:

The person who witnesses Laylatul Qadr has been given thousands of years' worth of worship.

I'll tell you a secret — only for you who come to this masjid. I know you want Laylatul Qadr, and we all do. I'll give you the guaranteed way to get Laylatul Qadr: make sure that you worship Allah every single night in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, and for sure you will have Laylatul Qadr.

Which Night Is Laylatul Qadr?

One of the reasons the Prophet said إِنِّي أُرِيتُهَا — "I was shown it" — is that it is in the odd nights of the last 10 nights, the last 3 nights, the last 7 nights. There are many ahadith, and that's why there is confusion — it's not a clear cut answer. Allah could have told us the exact night, but Allah wants us not to abandon any night. Not to just come on the 27th and not care about the rest. It could be the 29th, the last night. He wants you to dedicate — it's not much, just 10 days, 10 nights. Put your effort in and dedicate your time for it.

Sufyan al-Thawri used to swear, and 'Umar and Hudhayfah used to say: "By Allah, it is the night of the 27th." There is a night that you should definitely prioritize — the night of the 27th, or the night of the 23rd. Anas used to say it is the night of the 23rd. And one year it was the 21st, which led some scholars like Ibn Hajar and others to combine between the ahadith and say it can move from one year to another — one year the 21st, one year the 23rd. That is one well-known opinion among the scholars.

But the point is this is a night where Allah sends down angels as many as the drops of rain and the grains of sand on the face of this earth. For what? Why do all these angels descend that night? To pray for you. Make sure — if Allah sends all these angels for you, and those angels find you in front of Netflix, or find you playing games, or not caring — Allah is making the whole universe available to you through this night. So make sure that you take advantage of it and show Allah the best of yourself. May Allah help you and help all of us to do our best.

It'aam: Feeding People

One thing that is also recommended is it'aam — feeding people. In these last 10 days of Ramadan, in the masjid we will have iftaar every night. Make sure you talk to Azeem and sponsor some of these iftaar if you can.

There was even a non-Muslim brother who came and said he wanted to sponsor an iftaar in the masjid. I said — thank you very much, but not for that reason. I do believe you deserve the ajar for feeding people even if the giver is not a Muslim. It is a great ajar to feed people.

So I hope that, inshallah, we really dedicate ourselves to these last 10 nights of Ramadan and show Allah the best of us. And I promise you, as one who is leading this masjid, we will make every accommodation possible to accommodate you during these last 10 nights — we have officers, we do the parking, we do our best to make the experience of coming to the masjid as smooth as can be, from the salah to everything else.

Du'a

May Allah make it easy for all of us. May Allah grant us to enjoy Ramadan. May Allah grant us to enjoy what's left of it. May Allah grant us to reach the night of Qadr. May Allah accept our good deeds. May Allah forgive us and our parents. May Allah cure all the sick, O Lord of Glory and Honor. May Allah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad. May Allah relieve our oppressed brothers in Palestine. May Allah relieve our oppressed brothers everywhere in every place. Ameen.