Ramadan, The Month of Sabr (Patience)

Ramadan, The Month of Sabr (Patience)

Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah and his praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his followers and all the prophets and messengers and their followers. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam his last and final messenger.

As-Sa'ihun: The Fasting Ones

My dear brothers and sisters, there is a description in the Quran for As-Siyam and those who perform fasting, which is an interesting description. I'm not sure if any one of you have noticed it before.

When Allah referred to the people who are fasting, he referred to them as As-Sa'ihun, like in Surah At-Tawbah:

السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ — As-Sa'ihun means here the fasting ones. And also in Surah At-Tahrim, when Allah referred to the women that he will choose for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam if his family chose to leave him, he said سَائِحَاتٍ — Sa'ihat — and one of their descriptions is that they are among the As-Sa'ihin.

You will find that every single one of the early generations interpreted this word to mean As-Sa'imun — the fasting ones. فَالسَّائِحُونَ هُمُ الصَّائِمُونَ. And Sa'ih — in modern language we use As-Sa'ih, which is also correct in Arabic — As-Sa'ih is the tourist, the one who travels to see the world. So how can the Quran use a word referring to someone who travels to see the world to describe someone who is fasting?

The reason for this is that the word As-Sa'ih before Islam referred to going out into the land, discovering the land, leaving your home. In the past, this was one of the highest forms of commitment to God. In the religions before Islam, when someone reached the maximum — the highest level of commitment to God — what would this person do? They would leave home without food, without drink, without any provision, and would go into the land, saying, "Whatever God directs me to, whatever I find, that will be what I live on." They usually abandoned cities and went to live in far, isolated areas. Later on, we know this became monks and things of that nature. So that is what As-Sa'ih originally means — the one who would abandon his place and go to commit and submit himself, to declare his commitment and to submit himself to his Lord completely, relying on Him, and also going without drinking or eating, and he might go days like that.

Obviously in Islam that is not allowed, but in Islam, Allah used that phrase — which was well known at that time — to refer to this act of worship, because in Siyam we also leave food and drink and we don't eat or drink all day long. And also because As-Siyam is one of the acts of worship that in our religion shows one of the highest levels of commitment and submission to Allah. And it is interesting because it is very true — a lot of non-Muslims, when asked about fasting, say, "It makes no sense. Why don't you take a sip of water? I mean, logically, what's wrong with a sip of water just during the day?" But actually, As-Siyam is an absolute submission to Allah. You are 100% committed — it's not a logical thing. Yes, you may say it's for health, but what about a sip of water? That's not against your health. As a matter of fact, a doctor might say that. In Islam we excuse people from fasting for health reasons. But it shows how much you submit yourself to Allah, and how much you are committed to following the command of Allah.

And that relationship shows how this Ibadah is so valuable — that it was compared to, and the word used to refer to it is, something that in the old religion before Islam was considered the highest level of commitment.

Ramadan: The Month of Sabr

This month — one of its greatest characteristics — is known to be Ash-Shahru As-Sabr, the month of patience. I don't know of any act of worship that was connected in this way, in this format, to the month of Ramadan like As-Sabr — patience.

Patience is one of the greatest acts of worship. As a matter of fact, patience is half of our Iman. And I love what some of the ulema said: there is a narration that says our faith is based on two pillars — As-Sabr and Ash-Shukr, being patient and being grateful to Allah. And they said: in Siyam, the whole day you are patient, and at Iftar time you show your gratitude to Allah — so you combine As-Sabr and Ash-Shukr in this one act of worship, which completes your Iman.

But in any case, this month was referred to as the month of As-Sabr, the month of patience. Allah says in the Quran:

When Allah says that those who are patient will have a reward with no limit to it. You will find that Mu'adh ibn Jabal and many companions and successors have said that the patient ones here refers to those who are fasting.

And from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam it was reported that he said to his companions:

Fasting the month of Sabr and three days from every month is like fasting your whole entire life — every year. He referred to the month of As-Sabr meaning the month of Ramadan.
(Reported in Musnad Ahmad and Sunan al-Nasa'i)

And in another narration: it will cleanse your heart — fasting the month of Sabr, which is Ramadan, and the three days every month, will cleanse your heart.

Sabr: The Key to All Goodness

This is absolutely a great opportunity for us to practice this concept — As-Sabr. And As-Sabr is the key to all goodness. Those who don't have patience, those who don't know how to be patient when dealing with any matter in their life, they are not successful in any form — in religion, in worldly matters, you name it. With your family, in your work, in your study — if you don't know how to have Sabr, it is very hard for me to see how you can ever be successful.

And we practice this in a simple format every day. You have to be patient — not to eat the food and drink that you like. My kids, for example — in our home we love grapes. And you know what, we just got some nice fresh grapes, green grapes, nice and cold and juicy. I see some people with their mouths moving already! So you see that and you know what, I can't touch it. I need to be patient and wait until Maghrib. That's teaching you how to have patience.

Patience in Acts of Worship

Also, to be patient with the different types of Ibadat that we do in Ramadan. You have to come for Qiyam, and you come late, you leave home maybe at 10:30. It requires commitment and patience with that. Also, fasting itself is an Ibadah — reading Quran, fundraising and collecting Sadaqah and donating. Reading Quran requires Sabr from you — to commit to 20–30 minutes of Quran every night. To come at Asr and to study after Salatul Asr — all of these things require patience. These different types of Ibadat train you to have patience when it comes to the acts of worship.

Patience with the Tongue

Also, you need a lot of patience to control your tongue. You ruin your day of fasting when you backbite, when you slander, when you spread rumors, when you say evil things. You tremendously reduce the Ajr of your fasting that day. Controlling your tongue and not letting go with whatever you used to say — all these bad words. And by the way, just for the record: those who switch it up and instead of saying the whole word make an initial — like an "S," or a "V," or a "T" — these are still, your intention counts. You need to get rid of this bad default language completely.

That is why the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: when somebody fights with you, say, "I am a fasting person, I control myself."

When one of you is fasting, let him not speak obscenely or raise his voice. And if someone insults him or tries to fight him, let him say: "I am a fasting person."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1904; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1151)

Patience in Abstaining from the Haram

Also, to control yourself, to abstain from the haram, to abstain from your sexual desires — it is not easy. To commit yourself 30 days to fasting, making Salah, reading Quran — it's not easy. We may say it's easy, yes, but it is actually a commitment and it requires a lot of Sabr to be able to do it. But I'll tell you — you taste the sweetness of the result of Sabr afterwards.

The Middle of Ramadan and Ibn Al-Qayyim's Wisdom

That's why, in the middle of Ramadan, I want to say to my brothers and sisters: it's natural at this time of the month for people to kind of go into a low mood — tired, not coming — and then they pick up again at the end of Ramadan. In the beginning you're excited, and now it's harder and harder and harder. Then at the end of Ramadan you pick up. And not because Ramadan is about to finish and you want to get it over with — no, no. As a matter of fact, the reality is you pick up because you have already trained yourself.

And I love what Ibn Al-Qayyim said. And if this is the only point you leave my khutbah today with, I am so happy — but I hope you get it right.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said: Allah has named the acts of worship Takalif. The word Kulfah in Arabic means something heavy, something not easy. So all the acts of worship are something heavy. And why are they heavy? Because in the beginning, it is hard, it's not easy. But the moment you start doing it and you practice it and you get used to it, you start seeing the sweetness of Iman. You start feeling that this is the lightest thing ever, the best thing ever. But there will be a struggle in the beginning — a struggle that leads to guidance, leads to the settlement of the heart, and the rest and the tranquility that comes to the heart.

And people vary. Some people take years to reach that level, some people take months. It depends. Sometimes you have it and then you go back to the struggle. Different acts of worship have a different impact on people. But don't think that the Ibadah is just going to be easy. No — there is a struggle, there is a test. It is a trial from Allah to see who deserves Jannah.

Sabr in Every Aspect of Life

That is why it is so important for us to remember that this month trains us to be patient. There is nothing better, and there is no better provision that Allah can ever bless you with more than Sabr.

If you start a business — you need Sabr. If you want to have a career — you need Sabr. If you want to make money — you need Sabr. If you want to raise kids — you need Sabr. If you want to have a spouse — you need Sabr. You have in-laws — you need Sabr. You have friends — you need Sabr. You come to the masjid — you need Sabr. You need to drive — you need Sabr. You have a president driving you insane — you need Sabr. You have worldwide affairs that make no sense to you — you need Sabr to be patient with all of this. The plotting against you, the attacks against you — there is nothing in this world that does not require Sabr.

You need Sabr when it comes to commitment to Ibadah. Sabr to abstain from the haram. Sabr to deal with the tragedy that happens to you as well. When calamity comes, Umar said you need Sabr, and it is good to be patient in the time of calamity. But better than that is to be patient when you have an opportunity to do something haram and you say, "No, I am not going to do it."

The Words of Hasan Al-Basri and Salman ibn Al-Qasim

Hasan Al-Basri says: Sabr is like a treasure. And he said: Allah only gives it to someone who is honorable in Allah's eyes. Not everybody will have that ability to be patient and to live with that.

Salman ibn Al-Qasim rahimahullah said:

"We know the reward of every act except Sabr. We don't know how much reward you will get for that."

Du'a and Closing

May Allah make us among those who have Sabr. May Allah make us among those who have Sabr and grant us all that you have heard, and I ask Allah for forgiveness, and ask Him for forgiveness.

I ask Allah to bless our month of Ramadan. I ask Allah to accept from us our Siyam, our Salah, our Ibadah, our Sadaqah, and our Qira'at Al-Quran. And I ask Allah to make it easy for our brothers and sisters around the world.

Especially our brothers and sisters in Palestine, in Gaza — Allah, we ask You to grant them success, to grant them mercy from You, to relieve their hardship, and to bring peace and justice to them. And those who are plotting against them — we ask You, Allah, to make their plots a distraction for themselves, for those who are plotting and abusing and unjustly treating our brothers and sisters there and around the world.

We ask Allah to bring justice to our brothers and sisters in Kashmir, in China, in India. We ask Allah to bring relief and justice to our brothers and sisters in Rohingya. There are so many wounds in the Muslim world. We ask Allah to bring peace and tranquility, and to guide the leadership of the Muslims everywhere. Allahumma Ameen.

A Request for the Masjid

Before I make Iqamah for the Salah, I have a request from each and every one of you. As you know, in Ramadan this is the month where this masjid depends — after Allah — on you and your generosity. And I would like you to take this from your brother, as someone who loves you, and alhamdulillah trusts that you have always been there. But this masjid needs your help.

As the masjid alhamdulillah expands in its service and contribution to the community and to the community at large, that means a lot of responsibility on us. I always rely on your generosity. This is the month of charity, the month of Zakat — give to the masjid.

I'll be honest with you — I haven't spoken to you about this for the last two weeks of Ramadan because I was just watching and looking at the donations coming in, and it is a little bit on the low side. But I know some of you wait for the last 10 days. What we need is for everyone to feel the responsibility. It is not right that when it comes to the Baytullah — I know we have responsibilities overseas — but I'll tell you, this is the base. This is the foundation. So many of those projects, even overseas, get supported from this foundation and this platform for the community.

So please be generous in your donation. Don't leave tonight — every single one of you. As-Sadaqah on Jumu'ah is different than any other day. That is why I always like to remind you: don't leave today without giving something. You can scan the barcode if you are in a hurry, but don't leave without giving. And give generously. May Allah bless what you give and bless what you keep.