This Is My Last Ramadan Part 2 | The Schedule | Ramadan Special Talk | Ustadh Mohamad Baajour

Opening Du'a and Welcome

We ask Allah to put barakah in this gathering and make us from the people at the end of the gathering. They will be taught:

Ameen, Rabbil Alameen.

This Is My Last Ramadan - Part 2

So today is part two of the talk. This is my last Ramadan. We spoke about it last week and we will end it today since today will be our last Thursday night. Inshallah Ta'ala if Allah kept us alive till next Thursday, it will be in the month of Ramadan. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep us alive to witness it. May Allah make us very active in it and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept every Amal that we do. Ameen, Rabbil Alameen.

The Blessed Guest

We have this blessed, very light guest coming and this guest is so Mubarak. He comes and leaves very quick. And as people that love this guest, we have to really prepare our homes and our hearts to welcome this guest. This guest not only his stay is Mubarak, but before he leaves he takes all our junk and he takes all our garbage and he makes sure that the house is just like as if we just built it. Even though some of us cannot wait for that guest to leave, but he still does that. This is when Rasulullah ﷺ said:

He takes all our dhnoob with him. So we have to prepare ourselves for this honorable guest.

The Mindset: This Is My Last Ramadan

We started last week by agreeing inshallah ta'ala that we're gonna go to the month with the mindset that this is my last Ramadan. We agree, right? This is our last Ramadan. And we said that subhanAllah every single brother that we lost from Shawwal first till now they never knew that last Ramadan was actually their last Ramadan. So we have to treat this as our last Ramadan and you can imagine how would you behave knowing that this is the last time you fast. This is the last time you pray taraweeh. This is the last time you're gonna complete the Quran. This is it. Everything would be different if you really enter the month with that kind of mindset.

The Importance of Planning

So today inshallah, last week when I ended I told you okay, so what is the plan? What is the schedule? And I told you that today inshallah ta'ala we will discuss what is my schedule and your schedule in Ramadan. Why? We said that we are seriously, sincerely gonna sit down with ourselves. Wallahi yakhwan, this is not just another talk, please. We're gonna sit down with ourselves and go home tonight and sit down maybe you and your wife and your children and ask the same question. What is your plan for Ramadan?

We're gonna make a piece of paper or on your iPad on your iPhone whatever on your phone you say ya Allah. Ya Allah You are my witness. If you kept me alive to witness this month of Ramadan one, two, three, four, five. Otherwise you're fake. You fail to plan, you're planning to fail. You don't do that for a graduation party. You don't do that for a baby shower. You don't do that for a wedding. You always prepare for everything. How come for the event that will make me clean from all my sins. The event like we said last week that will be if done properly will save this neck from the hellfire. How can I not plan for something like this? This is huge.

Keep in mind this is my last Ramadan. So I have to plan. A simple plan because we have one week or maybe less. So maybe Allah subhana wa ta'ala decreed that he will take my soul before Ramadan. So because I have that list done sincerely and seriously bi-idhnillah everything on that list even if I'm gone you will get it.

Just like we had a brother two years ago. Last year I did not go to Hajj. The year before we had a brother who applied for the package. He got the package. He put the deposit. He got the visa. One day before Hajj he passed away. Is this guy gonna get the ajr of Hajj? Bi-idhnillah. Because he did not say like many of us. Wallahi I want to go to Hajj and he goes to sleep. No, he took all the steps. He did everything that's supposed to do and subhanAllah he did not go. Allah decreed not. So similarly if Allah kept me alive to Ramadan, I'm going to do whatever is on my list.

Setting Achievable Goals

Okay, what's on that list? First before we start the list make sure that you write goals that are achievable. Do not write. I'm gonna read the Quran every day. You know something that you can really achieve because you will be questioned about that list. So make things that you can handle. Something that you can handle.

The Ramadan Action Plan

Number One: Tawbah (Sincere Repentance)

This has to be number one for everybody. Tawbah. Shaykh, I did not do anything. I don't have nothing big to repent from. You need to repent from that statement. You need tawbah from that statement. Or you are not from the son of Adam. Because Rasul ﷺ said:

Every son of Adam is a sinner. And you say, wallahi I don't have anything. So there's a possibility you're not from Adam. I don't know from where. Subhanallah.

So number one, tawbah. Real sincere tawbah. Before the month starts, ya Allah, you know, that smoking I used to do, that riba, that alcohol I sell, that smoke shop, that all that stuff, ya Allah. Ya Allah, I am done. Ya Allah, I promise you, ya Allah.

Because what are the steps of tawbah? Three. Number one, I stop whatever I'm doing. Number two, I regret every time I did it. Number three, I promise I will never go back. Right? This is the steps of tawbah. So I'm going to make this tawbah. Allah testing you that you watch something haram, that you listen to something haram. This is the month where the shayateen that were tempting you to do all this haram, they're going to be chained.

So make a sincere tawbah that you are or we are going to stop these sins bi-idhnillah ta'ala. And for the people who do not commit major sins, which is inshallah ta'ala all of us, keep in mind that no matter how grateful we are to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we are always behind in our gratitude to him. So that needs also tawbah for not being thankful enough.

Why? Because the tawbah is the cleansing of the heart and the heart is the source of reception. So I want to enter the month of Ramadan with a clean source of reception. So when the Quran hits, it will go in. When the lectures come, they penetrate. Not like they hit and bounce because it's all clogged. You know the hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ said, every time you sin, a black spot on your heart, a black spot, a black spot until it becomes all clogged. You know, the talks, you see some people next to you crying, crying their eyes out and you are saying, what's going on here? Why? Because you did not clean. They cleaned. So it has to be clean before I enter the month. That's number one.

Number Two: Reconcile Relationships

Number two, also for everybody. That guy, that brother, that sister that you do not talk to, it's been a month, it's been two, it's been three, it's been since last Ramadan, it's been a year, you have not spoken to him, you have a grudge against him. Make sure before the month comes, you call them up, you text them. Because the repentance is the cleanliness of the heart, my relationship with my creator. And this one is the relationship with the creation. I have to have both clean before I come to this blessed month.

And sometimes, or many times, the dispute that I have with my cousin, with my brother-in-law, with my sister-in-law, it's usually very insignificant. Sometimes it's for a small amount of money, sometimes it's because my wife spoke like this to his wife, and the kids fought or argued, and we stay years or months not talking to each other.

Please, please, before the month of Ramadan comes, like I always repeat, get your phone ready, write down the text for that person. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. The month of Ramadan is around the corner. May Allah forgive me and may Allah forgive you. And press send.

Remember what I told you? Every devil on earth is going to come and tell you not to press send, right? And he is going to remind you what that person has done to you. Say, seek refuge from the shaitan and press send.

Why are we making so much emphasis every single year about this topic? Why? What's the big deal? Listen. Because Rasulullah ﷺ, he told us that every Monday and Thursday, all our deeds are presented to Allah. And Allah will forgive everybody except two people. A mushrik, a person who associates partners with Allah, or the second one, which is our topic, a person who has a grudge on another person until they reconcile. Leave them, the hadith ended, leave them, leave them, do not forgive them until they reconcile.

My beloved brothers and sisters, what is it that that person did to you that is worth your fasting being on hold, your qiyam being on hold, your quran being on hold, your dua being on hold, your charity being on hold? What is it? And like I told you before, sometimes that person does not even deserve a hello. But because for the sake of Allah, I am ready to forgive him, I'm ready to forgive her. Because I want to do it for my own, for myself. I don't want my a'mal to be on hold. Do it for your own good.

So let me start this month, they answered, alhamdulillah. They did not answer, alhamdulillah. If they answered allahu akbar, that would be great. You know, that's a good start.

This is a prescription from Allah. ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ. Be the one who starts the good. And look at what Allah told us. If you do that, the one that you have enmity with, he will become حَمِيمٌ. وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ. Very close if you are sincere in that attempt.

Number Three: True Fasting

So number one, tawbah. Number two, fix all these grudges between you and whoever that you have a grudge with. Number three, the fasting that we all do in the month of Ramadan, you see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he told us:

Why? لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ. The siyam has been prescribed on you, just like it has been prescribed on the people before you, so you can achieve taqwa, so you can become more pious. I have to do what's before لَعَلَّكُمْ to get what's after لَعَلَّكُمْ. I have to be really fasting in order to get that piety.

And fasting is not just the fasting of the hunger from food and drink. The fasting is, the eyes have to fast from looking and watching something that is prohibited. The ears have to stop listening, fast from listening to something that is prohibited. The tongue has to stop and fast from backbiting, from lying, from foul language. It's not just about staying away from drinking and eating. Like I said last week, the easiest part of siyam, of fasting, is to stay away from eating and drinking. That's the easiest part.

But when you are pushed, Rasulallah ﷺ, when someone pushes you while you are fasting to explode and do something, become angry, I am a fasting person. You remind yourself in order to control your anger. I don't want to ruin my fast. None of you is going to, you tell yourself, no one is going to ruin my fast. No one. I cannot. This is my last Ramadan. I cannot afford it.

So every part of my body is fasting. My feet are fasting from going to hookah places. My hands are fasting from doing anything haram, from typing something haram, from putting likes on something that is haram. Sometimes we see a girl that is not dressed properly on Instagram or on Facebook or whatever social media. And mashallah, you put this heart, oh she's so cute, ya habibi, what cute.

Supporting Each Other in Righteousness

When you put that finger, when you put that heart, when you put that thumbs up, you're supporting that sister to constantly keep looking like this. You gave her support. If everybody neglects her, she will not do it anymore. But we belittle these things. Oh, if I don't put, if I put like, she will know that I put like and she will like me. Ya habibi, mashallah alayk. You forgot habibi, this is your last Ramadan. You want only one to like you, Allah azza wa jal. That's all you want to like you. So fasting of every body part. So we can achieve the taqwa that is promised.

There's only one, one order, one command of fasting in the whole Qur'an, in that ayah. Salat, so many. Zakat, aqeem al-salat, atu al-zakat, so many. But prescribed fast, only one, subhanAllah, in Surat al-Baqarah.

Number Two: Fajr in Jama'a

We're gonna pray Fajr in congregation. This supposed to be in the month of Ramadan, very easy. Why? Because you're up for suhoor. You're up for suhoor anyway. It's not like the regular days of the year, you're sleeping till, you know, when the time for work to go, they get up. No, no, you have to get up and make suhoor.

And by the way, many people skip this amazing, rewarding act of worship, suhoor. They think that if I stay without food from iftar till iftar, I am a very strong, amazing guy. I can do it, brother. I haven't eaten anything from yesterday, and he's proud of it.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, two hadith. Number one:

In suhoor, when you have your suhoor, it's barakah. It's barakah time, barakah food, barakah. There's barakah. How can I miss this barakah? I need the barakah in my siyam.

And let's listen to the second hadith:

Allahu Akbar. Allah and his angels, they make salat upon the people who are up at that time. It could be having suhoor, or it could be praying qiyam. Mutasahireen, the people who are up at the time of suhoor. How could we miss this huge honor? Even if it was a sip of water, even if it was a sip of water, just so you can get this barakah promised by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Time of Istighfar

You do your suhoor, and like we said, subhanAllah, before, let's say, Fajr is at 6 a.m. I recommend that at 5:55, 5:56, something like that, two, three minutes before the time of Fajr, leave everything and make a lot of istighfar. Allahu Akbar. A lot of istighfar.

Ya shaykh, what am I making istighfar for? I'm getting up, I just finished qiyam, and I'm making suhoor. What am I seeking forgiveness for? No, no, no. You want to be from the al-mustaghfireena bin ashar. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala praised the one who make istighfar at the time of suhoor. I want to be among them because this is my last Ramadan. I'm asking Allah for forgiveness all the time.

Bringing the Family to the Masjid

Leave just a little bit of time, and then when you finish, bismillah, you leave the house, and if you have some, listen, if you have some young boys in the house, you know that they are controllable when they come to the masjid. You bring them with you. You train them from that age, 8, 9, 10, bring them to the masjid, especially at Fajr. Allah, this is the best inheritance you could ever leave for your children. The best wealth, the best treasure you could ever leave for your children. Make sure you bring them with you, and the rest of the family, you wake them up before you leave to make sure that they are up.

You carry yourself and you come to the masjid. While you are coming to the masjid, you are making adhkar. All the time you're coming to the masjid. The dua of going to the masjid. Make dua. You walk into the masjid. You walk in, and you pray the salat al-Fajr in jama'ah, and then if you have to go to school, to drop your children at school, you have work. But at least one or two days of the week, we will be sitting over there every single day in Ramadan waiting for shuruq. Pick one day, two days, three days, whatever you can, and sit with us and get a huge reward promised by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

A Note About Seeking Knowledge

You know, I told you about many of the brothers and sisters right now, they are asking ChatGPT for fatwa. Mufti ChatGPT. So, and as a matter of fact, today a brother came to me and said, Sheikh, this sister, she said, I asked ChatGPT, and they said that hijab is not a fard. So insha'Allah ta'ala, I'm not wearing the hijab. Okay. Ask ChatGPT this question. Okay. Tell ChatGPT, if Ramadan came during hajj season, which one should I do? Ramadan or hajj? You know what it would say? It depends on your health. So that's a big dalil that, you know, do not trust ChatGPT. ChatGPT is amazing in many, many other stuff. As a matter of fact, extremely amazing. But when it comes to the deen, it's not the right source to get your fatwa from ChatGPT.

The Rewards of Fajr Prayer

So let's go back to the schedule. I came to the Fajr in jama'a and we sat down and we prayed Fajr in jama'a. We get the reward of being under the protection of Allah the whole day. The reward of qiyam all night. The reward of complete light on the day of judgment. All of that for just that half an hour effort that we made to come here, pray in jama'a and go back home. Look how kareem is Allah azza wa jal.

Excellence at Work

You go to work. When you are at work, ya akhwan, it's not a license to sin. Oh, because I work here, I work there. At work, you're always, subhanAllah, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم told us that when you take a job, make sure you perfect it. You're always there on time. You don't, the boss said be there at nine, you'll be there 8:45.

And if you are, listen carefully because I noticed many people do this. If the boss does not mind you using your phone, it's okay. But if he or she says no, this is my time, I'm paying you for the whole time, then that money that's earned while you're playing on your phone or wasting your time, I'm not talking about a quick message. I'm talking about, you know, half an hour, 45 minutes on the phone while you have things to do. They are not paying you to stay on the phone. They are paying you to do their job.

And during the work, make sure you lower your gaze. You don't stare at women that are not dressed properly. You lower your gaze. Yani, you are, we are training ourselves in the month of Ramadan to be this perfect Muslim after the month of Ramadan. We are training ourselves. Ramadan is a month of training to become a better, more practicing Muslim.

Qiyam - The Night Prayer

Qiyam. Qiyam, tahajjud, is one of the ingredients of Ramadan. SubhanAllah. You come to the masjid and you pray taraweeh. And Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, whosoever pray taraweeh with the imam till they leave, all their sins are forgiven.

And alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, we are blessed that we have two imams. You could leave with the first imam when he leaves and get the ajr, or you could stay with the second imam and get the same ajr. So many people, I saw this and I noticed, after four taraweeh, they leave. And they lose this ajr of all the sins being forgiven. Now of course, you have something to do, you have an emergency, Allahu Akbar, the whole taraweeh is an option. Right? But if you have for another 10-15 minutes to get all our sins forgiven, Allahu Akbar. Wallah, it's worth it. It's really worth it. So if you have to go, you have to go. But if you can't go, please stay and get the benefit and the reward of this hadith.

The Month of Charity

Just because of the time, charity. This is the month of charity, ya akhwan. This is the month of charity. Give as much as you can. And we all see, our brothers and sisters, you name a country, any country you name, subhanAllah, they have people that they are in dire need of our support. From Gaza, to Yemen, to Iraq, to Burma, to Bangladesh, to India, to Kashmir, to everywhere. Everywhere there's somebody. Sudan, subhanAllah, we all hear what's happening.

So when the brothers come and stand outside and tell you, I'm taking your money to this country, I'm taking your money to that country, many people, because I'm the one who asks the people to help these organizations, I see some of your faces complaining. Another organization tonight? Yes, every night. Every night. And after the night is over, you should go and tell the guy, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take the money to my brothers and sisters all over the world, instead of complaining.

You don't want to give money? Don't give, but don't complain. Because Allah is watching you. And Allah knows if you can donate or not. Nobody's forcing you to donate. But do not complain about the others who are treating Ramadan, this is their last Ramadan. I want to give as much as I can.

What are we going to do with the money? What are we going to do with that money? What are we going to do with it? We're going to go into the grave and our kids, either going to go spend it in halal or they're going to spend it in haram. So there's a huge risk. No, no, no, no. Let me at least guarantee that as long as I'm here, it's going to halal. I'm helping these orphans, I'm building these masajid, I'm supporting these widows, I'm digging these wells, I'm, subhanAllah. Invest as much as you can, because this is all that we are taking with us when we leave.

The Power of Du'a

Next, I will end with this because it's a long list, but these are the most important things.

Allahu Akbar. Right in the middle of the ayat of fasting. What's your problem? What do you have? You're having financial issues, you're having problems at home with your spouse, your kids are stopped praying, problems at work, problems with your health. Allahu Akbar. Allah is qareeb. I am near. Allah is qareeb.

These are the nights where you raise your hands and you beg, ya Allah, ya Allah, my children, ya Allah, my spouse, ya Allah, my parents, ya Rabb, my health, ya Allah, you are the shafi, cure me, ya Allah, ya Allah. This is the time. Beg him every single night.

Three Essential Du'as for Ramadan

And remember the three du'as that I told you to make every night in Ramadan. These du'as are not from Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. He did not tell us to say these du'as every night. But these du'as are derived from his hadith.

Number one, every night, every night, not to wait till the last 10 nights of Ramadan. Every night in Ramadan:

Number two, derived from the other hadith:

Ya Allah, free me from my neck, from the hellfire.

And number three:

Ya Allah, all these things that I'm doing, I have no clue if they are accepted or not. I beg you, ya Allah, to accept them. Every night, every night, keep repeating these du'as.

Let's do them all together quickly:

Final Reflection

SubhanAllah. My beloved brothers and sisters, I finish by telling you that if this was really our last Ramadan, what would you want to see in your scale on the Day of Judgment? Because there's no Rabb ir-ji'oon. There's no, ya Allah, bring me back so I can do something better. I can change, I can. SubhanAllah.

You know, I love this hadith so much. When Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, he passed by the grave and he told the Sahaba, if this man in the grave was given an opportunity to come back to life, and I'm going to paraphrase the hadith, and he was given an opportunity, he was given two options, two options. One option, he will own, own the whole world, all the continents are his, not Plano. The whole continents are all his. This is number one option. And everybody on earth are his servants. That's the first option. Second option, pray two rakah. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said he will pray two rakah. But we are still here.