Transcription
All praise and thanks belong to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His servant and final messenger, Muhammad (S).
As to what follows, my dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, we are just short of one month from the blessed month of Ramadan. It is very important, as believers, that we refresh our knowledge about Ramadan in order to prepare our minds, souls, hearts, and bodies for this blessed month.
I begin with a Hadith that will help us appreciate the opportunity Allah gives us if He extends our lives so that we witness another Ramadan. Listen to this Hadith: the Prophet (S) mentioned at the end of it something significant, but at the very beginning, it is a story narrated.
He said two men from the town of B Bali, which is a town next to Al-Madina, were two Jews. They came to the Prophet (S) in Al-Madina and embraced Islam at the same time. One of them, Allah allowed him to go, and he was martyred; that's how he died. His friend, who accepted Islam at the same time, died a year later, a natural death in his bed.
But he slept one night and saw a dream. In this dream, he and these two people who had accepted Islam were outside the gate of Paradise. There was an angel there, and the angel invited the one who died a year later on his bed to enter Paradise first. Then the angel invited the one who died as a martyr to enter Paradise second.
Then he said to the one who was seeing the dream, "Your time is not up because you're still alive." He said to him, "Go back." So he woke up from this dream and went out in Al-Madina, narrating this dream to the people. The people were amazed and surprised.
What were they surprised about? The same thing that you and I are surprised about: how did this person who died naturally in his bed enter Paradise before the martyr, even though you and I know that the martyr has a high rank in the sight of Allah? They were bothered by this and did not understand. They went to the Messenger (S) and said, "I saw such and such in my dream."
It's a deal; you know, even nowadays, they make a big deal about who comes first. The entire class might have passed the exam, but it's all about who came first. You might win three; there's the race, and the top three win the race, but it's all about who came first.
Then, when the new iPhone comes out, it's all about who purchased it first. They'll interview him; no one worries about the second person who had his hand on it. The first person is always in the spotlight.
So the Prophet (S) said to them, "What are you people amazed and surprised about?" They said to him, "How did this one go into Paradise before the martyr?" He said to them, "Didn't this person who died on his bed pray this many prayers and fast a Ramadan more than his friend?" They said, "Yes."
The Prophet (S) then said, "The difference between both of them is the difference between the heavens and the earth."
What we learn from the Hadith is that, yes, the first one died a martyr, but the second one had one extra year of Salat and witnessed another Ramadan. The prayers of his combined with his Ramadan pushed him way above the martyr.
So this Ramadan, when you live it, it is a golden opportunity that Allah gives you and me to elevate ourselves in His sight, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. This is why the Prophet (S) said, "There is no better than a believer who lives a long life."
But this long life must be filled with the remembrance of Allah. He said, "The best of you are those who live a long life upon goodness and righteousness, and the worst of you are those who live a long life of rebellion, transgression, and corruption." We ask Allah to save us.
Every Ramadan you witness, more than those who passed away from last year until now, is an opportunity for you and me to excel in the sight of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Brothers and sisters in Islam, Ramadan in itself is a huge blessing. Even the Prophet (S) expressed a lot of happiness and excitement at its arrival. He used to congratulate his companions at the arrival of Ramadan.
One of the fundamental Hadiths implies the permissibility of congratulating one another on the occasion of Ramadan. The Prophet (S) used to gather the companions and say to them, "Ramadan has arrived."
You see, the people know Ramadan has arrived; the month after Shaban is Ramadan. Why is he telling them Ramadan has arrived? That implies excitement.
It's like if there was a person called Muhammad, and he is walking from the door. We all know he's Muhammad, but then I shout and say to you, "Muhammad has arrived," meaning I'm expressing happiness and excitement at his arrival, even though everyone knows who has come.
This is how the Prophet (S) would greet his companions and excite them. He would say, "Ramadan has come." Then he would say to them, "It is a blessed month."
What does it mean that Ramadan is a blessed month? It could mean two things: number one, that it is a Dua from the Messenger (S) for the companions, that, "Oh Allah, bless Ramadan for whoever witnesses it."
It is a blessed month because "Baraka" means an increase. For something to give a lot more than expected. Meaning if I had a plate of food that was to feed one person, but two people ate from it, then that plate of food had Baraka in it because it gave a lot more than expected.
So the month of Ramadan gives the believer a lot more than he expects from any other month. In Ramadan, you read a lot more Quran, you fast a lot more than any other month, you make a lot more Dua than any other month, you pray a lot more than any other month, and so on.
You come to the Masjid a lot more than any other month. Therefore, this month in itself is a Baraka. You will find that the deeds increase naturally and automatically. This is because Allah has placed in this month.
Then he would say to them, "Allah has obligated upon you to fast." He is still giving good news. He says to the companions, "During this month, the gates of Paradise are open."
Paradise has eight gates, and each and every single one of them is open. In another narration, "The doors of the heavens are open." You know what this means? It means every barrier between us and Allah is open.
It means Allah wants to accept you in this month. Why would He open the door? He's opening the door inviting you to Paradise. Why would someone open the door? If you came and knocked on my door and I opened it, I only open it so I can admit you in.
When Allah opens the doors and the gates of Paradise, He's inviting us all to Paradise. He's telling you, "There you go, there is one month, 30 days, you can score your position in Paradise."
It's like the connection has been established between the Earth and the heavens. There's a connection established between us on Earth and Allah. There is no barrier; nothing is closed between us and Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Further to this, He would say, "And the seven gates of Hellfire are shut." They were closed as though Allah is saying, "I don't want to punish you, my servants. I don't want you to enter from these doors. I don't want Hellfire for you."
Allah says in the Quran, "What does Allah get out of punishing you if you only believed in Him and were grateful to Him?" In other words, Allah is saying, "Be grateful and believe in Me, and then there is no punishment for this servant."
So the doors close; it's a clear message from Allah to all His servants: "I don't want you entering Hellfire."
Finally, He would say, "And the devils are chained." The effect of the Shaytan becomes weak upon the human being. You know the devils are of two types: there is the internal Shaytan, which is known as "Nafs," and there's the external Shaytan.
The external devils are literally chained and locked away, but the internal remains there even during Ramadan. He said that the Shaytan inside of you flows into your body just like blood flows in the body.
He's everywhere: in the hands, in the fingertips, in the eyes, in the head, in the feet, and he goes all around. However, the internal Shaytan's effect is dramatically reduced, and his evil whispering is reduced as well.
When you're fasting, you're hungry and thirsty. A person that is hungry and thirsty only thinks about food and drink. What are we going to eat? If you smell the food, you're thinking of something Halal.
You see, the opposite is true for someone who is filled up; he begins to desire that which is Haram. So the Shaytan's effect becomes stronger upon him.
Now, the Prophet (S) said after this big distraction, "Shaytan is gone, locked away. The distraction is gone, so you have just you and Allah in your worship."
Then he said, "And there is one night during this month that is better than a thousand months." Did you see the Baraka in this month? You see the generosity of Allah all over this month.
There is one night; if you worship Allah in those couple of hours, it is going to boost your record of deeds. A lifetime of worship will be added to you. What a deal! What a sale!
So the Prophet (S) said at the end of the Hadith, warning us: "Anyone who is deprived of the goodness of that night, and the goodness of that night is being forgiven, then surely he is deprived of all good."
You see, this Hadith at the beginning starts off with lots of excitement, lots of encouragement, and it ends with terrifying news. The Prophet (S) is saying, "Make sure that you do not deprive yourself of its good."
It's very easy to deprive yourself of its good; just do nothing and turn away from the worship of Allah. This is why the Prophet (S) cursed and said, "May Allah humiliate the one who witnesses the month of Ramadan from the beginning to the end, and in the end of it, he is not forgiven."
We ask Allah to grant us all forgiveness and awareness. This Dua was made by the Prophet (S). He said, "Ameen." It was made by Allah, and Jibril also said, "Ameen."
All three of them curse, and may humiliation be upon the one who is not forgiven during this month. So there is enough encouragement for us and enough warning at the same time that we take this month seriously.
Brothers and sisters in Islam, therefore, it is very important to prepare for this month in order to avoid being disgraced and to attain success in the sight of Allah.
Just like with anything in life, in order to be successful, you need to prepare. We all agree to this, right? This is a universal principle in life. If you want to pass and be successful in your exams, that's a no-brainer; you have to study and prepare for it.
If you have a meeting, then you prepare before the meeting. You write an agenda for what is going to be discussed in the meeting and so on. Otherwise, if you come to the meeting and no one has prepared, that meeting is going to be a waste of time, and you will gain no benefit.
In a job interview, you must prepare as well. You get up early, dress in the best of clothing, prepare your papers and documents, and go. Preparation is necessary to have a chance at being successful.
Even in matters of worship, we have to also prepare. That's why we come to the Masjid early, we repeat after the Imam, we pray the Sunnah, and whether you knew it or not, all of that was preparation for the Fard so that you can achieve maximum benefit.
If you achieve maximum benefit, you become successful in your worship. Allah specifically in the Quran says, "Prepare yourself," and the best preparation is the preparation of the heart.
That's what was said about the Prophet (M) even before he met Allah. You know what happened? An angel came to him, cut him open, took his heart out, washed it with Zamzam, and filled it with knowledge and light.
What was all that? That's preparation to meet Allah. You see the idea? You need to prepare.
Our main problem today is that we don't prepare for our worship. We prepare for everything except our worship, and then we complain, "Why am I not connecting with the worship? Why can I not feel a connection with my worship and with Allah?"
The answer is very simple: because you haven't prepared for it. We want to pray right away; we want to fast Ramadan right away from day one until the end, and that's it. We don't want anything to do before that or anything to do after that.
That's the state of the majority of Muslims. This is why Shaban, which is the month we have just begun, is one month before Ramadan. Whether you knew it or not, you all know now that the month of Shaban is the month of preparation for Ramadan.
The Prophet (S) emphasized and highlighted the importance of this month that we are in now. You know, there are some people, as we come closer to Ramadan, they kick back, sit, and relax. They wait for Ramadan to begin, so they do their shopping, start preparing for a month of food, overloading the fridge and cupboards, and whatever it is in preparation for a month that has nothing to do with food.
This is the preparation; unfortunately, this is not the correct preparation for Ramadan. Shaban, this month that we're in, I tell you something: it's the month considered like the before.
You know, before you pray, it's recommended to pray Sunnah. Ramadan, 30 days, is the Shaban. The month before is actually the Sunnah before the Fard.
So what should we be doing in Shaban? We should be doing exactly what is done in Ramadan. What is done in Ramadan? Fasting, reading Quran, night prayers.
Shaban, this month, is actually known as the month of the recitation of the Quran. Just like Ramadan, they used to close their shops and begin to recite the Quran in abundance during the month of Shaban.
The Prophet (S) used to fast the month of Shaban. He used to fast all except a few days; maybe he broke his fast one or two days of Shaban. So he fasted 28 days of Shaban and broke his fast two in preparation for Ramadan.
Shaban is also a month known for its night prayers as well. The believers pray at night. You see, the exact same things that are done in Ramadan should also be done in Shaban. That's how the believer prepares.
Now, those who don't prepare and don't see the significance of Shaban, what happens? Especially people who never fast and are used to their coffee in the mornings, the first day of Ramadan, they get a big headache, vomiting, and all this.
Now, in this month, you prepare. Get over and done with that so that when Ramadan begins from day one, you're already used to this, and you're going into the month nice and smooth, taking advantage of the first day of Ramadan.
This is why preparation is very important, brothers and sisters in Islam. When we approach Ramadan, we have to have the correct attitude. The mindset needs to be correct.
The greatest attitude that you and I are supposed to have is this: listen very carefully. The attitude we're supposed to instill within ourselves from now is to approach Ramadan as though it's the last Ramadan we will ever witness on Earth.
And that's if Allah gives us life until we live its first days. That's the attitude. When you approach Ramadan with this mindset, it could be the case that this Ramadan is your last one.
If you live through it and approach it in this manner, the feeling that creates within you is a feeling of panic and urgency. You will begin to panic and feel urgency that if this is my last one, I need to take advantage to the best of my ability.
This is what it does. This is why the Prophet (S) once said to a companion, advising him, "If you get up to establish the prayer, pray it as though it's your last."
Brothers and sisters in Islam, if you got up now and you most definitely knew that tonight is your last prayer, how would that Salah be? Most definitely, it will be different than every other Salah that you have prayed.
You'll take your time in it, recitation prolonged. "I'm going to die after it; what else do I need from this worldly life other than this perfect Salah I can offer to Allah?"
That's the same attitude you should have with every Ramadan. This could be your last Ramadan. As the days move, they go really quick. So take advantage from day one and day two. All of a sudden, 10 days are gone, 20 days are gone, and the month is finished.
So this is the attitude that you're supposed to approach Ramadan with. This year, Allah allows us and gives us an opportunity to witness Ramadan. We want to do the fasting of the Fard, and we ask Allah to grant us this understanding.
Brothers and sisters in Islam, I share with you some practical matters on how one prepares for this blessed month.
Strategies: number one, and above the list, after you have set your focus and attitude right—this is your last Ramadan—the first thing you want to start doing now in this month of Shaban in preparation for Ramadan is, without a doubt, seeking forgiveness and repenting to Allah.
Ask Allah for forgiveness for all the past sins of yours: the major and the minor, the intentional sins and the accidental mistakes, your shortcomings in worship as well. These are sins that also need to be addressed.
The diseases and the sicknesses of the heart: jealousy and hypocrisy. Yes, and now if I said, "Who can stand up and say I don't have any jealousy or hypocrisy in my heart?" 100% no one will dare to do it.
Even the Prophet (S) didn't dare, right? He wanted to know if his name was on the list or not. Even though there's a difference of opinion concerning this story, the idea is no one will dare.
If you're concerned about your relationship with Allah, no one will dare to say, "I'm free of hypocrisy." So when you seek forgiveness from the sickness and the disease of the heart, say, "Oh Allah, forgive any that is in my heart. Purify my heart from jealousy, from hatred, from envy, from hypocrisy, from all the sicknesses and diseases of the heart."
Turn to Allah with humility, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. The most successful people in Ramadan are those who enter this month having repented from all their sins.
The greatest word that comes out of your mouth with a sincere heart is a pairing between two together, brothers and sisters in Islam. One that comes from a remorseful heart, from a sincere, honest heart, moments before Fajr is enough to destroy mountains and mountains of sins you have done and accumulated.
One is enough, especially before Fajr, a time that Allah specifically mentioned is exclusive for seeking forgiveness. He said, "From the qualities of true believers is that they seek Allah's forgiveness at this time."
That time is unlike any other time because whoever gets up before Fajr, that time was a time of sleep and rest. People are sleeping and resting; it's not a time to take children to school, not a time to eat, not a time to engage in any worldly business, not a time to take phone calls and respond to emails—nothing.
So whoever got up can only have gotten up for Allah, nothing else. It makes your intention a lot easier. You stand at night, and there's no distraction. You say this will do wonders in your life.
So this is the best way to prepare for this month: seek forgiveness in abundance. Ask Allah during the day and the night to forgive you. The Prophet (S) used to seek Allah's forgiveness more than 100 times a day.
In addition to this, Allah loves those who seek His forgiveness. Allah said, "Allah loves those who frequently make Tawbah." Can you imagine this?
You know, there were some of the Salaf, our pious predecessors, who used to say, "How am I going to make sure that Allah loves me?" Allah says He loves the ones who make Tawbah, and I'm very far away from that. Do I have any chance? Do I have any hope?
Until he read the Quran, and everyone could be a person that turns to Allah. It requires from you sincere effort and continuously saying, internalizing its meaning, saying, thinking about your sins and your wrongdoings.
So this is the best way we're going to prepare for Ramadan. Your sins are the biggest barrier and block between you and Allah. When you seek forgiveness, these blocks, these barriers are moved away, and you're on a highway in your relationship with Allah.
He used to say it is a must that every breath the slave of Allah takes, every breath you take, you should praise Allah with it. And every time you exhale, you should seek Allah's forgiveness.
What he was trying to say is that your life should be between praising Allah and seeking His forgiveness. Praising Allah would mean that you implement the commands of Allah; that's a form of praising Allah.
When we get up and pray, that is us praising Allah physically. When you give, that is you praising Allah because you're implementing what He said.
And keeping away from the prohibitions and also seeking forgiveness from that which you have fallen into of those prohibitions.
That's number one.
Number two in how you prepare for this blessed month of Ramadan, listen very carefully, is by reconciling with your Muslim brothers and sisters that you have hurt, harmed, boycotted, and cut ties with, especially relatives and family members.
Because one of the greatest gifts of Ramadan is that Allah forgives our sins. That's one of the greatest gifts. The Prophet (S) said, "Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and seeking Allah's reward, Allah forgives him for all his sins."
He said again, "Whoever prays the nights of Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward from Allah, Allah forgives him for his sins."
Whoever prays out of faith, seeking Allah's forgiveness, seeking reward from Allah, Allah forgives his sins. The entire month is all about forgiveness.
The biggest prize is forgiveness. You know the last 10 days? What's the Dua that is to be said in the last 10 days? What's the Dua? The recommended one is all about forgiveness, right?
That is the frequent Dua that you're supposed to make throughout the last 10 nights because the grand gift in Ramadan is all about forgiveness.
The Prophet (S) said that two people who are in conflict with one another and hold grudges and hatred towards one another, and have boycotted one another, are not granted forgiveness until they reconcile with one another.
So if you don't take this matter seriously to reconcile with those whom you have cut ties with and mend it, you risk going through the entire month of Ramadan, and your record is held back, and forgiveness is held back from such a person.
A companion was asked how the companions used to welcome Ramadan. You know what he said? This is an answer from people that lived with the Prophet (S).
He said, "None of us would dare to hold an atom's weight of hatred or enmity or jealousy towards another Muslim right at the doors of Ramadan."
That's how we would welcome Ramadan—not with celebrations and balloons. We used to clean and cleanse the heart from anything of friction between the believers.
Sometimes I know situations are difficult; oppression and injustice are happening. Someone might be saying, "But you don't know what has happened between someone else that has abused me and slandered me and done every kind of deed you can think of. How am I going to forgive such a person?"
This is between you and Allah. It's between you and Allah. But Islam always encourages forgiveness. The one who forgives, his reward is immense upon Allah on the Day of Judgment.
No doubt, if the oppression is huge and you don't want to forgive, you have the right as well. You have the right, and on the Day of Judgment, you'll receive reward according to that oppression that happened to you.
I give you a story about a sheikh of mine. I like this story, and I wanted to share it with you. He has been teaching for many years. He was my teacher from when I was 18 years old until this very day.
He shared with us this story. He said that once he was in the Masjid, and an issue happened between him and one of the elderly people that came to the Masjid. The sheikh was completely right; he had done nothing wrong.
This elderly man misunderstood and was disturbed by what had happened, and he walked away from the Masjid. The sheikh, being a teacher, said, "We need to reconcile and mend and fix things."
He went to follow him and see what he needed and what he wanted. The person had shut his door and didn't want anything to do with the sheikh ever again.
One month, two months, three months went by. One year went by. They offered him whatever; he didn't care. He didn't want to come anymore.
So the sheikh went to his sheikh and said to him, "This is what has happened. What do we do?" The sheikh said to him, "This is difficult, but all I know is I can tell you one thing."
He said to him, "If that elderly man ended up in Hellfire, it would be because of you. You would be the reason for why he enters because he's oppressed, and he's cut the relationship with you."
So I don't know how to fix this up, but all I know is if he ends up in Hellfire, it's because of you. This was huge upon the sheikh.
He said, "How are we people? We want to be the reason for why people enter Paradise, not the reason for why people enter Hellfire."
So it grew in the heart of the sheikh, and he had to do everything to solve it and mend it. One second, and this was after two years. He himself went down to this person and said, "What do you want?"
He didn't want to talk to him. He sent his students. Eventually, this elderly man said, "I want the sheikh to get up in the Masjid and publicly apologize to me."
He had done nothing wrong. It's very difficult. Are you going to break that or not for the sake of the relationship with your Muslim brother?
So anyway, the sheikh said, "It was heavy upon me, but I got up after and made a public apology." They took that public apology, went to him, and said, "Alhamdulillah, he apologized."
He said, "Apologize after." So they came back to him and said that he wants a public apology. SubhanAllah, he said, "Because I did it the first time, it made it easier to do it the second time."
So after he publicly apologized, and what he hadn't done anything wrong, they mended the relationship just for the sake of, "I don't want to come on the Day of Judgment being the reason for why someone enters Hellfire."
We are people; we want to be the reason why people enter Paradise. It was sorted.
So the idea is, yes, it's tough; it's difficult. But this is a bond that Allah created between the believers. A person boycotting his Muslim brother for over three days is not allowed.
You know why? Because when people boycott others, most likely it's for worldly matters. "He took some money; he took a car I wanted to buy; he married a woman I was supposed to marry."
It's for worldly things. If the boycotting goes beyond three days, that means you have preferred this worthless dunya to something which Allah established as a bond between you and others, and that is Brotherhood.
You've preferred this over what Allah has commanded; therefore, it was Haram to extend and go beyond three days. You want to be upset? You want to boycott? Do whatever you want within three days. After that, fix it up; sort it out somehow.
Now, sometimes you might have your door open, but it's the other brother who doesn't want to engage in the process of reconciliation and work things out. So long as your door is open and you're open, Alhamdulillah, there's no issue upon you.
Now, number three: we prepare for this blessed month of Ramadan through Dua. The Salaf used to make Dua to Allah six months before Ramadan, not two or three weeks before Ramadan—six months.
So imagine how much more their Dua would intensify as they would approach Ramadan. This is preparation. I tell you, it's preparation.
Anyone who has a great concern about something will make plenty of Dua. When you're sick or if you have a sick relative or you're going through some intense calamity, you make Dua, right?
When you apply for a job and you want it badly, you make Dua. Whatever it is that you want and you have great concern for, you make Dua.
So a sign that you actually have Ramadan at your greatest concern is that you will make Dua and you will make an abundance of Dua.
At the end of the day, Ramadan is a month of worship, and we cannot do any act of worship if Allah doesn't give us the strength and the ability to do so.
You know that Allah says, "Any good you do, then that came from Allah." Allah says that the people of Paradise, when they enter, will say, "We would have never been guided if Allah did not guide us to Islam."
Therefore, what does that mean? It means every single good deed and worship you do is only because Allah gave you strength and ability to do it.
Otherwise, what's the difference between you and people that don't pray? The simple difference is that Allah gave you the strength and the ability; they were deprived of the strength and ability.
For what reason? Allah. Why is there a difference? Even now, sitting here giving a lecture, this only happens by Allah's permission.
Even this is mentioned in the Quran when Allah said about you, "You only preach and call to Allah by His permission." You can't do anything of worship without the permission of Allah.
This is why in our prayers, what do we say? "Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'een," meaning, "You alone we worship." Yeah, but worship—how are you going to achieve that? We're going to seek Your help, meaning we're going to seek Your help alone.
So the purpose of life is the means to get to that purpose, meaning the only way we can worship is by continuously seeking Your help.
This is why the most repeated Dua, which comes in the most noble of deeds, is "Guide us to the straight path." You finish the first, again, "Guide us to the straight path." You just said it again in the third, not even a minute later.
The Quran will quickly go; it's like water. You have to keep drinking; it doesn't sit there and rest permanently. It goes like water; you need to be begging for it every time and keep going back and back to it, right?
So we seek Allah's help, and we make Dua. From the greatest Dua that we make is to say, "Oh Allah, I ask You to give me the ability to do good deeds."
Now the question is, if he can do good deeds on his own, why is he asking Allah? Meaning he cannot on his own; he needs Allah to give him the ability in order to do the good deeds.
From the greatest that you can say is to say, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah." This means there is no power, there is no ability to move from one situation to another.
So there is no movement from laziness to action, from laziness to strength. I cannot move from laziness to strength in worship, and there is no power except if Allah granted me that ability.
That's what it means. This is why when the Mu'adhdhin makes the Adhan, we repeat after the Mu'adhdhin, right? Whatever he says, we say.
When does it change? When he says, "Hayya 'ala al-salah," we don't say, "You know why?" He's saying, "Come to the prayer." You're responding, saying, "Impossible! I can't come to the prayer."
No way! I don't even have the strength and ability to do so except if Allah was to give me the strength, then I'll get up and I'll pray. You see that?
And this, you're supposed to be saying after the Adhan. You have to be in the Masjid early, way before the Adhan, so you're here. Most likely, you'd be sitting in the front row.
You're in the front row; you've come early, reciting after the Mu'adhdhin. Even then, you're saying, "I can't! I can't come to the prayer."
Impossible! I don't have the strength; I don't have the ability. So that's why Ramadan as well—you don't have the strength to fast and pray and take advantage of its days except if Allah was to give you that strength.
Therefore, you ask Allah for it. Also, how we prepare for the month of Ramadan is by learning about its virtues and rewards.
It's very important to know the virtue and reward. There are plenty of books that speak about the virtue and reward of fasting.
I'll tell you something: if I was to tell someone, "You say to your child, 'Son, come and cut the grass for me,'" he's not motivated. "Cut the grass? I'll give you $500." He'll jump from where he used to cut the grass because now he knows what the reward is.
This is how mankind is. When they know that there's a pay at the end of the month or the end of the week, they're excited and looking forward to doing that work. They'll drag themselves to do the work, right?
Because there's pay at the end. This is how believers are made. When we know the reward of something, we're excited to do it.
So Ramadan and the worships are no different. This is why there is a huge emphasis in the Hadith that speak about the virtues of reward, the virtues of deeds.
You know the virtues? What's the virtue of saying "SubhanAllah" once? You say it once, that's a plant, a palm tree in Paradise being planted for you.
Now you know that you're encouraged to say it 100 times. It's very easy now because I know what the reward is.
So Ramadan, the greatest virtue of Ramadan, firstly, is to know that this is the only obligatory fasting of the year. Every other fasting is voluntary: three days of every month, Monday and Thursday, or whatever you want to fast.
All of it is voluntary, except of course the days that you obligate upon yourself. Let's say you woke up and said, "Next week I'm going to fast three days," and then that becomes obligatory, and you need to fast those three days.
But the idea is Ramadan is the month that is fundamentally obligatory. Allah said, "The most beloved things to Allah that bring the slave closer to Allah are that which He has obligated upon them."
So the greatest virtue of fasting the obligated month of Ramadan is the closeness to Allah, and that is a huge virtue.
You know, people in this worldly life always seek, "How are we going to get close to him?" Especially when people are in higher positions, higher positions, they have an abundance of wealth.
You find people want to always stick close to them and stay behind them, right? Because whoever's big, we come close to him. Maybe we can use his services.
Even the magicians of Pharaoh, how did he inspire and encourage them to continue their magic? You know how he said, "If you do what I tell you, I'll bring you close to me. You'll be part of the inner circle."
They're motivated to do the good. We're not saying about a human being; we're saying Allah Himself is saying, "You want to be part of those special selected people of Allah? The only way to achieve this is by doing the obligatory deeds and focusing on them more than anything else."
That will bring you close to Allah. Allah said, "Come close." You ask, "How do I come close to You?" There is nothing that will bring you closer to Allah than what He obligated.
Ramadan is an obligatory month; that's the greatest virtue of it. If you've qualified and become close to Allah, then there is no fear and no worry for such a person.
When the Prophet (S) said in terms of the virtue of the fasting person, he said, "For the fasting person, he has two moments of joy: one moment of joy when he breaks his fast and one moment of joy when he meets his Lord."
The fasting person has two moments of joy: one is a physical enjoyment. What is that? Meaning at the end of the day, once the sun has set, and you indulge in some food and drink, that's the worldly joy.
That's the joy of the fasting person. Of course, it is important to note that the physical enjoyment is only given to the one who breaks his fast upon something Halal.
If a person breaks his fast upon something Haram, like a cigarette, then he does not earn that reward. So you need to be careful; you need to be extra careful that you break your fast on that which is Halal to earn that joy.
The second enjoyment that the believer or the fasting person has is a spiritual enjoyment, and that is when you meet your Lord. There will be a joy for the believer when he meets his Lord.
Why? Firstly, because you're meeting your Creator, Allah, the one whom for so long you have worshiped. Finally, you meet Him.
Secondly, there's a joy to meet Allah to see the huge amount of reward He has prepared for you because of your fasting, your Quran, and your deeds. You want to see what has He prepared for you?
What is your estate in Paradise? What are your trees? What's your land in Paradise? What kind of reward has Allah put for you?
So there is excitement to meet Allah to see what He has prepared for you in terms of reward. We learn something very important here: fasting prepares us for the meeting with Allah.
This is why the Prophet (M) before he met Allah on the mountain, Allah commanded him to fast for 40 nights and 40 days. So he fasted 40 nights and days straight, ate and drank nothing, then he spoke to Allah on the mountain.
This teaches you and me that fasting prepares us to meet with Allah. Did you know that in order for us to prepare ourselves to meet Allah, we should be fasting every day of the year, just like the Prophet (M) fasted?
Did you know we are supposed to fast every day of the year in order to meet Allah? I tell you why and how it's done.
We were initially in Paradise, all of us, when Adam was there. Then he ate from the tree, and we came down to Earth as a result of what we ate.
So if you want to go back, you have to stop eating. You have to stop eating. Ramadan was obligated for 30 days. After it comes six days of Shaban.
Whoever fasts Ramadan and fasts six days of Shaban earns the reward as though he's fasted the entire year. That's how he's now prepared to meet Allah.
So you can literally meet Allah on the Day of Judgment having fasted every day of your life if you just did the month of Ramadan or six days of Shaban. They have to be next to each other, but six days of Shaban is the ticket back to Paradise.
Leave that which caused you to come down to this Earth. You know the strongest desire of the human being is what? What is the greatest desire of the human being? Food. Not women—food.
Food, food, food. You're eating food in the morning or food an hour later or food two hours later or food an hour before and food at night. This is the greatest desire.
Ramadan is teaching you how to control the greatest desire you have. If you can control your desire with food, you can control any other desire because it's less in its intensity than food.
That's what Ramadan is training the believers with. Fasting itself cleanses and purifies the heart. It's a form of repentance.
The Prophet (S) said fasting three days of every month removes the evil traits and qualities of the heart. So if fasting purifies the heart, that's exactly what you need on the Day of Judgment.
You need to show up on the Day of Judgment with a clean, pure heart. That's going to benefit you. Allah said on that day, "Your wealth, your children will be of no benefit to you. The only benefit would be to come on the Day of Judgment with a heart that is Salim," meaning it's pure.
It's undamaged; there's no minor sins on it, there's no Shirk on it, there's no innovations—it's clean from all of that. Ramadan gives you a pure heart.
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Allahu Akbar.
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Alhamdulillah.
Also, from the virtues and merits of fasting Ramadan, this is found or taken from a beautiful story and an incident that happened in the time of the Prophet (S).
There was a man that entered Al-Madina, and he was poor and hungry. The Prophet (S) came out, and it was nighttime. He said to the people of Al-Madina, "Who will take this man and entertain him as a guest in his house overnight and feed him and look after him?"
So one companion said, "I'll do so. I'll take him." So this companion took this poor, hungry person, put him in his house, made food, and it was dark.
This companion made himself as though he was eating, but he wasn't actually eating. He let the guest eat everything that was on the plate. The guest slept, and the day finished.
The next day, the Prophet (S) came to this companion and said to him about him and his wife, "Allah is amazed at how both of you treated your guest last night."
I tell you this: see this person, him and his wife, they gave up their food and drink for the sake of their guests one night, and they earned Allah's love.
Imagine then the love a person receives when he leaves food and drink not for anyone's sake but for the sake of Allah—not for one day, but for 30 days.
How intense would the love of Allah be for such a person? The greatest desire on Earth, you left it for the sake of Allah.
Such a huge reward involved in this. So don't think that the fasting during the day is just about what we have to do.
We have to have a different approach and think, "I'm preferring what Allah wants from me, which is to give up food. I'm preferring what He wants from me over what I prefer for myself."
Now, what I prefer for myself is to keep going, eating and drinking, but I want to prefer what Allah wants over what I want.
This is exactly what is meant as honesty in your relationship with Allah. You know how people sometimes speak about this concept of being honest with Allah?
Be sincere with Allah. You know practically how one can be honest with Allah? When you prefer what He wants over what you want.
For example, when you wake up, your body wants to sleep. You still want to rest, but you preferred what Allah wants, and that is getting up, making Wudu, and praying over what you want, and that is to sleep.
That is what is meant by your relationship with Allah must be honest.
Perhaps I share one last point with you. One of the ways in how we prepare for this month of Ramadan is an important one. You need to understand how to fast correctly.
If the greatest pillar of Ramadan is fasting, because that's the Fard, reading the Quran is recommended, praying at night is recommended, feeding the poor is recommended—all the good deeds you know about are all recommended.
The one Fard and the biggest pillar in Ramadan is to fast its days. So it is very sad if you enter Ramadan and you didn't even know how to fast correctly.
The majority of Muslims don't understand the full, complete image of how a person is supposed to fast. I explain it to you very quickly.
You see, fasting is two parts. The Prophet (S) said, "Fasting is the fasting of the stomach from food and drink, and it's also the fasting of the limbs from sins and transgression."
The Salaf, the pious predecessors, used to say, "The easiest fasting is to refrain from drink and food." That's the easy fasting.
The real challenging fasting is to abstain from all forms of sin and transgression. That's the real fasting.
This is why what is the purpose of fasting anyway? What was its purpose? The entire purpose of fasting was to nurture Taqwa, to increase good deeds and to limit and reduce your sins.
Therefore, the fasting of the day is nurturing in your heart. You know a Muslim, even a sinner, if I gave him an apple and I said, "Go to that room; no one's going to see you, and it's during the day of Ramadan—eat it," he won't eat it.
Why? Because if I eat it now, Allah's watching, and I spoil my fasting. You see that? He's not eating because he knows Allah's watching.
Well, congratulations! That's the same thing that happens during Ramadan outside of Ramadan. During the morning, during the night, at any time, Allah is always watching.
So that refraining from food and drink is nurturing the heart to lessen in its sins and increase in good deeds.
When the Prophet (S) said, "In addition to giving up food and drink and sexual relations, you need to give up three other things," he said, "Whoever doesn't give up false speech, meaning swearing and telling lies, and whoever doesn't give up evil deeds, which could be done with the hands and social media, and the eyes and the Haram that you see, and the ears and what you hear that is Haram—whoever doesn't give these up and doesn't give up ignorance, and ignorance is to not act by what you know."
So if you know Salah is obligatory and you don't pray it, that's ignorance. If you don't give up these three things, it doesn't need you to give up fasting and drinking.
He doesn't need you to give up food and water; you're better off just going and eating and drinking.
So the idea is this is the correct type of fasting: the fasting of the limbs and the fasting of the stomach as well.
We come to the end of our lecture, brothers and sisters in Islam. We ask Allah to grant us life until we witness Ramadan.
We ask Allah to bless our deeds and actions in Ramadan, and we ask Allah to accept our deeds that we offer to Him, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
We ask Allah to grant us sincerity and honesty in our relationship with Him, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. We ask Him, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, to purify our hearts and to cleanse us from our sins.
We ask Him, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, to forgive our shortcomings.