بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah [i.e. to say Takbir (Allahu-Akbar; Allah is the Most Great) on seeing the crescent of the months of Ramadan and Shawwal] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him."
"O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded."
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it (i.e. do righteous deeds of Allah's Obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated, thanked and rewarded (by Allah)."
"And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allah)."
"And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah...."
"But when He tries him, by straitening his means of life, he says: "My Lord has humiliated me!"
"Therein descend the angels and the Ruh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] by Allah's Permission with all Decrees,"
Your Ilah is One. There's no one like Him. And He's the Most Merciful. We need to believe in Him, to rely on Him, to be truthful with Him.
19th Ramadan 1437
Allah placed so many opportunities for us. He wants us to be in Paradise, He wants us to be close to Him. But we're humans and we get busy with our lives. We have to constantly remind ourselves that we were created for Paradise; created to worship Allah. Allah created everything around us to bring us closer to Him.
The month of Ramadan is an honourable guest. What did Allah say about this guest? In [2:185]:
The month of the Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an. Allah prescribed this month and made all the opportunities in it easy for us, so that we draw closer to Him. He wants us to complete the term. And He wants us to say الله اكبر for having guided us. And He wants us to be grateful.
And out of this month, the best days are these last 10 nights. In the beginning of Ramadan we charge our system to get used to it, then in the middle we continue to climb and increase our faith, until we reach the last third of Ramadan with high faith. We are climbing and climbing, elevating and elevating in ranks.
These last 10 nights are a golden opportunity, and the end of the race. And you always run faster at the end of the race than you do at the beginning.
In [3:133]:
"And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqun"
Hasten to the forgiveness of your رب, your Nurturer. The opportunities and rewards are getting higher and higher, so you need to run faster. Hasten towards Paradise.
We need Allah to forgive our sins, to pardon us, to admit us into Paradise. So don't delay. Grab the opportunities. If you didn't seize the opportunity before, then seize it now. Doing acts of worship aren't as easy as doing them in Ramadan. And we don't know if we'll live to see the next Ramadan.
What did the Prophet ﷺ use to do during Ramadan, and specifically the last 10 days of Ramadan?
The Prophet ﷺ would exert himself in worship during Ramadan more so than any other time
Aaisha رضي الله عنها narrated that the Prophet ﷺ would would exert himself in worship during the last ten nights of Ramadan more so than any other time. [Bukhari #1920]
1) He would stay up at night. The night would be alive; as if it were daytime.
2) He would wake his entire household. Why? In [6:66]:
3) He used to tighten his belt - which means he ﷺ would work hard.
What should I do to welcome these 10 days?
Before we begin, we need to prepare. And this preparation isn't external, it's preparing your inside - your heart. Allah said in [9:46]:
"And if they had intended to march out, certainly, they would have made some preparation for it...."
1) Check your intention and your concerns
We need to constantly check ourselves. Faith cannot be in default, we need to constantly restart our system. Every time our intention wanders, we need to bring it back.
In [17:19]:
Your concern is the hereafter. You want the hereafter.
There إرادالدنيا, and there is إراد الآخرة. Look up, not down - because however long you live in this life, you'll leave it. So work for the everlasting world, for the meeting with Allah and the meeting of your deeds.
Everyone's struggling, but in order to make your efforts appreciated by Allah, make your concern and desire the hereafter.
If you don't struggle for a good purpose, Allah's able to replace us with another creation who worship Him alone. You benefit from the struggle for Allah.
2) Be truthful with Allah and yourself
In [9:119]:
"O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)."
Don't lie to yourself. Tell yourself that you don't want anything, you just want the hereafter. And be truthful in this claim.
We have to investigate our intentions, ask ourselves if we are really truthful. That's why we need to have Taqwa of Allah. Before you struggle or produce any action, you are cautious. Sometimes people just worship out of desire; because they enjoy worshipping in Ramadan. Do it as an عبادة. Do it for Allah. لا اله الا الله. And this means there isn't a share for anyone except Allah in it. Not even yourself.
3) Rely on Allah (التوكل)
Your concern needs to be the hereafter, you need to struggle, you need to do good deeds, you need to be truthful. We can't do any of this except through لا حول و لا قوة الا بالله. Completely rely on Allah.
In [6:102]:
"Such is Allah, your Lord! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Creator of all things. So worship Him (Alone), and He is the Wakil (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc.) over all things."
Rely on the Creator, the Nurturer, the One whom no one is like, the One who is in charge of everything.
Allah created us, gave us faculties, gave us Ramadan, gave us Laylat AlQadr. And He commanded us to worship Him. And even though He commanded us, He told us to rely on Him.
When we command others to do something, we never help them. But Allah tells us to rely on Him.
And we make the mistake of relying on ourselves. It's always "..I will, I will..." and then we fall asleep and fail. With whatever command Allah gave us, we should carry it out with لا حول و لا قوة الا بالله. Erase "أنا" (Me....I) from your heart. We are slaves who don't own anything and are completely dependent on our master.
Your test in life isn't your intelligence, your memory, your power. Your test in life is how much you rely on Allah.
4) Ask Allah to forgive you (الإستغفار)
Sins are a hindrance in performing good deeds. In [3:147]:
"And they said nothing but: "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and our transgressions (in keeping our duties to You), establish our feet firmly, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk."
5) Be Humble
In [31:18]:
"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster."
Don't show off or be proud of your good deeds and acts of worship, even within yourself. Don't put yourself on a pedestal and admire yourself.
Shaytan did so many good deeds, but was cast out of Paradise because of his arrogance. We need to constantly remind ourselves to be humble. Who helped you and gave you the strength to do all these acts of worship?
6) Be Grateful (الشكر)
In [16:78]:
Be grateful that you are a Muslim, that Allah gave you life, that Allah gave you knowledge, that Allah made you pray, fast, recite the Quran. Be grateful for your house, your children. Be grateful for everything. Don't complain. Begin with gratitude and appreciating the blessings of Allah, because the more grateful you are, the more Allah will increase you. In [14:7]:
"And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe."
The first level of gratefulness is to attribute the blessings to Allah. لا اله الا الله. Allah is the One who taught us all of this. Don't think of the means, because the means will disappear on the Day of Judgement. Don't think of yourself or anyone else. Just think of Allah.
"لعلكم تشكرون"
And in [16:53]:
This is how you internally welcome the last 10 nights of Ramadan.
Why do we increase in worship during the last 10 nights of Ramadan? Because you're seeking one night. You're seeking Laylat Al-Qadr.
Why is it called Laylat AlQadr?
1) ذات شرق قدر - Because this night has a Status and Position
2) التضيق - The earth gets constricted and tighter due to the number of Angels
E.g. In [89:16]:
Angels come down to fulfill a job or a purpose. On Laylat AlQadr they will come down because Allah commanded them to. And they come down with tranquility and goodness.
3) التقدير - The Decrees
On Laylat AlQadr Allah will reveal the decrees for the following year - regarding life, death provision, everything - to the Angels.
The Scholars said a person may be walking in the markets, enjoying his life, and at that exact moment his death will be decreed for that year.
سورة القدر - Surah AlQadr
"Verily! We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree)"
"And what will make you know what the night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is?"
"The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, (i.e. 83 years and 4 months)."
We don't want to miss Laylat AlQadr so we have to completely rely on Allah. The worship on a single night, whether you're reading Qur'an, making Dhikr, being patient, relying on Allah, being grateful, any act of worship (even if you aren't praying) - is better than a thousand months.
Women get depressed when they can't pray, but there's no need to. You'll be rewarded abundantly for even the actions of your heart. If you are grateful, it's as if you did it for a thousand months. And we need to be grateful for this blessing Allah bestowed on the Ummah of Muhammed ﷺ.
If you want the hereafter and to be closer to Allah, Allah will help you worship Him.
"Peace! (All that night, there is Peace and Goodness from Allah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn."
وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "من قام ليلة القدر إيمانا واحتسابًا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه"
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whosoever performs Qiyam during Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), with Faith and being hopeful of Allah's reward, will have his former sins forgiven."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
And remember:
In [2:163]:
"And your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah), La ilaha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful"
In [20:85]:
"He said: "They are close on my footsteps, and I hastened to You, O my Lord, that You might be pleased."
Let your heart stand before your feet do for prayer.
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