بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
INTRODUCTION: The
Virtue of Seeking Knowledge
You're not doing
just any other normal action, you're doing a deed which is very noble and
beloved to Allah. Allah chose you out of every single person outside to come
and learn this knowledge.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"من يرد الله به خيرًا يفقه في الدين"
"If Allah
wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of
Deen." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
And he
ﷺ said:
“Allah gives
worldly things to those whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He
gives religion and true faith only to those whom He loves, so he who is given
religion by Allah has been loved by Him"
And he ﷺ said:
أَلَا إِنَّ
الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا إِلَّا ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ وَمَا
وَالَاهُ وَعَالِمٌ أَوْ مُتَعَلِّمٌ
Is not the world cursed and
everything in it? It is so except for the remembrance of Allah and what
facilitates it, the scholar and the seeker of knowledge [Sunan At-Tirmidhi
2322]
And he
ﷺ said in a Hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah:
“Allah, the
Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who
remember Allah. When they find some people remembering Allah they call to one
another and say, `Come to what you are looking for;’ and they surround them
with their wings till the space between them and the lowest sky is fully
covered.
Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them
(although He is best informed about everything): `What are my slave saying?’
They say: `They are glorifying Your Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tamjid, (i.e., they
were declaring Your Perfectness, praising, remembering the Greatness and
Majesty of Allah).’ He asks: `Have they seen Me?’ They reply, `No, indeed, they
have not seen You.’ He asks: `How would they act if they were to see Me?’
Thereupon they reply: `If they were to see You, they would engage more
earnestly in worshipping and glorifying You and would extol You more.’ He would
say: `What do they beg of Me?’ They say, `They beg You for Your Jannah.’ Allah
says, `Have they seen My Jannah?’ They say, `No, our Rabb.’ He says: `How would
they act if they were to see My Jannah?’ They reply, `Were they to see it, they
would more intensely eager for it.’ They (the angels) say, `They seek Your
Protection.’ He asks, `Against what do they seek My Protection?’ They (the
angels) say, `Our Rabb, from the fire of Hell.’ (He, the Rabb) says, `Have they
seen the fire of Hell?’ They say, `No. By Your Honour, they have not seen it.’
He says: `How would they act if they were to see My Fire?’ They say: `If they
were to see it, they would more earnest in being away from it and fearing it.
They beg of Your forgiveness.’ He says: `I call you to witness that I hereby
grant pardon to them and confer upon them what they ask for; and grant them
protection against what they seek protection from.’
One of the angels
says: `Our Rabb, there is amongst them such and such slave who does not belong
to the assembly of those who are participating in Your remembrance. He passed
by them and sat down with them.’ He says: `I also grant him pardon because they
are the people by virtue of whom their associates will not be unfortunate‘.”
And so how great
must the reward of these gatherings be in Ramadan?
We've reached the
middle of Ramadan - the time when most people start slacking and falling back
into old routines. So it's important to refresh the Ramadan spirit in us, by
reminding ourselves of the wisdoms behind Allah ordaining Fasting, the great
virtues and opportunities open to us in this month, and the goals we all should
seek to attain. To get out of hustle and bustle and escape the turbulent nature
of the Dunya.
The Wisdom behind Allah ordaining Fasting
Allah said
in [2:183]:
"O you who
believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before
you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun"
Allah informs us
that fasting was something not just prescribed on this nation, but on the
previous nations as well - such as the Jews and the Christians.
And then Allah
informs us of the goal behind it. Now in Islam, we believe that Allah is far
above doing anything in vain. God doesn't do anything except that there is a
purpose and wisdom behind it. Allah says in [23:115]:
"Did you think
that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not
be brought back to Us?"
And one of Allah's
names is الحكيم, which means that
Allah is All-Wise. He puts the perfect thing at its perfect place at the
perfect time. He doesn't ordain laws at random.
So fasting isn't
just a mere exercise or something we're supposed to habitually do every year.
There's a profound wisdom and a goal we achieve through it.
So what is the wisdom
and purpose behind fasting? Let's go back to the verse:
Allah says "لعلكم تتقون" - So that you may attain Taqwa.
Now Taqwa is an
Arabic word which is commonly translated as "Fear Allah". But it's
far deeper than that, and has been explained in a variety of ways by different
scholars. There's no exact English translation for it.
In simple it's to
put a barrier between you and the anger and punishment of Allah out of fear of
Him. It is to obey Allah and to prevent yourself from disobeying Him out of
Fear of him.
How exactly will
fasting help me attain Taqwa?
Well when we fast,
what are we doing? We're stopping ourselves from things we are allowed to do -
things which are essential for our survival, like eating, drinking, having
intimacy with ones spouse even though we have the ability to do all
that Why? Because you are obeying Allah and preventing yourself from
disobeying Him. You're practicing Taqwa. The food and drink is in front of you,
you may be alone, and can easily violate this fast without anyone knowing - but
you don't out of Fear of Allah. You know Allah is watching and observing
you.
So if we can abstain
and prevent ourselves from things which are essential to our survival, surely
we should be able to, by the help of Allah, stop ourselves from doing what
Allah prohibited and made Haraam for us. This is the secret which Allah
placed in Fasting.
And another benefit
we can extract from the goal behind fasting, is that it isn't merely preventing
ourselves from food, drink, intimacy. We have to abstain from backbiting, from
foul language, from quarrelling, from all the other matters which diminish the
reward of our fast.
مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ
قَوْلَ الزُّورِ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهِ فَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ حَاجَةٌ فِي أَنْ يَدَعَ
طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ ".
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever does not give up
forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food
and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)"
So a person might
fast a perfect fast one day, and would have attained Taqwa through it, but in
the evening diminishes all his Taqwa and reward by gossiping, chatting,
spending time in vain, etc.
So Ramadan in short,
is a boot camp. Allah is training us for 30 days....and it's well known that it
takes around 20 or so days to form a habit...and this training is going to help
us for the rest of our lives, and in the long run. Which is why Allah
says in the following verse:
"يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ
الْعُسْرَ"
"(By
prescribing fast) Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make
things difficult for you."
And this is
beautiful because when many look at fasting or any other Islamic laws they see
it as a burden. As laws, as restrictions, as constriction, and tightness. But
it's far more profound than that. The laws are set to make things easy for you
in the long run.
Fasting even
affects the way we think and trains us to think long term. We deprive ourselves
from food and drink now, so that practicing Taqwa and obedience to Allah
becomes easy for us in the long term. So we shouldn't look at Ramadan as a
burden, in fact it's there to help us.
Allah doesn't want
hardship for us. He wants ease.
Because Allah is الرحمن الرحيم. He's the Most Merciful. Ordering you to
fast, to pray to do good deeds, is out of His mercy. Now apply this to every situation
in your life. In life we may go through situations which look difficult, which look
bad - just like starving yourself from food and drink looks like. But Allah
wants ease for you. Allah doesn't want you to put hardship. Like the child at
the doctors office. The doctor is about to give him an injection. He only sees
the needle, the pain. But the doctor knows that behind the needle is the cure.
We are that child in front of Allah. We don't know, but Allah knows.
"عسى ان تكرهو شيء.."
What else does Allah
want from us by ordaining Fast?
"...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..."
Allah wants us to
come back to Him. Ramadan is a month of Tawbah. It's for you to turn a new
leaf, to start recognizing Allah's blessings on you, for having favoured you
above all people and guiding you. So that you magnify Allah - and what do we
say on the Day of Eid. So you say that Takbir with all feeling in your heart,
and that you are grateful. So you can enter Eid feeling like you've walked that
finished line.
So what are the
opportunities we need to take advantage of this month?
The Virtues of Fasting
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"من صام رمضان إيمانًا واحتسابًا، غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه"
"He who
observes fasting during the month of Ramadan with Faith while seeking its
reward from Allah, will have his past sins forgiven." [Agreed upon]
مَنْ
قَامَهُ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
"Whoever
prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping
for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." [Agreed upon]
If
you can't do one, you can do the other.
So he ﷺ stipulated two conditions for your
sins to be forgiven:
1) Faith.
Fast believing in
Allah's existence. Believe in Allah and believe that He commanded you to fast,
and you're fasting carrying out His command.
2) Hoping for the
reward.
What rewards should
we hope for? This will be made clear in the following Hadiths:
-> Forgiveness of
sins (aforementioned)
-> Fasting to
intercede for you
الصِّيَامُ
وَالْقُرْآنُ يَشْفَعَانِ لِلْعَبْدِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَقُولُ الصِّيَامُ أَيْ
رَبِّ مَنَعْتُهُ الطَّعَامَ وَالشَّهَوَاتِ بِالنَّهَارِ فَشَفِّعْنِي فِيهِ
وَيَقُولُ الْقُرْآنُ مَنَعْتُهُ النَّوْمَ بِاللَّيْلِ فَشَفِّعْنِي فِيهِ قَالَ
فَيُشَفَّعَانِ
"Fasting and the Quran will intercede for the servant on
the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: O Lord, I prevented him from food
and drink during the day, so allow me to intercede for him. The Quran will say:
O Lord, I prevented him from sleeping during the night, so allow me to
intercede for him. Thus, they will both intercede for him.” [Musnad Ahmed #6587]
->
To distance your face from Hellfire
مَنْ صَامَ يَوْمًا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بَعَّدَ
اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ عَنْ النَّارِ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا
Whoever fasts a day in the way
of Allah, then Allah will move his face away from the Hellfire by a distance of
seventy years.
-> Unlimited
reward from Allah and because Allah loves fasting
-> A screen from
Hell
-> Two Pleasures
for the Fasting Person
-> The Smell of
the mouth of the Fasting person is better than Musk to Allah
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ
عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الصَّوْمُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ يَدَعُ شَهْوَتَهُ وَأَكْلَهُ
وَشُرْبَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِي، وَالصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ، وَلِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ
فَرْحَةٌ حِينَ يُفْطِرُ وَفَرْحَةٌ حِينَ يَلْقَى رَبَّهُ، وَلَخَلُوفُ فَمِ
الصَّائِمِ أَطْيَبُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ رِيحِ الْمِسْكِ ".
Allah said: The
Fast is for Me and I will give the reward for it, as he (the one who observes
the fast) leaves his sexual desire, food and drink for My Sake. Fasting is a
screen (from Hell) and there are two pleasures for a fasting person, one at the
time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his
Lord. And the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better in Allah's Sight
than the smell of musk."
-> Allah's
pleasure
-> Entering the
Gate of Ar-Rayyan
فِي الْجَنَّةِ،
بَابًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الرَّيَّانُ يُقَالُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَيْنَ
الصَّائِمُونَ هَلْ لَكُمْ إِلَى الرَّيَّانِ مَنْ دَخَلَهُ لَمْ يَظْمَأْ أَبَدًا
فَإِذَا دَخَلُوا أُغْلِقَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَلَمْ يَدْخُلْ فِيهِ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ .
In Paradise there
is a gate called Ar-Rayyan, it will be said on the Day of Resurrection:
"Where are those who used to fast? Would you like to enter through
Ar-Rayyan?" whoever enters through it will never thirst again. Then when
they have entered it will be closed behind them, and no one but they will enter
through it. [An-Nasaa'i]
The Virtues of Ramadan
And he ﷺ
said:
إذا كان أول ليلة في شهر رمضان
صُفِّدت الشياطين ومَرَدَة الجن ، وغلقت أبواب النار فلم يُفتح منها باب ، وفتحت
أبواب الجنة فلم يغلق منها باب ، وينادي منادٍ : يا باغي الخير أقبل، ويا باغي
الشر أقصر . ولله عُتقاء من النار وذلك كل ليلة
"The first night of the month
of Ramadaan comes, the devils and rebellious jinn are chained up and the gates
of Hell are closed, and not one gate of it is opened. The gates of Paradise are
opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a caller cries out: ‘O seeker of
good, proceed; O seeker of evil, desist. And Allaah has those whom He redeems
from the Fire, and that happens every night.”
أَتَاكُمْ
رَمَضَانُ شَهْرٌ مُبَارَكٌ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ صِيَامَهُ ,
تُفْتَحُ فِيهِ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ , وَتُغْلَقُ فِيهِ أَبْوَابُ الْجَحِيمِ ,
وَتُغَلُّ فِيهِ مَرَدَةُ الشَّيَاطِينِ , لِلَّهِ فِيهِ لَيْلَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ
أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ,مَنْ حُرِمَ خَيْرَهَا فَقَدْ حُرِمَ " رواه النسائي
“There has
come to you Ramadaan, a blessed month which Allaah has enjoined you to fast,
during which the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed,
and the rebellious devils are chained up. In it there is a night which is
better than a thousand months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is
indeed deprived.”
تَسْبِيحَةٌ
فِي رَمَضَانَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ تَسْبِيحَةٍ فِي غَيْرِهِ
Az-Zuhri
said: “A Tasbihah in Ramadan is better than a thousand Tasbihah in other
that it.” [Tirmithi]
An-Nawawi said:
قَالَ أَصْحَابُنَا وَالْجُودُ وَالْأَفْضَالُ
مُسْتَحَبٌّ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ وَفِي الْعَشْرِ الْأَوَاخِرِ أَفْضَلُ
اقْتِدَاءً بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَبِالسَّلَفِ
وَلِأَنَّهُ شَهْرٌ شَرِيفٌ فَالْحَسَنَةُ فِيهِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ
Our scholars said that being
generous and performing favors are highly recommended during Ramadan,
specifically during the last ten nights. By doing so, we emulate the example of
the Prophet as well as our predecessors. This month is honored and good deeds
performed in this month are more blessed than they are at any other time. [Source:
al-Majmū’ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab 6/424]
The Goal we should seek to Attain by Fasting
If you've listened
carefully, you would have noticed that we've covered all the goals from the
beginning of the lecture. We should seek, by every fast we do, to attain Taqwa
- and this is the greatest goal, and the very reason we were commanded by Allah
to fast -
Then for ALL our
previous sins to be forgiven, for our fast and our Qur'an to come as
intercessors on the Day of Judgement before Allah, on the Day we'll need it the
most. this isn't just شهر الصبر,
of abstaining. We're not just here to Starve and learn to abstain. But we're
here to nourish our souls, to increase in connection to Allah, to increase in
gratefulness. This month is also شهر القرآن.
We feed and nourish and develop our souls with the Qur'an. In fact the very
first description Allah gives to Ramadan in [2:185]:
"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)."
The Qur'an is كلام الله - it's the Speech of Allah
من قرأ حرفًا من
كتاب الله فله حسنة، والحسنة بعشر أمثالها لا أقول: ألم حرف، ولكن ألف حرف، ولام
حرف، وميم حرف
Ibn Mas'ud (May
Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whoever recites a letter from
the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a
ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a
letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter." [Tirmithi]
But
we shouldn't stick to mere recitation. We have to ponder over it, use it,seek
it as a guidance for us in every part of our lives (Surah AlKahf will be
an example)). Spend as much time as you can with the Qur'an in this month. We
need to form a relationship with the Qur'an.
For our fast to be a
shield from every evil, and most importantly from the Hellfire, for an
unlimited reward from Allah, His pleasure, so that you will be counted amongst
the Muttaqeen, whom Allah promised great rewards in the Qur’an, etc.
What should I practically do?
But how many people
fast empty fasts. As if they're just exercising or doing something out of
habit. It's almost like blind following. But Islam is a religion which
emphasizes using your intellect. We are encouraged to ponder over the wisdoms
behind legislations, and should bear the purpose of what we're doing in mind.
Ramadan isn't so that we just starve all together from dawn till dusk, chat at
night, and celebrate at the end. It's a race, a boot camp; it's there to teach
us how to live our lives, and for that we need to take advantage of every
single second in it.
-> We have to
rejoice with this month. Feel the mercy, feel the opportunities. And Allah will
reward you for even these feelings.
Allah said in
[10:58]:
"Say: "In
the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy (i.e. Islam and the Quran); -therein let
them rejoice." That is better than what (the wealth) they amass."
-> We have to
starve our bodies and nourish our souls with obedience, Qur'an, prayer,
charity, abstaining from backbiting, abstaining from wasting time. - Allah
said He is not in need of the starvation of the one who leaves food and drink
but not foul speech backbiting.
-> Ask Allah to
help you. لا حول و لا قوة الا بالله
-> Fill every
second with obedience, especially the days in Ramadan. Many people focus on the
nights, but the days are full of reward. Even if you're cooking, play the
Qur'an, say Tasbih.
And you can turn
your everyday work into Acts of Worship and get reward for it.
E.g. You're feeding
your husband and kids Iftar. Don't just do it because you have to. Do it
because:
"Whoever
gives food to a fasting person to break his fast will have a reward like his
without detracting from his reward in the slightest"
Because Allah
praised the People of Paradise in Surah AlInsan:
“And they give food, inspite of their love for it
(or for the love of Him), to Miskin (poor), the orphan, and the captive,”
“(Saying): "We feed you seeking Allah's
Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you.”
"Verily, We fear from our Lord a Day, hard
and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme
dislikeness to it)."
How did Allah deal
with them?
“So Allah saved them from the evil of that Day,
and gave them Nadratan (a light of beauty) and joy.”
“And their recompense shall be Paradise, and
silken garments, because they were patient.”
Even if you have to
go to work, have good intentions. E.g. You're working to feed yourself and your
family Halal, and you're not taking Haraam sources.
-> Concentrate on
the obligatory before working on the voluntary. Some people go for Tarawih but sleep
through the obligatory prayers.
-> Make lots and
lots Dua. Allah said in the context of Fasting in the Qur'an, in [2:186]:
"And when My
slaves ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed
near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant
when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me
and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright."
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Three men whose dua is never
rejected (by Allah) are: when a fasting person breaks fast (in another
narration, the fasting person until he breaks his fast), the just ruler and the
one who is oppressed.'[Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]
To conclude:
Ibn Rajab said: "Eid is not for the
one who wears new clothes. Eid is for the one whose obedience rises. Eid is not
for the one with beautiful clothes and fine means of transport, Eid is for the
one whose sins are forgiven."
Allah said 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"
Ibn Al-Jawzi said, "When a race horse knows
that it is nearing the end of the track it exerts all its effort to win the
race. Do not allow the race horse to be cleverer than you, for verily, deeds
are judged by their endings. If you didn't do well welcoming Ramadan, then
perhaps you will do better in bidding it farewell"
And Hasan AlBasri
said, "Improve your
performance in what is left (of time) and you will be forgiven for that which
has always passed. Take special care of the time you have left, because you do
not know when your soul will be turned over to Allah's mercy"
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