DISCLAIMER: This reminder was originally delivered in Arabic on this Friday. Any meanings lost in translation are not to be attributed to the speaker as reminders are translated by volunteers. The mosque has no official translator and volunteers often have no formal qualifications to translate on the day. Please forgive any errors as they are from our human weakness and any right guidance is from God.
Dear Brothers and sisters
Anas bin Malik ( may Allah be please with him) narrated that the messenger (saw) stepped onto the pulpit and said :
“ Ameen.” Then he stepped onto the second step and said : “ Ameen. “ .” Then he stepped onto the top and said : “ Ameen. “Then his companions said “ To what did you say Ameen, O messenger of Allah “. So He (saw) replied, “ Jibril came to me and said : “ May he be disgraced, the person who you are mentioned to him and he does not send prayers upon you. So I said Ameen. Then he said : May he be disgraced, the person who has one or both of his parents and he does not enter paradise through them. So I said Ameen. Then he said : May he be disgraced the person who reaches the month of Ramadan , and he is not forgiven. So I said Ameen. “
He also said (saw) :
"Whoever fasts during Ramadan" and according to the Hadith of Qutaibah, the Prophet said: "Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer (Qiyam) out of faith and in the hope of reward, he will be forgiven his previous sins, and whoever spends the night of Lailat Al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, he will be forgiven his previous sins." '
Dear brothers and sisters
This blessed month has come upon us. Allah (swt) has made fasting during the days of this month obligatory, and standing prayer during the night an optional way to get closer to him full of blessing and reward.
This month comes to you every year to provide you with an opportunity to increase in your good deeds and actions, and for you to reduce and eliminate the negative aspects of your life and the sins you have been indulging in.
The Messenger (saw) said:
“ When Ramadan comes, the gates of paradise are opened, and the gates of hellfire and locked, and the devils and chained. “ [ Sahih Muslim]
Why does this happen in Ramadan?
This is an honour given by Allah (swt) to this month which he honoured by choosing it to be the month in which the Quran was revealed and to send to best of mankind as a messenger. This should indicate to you that Allah (swt) has made Ramadan a special month in which remembering Allah and worshipping him has been made easier. He has helped you by closing the gates of evil and reducing its presence and opening the gates of good and increasing its presence.
So dear brothers and sisters
This is an opportunity to get closer to Allah. You restrict yourself from eating and drinking, which is something which you are used to doing on a daily basis throughout the year. In this month of Ramadan, you leave this every day for the whole month for no other reason than to please Allah and to fulfil a great aspect of worship which is a condition to any deed being accepted, which is sincerity.
The month of Ramadan in a season of blessings. It is a gift from Allah for the person who knows how valuable it is. The Messenger (saw) said:
“ Every deed of the son of Adam is multiplied. A good deed is multiplied from 10x to 700x. Allah (swt) has said “Except fasting. It is for me and I will decide its reward. “
So dear brothers and sisters. Make the most of Ramadan. Do as much good as you can. There is a caller in the heavens calling out:
“ O seeker of good come near. And O seeker of evil, stop!.
In order to make the most of Ramadan, there are 3 times during every day that you should make an extra effort to benefit from:
- After praying your Fajr prayer: sit in your place and remember Allah and ponder over the Quran and recite its verses until the sun rises, the pray 2 Units of prayer. It is narrated from Abdullah bin Umar:
“Whoever prayers the morning prayer, then sits in his place until he can pray ( the time comes, ie sun has risen), this is equivalent to an accepted Umrah and Hajj.
- Before Iftaar: Use this time before Iftaar to seek forgiveness from Allah and to make dua. As it is narrated in a Hadith:
“ Indeed for the fasting person at the time of opening his fast there is a prayer that will not be rejected.”
- At the end of the night: Make this a time to be alone with Allah , converse with him and ask from Praise him and thank him. It is narrated in a Hadith:
“ It was said O messenger of Allah, which Dua is heard the most. ( meaning which time is best to make Dua and for it to be more likely to be accepted ). He (saw) replied, “ The last portion of the night and at the end of the obligatory prayers. “ And in another narration, “ Allah (swt) descend to the lowest heaven every night and says : Is there anyone asking so I can give him? Is anyone seeking forgiveness so I can forgive him? Is anyone repenting so I can accept their repentance?
So congratulations to the person who makes use of this opportunity. O seeker of good come near. The opportunity is before you. Your good will be multiplied in ways you cannot imagine. Recity what is between you and Allah , and turn to him and offer him the best fasting and prayers and obedience you can.
Be aware of Allah while you are worshipping him. Perfect your fasts and complete them in the best manner. Have sincerity in all your actions. And fear Allah and obey him so that you may be successful.
We ask Allah (swt) to allow us to benefit from this month, and to fast and pray in the best manner. Ameen. .