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How to Make this Your Best Ramadan | Khutbah
While we may already be discussing the difficulty of Ramadan with Gaza in the background, we need to start talking about how exactly to make this the best Ramadan of our lives.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to imagine for a moment if you were sitting in a khutbah in al-Madina al-Munawwara and Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu was giving the khutbah. And in the middle of the khutbah of Sayyidina Umar radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, he shouts, Friday prayer in the middle of the khutbah, يَا سَارِيَةُ الْجَبَلِ O Sariyya, to the mountain. O Sariyya, to the mountain. O Sariyya, to the mountain. And then he goes back to giving his khutbah as it is. And you would be sitting there and you would be perplexed as is natural at wondering why the interruption? What did you suddenly see that caused such a break in your khutbah? And indeed after the khutbah, Sayyidina Ali radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu goes to Sayyidina Umar radiyaAllahu anhu and asks him, What was that? Why did you suddenly say, يَا سَارِيَةُ الْجَبَلِ And he tells him that, I suddenly saw Sariyya and the Muslims that were in Iraq, subhanAllah, from al-Madina al-Munawwara. And I saw that there was a group of people about to attack them from behind the mountain. And I shouted, يَا سَارِيَةُ الْجَبَلِ As if to say, hurry up and take to the mountain because there are people that are behind you that are coming to get you.
And indeed, subhanAllah, a month later when Sariyya radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu returns back to al-Madina with his people, he tells Umar radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu about this situation in which they were stranded and they didn't perceive an army that was behind them. And they heard the voice of Umar radiyaAllahu anhu and took to the mountain and then saw what was happening behind them and were able to establish themselves until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them victory. Now this is a moment in Islamic history that we could elaborate on for an entire khutbah. But I want to break from that moment inshaAllah ta'ala for the moment that we are in right now. Ramadan is around the corner. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow us to live to see Ramadan because no day is guaranteed. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us acceptance in the month of Ramadan because acceptance should not be taken for granted. And I know that there are many people that feel the sadness and the weight of what is happening with our brothers and sisters in Palestine, in Gaza. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give them victory. Allahumma ameen. And it's hard to perceive the joy of Ramadan with everything that's happening in the background. But I don't want to talk about the joy and the sadness. I want to start off from this place. First and foremost, we should show gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for allowing us to be present in Ramadan, for giving us the gift of Ramadan because it is a gift that many people wish that they had. And it is a gift that many people will no longer have because they have passed away before this Ramadan. And so the very first thing that you meet this month with is gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Saying alhamdulillah, He gave you another opportunity to live to see this blessed month, to be a part of it, to make du'as where other people cannot make du'a anymore, to partake in acts of worship that others are no longer able to partake in. وَلَا إِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَا إِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ And if you are grateful, I will increase you.
And so the very first thing is alhamdulillah for the blessing of Ramadan because it is a blessing whether we feel joy or not. It is an incredible blessing that not everyone gets to have and that we should not take for granted. Another opportunity to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But then how do I connect it to the moment that I have right now? And many people are saying this Ramadan doesn't feel the same. And what I don't want to happen is that you waste your Ramadan because of your sadness, and you take it for granted and say, you know this Ramadan is different, maybe the next Ramadan things will be different and I'll feel better and I can apply myself in worship. Rather, everything that is happening should be a reason for you to have the best Ramadan of your life. It should actually be the reason for the Ramadan in which you are closest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than any Ramadan prior. Why? When you read about the secrets of fasting and what Ramadan is meant to unveil in our hearts, beyond simply causing us to want to fast from our food and our drink, beyond simply disconnecting us from our desires, it is also meant to connect us to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to the hereafter and to the reward of the hereafter that He promises the righteous believer in a way that nothing else can. And for many Ramadans prior, you spend the beginning of Ramadan peeling the layers, deeper perception, trying to perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, trying to perceive the hereafter, trying to perceive the reward of the hereafter, trying to perceive the pain and the suffering of your brothers and sisters, and you know what? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us all a head start. You have a head start bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. You need no one to tell you about the appetite that you have for this world being out of control.
When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saw Israfil alayhi salam with his lips puckered to the horn, he said, كيف أنعم? What appetite do I have for this world after I saw that blow of death? And so if you've lost your appetite for this world after seeing what is happening in Gaza, you've gotten a head start on Ramadan. Because Ramadan is meant to diminish your appetite for this world, not just your appetite for food and drink. You've gotten a head start on Ramadan. And if you watch those videos that are coming out of Gaza and you feel the pain as if someone is striking you to where you physically can't sleep, all of those ahadith about the fever of the body when any part of it is struck, if it physically makes you sick, if you don't enjoy your food after seeing people that are shredded like the meat that we eat, then you've gotten a head start on your Ramadan. There's something that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was breaking you off from. And even beyond that, if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has pushed you to worship Him at a greater level, if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has pushed you to qiyam, maybe you didn't used to make du'a so sincerely. Maybe you started to pray qiyam some nights and make du'a for your brothers and sisters. Allah gave you a head start on Ramadan. And there are three things that the ulema mention in terms of the depth of perception that should happen in Ramadan. And they all relate to this particular moment that we are in right now and why this Ramadan has to be different, but not in the way that other people are talking about it being different. It has to be different in a good way. Number one, that you perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in your personal worship of Him to the point that it is as if you can see Him. It is as if you can see Him. أَن تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ That you worship Allah as if you can see Him.
You see, كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Fasting is prescribed on you so you can become God conscious. But eventually, that God consciousness starts to transcend all of the worldly things that are in front of you, and all of the barriers that are between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to where you are at such harmony. I'm not preaching with God in the divine sense, not a divine presence, but oneness in the sense that it is as if you can see Him through everything. That this entire reality around you feels like an illusion, and He is the only reality when you enter into your salah, and you enter into your acts of worship. It's the depth of your perception that you perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through everything. And the reading of the Quran, and the removal of the food and the drink, and the removal of the sins that come with that heightened elevation of consciousness are meant to bring you to that place where you perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through all of the barriers of what He has created. The second thing is that as it relates to your brothers and sisters, that you perceive them حَتَّى يُحِبُّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ Until you love for your brother what you love for yourself. What does it mean, يُحِبُّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ That you love for your brother what you love for yourself. That you see yourself in your brother. That you remove all of the barriers between you and your brother and sister to the point that you don't just see a shared humanity, but you actually see an inevitable existence. You are me. That person in Gaza is me. That's my child. That's my mother. That's my brother. That's my sister. That is me. And so subhanAllah when it comes to transcendence with the relationship with the divine, with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that you worship Allah as if you can see Him because you can't be Him. But when it comes to transcendence
with your brothers and sisters to the point that you become them. Because they are living, breathing creatures who say, لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله just like you. And so it is to the point that my priorities dissolve into their priorities. That their existence becomes my existence. That what they are seeing becomes what I am seeing. That the pain that they are feeling becomes the pain that I have. And therefore my output in regards to them is like the output that I would hope in regards to me if I was in that exact same situation. And so transcending the dunya with your perception of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as if you can see Him. Transcending the dunya with your brothers and sisters as if you are them. And transcending the material worth of this world in pursuit of the greater reward of the hereafter. And that was the realization the companions came to in the khandaq when they were in that trench. As they are facing a genocide in Medina. اللهم لا عيش إلا عيش الآخرة فاغفر للأنصار والمهاجر Oh Allah, there is no life except for the life of the hereafter. What are they trying to do? They are trying to protect themselves in this life. But in trying to salvage what they have of this life they actually came to the realization of what the worth of that life actually is. These young men are digging away in a ditch and everyone is on their toes about what is to come. But in that is a realization you know what? This really isn't anything. اللهم لا عيش إلا عيش الآخرة There is no life except for the life of the hereafter. There is nothing that is truly worth it in the sense that it would cause me to compromise what is in the hereafter. And so I bring you back to
عمر الخطاب رضي الله تعالى عنه in that moment. The scholars say of that gift obviously كرمات الأولياء and the companions used to have these things happen to them. Miracles that would happen to them. Not the miracles of the prophets but miracles that would happen for them. That this is a miracle that Allah سبحانه و تعالى opened for him in that moment and gave him a portal into something that he physically was not in proximity to. But they also mention that there is a connection. This is the same man who used to fear that Allah سبحانه و تعالى would prosecute him on the day of judgment because a donkey in Iraq would complain about the road not being straightened for it on the day of judgment. About him. And so if he carries that هم if he carries that passion that type of compassion for a donkey in Iraq and fears the reprisal fears the consequence of neglecting it how much more do you think his heart was actually in Iraq with Saria and his companions in those moments. It's more than just a miracle. It's a miracle that's produced out of equality. They are me and I am them. I start to see the world through their eyes as if their world is actually my world. And so when someone says what is Ramadan like this year? A lot of our religion is putting ourselves in different situations than the one that is obvious to us around us. Your brothers and sisters this Ramadan I have a challenge for yourself and for me. I want you to wake up every single morning in Ramadan and not just make du'a for your brothers and sisters in Gaza and try to appreciate the blessings that you have. I want you to wake up every single day of Ramadan 29 or 30 days and after you praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala الذي أحيانا بعدما أماتنا the one who gave us life after death I want you to say
what if I just woke up in Rafah? What's on my mind right now? What's in my heart right now? What is a person waking up in Rafah right now seeing? And how can I be there for them? As your day goes on what am I reading? What am I thinking about? What are my priorities? Every moment of the day in Ramadan don't just try to perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as you should through the worldly existence around you. Try to perceive life through the eyes of your brothers and sisters and it should not be that hard because you are seeing them constantly in their suffering. You've probably been more exposed to their suffering now than you were ever before to anybody else. What is it right now in Rafah? If I'm breaking my fast if I even have bread in Rafah how am I breaking my fast? What am I doing in Gaza with the airstrikes falling upon me? What type of devotion am I having when I'm reading Quran because I can tell you by the way that despite everything that is happening to them mark my words they will be praying Taraweeh even with the airstrikes. Mark my words they will be asking questions about how to fast even if they have nothing to break their fast with. Mark my words they are thinking about how to find Laylatul Qadr even though they don't know if they're going to live to see another night. And none of us truly know. But with death so imminent they're still thinking about catching Laylatul Qadr. You are going to see the images of Ibadah of worship coming out of Gaza. This will be a different Ramadan for them and it has to be a different Ramadan for us too. When COVID hit a few years ago everyone talked about the COVID Ramadan. And how do you find Ramadan in your house without the community spirit? This time I'm telling you to find Ramadan with an ummah that is so overwhelmingly in pain that it is in the emergency room.
How are you finding Ramadan in the ER right now as an ummah? You've got to think about it differently. And when you force yourself to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fight that pain knowing that your pain is not as great as their pain then I want you to imagine the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam in Sahih Muslim that Ma'qul ibn Yasar radiyallahu ta'ala narrates that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, العبادة في الهرج كهجرة إليّ To worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in hard times is like making hijrah to me. It's like migrating to me. And the scholars mentioned so many blessings from that. The first one being, لكثرة الثواب Because the good deeds are more when you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through pain. And if you are voluntarily enduring emotional pain and suffering because of your brothers and sisters and you're worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with that pain and asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to relieve them of that pain then that is far greater than your comfortable worship. I want you to think about the things you were asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for last Ramadan. And what will you be asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for this Ramadan if your heart and your mind are in the camps in Rafah? What are your priorities in your du'a this Ramadan? And shouldn't your du'as provoke more tears this year than your du'as did last year? Dear brothers and sisters, it's a different Ramadan for us. And it has to be a different Ramadan for us. And on an individual level, it has the potential to actually be the most spiritual Ramadan of your life. Don't waste it. Don't waste it away. Take the emotions that you have this year and turn them into a Ramadan that you've never had before. By imagining every day that you are having Ramadan in Rafah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza
and our brothers and sisters all over the Ummah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow this special month to bring special victory. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow the istighfar, the seeking forgiveness of our sins all around the world be a means of alleviating the pain from our brothers and sisters in Gaza. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow our worship and our du'as to be accepted and to be a means of benefit for them and a means of benefit for us as well in the hereafter. Allahumma ameen. Astaghfirullah li walakum wa risala al muslimeen wa astaghfiruhu inna huwa ghafoorun raheem Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulil kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een Al'ibadatu fil harj kahijratin ilayya May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept the true ibadah of those that are truly in pain, my brothers and sisters in Gaza. Dear brothers and sisters, subhanAllah, as you see their pain, know that there is a tremendous reward that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has in store for them, the shuhada and those that are left behind. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept it from them as well. Make this month a means of ease for them. Allahumma ameen. Allahumma khafir al-mu'mineen wa al-mu'minat wa al-muslimeen wa al-muslimat al-ahya'i minhum wa al-amwati innaka samee'un qareebun mujeebu al-da'awat Allahumma khafir lana wa rahamna wa a'afu anna wa la tu'adhibna Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa in lam takhfir lana wa tarhamna lanakoon nana min al-khasireen Allahumma innaka a'afuun kareemun tuhibbu al-a'afu wa fa'afu anna Allahumma khafir liwalideena Rabbirhammu maa kamanabbu min sighara Rabbana hablana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurra ta'ayun wa ja'anna lilmuttaqina imama Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mustad'afeen fi masharik al-ardi magharibiha Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mustad'afeen fi palestine Allahumma aslih ahwala ikhwan al-mustad'afeen fi kulli makan
Allahumma alayka bi a'daika a'da al-deen Allahumma ahlik al-dhalimeen abd al-dhalimeen wa akhrujna wa ikhwana min bayn al-msalimeen Ibadallah anna Allah ya'umru bil-adli wal-ihsan wa ita'idhul qurba wa yanha'an al-fahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghi ya'idhukum la'alakum tazakaroon fathkuruAllahi yathkurukum wa shukroohu a'la al-ni'ma yazid lakum wa la dhikruAllahi akbar waAllahu ya'lamu ma tasna'oon wakilumassalam
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