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How To Start Ramadan Right | Khutbah
What wisdom do we take from the pious predecessors about how to start Ramadan on the right foot?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As Ramadan is here, alhamdulillah. A week before Ramadan, there are people that become Muslim a month before Ramadan. There are people that become Muslim the day before Ramadan. There are people that are trying to learn how to pray. And they have the daunting element of Ramadan. They don't know how to read Alif, Ba, Ta, Ya. And they're hearing about the month of Qur'an. And that can be really, really, you know, nerve-wracking. Alhamdulillah, we just did the nikah of Brother Brian who accepted Islam here. Alhamdulillah, may Allah bless him and all of those who are fasting Ramadan for the very first time. Allahuma Ameen. Nerve-wracking, right? I was like, I wonder when, I don't know why this question came to my head. I wonder when Ramadan was legislated for the companions of the Prophet, salallahu alaihi wasalam. In what month? And subhanallah, it was in Sha'ban. The second year after Hijrah. You had these companions that were just learning how to pray. Some of them, in fact the majority of them were Ansar. They only spent a year with the Prophet, salallahu alaihi wasalam. Salah was still being defined. The Qur'an was still being revealed. You know, when you think about Taraweeh prayer, Al-Baqarah just came down. Ali, Imran, and Nisa are not even there yet. So when you're thinking about the nights of Qur'an and what this is going to be like, this is a very new thing for them. And it's unlike the ayam al-ma'dudat, the few days of fasting that they used to have before. What a new experience. Shahr Ramadan? Wait, we have to fast the whole month? They were still struggling with alcoholism in the community. Because alcohol was not yet fully forbidden. It was partially forbidden. And even when it was partially forbidden, you had some that were still coming to the prayer drunk. And even when it was at that next level, when it was fully forbidden, you had some that struggled with it. There's a lot going on and suddenly Ramadan drops on them. And they have less than a month to prepare for the very first Ramadan.
That is actually significant and can help us relate when we might feel like, wait a minute, I don't know if I'm ready for this yet. Well, you know what? What did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say? يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ الْيُسْرِ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمْ الْعُسْرِ By the way, Allah is not trying to make things difficult for you. Allah is not trying to burden you. Allah wants ease for you. This is not to punish you. This is not because you did bad in Badr and something bad has to happen now and this is something that is punitive. Just like ما أنزلنا عليك القرآن لتشقى The Quran was not sent down to cause you stress. Salah was not sent down to be this burdensome obligation but to be a sila, a connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Shahr Ramadan that's coming to you now is a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنِ The Quran is descending upon you now in chunks that it has never descended before. In Mecca, short surahs. Suddenly the Quran is coming down in pages upon pages upon pages. Long surahs are descending. This is the month in which the Quran was initiated. الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنِ And you have a chance to get closer to your Lord than you've ever been before. Do not look at this as some sort of burden. Do not look at this as something that you're not going to be able to do. They were not used to fasting. They had a day or two or some days before but they were not used to this idea of fasting in succession. And so once you sort of take a step back and first and foremost look at Ramadan like a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that is actually here with immense mercy, then you approach it differently. And as you read about the Salaf and you read about the pious predecessors, you know what you don't find from them? You don't find that they were very stressed out in Ramadan. Which I've noticed over the years and I'm guilty of it.
Sometimes you know the stories, you know their stories, you know the goals they had, the meeting their goals, you're starting to fall short and it's beginning and you feel like it's slipping very quickly or you weren't prepared for it, you weren't ready and you get stressed out. They weren't stressed in Ramadan. Ramadan was go time. Ramadan was Allah's mercy is descending right now like never before. The gates of Jannah are flung open and I am calling upon Al-Afoo, the most forgiving one. It's time to go with whatever I have right now. It's not time to think about what I wasn't prepared for or how much Quran I did not read before Ramadan or the fasting or it's none of that is relevant at this point. It's Allahu Akbar, Ramadan is here. Let me do what I can. Let me pace myself now that the month has started in ways that are going to give me the full benefit of the month. So how do we get started off on the right foot? Well, first and foremost, if you look at the Salaf, they pace themselves from the very beginning as to how they wanted to divide that month. They weren't going to just figure it out once they got into it. They looked at where they were. They looked at what they were capable of and they created a trajectory for themselves. They charted a trajectory for themselves. Where do I want to end up at the end of the month? And how do I build myself to that in a reasonable way? Not one that causes me great stress, not heavy on the quantifiable part of this, but how do I chart myself up there? Abu Musa al-Ash'ari radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was someone who was distinguished by his fasting and it's said about him, and this is outside of Ramadan as well, that he used to fast until he would become very, very lean. And they would tell him, لو أجممت نفسك Like, you know, if you took care of yourself, put a little bit more weight on, why are you fasting so much?
And your fasting comes, your fasting seems to come in large blocks. The Prophet ﷺ was described as what? That sometimes he was fasting, I'm talking about outside of Ramadan, until you thought that he was always fasting. And sometimes the Prophet ﷺ took a break from fasting until you thought that he was never fasting, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. So Abu Musa, you seem to have this really intentional schedule that you have yourself on. What is that? And he said, إنما يسبق من الخيل المضمرة He said the fastest horses, the ones that always win the races, are the lean ones. And المضمرة is a very rich word in the Arabic language because it actually speaks to their diet. The Arabs had this whole thing when they prepared their horses for a race, of what they would feed the horse before, and how they would, you know, how they start to take quicker laps, to jogging laps, to walking, and keeping them on a schedule before the race starts. And what would end up happening is that you had sometimes those that weren't very good trainers, you're training your نفس which is the horse, sometimes not very good trainers, that had horses that were stronger and faster in their nature, they'd go quick and then they'd crash, they'd be overtaken. So they start the race quick, and then they get overtaken. المضمرة, you know, if you watch a professional race, it's that person that's running and you're like, when are they going to burst? And then they slowly, slowly, slowly start overtaking the rest of the racers. And this is actually what Abu Musa said, I'm doing to my soul. SubhanAllah, this is how I treat my soul. I treat it like that horse that has this course, it's a long course there, that 30 days is far away, but so close, because we know that next week we're going to say Ramadan is already disappearing, and we're already in the last 10 nights, and we're already on the 27th. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a life of acceptance. And I'm not saying this to make him a Ameen, but we know how this goes every year, right?
He's saying, I've already charted it out. I see where the end goal is, and I'm pacing myself. And المضمرة would eat a very nutritious meal, and they wouldn't eat too heavy, they'd eat something very nutritious, and slowly start to tone down. It's like a weight cut for horses, right? Not extreme, tone down before the race starts, and then build themselves back up. This is how I plan to live my life. And he used to say to his wife, شد رحلك, tighten up your belt, get ready, get your camel ready, it's time for us to go. Get the journey ready, or be ready for the journey. فليس على جسر جهنم معبر There's no shoulder on the bridge over Jahannam. That's the best way that I could at least translate this. You don't get to pull over on the صراط or on the جسر. You want to cross it quickly. You want to move across it intentionally. And so when you're charting out your Ramadan, you are already taking into consideration, and subhanAllah, this is what, you know, the Salaf as they commented actually on, some of the scholars commented on Abu Musa's fasting. They said that they would go fast, then pace, then very fast. Right? Sort of that last 10 nights. And subhanAllah, what you notice from the Salaf, is that they didn't used to do this 10-10-10 division. Okay? They didn't divide their Ramadan into 10-10-10. We've recently sort of crafted out this dip. There shouldn't be a dip in Ramadan. They had a very clear 20-10 divide. They didn't have a 10-10-10 divide. I know the narration that is popularized, the first 10 being mercy, the second 10 being forgiveness, the third 10 being pardoning from the fire, that's actually not authentic. They paced themselves as 20 and 10. The first 20 days they had a regimen, the last 10 days they had a regimen. And that's something that's very profound.
And so those that used to do a khatm of Quran on a daily basis, and I know that already puts Ramadan out of reach for some people, right? They did their two khatms in the last 10. And you can take that equation, and you can cast it on all of the ibadat, all of the acts of worship that you plan to take on in this Ramadan. Set a goal for the 20, set a goal for the 10. And there is some wisdom and some benefit to doing that. Now, if the goal that you set for the 20 is an unreasonable goal that you're not going to be able to meet, you're going to spend the 10 trying to catch up on the 20. You're going to spend the 10 trying to catch up on the 20. SubhanAllah, that's what ends up happening, right? Overdrive in the last 10. No. Set a goal for yourself with your recitation, with your adhkar, with your dhikr, with everything else, for the first 20 that you know you'll be able to maintain across the 20 inshaAllah. Then kick it into the next gear when you reach into the last 10. And some of the ulema mentioned, subhanAllah, in this idea of yureedullahu bikum al yusra, Allah wants ease for you. Look at the presence of the suhoor. Look at the presence of the suhoor, of taking that means of feeding yourself before the day even starts. And you know what the Prophet ﷺ said? He said, inna faslama bayna sliyamina wa sliyami ahl al kitab akratu al suhoor. He said that the difference between our fasting and the fasting of the people of the book is this blessing of suhoor. You might read like, wow, the Prophet ﷺ really insisted on breakfast. If suhoor has just turned into food for you, the Prophet ﷺ really insisted on breakfast, right? The angels sending salawat on the people of suhoor. But what this actually was referring to was that the people of the book, the way they used to fast, was that when half of the night passed, they started their fast. So not until the time of fajr. They started their fast from half of the night. They wouldn't eat, they wouldn't drink after that.
And the Prophet ﷺ insisted on a suhoor. Why? You are meant to not eat, well I don't want to trash anyone's suhoor food, okay? But let's just say salty, heavy food. It kind of defeats the purpose. Okay? What would the Prophet ﷺ eat at suhoor? He ate dates, he ate nutritious things, things that could hold you up for the day so that you wouldn't be bothered. This is a gift from Allah ﷻ. Because your nafs, your soul, is that racehorse for Ramadan. So be very intentional even about that because it was a gift from Allah ﷻ. And the angels send their salawat on the people of suhoor. So you know some people say it like from a source of pride, I don't eat suhoor. Like you know, mashallah, my fasting is so much stronger, I don't eat suhoor. No, no, wake up and eat suhoor. Even if it's a few dates and some water because you're supposed to be pacing yourself for the day, not torturing yourself. Allah ﷻ is not pleased with people who are just tortured and you know, and sick and fatigued the whole time. You're supposed to be pacing yourself for the day, you're supposed to be pacing yourself for the month and have a very clear end in sight for all of this. The last thing that I will say in this regard is what Ibn Mas'ud radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu said. Because we stressed this in Sha'ban, we need to stress it again today. Ibn Mas'ud was sitting with some of the tabi'een and he is Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and he's distinguished by what? He's distinguished by the Qur'an. I cannot imagine how much Qur'an Ibn Mas'ud used to read in Ramadan. This is the first man to read the Qur'an in public. This is the man who the Prophet ﷺ said, whoever wants to hear the Qur'an, غَدًّا طَرِيًّا كَمَا أُنزِلْ Fresh, like the day it was revealed, listen to Ibn Mas'ud read Qur'an. I can't imagine what his Ramadan khatms were like, right? What his Ramadan Qur'an was like. So they gathered around him and they asked Ibn Mas'ud radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, كيف كان استقبالكم لرمضان؟ What did you used to do to prepare yourself for Ramadan?
Like get your notepads out, right? What's the ibadah that you did to prepare for Ramadan? And he responded with this, قَالَ مَا كَانَ أَحَدُنَا يَجْرَأُ أَن يَسْتَقْبِلَ الْهِلَالِ وَفِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ حِقْدٍ عَلَىٰ أَخِيهِ He said, no one of us would dare, يَجْرَأُ No one of us would have the jur'ah, no one of us would dare that the Hilal of Ramadan rises upon us and we have one Adam's worth of a grudge in our hearts towards our brothers. The work of forgiveness never ends. Your heart has to be completely free of grudge so that you can completely focus it on being forgiven by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So I know we're right at the heels of it. Ibn Mas'ud, tonight, insha'Allah, we're going to see the Hilal of Ramadan or tomorrow night it becomes, you know, apparent to us. Don't dare to have in your heart anything. We would not dare as the companions of the Prophet, to have in our heart anything of ill will towards our brothers and our sisters. At that point, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala clear our hearts of that which is displeasing to Him and prepare our hearts for Ramadan and give us the guidance and the rushd and the action plan and the way that we can make the most of it and ultimately allow us to leave it completely forgiven of our sins and embraced by His mercy and entered into His paradise. اللهم أمين أقولك لهذا و أستغفر الله و أستغفر الله و أستغفر الله و أستغفر الله اللهم أغفر لنا وترحمنا لنا كوننا من الخاسرين اللهم إنك عفو كريم تحب العفو فاعف عننا
اللهم أغفر لوالدينا رب رحمهما كما ربنا صغارا ربنا أهب لنا من أزواجنا و ذرياتنا قرة أعين و جعنا للمتقين إماما اللهم انصر إخواننا المستضعفين في مشارك الأرض و مغاربها اللهم أعز الإسلام و المسلمين و أدل الشرك و الكاذبين و دمر أعداء الدين اللهم أهلك الظالمين بالظالمين و أخذرنا و إخواننا من بينهم سالمين عباد الله أن الله يأمر بالعدل و الإحسان و إيتاء ذي القربى و ينهى عن الفحشاء و المنكر و البغي يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون فاذكروا الله يذكركم واشكروه على نعماء يزد لكم و لذكر الله أكبر و الله يعلم ما تصنعون و أقيم الصلاة
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