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Your Heart Isn’t Ready for Ramadan Unless… | Khutbah
What does it really mean to have a pure heart? In this khutbah, Dr. Omar Suleiman talks about why it is important to purify the heart before Ramadan from grudges, envy, and anything else that it carries that may hinder it’s worship. Is there a du‘a to make to purify it from these things?
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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 alayhi wa sallam 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, as we talk about what a pure heart constitutes, subhanallah, there is so much emphasis on the heart within the body of a hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. A heart that is pure, a heart that is firm, a heart that is focused, and if that heart is proper, everything else is going to be proper. And there is this intentionality about always looking after it, even if all of the outside seems to be healthy, to make sure that you're constantly scrutinizing your heart, your sincerity, your steadfastness. All of that comes back to this one vessel. And there's this one hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that's profound, especially as it pertains to these next crucial few weeks before Ramadan, where it has a few different variations, and I've mentioned a shorter variation of this hadith before, but a longer one which is also authentic and profound, that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Aas says, I said to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, من خير الناس؟ Who is the best of people? And it's very telling that this is such a frequent sentence uttered by the mouths of the best generation to ever live. They were seeking to be the best people as individuals, and so they collectively became the best generation. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with them. So many times you find a companion coming to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on the side and saying, who is the best of the best? Because I want to be that person.
I'm not satisfied with simply being a companion. I want to be خير الناس. I want to be the best of the best. Even if the rank of Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman and Ali and Khadijah and Aisha seem so unattainable, I want to be the best. So the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would always respond with what? A quality. Why? Because the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam could have simply named an individual, and all that would have done was demoralize this person and leave them in that place of search and in that place of complacency, because I'll never be this person. So he responded with quality sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So he said, ذو القلب المخموم واللسان الصادق. A person who has a pure heart and a person who has a truthful tongue. Now by the way, who is the best companion? Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. The truthful one. He spoke only the truth, and as Imam al-Muzani rahimahullah said about him, ما سبق الصحابة بكثرة صلاة ولا صيام. He didn't beat the companions out because he prayed more than them, and he fasted more than them, but because he had something in his heart. سبقهم بشئٍ وقر في قلبه. Something happened to his heart radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave the qualities. He said the best people of this ummah are people who speak truth, and people who have purified hearts. And he said that we said to the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, أما اللسان الصادق فقد عرفناه. We know what a truthful tongue is, ya Rasulullah. But what is, فما ذو القلب المخموم. What is a pure heart? Can you be more specific as to what a heart being pure is? He said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, هو التقي النقي الذي ليس فيه إثم ولا بغي ولا حسد.
He said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that it is a heart that is first and foremost God-fearing, conscious of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. تقي. It's God-fearing. Secondly, it is نقي. It's pure. Now by the way, these first two traits here shape the rest of the hadith. Meaning what? There's a category here of taqwa, a category here of being God-conscious, which means that it will never violate the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon it. And then النقي, the pure side of it, there's a category here in regards to how it relates to other people. It's pure in regards to what it holds in regards to other people. So تقي, it holds an awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that doesn't allow it to fall into إثم. That doesn't allow it to fall into sinfulness, at least not in a knowing fashion. So it's so in awe and enamored with its Lord that it purifies itself from what would compromise that sight and the integrity of that sight upon it. Then the second part, نقي, refers to what? بغي, إثم, حسد. Particularly where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions transgression and envy. It doesn't hold transgression and envy. Transgression refers to the hope that someone else will get hurt or the desire that should the opportunity present itself, I will inflict harm on this person. Okay, how can a heart be a transgressor? Because the heart intends. So if the heart intends transgression and the only thing stopping it is that it hasn't found a moment or an opportunity to hurt someone else, it still holds a transgression inside of it. And حسد is a very specific disease of envy.
That you hate someone for something that they have that you wish you had. You hate to see someone else in a position that you feel like you deserve. You hate that someone else has a life that you feel like you should be living. حسد, it's in the heart here and it's going to shape a particular type of mindset and it's going to shape your actions and it's going to consume your thoughts and it's going to dictate your actions. It all goes back to that. Now here is what makes this hadith very interesting, this particular narration. This hadith has a shorter, more commonly quoted version which is authentic. This one's a little longer. This one the companions continue and they say فَمَنْ عَلَىٰ إِثْرِهِ يَا رَسُولُ اللهِ Who shows signs of that, O Messenger of Allah? You know, you're talking about a deep, internal feeling. Who shows signs of that? Like what are the traces of a person that has that type of quality then, Ya Rasulullah? You know, speaking the truth is so obvious. But what are the signs? And he responded, صلى الله عليه وسلم الَّذِي يَشْنَأُ الدُّنْيَا وَيُحِبُّ الْآخِرَةِ A person who really despises superficiality. يَشْنَأُ الدُّنْيَا here doesn't mean you hate the world. It means you hate worldliness. Like they really are turned off by worldly enamor and instead, يُحِبُّ الْآخِرَةِ Like they love the hereafter. They actually love the akhirah. The concept of the hereafter is one that pushes them to action. It's what consumes their thoughts. It's what gets their hearts excited. يُحِبُّ الْآخِرَةِ Now look at the honesty of the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. They said, Ya Rasulullah, ما نعرف هذا فينا إلا رافع مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم They said, look, the only person that really fits that description the way you just said it
is Abi Rafi' who was a freed slave of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. If you go back and you watch the episode that we did on al-Abbas صلى الله تعالى عنه and Umm al-Fadl, his wife رضي الله عنها Abu Rafi' was a slave of al-Abbas and he was a private believer in Mecca. He embraced Islam before al-Abbas رضي الله عنه and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم freed him and he became one of the great companions and dedicated companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So they're saying, you know that pure-hearted person who simply just walks on this earth who seems to not carry any ill will towards anyone nor any love for this world it seems like that simple man, Abi Rafi' he just comes in the masjid, he goes, he's always kind of minding his own business he doesn't speak much, he's clearly like not here. He's clearly focused on something else. So the sahabah are saying, is that what you're talking about? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stayed silent. So they said, فمن على أثره? So then who resembles that type of person? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, مؤمن في خلق حسن a believer with good character, don't complicate this. A Muslim who has good character, a believer who has good character is operating from a good place. Focus on that, don't focus on the circumstances. Don't focus on a very particular type of person. Focus on that. Now what makes this really important is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم connected your pursuit to the poisons of the heart as well as how you interact with Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم and the world around you, all in one hadith. And Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم simplifies it by saying the following ما جعل الله لرجل من قلبي في جوفه Allah did not give two hearts to a single person. No human being has two hearts. You don't have two hearts.
If you have two hearts, then you seemingly can have two contradicting sets of priority. Then you can have two purposes. Then you can have two loves. Then you can have two drivers. Then you can have two motivators. And Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم is saying Allah didn't give you two hearts. So when you claim to have those seemingly contradictory purposes and drives and priorities, you're only lying to yourself. Because Allah did not give you two hearts. Nor will Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم allow one heart to possess, you know, to build on this, one heart cannot possess two contradictory emotions. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says in two hadith, and listen to this because they're both authentic and they're very insightful. He said صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يجتمع في جوف عبد المؤمن الإيمان والحسد In one narration the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said no heart can carry both iman and envy, faith and envy. There's no such thing as a heart that can carry these two things and be true to the iman or, you know, actually hold hasad in what it contains, actually hold envy in what it contains. In another narration, also authentic, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said لا يجتمع الشح والإيمان في قلب عبد أبدا He said صلى الله عليه وسلم Faith and greed cannot coexist in the heart of a single servant. So faith and greed and faith and envy. And you connect that, subhanAllah, to that hadith where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned the pure heart. تقي نقي Conscious of Allah سبحانه وتعالى سليم, pure in regards to everybody else. Conscious in what it wants from Allah and how it's being perceived by Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Pure, does not seek to violate or harm anyone else and does not covet what others have
because it's so busy coveting the sight of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Now what does this have to do with our discussion today? The poisons of the heart are connected to a lack of purpose and priority. Greed and envy are connected to loving the world more than the hereafter. Both of these spiritual diseases are connected to loving the world more than the hereafter. And there's this idea that before you can pursue something great, you have to purge something evil. And look how Allah describes the Ansar. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says والذين تبوأ الدار والإيمان من قبلهم يحبون من هاجر إليهم ولا يجدون في صدورهم حاجة مما أوتوا. SubhanAllah, it's all combined in the characteristic of the Ansar. These people in Medina who received the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, they had to do something before they could receive the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Their hearts had to be prepared. So تبوأ الدار والإيمان, they chose faith. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was not doing da'wah in Mecca. They chose Iman. They called for faith over to Medina. They wanted it. They desired it. They coveted it. They were sick of this dunya. They wanted that. Right? So they're calling the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم over from Mecca. We want what you're calling us to. We despise worldliness. نحب الآخرة. We know very little of the hereafter, but we love it and we want that. So we're calling you here and we're going to voluntarily put ourselves at risk because we seek that reward so lovingly from Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Come to us, Ya Rasulullah. And how does Allah describe them? Allah says, يحبون من هاجر إليهم. They love those people that are coming to them. SubhanAllah, you live in a world now where you see the hatred for refugees, the hatred for migrants, the hatred for people that are always looked at as invaders, as if they brought upon themselves earthquakes and tragedies and tyranny, and they're hated.
And yes, the sad reality is even when they go to another Muslim country, Muslim refugees in a Muslim country get treated like aliens and invaders. We see it over and over and over again. There's a disease in the heart here. It's not the resource problem. It's the heart problem. Why are you looking at them this way? Why are you looking at other people this way? Other human beings, other people that say لا إله إلا الله and you look at them like what? As if they are an enemy to you. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying, يحبون من هاجر إليهم. These people in Medina, they loved these migrants from Mecca. And Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, they did not have any type of hard feelings towards them, nor did they want what they had. They didn't have any hard feelings inside of them towards them, nor did they want what they had. So envy and greed are not present in the hearts of the Ansar. What does that mean? An Ansari is not thinking to himself like, hey, I heard Abu Bakr is a really rich man. I heard Abdur Rahman bin Aus is a really rich man. Let me see if I can be that guy's brother, bring him in, and say, hey, you saved some money in Mecca. Can you transfer it to your new Medina account, which is shared by your new brother? None of that. They didn't want it. They were there in Quba, taking them in. Come to my house, come to my house, come to my house. And doing everything they possibly could. And Allah says, before they became that way, they made a conscious decision here. Their hearts were made ready to receive the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. And subhanAllah, you notice that their hearts were ready to receive the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam because they cleared out the barriers of envy and greed. And that's exactly what stopped Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul and the hypocrites from receiving the beauty of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. Envy and greed. Envy and greed. I want that, I want this. They don't deserve this, we deserve this. And they couldn't see the beauty that was in front of them.
You're sitting in the khutbah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam for nine years, and you can't benefit? You're amongst the best generation. But all you're thinking about, what you're consumed by is your envy and your greed. These poisons of the heart. Your heart's not ready for the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. Your heart's not ready. The Quran is being revealed in your midst, and you can't get it. Because you're too consumed here. Diseased over here. And that concept is present throughout the Quran. Are you ready to receive the Quran? ألم نشرح لك صدرك؟ Did we not open your chest, O Messenger of Allah, to make it ready to receive the Quran? When Allah subhanAllah mentions people being ready to receive Jannah, وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي سُدُورِهِم مِّنْ غِلٍّ We remove from their hearts resentment. You can't go to Jannah resenting each other. You can't go to Jannah resenting each other. And before you can think about facing one another on thrones in Jannah, you have to be willing to pray next to each other in these masajids. You've got to be willing to say salam to each other, and meet your brothers and sisters with no resentment inside of you, no hatred, no envy, no ill will. You're not going to Jannah with these poisons. It's not befitting. Your heart has to be made ready for Jannah. And you've got to start working on that right now if you're pursuing al-Jannah. And subhanAllah, the scholars say, look at the prophets of Allah. Why did Allah subhanAllah take away the most beloved things from his prophets? Allah took Khadijah radiyAllahu anha from the prophets salAllahu alaihi wa sallam. Allah took Ismail alayhi salam from Ibrahim alayhi salam. Why? Because as al-Qurtubi says, their hearts had to be ready to receive a mission that only their hearts were fitted for, which was prophethood. And for them, Allah subhanAllah cleared their hearts of everything but Allah, the permissible and the prohibited. Their hearts had to be full of one thing, because your heart has to be prepared for the mission that you have.
And that's only a mission of prophethood that a select few people were able to bear in this life, and none of us are qualified for. So what does that mean for Ramadan? How do you have a heart that's ready to receive Ramadan? You have to remove the envy, you have to remove the greed, you have to remove the hatred, you have to remove the grudges in order to have a heart that's ready for Ramadan. And subhanAllah, with all of the narrations about Sha'ban, almost all of them fabrications and extremely weak, there's only one narration that passes through all of the texts, which is this idea that Allah subhanAllah looks down on you, looks down at his creation in the middle of Sha'ban, and Allah forgives every single person whose heart doesn't hold shirk or shahna, polytheism or spite, hatred. You've got to remove that hatred from your heart in order to get it ready for Ramadan. Before the month of forgiveness, we have to forgive each other in this month. Before we ask Allah subhanAllah purely dedicated towards him, Ya Allah forgive us, spend this month cleaning it up. Spend this month doing that plumbing, because your heart has to be ready for Ramadan. Now I want to end with a dua from the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, it's a profound one, because some people will say, well, is there a dua I can make, what do I do? First and foremost, you know what you need to do, to repair and to reconcile. Get over your ego, remove it. Focus on the hereafter. What's more beneficial to my hereafter? And then let your heart be driven by that. But a beautiful dua, narrated by both Umm Salama and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them, they asked the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam for a dua that they could make, that relates to this, and he said Sallallahu alayhi wasallam to say, Allahumma rabbal nabiyy Muhammadin Sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Oh Allah, the Lord of the Prophet Muhammad. Allahumma rabbal nabiyy Muhammadin Sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
Ikhfir li dhanbi, forgive my sins. Wa adhib ghayth qalbi, and remove what is consuming my heart. Adhib ghayth qalbi, remove that anger from my heart. SubhanAllah, you're asking Allah to remove it. Ikhfir li dhanbi, wa adhib ghayth qalbi, wa ajirni min mudallat al fitan, and protect me from the trials of misguidance and fitna. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us all. So ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allahumma ikhfir li, Allahumma rabbal nabiyy Muhammadin Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, oh Allah, the Lord of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, ikhfir li dhanbi, wa adhib ghayth qalbi, wa ajirni min mudallat al fitan. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from our sins, remove the anger, the consuming anger from our hearts, and protect us from the trials of fitna, the trials of misguidance in this world. Allahumma ameen. Astaghfirullah alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Allahumma ikhfir li waalidina, rabbil hamhuma kama rabbuna sigara, rabbana hablana min azwajina wa dhriyatina qurra ta'ayun, wa ja'anna lilmuttaqina imama. Allahumma ansur ikhwana almustad'afina fee masharik al-adw magharibiha. Allahumma ahlik al-dhalimeena bil-dhalimeena, wa akhrujna wa ikhwana min baynihim salimeen. Ibadullahana Allahi amru bil'adli wa il'ihsan wa ita'ithi al-qurba, wa yanha' anil fahsha'i wa al-munkari wa al-baghi. Ya'idukum la'allakum tadhakkarun. Fathkuru Allahi yadhkurukum wa shukroohu ala ni'ma yazid lakum. Wala dhikru Allahi akbar. Wallahu ya'lamu ma tasna'oon.
Wa aqeem as-salam.
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