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How Every Day of Ramadan is Worth 70 Years | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever fasts one day in the path of Allah, Allah will distance his face from the Fire by seventy years.”
In this khutbah, we reflect on the deeper meaning of this powerful hadith. We explore what it means to build distance from the Fire, why a believer should never feel secure from it, and why no act of fasting is ever small in the sight of Allah.
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This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We begin by praising Allah, the Exalted, by bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him and we bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) 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, we asked Allah, the Exalted, Allahumma ballighna Ramadan so many times, O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan. "And when My servants ask you about Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when he calls upon Me."
And Allah, the Exalted, answered that du'a because here we are, we are in Ramadan. And so now that Allah, the Exalted, has answered the du'a of getting us to Ramadan, we have
to go back to honoring that du'a and honoring that answer once again because sometimes we ask for a blessing without actually properly calculating what is required of us to honor
that blessing. And I've been thinking about a sentence that you will hear multiple times perhaps throughout the month and there was a convert brother that shifted my paradigm
a bit on this for the purpose of this khutbah. The sentence is fast as if it's your last Ramadan. Treat this Ramadan as if it's your last Ramadan. Before Ramadan started we are
an ummah that treats every single day as if it could be our last in preparation for the final day in which we stand before Allah, the Exalted. And so we say before Ramadan starts
you don't know if you're going to arrive to Ramadan so don't delay your tawbah until Ramadan. And then once Ramadan starts we say fast as if it's your last Ramadan. And there's an analogy here to what Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) taught that you pray as if
it's your last prayer. Treat every act as if it's the very last time you're going to perform that act. But there's another dimension I want to add to this which is fast Ramadan
as if it's your first Ramadan. Some of you in here this might actually be your first Ramadan. May Allah, the Exalted, bless you and elevate you. Yesterday a brother came up to me in the masjid and he was someone who I had seen in October who told me he was thinking
about embracing Islam and before he said a word, subhanAllah, just by the look on his face before he told me he embraced Islam. I already knew what he was going to say to me. Fast
as if it's your first Ramadan. Can you imagine how nervous the convert is to make sure they get the fast right? To make sure that they're doing everything the way they're supposed
to be doing it? And so there's one element of this which is capturing all of the specifics, honoring the siyam, not violating it in any way. But there's another thing altogether
I want to add to this which is that for many Muslims who have fasted many Ramadans, you've gotten a little bit used to this routine. Ramadan has become pretty routine to you and
for you the prize is Laylat al-Qadr, perhaps for me the prize is Laylat al-Qadr and there's precedence of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) mentioning Laylat al-Qadr before the month even starts
to prepare for that night. But the rest of the fasting becomes very mechanical and there are days of Ramadan that pass that become very mechanical and this isn't a new feeling
to you. And we know Laylat al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. But I want to start with a basic hadith from Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), an authentic hadith from Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (رضي الله عنه)
that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "Whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will distance their face from
the fire, the distance of 70 kharif." In some narrations 70 years. Kharif is the fall,
it's the time of harvest, and so there's a specific connotation. And it could mean 70 years and in one narration, also authentic, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, a hundred ditches,
a khandaq, between you and the fire that is worth a hundred years. So 70 here means al-kathra, according to many of the ulama, it just means a lot. But 70 years, a hundred
years between you and the fire, for one day of fasting, fi sabili-Allah. And so while many are thinking about Laylat al-Qadr, khayrun min alfi shahar, and they're only focused
on Laylat al-Qadr, better than a thousand months, you have every single day in which you could be distanced from the fire by a distance of 70 or a hundred years. And I want to sit
with that for a moment and break down this hadith bi-idhnillahi ta'ala so that we can appreciate every single day and not treat any day of Ramadan as a throwaway fast. There
are the weekdays and then there are the weekends. We all know what the middle 10 days of Ramadan look like, it's no point to beat a dead horse, right? The last 10 nights, the even versus
the odd. It's human instinct to start to treat some days like throwaway days. And this hadith completely changes that paradigm. For one, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "Man sama yawma," he
used the most general term. He didn't say a fard or a nafilah. It could be any voluntary, obligatory day, it could be any day that you would perform a fast and we know that the
most virtuous fasting is in terms of the obligatory fasting of Ramadan. There is no better fast than what you are doing right now and there is no better voluntary fast
than the first 10 of Dhul-Hijjah. But this is something for you to take into consideration that this could be referring to any fast perhaps, that a person would fast for the sake of Allah,
the Exalted, outside of Ramadan and of course this is a time for us to cultivate the habit of fasting so that we come out of Ramadan, we fast the 6th of Shawwal and we fast other days as well. We get into the habit of fasting and understanding the benefits
of fasting. Mondays and Thursdays perhaps, the middle three days of the month. "Man sama yawman fi sabili-Allah." Now some of the scholars, they said fi sabili-Allah here could mean
two things. One of them, fi sabili-Allah as in sincerely for the sake of Allah, the Exalted. Another interpretation, this is referring to in battle. And in a time, subhanAllah,
where people have moved on from Gaza so quickly because it's not in your feed anymore. Somehow mentally we've checked out. It was two Ramadans with Gaza, that's enough. Let's kind of go
back to that and I'm not saying that hardship only exists in the Ummah in Gaza. But can you imagine the difficulty of fasting in that context? Because pulling the seerah and the
context of what would it be like to fast in a Uhud-like scenario. It's very difficult for us sometimes to comprehend. Imagine right now what people go through in Gaza and in
other parts fasting fi sabili-Allah while they're in the path of Allah, the Exalted, while also fasting fi sabili-Allah in the path of Allah, the Exalted. And this is similar to the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) that many of the
doctors especially that left from our communities needed to hear that spent their last ten nights of Ramadan in Gaza. "Shall I not tell you of a night that is better than Laylat al-Qadr?
A guardian who guards in a land of fear." Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) mentioned a haris, someone who holds the ground, someone who holds strong the eye that pays attention for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, the
feet that stay firm. Fi ardi khawf, in a place of fear. Not knowing if they'll even return to their families. That that night that those brothers and sisters spent over
there is far more valuable and that is the mercy and the justice of Allah, the Exalted, than what we would spend in our comfortable air-conditioned masjids with everything
provided for us for ten nights. And so there's no doubt that there is a special reward, a special privilege that exists to people that have a unique difficulty ahead of them. But
then we come back to us and how we deal with these types of narrations and these types of opportunities that Allah, the Exalted, gives to us. And I want us to systematically
look at these narrations because none of them are random. You see when you see a hadith where Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) tells you about your face being distanced
from the fire, first and foremost the face is your sharaf, it's your honor, it's your
most sensitive place. It represents who you are in the most comprehensive sense. Secondly, you'll notice that some of these hadith have a moral symmetry to them. So for example
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "Whoever defends his brother's honor, Allah, the Exalted, will remove his face from the fire." That whoever responds on behalf of his brother's honor, Allah, the Exalted,
will remove his face from the fire. Just as you defended someone's face from the fire of humiliation, from slander, from gossip, from whatever it may be. You defended their
honor and you took the heat off of their reputation. Allah, the Exalted, would remove the heat from your face on the day of judgment. That's one way to look at some of these ahadith. Some
of them simply speak to the very specific fact that nothing that is used for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, will be consumed by the fire on the day of judgment. And as
we are fasting with these bodies and using what Allah, the Exalted, has given to us for his sake, then perhaps we can hope that none of this would be consumed by Jahannam. May Allah,
the Exalted, protect us. Allahumma Ameen. So when Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) mentions that the place of athar al-sujud, the place of the prostration, would never be consumed by the fire. That place that's gotten used to bowing for the sake of Allah, the Exalted,
putting its head on the ground. Or when Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "There are two eyes that the fire will never touch." One of them, an eye that wept from fear of Allah, the Exalted. An eye that remembered Allah, the Exalted, and cried while it was all alone. Shed tears for the sake of Allah, the Exalted.
How can that eye that shed tears for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, be consumed on the day of judgment? Or another one Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)
mentioned, an eye, an eye that was in that state of haris, of being on watch, on guard
for the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ). An eye that was used in an honorable way will not be consumed by the fire on the day of judgment. So that's a second genre of these ahadith. The third one speaks to a very important concept that we have to put
in our hearts and have to put in our mindsets. That you never get to a point as a Muslim where you've been too forgiven. You never get to a point where you're far enough from
the fire. You never get to a point where you're high enough in Jannah. You never get to a point where charity becomes insignificant. You never get to a point where you belittle any good deed or you belittle any sin. You never get to a point of complacency where you take a
step back and you say, this applies to other than me. Because the one who was saying, seeking Allah's forgiveness, was none other than Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
With that deep sense of urgency. He wasn't saying this is a du'a for the Ummah, I've already passed the stage of pardon. I'm in a different level now, you all make that du'a for the last
person. I'm far enough now, I'm done. No. He had that urgency (ﷺ) in everything that he did. And the believer has to have that sense of urgency with every
single day. That I've never reached the point where I can spare this one. I can let this one go. I've done this enough. Right? I'm far enough. Absolutely not. Can you imagine
a distance of 70 years? Every single day that you fast for the sake of Allah, the Exalted? When you realize that, the further you are from hellfire, the higher you are
in paradise. And the levels of paradise are unlimited for competition for us. So that we pursue al-Firdaws al-A'la, the highest level may Allah grant it to us, Allahumma
Ameen. Then every single day you have a Laylat al-Qadr mindset. Every day you're asking yourself at iftar, not like the last time, did I get Laylat al-Qadr last night? No, every single
day you're asking, did I achieve that reward of those 70 years now of distancing myself from the punishment? May Allah, the Exalted, allow us to achieve that, Allahumma
Ameen. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) teaches us to fear Allah, the Exalted, to put a distance between us and the fire, even if it's with half a date,
the small charity, the small smile, the small prayer, the insignificant day of fasting, you're storing it up and you treat them with
a sense of urgency. Did I achieve what Allah, the Exalted, has given me the potential to unlock with this particular act of worship? And you know what that allows us to do in
terms of a paradigm shift as well? I've been asked this question a few times about Ashura and Arafah. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) mentioned that if a person fasts Arafah,
it forgives the year before and the year after. And if a person fasts Ashura, it forgives the year prior. Obviously there's an Islamic calendar component to this because Ashura
is in Muharram which is in the next year, so it covers a span of three years. We're fasting and it's hard to do math right now and to actually go through and explain what that means, but simply to say that what if you have overlapping years? What if you have
years where, oh I already got forgiven for this one because I fasted Arafah last year? And Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said the next year is forgiven if I fasted Arafah. Can I then sit the next Ashura out because this year was already expiated? No.
Because compounded forgiveness in the place where forgiveness has actually taken place is compounded reward. And Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said to Mu'adh (رضي الله عنه), "Let the people work. Let them act. Let them
treat every moment as precious. Let them treat every deed as precious. Let them treat every day as precious." And it does impact your Laylat al-Qadr as well. Laylat al-Qadr is not some lottery ticket. You just happen to get it right that night.
You turned it on. You went from being lazy and sloppy and careless to turning it on that particular night and achieving that night. Laylatul Qadr does not come to the careless. It comes to the consistent.
It's that person that's either been building the spiritual muscle of Siyam and their Qur'an and their prayer and their regularity with Taraweeh and their regularity with all of these other things so that when they got to those 10 nights, they were ready for it.
Or it's a person who just hoped to stumble into the mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), focuses on just a few nights, tries to exert themselves there.
مَنْ صَامَ يَوْمًا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بَعْدَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ عَنِ النَّارِ سَبْعِينَ خَرِيفًا
One day for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is a distance of 70 years from the fire. And Allah (عز وجل) has people that He redeems every single night of Ramadan.
He has al-utaqa, He has people who He writes down. Some of us will achieve that perhaps tonight. Some might achieve that on the 15th night of Ramadan. Some might achieve it on the 17th night of Ramadan.
Where Allah (عز وجل) writes you down from al-utaqa, from those who have been redeemed. You don't know which night it's going to be. There is no such thing as an insignificant day of fasting. There is no such thing as an insignificant night of worship.
There is no such thing as an insignificant deed for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). So pursue Him, dear brothers and sisters, every day.
Fast every single day of Ramadan as if it's your first and as if it may be your last. Fast like you've never fasted before and fast like you'll never fast again. Every single day counts, every single iftar.
Now with that being said, I want to give a very practical tip here bi-idhnillahi ta'ala for us as we're pacing ourselves. We already know some of us start with a very high Qur'an goal for example, a high charity goal.
We designate certain things that we want to accomplish for the month. And we all know that there are some days that we end up dropping the ball a bit on what those goals look like.
Make sure that there is a minimum that you do for every single day. Make sure that there is a minimum obligation that you place on yourself to honor every single day of Ramadan. Make sure that even if you're not going to read as much Qur'an that not a single one of these days passes
without you chipping away at your word of Qur'an. Make sure that every single day there's some charity that you give. Make sure that every single day there's some act that you do that you hope would be an act that is pleasing to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) that you can meet Him with.
Approach this month like someone who just converted to Islam. Approach every single day of fasting like someone who's worried about missing out on a single one of those days.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to achieve forgiveness and mercy and reward and elevation and expiation in this month. May Allah (عز وجل) make every single day of Ramadan an accepted day.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) remove our faces from the fire by a distance of 70 years for every single day of Ramadan that we fast. May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to be amongst those who achieve the full reward of Ramadan, the full reward of Laylatul Qadr.
And may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) make the best of our deeds the last of them. And may He make our intentions at the beginning always sincere. And may He allow us to never lose ourselves in between. Allahumma ameen.
...
Dear brothers and sisters, I'm going to give you, because we all know that Ramadan goes so fast, and may Allah (عز وجل) allow us to see it through. I'm going to give you something to remember as we get into the waning moments of Ramadan now.
You know, subhanAllah, it always amazes me how after the 27th night people kind of tap out or after the Khatam night, we set these bars for ourselves that 29th night, we're done now. We can't wait to see the Hilal. We already have Eid bazaars.
We already, you know, people are kind of already in Eid mode. Honor the gift that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has given you for every moment that He allows you to have it with you.
And so I'm going to tell you from right now that the most precious day of Ramadan for you might be the very last day of Ramadan.
And that last hour, up until the last moment, up until the Adhan of Maghrib, of Eid, if Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allows you to live to see it.
Do not kick Ramadan out the door when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has given it to you as a noble guest, as a noble gift to be with you for as long as He decrees, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Treat it right. Treat it right. And every single day set for yourself that unique goal, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, to honor that day.
And remember, dear brothers and sisters, your brothers and sisters who maybe were on our screens. Maybe they were a big part of our Ramadan last year, or maybe we weren't even thinking about them.
You know, some of us barely saw some of the scenes out of Al-Fasher in Sudan and things of that sort. Remember your brothers and sisters in Gaza. Remember your brothers and sisters in Sudan.
Remember them all throughout the Ummah and think about them and carry them and realize that your struggles of the day of fasting, and this perhaps could be the greatest gift that we have for us right now,
is merely to perform the day of fasting without the other elements that are present of oppression and hardship that our brothers and sisters endure. Keep them in your du'a.
And the Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has that time for us and accepted du'a for the person who is fasting. And so every single night before you break your fast,
thank Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for giving you another opportunity to break your fast for another day of fasting. And remember your brothers and sisters around the world.
May Allah (عز وجل) make this Ramadan a season of alleviation for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Sudan and Yemen and all over. Allahumma ameen. Allahumma ighfir lil-mu'minin wa lil-mu'minat wa lil-muslimin wa lil-muslimat. Al-ahya'i minhum wa lil-amwat. Innaka Samee'un Qareebun Wajeebud-du'a.
Allahumma ighfir lana wa arhamna wa a'fu anna wa la tu'adhdhib-na. Rabbana dhalamna anfusana wa in lam taghfir lana wa tarhamna lanakoonanna min al-khasirin. Allahumma innaka 'Afuwwun Kareemun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu anna. Allahumma ighfir li-walidayna. Rabbir-hamhuma kama rabbayani sagheera. Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyyatina qurrata a'yun.
Wa ja'alna lil-muttaqina imama. Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mustad'afin fi mashariq al-ard wa magharibaha. Allahumma ansur-hum fi Filastin wa fi as-Sudan wa fi al-Yemen wa fi kulli makan. Allahumma a'la-ka fi a'da'ika a'da-din. Allahumma ahlak al-dhalimin bil-dhalimin. Wa akhrijina wa ikhwanna min baynahum salimin.
Ibadallah, innallaha ya'muru bil-'adl wa al-ihsan wa ita'i dhil-qurba. Wa yanha 'an al-fahsha'i wa al-munkar wa al-baghi. Ya'idhukum la'allakum tazakkarun. Fadhkuru Allaha yadhkurkum wa shkuruhu 'ala ni'amin yazid lakum. Wa la-dhikru Allahi akbar. Wa Allahu ya'lamu ma tasna'un.
Wa akhiru da'wana an al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil-'alamin.

































































































































































































































































































