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Why The Early Muslims Loved Winter | Khutbah by Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy
Maghrib is in before five, and the nights keep getting longer. One of the early Muslims prayed through winter nights on his rooftop so the cold would keep him awake. Find out why they went looking for the cold, and how little night prayer it takes to stay off the list of the heedless.
Learn more about taking advantage of the long nights by reading. “The Nocturnal Religion: What the Night Means in Islam” by Ahmed Elbenni: https://yqn.io/read-1
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
00:00الشتاء ربيع المؤمن. The winter time is in fact the spring season of the believer. This was a widely understood notion among the early Muslims. Some scholars even attribute
00:14this statement to the Prophet ﷺ. But regardless, it was to all of them a very
00:22clearly self-evident truth. It was a reality. The same way you have it in spring, ice starts melting, rivers start flowing, rain starts falling, the flowers are blooming,
00:36the vegetation is growing, animals are eating, their body weight is being restored, likewise for the believer. The winter months offer a special opportunity for them to rebuild,
00:50restore their deen, restore the purity of their faith, restore the luster or the sheen or the sparkle of their Islam, polishing it. And perhaps it was to this point that Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi used to say,
01:13that the night is long in the winter. And so don't act like it's short by just sleeping more. It's just more nights, more hours of sleep. The night is long, so don't shorten it with your
01:25sleep. And Islam is pure. It's this pure gift that Allah had landed in your lap. So don't stain it with your sins. Meaning what? Take advantage of this opportunity to be more devoted to Allah
01:37in ritual worship, to polish, restore the sheen of your Islam. You know, in the springtime, people are generally in higher spirits. In the fall time, they're kind of down with the seasonal
01:47blues. They just see more colors. They see more comfortable weathers. They're just more spirited. Likewise, the worshiper, he is more excited in this season because of the onset, the opportunity,
02:01of worship. The purpose for which he is created, he can compensate. He can make up for lost time. It's his annual catch-up sprint. Ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu, the great companion of the Prophet ﷺ, he would say,
02:16Welcome to the winter. This is a season in which Allah's blessings come down. Layluhu taweelun lil qiyam, wa naharuhu qaseerun lil siyam.
02:29That its night is long for prayers, standing at night and praying. And its days are short for siyam, for fasting. It's just easy, manageable. You're not skipping two meals. You're skipping
02:39one or just the coffee. This is the idea. There's just so much more available. And it's beautiful that Ibn Mas'ud said this in particular. Why? Because Ibn Mas'ud was a man who struggled with
02:50fasting. We struggled maybe for different reasons. Maybe it's just like the habit or the rush or travel, or we don't fast as much throughout the year. He actually was asked, why don't you,
03:00like you go above and beyond in so many categories. Why do you seldom fast? Beyond Ramadan, of course, the voluntary fasts. He said, because my body becomes too weak when I fast and I'm
03:12incapable of praying. He had a very frail physical body. This was known about him. So if I fast, I won't be able to pray as much. And so if I have to pick, I'm forced by my physical condition to
03:25choose. Salah is superior to siyam. So I just picked Salah. But the winter is nice because it's one of the rare seasons when I get to do both. That is what he is saying. It is that season
03:36where the greatest worships are centered. That most of us can all do. It's the closest you will ever be to Ramadan, if you will, unless Ramadan lands in the winter. Salah, siyam, these are
03:49pillars of Islam. They are just there for the taking. Omar used to say that, the ghanima is the spoils of war that the army leaves behind when they are defeated and they run.
04:02He says that the ghanima, the spoils of the worshiper, they just find them there for the taking. It are these winter months where you pray without necessarily sacrificing much sleep.
04:13All you might go through is a little bit of discomfort of the cold water in wudu. And even that, even SubhanAllah, even that, you have no idea how generously Allah rewards for it.
04:26In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said to us, shall I not inform you of what Allah uses to purge people's crimes and raise people's ranks?
04:40They said, what, ya Rasulullah? He mentioned a number of things. The first of them was, Allah purges sins and raises ranks by making wudu when it's difficult, like wudu in the winter,
04:54essentially. It's a little bit uncomfortable. You know, the early Muslims actually, they would even leverage this. You would sort of, you know, you psych yourself into it. It's
05:03not that hard. In fact, it's going to help me wake up. So Malik narrates from Safwan al-Nusulaym that he used to pray his night prayers on his rooftop in the winter and indoors in the summer.
05:17Why? For the discomfort. In the winter, it's cold up there, so I won't fall asleep as fast. In the summer, it's stuffy and sticky and humid in there, so I won't fall asleep as fast.
05:28And if he would get drowsy anyway, he would take cold water and splash it on his face and say, this is more bearable than the boiling pus of the hellfire. Good deal. Splash it on his face.
05:42So they would get up, they would incentivize themselves, remind themselves of this opportunity and what is there for the taking out of the fear of Allah and out of the love of Allah as well.
05:51You know, Habiba al-Adawiyya, one of the, you know, exemplary, tier-one worshipers of the early Muslims, she sets such a good example for us. When it would get later into the night, midnight-ish,
06:04if you will, she would go on her roof and then she would begin her night prayers by saying, ilahi, my Lord, gharat al-nujum, the stars have disappeared. You know, the stars are more visible
06:15in the beginning and the end of the night, the two poles of the night. The stars have vanished. And people's eyes have fallen asleep.
06:28And all the kings of the world have shut their doors. They don't want to be bothered at this
06:32hour with requests, but your door remains open. And at this hour, every loved one,
06:44every person goes off with their loved one, whatever they love, whoever they love. And here I am, you're the one I love, here I am standing in front of you. You know, the Prophet ﷺ said to us,
07:00that the honor of the believer is predicated on him standing at night. That's where his prestige comes from, in the heavens and also on earth. Because qiyam al-layl, it weaves something very different inside a person.
07:14It weaves a new unique strength and unique clarity and unique peace that cannot be assaulted. There was never a righteous person, except that this was part of his program, his spiritual program. It built him out and her out in a different way.
07:27They were not who they were by daytime, except because of having some of this in their life at nighttime. And the Prophet ﷺ said that verbatim. He said, offer night prayers.
07:39Because this was the path of all the righteous before you. He mentioned five merits. He said, and it is a unique way of getting close to Allah.
07:51And it prevents you from sin. That restraint you have by day is from that devotion by night. And it prevents you from sin. And it washes away the sins that you do wind up doing, because no one will be perfect. And it washes away sins.
08:06And it dispels, it does away with ailments from the physical body as well. Or remember the ayah, which remember whichever of these works for you, whatever you retain after the khutbah.
08:25Their sides forsake their beds. They fight off their beds to stand in front of their Lord and call upon him in fear and in hope. The next ayah says,
08:41So no soul knows what has been hidden for these people of the delights of their eyes as a repayment for what they used to do. Notice the connection. They got up at night. Nobody knew about it. They hid their deeds for Allah.
08:55And so Allah is saying, I have hid for them even beyond imagination. What even people's imaginations cannot access. I've hid for them sights and sounds and emotions and experiences. And thereafter, I've hid for them with no soul knows of the delights of their eyes
09:09as a repayment for what they used to do. Ibn Rajab, he actually says that winter qiyam is equivalent to summer qiyam. So praying at night in the winter is just as rewarding
09:23as fasting through the challenge of the summer days, the long summer days. He said, and that is why we find Muadh ibn Jabal,
09:33the great companion of the Prophet ﷺ, when he was asked why he was weeping on his deathbed, he said,
09:46What I cry for are the days that I'm going to leave behind. No more chances. The days of the summer and the long thirst we used to go through in those summer days,
09:56meaning for fasting and for the winter nights that we used to expend in worship. And for the gatherings of the scholars that we used to crowd at the knees
10:09to fight off our heedlessness, to learn more about Allah and his messenger ﷺ. Those were his regrets. He considered those to be in the same breath, to be equal losses, equal doors that are being shut at his deathbed.
10:22You know, like he wasn't regretting being ripped away from life, ripped away from his world. He wasn't regretting the joys or the wealth or the relationships that are ending right now, being interrupted by death. Because the Prophet ﷺ did tell them in the authentic hadith,
10:37you know, one day he was walking in this hadith and he passed by a grave and he said, whose grave is this? They said the grave of so-and-so. He said to them, Two light rak'ahs.
10:52From the likes of which you offer voluntarily, not even mandatory on you. We're not talking about Fajr. Fajr is in a league of its own. If you're not praying Fajr, it's going to be easiest in the winter. Get this within your system fast.
11:06This is, are you Muslim or not? We're going to make the five prayers. But he's saying two light rak'ahs that are not even obligatory. You don't think much of them.
11:19That a person is able, if he is able to add them to his deeds right now, is more beloved to him at this moment than all that remains of your world. Everything it has to offer.
11:33Just two light rak'ahs. And brothers and sisters, before I sit down, it can't be Ramadan. Ramadan will always be special. It is the closest you will be to Ramadan to incorporate. Siyam, Qiyam, some of that, all of that into your winters.
11:47But don't set such a high bar that you throw in the towel. Pray your winter, right? Pray with 10 verses. Al-Fatiha is seven verses. The shortest Surah in the Quran is Al-Kawthar. Al-Asr is three verses. Just pray something.
12:00And know that the Prophet ﷺ prescribed that. He said, whomever gets up at night, meaning stands at night, doesn't have to be wake up. Could be after your Isha or before your Fajr, whatever. At some point in the night, whomever gets up at night,
12:15and he prays with 10 verses, just 10 ayat. Lam yuktab minal ghafilin. He will not be written with Allah. Meaning, on that night, among the heedless. Those who kick that opportunity to the curb. They did not appreciate the treasure sitting in front of them.
12:29And whomever prays with 100 verses, he says, Kutiba minal qanitin. He'll be written with Allah on that night, as one of those who are qanitin, devout. Allah will boast of you. You are of the devout. And whomever prays, stands at night, he said,
12:44with 1,000 verses, Kutiba minal muqantirin. He will be written among the mountain collectors. Qintar is like a mountain. Muqantirin are those who collect mountains of good. May we have a share of that. Allahumma ameen.
12:59Brothers and sisters, I mean, what can I possibly say about fasting in these next two, three minutes? It is a pillar of Islam for a reason. And the point of the khutbah today is that time flies and the winter is already upon us. And do yourself a favor. Don't sell yourself short.
13:14Capitalize. The Prophet ﷺ told us that Allah has said, every action of the son of Adam is his. Meaning, it's his to be seen doing. It's his to have some sort of worldly gain,
13:28possibly come his way because of it. You get some immediate gains, even in this world from it. People see you praying, right? He said, illa as-saum, except fasting. It's especially for me. It's especially sincere.
13:43It's exclusively mine. Because in fasting, you're not doing anything to be seen. You're staying away from something, right? Does anyone know what you're doing behind closed doors? So it's especially mine, and I will reward it.
13:56The extent of the reward will not even be known. It is hidden. But some of the reward, in the other hadith we are told, Whomever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, voluntarily fasts,
14:14Allah distances their face from the fire, a distance of 70 years. I want you to imagine that everything we do knowingly and then forgetfully, meaning we forgot that we do it,
14:25not by accident, piles on, brings us further and further, moves us inch after inch, mile after mile, or maybe catapults us. Some things are bigger than others. And every one of these days of fasting rolls it back. 70 years, rolls it back.
14:4070 years distancing from the fire. And when you fast, brothers and sisters, remember the spirit of the fast. That this is a practice of sincerity, yes, but also a practice of restraining our greed. Our greed for recognition.
14:55Our greed for vengeance. Our greed for instant gratification. Our greed for the last word. Our greed for the biggest house, right? Our greed for our meal now. Our greed, it's controlling that. Resetting the chains on the animal within
15:09so that you can live better and better for Allah. The winter is a transformative season. Live better for Allah, for your Ummah, for humanity. This is the perfect season, the perfect stretch to do all of that.
15:22May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala allow us to follow what we have said and what we have heard to the best of our ability to protect us from our share of this being solely speaking and listening. Allahumma ahdeena wa ahdeemina Allahumma a'inna ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ibadatik
15:35Allahumma inna nas'aluka al-fi'la al-khayrat wa tarka al-munkarat wa hubba al-masakin wa an taghfira lana wa tarhamana wa in aratta bi qawmin fitnatan taqbidna ilayka ghayra maftunin Allahumma inna nas'aluka hubbak wa hubba man yuhibbuk wa hubba amalin yukarribu ila hubbik
15:49Allahumma a'izza al-Islam wa ansur al-Muslimin wa dhilla al-dhalamata wa al-mu'tadeen wa qabalna wa ista'amilna fi khidmati hadha al-deen wa sallallahu wa sallam wa baraka wa ala nabiyyina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een


























































































































































































































































































































