All praise and thanks are due to Allah (SWT) who has given us an opportunity to greet and meet the month of Ramadan, which is just one week away inshaAllah. Today’s Khutba is about some aspects of the holy month of Ramadan.
Let us for a moment ponder over the grim fact that among our relatives, loved ones, friends and close acquaintances, there were some who celebrated the last Ramadan with us but who are no longer with us. They have left this world and returned to their Lord. Perhaps there may be some among us who may not live to witness another Ramadan. Death is unavoidable. Its time is decreed. And indeed, time is fleeting. It is running out. So, let us seize the opportunity to make the most out of this Ramadan. May Allah (SWT) bless each one of us, bless our families, and bless the Muslim ummah in this coming month of Ramadan and beyond.
In His infinite wisdom, Allah (SWT) has made certain times, certain people, certain places, and certain objects more holy and blessed than others. The prophets and messengers of Allah are the best of human beings. The Book of Allah is the loftiest and profoundest of books. The city of Mecca is the holiest of cities. The day of Jumu’ah (Friday) is the most honored day of the week. The two Eids (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) are the most blessed days to rejoice and celebrate.
Likewise, the month of Ramadan is the most precious of all the months in multiple ways: in terms of the Qur’an being revealed in this month, in terms of the fasting ordained in it by Allah (SWT), in terms of multiplication of rewards for good deeds, and in terms of getting closer to Allah (SWT).
What makes this month so special? It is a month of infinite blessings from Allah (SWT). It is a month of patience. It is a month of generosity and charity. It is a month of mercy and forgiveness. Most importantly, it is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed. Hence this is the month to rediscover the Qur’an, which is the guidance to mankind, and which clearly distinguishes between right and wrong, between good and evil, and between truth and falsehood.
Initially, fasting was introduced as a voluntary act. It was not mandatory. It used to be only for a few days, which according to some scholars, is a number between three and nine. Others are of the opinion that ‘a few days’ were the three white days (al-ayyam al-beedh) corresponding to the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every lunar month. It is also narrated that the Prophet (S) found the Jews in Medina to be fasting on the 10th day of Muharram to commemorate the day of their freedom from the bondage of Firaun. The Prophet (S) commanded the Muslims to fast on that day and another day preceding or following that day.
Up to this time, fasting was a Sunnah and not a fard or an obligatory act. It was only in the second year after the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Medina that the ayah pertaining to fasting in the month of Ramadan was revealed in Surat al-Baqarah.
فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
“Therefore, whoever of you is present in that month, should fast.” (al-Baqarah, 2:185)
Siyam literally means to restrain and to abstain from something. As a term in the Shari’ah, it means to abstain from food, drink, smoking, and spousal relations from dawn to sundown with the purest of intentions just for the sake of Allah (SWT). Fasting the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a very special mode of worship.
Why is it special? If you look at any other worship, Allah orders you to do something. In fasting you are ordered not to do something for a specified time; something which you are accustomed to do and allowed to do otherwise. Fasting has been ordained upon every sane, mature and adult Muslim who is able to fast.
What is the objective of fasting? As the ayah of Surat al-Baqarah tells us that it is to attain taqwa.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa.” (al-Baqarah, 2:183)
Basically, the word taqwa among its other meanings of God-consciousness, piety, and righteousness also means to save and protect oneself from things that harm. Thus, the well-known du’a in the Qur’an,
رَبَّنَا آَتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآَخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“Our Lord, give us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” (al-Baqarah, 2:201)
Allah admonishes the believers by saying,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا
“O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from the Fire.” (At-Tahrim, 66:6)
Siyam (fasting) and taqwa have a direct relationship. Siyam provides an opportunity for every believer to draw closer to Allah (SWT) and to protect himself or herself from eternal doom. Alhamdulillah, fasting is also a source for the forgiveness of sins. According to a hadith,
مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with iman (faith) and hoping for its reward shall have all of his past sins forgiven.”
Another hadith tells us,
إِنَّمَا الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ يَسْتَجِنُّ بِهَا الْعَبْدُ مِنَ النَّارِ
“Verily, fasting is only a shield by which the servant seeks protection from the Hellfire.”
Another hadith says,
الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ مِنَ النَّارِ كَجُنَّةِ أَحَدِكُمْ مِنَ الْقِتَالِ
“Fasting is a shield from the Hellfire just like the shield of any of you in battle.”
“Fasting is a shield.” This means that fasting guards us and protects us from sins and from the hell fire. Further, our fasting and the Qur’an will intercede for us on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (SAW) said, “The fast and the Qur’an shall come as intercessors on the Day of Resurrection. The fast shall say, ’O Lord, I prevented him from his food and drink during the day, so let me intercede for him’. The Qur’an will say, ‘I kept him from sleep during the night, so let me intercede for him.’ Then they will be allowed to intercede.” May Allah (SWT) make us reach the holy month of Ramadan, and help us to reap its benefits in this life and the next, ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! We know that man is a combination of body and spirit. During fasting, when our physical body apparently gets weak, our spirit is elevated. The dhikr or remembrance of Allah (SWT) is the spiritual nourishment for the soul, and the best and greatest of dhikr is the Qur’an. We are all aware that we are often unjust to ourselves in the sense that we often subject our bodies and souls to excesses. Fasting in Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to attain physical and spiritual healing. Ayah 160 of Surat al-An’am tells us,
مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا
“Whoever comes with a good deed will have ten times as much.” (al-An’am, 6:160)
And through a Hadith Qudsi, we learn that Allah (SWT) says,
كلُّ عملِ ابنِ آدمَ له إلا الصيام فإنه لي وأنا أجزي به
“All the deeds of Adam’s children are for them except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.”
This means that there is no calculation or limit with respect to the rewards of fasting. So, after hearing this hadith, we should be motivated to do as many good deeds as possible during the month of Ramadan. Let’s therefore direct all our efforts to earn as many rewards as possible and to stay away from sins. We should not let this month pass away without doing our utmost to please Allah (SWT) and having our sins forgiven.
In Ramadan, a person sees his true self. If he finds himself doing the same sin in Ramadan that he was doing out of Ramadan, this is a clear evidence of the guilt of his soul. He needs to cleanse it.
The virtues and greatness of the month of Ramadan should never be underestimated. We should not let this month pass away without doing our utmost to please Allah (SWT) and to have our sins forgiven.
May Allah (SWT) make us among those who are able to take advantage of the opportunities provided to us in the month of Ramadan; to make us among the people of taqwa, to accept our good deeds, to forgive us, to keep us safe and protected from the hell-fire and to make us all enter into Jannah, Allahumma Ameen.
