How to Keep the Spirit of Ramadan Going

How to Keep the Spirit of Ramadan Going

By Sheikh Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening

Arabic: (السّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Arabic: (الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin)

Alhamdulillah, it's a very bittersweet moment that we're all experiencing. It is the end of the month of Ramadan.

Reflection on Ramadan's End

It's a moment to reflect on what we've been able to accomplish and to confirm our intentions of what we plan to do ahead in the future. It's a moment and an opportunity to, to some extent, maybe have some regret and remorse for the opportunities we missed out on up till this point and up to this moment. But at the same time, an opportunity to be grateful and to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for whatever blessing He did grant us and whatever ability He did give us.

And inshallah, we go forward from here trying to be better people, trying to be the best that we can and hoping, really, really strongly hoping in the mercy, in the blessing of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we will be able to live up to our intention of being better people from here on out.

The Purpose of Ramadan: Becoming a Better Person

You know, there's a lot of things that we can say. The Quran very specifically points out that taqwa is the objective during the month of Ramadan and through fasting.

But having said that, there are so many different things that can fall within the scope of taqwa that to really simplify it, to break it down and to put it at a level where everyone can understand it, the way I like to explain it is, the point, the objective, the object, the mission within the month of Ramadan is to become a better person. To become a better person. Now, what that exactly means will be, it's subjective.

It differs from person to person. For someone, that means, I didn't used to pray five times a day. Now, inshallah, I will.

For someone, it is that, you know, I had a very strained relationship with my wife at home. I've learned patience. I've learned gratitude. I've learned respect. And I'm hoping that from here on out, my family relations are better.

For someone, it was home is fine, prayer is fine. I just don't like to put the money in the donation box. That's my thing, I just don't do that. I learned to do that in the month of Ramadan.

And you know, in our masajid with fundraising, they make sure they teach you how to do that. You know, I'm talking about. So, but either way, whatever my issue was, whatever my challenge was, the month of Ramadan gave me the tools.

Fasting, prayer, qiyam, Quran, dhikr, all of these things were all in training to literally very simply become a better person.

The Reality: We Cannot Keep Ramadan Exactly as It Is

Now, we are at that time of the month. We only have a day or two left. We only have literally one fast left with us. And so this is the opportunity, this is the time, this is the moment when we talk about how to keep this going, how to keep it going.

What I want to say here is not going to say, it's not going to be what you typically hear. But I'd like to start off by saying, we won't be able to keep exactly Ramadan as we see it right now. We're not going to be able to keep this going. Ramadan is a special time.

There's something different about Ramadan. You do not have the entire community fasting for an entire month altogether at any other time during the year. There's something special about the month of Ramadan.

But the point is, because sometimes when we set up this type of a goal, an unrealistic goal, something that doesn't even logically make sense, then obviously how do you achieve that? So, the objective is really not to literally keep Ramadan going because Ramadan will end. Shawwal starts on Tuesday. We can't do that.

But what we can do is make an effort and try to figure out on how we can keep that same zeal, that same energy, that same iman, that same taqwa, that same salah, that same dhikr, that same connection with Allah going. That's practical.

The Wisdom of Taqwa

That's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said in fasting:

That's why He stated taqwa all the way at the end of the ayah. Because at the end of everything, at the end of this entire experience of fasting, taqwa is what I want to walk away with. Because Ramadan will be gone.

Ramadan won't be here, it'll be Shawwal.

And there'll be Dhul Qadah, and then Dhul Hijjah, and then I'll just keep on going from there. But what I can keep going is that taqwa, my relationship with Allah. I can keep that going.

My caution, the caution and the care that I live my life with. Being conscious, being aware, and being cognizant of my choices. That is something I can keep going.

Two Practical Points for Moving Forward

And based on that I wanted to present just two simple ideas, two simple thoughts. That two points. If you have a lot more, if you already have your objectives laid out clearly for you, and of course mashaAllah with Sheikh Imam Yusuf here, there's no shortcoming of real true guidance and senior scholarship.

But for those of you who are at my level, the very basic level, I don't know what to do. I'm confused right now. Ramadan ends in two days and I don't know what I'm supposed to do the day after Eid.

I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do anymore. It was awesome for 30 days, now I don't know where to go.

So for the people that are on that boat with me, two simple points I came to present.

Point #1: Strive for Consistency

Point number one, consistency. Strive to achieve consistency.

It might not be consistency with what you were doing the entire month of Ramadan, but pinpoint something. Find something. Even if it be, I'm gonna read Quran for 10 minutes a day, which is something you didn't used to do before.

Find something you did not do before Ramadan and say, that's it. 10 minutes a day, I'm gonna read the book of Allah. I already pray five times a day. I've been praying five times a day for quite some time. But I don't really come to the masjid that much. Ramadan is the exception.

So every day I will come to the masjid at least once. I will pray Fajr in the masjid every day on my way to work. I'll start my day off the right way.

I will, on the way back home from work instead of going straight home and crashing in front of television, I'm gonna stop off and pray salatul maghrib in the masjid, in the house of Allah, with the community, in jama'ah. Something, find something small. I'm gonna put a quarter every day in a sadaqa box at home.

And when it fills up, I'll bring it straight into the masjid. But find something and gain consistency with that.

The Prophet's Teaching on Consistency

As the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tells us:

(Sahih Bukhari 6464)

The best of deeds, the best of action, another narration says, the most beloved of actions are those that are done consistently. The most consistent, the most long-lasting of deeds are the best. In the eyes of Allah (جل جلاله) in the sight of Allah. Even if they're very little, very small.

And this is part of the eloquence of the Arabic language that the word for very small is also very small. (قَلَّ) It's a really tiny small little verb where two letters repeat each other, so we squish those two letters together, it's called (إدغام). And what's supposed to be a minimum of a three-letter word actually becomes, looks like a two-letter word.

This is part of the eloquence of the Arabic language and the eloquence of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He says, the best action is the one that's done with the most consistency, even if it be just a little bit. (وَإِنْ قَلَّ) Just a little bit. Find something small, something practical, something manageable, but I will do it every single day.

I will find consistency.

The Hadith About Reward During Illness and Travel

And I found a beautiful hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in Sahih Bukhari, where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) very eloquently, very beautifully tells us:

(Sahih Bukhari 2996)

That when a person is consistently doing a good deed, when he's consistently and he's at home, he's healthy, and he does something regularly. So you're on your routine, you come to Fajr every single day.

One day you get sick. Your boss tells you, hey, you gotta go on the road, you gotta go visit the other field office out there. They send you out on the road, you're traveling.

You get sick, you can't come in. You walk out of your house at 5:30 AM and you find a flat tire. Something came up and you were not able to do your deed for the day.

You weren't able to. The hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says it is still written for him. The reward of it is still written for him.

Allah commands the angels, write down the reward for him. Oh Allah, he didn't go to the masjid. Oh Allah, he didn't read Quran tonight. Oh Allah, he didn't do his deed for the day. He said, yes. But he was regular about doing it.

Some circumstances came up, some situation came up, that's a part of life. But because he's shown consistency, because he's put his best foot forward, because he's made his best effort, give him the full reward of it. That's the virtue.

Find consistency, even if it's something small.

Point #2: Understanding Allah's Mercy in Our Imperfection

And the second note that I wanted to make, and this is aimed at everyone equally. But I feel like this will be more of a consolation to our younger brothers and sisters.

I spoke about this last night with the youth at the other masjid. SubhanAllah, it's an amazing coincidence, like it's an amazing combination of events, convergence of events. Ramadan is ending and our kids are going back to school.

And a lot of times the greatest challenges for our youth and our children are at school, and a lot of the environment they deal with at school. They gotta make choices all the time, good or bad, good or bad, all the time. And so the last note that I wanted to present, the second major point, and that is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in surah number 42, surah al-Shura, ayah number 25.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us who He is. Allah tells us who He is. He says, He alone is the one:

He continues to, this is in the mudari' form, means the action renews itself. He continues to accept, tawbah, repentance. When the slave makes a U-turn, you know what tawbah is? It's to turn back to Allah.

The Example of Making a U-Turn

Like literally when you're driving down the street, down Spring Valley, my first time coming to the Richardson Masjid, driving down Spring Valley, when I got off the freeway coming on 75, I took a right, was supposed to make a left. And then all of a sudden I say, this doesn't look right, let me look it up in my phone real quick. And it says, oh no, the masjid is the other way.

And you make a U-turn and you start going the other way, that's what tawbah is. That's literally what tawbah is. You start going down a path, you start making a choice, you start going down a certain road, and then you say, that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

And you make a U-turn. That's what tawbah is. Allah is the one, He continues to accept repentance, tawbah, the U-turn, from His slaves.

And then what does He say? (وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ - wa ya'fu 'anis sayyi'at) And He continues to wipe away, to disregard, to push away. You know when you got something on the table and you wanna, you just say, oh, don't worry about this, no, no, no, don't look at that. Just push it away, brush it away, wipe it away.

He continues to wipe away the sins. So when you make a U-turn and you come back to Allah, not only does He accept you, not only does He embrace you into His mercy and forgiveness, but any sins, any baggage that you're coming with, I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't even know what you're talking, there's nothing, gone, finished, (خلاص - khalas) don't worry about it.

The Most Beautiful Part of the Ayah

And the most beautiful part of the ayah, (وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ - wa ya'lamu ma taf'alun) And this wow is wow haliyah. What that translates to in English is, even though, in spite of the fact that He continues to know exactly that what you are doing. So He accepts your repentance and He forgives the sins, the bad deeds, even though He knows what you're going to do tomorrow.

Subhanallah. Allah knows that tomorrow, guess what? You're gonna mess up again. But He'll accept your tawbah today.

And then tomorrow when you make tawbah, Allah knows that the day after tomorrow you're gonna mess up again. But He'll still accept your tawbah today. He'll still accept your repentance today.

He'll still forgive you today. And He continues to do this for us, even though He knows that we will mess up. So what I wanted to state here in front of you is, you're not gonna be perfect.

You're not always gonna meet all your goals. A few days after Ramadan, you might even be very, very disappointed with yourself about a choice that you made. Don't worry about it.

Just make that U-turn. Turn around before you go too far down the street. Make that U-turn, turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He will wipe it away like it didn't even exist. And then Allah tells us another place in the Quran, if you follow that up with a good deed, He won't even just wipe away your sins, He'll take your sins and you'll literally convert them into good deeds for you. That's who we're dealing with.

That's Allah.

Conclusion

That's the only two points I wanted to emphasize and make. Find something small, gain consistency.

Number two, realize, know that you will mess up. It's okay. Doesn't mean that we stop trying.

You keep going, keep turning to Allah, keep returning back to Allah over and over and over again. And He will keep accepting us over and over and over again.

Closing

Arabic: (جَزَاكُمُ اللهُ خَيْرًا - Jazakumullahu khairan)

Arabic: (السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)