Ramadan Eman Rush Time for Spirit Rejuvenation

21 Ramadan Iman Rush: Time for Spirit Rejuvenation – Sh. AbdulBary Yahya

Opening Praise and Testimony

We praise Him, we ask for His help, and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide him. And whomsoever He leads astray, no one can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say words of appropriate justice. He will then amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.

A Story of Transformation Through a Child's Words

I will tell you a story starting off that was told to me by one of our teachers. It was in the middle of the night. A brother got out of bed. He was married and had a daughter. When he got out of bed, he went to the living room in the middle of the night and he put in a tape and turned on the TV. Right when he put it on, he sat down to watch. And his daughter got up and she came out of the room. She opened the door and she saw her father watching pornography. At five years old, she said, "Shame on you father, shame on you."

Immediately the father went and turned off the TV and the daughter returned back to the room. The father turned off the TV and started thinking about what he had done and what he was doing, and what his daughter had just said to him. And the words, "shame on you father, shame on you," repeated over and over and over again in his mind.

When Fajr came, he took a shower and he went to the masjid. And the same words that he said in prayer kept on repeating over and over again, and tears were coming down his eyes. He couldn't hold back his tears. And after prayer, while he was sitting down, remembering Allah, tears continued to roll down his eyes and he couldn't hold back neither. He was crying so much that the people who came to the masjid with him, they were asking him to see if he needed any help, if there was something greatly wrong, if he needed anything, because he kept on crying. He didn't respond, he just shook his head, and everybody just left.

That day he went to work. His eyes were red, he didn't get enough sleep at night time. So his co-workers asked him, "What's wrong with you, what's wrong?" And one of his co-workers, one of his best friends also, he said, "This morning, I went to the masjid and I prayed. I haven't made sujood to Allah in almost 40 years. And this was the first time that I made sujood to Allah since almost 40 years." So he kept on, tears again came down his eyes. And the whole day the words, "shame on you father, shame on you," were repeated over and over in his head.

So he wasn't feeling very well. He was very tired. He turned off his phone. And when he got home, his wife came up to him and she said, "Do you know what happened?" He was scared, he was afraid. Maybe his daughter had said something about what she had seen last night. And so he said, "Know what?" And she said, "Our daughter just passed away. I was trying to contact you, she just passed away." And so, again, his tears hadn't even stopped from last night and they continued to roll down his cheeks.

So they prepared for the janazah and he brought his daughter down to the grave. And a smile came to his face. It was the first smile that came to his face in a long time. So his friend asked him, "Why did you smile? Why are you smiling?" And he said, "Today, I buried my daughter, but she left a light that still remains in my heart to this day that I still have. And that light was the light of tawbah, a light of returning to our Lord."

Of course, later on, the brother was continuous in coming to the masjid and so forth. And his life totally changed. He always prayed, he always took care of his obligations to Allah from that time on. The words, "shame on you, father," changed his life. His daughter reminded him.

Ramadan: The Month of Change and Tawbah

This month of Ramadan is the month of change, the month of tawbah. That's what tawbah means. The word means to return back to Allah and repent. Return to Allah and repent, meaning to change your lifestyle afterwards to that which is better. When you say istighfar, it's asking Allah with your tongue. Tawbah is changing your whole lifestyle, changing your ways of living to the way that Allah is pleased with.

And so this is the month in which Allah wants us to repent and has given us the opportunity to repent to Him. Opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. And we can change. We can change for the better. And when we do change, we have to make this conviction in our heart that we'll go from now on to the next level.

One of the conditions is that when you make tawbah, there's specific tawbah from specific sins that you have committed. And then there's a general tawbah where you repent from all the sins that you have committed. And you make a conviction in your heart, a promise to Allah that from now on you will do all that you can to do all that which pleases Him. And you will change your lifestyle. Whatever Allah tells you to do, you do. Whatever is in the Sunnah, you will follow and do it as much as you can. And this is the change in lifestyle that Allah has given to us. He's making it easy for us in this month.

The Story of Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad: From Highway Robber to Worshipper of the Two Holy Cities

Let me give you another story of one of the great scholars of Islam. His name is Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad. Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad was a highway robber. Highway robbers during those times were very dangerous. They used to steal from caravans that used to go by. They used to take their merchandise and whatever they had. And if they had to do it, if people fought back, then killing was like a normal thing to do.

Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad in his youth, he used to be a highway robber. He was so feared and ruthless that people were afraid of him from Mecca to Medina. People had heard about him to the point where people were talking about him and saying when they wanted their children to go to sleep, they would say, "If you don't close your eyes and go to sleep, I will call Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad here." It was like saying, you better go to sleep or the boogeyman is coming. Like in our time, that's how ruthless and how much people feared him, Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad.

And so one day, he fell in love with a girl, with a woman who had lived in his house. And he wanted to see her. And you know, everyone knows how ruthless Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad was. He jumped on the roof. He was trying to jump from the rooftop into the house. While he was doing that, her father was praying. He stopped to listen because he was about to jump into the house, and then this man is reciting Quran.

And he reaches an ayah in which Allah says:

"Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?"

Isn't it time for the believers to have their hearts tremble from that which has been revealed to them of the truth? Isn't it time to soften your heart and to return to Allah and to repent? Isn't it time?

Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad when he heard that, he was about to jump into the house. And actually what he usually does is he gets in and he just robs the house or whatever he wants. He gets whatever he wants. That's the way he was. And so he heard this ayah and he was reminded of it, and tears started coming down his eyes. And so he hopped down from the house. He didn't want to go inside the house. He went to a small place, a small hut in a small area. It's still in the middle of the night.

And he sees that there's a group of travelers there. And so he lays down close to where they are, and he hears them talking. One of the travelers says, "I think we should go right now. We should just continue on our way." The other one says, "No. Ibn Iyad is out there. Don't go right now. Wait until the daytime. It's much safer." That's how Ibn Iyad was.

When he heard that, he said, there must be a reason why Allah is making me listen to these people. Look how much the people feared me. So again, his heart started to tremble. And he remembered the ayat over and over again in his heart. Isn't it time for people's hearts to tremble in the remembrance of Allah, in the fear of Allah? Not in the fear of Ibn Iyad. People are trembling in fear of Ibn Iyad.

And so he says to himself, "It is time. It is time." So Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, he made a conviction in his heart. He said, "You will stay in the masjid. You will learn in the masjid until you become a worshipper in the masjid, in Masjid Al-Haram." And so he repented to Allah and he studied with all the scholars that he could. And he changed his ways.

So much so that he received a nickname. He received the nickname, "Abid Al-Haramain" - Worshipper of Mecca and Medina. In other words, he was known as the most pious, the most knowledgeable of the two most holiest places in Islam, Mecca and Medina. He was known for his piety and righteousness. So he totally changed his ways. Changed from a highway robber, murderer, thief, everything. If you can think of it, Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad did when he became a great scholar.

And so, from this story, you see that Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, he changed for the better. He didn't just make istighfar. He totally changed his life until he became the best. From the worst to the best. Opposite directions. And so, of course, Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, all the sins that he committed and so forth and things like that, it's still less than shirk in Allah. And if you repent to Allah, Allah will forgive you, even if it's shirk.

The Comparison: We Can Also Change

And when you look at, compare that story of Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad and us, I'm pretty sure none of us have done a fraction of what Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad did in his youth. But you see, when he decided he had full conviction and worked hard to change, he became the best. Worked at it. And so, we can also. And this is the month of change. This is the month in which we rejuvenate ourselves.

Because we are all travelers. Everyone will die. All of us will die. We're living in this world as travelers. Everything is temporary. And so when we move on, and right now we're on a trip. Every time, if you're on a trip, you have a long, long journey to go. You're in your car. Would you be able to go from here, from Nashville, all the way to Los Angeles, to Seattle, without stopping? Definitely you wouldn't.

If you were to drive, you would need to go into the pit stops to fuel up, to continue on your trip. Otherwise you're just going to get stuck on the way. And you also, on your trip, you need a map. You need to know the

directions. You need to have guidance to show which place to go, which roads to take, and so forth. If you haven't been, if you haven't even taken the road before, you need that.

The Spiritual Pit Stops Allah Has Given Us

And thus, we're on the trip. And Allah, because He is so merciful, He has made pit stops for us on the way to refuel ourselves. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in a hadith:

(Sahih Muslim 233)

"The five daily prayers, and from Friday to the next Friday, and from Ramadan to Ramadan, are expiation for everything between them, if you avoid the major sins."

The five daily prayers are our daily pit stops to strengthen ourselves, rejuvenate ourselves. You have to understand our body makeup. It's not just flesh and blood. Flesh, blood, and soul. Our soul, every single day, you cannot go a whole day. You can't go 24 hours without food. You're going to be very hungry. Eventually, you're going to die. There's just a certain amount of time. You can only live so long without water, for example. After three days, your body will no longer function. After three days, your body will no longer function without water. Same way with food. You have a longer span of time. But in the end, if you don't fuel yourself, it will die. It will die.

And so, our bodies, we need all different types of food to strengthen ourselves. But the thing that we forget is the spiritual aspect of it. That also dies. And that also needs energy and strength, rejuvenation. All of it needs that. And so, every single day, the five daily prayers, these are the fueling, or the pit stops. These are our meal times. But not meal time for our physical body. For the spiritual. Because if you don't have it, you will die. And you will be hungry. And you will feel terrible on the other side. A lot of us, we neglect that side.

And you need vitamins also. Believe it or not, you need vitamins. Every single morning, the Prophet ﷺ said we, our bodies, every single joint in our body and so forth, all these joints, they need vitamins. And those vitamins are subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu akbar and so forth. The remembrance of Allah to strengthen us, to keep us strong.

And so, in our daily lives, when you are busy, going to work, when it's time to pray, pray and hear "Allahu akbar." That's the time when you need to refuel yourself spiritually. You have to refuel your iman. And after, in a week, on Fridays, this is the weekly check-up, the weekly pit stop. And then the monthly, the yearly pit stop, the yearly pit stop is Ramadan, the month of Ramadan. And then the once in a lifetime pit stop is the Hajj when you check yourself.

The Best Provision: Taqwa

And Allah says:

"Take provision, but indeed, the best provision is taqwa."

And that's why we fast. The brother read the ayahs of siyam. Listen to the reason why we fast. Allah says:

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous."

What's the reason for fasting? All you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you just as it has been prescribed upon those before you. Why? (لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) - In order that you may attain taqwa. The closest translation you can probably get is God-consciousness. Being conscious of Allah, knowing that He's always watching you.

And this is, we fast for the sake of Allah. But the fruits of the fasting, what are the fruits of fasting? It helps you to attain piety, righteousness, and God-consciousness. How does it do that? Listen to what the Prophet ﷺ said in Hadith Qudsi. He said that Allah says:

(Sahih Bukhari 1904, Sahih Muslim 1151)

"All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting. It is for Me and I will give the reward for it."

What does that mean? What does that mean when Allah says fasting is Mine? Isn't everything that we do for Allah's sake? Like isn't everything prayer and zakat and so forth? But fasting is special. Why is it special?

Because nobody can really fast unless you have taqwa. Unless you're sincere. Unless you're conscious of Allah. You will not be able to fast. You won't fast. It's the only deed that you really can't force anyone to do. If they do it, it has to be accompanied with taqwa.

Why? Because when you fast, when you tell your kid to fast, for example, your son, you say, "Son, sit down. Son, fast." You tell him to fast. When it's prayer time, you tell him to go make wudu. When he makes wudu and he's rinsing his mouth, he can drink all he wants and nobody will know. Can you force him to? When he prays, you tell him to pray. "Son, pray." You don't see him pray? "Yeah. Well you haven't prayed yet. I've been looking at you." Right?

But when it comes to fasting, when he's by himself, he can drink all that he wants. He can hide and eat and so forth. The only thing that will prevent him from not doing so is if he's conscious of Allah. And that's why, that is what is preventing us from drinking when we know nobody can see us. Not a single person can see you except Allah.

What is it that's preventing you from drinking? It's because you know that if you drink just a small drop on purpose, your fast will no longer be valid and you will have to make it up. That's the reason. Because you know

Allah knows. You can't say nobody will know. Allah won't know. You can't say that. You know Allah knows. And that's why you don't do it. Because you're conscious of Allah.

So fasting trains you to always think and be conscious of Allah. And if you can abstain from that which is halal - these are the normal things that are halal, eating and drinking are halal for us in normal days - but if you can abstain from something that is a requirement for life, and you can stay away from it, how about the sins and so forth? You should be able to do so also.

You can't say to yourself, "Oh no I can't abstain from that." What do you need to live? Well you abstained from food and drinks when you had to in Ramadan. Who said you couldn't do it? You can't stay away from it? When nobody is watching you and you didn't drink in that time, you know Allah is watching you. Now when you're in front of the internet about to watch pornography or something like that, you think Allah doesn't know? You think Allah doesn't know? So you realize, you know what? Allah does know. That's why I didn't drink. That's why I didn't do this and that.

And so all of this, the fasting, is to help us attain taqwa and to help us rejuvenate ourselves and to help us change for the better.

Allah's Opportunities for Forgiveness in Ramadan

And Allah gives so many opportunities in this month for us to change. That if you don't change in this month, then I don't know what kind of iman you have in your heart. Why? Because Allah gives us the opportunity, the opportunity to forgive us, the opportunity for us to repent and change our ways. Listen to what the Prophet ﷺ said in hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. He said that the Messenger of Allah, Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

(Sahih Bukhari 38, Sahih Muslim 760)

"Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with true belief in Allah and seeking the reward from Allah alone, all his previous sins will be forgiven."

Nobody else. You do it for Allah's sake. And you fast only because Allah has told you to fast. And you only want the reward from Allah alone and no other reason. (احْتِسَابًا) means you want reward from Allah alone and nothing else. No other reason. You're not fasting because you want to lose weight. You're not fasting because everyone else is fasting. You're not fasting for this or that. Even though some of these things like, you know, health matters and so forth, those are secondary. But that's not the reason why you fast. These are the things that you might attain from it. But that's not your intention.

And so, if you fast solely for the sake of Allah, what will Allah give you? (غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ) - Allah will forgive you all your previous sins. Out of all the sins that you committed before, He will forgive you of all your sins. So that's an opportunity.

But notice what the Prophet ﷺ said. (مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ) - "Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan." He didn't say (مَنْ صَامَ يَوْمًا مِنْ رَمَضَانَ) - a day in Ramadan. Or (أُسْبُوعًا مِنْ رَمَضَانَ) - a week or one week of Ramadan. No, he said the month of Ramadan. Okay, so you gotta, from the beginning to the end, you do it solely for His sake.

Now let's say, wow, that's, you know, sometimes we can't do it. Okay. Allah still gives you another opportunity. And inshallah, you know, for the women, even though they don't fast the whole month of Ramadan, they still get whatever days that they have to fast, they do it for Allah's sake, inshallah, they're getting the same thing.

Allah, the Prophet ﷺ said, let's say for those who, maybe they're negligent one or two days and so forth, they, you know, for one reason or another, they weren't able to achieve this goal fasting solely for His sake and so forth, for the month of Ramadan, of what we just mentioned. Allah still gives them another opportunity. You know, you messed up on that one, you still got another opportunity. It's your second chance. What is it?

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih Bukhari 37, Sahih Muslim 759)

"Whosoever stands up to pray in the month of Ramadan, with true belief in Allah, and doing it solely for His sake, not to show off or anything like that, but you're doing it only hoping for the reward from Allah, all of his previous sins will be forgiven for him."

You'll have all your sins be forgiven for you. All the previous sins will be forgiven for you if you stand up at night time to pray in the month of Ramadan, whoever stands up to pray. So, notice that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever stands up to pray in Ramadan."

Do you know what? We got classes and sometimes you gotta go in the morning, wake up. You might miss a few days. I only got, you know, only the weekends. Few days in the weekends only. It's too difficult every day to pray every night, okay? Okay, you still got one more chance. Strike one, strike two. Do you know what? You can still hit the home run. See, I got one more strike. Still can hit the home run.

The Prophet ﷺ, he said:

(Sahih Bukhari 1901, Sahih Muslim 760)

"Whomsoever stands up Laylatul Qadr, just one night of Laylatul Qadr, seeking the reward, with the belief in Allah, true iman in Allah, and hoping for the reward from Allah alone, all his previous sins will be forgiven."

SubhanAllah. And you have, you have one more chance. Just one night, brother and sister. Just one night. And you can break it down to the nights. He said, just take out the even nights. You got the odds. Do you know you got the odds? You just have a few days. You just spend those nights, make sure you pray. And subhanAllah, Allah is so gracious. Just one night, all your previous sins will be forgiven. You do it solely for the sake of Allah alone.

Making the Full Conviction to Change

So this is the month of change. And when Allah wants to forgive, and Allah wants to have mercy upon people, then Allah will help you. But you have to take the first step. You have to take the initial step first to try to change. And so repent to Allah and make the full conviction.

And you know when you make the full conviction, don't just go halfway. Make the full conviction to be the best person you can be. The best Muslim you can be. Try to improve yourself every single day. And this is the month that Allah has given us the opportunity to do so. And He's made it easy for us also.

How has He made it easy for us? The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim 1079)

"When Ramadan comes, the doors of Jannah are opened, and the doors of the Hellfire are closed, and the shayateen are shackled."

They're open for those who want to go to Jannah. And the doors of Hellfire are closed. And then the shayateen are locked up, are shackled. The shayateen are shackled. And so they are shackled. Why are they shackled? He's your enemy. And Allah shackles him so you can get used to doing good and then continue doing good. And so you can change. This is your opportunity.

You know like for some people it's very difficult to fast the sunnah fast, but it's not Ramadan. They can't fast. Not even one day. It's like, oh man I want to fast, but will you fast? It's like when you get hungry after Asr, or after you come out of class and everybody is eating and drinking. Oh man, it's only sunnah, I can just break my fast, right? And it's like, so difficult.

But when Ramadan comes, mashaAllah, you go to the end. You can do it. Allah is showing you. You can. And Allah has shackled the shayateen. That's why it's so much easier. So if you don't change and you don't repent, when the shayateen are shackled, you think you're going to do it when he's released? You want to wait until he's released and then do it? No, this is it. This is the time. This is the time to make that conviction. This is the time to change.

And this is the time to ask Allah for forgiveness. This is the time to read the Quran. This is the time to do all that you can, that all you can do that is good, and to change yourself.

The Month of Mercy

And so, during this month, this is also the month of mercy. The month of mercy. What is the month of mercy?

What is mercy, first of all? Mercy, why is it so important? It's important because it's how you enter paradise.

Nobody enters paradise with their deeds. Nobody. You will not be able to enter paradise with your deeds.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Nobody enters paradise with their deeds." And so the companion said, "Ya Rasulullah, even you, even with all the deeds that you do, you can't enter paradise because of your deeds?" He said, "Even myself, unless Allah has mercy upon me."

Do you know what that means? Why is this the case? Why can't we enter paradise with our deeds? Our deeds can be a reason for mercy, but the actual entry into paradise is because of the mercy. Why? Because paradise is very expensive. Paradise is so great that no matter what you do, you can never pay for paradise. No matter how many thousands of prayers you pray, you can never use that to pay for paradise. It's only because of the mercy of Allah.

Why? Because paradise, paradise, you can have whatever you want. You can have anything that you want. You can do whatever you want. Whatever your heart wants, this is it. You can have it. You know, people work very, very hard. You know, some people, they buy houses. And it takes them 30 years to pay up, pay the house, pay those payments. And the house might not even be that nice of a house.

And if they did buy a really, really nice house, like next to the river, next to the ocean, or wherever it may be, sometimes they spend, they put so much effort in paying for that house, that they, listen, that how much, they have to wake up 6 o'clock in the morning, or 5 o'clock in the morning, and they are never late. Why? Because if they're late too often, they might get fired, they might not make their payments. And they try to do their job the best that they can, because they're afraid of getting fired.

Like, especially the housing markets and all the foreclosures and stuff, right? They're afraid to lose their job because they're afraid to lose that house. They are willing to get up at 6 o'clock in the morning and get out there in traffic, no matter how tired they are, every single day for 30 straight years, just to live in that house. In paradise, that house is like, there's no comparison whatsoever. Nothing. You can have whatever you want. So how much are you willing to work to get that? To get anything that you want. You say it and you've got it.

How much? If people are willing to work for that many years, just to get that house, and probably they're already 30, by the time they finish paying, they're dead already. They don't even get to enjoy it, right? Most of the time, to say, oh, this is my house. Some people don't even get that. But they're willing to work 30 years, 40 years sometimes, right? And they get up, Allah asks you to get up in the morning. But you know what? He gives you even more than that.

No matter how much you do, in comparison to what you are going to get in paradise, it's so much greater that you are only entering paradise because of the mercy of Allah.

The Example of the Child and the Bicycle

You know, we have a child. Your child wants a bike. He wants a bicycle. And this bicycle is a very nice bike. It's like $250, and he wants this bike. Like, you know, "Father, I want this bike." And he's been asking for it months and almost a year. You know, every day he's insisting. His friend has it. It's a really cool bike. Okay.

Earning the Mercy of Allah

So every time in the month of Ramadan, you stand up to praise Allah. You know, sometimes we talk about you're tired. Right? You're tired and so on. Maybe you're tired, but you say, "Inshallah, you know, I hope that Allah will forgive me and have mercy upon me." And so you stand up that extra rak'ah. You stand up to try to be more focused. You're only doing this so that you're hoping that Allah will have mercy upon you.

And so maybe on that night, Allah will say, "Oh, so and so, and I see you like you're working so hard. Even though you're tired, but you still want to take that extra step. Make that extra effort. You have earned my mercy. And from this day on, you are amongst the people of paradise." You're walking on this earth, but you're amongst the people of paradise. After that, Allah will help you do all the deeds of the people of paradise.

So, don't belittle a deed. Don't ever belittle a deed. Do all that you can, as sincerely as possible, and hope in the mercy of Allah. Because this is the month of mercy. Have mercy towards your fellow classmates, your fellow Muslims, here and all over the world. Maybe Allah will have mercy upon you, just like the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 1924, Sunan Abi Dawud 4941)

"Have mercy upon those who are on earth, and the one who is in the heavens will have mercy upon you."

And so this is the month of generosity, being merciful towards others. And don't belittle a deed, because any deed, if it's sincere, maybe Allah will say, "You know, because of that deed, I will enter this person into paradise." And every deed that you do, hope that Allah will have mercy upon you because of it. Have that in your mind. Even if it's a little thing. Because you can enter paradise, even if you just fed a dog.

The Story of the Prostitute Who Fed a Dog

And that's what happened during the time of Bani Isra'il, when the Prophet ﷺ told us. He said that there was a woman. This was not a regular woman. This was a prostitute. She was walking around, walking in the desert. She was very, very thirsty. She came across a well. So she went into the well and she drank until she was quenched. And when she came out of the well, she saw that there was a dog that was licking the wet ground around the area of the well. And she felt sorry for the dog.

And she said, "You know what? This dog, you know, I was so thirsty before I came here. I went down and drank. This dog is just as thirsty, just as thirsty as I was. It can't jump in the well. It will drown to death." So she goes down. She fills up her leather socks. She brings it out. And she lets the dog drink until it's quenched.

And Allah sees this deed of this prostitute. And Allah is thankful towards her, that the Prophet ﷺ said in Sahih Muslim, hadith of Sahih Muslim, that Allah forgave her sins. In another narration, Allah entered her into paradise because she had mercy towards a dog. Towards a dog. That was the turning point in her life. Allah saw that. And He was thankful for what that person did. He saw the mercy in her heart. And Allah had mercy towards that person. And so she entered paradise because of that. She entered paradise because of that.

This person was kind towards a dog. An animal. Now imagine if that person was kind towards a Muslim. Kind towards a human. Or even better, a Muslim. Or even better, your relatives. These are people, these are Muslims. If you had that, you're helping your brother, you're helping your sister. You prefer others over yourself. And you say, "Inshallah, I'm going to give this to this sister or this brother because they need it more than me." Maybe Allah will say, "You know what? I have chosen you amongst the people of paradise."

Allah Frees People from Hellfire in Ramadan

And you have to understand that the Prophet ﷺ said, in Ramadan, especially the nights of Ramadan, Allah frees, Allah frees people from the hellfire more than any other month. Because this is the month of mercy. Meaning Allah chooses more people and says, "You know what? These are the people of paradise. These are the people, I have chosen this person because of this month, this person did this and so forth."

So you have, your chances of being amongst the people of paradise are way up during this month. And if you know your chances are way up, what should you be doing? You should be trying to do all that you can to achieve the mercy of Allah in hopes that Allah will say to you, "I have chosen you amongst the people of paradise. I have chosen you amongst those I have freed from the hellfire."

And then from that time on, Allah will keep on guiding you and guiding you until you eventually enter paradise. But you know, it might have been 2008. Maybe it was on September, what's today's date? September 6th, 2008. It was that night that you were chosen amongst the people of paradise. Because you maybe took that extra step. Because you had that extra concern.

Don't Belittle Any Deed

And so, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim 2626)

"Don't ever belittle a deed. Even if it's just meeting your brother with a happy face, a smile on your face."

And also, the Prophet ﷺ said, a man also entered paradise because of just clearing the way for the people. There was a tree that fell down and it was blocking the people's way. It was making it difficult for them. So he said, "You know what? This tree is causing a lot of hardship for the Muslims. They have to go around." And so he cleans it, he pushes it away, and he clears the way. And Allah is thankful for what he did because of his heart. He's not thinking about himself. He says, "You know what? I want to do this for the Muslims. I want to make it easier for the Muslims. I'm not just pushing the tree over. I'm just making it easier for other people to go." And you know what? He got paradise because of that. Allah forgave him all his sins. He got paradise because of that.

So anytime you do something, make a preference. As you know, when we love each other, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim 54)

"You will not enter paradise until you believe. And you won't have true belief until you love each other. Would you like me to show you something that you can do that will make you love each other? Spread the salams."

So spread the salams. And also another thing to make us love each other, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Al-Adab al-Mufrad 594)

"Exchange gifts and you will love each other."

Give each other gifts and you will love each other. It's not sunnah to give gifts during Eid only. You know, you wait for Eid and you give gifts? No, it's not. You give gifts whenever they least expect it. They're not expecting anything and then you give it to them. Even if it's a candy, they'll be happy. But you know, they're expecting something. Sometimes it's very, you know like, you're living in a society, right? We are living in this, you know, materialistic society.

The Contrast with Materialistic Gift-Giving

If you ask any non-Muslim, any Christian, what's the most stressful time of the year? They will tell you it's Christmas, holiday season. They might tell you it's a time of joy and happiness, but they will also tell you it's

the most stressful time of the year. You know why it's stressful? Because you gotta buy this person that and this person this. And then in the end, sometimes you don't get what you want. Right? Sometimes you don't get what you want. But you gotta buy so many people.

It's good to receive presents, but you're expecting it. Normally, if somebody were to give you that in March, you would jump for joy. But you know what? You got that, but it wasn't like up to par with what you really wanted, and you're sad. You're sad. So you don't, for Muslims, you give gifts. But don't give it when they're expecting it. But always do. Try to be consistent in this also.

So you'll love each other, and when you love each other, it's easy to help each other do good. And this is how you achieve true iman. Because it will keep you away from sins. When you love each other, you don't backbite each other. When you love each other, you work together. When you love each other, you respect each other's opinion. When you love each other, you can get projects going really quickly. Nobody has an ego or anything. "The man's brother is always so nice. I'll let him have his way." You know, right? Because you're always helping each other. You're always giving gifts to each other.

It builds this love, and then the community goes forward. And then the MSA goes forward. And then your family, everything goes smoothly. Because you love each other. And then it's easier for you to pray, go to the masjid, read the Quran. You're not stressed out to death. You have iman in your heart, and you're happy. And you thank Allah for all that you have. And so, your path to paradise is made easy because you love each other.

Practical Application: Giving Gifts

And so, next time, this is something that we should be trying to do. When you go to the store next time, when you buy something for yourself, think of somebody. Your uncle, your aunt, your brother, your husband, your father, your mother. It doesn't matter who it is. Just buy them something. Give them a present. They're not expecting it. You didn't come from, you know, if you go back to Malaysia and come back or something like that, you have your friends here, they're expected to buy something for them, right?

But what if you're like, just all of a sudden, just come up and give them a box of chocolate, for example. MashaAllah, alhamdulillah. You know what I'm saying? Box of chocolate, $3, brother. But you scored. Like with your spouse, for example, let's say, you know, all of a sudden, she's not expecting it. And then you get this present. Even if it's a box of chocolate, $3.99. Man, she's happy. She's really happy. But if she was expecting something, and for example, okay, Eid, you have to get something, okay, if you gave her, you know, just something even more expensive, like a diamond ring or maybe a gold ring or whatever it is, she might not even be as happy as when she wasn't expecting it.

But you know what? That's a point scored. So brothers and sisters, if you want to score points with your spouse, just give them presents. It's not how expensive it is, it's how many points you can score. I mean, how consistent you are with it. So every time you go to the masjid, or every time you go to the store, think of someone first. All of a sudden, you just come, you meet him. "Uncle, I just have a gift for you." Next time, you give your uncle a

gift, right? You got your dad. Your dad's not expecting anything. He comes back from work. "Dad, look at this pen. I just got it. Yeah, you can have it, whatever you want to have."

But you're not doing it for that, right? You're doing it for Allah's sake. But you build this love in the family. And so that's why the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Al-Adab al-Mufrad 594)

"Exchange gifts, you will love each other."

But be consistent. And then, subhanAllah, just do this. Maybe somebody from the masjid. It doesn't have to be something very expensive. Five dollars, ten dollars, but they're not expecting it. It's great. Build this bond. And you'll see that your family, everything, they won't be backbiting about you anymore. So you don't have to worry about what they're saying. You don't have to be stressed out about that anymore. You know, in the community, in the family, in your organization, whatever it is, you'll see it's totally changed.

Ramadan: A Time for Training

So, this is the month that we should make those convictions and start and make our plan from now on. Because this is a training. You know, before you meet the enemy, you have to have your plan, battle plans. Ramadan, the enemy is shackled up. This is training time. You know, in the army and so forth, navy, whoever it is, when they practice, when they train, what do they do? They don't kill each other. Is the enemy there? No, the enemy is not there. But they're practicing. "See, if the enemy was here, what would you do? Okay, he's here, he's not here. Okay, if he's here, this is what I would do. If he comes from this side, this is what we do. This is the formation that we take." Right? Through practice.

The enemy is gone in Ramadan. And you're practicing, prayer, fasting, sadaqah, zakat. Now you know what to do. So when the enemy comes back, that's when you attack. And when he attacks you, this is your guard. This is what you do. Because he's taken away. It's training season for us. When he's released, if you don't train then this time you're not going to be ready. You're not going to be ready when he's released. So that's why this month is very important to rejuvenate our iman, to strengthen our iman, to help us gain consciousness of Allah.

Using Ramadan's Training After Ramadan

So you remember, you know what, in Ramadan I didn't drink. I was by myself. I didn't drink. Nobody would have known. Only Allah would have known. And then when Ramadan is over, or when you're by yourself thinking about committing a sin, you know what, I didn't drink in Ramadan because I knew Allah was conscious of me. Do you think Allah is not conscious right now? Allah doesn't know what you're doing? Yes He does. Just like, well you didn't do that then, well don't do it here. You don't have to do it here. Control yourself.

And maybe when you leave a certain deed, maybe because of that deed that you had all these people pulling you, and then you left it, and you did it for Allah's sake, maybe Allah would say, "You know what, My servant,

Choosing Paradise Over Sin

So every single deed, do that. Compare yourself. For example, you know sometimes you feel the urge to backbite. It's like, "Man I gotta talk about this person. I can't." You know, it's like you have that urge, right? It's like, you know it's wrong, but man, I have to do it. You know? Sometimes you fall into that case, like, that person did such and such things, I have to tell these people. Right? You know? It's like, "Man, I can't." It's like it's about to explode, right?

So you say to yourself, what do you say to yourself? You say to yourself, haven't you? Would you pay paradise for that? Would you prefer to speak about that person and release that pressure? Or would you, if Allah said, "I'll give you paradise if you don't do that," where would you want paradise? Which one's better? What would you say? You know what? I'm not going to do it because I want paradise. Paradise is better. It's not worth it. It's not worth it. Just this flashing moment, you release this, that you want, to fulfill your desires. Either this or paradise, which one would you choose? Every time, put yourself in the here and the hereafter. Would you trade that for paradise? Of course not!

You would say, why am I going to trade this for that person? I don't like them anyways. You know? It's like, I don't even like this person and they're causing me to commit this sin. I don't like them anyways. I don't want to give to them anyways. So because you're talking about them, you're giving your good deeds to them. It's like you hate them anyways. You don't even like them, but you're helping them in the process. Why would you want to help them? You don't like that person, don't talk about them. Because the only thing you're doing is giving them more good deeds from yourself. It's like giving them a present. If you don't like that person, don't give them any more presents. Right?

If you do want to give presents, give them presents of this dunya, but not the hereafter. Because that's more valuable.

The Story of Al-Hasan al-Basri

That's what Al-Hasan al-Basri did. Al-Hasan al-Basri. One of his students came to him and said, "This person is always talking about the imam. Always talking about the imam." That person, Al-Hasan al-Basri. "Such and such is always talking about the imam. He's mad at him for saying this and that. Tell him where he is." They tell him. So they're thinking, he's going to go and bash him and say something about him.

He goes to the marketplace. There's a marketplace in the back. He goes to that person and says, "I really apologize. This is all I can afford. I would like to give you so much more. Because you've done so much for me. You've given me so much." And so the guy goes, "What are you talking about? I hate you and I'm talking about you all the time. What are you talking about? I'm helping you and giving you?" He says, "You've given me so much. All I can afford to give you, I'm just thankful for what you did. You've given me so much good deeds like prayers and fasting. It's tiring in the morning. But you've given it for free. I didn't even ask for it. And so you're so generous. This is all I can give back to you. That's all I can afford."

So the guy is wondering. Wow. So he starts thinking about it. He's trying to make a statement. And so he repents to him. He repents and asks forgiveness from him. And he becomes one of his closest students. He just sits with him all the time. Because he realizes what happened. He realizes how the imam is. Instead of yelling, he gives him a present. But the imam is trying to advise him. The way that he advises him. So he gives him the present. Then he thinks about it. "Wow, you know what? I shouldn't be talking about him anymore. Let me learn more about him from this present." And so he becomes one of his students.

Final Exhortation: This is the Month of Change

But this is the month of change. Control your time. Whatever you're doing in this month, hope that Allah will give you paradise. Go to pray every single day. Join in helping other people. Look for projects and try to bring them forward. Maybe for example, we want non-Muslims to realize about fasting. I think you guys have a fast coming up. Be involved and help with it. Maybe your actions, even though your brother, your friends and your companions, they don't know what you did behind them to get this project going, to get all these people. They don't know. But Allah still knows.

And do that in hopes that Allah will say, "Maybe I've chosen this person. I've chosen him amongst the people of paradise. Because they took the extra effort. They didn't do it for anybody else except for Myself." Allah will say that to you. "And I've chosen you amongst the people of paradise." So everything that you do, do it for His sake. That's why the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan with true belief in Allah, with certainty in Allah, with the belief, with the true faith in Allah, and seeking the reward from Him alone," it's very important. Seek the reward from Him alone. And inshallah, maybe Allah will give you that.

Closing

I apologize if I went over today. I went a little bit over. Like they say, don't give a woman a telephone and don't give a shaykh a microphone, and he'll just keep on talking. So inshallah, may Allah gather us all again in paradise, just as He gathered us here today. And may Allah accept all our fasting and all our righteous deeds and prayers and so forth. May Allah help us love each other for His sake. May Allah gather us in the highest level in paradise with all the prophets and messengers, just like He has gathered us today. Inshallah, maybe we can talk about it when we get to paradise. We ask Allah, He is all able.

Question and Answer

Question: Would giving gifts only on Eid be considered an innovation?

Yes, it would be considered an innovation if you chose that time to do it consistently. It's always Eid that you do it. It would be considered, because you have set something. You know, giving gifts is something that is recommended. But if you chose just Eid to do it, and you are always doing it at the Eid time, then you are just imitating the non-Muslims and choosing that time.

And as I mentioned, you see the ramifications of it. And just think about it. What makes them so stressed out? And the gift is actually not that valuable in terms of its effect. Because they might spend a lot of money on something, and you are spending a lot of money. But you know what? Maybe that's not what you really wanted. It's just not, it doesn't show true love. It's not true love because you have to do it.

So let's say if you didn't do it, and you did love that person, but you didn't buy them, they would hate you for no reason. If they didn't hate you, they would feel very disappointed. It's like, "It's Christmas. You didn't buy me anything. What's this?" It's a major sin now. But it's supposed to be a season of love and forgiving and showing love and good thoughts about people and things like that. But it becomes the opposite. And that's why they take advantage of it commercially.

And so, you know, if you don't get anything, go out from here, try this. Every time you go to the store, buy something. It doesn't cost a lot. What do you call it? Hershey's kisses or something. Those are good. They're not expecting it. Even if it's two dollars, they'll be happy. Even if it's a dollar store balloon, they'll be happy if they're not expecting it. Honestly. But be consistent. And you'll see that people around you will treat you differently. But you don't do it because of that. And it will be easier for you to pray, easier for you to do anything. The whole community, the whole group, all the Muslims, we start loving each other. Give salams to each other. Greet each other. Speak to each other. And help each other.

When you're always helping, that's why zakat, this is zakat and sadaqah and so forth. This is the month to train ourselves to be Muslims. In fact, Ramadan is how we should be all year round. But Allah has chosen this month just to wake us up. This is how you should be. Not only for this month. Continue this way. This is the path to paradise. And this is how a Muslim should be.

As a Muslim, you should be like Ramadan all the time. Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qa'dah, they should be the same. You should be praying the night prayers anyways all the time. But Allah is shaking us up, refilling ourselves, reminding us. "All these months you've been negligent. It's time to change. Wake up and smell the roses," they say. Know what's really going on. InshaAllah.