Dr Basem Hameed 6 23 17

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. There is none worthy of worship except Allah.

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His guidance and we seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Wa ash'hadu an la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah. Wa ash'hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu wa safiyuhu min khalqihi wa khaliluhu. Ballagha ar-risalata wa addan amanata wa nasaha al-ummah.

Wa ba'athahu Allahu nadheera wa basheera. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ala abdika wa nabiyika Muhammadin kama tuhibbu an yusalla alayhi. Wa ba'du faya ibadallah.

Usikum wa nafsiyal mukhti'atal mudnibata bi taqwa Allahi wa ahuthukum ma'ala ta'atih. I'lamu anna azdaqal kalami kalamullah. Wa khayra al-hadi hadi Muhammadin rasulillah.

Wa'lamu anna sharra al-umuri muhdathatuha. Wa kulla muhdathatin bid'ah. Wa kulla bid'atin finnaar.

All praise be to Allah, our Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher. We bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah. And we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and last messenger. We ask Allah to send His blessings, peace and mercy upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam, his household, his companions and all of his followers till the end of time.

My dear respected brothers, fear Allah, be God conscious. Allah has advised you in the Quran by saying, O people, be prepared for a day when there is no parent would suffice for their children nor a child would suffice for their parents. Do know that the promise of Allah is the truth. Do not be fooled by this worldly matters and do not be swayed by the shaytan.

The Honor of Another Ramadan

My dear respected brothers and sisters, we thank Allah for honoring us and allowing us to worship Him another month of Ramadan. In the hadith of the Prophet, a person came and asked the Prophet about a person who was martyred, sacrificed his life for the sake of Allah. And what is more a noble and honorable thing to do in the cause of Allah.

That person asked the Prophet, who would be in a higher status in the Jannah? That person or another person who did not die for the sake of Allah and who still lived like a normal life? And the Prophet answered that it would be the person who lived longer. How is that possible when we know, when people grew up thinking that the ultimate level in Islam is sacrificing your soul for the sake of Allah.

The Prophet answered, how would you even make that comparison when that person lived another Ramadan? When Allah allowed him to worship Him a whole month of Ramadan. When he prayed before Allah, six thousand more faridah. Living Ramadan and establishing what Allah has allowed us to do in Ramadan is a great honor.

And if a person does that with sincerity, seeking Allah's reward, this is why all the hadith, If anyone fulfills and observes Ramadan out of faith and out of seeking the reward only from Allah, then Allah would do such and such, forgive him their sins. Same thing applies for Laylatul Qadr. So do thank Allah that He has honored you by making you observe another month of Ramadan.

Ask Him for more and ask Him to make you steadfast on this faith, on the path of His Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, till the last breath He allows you in this life.

Completing Ramadan Properly

As such my brothers and sisters, it is very important that we come to a closure. We finish Ramadan and come to an end on the right way. The way Allah expects us to do. For if you're running a race, if you're close to the finish line, if it's only ten yards away from you, you cannot just quit. You have to cross. You have to go beyond that finish line to be one of those winners, to be one of those who completed the faith.

For many people Ramadan ends with the 27th night, thinking that it is Laylatul Qadr and it might be. And the first step to remember from this khutbah today, that the 29th is as important, maybe more important, than any other odd night of the last ten days, because that's truly closer to the finish line.

So if you have missed out on the blessings of Ramadan, if you have not done Ramadan its justice, if you have wasted the time, this might be an opportunity to catch up. And Allah might grant you in this night, in the last odd night of Ramadan, what you have missed throughout the month. So do observe it right, do maintain the qiyam, do pray to Allah with humility, with a humble heart, and Allah might grant you what he has granted other people throughout the entire night.

Tonight is the 29th night, so make sure you observe it right, and the race is not over, Ramadan is not over, and this might be your ultimate choice, your ultimate opportunity to catch up and get the honor from Allah.

Laylatul Qadr: The Night of Honor

Laylatul Qadr my brothers and sisters, is the night of honor, the night of power. And it is the beautiful and astute observation and notation of one of the scholars saying that truly what Laylatul Qadr is, is that when you feel your honor, and when Allah honors you by getting close to him, and that's something you feel individually and personally. And if you have not experienced that yet, this might be an opportunity for you.

People talk about Laylatul Qadr in Ramadan, Imam Abu Hanifa radiallahu anhu used to say, as a matter of fact Laylatul Qadr just rotates throughout the entire year and is not limited to Ramadan. It's that moment when your heart is honored, empowered by closeness to Allah. And that's what truly matters from the entire night.

So do make sure that you bring your heart to Allah, and make it experience that honor, make it experience that sweetness to being close and near to Allah, so Allah may shower you with the blessings and mercy and instills in your heart the wisdom and knowledge and the sweetness of faith.

Ramadan is the Beginning, Not the End

The second important thing to keep in mind, my brothers and sisters, that for many people the Ibadah ends with the end of Ramadan. We've observed Ramadan, you fasted, you paid charity, you prayed Taraweeh, you read the entire Quran once, twice, maybe more or less, and you've done your work, you've done your job.

And truthfully Ramadan is not the end, Ramadan is only the beginning. Ramadan is only the training, every Khatib talks about Ramadan being as a boot camp. Well a camp is not the end of your training, it's just the beginning. Allah facilitates the Ibadah for you, made it easier with His blessings, so you can use that as a momentum to maintain for the entire year.

If you have had the training, you're ready now to go and practice. And Ramadan was your training, so now practice, really practice begins.

Monthly Self-Assessment Calendar

For that reason my brothers and sisters, I advise you to have this exercise. Set up your calendar on a monthly basis, Ramadan is going to end what? In a couple of days, make that your beginning on the calendar, and a month, date a month from that date, till the end of the year, till the coming Ramadan inshallah next year, and on a monthly basis, maybe make it a Friday to make it easier for you to remember and contemplate and reflect upon.

And with that reminder, have the three questions in mind.

First Question: Reading the Quran

Number one, how many chapters of the Qur'an have I read this month? That's what the habit of the Prophet was. They would at least finish the Qur'an once a month. If someone is overwhelmingly busy, maybe in two months. Some people finished it every ten days, some people finished it once a week. Some people came to the Prophet to take the permission to finish it in three days, and some wanted even more.

That was their passion, that was their obsession, and this is what the Qur'an has to be. Allah allowed you in Ramadan to live the Qur'an, to hear it in Tarawih. Everyone is reading the Qur'an. Maintain that habit.

So one of the first questions you ask yourself on that calendar reminder, how many juz' have I read during this month? If it's hard for you, and the Prophet did acknowledge that it might be very hard for people to read the Qur'an, and that's why he mentioned those who are reading with the Qur'an and it's very intense on them, very hard, It's very intense on that person, it's like pulling teeth basically. He said Allah would double the reward for them.

So long, and it's not about how often you finish it, it's about how regular you are. For Allah likes those who are regular and perseverant on their habits, on their deeds and actions, not as much as in quantity, as much as it is in quality. So do it regular, even if you do 3 pages a day, 5 pages a day, ask yourself, how many days did I miss out? How many days did I maintain that habit? And check yourself out every single month till the following Ramadan.

And if you have gaps, make sure that you have the tawbah, and you go back to the habit, so Allah will give you the full reward.

Second Question: Qiyam al-Layl

The second question to ask yourself on that reminder is, how many nights did I pray Qiyam al-Layl? How many rak'ahs did I pray this month? Is it every day that you do 2 rak'ahs after Isha, extra? Or before Fajr that would be even better? Is it twice a week, once a week, once a month? I can tell you that the companions did it for the majority of their time.

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

And the Prophet said, in the very beautiful hadith narrated by Umar: "Whoever misses out, meaning sleeps, and does not fulfill his regular, حزب is something you do every day. It's like something habitual you do every day.

So the Prophet says, if you miss out on it and obviously the excuse would be the sleep. All of it or part of it? That means the indication of this hadith that you have to have as a regular habit of yours. So if you're missing out on doing that during the night, then the Prophet said, and you do it between sunrise and the dhuhr time, that's during the dhuhr time basically, Allah would give you the reward as if you've done it throughout the night.

And that's for the prayers, for reciting the Quran, or for any other regular adhkar you're habituated to do. The Prophet was very regular on qiyamul layl, the tahajjud.

According to some scholars, it was fard actually for the Prophet. When the Prophet missed that qiyamul layl, if he was sick or for whatever reason, then he would pray 8 to 12 rak'ahs during the dhuhr time. This is something the Prophet did not miss. Whether he was traveling, whether he was fighting, whether he was sick, whatever he did, he always made up for it.

For us to overlook this important sunnah, and to belittle the importance and the significance of that sunnah is a big deal. For qiyamul layl, yes it is rewarded in Ramadan, yes it is encouraged in Ramadan, but it is something that has to be the signature of a believer. Because that is truly what distinguishes a person who perseveres, and who seeks Allah from a person who is heedless.

So make sure you have a reminder at least once a week you have qiyamul layl. And if it is tough for you to do it before fajr, add 2 rak'ahs, 4 rak'ahs, up to 8 rak'ahs after isha before you do witr. Once you break the habit of not doing it, it becomes easy. And it becomes something that if you miss on, you feel it. Something is lacking, something is missing. You feel the blessings of Allah in it.

Third Question: Congregational Prayer

And the third aspect, the third reminder that you need to set up your calendar to, is how am I doing with jama'a prayer? How many jama'a prayers did I miss out this month? Or maybe how many jama'a prayers did I pray in the masjid this month?

For, you look at our masjids, and they're full. In taraweeh, in fajr, you're certainly doubling your number in Friday prayers, and even maghrib, because there is a good reason to go and eat iftar in the masjid obviously. But ask yourself, how serious that matter to me?

When the Prophet, the kindest creation of Allah, the kindest human being ever walked this earth, the most merciful to people, by the description of Allah, once has said, I almost appointed or designated someone to pray on my behalf in the jama'a, and then left out, and see who are these people who are not coming to the masjid for jama'a, and then just set their houses on fire.

The scholar said, probably these were specific people who were hypocrites, but scholar said, as a matter of fact, the Prophet considered anyone who would not join the jama'a, without an excuse, a hypocrite. This is how serious it is, my brothers and sisters.

We took, we considered these matters as something extra that we don't have to do. And this is the core of our faith, this is the core of our religion, this is the core of the sunnah of the Prophet. We're not talking about complicated fiqh matters, we're not talking about political matters, we're talking about simple facts that even children know, but unfortunately we tend to neglect them, with excuse or without an excuse.

These three reminders, my brothers and sisters, and of course the sisters have the different excuse, they don't have to join the jama'a, but they're not excused from not reciting the Quran and doing qiyam al-layl.

The Core of Ibadah

The importance of these things, my brothers and sisters, is evident in our lives. You look at 1.6 billion plus, that we always brag about and take pride, but where are they? And how impactful are they? Why is that? Because we're being negligent. We're truly missing out on the important aspects of the sunnah of the Prophet. And that is the ibadah.

And this is an important concept we need to highlight today. For a lot of people, they think the ibadah is everything in deen, everything we do in life, and that's true. For paying charity is part of ibadah, helping others is part of ibadah, building the community is part of the ibadah, building the state is part of the ibadah, spreading what's good is part of ibadah, and we take pride in that, alhamdulillah, that Allah made everything we do, if it was associated with the right intention, it would be considered ibadah.

But, it is very important though, to keep in mind that the rituals, the actual worshipping activities, when it comes to praying, reciting the Quran, dhikr, fasting, the actual rituals are the core of our ibadah. Without which, nothing else is going to be right.

Such as, when you want to plant a tree, you need to have the right foundation, the right soil. If you don't have the right soil, your tree is not going to grow, it's not going to come to fruition. Same thing, anything you do, you think you're doing something good, your intention is not going to be pure without the right ibadah, the right rituals.

All the actions are going to become fruitless, if you don't have the right soil, the right foundation, that is what we need to emphasize. Having the salah with Allah, the dhikr, reciting the Quran, the sincerity, having the pure heart that connects to Allah, and experiences that sweetness of faith, and then, everything becomes secondary.

A lot of people, talk about, oh ibadah is not just these rituals, not just like prayers and dhikr. Yes, but nothing is going to be actually right, unless you do these things right. This is the beginning, and if you're trying to skip that step, then you're jumping ahead yourself, and you're going to go nowhere.

And if the ibadah was not important, then Allah would not have asked the Prophet, the best of his creation, the best human being, Allah would not have asked him to pray, half, third, more or less of the night. Allah would not have entrusted him with the Quran, and made it an exercise for him to be repeated every month, and at the end of his life, twice with Jibreel.

It was not a habit of the Prophet, to maintain the dhikr in every affair, in every status of his life. It would not be his habit, if the ibadah was insignificant. And yes indeed, that's where our problems begin. Lacking the ibadah.

We always talk, because it is conveniently easy, just to talk, oh ibadah is building a community, ibadah is doing this and that. Yes, but you're truly lacking the core ibadah, and that's what's missing from the Muslim's life, my brothers and sisters, and that's what needs to come back, individually, at the communal level, and at every single level.