Ramadan Best Practices Part 2

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف المرسلين سيدنا محمد ﷺ وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. Welcome to the Islamic Dawah Center, Ramadan Talks and I pray to Allah that you get the blessings of the month of Ramadan. And we want to continue our series about the blessings of the month of Ramadan and today we want to talk about the spirit that is associated with the ibadah in the month of Ramadan.

So we're not really interested in the technicalities, more than the technicalities, more important than the technicalities is the spirit that is associated with these technicalities. We read for example the Prophet ﷺ telling us in the hadith Abu Huraira narrated it and he said that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Ibn Majah, Hadith 1690)

Perhaps a fasting person does not get anything from his or her fasting except hunger and thirst. And perhaps a person who makes qiyam does not get any benefit from standing at night except standing in the night and the pain of standing at night.

The Spirit Behind the Worship

So we really want to get that spirit and since we are in the month of Ramadan we want to see how this spirit is reflected in the month of Ramadan. At the end of Surat Ash-Shura and Ash-Shura you know the consultation is a spirit of the spirit of a group. Imagine yourself living in a country where is no consultation or work in some place where there is no consultation.

Consultation here may be in the elections for example is a form of consultation. So Allah in Surat Ash-Shura at the conclusion of it the last verse of the last two verses Allah said:

That's how we reveal to you a spirit from us. You are not aware of what is the book, what the book is or what the Iman is. But we made it a light. So that spirit gives you the light that guides you. Guide whom we wish from our servants. And indeed you guide and most surely you guide to a Sirat al-Mustaqim.

So we understand then that there is the spirit and there is the technical path. In this month of Ramadan, you want to focus on the spirit that is associated with the Ibadah.

The Spirit of Surat Al-Ma'un

And let's take an example from Surat al-Ma'un. In this Surah, Allah started it after بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم with:

Have you seen the one who belies the Deen? And you wonder, who is this who belies the Deen? Is it the person who doesn't do the pillars of Iman, the pillars of Islam? Allah gave you a different definition. That really is focused on the spirit of Islam.

And Allah said, the one who belies the Deen is indeed the one who pushes away the Yatim. The one who is not kind to the Yatim. The one who is not kind to the miskeen, the needy, the orphan.

If you're not nice to them, then you really do not understand Islam. You don't understand the Deen. There is no Deen without kindness, without being aware of the needs of others, without offering the ma'un according to this surah.

Understanding Al-Ma'un

So what is the ma'un? The ma'un is, you know, there are several definitions. But the definition that goes with the flow of the verses is the little help that you give to others. It's different than zakah.

Zakah is, you know, is given by people. You will be required to give zakah if you reach a certain minimum. And zakah is a help to other people.

But if you don't have the nisab, the minimum, then you don't have to pay zakah. A poor person doesn't have to pay zakah. Doesn't have to pay zakah to help others.

But the ma'un, everyone can afford it. A child can afford it. A man can afford it. An adult can afford it. A woman can afford it. Everybody can afford it. The rich, the poor, because it's very symbolic. Doesn't have a minimum. So if you offer somebody a cup of water, you're offering ma'un. If you offer somebody a help to stand up, you're offering ma'un. If you open the door for somebody who's not able to open the door, just as a welcome, you're offering ma'un. So it doesn't really have a minimum.

And that distinguish it from zakah. And that is very important. So everyone is able to offer ma'un. And that is the spirit of Islam. So we can say there is no real deen, real religion. There's no real deen without ma'un.

So it's very important for us to remember that. In this month of Ramadan, we want to rush, as we said last time, to please Allah by helping others. By taking care of the needs of others. If you're thirsty, if you're hungry, many people are thirsty and hungry who need help. That is one point that I wanted to share with you.

The Spirit of Surat An-Nahl

In this month, you want to be having the spirit of Surat An-Nahl. An-Nahl is the bee. So you want to have the spirit of the bee. What is Surat An-Nahl about? Surat An-Nahl is about being thankful to Allah.

And that's where we find the verse that says:

If you count the ni'mas of Allah, you will never be able to count it. Because Allah has many blessings upon us over here. Therefore, when you look at the model of the bee, as illustrated in Surat An-Nahl, takes the flower, takes all the good food, you know:

Go, take from the trees, from the people's house, you know, eat from the fruits, from the flowers, from here and there, and then produce the honey that is a cure for people. As Allah described to us, illustrated to us in Surat An-Nahl.

So the symbol here, the model here, the bee takes the ni'mah of Allah, the blessings of Allah and turn it into something useful. You want to do the same in the month of Ramadan. You have the ni'mahs that Allah gave you, Allah offered you good money for example, good wealth, take part of this wealth and help other people with that wealth.

You want to process, whatever ni'mah you have, blessings comes to you from Allah. In return, take this ni'mah, turn it into something useful as the bee does. And that is a very important metaphor.

The Example of Ibrahim

At the end of Surat An-Nahl, Allah gave us the example of Ibrahim. Ibrahim is a good model of the person, of the Prophet who is thankful to Allah. He is the only Prophet that is mentioned in Surat An-Nahl and you read in Surat An-Nahl about Ibrahim and how he was thankful to Allah and you read there in verses 120 to 122:

Ibrahim by himself was an ummah. Qanitan lillah, standing at night, making praying, Hanifan, always the Hanif is the one who is always inclined to doing the good, ولم يك من المشركين, and he was not from the mushriks.

شاكرا لأنعمه, he was thankful to the bounties of Allah upon him. That's what we want to do. And in return, Allah said, Allah guided him to a Sirat al Mustaqim, وآتيناه في الدنيا حسنة, and we give him a hasana in this life, وإنه في الآخرة لمن الصالحين, and in al-akhirah he will be from as-salihin.

So Ibrahim كان أمة, number one, قانتا لله, number two, حنيفا, number three, ولم يك من المشركين, number four, شاكرا لأنعمه, number five, اجتباه, number six, وهداه, number seven, وآتيناه في الدنيا حسنة, number eight, وإنه في الآخرة لمن الصالحين, nine descriptions of the person who is thankful and grateful to Allah, acting like the bee.

You want to follow the model of an-nahl, the model of Ibrahim alayhi salam, is an important model for all of us.

The Spirit of Surat Al-Adiyat

In this month, you want to have the spirit of Surat al-Adiyat. Al-Adiyat, the running, refers to the horse. So why would Allah make a whole chapter about the horse in the Qur'an, what's the significance of that? A very important for us to understand the significance in the month of Ramadan, that is very important for us and beautiful to learn.

So Allah said:

The horse who runs panting and that shows the sparks when they're running through the middle of the battle and then they attack early in the morning and then suddenly they are in the middle of the dust and then suddenly in the middle of the battlefield. Why is the horse doing all of that? Why is the horse endangering his life? That is a very important question because the horse is grateful to his master, obedient to his master, appreciating his master.

That gratefulness is very important. So do you want to be like a horse? Yes, absolutely, in being grateful to my master. Look at the verse that came after the description of the horse. Allah said:

Indeed the human being to his Lord is surely ungrateful unlike the horse who is grateful to his master. So follow the model of the horse who is grateful to his master and be grateful to your own master which is Allah. And indeed the human being is a witness, is indeed a witness to his nature and he loves material things so much that those who believe in the month of Ramadan they always show gratefulness to their Lord, Allah.

The Spirit of As-Saffat

You also in this month, you want to follow the spirit of as-Saffat. What does as-Saffat mean here and how is it significant to us in the month of Ramadan? A whole chapter is called as-Saffat, referring to the angels. And if you recall in surat al-Fajr, Allah said وجاء ربك والملك صفا صفا Allah came in the day of judgement and the angels are standing in rows.

We read also:

In surat al-Saff, Allah loves those who fight for his sake in lines, united together in lines. So as-Saffat, as Allah said also in surat al-Saffat:

And indeed we are as-Saffun, standing in lines ready to carry out any order that comes to us from Allah. And indeed we are al-Musabbihun, that make tasbih to Allah and that is very important for us.

The Test of Ibrahim and Ismail

So very significant story comes to us in surat al-Saffat that shows us how you know the human being was able to reach the level of as-Saffat, the angels who are you know they have full obedience to Allah. Whenever an order is given to them they carry it out with no hesitation, they carry out with no question asked. Who among the prophets that are mentioned in the Qur'an faced a very difficult request and order and he carried it out with no hesitation, with no question asked? That was Ibrahim alayhis salaam and his son Ismail and that is very significant to us when Allah ordered him to slaughter his son.

When Ibrahim grew old and Ismail grew up. When he grew up and Ibrahim was looking forward to have a son when he was old and Allah gave him Ismail and when he grew up after this blessing came to him he saw in a dream that he slaughter his son and said to his son, oh my son I see in a dream that I slaughter you and look into the response of his son, he said to his father, oh my father do whatever Allah orders you.

Both of them were ready to carry out the order of Allah with no question asked, the most difficult order one can ever have. They didn't say oh that's a dream, they didn't say oh daddy you should not do that, oh daddy that's ridiculous, no don't do that. Now how come you want to kill me? None of them uttered any word like that and they were ready to carry out the order of Allah and look into how beautifully Allah described their stand and their action.

Allah said:

When they submitted themselves to Allah, aslama, the verb is aslam, aslama for both, two of them. So that is really the meaning of Islam, when you fully submit yourself to Allah, carry out the order of Allah with no hesitation, with no question asked, you declared Islam. That is the word that means aslama.

So when you carry out the order of Allah with no hesitation, no question asked and ready and you believe that it is the best for you, you declared Islam, the word for that aslama.

And then فلما أسلما وتله للجبين, and when they reached that level, Allah said وناديناه أن يا إبراهيم قد صدقت الرؤيا, and a call to Ibrahim from Allah said you fulfilled the dream and now we replace your son with a lamb that takes his place.

What a beautiful meaning, what a way to look at Islam and the meaning of Islam and the submission to Allah in the month of Ramadan. You say وعجلت إليك ربي لترضى.