Joe Bradford - 3-7-25

The Sacred Month and the Divine Banquet

To have occurred in which the laws of the universe and the events of earth were transformed was an event that happened by the permission of Allah. One that brought about purity, tranquility, tolerance, and joy. It immersed humanity in peace and forgiveness and mercy. It washed the sins away from the believers, elevated the ranks of the pious, and opened the treasuries of divine mercy to the righteous.

It encourages the best of character and guides everyone to generosity. Ramadan is the sacred month of the righteous. It's an honored guest that Allah sends us.

Through our fasts, we step away from the busyness of life. And we step into the obedience of Allah. And we find respite in our spiritual seclusion.

We spend this time responding to the noble invitation from رب العالمين, from the Lord of the worlds, who has prepared a great banquet for us. Filled with countless blessings. It's narrated that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu said, القرآن مأدبة الله The Qur'an is Allah's banquet.

Allah has prepared this banquet for us in the month of Ramadan. So that we might benefit from it. Through goodness, forgiveness, liberation from the hellfire, and the bestowing of His divine grace.

Reconnecting with the Qur'an

It's fitting in Ramadan that we reconnect with the Qur'an. As the Qur'an is the fountain of wisdom and the sign of truth. The Qur'an is the message of guidance and a light for our hearts and our minds.

Those who take the Qur'an as a companion, who reflect upon it day and night, will soon find that their aspirations are met, and find themselves amongst the righteous companions. We all profess to love the Qur'an, and we loudly proclaim this. Yet the love for the Qur'an that we claim to have, is not merely something we should say.

It's not empty words that are carried off by the wind. Rather the love of the Qur'an must be lived. Your love of the Qur'an must be a lived reality.

One that you experience within yourself and your family at every moment of your life. Many of the salaf used to say, I know the extent of my own sins, by the reaction that I see from my own family, even my own horse. Many of our teachers used to say, that when a person finds difficulty in their life, and those that they live with and around, it's because of their lack of proximity, it's because of their distance from the words of Allah.

Scholars' Testimony to the Qur'an's Importance

Scholars of Islam, the pious and the righteous, have unanimously agreed that the only way to remedy the condition of the Muslim Ummah, is to mend their connection with their faith, through their connection to the Qur'an. Scholars and righteous figures from around the world, have echoed this truth. Their calls are not merely warnings and expressions of longing for success, or for honor.

But they remind us as Muslims, that the only way to improve our situation, is by following the words of Allah, and implementing the teachings of the Qur'an in our life. Dr. Mustafa Simai, he once said, If Muslims embody the morals of the Qur'an, they would attract attention to its magnificence, more effectively than a thousand organizations, and a thousand speeches, and a thousand books. One of the scholars of Morocco, Al-Bushikhi, he said, There's nothing more important in the life of the Ummah than the Qur'an.

It must become the foundation of its education, and moral and character development. My advice to you, oh Muslims, is to focus on the Qur'an, and the entirety of divine revelation. Al-Imam Al-Zarqani, may Allah have mercy on him, he said, Our righteous predecessors succeeded us in their relationship with the Qur'an, despite their small numbers, their harsh living conditions, and the scarcity of written copies of the Qur'an, and tools of preservation.

Today, we have the Qur'an readily available to us. Today, many Muslims have the Qur'an readily available, but they have settled for merely reciting its words, chanting its melodies, memorizing its letters, while neglecting to reflect upon its meanings, and implement its teachings. They have forgotten, or chosen to forget, that the greatest mission of the Qur'an, is to be pondered upon, and acted upon.

A book that we have sent down to you, blessed, so that you may reflect upon its verses, and so that people of innermost core will be reminded. Shaykh Muhammad Rashid Rida in his Tafsir, he commented, if Muslims of every era were to truly contemplate the Qur'an, and be guided by it, their morals would not have become corrupted, their values would not have decayed, and they would not have become dependent on others for their livelihood.

A Western Scholar's Journey to Islam

Professor Gary Miller, the Canadian professor of mathematics and logic, was once a Christian missionary. He read the Qur'an with the express purpose of finding errors and contradictions that he thought would be inherent to the book. Saying to himself that a book that was written 1400 years ago, must have some inconsistencies that I can use. He expected the Qur'an to speak about the desert, the life of the Arabs, their customs.

But he was astonished by what he found. The Qur'an contained knowledge unlike any other book in the world. He expected the Qur'an to talk about Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, to talk about the events of his life, to talk about the death of his wife, or his sons, or his daughters.

But that was not the case. To his amazement, he found an entire chapter named Surat Maryam, the chapter of Mary, which contained honor and reverence for Mary that exceeded any other revealed book. There was no chapter named the chapter of Aisha, or the chapter of Fatima, or of any of the other wives or daughters of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

He also found that Jesus, peace be upon him, was mentioned by name more than 24 times, while Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is only mentioned in the Qur'an 4 times. Professor Miller was shaken by this verse:

Do they not then reflect on the Qur'an? Had it been from other than Allah, then they would have found in it much discrepancy. After his research in the Qur'an, he concluded, saying one well-known scientific principle is finding and investigating errors in scientific theories until their correctness is proven.

But astonishingly, the Qur'an invites both Muslims and non-Muslims. Indeed it invites both jinn and human to try and find errors in it. Yet they will not find any.

He continued, there is no author in the world who possess the courage to write a book and then say, this book is free from errors. But the Qur'an does the opposite. It says, there are no errors. It offers you the challenge to search for them. And you will not find any. This is only possible if it is beyond human will. And a revelation from the heavens. He then embraced Islam and became a preacher of Islam to his best ability.

Great Scholars' Dedication to the Qur'an

Al-Imam al-Qurtubi rahimahu allahu ta'ala, explaining the reasons for writing his voluminous tafsir, one of the largest tafsirs written. This famous scholar of Spain, he said, The book of Allah is the guarantor of all of the disciplines of the sharia. It was brought down by a heavenly trustworthy guardian, and given to an earthly trustworthy guardian. And I saw it my duty to dedicate my life to its study and to its explanation.

Likewise, the great scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahu allahu ta'ala, spent his entire life in the service of Islam. Calling to righteousness, teaching, writing, and engaging in jihad. Despite his vast contributions, despite the number of different types of good deeds and righteousness that he fulfilled throughout his life, while he was imprisoned in the fortress of Cairo, he expressed regret, saying, My only regret, my only regret is the time that I wasted in pursuits, other than understanding the meanings of the Qur'an.

Al-Imam al-Dhahabi, the famous historian, he says about Ibn Taymiyyah, He was unique in his era in knowledge, in bravery, in intellect, in divine insight, in generosity, and in sincere advice to the ummah. A man like him would never regret anything except for something of great significance. This reminder from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, is addressed to scholars, and preachers, and thinkers, and intellectuals, and to the general public, to pause and reflect on the meanings of the Qur'an, to uncover the treasures of the Qur'an, to explore its endless wonders, to live with the Qur'an, and to reassess their relationship with it.

It is a call to live according to its teachings, to exert effort in contemplating its meanings, and to stand in awe before its verses. One of the great scholars of Algeria, known as al-Bashir al-Ibrahimi rahimahullah ta'ala, he once asked, Why don't we embrace the Qur'an as we should? Why don't we improve our relationship with the Qur'an? After all, it was the Qur'an that elevated the early generations of this community to the highest levels of civilization. It set the standards of justice, ensuring everything was in its rightful place.

It instilled in man's soul divine manners, ensuring that everyone stood firmly in their place without overstepping. What is more astonishing than a person deaf to the Qur'an's message, blind to its beauty, and heedless to its wisdom? How can someone not listen to the words of their Creator, and then fail to reflect upon their meeting? This Ramadan, may Allah give us the ability to take this opportunity to evaluate our relationship with His book, and to become people of the Qur'an as He wants us to be.

The Prophet's Generosity in Ramadan

As narrated from Aisha as well as others:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

The Prophet was the most generous of people, and the most generous that he would be would be in Ramadan when Jibreel would come to him and study the Qur'an with him and review the Qur'an with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous than a blowing wind.

This shows us that when we realize the importance of the Qur'an in our lives when we realize the importance of the spiritual environment that we find ourselves in in the month of Ramadan when we're left with nothing but ourselves and the Book of Allah then it is high time for us to contemplate our relationship with the Book of Allah and that should bring about a change in our actions and it should bring about a sense of generosity where we give and care for others that we make sure that others are able to also see the beauty of the Qur'an also hear the words of Allah.

Supporting the Islamic Center

And in this vein today we want to ask all of you that come here to the Islamic Dawah Center to donate generously for the support and the care of this center the programs that are put on here at this center throughout the year many of them most people wouldn't even think of but the center serves thousands every year of Muslims as well as non-Muslims giving us the opportunity to pray here while working downtown giving people the opportunity to come and learn about the faith in an environment which is conducive to the beauty and the honor of Islam and the honor of the Book of Allah.

You will see QR codes after the salah I encourage everyone to give generously as the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was the most generous and may Allah accept from all of you your siyam and your qiyam and your sadaqah.

Closing Du'as

O Allah forgive us of our sins and make our feet firm and our transgressions and our affairs and if you do not forgive us and have mercy upon us then we will truly be at a loss.

O Allah this is the month of the Qur'an grant us the bounty to make us amongst the people of the Qur'an ya rabbal alameen.