On Ramadan and Fasting

Opening

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuhu. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuhu. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is no god but Allah. All praise is due to Allah.

Standard Khutba Opening

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

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims. (Quran 3:102)

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَق مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا

And from that soul created its mate. And from those two spread many men and many women. And be mindful of the wombs that bore you, and be mindful of those you ask your rights from. For indeed Allah is ever watchful over you. (Quran 4:1)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and speak the truth. He will guide you to righteous deeds and forgive you of your sins. And whomsoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has achieved the greatest achievement. (Quran 33:70-71)

The best of speech is Allah's speech. And the best of guidance is Muhammad's guidance, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the worst of things are those newly introduced, and everything newly introduced into faith is an innovation, and every innovation goes astray, and everything which goes astray leads one to the hellfire. And that which was promised will come to pass, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it.

The Prescription of Fasting

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

O you who believe, fasting was prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those who came before you, so that you can perhaps gain mindfulness of Him. (Quran 2:183)

Last time we spoke about the chief duty of each Muslim is to try and realize the mindfulness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through their fast, while they're fasting. Rich or poor, young or old, male or female, we all have the duty to try and disconnect our hearts from everything around us, and to connect them to the Lord of the worlds, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Importance of Ramadan Acts

It's because of this that the things that we do in Ramadan, the acts that we do are very important. Each one of us has a daily ritual. We have things that we do day in and day out while we fast. And all of these should pour into the topic of bringing about mindfulness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Mindfulness of God and understanding our connection to Him. Last time we mentioned the Hadith Qudsi.

The Hadith Qudsi on Fasting

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Himself says:

كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَهُ إِلَّا الصِّيَامَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ يَدَعُ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِي

All of the acts of the children of Adam are for themselves, except for fasting. For it is for Me and I alone reward it, when a person leaves off their food and their drink for My sake. (Bukhari hadith 1904)

And the Hadith Qudsi, the Hadith which is the private conversations between Allah and His Messenger, which is not from the Quran. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم narrates to us the meanings of those conversations. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the Prophet, He said, All of the acts of the children of Adam are for themselves, except for fasting. For it is for Me and I alone reward it, when a person leaves off their food and their drink for My sake.

Why We Leave Off Food and Drink

Why do we leave off our food and our drink for His sake? Because fasting is an act in which no one uses it to try and get close to any person of prominence or power. People never used fasting for their idols. They would give food to their idols. They would engage in festivals for them. They would worship other than Allah through the material, whereas we worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through leaving off that which is material.

Because there are two things that make up our fast, an intention and an abstention. We intend that our hearts are tied to Him subhanahu wa ta'ala throughout the entire day. And we intend, because of that, to then leave off all of the other things that could be consumed during that time.

So we abstain from food and drink as a precursor to train our souls to abstain from its basest desires and its lesser desires. So every single thing that we do in the month of fasting should be guided by the guidance of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and allow our daily rituals to become those that show us the cyclical nature of life and how it all leads back in the end to being held accountable by our Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Fasting as a Shield

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

الصِّيَامُ جُنَّةٌ

Fasting is a shield. (Bukhari hadith 1904)

When you fast, you are naturally building up resistance. You are allowing yourself to affirm that you have the willpower to change. You're allowing yourself the resistance to affirm that you have the willpower to change and to make even drastic changes in your life.

The Ability to Change Through Fasting

Some of us don't fast a day until the very first day of Ramadan. And then, because of our intention and our desire to please Allah, we're able to fast the entire day, go without food and drink. From the elderly to small children.

Why are we able to do that? We're able to do that because of our connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the first thing that we have to make part of our Ramadan ritual is the idea of restraint and allow it to teach us that we have the ability through our connection to Allah to change the situation that we're in, to change our personal condition, that we are not deterministic in life. No one has tied our hands and determined for us what can and cannot be.

Tomorrow, the only one who has done that is Allah Himself. But He hasn't given us knowledge of the unseen. So we cannot be so afraid of the unknown future that we sit and wallow in the past, wallow in our mistakes, wallow in the wrong that we've done to ourselves and others. You can always change for the better. All it takes is a sincere intention and then moving forward with actions.

Three Types of Fasts

Scholars of Islam say that there are three types of fasts. There are three levels of fasting.

1. The Ordinary Fast

One of them is the ordinary fast, where one of us leaves off food, drink, their desires, intimacy with their spouse. We leave that off. And you can fast this type of fast and not gain any other spiritual or moral or emotional lessons from it. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

إِذَا أَصْبَحَ أَحَدُكُمْ يَوْمًا صَائِمًا فَلَا يَرْفُثْ وَلَا يَصْخَبْ فَإِنْ سَابَّهُ أَحَدٌ أَوْ قَاتَلَهُ فَلْيَقُلْ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ إِنِّي صَائِمٌ

Bukhari and Muslims narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that when one of you awakes in the morning fasting, then he should not speak ill, lewdly to others, nor should he be ignorant with others. And if anyone comes and curses him or fights with him, then he should just say, I'm fasting, I'm fasting. (Bukhari hadith 1904)

Allow the abstention of food and drink and other desires to be a lesson to you that you have the willpower and the ability to change your life for the positive and that you will not be sucked in by the negativity of other people.

Dealing with Shaytan During Ramadan

Notice that Allah جل جلاله says about Shaytan:

إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ

Indeed, My true servants, you have no power over them, Allah says to Shaytan, except for those who follow you from amongst the misguided. (Quran 15:42)

So ask yourself, in a month, when the Shayateen have been locked up, Shayateen al-Jinn have been locked up, and you're only facing Shayateen al-'Ins, you're only facing evil people, nefarious people from mankind. Now you have your known enemy right face to face. It's now your choice. What are the actions that you're going to do? What are the decisions that you're going to make? Are you going to allow yourself to speak ill, to say wrong things, to be ignorant with people? Are you going to allow others to drag you into that type of negativity? It starts with a choice.

You've started the day off with the right intention, now you have to keep making that intention throughout the day. You have to keep and remain cognizant of the fact that it's not just about the food and the drink, but it's more than that. It's a reformation of your heart.

The Higher Level of Fasting

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ قَوْلَ الزُّورِ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهِ وَالْجَهْلَ فَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ حَاجَةٌ أَنْ يَدَعَ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ

Whoever does not leave off false statements and ignorance and acting accordingly to those, then Allah has no need of him to leave off his food and his drink. (Bukhari hadith 6057)

So when we develop this character of restraint, it should bring us to a higher level of consciousness, which is the second level, not the ordinary fast, but the extraordinary fast.

2. The Extraordinary Fast

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, as narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, authenticated by Ibn Hajar, al-Albani rahimahumullah, that he said:

كَمْ مِنْ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صَوْمِهِ إِلَّا الْجُوعُ وَالْعَطَشُ وَكَمْ مِنْ قَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلَّا السَّهَرُ وَالتَّعَبُ

How many people only get out of their fast? Thirst. And how many people only get out of their standing in prayer? Fatigue. (Ahmad hadith 8693)

Ask yourself, what is it that you want out of the fast? Do you want something greater? You can leave off the food. You might not fast, but you have good character. When you put them together, you get the extraordinary fast, the highest level of the fast that allows you to revel in the remembrance of Allah in the face of the evil that you face off with everyday, whether it be from your own heart.

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

Indeed, we have created man, and we know what his own soul whispers to him. We are closer to him than his jugular. (Quran 50:16)

The Power of Dhikr

Whether it is the evil that you face from your own heart, or the evil that you face from others, by allowing your abstention from food and drink and your higher consciousness that come together, you can revel in the remembrance of Allah that will help you avoid all of those things. Allah says:

أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Is it not with the remembrance of Allah that hearts feel tranquility? (Quran 13:28)

Remembrance is a key factor in Ramadan, a dhikr, remembering Allah. Whether that be in reciting the Quran, whether that be in remembering Him in His names and His attributes and saying things like SubhanAllah, whether it be simply the act of consciousness and abstaining from engaging with others and engaging in only good things during Ramadan, all of these forms of dhikr are things that we have to take to heart.

The Month of Quran

Allah says:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ

The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed. Guidance for mankind. (Quran 2:185)

Note that Allah says this, guidance for mankind. Here He didn't say guidance for the Muslims, guidance for the believers, guidance for mankind. How will people know what guidance is for mankind if they're not fasting and they don't read the Quran? By the messengers of the Messenger of Allah, which are you. Each and every one of you has the mission and you have been tasked, you have a charge that you live your life in accordance with the word of Allah so that the words of Allah reach those that live around you. They see that in your actions. Aisha radiallahu anha was asked about the character of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. She said:

كَانَ خُلُقُهُ الْقُرْآنَ

His character was the Quran. (Muslim hadith 746)

Some ulama used to say, it's as if he was the Quran walking. He was the embodiment of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wanted from us.

Remembrance and Self-Recognition

Remembrance of Allah brings us to another key point and that is recognizing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's favor over us and recognizing the wrong that we do to ourselves. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the hadith Qudsi:

أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي

I am, as my slave assumes me to be. And I am with him when he remembers me. (Bukhari hadith 7405)

Understanding that you don't have to give in to your feelings of worthlessness. You don't have to give in to your feelings of inadequacy. You don't have to give in to your feelings of fatigue or laziness. Watch the vernacular, the verbiage, the words that you use during Ramadan. I'm so tired. I can't pull through. It's so difficult. When we use that type of language, we're automatically not recognizing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had given us the strength to get to that point at that time.

Changing Our Language

Change the phrases that you use. Say, Alhamdulillah, the day is half over. Alhamdulillah, we have one more half of the day to go. Alhamdulillah, I'm waiting for Iftar. When you use the remembrance of Allah and the recognition of His blessings that are either now or that you're waiting for, then your whole outlook on life can change. Just by training yourself during the day time of Ramadan to be able to recognize Allah's blessings.

The Sunnah of Iftar

And when you get to the time of Iftar, this is the time when the sunnah was to recognize the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, it's narrated that he would make different ad'ia while he would make Iftar:

ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ

He used to say, Our thirst has gone and our veins have been satiated and our reward, God willing, has been established. (Abu Dawud hadith 2357)

Recognizing that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rewards good deeds.

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ صُمْتُ وَعَلَى رِزْقِكَ أَفْطَرْتُ

This has been narrated as well. Although as a hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم there's some slight weakness. But it's narrated from the Salaf that he used to make this dua. Oh Allah, for you I have fasted and I have broken my fast on your sustenance. (Abu Dawud hadith 2358)

So recognizing the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala helps you move throughout the day during Ramadan. Whether it be through the daytime or looking forward to the Iftar that comes at the end.

The Blessing of Suhoor

And then going back to the circle of life, when we get down to the morning again, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he said:

تَسَحَّرُوا فَإِنَّ فِي السُّحُورِ بَرَكَةً

Take your morning meal because there is blessing in your morning meal. (Bukhari hadith 1923)

Gathering, whether we gather at Iftar time or we gather at Suhoor time, there's great blessing in recognizing that we start the day off with a new intention. With a new resolve to make that day better than the one that was before it. A lot of us when we start Ramadan we start strong and then we kind of wane and fade into existence when it comes towards the end of the month, right? That happens. Instead, let's start slow and build up strong. Why? Because we want that joy that comes at the end of each day and we want that joy that comes at the end of the month.

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

I say what you hear and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and for you and for all Muslims from every sin, so seek His forgiveness, indeed He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Part of Khutba

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى مَنْ لَا نَبِيَّ بَعْدَهُ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

All praise is due to Allah alone and may His peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, His family and all of those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.

The Two Joys of the Fasting Person

Each one of us should look forward to the joyous occasion that happens at the end of every day, our Iftar. We should start our day off strong knowing that we're empowering ourselves with the barakah that Allah جل جلاله has placed in our morning meal looking forward in the month. Not starting strong and weakening but starting off at the beginning and finishing strong.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

لِلصَّائِمِ فَرْحَتَانِ فَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ

The fasting person has two joyous occasions. One of them is when he breaks his fast and the other one is when he meets his Lord. (Bukhari hadith 1904)

So we might have feelings of spirituality, of heightened emotions, of happiness, of being able to eat and drink.

The Sunnah of Breaking the Fast

And there are sunnah that go along with iftar and suhoor. I think it's important that I mention here that we have a bad habit in our community where we have so much doubt about our own fast, we delay breaking our fast. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had said that:

لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا عَجَّلُوا الْفِطْرَ وَأَخَّرُوا السُّحُورَ

That there will always be good amongst people when they break their fast quickly and when they make their suhoor later. (Bukhari hadith 1957)

What do we do now? We stop half an hour before it's time for fajr, right? And then we almost... Some people wait 15, 20, 30 minutes after the time of maghrib. The sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is that as soon as the adhan is called to break his fast. Why? Because you should be eager to take the dispensation and to do what Allah wants you to do at that moment and that is, feel the joy of accomplishing that day. Don't allow yourself to get stuck in the self-doubt. Don't allow yourself to say, I'm not sure, maybe at that time when the adhan is called, that's the time to break your fast.

The Second Joy: Meeting Allah

The second joy that we get from our fasting is when we meet Allah جل جلاله. And this is described perhaps in one of the greatest descriptions of meeting Allah جل جلاله in the sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And we should not... We should want the reward of the people mentioned in this hadith but we should not want to have to get to that point to seek that reward.

He صلى الله عليه وسلم said, and the hadith is narrated in Bukhari by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri as well as Abu Hurairah, that on the day of judgment, after all have interceded:

شَفَعَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَشَفَعَ النَّبِيُّونَ وَشَفَعَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَقِيَ أَنَا أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

When the angels have interceded, and the prophets have interceded, and the believers have interceded, then Allah جل جلاله will say, no one is left but the most merciful of the merciful. (Bukhari hadith 7439)

He then جل جلاله will reach into the hellfire and pull out a handful of people who had never done any good. Their bodies had become so charred at the fires of hell that they became like bricks of charcoal.

فَيُلْقِيهِمْ فِي نَهَرٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ يُسَمَّى نَهَرَ الْحَيَاةِ

He will then throw them into a river in Jannah which is called the river of life. (Bukhari hadith 7439)

They will then be tossed around until they hit one of the shores of the river like a seed is tossed around in floodwaters until it's casted onto a rock or a tree. What faces the sun turns green and the other side does not. They'll then come out of the shallow waters of that river looking bright and magnificent like pearls and around their necks will be pendants and the people will say:

هَؤُلَاءِ عُتَقَاءُ الرَّحْمَنِ أَدْخَلَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ عَمِلُوهُ وَلَا خَيْرٍ قَدَّمُوهُ

Those are those who were freed from the hellfire by the Most Merciful. They entered into paradise not with any good deeds that they had done or any actions they had done or any good that they had put forth. (Bukhari hadith 7439)

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will then say to them:

ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَكُمْ مَا شِئْتُمْ

Enter into Jannah and you shall have whatever you will and whatever you want. (Bukhari hadith 7439)

They will say Oh Allah, is there anything better than this in all of the worlds? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says I have even better in store for you. And they will say And what could possibly be better than all of this that you have given us in Jannah? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say to them:

أُحِلُّ عَلَيْكُمْ رِضْوَانِي فَلَا أَسْخَطُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَعْدَهُ أَبَدًا

On this day, I will give you my rizwan, my pleasure and never be displeased with you ever. (Bukhari hadith 7439)

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from those people or even better.

Closing Du'a

May Allah forgive us our sins. May Allah write for us your rizwan, O Lord of the worlds. May Allah forgive us of our sins and allow us to be recipients of your pleasure, O Lord of the worlds. May Allah write for us your pleasure, O Lord of the worlds. May Allah guide our sons and daughters, our wives and our husbands, our fathers and our mothers, our ancestors, O Lord of the worlds.

Oh Allah guide us and guide our sons and guide our daughters, guide our wives and our husbands, guide our mothers and our fathers, our grandparents and our grandmothers. Oh Allah guide our co-workers and guide our neighbors, guide this community that we live in and guide all communities around the world. Oh Allah guide us and guide our sons and guide our daughters, guide this community that we live in and guide all communities around the world.