Reconnecting with Allah in Ramadan

Reconnecting with Allah in Ramadan

Shaykh Navaid Aziz | Miftaah Circle

Opening

(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ - assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh)

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

The Verse in the Middle of Ramadan Verses

The verse in Surah Al-Baqarah in the middle of the verses of Ramadan in the middle of the verses of fasting and I want to set up the Land or the lay of the land for this verse. Where some of the companions they came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and they said ya rasool Allah aqaribun rabbuna fanunajiyahu anbaidun fanunadiyahu That is our Lord close so that we can have a private intimate conversation with him or is our Lord far away that we need to call out upon him and Then Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala revealed this verse.

Now what we want to look at over here my dear brothers and sisters is how did this verse get into the middle of the verses of the verses of Ramadan and the verses of fasting. As we all know my dear brothers and sisters the month of Ramadan is transformational. People that did not pray are now praying people that did not fast are now fasting people that were distant from the deen are now coming back and that is the month when people re-evaluate their relationship with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala and that is how this verse actually fits in.

So each and every one of us is required in this month of Ramadan to re-evaluate their relationship with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. They need to ask themselves. Where do I stand with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala? It's phenomenal if you look at the analysis of our predecessors. They said that if you want to look at your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Look at where you stand with his speech with his book with making dua to him. How big of a priority is it for you to pray on time? All of those things are indicative of our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala.

The Nature of True Faith

So in this month of Ramadan when we are reassessing our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala It's not about the way that we feel. Feelings will always change. Sometimes you will eat or drink something. It will make you feel good. Sometimes you'll either drink something It'll make you feel bad that doesn't change your Iman whatsoever. Your Iman is based upon the deeds that you do the deeds that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala grants Tawfiq for only to those whom he loves.

If you were to leave with nothing from this conference My dear brothers and sisters except for this one statement: Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala gives the dunya to everyone Muslim and non Muslim, but he only gives the deen He only gives Ibadah to those whom he loves and if Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has guided you to that This is indicative of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala love for you.

And this is why it is so important to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala When Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala gives us the blessing of worshipping him Particularly in this month of Ramadan. This is why imam ash-shafi'i rahimahullah He says that if Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has guided you to gratitude This is a blessing within of itself that deserves further gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala.

The Promise of Allah's Response

And that is what we need to focus on now what I wanted to share with you My dear brothers and sisters building on this topic of dua when Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says Call upon me and I will answer you.

What does that mean? Exactly:

That your Lord has proclaimed call upon me and I will answer you. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was once with his companions Encouraging them increase in your dua frequently make dua For surely Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala will answer your dua in one of three ways:

1. Either he gives you what you want when you want it

2. Or He delays it till a time that it is better for you

3. Or in fact what you're asking for is not good for you at all so Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala withholds from you what you're asking for but he averts from your life an equal amount of evil and Magnifies your reward

The Three Responses from Allah

Now. Let's look at these three responses from Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala:

Number one: You get what you want when you want it. Allahu akbar. Isn't that the ideal situation? Isn't that what we all want? But let us focus on some of the words of our predecessors that said if Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala gave you everything that you wanted when You wanted it Who would be the master and who would be the slave? At the end of the day, we are the slaves of Allah. If Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala answers our dua This is a benevolence and kindness from our master upon us And we should not develop the mindset that every time I call upon Allah I need to be answered in the fashion that I want at the time that I want. Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is in control.

Number two: Building upon this very sentiment Omar radiallahu ta'ala anhu he used to say Oh Allah I do not know what is good for me. You only know what is good for me And this is why sometimes when we're making dua for something We may want it so badly, but now is not the time to get it. You wanted to get a particular job. You want to get into a particular program? You want to get married to a particular person? Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala knows that if those things were to happen that perhaps it would take you away from Allah It would take you away from the Dean. You're not strong enough to handle the tests and trials that come with that gift So Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala delays it till a time that it is better for you.

And then the third one: That what you're asking for is not good for you And this is why it is so important to have a deep rooted Iman in the Qatar of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Because when that test comes and you keep making dua and your dua isn't being answered and you start wondering what am I doing wrong But we forget to think that perhaps there is no good in what I'm asking for and thus I have not to being granted it.

The Mountains of Reward

Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah, he shares something very profound He says people will show up on the Day of Judgment with mountains of reward and they will be perplexed They will ask Oh Allah. Where did this reward come from? We do not remember any grand dose of deed that we did that we would deserve such a reward and Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Reminds them that this is the reward of your patience When you made dua and it was not answered.

Now what will the people respond at that time? Will they be like shucks? We wish our duas were answered not at all They respond. Oh Allah. We wish none of our duas were answered That will be the response because that is the beauty of the qadar of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala That is the beauty of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is generosity He always gives us better than we asked for and more than we asked for and when he doesn't give us he replaces it with something Much much better than we can even possibly imagine.

And he concludes rahimahullah with this beautiful statement that if you lived your whole entire life making dua to Allah and not a single Dua was answered. You're still in a privileged position. What is that? That you can live your life Saying that you are living a life of purpose You have fulfilled your purpose of creation and worshiping Allah through making dua to him Even if he didn't answer your duas and this is something that the vast majority of mankind Cannot say in truth that they're living their lives filled with purpose.

The Story of Adam and Iblis

Now what I want to conclude my lecture my with my dear brothers and sisters before we break for salatul maghrib is This simple story of Adam and Iblis. We're all familiar with it both Adam and Iblis made dua to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Adam alayhi salam.

He made a mistake. He didn't know how to repent He asked Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala to guide him out of repent and Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala taught him the dua:

Iblis he made a mistake and he doubled down He too made dua and he said:

That my Lord give me respite till the day of judgment Both of them make dua. Let's analyze these duas:

Adam alayhi salam when he makes dua to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. It is focused on spirituality. It is focused on his akhira It's focused on forgiveness Iblis when he makes dua, it's purely based upon the life of this world and this teaches us that the prophetic model of making dua is focusing on your akhira and Balance in making dua is how Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala teaches us to make dua with:

That our Lord grant us the best of this life the best of the next and save us from the punishment of the hellfire Two-thirds of your dua is for your akhira one-third of it is for the dunya and that is the guideline that we should follow in all of our duas.

Then the satanic model is to only make dua for your dunya And this is something important to look at because it's such a noble act But there's still a satanic model affiliated with it That you only ask Allah for a better job for a better house for a better car for a better spouse and everything related to This dunya, but you do not ask Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala for jannah or protection from jahannam or for forgiveness All of that is neglected and what a shame that is when you ask from a generous Lord That is willing to give you whatever you ask for So never be like the followers of shaitaan that will only make dua for their dunya and will not care about their akhira.

Attitudes After Making Dua

Number two look at their attitude after they've made dua Adam alayhis salaam he repented and he focused on his improvement wanting to be the best slave of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala possible Iblis makes his dua hasn't answered and Neglects and forgets about Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala, and I want us to be genuine and authentic with ourselves right now and Focus on ourselves for just a moment when Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala answers our duas Does this increase us in our worship and we follow the footsteps of our forefather father Adam alayhis salaam? Or when Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala answers our dua We become heedless and neglectful till the next time we need Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala This is something to focus on the true slave of Allah will constantly call upon Allah in prosperity and in adversity The individual that follows the footsteps of shaitaan will only call upon in moments of adversity.

Direct Connection with Allah

Number three is Both Adam and Iblis recognized their direct connection with Allah Adam alayhis salaam He wants his dua answered. He doesn't go to the angels and say Oh angels intercede for me He doesn't say Oh angels make dua for me that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala forgives me.

He approached Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala directly Iblis Likewise with his knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala He didn't go to Adam and say you are the first of Allah's creation Allah has forgiven you You're a pious man make dua for me intercede for me He too approached Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala directly and that is what knowledge does The beauty of our faith is our direct connection with Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala that when we

ask of Allah Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is always Near we just need to call out the Prophet of Allah understood this and the worst of Allah's creation Understood this and we need to understand this as well.

Allah's Generosity to All

And the last point I want to share with you And this is perhaps the most important point of these four points that we can understand why Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala answered the dua of Adam alayhi salam a Nabi of Allah a prophet of Allah a righteous man repented is fixing his ways But why does Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala answer the dua of Iblis? There is no righteousness in him left Why does he answer it and This is the mistake that we make when we make dua it becomes so transactional that oh Allah. I've been righteous I've been good answer my dua, please Forgetting that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is shy Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is shy To turn away the hands of his slave empty-handed Allahu Akbar That is not about us.

It is about the generosity and kindness of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala so in our moments of despair in our moments of sin in our moments of feeling distant if Iblis understood that he could turn to Allah and have his dua answered There is not a single person in this room in this city in this country in this continent on this planet that has committed more sins than Iblis and That is something to be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala for that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala does not look at our sins for surely none of us would be worthy of having our duas answered at that time and Dua is always about Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala and him loving this act and him being generous and kind.

Those Who Turn Away from Worship

Now let's focus on that last part of the ayah where Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala says:

That those individuals that turn away from my worship shall enter the hellfire in a state of humiliation Why is humiliation? Specified over here may Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala protect us from being humiliated in this life in the next allahumma. Ameen It is because it is truly the arrogant Truly the deluded truly the vain and the proud that will think that they are self-sufficient and independent of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala The slave of Allah will always recognize his and her dependency upon Allah that they are in Constant and dire need of Allah and if you forget this This is an indication of pride. It is an indication of a lack of humility It is an indication of a lack of understanding of the relationship of the master and the slave.

Never Too Late to Change

My dear brothers and sisters up until this time. We may have fallen short and making dua to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala Up until this time we may not be of those that make dua to Allah in times of prosperity like they do in adversity But this is the beauty of Allah's mercy and his forgiveness and his kindness to us That he gives us more time to change He gives us more time to change You don't have to wait till this 27th night of Ramadan.

You don't have to wait till the beginning of Ramadan Every single night Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala descends to the lowest heavens in a man in a fashion that is befitting his majesty subhanahu wa'ta'ala and he asks is There anyone seeking forgiveness that I can forgive them is there anyone asking of anything that I can grant it to them We're looking for opportunities for our duas to be answered. It is there each and every single night for the taking.

Final Call to Action

So I ask you my dear brothers and sisters tonight Who is going to avail that opportunity? Today as we pray salatul maghrib and we're in sajda who is going to avail that opportunity to call upon their Lord in the closest possible position to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala I pray that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala grants you and I that's Tawfiq and makes us of those that make dua to him in times of prosperity just like we do in times of adversity and Makes us of those that are forgiven and makes us of those whom have their answers dua.

Their dua is answered and have a multiple exponentially increased reward due to their patience when their dua is not answered and that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala makes us of his close slaves and grants us Tawfiq to experience and live Ramadan and makes us of those who are forgiven in the month of Ramadan and freed from the Hellfire and written as the inhabitants of Jannah.

Closing

اللَّهُمَّ آمِينٌ

جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ