Welcome Ramadan
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T16:28:40.615552+00:00 | Topic: Ramadan
Welcome Ramadan
By Nouman Ali Khan
Introduction: The Breadth of Islamic Knowledge
I am one of those who believe and do righteous deeds and study the truth, and study the truth, because it is the only way. The Quran, Almighty, is the beginning of the Book, the end of the Book, in which there is no doubt, the guidance of those who follow it.
I am going to be speaking with you for about a half hour, and I will try and make it as interactive as I possibly can. The intent that I have of what I want to share with you is based mainly on some of the thoughts that you may have on the subject.
I would like for people to show of hands, and then I will pick on you, to call out some names of Islamic subjects, Islamic sciences, something you studied in Islam. Show of hands, please. Economics? Okay, that is certainly an area of Islamic studies. Other areas? Sharia? Law? The school of Fiqh? Principles of Jurisprudence? Seerah? Aqidah? Hadith? History?
So, there is a lot to study. When someone says, I want to study Islam, bottom line, you have got a lot to study. And it is not like you can pick up a book or read one document or go through one curriculum and you basically know Islam. It is a very big academic endeavor. And of course, within the Islamic scholarly tradition, you have people that specialize in each one of these areas.
Contemporary Resources and Their Limitations
When you and I approach the subject of Islamic studies as contemporaries, people that probably many of us started engaging in Islamic studies later in our lives, right? Almost when we reached adulthood, you know, late teenagers or college students or whatever. And you try to learn something about Islam. What are some of the resources at your disposal?
Internet. Books. Of course, in what language? For most of you, English books. Let's be honest. Lectures, tapes, CDs, multimedia materials, for most of us. Of course, attending conferences and, you know, attending lectures. At least lectures that are meant to teach you something.
Resources of this nature, however, are limited, correct? And so, what we find among Muslims is a huge diversity in terms of their understanding of Islam. And if you are part of any community, even at the micro level, at an MSA or at a masjid or whatever, you'll find people that have a very different take on the same subject. Drastically different.
The Foundation of Trust in Islam
What I want you to understand is that Islam is a very deep thing. It's a very complicated subject. It's a profound study. And so, to have a position that is concrete, 100%, this is the right way. For most people, it's not really based on actual knowledge of the subject.
Before I go into the real subject of the evening, what I want you to understand is one thing that we all have to be very, very clear on. Our deen is a deen of trust. Angel Jibril entrusted the message to Prophet Muhammad. Rasulullah entrusted this message with his companions. His companions gave that trust to the first generation, and so on, and so on, and so on. It is a deen of trust.
The Authority of Scholarship
Now, there are some among us who argue that I follow Quran and Sunnah, because those are the true teachings of Islam, and I don't trust anybody else. I want you to understand something very clearly. Between Quran and Sunnah, and your application of Quran and Sunnah, there is something in the middle. What is in the middle? Your intellect. You're processing the information, and then you're applying it, correct?
So basically, when you say, I only follow Quran and Sunnah, and I don't follow anyone else, what you are essentially saying is that you are the most qualified authority you could find to interpret what the Quran is saying and what the Sunnah is saying, and you don't find anybody better qualified to do so. Which is a very tall claim.
You know the famous hadith?
The Sahaba's Understanding
We read a hadith, and those people, how did they hear it? From the mouth of the Messenger himself. We read about the historical context, and they lived the historical context. So if you were to compare who has a better understanding of the same text, among any of the scholars, and a Sahabi, who will always be hands down? There is no comparison. The Sahabi's understanding of this deen is the most pristine, most solid understanding.
Across Islamic scholarship, if somebody wants to study Tafsir, the science of interpreting the Quran, and understanding the implications of the ayat of the Quran, you know what the bare minimum requirement is? Which Mufassir everybody has to know? Of course the Rasul, when he made Tafsir of an ayat, after him, which Mufassir do you have to study, if you are a student of Tafsir? Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه cousin of the Messenger. There is ijma among scholars. If you pick up any book of Tafsir, you will find mention of what Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه said about this ayah or that ayah. Why? Because he was entrusted with this knowledge, and the guarantee of that is given by Rasul himself.
A Warning Against Scholarly Arrogance
I want to mention this point, because we see an increasing level of, I would call it, immaturity, and intolerance. In terms of real knowledge of deen, where people argue, the hadith says this, and these people don't know Mustalah al-Hadith, they don't know the science of hadith, they don't know the science of narration, they don't know Usul al-Fiqh, they haven't studied the differences of opinion, and the evidences of all the scholars that disagree - nothing. They have just read a website, and they are saying the hadith says this, therefore you are doing kufr, if you don't follow. It's a very immature position to have.
You know what Bukhari said? He said, it's haram, for anyone, to comment on a hadith, until, unless, they themselves, either took it from someone who had ijaza in hadith, who themselves has certified knowledge of hadith, or they themselves had ijaza. They can't comment on it.
The messenger said, whoever interprets the Quran from his own opinion, though he may be correct, is still sinful. If somebody interprets the Quran, and their interpretation is correct, but the fact that they acted independently in interpreting the text, they have actually also committed a sin. This is the degree of preservation of this deen.
The Month of Quran
Now, what I wanted to talk to you about: the month of Ramadan, and its significance. Allah puts two terms together, in the ayah that defines Ramadan:
- "The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed" (Quran 2:185)
Two key words in the ayah: Ramadan, and Quran. So basically, this is the month of Quran. This is the month, in which our scholars, many of them رحمهم اللهused to be scholars of hadith, and fiqh, and tafsir, and other things. They used to put all their books of hadith away, and they'd say, this is the month of Quran, we're only going to study Quran, and teach Quran, and memorize Quran, and make tahajjud with Quran this month.
Understanding Guidance (Huda)
The reason I want to bring that up is because, in my observation, Allah knows best, as a people, especially as Muslim youth, we are very far from the Quran anyway, but we're really, really far from Allah. We have a
huge gap between ourselves and Allah, for many reasons. But I want to try and encourage all of us to close that gap this coming month. To come closer to Allah's book.
You know, the term Huda. Who can translate it? Guidance. The Quran declares itself Huda for mankind. Now the term guidance is kind of vague. Huda literally means to show someone a way. When do you show someone a way? When they're lost. And of course, showing someone the way implies that you're leading them to a destination, correct?
So when Allah says, the Quran is guidance, in effect, what he is saying is, this Quran illustrates a path. And that path leads to a destination.
The Need for Guidance
Let's take a common example. There's this person that needs to catch a plane to JFK. And they're stuck somewhere, they don't know where to go. They pull over at a gas station, they ask for directions, the guy gives them directions. He gives them step by step, 10 steps of the directions. The guy says, thank you very much. Is he listening to those directions carefully or not? Yes. Totally. He's desperate because he needs to catch his flight, correct?
And this person, who's a gas station attendant, says, I'm pretty good at giving directions to the airport. So he makes a flyer of directions to the airport and passes them out to everyone who comes to get gas at the station. Do people want it? People don't want it. You don't give directions unless people ask for them or want them. Directions only help people that need them.
In effect, what I'm trying to imply is, if you and I, in our mentality, in our attitude, don't feel the need for directions, the Quran is not helpful to us. Guidance does not guide anyone that doesn't want it. If we don't want it, it will not benefit us. It will not benefit us whatsoever.
Primary vs Secondary Benefits
You will get the reward for reciting it. You don't want guidance from the Quran, you just want reward. So you're reciting the Quran. You will get reward for every letter. And so you will get that reward, but you will not get what you didn't ask for. You asked for reward, you got it. But you didn't ask for guidance, so you don't necessarily get guidance.
And the Quran's primary function is what? Guidance. So you can get secondary benefit out of the Quran by memorizing it, by using it in prayer, by reciting it. But if you don't want to take its directions, and you don't understand it as something that gives me directions, then the one thing you will not get from it is what it came for, and that is guidance.
Ramadan and the Purpose of Guidance
And so we need to understand this function, this essential function of Quran, of being a guide for mankind. And this is why in the month of Ramadan, the ayah that defines the month of Ramadan, what does Allah say immediately after that? After He says, this is the month in which Quran was revealed, now people might mistake this to think this is the month where you should just get the most reward out of Quran, and that's it.
"It is a guidance for mankind" (Quran 2:185). So you maintain the essential purpose of this book. Revive that relationship between yourselves and this book.
How Quran Provides Guidance
Now, how is the Quran a book of guidance? If you look at contemporary readers, you read Quran, one thing you find, almost every time it's very confusing, is that you're reading this translation and the subject doesn't seem to be completed. Like, it's not like there's a surah about just women, and there's a surah about just the history of Bani Israil, and there's a surah just about fighting in the way of Allah. It's distributed.
Even the surah that's called Surat An-Nisa, does it only deal with women? No, many ayat deal with the Munafiqun, and then there are other issues with Ahl al-Kitab and the Day of Judgment. And none of the surahs deal exclusively with one subject. And that can be very troubling for a reader.
The Institution of Salah and Guidance
Now, how do we tackle this issue? The first thing you need to understand is that Quran's function of guidance, the means by which it offers guidance to the people, is two things: recitation and listening. That's the primary means by which the Quran is communicated.
What is the regular event that makes you recite or listen to Quran? The institution that makes you recite and listen to Quran. What is it? Salah. Allah instituted salah, which ensures that at a few periods with a few gaps in the day, you will come back and seek guidance again, and again, and again.
The Fatiha includes what words
So in our salah, we are actually asking guidance until the next prayer. And then we get to prayer, and then we are asking for guidance until the next prayer again.
The Ultimate Destination
What do we want in life? Eventually, we want a house to our name. We want a property that is ours. We start that from childhood. If you have siblings, I want my own room. And eventually, when you go into college, I got my own apartment. When you get a little older, now I'm renting a nice house. And eventually, I just bought this house.
Even people that work in low-paying jobs for years and years, at the end of it, when you ask them, what is the accomplishment of your life? You know what they'll tell you? I bought a house. I've got this property of mine. It's something that I don't have to worry about the future anymore. Where am I going to live? Where's going to be the roof over my head? It's a matter of stability. And Allah put that in human nature.
And so, what does He offer us directions to in Quran? He offers us directions to our own property. Where is it? In Jannah. Permanent residence. No need for mortgage. No bills to pay. And He customizes it the way you like it. You can stay in it as long as you want. Permanently. Endlessly.
The Price of Paradise
And here are the directions, the simple guidelines that you have to follow. But for every house there's a price. For every property there's a price. When you want to buy a house in this world, some people work upwards of 70, 80, sometimes 100 hours a week just to be able to buy a house. It's serious labor to get to that house.
So Allah is offering us a path that leads us to a house. There's only one catch though. The catch is He's offering you a property better than anything you've ever seen ever on TV or with your own eyes. And it is beyond anyone's imagination. The only catch is you can't see it yet. And the other catch is it doesn't have a price tag. What He's demanding is your whole life.
Give me your whole life and the service agreement will come to an end when dust is being poured over you in your grave. If you can do that, you've got the property.
The Requirement of Trust
So when Quran offers this guidance, who are the only people that are actually going to dare to walk that path? The people who completely put their trust in Allah. People that have any doubt whatsoever are not going to be able to walk this path because you have to have absolute confidence that this promise is true.
Continuous Need for Guidance
There's another scenario: I've studied the Quran so many times, I already know Quran, I've memorized the Quran, I've read it cover to cover, I know it, I don't need guidance anymore because I already know it.
What I want to make sure you understand is that the ayah about Ramadan and about guidance is talking to Muslims and that it's telling them to seek guidance.
What I want you to understand very clearly is that the greatest example is the example of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, our messenger, who was commanded in Surat al-Fatiha. The ayah that makes us beg for guidance is recited by who? Who is the first person to say those words in history? And he, till the day he dies, prays regularly and in every prayer he asks Allah for guidance. Who's asking for guidance? Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم He's asking for guidance.
That is the greatest proof that being Muslim is not the same as being guided. There's a big difference between the two. Becoming Muslim is a one-time event. Guidance is different. Guidance is every single day.
The Story of Adam: A Daily Lesson
I'll just give you a couple of examples. You know the story of Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)? How many times is it mentioned in Quran? Seven times spread across the Quran. If somebody reads the Quran maybe one juz a day, which means it takes them a month to finish reciting, they will actually come across the story every few days, evenly distributed. Every 3-4 days they'll come across the story of Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)
And it's interesting why Allah spread the mention of Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) across the surahs in this way. Notice something: what are the two main characters in the story? Who are the two characters being compared in the story? Adam and Iblis.
Now let's look at what these two characters have in common: they're both creations of Allah, they're both honored by Allah, they both disobey Allah. So far the story is exactly the same.
Two Responses to Divine Correction
And then Iblis turns to Allah and asks a question:
"You created me from fire and created him from clay" (Quran 7:12). Think about this question: is it logical? Fire is superior to clay. His issue - he didn't say no. Quran doesn't record him saying no. Quran records him making an intellectual, logical statement. That claim is actually rational.
And you know what he told Adam when he catches Adam and tells him to eat from that tree? The motivation of Adam was that Shaytan had come to him and told him two things: either you will become angels or you will become permanent dwellers. When Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) was caught, he could have very well said this was the plan from the beginning, if you knew it then it's not my fault. Is that an intellectual response? Can that be philosophically argued? Sure.
But what's the response of Adam
"Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers" (Quran 7:23). He accepts it.
For someone who wants guidance, you've been given two possibilities: you can try to become intellectual and question Allah and feel really smart about it, or you can have the attitude of Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)
Lessons from the Sons of Yaqub
The sons of Yaqub (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) - if you're going to talk about proper upbringing, you can't find a better example. Whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are all prophets, not to mention their brother. Best possible upbringing. So you can't say that these people lived in a rough neighborhood and didn't learn their ethics properly.
What made them go to that extent? What is mentioned in this story is something very beautiful to me, because good people, out of jealousy, can do some crazy things sometimes. And if they didn't repent at the end, did they regret what they did at the end? Sure. Because they're not permanently labeled as villains. This is real life, this is not a story.
Practical Steps for Ramadan
The first thing you have to fix is your attitude towards the Quran. What does this book mean to me? Why do I need to study it? Does it offer me any guidance? Am I actually lost? Do I actually believe in this book, or do I believe this book? You know the difference? All of us believe in the book. But when it comes to believing the book, when it's saying something that's true but your intellect doesn't agree, and you still believe it - how many people have the attitude of Adam (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)
Our attitude towards this book has to be fixed. The second thing that has to be fixed is our etiquette towards this book, our mannerism towards this book. The time we give it, the way in which we recite it.
You feel embarrassment if you have a funny accent and you're speaking and everybody looks at you. You feel embarrassment, you try to fix your accent. And yet we recite Quran with our poor pronunciation and it's such disrespect to Quran, yet we don't feel concerned that we should learn proper etiquette to recite the word of Allah.
After all, these are words that came out from the mouth of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. They came out of his mouth. They were given to him by Allah Himself. You're quoting the Messenger of Allah. Quran is not just a recitation. It is a quotation of the Messenger of Allah.
The Concern to Understand
The third thing that has to change is our concern to understand it. You can't take guidance if you don't understand the directions. If you don't speak Italian and I give you directions in Italian, it doesn't mean anything to you.
So this book, a lot is lost in translation. All of us should feel the thirst to want to fill that void between ourselves and Quran, the gap of translation. We should try to learn the Arabic language to the best of our ability. Until you do learn Arabic, at least pick up a good book of tafsir and study it. Understand at least what you memorize and what you use in salah.
Look at the meanings of those ayahs, the benefits of those ayahs in your personal life. This is how the Sahaba looked at Quran. They looked at Quran as a manual for life. Whenever they heard an ayah, they applied it right away. Guidance - that's what you do.
Quran for us is more ceremonial. And there's a big nikah, the recitation of the Quran. By the way, you know when nikah happens? When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to recite one ayah :
"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul" (Quran 4:1).
Why is that ayah recited at the time of marriage? Because between the husband and the wife, the husband is being told: you are not being put in the situation where you're the owner, you're the Lord. Who's the Lord? Allah is the Lord. Fear Him and take care of your relationship.
Seeking Daily Guidance
We really have to become people that try and seek guidance every time from Allah's book. You know one of the practices I tried - I recommend trying it. If you ever feel like you need direction, open up the book of Allah and start reciting, and by Allah you will find guidance. You will find what to do. You will find an answer to what you need.
None of the stories are buried in history. None of the ayahs of Quran are irrelevant today. All of them offer guidance today. Even (الم - Alif Lam Meem). Who knows what (الم) means? Allah knows best. But how does the first major surah of Quran - Fatiha is the introduction, the biggest surah of Quran is Baqarah, and it begins? (الم)
How is (الم) guidance too? Here's the guidance: Allah introduces you to the book and gives you words whose meanings only He knows. So He's correcting your attitude. You know nothing. I know everything. And if you come to the book with this attitude, then you will find guidance. So He begins by teaching (الم) And then He gives us guidance. If you don't have that attitude, you're not going to find much in Allah's book.
A Call to Action
I really pray that we are able to take advantage of this month to the utmost, to revive our relationship with Allah's book, to maintain a routine. Try to get in routine before Ramadan so you don't lose any Ramadan days. Get up early before you go to work or school. Figure out an hour or so where you can just learn, study, memorize. Do something with Quran. Just give your morning some chunk of your time.
Every single day. Starting now, so you're in the routine by the time Ramadan comes. Don't say I'm going to start when Ramadan comes. Because getting in a routine takes a few days. So you'll lose a couple of Ramadan days just getting into a routine.
And do something you've never done before for Allah in Ramadan. Do something that just really shows Allah your commitment to this book. That you really want to get the most out of this book.
Closing Du'a
I pray that anything good that came out of my mouth is from Allah, and I pray that all of us have an attitude of sincerity for every second that we spend for His cause. I pray that Allah accepts this gathering and all of the gatherings of Muslims, and I pray that Allah protects and continues to protect the honor of the Muslims.
Q&A Session: Key Points
On Questioning Islam
Questioning is fine, so long as it's within respectful terms and done in the appropriate setting. Don't question around people that know the same amount as you. Ask people that you know are scholars. Be careful in the manner in which you pose questions. We already believe it's Allah's word. So we shouldn't pose questions like, "what's the point of saying this?" But develop a more respectful attitude: "what is the wisdom of Allah that you understand behind this?"
On Islamic Study Priorities
For people that don't know Arabic, the primary Islamic studies should be tafsir and Quran. For many reasons: one, it's the easiest thing to start with. Two, it solidifies our iman. And three, its context is determined by Allah, not by men.
When people don't know any other Islamic prerequisite sciences like Arabic, tafsir, etc., hadith study is not recommended as a starting point. The thing about interpreting text, especially Bukhari and things like that - Quran has tafsir, and hadith has something called sharh. Sharh of Bukhari, the most famous one, is called Fath al-Bari by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. It's entirely in Arabic.
On Devils Being Chained in Ramadan
The people that are addicted to sins and missing their obligations - the change doesn't come from behavior necessarily. The first change is a cognitive change. A change in the way they think.
If you know someone like that, the best thing you can do for them in Ramadan is give them an opportunity to hear a reminder, an effective reminder. In Ramadan, the shayateen will not distract them. So they'll be in a better position to actually maybe get affected by some reminder.
The thing you want to change is not behavior. The thing you want to try and change are the hearts. And Allah changes the hearts. But He changes them by means of reminder.
On the Purpose of Fasting
Don't miss the point of the fast.
"that you may become righteous" (Quran 2:183). Is consciousness of Allah quantitative or qualitative? It's totally qualitative. And if you miss that, you miss the whole point of the fasting.
The word for fasting in Arabic, you know what it was used for originally? It was used for training battle horses. They used to make the horse not drink for a long time because on the battlefield, you need the horse trained. So they used to make them do what is called sawm in Arabic. That teaches us that fasting was a means of training for a larger purpose. Linguistically speaking, it is training for a greater cause.
There are only a few things in Quran that lead to taqwa. Fasting is one of them. Don't lose that opportunity and just obsess over things that you made effort to get away from so you can concern yourself with other things - remembrance of Allah.