How Every Day of Ramadan is Worth 70 Years | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman

Opening

We begin by praising Allah by bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment.

And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, we asked Allah, اللهم بلغنا رمضان.

So many times, O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan.

And Allah answered that du'a because here we are, we are in Ramadan. And so now that Allah has answered the du'a of getting us to Ramadan, we have to go back to honoring that du'a and honoring that answer once again.

Fast as if it's Your First Ramadan

Because sometimes we ask for a blessing without actually properly calculating what is required of us to honor that blessing. And I've been thinking about a sentence that you will hear multiple times perhaps throughout the month. And there was a convert brother that shifted my paradigm a bit on this for the purpose of this khutbah.

The sentence is, fast as if it's your last Ramadan. Treat this Ramadan as if it's your last Ramadan. Before Ramadan started, we are an ummah that treats every single day as if it could be our last in preparation for the final day in which we stand before Allah.

And so we say before Ramadan starts, you don't know if you're going to arrive to Ramadan, so don't delay your tawbah until Ramadan. And then once Ramadan starts, we say fast as if it's your last Ramadan. And there's an analogy here to what the Prophet taught, that you pray as if it's your last prayer.

Treat every act as if it's the very last time you're going to perform that act. But there's another dimension I want to add to this, which is fast Ramadan as if it's your first Ramadan. Some of you in here, this might actually be your first Ramadan.

May Allah bless you and elevate you. Yesterday, a brother came up to me in the masjid, and he was someone who I had seen in October, who told me he was thinking about embracing Islam. And before he said a word, subhanAllah, just by the look on his face, before he told me he embraced Islam, I already knew what he was going to say to me.

Fast as if it's your first Ramadan. Can you imagine how nervous the convert is to make sure they get the fast right, to make sure that they're doing everything the way they're supposed to be doing it? And so there's one element of this, which is capturing all of the specifics, honoring the siyam, not violating it in any way. But there's another thing altogether I want to add to this, which is that for many Muslims who have fasted many Ramadans, you've gotten a little bit used to this routine.

Ramadan has become pretty routine to you, and for you the prize is Laylatul Qadr, perhaps for me the prize is Laylatul Qadr, and there's precedence of the Prophet mentioning Laylatul Qadr before the night, before the month even starts, to prepare for that night. But the rest of the fasting becomes very mechanical. And there are days of Ramadan that pass, that become very mechanical, and this isn't a new feeling to you.

Every Day Worth 70 Years

And we know ليلة القدر خير من ألف شهر, it's better than a thousand months. But I want to start with a basic hadith from the Prophet, an authentic hadith from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, that the Prophet said,

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

Whoever fasts one day for the sake of Allah, Allah will distance their face from the fire, the distance of 70 kharifa, in some narrations 70 years, kharifa is the fall, it's the time of harvest, and so there's a specific connotation. And it could mean 70 years, and in one narration also authentic, the Prophet said, a hundred ditches, a khandaq, between you and the fire that is worth a hundred years.

So 70 here means al-kathra, according to many of the ulama, it just means a lot. But 70 years, a hundred years between you and the fire, for one day of fasting fi sabirillah. And so while many are thinking about ليلة القدر خير من ألف شهر and they're only focused on ليلة القدر better than a thousand months, you have every single day in which you could be distanced from the fire by a distance of 70 or a hundred years.

And I want to sit with that for a moment and break down this hadith, so that we can appreciate every single day and not treat any day of Ramadan as a throwaway fast. They're the weekdays and then they're the weekends. We all know what the middle 10 days of Ramadan look like, it's no point to beat a dead horse, right? The last 10 nights, the even versus the odd.

It's human instinct to start to treat some days like throwaway days. And this hadith completely changes that paradigm. For one, the Prophet said, من صام يوماً. He used the most general term.

For the Sake of Allah

He didn't say a fard or a nafilah. It could be any voluntary, obligatory day. It could be any day that you would perform a fast. And we know that the most virtuous fasting is in terms of the obligatory fasting of Ramadan. There's no better fast than what you are doing right now. And there's no better voluntary fast than the first 10 of Dhul-Hijjah.

But this is something for you to take into consideration that this could be referring to any fast perhaps, that a person would fast for the sake of Allah outside of Ramadan. And of course, this is a time for us to cultivate the habit of fasting. So that we come out of Ramadan, we fast the six of Shawwal, and we fast other days as well.

We get into the habit of fasting and understanding the benefits of fasting. Mondays and Thursdays perhaps, the middle three days of the month. من صام يوماً في سبيل الله. Now some of the scholars, they said, في سبيل الله here, could mean two things.

One of them, في سبيل الله as in sincerely for the sake of Allah. Another interpretation, this is referring to in battle. And in a time, subhanAllah, where people have moved on from Gaza so quickly, because it's not in your feed anymore. Somehow mentally, we've checked out.

It was two Ramadans with Gaza, that's enough. Let's kind of go back to that. And I'm not saying that hardship only exists in the ummah in Gaza. But can you imagine the difficulty of fasting in that context? Because pulling the seerah and the context of what would it be like to fast in a Uhud-like scenario. It's very difficult for us sometimes to comprehend. Imagine right now, what people go through in Gaza and in other parts, fasting في سبيل الله while they're in the path of Allah while also fasting في سبيل الله in the path of Allah.

And this is similar to the hadith of the Prophet, that many of the doctors, especially that left from our communities needed to hear, that spent their last 10 nights of Ramadan in Gaza.

(Hadith narration)

Shall I not tell you of a night that is better than Laylatul Qadr? The Prophet mentioned a haris, someone who holds the ground, someone who holds strong the eye that pays attention for the sake of Allah, the feet that stay firm. في أرض خوف In a place of fear, not knowing if they'll even return to their families. But that night that those brothers and sisters spent over there is far more valuable.

And that is the mercy and the justice of Allah than what we would spend in our comfortable air-conditioned masjids with everything provided for us for 10 nights. And so there's no doubt that there is a special reward, a special privilege that exists to people that have a unique difficulty ahead of them. But then we come back to us and how we deal with these types of narrations and these types of opportunities that Allah gives to us.

The Moral Symmetry of Hadith

And I want us to systematically look at these narrations because none of them are random. You see, when you see a hadith where the Prophet tells you about your face being distanced from the fire, first and foremost the face is your sharaf, it's your honor, it's your most sensitive place. It represents who you are in the most comprehensive sense.

Secondly, you'll notice that some of these hadith have a moral symmetry to them. So for example, the Prophet said,

(Hadith narration)

That whoever responds on behalf of his brother's honor, Allah will remove his face from the fire. Just as you defended someone's face from the fire of humiliation, from slander, from gossip, from whatever it may be, you defended their honor in this, you took the heat off of their reputation. Allah would remove the heat from your face on the day of judgment. That's one way to look at some of these ahadith.

Some of them simply speak to the very specific fact that nothing that is used for the sake of Allah will be consumed by the fire on the day of judgment. And as we are fasting with these bodies and using what Allah has given to us for His sake, then perhaps we can hope that none of this would be consumed by jahannam. May Allah protect us, Allahumma ameen.

So when the Prophet mentions that the place of Athar al-Sujood, the place of the prostration, would never be consumed by the fire. That place that's gotten used to bowing for the sake of Allah, putting its head on the ground. Or when the Prophet said, عينان, that there are two eyes, لن تمسهما النار. The fire will never touch those two eyes. One of them, عين بكت من خشية الله. An eye that remembered Allah and cried while it was all alone.

Shed tears for the sake of Allah. How can that eye that shed tears for the sake of Allah be consumed on the Day of Judgment? Or another one the Prophet mentioned, an eye that was in that state of حارس, of being on watch, on guard for the Ummah of Muhammad. An eye that was used in an honorable way will not be consumed by the fire on the Day of Judgment. So that's a second genre of these ahadith.

Never Reaching Complacency

The third one speaks to a very important concept that we have to put in our hearts and have to put in our mindsets. That you never get to a point as a Muslim where you've been too forgiven. You never get to a point where you're far enough from the fire. You never get to a point where you're high enough in Jannah. You never get to a point where charity becomes insignificant. You never get to a point where you belittle any good deed or you belittle any sin.

You never get to a point of complacency where you take a step back and you say, this applies to other than me. Because the one who was saying,

Seeking Allah's forgiveness was none other than the Prophet with that deep sense of urgency. He wasn't saying this is a du'a for the Ummah, I've already passed the stage of pardon. I'm in a different level now, you all make that du'a for the last ten, I'm far enough now, I'm done. No. He had that urgency in everything that he did.

And the believer has to have that sense of urgency with every single day that I've never reached the point where I can spare this one, I can let this one go. I've done this enough, right? I'm far enough. Absolutely not.

Can you imagine a distance of 70 years every single day that you fast for the sake of Allah when you realize that the further you are from hellfire, the higher you are in paradise, and the levels of paradise are unlimited for competition for us. So that we pursue الفردوس الأعلى, the highest level, may Allah grant it to us, Allahumma ameen. Then every single day you have a Laylatul Qadr mindset.

Every day you're asking yourself at iftar, not like the last ten, did I get Laylatul Qadr last night? No, every single day you're asking, did I achieve that reward of those 70 years now of distancing myself from the punishment? May Allah allow us to achieve that, Allahumma ameen.

Compounded Forgiveness

When the Messenger of Allah teaches us to fear Allah, to تقوى النار, to put a distance between us and the fire, ولو بشق تمرة even if it's with half a date. The small charity, the small smile, the small prayer, the insignificant day of fasting, you're storing it up and you treat them with a sense of urgency.

Did I achieve what Allah has given me the potential to unlock with this particular act of worship? You know what that allows us to do in terms of a paradigm shift as well? You know, I've been asked this question a few times about Ashura and Arafah. The Prophet mentioned that if a person fasts Arafah, it forgives the year before and the year after. And if a person fasts Ashura, it forgives the year prior.

Obviously there's an Islamic calendar component to this because Ashura is in Muharram which is in the next year. So it covers a span of three years. We're fasting and it's hard to do math right now and to actually go through and explain what that means.

But simply to say that what if you have overlapping years? What if you have years where, oh, I already got forgiven for this one because I fasted Arafah last year. And the Prophet said, the next year is forgiven if I fasted Arafah. Can I then sit the next Ashura out because this year was already expiated? No.

Because compounded forgiveness in the place where forgiveness has actually taken place is compounded reward. And the Prophet said to Mu'adh, ذر الناس يعملون. Let the people work. Let them act.

Let them treat every moment as precious. Let them treat every deed as precious. Let them treat every day as precious.

Building Spiritual Muscle

And it does impact your Laylatul Qadr as well. Laylatul Qadr is not some lottery ticket. You just happen to get it right that night, you turned it on, you went from being lazy and sloppy and careless to turning it on that particular night and achieving that night.

Laylatul Qadr does not come to the careless, it comes to the consistent. It's that person that's either been building the spiritual muscle of Siyam and their Qur'an and their prayer, and their regularity with Taraweeh and their regularity with all of these other things, so that when they got to those 10 nights they were ready for it. Or it's a person who just hope to stumble into the mercy of Allah. Focuses on just a few nights, tries to exert themselves there.

من صام يوماً في سبيل الله باعد الله وجهه عن النار سبعين خريفاً. One day for the sake of Allah is a distance of 70 years from the fire. And Allah has people that He redeems every single night of Ramadan. He has Utaqa, He has people who He writes down.

Some of us will achieve that perhaps tonight. Some might achieve that on the 15th night of Ramadan. Some might achieve it on the 17th night of Ramadan. Where Allah writes you down from Al-Utaqa, from those who have been redeemed. You don't know which night it's going to be. There is no such thing as an insignificant day of fasting.

There is no such thing as an insignificant night of worship. There is no such thing as an insignificant deed for the sake of Allah. So pursue Him, dear brothers and sisters, every day, fast every single day of Ramadan as if it's your first and as if it may be your last. Fast like you've never fasted before and fast like you'll never fast again.

Practical Tips

Every single day counts, every single iftar. Now with that being said, I want to give a very practical tip here for us as we're pacing ourselves. We already know some of us start with a very high Qur'an goal for example, a high charity goal. We designate certain things that we want to accomplish for the month. And we all know that there are some days that we end up dropping the ball a bit on what those goals look like.

Make sure that there is a minimum that you do for every single day. Make sure that there is a minimum obligation that you place on yourself to honor every single day of Ramadan. Make sure that even if you're not going to read as much Qur'an that not a single one of these days passes without you chipping away at your word of Qur'an. Make sure that every single day there's some charity that you give.

Make sure that every single day there's some act that you do that you hope would be an act that is pleasing to Allah that you can meet Him with. Approach this month like someone who just converted to Islam. Approach every single day of fasting like someone who's worried about missing out on a single one of those days.

May Allah allow us to achieve forgiveness and mercy and reward and elevation and expiation in this month. May Allah make every single day of Ramadan an accepted day. May Allah remove our faces from the fire by a distance of 70 years for every single day of Ramadan that we fast.

May Allah allow us to be amongst those who achieve the full reward of Ramadan, the full reward of Laylatul Qadr. And may Allah make the best of our deeds the last of them. And may He make our intentions at the beginning always sincere. And may He allow us to never lose ourselves in between. Allahumma ameen.

Honoring Every Moment

Dear brothers and sisters, I'm going to give you, because we all know that Ramadan goes so fast. And may Allah allow us to see it through. I'm going to give you something to remember as we get into the waning moments of Ramadan now.

You know, subhanAllah, it always amazes me how after the 27th night people kind of tap out or after the Khatm night, we set these bars for ourselves that 29th night, we're done now. We can't wait to see the Hilal. We already have Eid bazaars. We already, you know, people are kind of already in Eid mode.

Honor the gift that Allah has given you for every moment that He allows you to have it with you. So I'm going to tell you from right now that the most precious day of Ramadan for you might be the very last day of Ramadan.

And that last hour, up until the last moment, up until the Adhan of Maghrib, of Eid, if Allah allows you to live to see it. Do not kick Ramadan out the door when Allah has given it to you as a noble guest, as a noble gift to be with you for as long as He decrees, subhanAllah. Treat it right. Treat it right. And every single day set for yourself that unique goal, to honor that day.

Remember Our Brothers and Sisters

And remember, dear brothers and sisters, your brothers and sisters who maybe were on our screens. Maybe they were a big part of our Ramadan last year. Or maybe we weren't even thinking about them. You know, some of us barely saw some of the scenes out of al-Fashr in Sudan and things of that sort.

Remember your brothers and sisters in Gaza. Remember your brothers and sisters in Sudan. Remember them all throughout the ummah. And think about them and carry them. And realize that your struggles of the day of fasting, and this perhaps could be the greatest gift that we have for us right now, is merely to perform the day of fasting without the other elements that are present of oppression and hardship that our brothers and sisters endure. Keep them in your du'a.

And the Prophet said that Allah has that time for us, an accepted du'a for the person who is fasting. And so every single night before you break your fast, thank Allah for giving you another opportunity to break your fast for another day of fasting. And remember your brothers and sisters around the world.

May Allah make this Ramadan a season of alleviation for our brothers and sisters in Palestine, and Sudan, and Yemen, and all over. Allahumma ameen.