Is It Too Late To Prepare for Ramadan? | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman

We begin by praising Allah and 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, اللهم آمين. Dear brothers and sisters, if you really cared, you would have prepared. If you really cared, you would have prepared.

Fill in the blank as you see fit. If you really cared for Jum'ah, you would have prepared. If you really cared for Ramadan, you would have prepared. If you really cared for Hajj, you would have prepared. If you really cared for Umrah, you would have prepared. If you really cared for this meeting, you would have prepared. If you really cared for this job, you would have prepared. If you really cared, you would have prepared.

The Lesson of Jum'ah Preparation

Obviously, we are just less than a few weeks, a couple of weeks away from the blessed month of Ramadan. اللهم بلغنا رمضان. May Allah allow us to live, to see its entrance and to be forgiven through it. اللهم آمين. But before I talk about that, I want to actually use the example of the ritual that we are participating in right now, which is Salatul Jum'ah.

There are those who will miss Salatul Jum'ah altogether today somewhere in the world, maybe here and in other places. Why? Because they stayed up all last night. They slept maybe after Salatul Fajr. They set their alarms. They got up. The thawb that they were going to wear, they forgot to clean it. So they have to go and try to figure out how to clean the thawb. They forgot to arrange for themselves a ride or whatever it may be. And maybe they were sitting around and they were doing other things and they said, I've still got time. And it hit just 20 minutes before Salatul Jum'ah and they said, Oh no, wait, now I have to. But then they weren't able to get something essential to come to Salah.

Or maybe they got stuck in traffic because they aimed or they will aim for catching not the khutbah, but catching the iqamah. And they always aim to catch the iqamah, but this time they're going to miss the iqamah and they're going to miss the Salah. There are many people in the world that are intending to get to Jum'ah before the iqamah. They will miss the iqamah. They will miss the Salah and they will be sinful. And they'll say, Oh, it was traffic. Oh, it was this. Oh, it was that. And Allah will know whether or not their excuse is valid.

There are those who aim to catch some of the khutbah and they might miss the whole khutbah and catch the iqamah. There are those who always play with the time that the imam says Salaam Alaikum because they time themselves to get to the Salah right when the imam stands on the minbar to say Salaam Alaikum. And if they're one minute off their usual routine, they miss the imam saying Salaam Alaikum. So they miss the Adhan.

The Angels' Record

So what did the Prophet say? We're not talking about sinfulness here. The angels have their rule book in front of the masjid. They're taking the names of all those that are entering in once the imam stands on the minbar to say Salaam Alaikum, the rule book closes. And if that makes those of you that came late feel bad, I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. The rule book closes. You missed your name in the scroll of the angels of those who would be forgiven for the week.

Okay, pay attention to this hadith now. There are those that not only make sure that they are here on time for the Adhan, but they also engage in the sunan before the Adhan. In an authentic hadith from Al-Aws Ibn Aws, the Prophet said:

(Al-Aws Ibn Aws - Authentic Hadith)

Whoever takes his shower يوم الجمعة. They took their shower. They prepared themselves. They left early and they arrived early. They left early and they arrived early. And they came close and they listened and they were quiet. They came close to the imam. They listened and they were quiet. Every step that they took to the masjid, Allah writes for them a year of siyam, of fasting, a year of qiyam al-layl.

How many steps did you take to get to the masjid today? May Allah accept each and every single one of you who follow the sunan. اللهم آمين. 20, 30 steps. You know, you have step trackers, right? Did I take 300 steps, 400 steps from my house to the car to the masjid? How many steps? Calculate that by years of qiyam, years of siyam. We're not talking about ليلة القدر خير من ألف شهر. I'm saying that there are some people that get a thousand years of qiyam every time they come to salatul jum'ah before the khutbah even starts. For things they did before the khutbah even started. Why? Because they prepared.

And if you cared, if you really cared, you would have prepared. And I want us to use this analogy of jum'ah to Ramadan and to everything else.

The Example of Hajj and Umrah

You know, when you go to hajj and umrah, you have people that don't know the du'a of entering into the masjid. And they're doing umrah. And they're asking the most basic questions about tawaf and ihram. Come out in their ihram, and they're wearing something that so obviously violates the ihram. Coming out, mashAllah, in their sneakers and wearing, you know, put some cologne, some perfume on their ihram, came to Mecca, took a shower, perfumed, did some basic things. Some people that shave.

I'm not talking about ignorance. I'm talking about someone that just didn't bother to attend a lecture before umrah or read a book before umrah. Shaved their beard in ihram so they can look fresh when they enter into the haram. What do I say now? It's tawaf. What do I say now? It's sa'i. I'm not mocking this, by the way. I'm saying if we were the ones that were accounting for that umrah or hajj, and as a murshid, I'm like, didn't you bother to read a book? This is a journey that's more important than any other journey in your life. Didn't you bother to listen to the lecture that we gave you about how to prepare for ihram?

Alright, one forgetful moment, you know, you got shocked, something happened, you got overwhelmed, but I didn't know? Is that really a valid excuse for you at that point?

Preparation for Ramadan

Ramadan comes. The bare minimum, the bare basic. Analogize this example of jum'ah to everything else. There are some people that will be forgiven before Ramadan even starts. شهر المغفرة، شهر الرحمة, the month of forgiveness and mercy. There are some people that will be forgiven before it even starts. Because when that hilal is seen, that person would have already met Allah with an earnest heart. اللهم بلغنا رمضان. Already repenting for sins that they know they shouldn't have been committing. Already have a schedule that's cleared out for Ramadan. Already accounting for all types of things.

What are the equivalent of the footsteps to jum'ah when it comes to Ramadan? What are the footsteps to Ramadan? What is the khatwah to Ramadan? What is the khatwah to hajj? What is the khatwah to umrah? What are the things that you did before that are a proof? Because in the sight of Allah, preparation is a proof. Preparation is a proof that you care.

By the way, even with our own relationships, if you have a job interview and someone is coming to the job interview and they forgot some of the most essential things, they showed up five minutes late to the job interview, in your mind, you're not taking this job seriously. You don't really care about this job. You're not really trying to prepare. If you have an important meeting on the calendar, but then you show up ten minutes late on Zoom in your bed and you say, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that means that my meeting was not a priority to you. Preparation is proof. If you cared, you would have prepared.

The Lesson from Tabuk

Listen to what Allah says about the hypocrites in Tabuk. You remember in Tabuk, people came to the Prophet and they put forth all sorts of excuses. Ya Rasulullah, this happened. Ya Rasulullah, this happened. Ya Rasulullah, this happened. And the Prophet was accepting their excuses, whatever. You know, I got late with this. I got late with this. I got late with that. Allah says:

Had they actually wanted to go with you, they would have prepared for it properly. If they cared, they would have prepared. If they actually wanted to go with you, لَأَعَدُّوا لَهُ عُدَّةً. But then here's the scary part of the ayah:

But Allah hated that they would go with you. So Allah held them back and said, sit back with those who sit back. Wait a minute. It's my excuse. كَرِهَ اللَّهُ انبِعَاثَهُمْ Allah did not want you with me? What is this talking about?

You see, in our relationship with Allah, with his mercy, every single person who enters into Jannah will enter Allah, not by his amal, but by his rahmah. Not by his actions, but by the rahmah of Allah. حَتَّىٰ أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَتَّىٰ أَنَا Even the Prophet, even the Messenger of Allah إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِي اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَتِهِ Until Allah envelops me in his mercy.

No one enters Jannah by their amal, by their actions, but what is the proof that you want Allah's mercy? It's your amal. Your actions are your preparation that I prepared for the meeting. I know it's only your mercy that's going to get me into Jannah, but my actions are a proof that I seek to be worthy for your mercy.

Abu Bakr's Example

And what Allah was saying about these people in Tabuk, he said, Oh, you know, I got busy with the garden. Oh, I got busy. I couldn't find the clothes. Oh, I got busy. My camel, my horse wasn't ready. وَلَوْ أَرَادُوا الْخُرُوجَ لَأَعَدُّوا لَهُ عُدَّةً They would have prepared for it properly.

You know, I was trying to think to myself, who is the opposite of the hypocrites of Tabuk, who just made excuses. And by the way, in the hadith of Ka'b ibn Malik, and he's not a munafiq, Ka'b ibn Malik is a beautiful companion. And he's someone who is beloved to Allah. And that's why he went through such a grueling episode of his Tawbah to be made worthy of the rank that Allah wrote for him. It's a beautiful story of Tawbah.

But Ka'b ibn Malik got, you know, kept pushing things off, procrastination, delaying. So his behavior resembled the people that he was not of. He looked around in Medina. He said, it's a bunch of munafiqeen here. His behavior in that moment resembled them. So I'm not saying that everyone who isn't preparing for Ramadan is a munafiq. I'm saying that we look at behavior and what our behavior resembles, and then we scrutinize our behavior.

So I was thinking to myself, who is the opposite of the munafiqeen in Tabuk, who sometimes said, oh, they were dragging their feet. Okay, fine. When it's time, we'll get ready. All right. Now the Prophet said, the camel's not ready. The horse is not ready. The garden still needs some tending too. I got to take care of this family affair.

Who's the opposite? You know, who's the opposite of that? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, not in Tabuk, not in Jihad, in Hijrah. When he kept two camels tied in his backyard, ready to go, and was going and giving them all of their fodder, all of their milk and nutrition, taking care of them, tending to them in case the Prophet might come to his house and tell him to go with him on Hijrah. That's the opposite.

Just in case I've got two camels that I'm taking care of every single day, so that maybe the Prophet would take me as his companion on Hijrah. The Prophet did not tell him that he would. And if the Prophet did not go to his house and tell him that he's going to be with him, then we might not have ever gotten that documented.

But, وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ Allah would have written it down regardless. Whether it happened or didn't happen, Allah would have written the preparation of Abu Bakr and the tending to those camels the entire time. And so when the Prophet shows up to his house, الصُّحْبَةِ يَا رَسُولُ اللهِ الصُّحْبَةِ يَا رَسُولُ اللهِ Is it real? Is it real, the companionship? He starts to cry.

That person who doesn't even take getting to Ramadan for granted, who doesn't even know, who truly, who doesn't hear the reminder that you might not live to see the first day of Ramadan as just like, yeah, we know, the Imam says that every year. You know, you might not live to see Ramadan. I know, I know, I know.

But the person who actually thinks every day, إِذَا أَصْبَحْتَ فَلَا تَنْتَظِرِ الْمَسَاءَ وَإِذَا أَمْسَيْتَ فَلَا تَنْتَظِرِ الصَّبَاحَ Every day I wake up, I'm not going to even expect that I have the evening to look forward to and every night when I go to sleep, I'm not sure if I'm going to have the morning to look forward to. That person who's preparing themselves for Ramadan and even now is not sure if they're going to catch Ramadan. And then Ramadan starts and then they walk into the masjid and then it's the first night of Taraweeh, الم ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ And they're overcome by emotion like Abu Bakr because they weren't sure if they were going to live to see that moment and at that moment imagine how Allah looks at that person.

Your preparation is a proof. If you really cared, you would have prepared for it. You would have cleaned up the house for this noble guest. You would have made time in your schedule for this noble guest. You would have accounted for certain things. You would have removed the baggage. You would have removed the luggage that's unnecessary.

The Journey Metaphor

Here's what I want you to think about dear brothers and sisters because multiple amthal of the Prophet, multiple parables of the Messenger of Allah speak to us on a journey. We're on a journey to Allah. Be in this world as if you're a stranger or a wayfarer. The Prophet mentioning that the example of him to this life is like a rider that takes a break under a tree, takes some shade for a moment and continues going. Multiple examples where the Prophet is explaining that we are on a journey. We're on a journey.

When you are about to embark on a journey, what do you take into consideration? The very first thing that you take into consideration is finishing what is necessary so that you can embark on the journey. It's the first thing you take into consideration. Have you done everything that needs to be done to set yourself up for the journey? Did you prepare for the journey in the sense of getting rid of whatever it may be?

And that's why the Prophet taught us that when you need to relieve yourself or when you have some sort of hajah that you need to get done, get it done before the salah. Don't come running to the salah and not having done those things. Do it and finish yourself so that you can come to the salah clear minded, clear hearted. So let me get done my work. Let me get done whatever I need to before this actually happens.

Three Elements of Journey Preparation

In the sense of Ramadan, the journey of Ramadan, that refers to two things. Sins and distractions. Let me get rid of the sins. Let me shut the sins that I need to shut. I need to shut this file with Allah. Some of you are waiting for Ramadan to make tawbah to Allah. Do you know how disingenuous and insincere if Allah takes your life today and Allah raises you before him and says, why are you doing the sin? I thought Ramadan was around the corner. What are you saying to Allah? No, you quit the sin now, not when Ramadan starts. So shut the files of the sins, shut the files of the distractions.

The second thing that the scholars mentioned, the provisions for the journey. Ma'ad, what are the things that you're taking with you for the journey? What are you going to have with you in Ramadan that's going to propel you ahead? Do you have the Qur'an, its space? Do you have the mushaf? Do you have the plans? Do you have the provisions that are necessary for the journey to go along?

Number three is time, leaving early, making sure that you're following along. Allah gave us a divine prescription. He gave us a divine prescription. You have an العشر الأواخر, you have to build yourself up in these 20 days for the last 10 nights and every single night of Ramadan, Allah has utaqah, people that he frees from hellfire. So I'm going to look for every single night as the potential night that I'm freed from hellfire and going to build myself gradually through the first 20 days until the last 10.

There's no middle dip. Allah did not give us the middle dip. We have 20 days on an incline and then the last 10 on a super incline. So you made the time for it. Your preparation is a proof that you cared.

It's Not Too Late

Dear brothers and sisters, I know some of you might be thinking, what's the point of this khutbah now? This khutbah should have been given some time ago. If you really cared, you would have prepared. You know, it's only a few days left. And I want to come back to the Jumu'ah example.

Hadith of Abu Hurairah which is also authentic that the Prophet said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

The Prophet said, whoever performs ghusl from janabah on Friday and then goes to the masjid, it's as if he sacrificed a camel for the sake of Allah. Then he said:

And whoever goes in the second hour, it's as if he has sacrificed a cow. And then he said:

Whoever goes in the third hour, we're talking about from the morning to Jumu'ah. Some of you like Jumu'ah is three hours. No. From the morning until Salatul Jumu'ah, you're already anticipating khutbah of Jumu'ah and Salatul Jumu'ah. So the one who came the earliest hour and then now the second hour and now the third hour, it's as if he sacrificed a ram. And then he said:

And whoever comes in the fourth hour, it's as if he sacrificed a chicken. Then he said:

And whoever comes in the fifth hour, it's as if he sacrificed an egg. Then he said:

Then once the imam comes out, then the angels put away their books and they listen to the reminder.

These days, because of the standards, by the way, whoever puts forth an egg is like Sahabi, right? If you came 10, 20, 30 minutes before Salatul Jumu'ah. But why do I give you this hadith as we get ready for Ramadan? Listen very careful. The one who prepares for Ramadan two weeks in advance is better than the one who prepares for Ramadan one week in advance. And the one who prepares for Ramadan one week in advance is better than someone who prepares for Ramadan two days in advance. And the one who prepares for it two days in advance is better than the one who gets ready the day before. And all of them are better than the one who thinks that he can somehow stumble into Ramadan and achieve excellence.

It doesn't work that way. So yes, the period of those who worship throughout the month of Sha'ban, over half of Sha'ban is gone now. The standard of the Sahaba who anticipated Ramadan for six months, that's gone. But with what remains, if you haven't sacrificed a camel yet, sacrifice a ram. If you haven't sacrificed a ram, sacrifice a cow, sacrifice a ram. If you haven't sacrificed a ram, sacrifice a chicken. If you haven't sacrificed a chicken, at least now is the time, sacrifice an egg. We're in the السَّاعَةُ الْخَامِسَةُ. We're in the fifth hour, according to this hadith, for Jum'ah when it comes to Ramadan. At least be amongst those who sacrifice that egg.

Conclusion and Du'a

May Allah accept our sacrifice. May Allah inspire us towards preparation. I want to leave you with this last thought because I have to. Allah held them back because they weren't worthy of Tabuk. When you saw these people, you didn't see them with chains on their legs. It's not like the Prophet put them in a prison. He held them back with all of their distractions. What does that look like for you if you're being held back?

And this is why the most frequent du'a of the Prophet, O turner of hearts, turn my heart, keep my heart firm on your path. This is why اللهم أعني على ذكرك وشكرك وحسن عبادتك. You're asking Allah to enable you because only Allah can enable the heart. And as long as you show Allah that you want to be worthy, He will make you worthy.

May Allah make us worthy. May Allah accept whatever sacrifice we put forward. May Allah forgive us before Ramadan even starts. And may Allah make Ramadan a month of further expiation and elevation. And may Allah allow us to achieve its full reward and the full reward of Laylatul Qadr. And may Allah guide us to that which would make us the most guideable. And may Allah remove from us anything that would hinder the progress that we can make towards our full potential in this month and beyond. اللهم آمين. اللهم آمين.