[Ramadan] Purification of the Soul
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T21:33:22.538002+00:00 | Topic: Ramadan
[Ramadan] Purification of the Soul - Omar Suleiman - Quran Weekly
Opening
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، Ramadan Prep and Quran Weekly Viewers.
بِسْمِ اللهِ وَالْحَمْدُ للهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ
So inshallah ta'ala, I know over the last 10 days you've been hearing some awesome information from various lecturers and it's going to be hard for me to follow up on that.
So I really wanted to take a different approach to your typical Ramadan Prep talk. And I wanted to focus on the hadith that we read very frequently, it's said in every single Ramadan khutbah. But at the same time, I feel like we always neglect that which is in between.
The Conditions of Hajj and Ramadan
We look at the beginning and we look at the end and then we say alhamdulillah, it's all over. So for example, when we look at Hajj, you know many people think I go to Hajj, I come back, I'm forgiven for my sins and I'm just like the day I was born and that's it. But you forget:
That you should not argue, you should not get into any fights, you should not do anything that would disqualify you from having all of your sins forgiven in Hajj.
Likewise with Ramadan, there are two very common terms that the Prophet put as a condition for the validity of its acceptance. And the Prophet said in this famous hadith:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
"Whoever fasts Ramadan with iman and with ihtisab, then he will be forgiven for all of his previous sins."
Now again, usually the way we think, hey Ramadan comes along, I fast, I do what I have to do and I've been forgiven for all of my sins. And we neglect those two terms. And subhanAllah, those two terms are extremely relevant in particular when we're discussing Ramadan.
Ramadan and the Pillars of Iman
The first reason is that Ramadan is one of those very rare acts in Islam that engages each and every single aspect of our iman. And I want you to think about this. The pillars of iman are six as we know.
And Ramadan has a direct and very special and unique relationship with each one of the pillars of iman.
1. Al-Iman Billah (Belief in Allah)
We start off with al-imanu billah. Fast Ramadan with iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Discovering your iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We know the famous hadith of the Messenger where the Prophet narrated that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
"All of the good deeds of the son of Adam are for him except for fasting. Fasting is for me and I reward accordingly."
Meaning what? With every single other action that you do, there's some elements of interaction with other people, right? So for example, salah, people are going to see you at the very least in your congregational salah. With zakah, okay, at the very least the person who's going to receive your zakah or the collector is going to know that you've given that zakah.
When you look at your hajj, there are going to be millions of people that are going to see you in hajj. When you take your shahada, you're obviously going to take it in the presence of at least two witnesses and usually in front of a large congregation. But siyam is something that is purely between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and there is a mandatory element of ikhlas and it's very practiced.
If you think about this, right, because although you could be fasting in the sight of people, who knows, maybe when you go home you sneak into the closet and you eat a cookie. Alright, it's a problem if you have cookies in your closet in the first place. But anyway, you might be doing something that negates your siyam when people are not looking at you.
So there's a very special ikhlas there, a very special sincerity there and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying, this is between me and my servants. This action in particular is between me and my servants because no one else is aware about whether or not that servant is purely fulfilling the obligation of siyam.
Also we know that when it comes to fasting, Rasulullah informed us that for the fasting person there are two pleasures. The first one is when he breaks that fast and he feels really good about it obviously. I mean subhanAllah, that sip of water never tasted so good, that bag of chips never tasted so good. I know some people break their fast on that. Dates never tasted so good, haleem, adas, whatever it is that you're eating. You might be getting hungry now so I'm going to stop there. But the point is that it feels really good when you break your fast.
But Rasulullah said the greater pleasure is when you meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When it's between you and your Lord and when you get that reward. So make sure that you're fasting with iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
2. Al-Iman Bil-Malaika (Belief in the Angels)
Then we look at al-imanu bil-malaika, belief in the angels. And this is the month where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to pay most attention to our malaika, to the angels. Why? Because if you look at surah Qaf, we find something very interesting.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the second page of surah Qaf uses the same word twice. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the word qareen twice. Qareen means someone that is so close to you, it's as if they're tied to you.
So Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu anhu and Talha ibn Ubaidullah radiAllahu anhu, whenever they were being tortured by nawfab, they were tied together in the early days of Islam. And they were called al-qareenayn, the two qareens, because they were tied together literally when they were being tortured.
So what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mean when he uses the word qareen? Now the first time Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses the word qareen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"And his qareen said, 'This is what I have to present.'"
Then just a few ayaat later Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"His qareen said, 'Our Lord, I wasn't the one who led him astray, but he was in pure error. He was in far error, distant error from you, oh Allah.'"
So subhanAllah, this word is being used twice, but it's referring to opposite entities. On one hand, the qareen that is presenting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that is the angel. And the qareen that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about just a few ayaat later, who says, I was not the one that led him astray, that's none other than shaytan.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does us a huge favor in Ramadan, because as we know in Ramadan, the shayateen are locked up. So one qareen is gone, so you need to worry about the other qareen now. You need to worry about the other qareen and focus on the deeds that you are putting on that record.
What is the angel reporting to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And subhanAllah, this is where we're most conscious of it, right? We start to watch our language more, we start to watch our deeds more in Ramadan. And in essence, you think to yourself, all these deeds that I'm doing now, do I really want to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with these deeds? Do I really want to meet Allah with that word that I just spoke? Do I really want to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with that sin? So you're watching yourself attentively. And the angels also, this is the night where they come in the billions and trillions, constricting
this earth, constricting the heavens and the earth, making dua for every servant that is observing Laylatul Qadr.
So you're engaging very closely the angels in a very unique way. So fast Ramadan with Iman al-Malaika.
3. Al-Iman Bil-Kutub (Belief in the Books)
Then al-Iman bil-Kutub, belief in the books. And subhanAllah, this is Shahrul Qur'an, this is the month of Qur'an. The first way Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the month of Ramadan:
"This is the month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed."
And in fact, every single book was revealed in Ramadan. So you're not just engaging the Qur'an, you're actually engaging all of the Kutub, all of the books, because all of them were revealed in Ramadan, as we know in the hadith from Ibn Hibban and At-Tabarani and Ahmad with different narrations. But still when we collect them together, the Prophet informed us that:
- The Suhuf of Ibrahim, the tablets of Ibrahim alayhis salam, were revealed on the third day of Ramadan.
- The Tawrah was revealed on the sixth day of Ramadan.
- The Injeel was revealed on the thirteenth day of Ramadan.
- The Zaboor of Dawood was revealed on the eighteenth of Ramadan.
- The Qur'an was revealed on the twenty-fourth of Ramadan, meaning the twenty-fifth night.
Which, by the way, already makes you start thinking about the whole twenty-seventh night thing. It was revealed on the twenty-fifth night, and this is authentically narrated.
So this month is so great that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always chose to send down His books in this month. And in particular, this is the month of Qur'an for the believer. This is the month where you need to have a strong relationship with the Qur'an.
Qatada rahimahu Allah, he used to read the Qur'an once every seven days. When Ramadan came, he would read it three times a week. And then whenever the last ten nights came, he would read it once a day.
So people always kicked it into overdrive because Jibreel alayhis salam, when he came to the Prophet in Ramadan, he finished the Qur'an with him twice. So this is the month where you need to read Qur'an more. In your everyday life, you need to make sure that you're studying the Qur'an.
You need to also make sure that you're attending the taraweeh and you're enjoying the recitation of the Qur'an. But this month is defined by the Qur'an. So you're engaging in Ramadan al-imanu bil-kutub, belief in the books.
4. Al-Iman Bil-Rusul (Belief in the Messengers)
Then we know al-imanu bil-rusul, belief in the messengers. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahu Allah, he tells us that not a single messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ever, or every single messenger rather, was mandated with fasting. Every single one of the messengers of Allah was commanded to fast.
In particular, notice in Ramadan, how are you engaging your iman in the Prophet. Look at all of the ways that we are careful to adopt the sunnah of the Prophet in Ramadan. We're trying to become more like him.
We make sure that we do our suhoor just to follow his example. When we break our fast, how do we break our fast? We try to break it with dates and we try to see how many dates the Prophet ate. What kind of dates did the Prophet eat when he broke his fast? If the dates were not available, then what did he do? We try to make sure we follow the example of the Prophet as much as possible in Ramadan.
So naturally in Ramadan, one of the goals is to become more like him. So you're engaging al-imanu bil-rusul.
5. Al-Iman Bil-Akhira (Belief in the Hereafter)
And you're engaging al-imanu bil-akhira. Belief in the hereafter like no other time.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
"When Ramadan comes, the gates of paradise are opened and the gates of hellfire are shut."
So the believer feels like he is between al-jannah and al-naar and he's trying to make sure that he gains redemption from hellfire and that he enters into paradise. You fast with the belief in al-akhira, with the belief that you will be rewarded in the akhira.
On a day that the Prophet said that the reward of the fasting person is that his face will be removed from the hellfire. The distance of the journey of 70 years for each and every single siyam. This is a month that is very different from any other month.
And subhanAllah, this is the month of redemption. When you're thinking of the akhira, you want to gain protection in the akhira. And you know subhanAllah, we hear often this hadith, it's a weak hadith, that the first 10 days of Ramadan are mercy, that the second 10 days are forgiveness, that the third 10 days are being freed from hellfire.
It's actually a weak hadith. And subhanAllah, there is more mercy in the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
Because in the hadith of Abu Umamah in Ahmad and also from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has on every single day and every single night of Ramadan, 'utaqa', people that he redeems from hellfire." (Ahmad, authentic)
You don't have to wait till the last 10 nights. One day of Ramadan, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala looks at you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees your sincerity and Allah decides to free you from the hellfire, subhanAllah. Allah decides to redeem you.
And as in the narration of Abu Sa'id, and for every single day and night, the Muslim has a dua that is mustajab, an accepted dua. This is an authentic hadith. So subhanAllah, we don't even wait to engage the belief in hellfire until the last 10 days.
But we think every single day, remembering the akhira, was this the day, was this the night that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose to redeem me and free me from the hellfire? Was this the day that I was written amongst those who would enter paradise without any form of azab, without any form of punishment, without any form of accountability? What more do you want, subhanAllah? So engage your iman in al-akhira. Engage your belief in the hereafter in a way that you would not do so throughout the year. In Ramadan, make sure that your siyam has that component.
6. Al-Iman Bil-Qadr (Belief in Divine Decree)
And then al-imanu bil-qadr, belief in divine decree. And subhanAllah, it's very simple. This month has in it a night that we are all very aware of, which is called laylatul qadr, the night of divine decree.
The night in which Rasulullah ﷺ said, that whoever is forbidden from its good فَقَدْ حُرم then truly he is a person that is deprived. Whoever is deprived of its good. The night that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will send the angels down in the trillions.
The night that if a person catches and observes that night, laylatul qadr, the night of decree, then it is better than a lifetime of worship. The night that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will decree all of our deeds for the next year. All of our deeds for the next year.
And we believe that to the point that Ibn Abbas radiAllahu anhu said, the names of the people that are going to hajj for that year, the names of the hujjaj, would be written down, transferred from al-lawh al- mahfuz, and written down in the records of the angels. What better way do you want to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the night that the next year's worth of deeds is going to be decreed, than standing up in qiyam al-layl and worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you engage in Ramadan, your belief in al-qadr.
What other act in Islam do you engage your iman? The way that you engage it in Ramadan. So subhanAllah, that's the first thing the Prophet ﷺ said, man saama Ramadan, iman wa ihtisab.
The Second Condition: Ihtisab
The second thing, ihtisab. Seeking the reward. And in essence, this is one of the most crucial things that you can do in Ramadan, is to make sure that you see everything as an opportunity, because this is the month in which everything is multiplied.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when He gives us this ayah, He says, siyam was written upon you the way it was written upon those who came before you, so that you could gain taqwa, so that you could be aware of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and fear Him.
And Abu Hurayra radiAllahu ta'ala anhu explains this to us, like a man who's walking on a path where there are many thorns, and he's making sure that he doesn't get pricked by any of those thorny bushes, meaning what? He's aware, he's aware, he's seeking the reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so he's not going to let anything poke him from any side. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes to us taqwa in surah Ali Imran. So Allah azawajal says:
"And rush to the forgiveness of your Lord, سارعوا, rush to the forgiveness of your Lord, and to a jannah, a paradise that is as wide as the heavens and the earth, and it's been promised for who? المتقين the people of taqwa."
That Allah describes them. And you can find the perfect correlation from المتقين and taqwa and الاحتساب
"Those who give in both hard times, in times of hardship and in times of ease."
Now usually they would restrain themselves from giving too much صدقة because they're worried, they're afraid. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is teaching us to restrain ourselves from our own sense of greed, to trust Him subhanahu wa ta'ala, so to give in both hardship and in ease. And this is the month in which the Prophet ﷺ was described by Ibn Abbas and by Aisha رضي الله عنهما as he's always generous. You can never look at a day in the life of the Prophet ﷺ and not find an act of generosity.
But in Ramadan he was more generous than the blowing wind, than a ریح than a blowing wind. And what is the meaning of that? SubhanAllah, like a hurricane, like a tornado, it's indiscriminate subhanAllah. His صدقة is just going everywhere.
It's benefiting people all around him. It's just coming out of him almost in a violent way subhanAllah, the way that صدقة is being transferred from the Prophet ﷺ to those that are in need. So we learn in this month, taqwa, restraints from the things that would harm us.
And is there a relationship between taqwa and صدقة and احتساب in this one portion of the ayah? What is the relationship between these three things? Well the first one the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the hadith of Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه:
"Protect yourselves, be fearful of the fire, even if it is by half a date." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
So taqwa would lead you to give, would lead you to give because you fear your sins. You fear your sins, you fear what they might do to you. So you give hoping that Allah جل جلاله will take that as a ransom for your sins. And so how is this related to Ramadan? Of course we just see it here with taqwa where Allah جل جلاله is mentioning to us صدقة here. Allah is mentioning to us the benefit الاحتساب you're seeking the reward from Allah جل جلاله on that day.
You're seeking the reward from Allah جل جلاله of that صدقة
"And those who swallow their anger and pardon people."
What is the relationship between taqwa and احتساب here? Think about this. Rasulullah ﷺ tells us in the authentic narration of Al-Hakim and in other places that if someone comes to you while you're fasting and he is foul with you or he tries to argue with you or pick a fight with you:
"Say, 'I'm fasting.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
Meaning what? I am looking at that person directly as a form of good deeds. This is my best friend at the moment, this guy that's coming to me and insulting me. He's being arrogant with me. This is my best friend because this person is allowing me to be elevated in the sight of Allah جل جلاله So you see him like money but in the sense of good deeds.
When someone insults you and actually comes and argues with you and tries to pick a fight with you in Ramadan, not only do you hold yourself out of your taqwa, but Rasulullah ﷺ is saying احتساب seek the reward of it. So you're saying to yourself, Alhamdulillah, this guy is coming and arguing with me in Ramadan and I have a chance, O Allah, to restrain my anger from him in hopes that you will restrain your anger from me. You see, subhanAllah, you're seeking reward in everything.
You're seeking reward in everything because you fear your sins and you fear Allah جل جلاله. Also the Prophet ﷺ tells us in the authentic hadith in al-Tirmidhi that whoever provides iftar to a fasting person, that Allah جل جلاله will give him the same reward without decreasing from the reward of the fasting person himself. So احتساب when you're at Ramadan, when you're at your iftar, you're thinking to yourself, this is a time for increasing. This is a time for getting more good deeds.
So what do you do? You don't wait for someone to come and bring you the dates. You go and you take the dates and you try to serve other people to try to get the reward of their fasting too. You're thinking money, but in the ajr sense, in the sense of good deeds.
احتساب Rasulullah ﷺ also mandates us in this month in many different narrations to read the Qur'an, to seek the forgiveness from Allah جل جلاله and at the same time, not just the Qur'an aspect of that, but to pardon people, to reconcile with people. And Ramadan is a beautiful opportunity for us to reconcile with people through iftars, through seeing them in the masjid. And the last thing you want to do, if you are truly aware and awake through taqwa and trying to seek the reward of your Ramadan, is to have your entire Ramadan rejected because you have a grudge against somebody and you're not talking to somebody.
And the Prophet ﷺ of course informs us that whenever the good deeds are presented to Allah جل جلاله when Allah جل جلاله sees two people that are quarreling, Allah جل جلاله says:
"Leave these two until they reconcile with one another." (Sahih Muslim)
Meaning Allah جل جلاله does not want to see the deeds of that person unless he reconciles with his brother. So this is your opportunity to go and to reconcile seeking the reward.
Oh Allah, I'm pardoning this person so that you will pardon me. The relationship between taqwa and ihtisab is unbreakable. So think about it in this Ramadan.
This is your opportunity to be forgiven for everything that you've done. This is your opportunity to come close to Allah جل جلاله and to start learning to seek the reward in everything around you. And as the Prophet ﷺ tells us, Allah جل جلاله does not have any need for a person's fasting if he does not do away with false speech, with foul speech and with lying and with all of those other things that are displeasing to Allah جل جلاله. So you need to fast Ramadan with iman and with ihtisab.
The Great Opportunity of Ramadan
And at the end of the day, just recognize the opportunity here. And with great opportunity, subhanAllah, you also have the downside of that. That if you fail to take advantage of that great opportunity, then what a failure you will be.
And that's why when Rasulullah ﷺ was seen by the companions saying, Ameen, Ameen, Ameen, Ameen three times. And they asked him what he was saying Ameen for. And he said Jibreel عليه السلام was making dua.
And he was making dua against three people:
"May he be humiliated." (Sahih Muslim, At-Tirmidhi)
His nose is in the ground. SubhanAllah, because of how humiliated he is. And what a failure and a loser he is. The one whom Ramadan comes upon him. And he still fails to be forgiven by Allah جل جلاله through Ramadan. Ihtisab.
Seek the reward of this Ramadan. Make sure that you're becoming aware in this Ramadan. Iman and ihtisab.
The Story of Two Companions
And I leave you with one story. And I know I told this story before at Ikna. So if you've heard it, then:
But it's very powerful just so we recognize the opportunity here.
To be forgiven for all of our sins. And to truly be elevated in the sight of Allah جل جلاله. And this is a hadith that's narrated. An authentic hadith from Talha radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. Who says that I saw a dream about myself. You know, I was in this dream.
And I had with me two companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And these two sahaba. Both of them had become Muslim on the same day. One of them passed away a year before the other.
But the other one also passed away. I mean he's already dead. One of them passed away exactly a year before the other.
And the one who passed away a year before the other died shaheed. Okay, he died a martyr. And he was more known for his good deeds. They were both great companions. But the one that died first was more pious. At least in the eyes of the people than the second one.
He had more actions, more good deeds. At least to the public eye. So he said, I'm standing with these two sahaba.
And the munadi, the caller calls. And who does he call to Jannah first? He calls the one who died second. Not the one who died first who was shaheed. He called the one who died second first to Al-Jannah. So he went and he entered. Then the caller called the other sahabi.
And he entered into Jannah. Then when he called me, he told me, Go back for it is not yet your time. Now this is a good dream for him. Because this means he's ultimately going to Jannah. And we know Talha ibn Ubaidullah radiAllahu anhu is from Al-Asharah Al-Mubashshireen. He's from the Ten Promised Paradise.
So Talha radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He comes to the Prophet ﷺ the next day and the companions. And the Prophet ﷺ used to ask every morning.
He used to say, who amongst you saw a good dream that you can share with us all? And the sahabi used to try to have good dreams. Because they wanted to share. Like Abdullah ibn Umar radiAllahu anhu.
Famous narration where he wanted to have a good dream. So he could share with the Prophet ﷺ. And the dream turned out not to be so good.
But that's another topic. So Talha radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He comes and he shares this dream with the Prophet ﷺ and the companions.
And the companions, they're shocked. They're surprised. And the Prophet ﷺ, he says to them, What are you surprised from? And they said, O Messenger of Allah, the guy that got called to Jannah second, died shaheed, he died a martyr.
And he was better, I mean he had more good deeds, than the person who died after him and who was called to Jannah first. And the Prophet ﷺ listened to his answer. So he can recognize the opportunity of Ramadan.
He said, He said, didn't the one who died second, didn't he live an entire year after the other one? So they said, Yes. And look at what the Prophet ﷺ says. And this should be subhanAllah, like candy for a baby. SubhanAllah, not taking candy from a baby.
I mean it's just sweet. Listen to what the Prophet ﷺ says. Oh Allah, allow us to witness Ramadan.
He says, And he caught another Ramadan. And he fasted such and such and prayed such and such. And they said, yes.
And the Prophet ﷺ said, Allahu Akbar. That what is between them is greater than the distance between the heavens and the earth. Now someone might look at that and might say, Man, you know, he just insulted the shuhada.
No, the hadith is sahih. The hadith is authentic. I didn't insult anybody. And the Prophet ﷺ did not insult the martyrs. And this does not decrease from the reward of the martyrs. This just shows you that if you
make the most out of your Ramadan with good iman and ihtisab, you could actually surpass a martyr. Think about that. SubhanAllah.
Closing
So inshaAllah ta'ala, I ask you dear brothers and sisters to make the most of this Ramadan. And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to allow both you and I inshaAllah to make the absolute most of this Ramadan. To fast it with absolute iman, with absolute ihtisab and to achieve the goal of taqwa as a result of this Ramadan. And to be forgiven from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all of our previous sins.
Allahumma ameen. Jazakumullahu khayran to all of you. I just wanted to actually mention that inshaAllah ta'ala on August 7th, I'm actually going to be having a class on Laylatul Qadr.
A class on Laylatul Qadr that will be either the 19th or the 20th night of Ramadan inshaAllah. And that will be with the Islamic Learning Foundation, ILF Texas. So you can follow us either on Facebook or you can actually go to the website ilftexas.org inshaAllah for more information.
And inshaAllah ta'ala, I hope to see you all there. It will be a free class inshaAllah. We'll spend an hour and a half talking about Laylatul Qadr. So it will be a good warm up for us right before the 10 nights biidhnillahi ta'ala. Jazakumullahu khayran again.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.