When Allah Forgives You in the Final Hour of Ramadan

When Allah Forgives You in the Final Hour of Ramadan

Virtual Khutbah by Omar Suleiman

Opening

I hope everyone is doing well, inshallah ta'ala, just as we're waiting for everyone to join. Praying that Allah have mercy on our brothers and sisters that have perished in the plane crash in Pakistan, may Allah accept them as shuhada, may Allah comfort their families, and all of those that have passed away in such unfortunate ways in these last few days, in these last few weeks. May Allah have mercy on them all.

Looks like we've got enough people logged on now, so inshallah ta'ala I'll go ahead and I'll start. Once again, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

"Inna alhamdulillahi wa nastaeenuhu wa nastaghfiruhu wa nastahdeeh wa nu'minu bihi wa natwakalu alayhi wa na'udhu billahi al-'azim min shururi anfusina wa min sayyi'ati a'malina man yahdi Allah ta'ala fala mudhilla lah wa man yudhlil fala hadhiya lah wa ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah lahul mulk wa lahul hamd yuhyi wa yumit wa huwa hayyuna yamut bi yadihi alkhair wa huwa ala kulli shayin qadeer wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu wa safiyyuhu wa khaliluh addal amanata wa ballaghal risalata wa nasahalil ummah wa kashafal ghummah wa tarakana ala al-muhajrat al-baydaa layluha ka nahariha la yazighu anha illa halik fa alayhi afdahu wa salatu wa tamu tasleem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa min astanna bi sunnatihi ila yawm al-deen Allahumma ja'alna minhum wa minal ladheena aaminu wa aamilu al-salihati wa tawasu al-haqqi wa tawasu al-sadr ameen Rabbil alameen wa usseekum wa nafsi bi taqwa Allah wa qad amrana bilhaq wa qala ta'ala ya ayyuha ladheena aaminu wa taqwa Allah haqqa tuqatihi wa laa tamutunna illa wa antu muslimoon ya ayyuha al-naasu taqwa rabbakumu allathee khalaqakum min nafsin wahida wa khalaqa minha zawjaha wa batha minhuma rijalan kathiran wa nisa'a wa taqwa Allah allathee tasa'aluna bihi wa al-arhaam inna Allaha kana alaykum raqeeba ya ayyuha ladheena aaminu wa taqwa Allah wa quloo qawlan sadeeda yuslih lakum a'malakum wa yakfur lakum dhunubakum wa min yutl'il laahu wa rasoolahu faqad faaza fawzan azeema thumma amma ba'd

Introduction: Prayer for Acceptance of Ramadan

Dear brothers and sisters, as we come to the end of Ramadan and I pray that Allah first and foremost accepts all of your deeds in Ramadan, before Ramadan, after Ramadan, and forgive all of your sins before Ramadan, during Ramadan, and after Ramadan and allow us to maintain a thrust towards Him of good and to overcome the shackles of ourselves and the shackles of the shayateen that prevent us from fully tasting the sweetness of closeness to Him.

The Significance of the Last Hour of Ramadan

As we get to the end of Ramadan I want to talk specifically about the last hour of Ramadan and I know that we still, you know, here it's Friday Eid will likely be Sunday and so we've still got some time before the last hour but I do want to help us anticipate insha'Allah ta'ala as much as possible the last hour and building up to the last hour of Ramadan.

Actions Are Judged by Their Endings

The Prophet said:

"Innama al-a'malu bil khawateen"

(Actions are judged by the endings, by the khawateen, by the endings of those actions)

Ramadan is no exception to that, that Allah will look at us and Allah will judge an action by its ending and that's why the Prophet emphasized to us that we should always seek a good ending because a person could be as the Prophet said doing the actions of the people of Jannah until what is between them and Jannah is just their arms stretched out and then they do one of the actions of the people of Jahannam and they end up instead entering into Jahannam. On the other hand the Prophet said that a person does the actions of the people of Hellfire until they are about to enter into Hellfire there's just a yard away from them and Hellfire and instead they respond and they do an action of the people of Jannah and so Allah allows them to enter into Jannah instead, that's the general rule that actions are judged by their endings.

What This Means for Ramadan

But what does this specifically mean for Ramadan? So every night in Ramadan Allah has people that He frees from the Hellfire as the Prophet said that in every night there are 'Atiqa, Allah has people who He frees from Hellfire and the ulama say that this is speaking about Ramadan that in Ramadan Allah frees a group of people every single night.

that's 1 through 20, that is the odd nights, those are the odd nights of the last 10 nights as well as the even nights and so every night is an opportunity and the Prophet taught us to seek Laylatul Qadr until the last night, not the last odd night, until the very last night and so tonight would be the 30th night of Ramadan and many people will neglect it, but tonight is a night that we seek Laylatul Qadr and it still falls within the last 10 nights, so seek it until the very last night.

The Analogy with the Last Hour of the Night

But there's something else and I wanted to draw a parallel between the end of Ramadan and the end of the night because the most blessed time of the day or night, the most blessed time in a 24 hour period is Waqtul Suhoor is that last hour before Fajr that last hour before Fajr the best of the night is the last third of the night and the best of the last third of the night is As Suhoor, the time of As Suhoor, the time of Suhoor and that's why some of the ulema say when Jacob peace be upon him said to his sons so I will seek forgiveness from my lord for you they said the commentator said that he was talking about waiting until the final hour of the night to seek forgiveness for his children for the wrongdoing that they committed against Yusuf peace be upon him and so it's the last hour and the best hour of the day is the last hour of the day which is the hour before Maghrib, that is true for the fasting person, that is true for Yawm al Jum'ah, that is true for the day of Arafah when the people gather that it's the last hour that's the time of calling upon Allah doing the evening remembrances as the sun is about to set.

Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab's Beautiful Quote

What is the analogy of this to Ramadan? I really saw a beautiful quote from Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab rahimahullah ta'ala as he was speaking about the last hour of the night and it got me thinking about this last hour of Ramadan and what the last hour of Ramadan looks like. Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab rahimahullah he said that what happens in the last hour of the night before Fajr is that everyone gathers it's a time for istighfar Allah says that in that time that's when they seek forgiveness it's a time in which those who prayed all night or those who prayed a significant portion of the night are ending off the prayer of the night with istighfar with seeking forgiveness because of a feeling of shortcoming because of feeling like they did not do enough prayer or that there was some lack of quality in their prayer or that even if their prayers were perfect they would not be able to match the glory of Allah who is perfect and whose mercy and whose generosity and whose honor cannot be encompassed by any human act of worship.

So the point is that at the last hour of the night there are those who were praying all night that are praying a significant portion of the night that are asking Allah for forgiveness and this was the case of the prophet that he would end off the night by seeking forgiveness from Allah because he prayed a significant portion of the night to a point that his feet would swell and he was asking Allah for forgiveness for the deficiency within the prayer similar to by the way how when we finish our daily salah we say astaghfirullah astaghfirullah astaghfirullah you seek forgiveness from Allah after performing the prayer because there were some inevitable shortcomings within that prayer and so astaghfirullah astaghfirullah astaghfirullah.

So he said that in that hour Allah gathers both those, you have some that will seek forgiveness after praying for a long time li qusurihim and he said and then you will have those who will wake up just at that time just as the night is about to go and they'll offer a small amount of remembrance to Allah a short performance of prayer maybe they just get up and they pray the witr or maybe they just get up just to make a few statements of remembrance and they're also saying astaghfirullah astaghfirullah astaghfirullah and their istighfar, their seeking forgiveness is li dhunubihim is for their sins.

So he says that at that hour at the end of the night that blessed time, there is the istighfar of those who prayed li qusurihim and the istighfar of those who did not pray li dhunubihim, the istighfar of those who prayed li qusurihim, meaning for their shortcoming and the istighfar for those who did not pray, li dhunubihim for their sins, so if you're looking at them, they look indistinguishable because at the end of the day at that moment, they're in a place of istighfar.

"If You Can't Join the Lovers, Join the Repenters"

And the sentence that he says that I just find so beautiful and profound he says, "If you can't join the lovers, join the repenters", what does he mean by that? the muhibbeen, those that are in love with their lord, that have gotten to a point in their spirituality a point in their spirituality where they feel a connection and they have become regular at standing up for long periods into the night, seeking Allah's forgiveness and seeking His pleasure and Ibn Rajab Rahim Allah says, if you can't join the muhibbeen then join the mustaghfireen if you can't join the lovers, join the repenters at least make sure that that last portion of the night, that you get up and you seek forgiveness from Allah, out of a sense of shortcoming, out of a sense of not feeling like you did enough, out of a sense of wanting to do more for the sake of Allah.

Applying This to the Last Hour of Ramadan

This is such a beautiful analogy to the last hour of Ramadan as well, as Ramadan is about to pass from us there are going to be those that will be able to look back on this Ramadan and say that, I really felt closer to Allah this Ramadan than I have in previous years I pushed myself, I read more Quran than I usually read, I was able to pray more at night than I usually pray I was able to put something behind me, I was able to make a significant stride in my spirituality or by starting to fulfill one of the obligations of Allah in this month, or one of the nawafil, one of the blessed voluntary practices, I was able to make a stride in this month I feel closer, I feel like I must have caught Laylatul Qadr, I felt it on this night and that night there are those that will look back on this Ramadan very favorably and they will feel like this was a beautiful Ramadan in which they got ahead and for them that last hour of Ramadan is an hour of asking Allah for forgiveness for the inevitable shortcomings within those deeds and the inevitable shortcomings that are to be anticipated after Ramadan, the post Ramadan dip so for them, that's what their istighfar is in that last part of the night.

For the others, there are those that are going to feel like I set goals for myself this Ramadan I didn't meet those goals I wanted to read this much portion of the Quran I didn't finish reading that portion of the Quran there were nights that I set my alarm and I wanted to wake up and pray I didn't pray those late nights I didn't get the khushu' the humility, the awe in my supplication the way that I wanted to get that awe in my supplication, I don't feel like this was my most productive Ramadan, and my answer to those people is if you can't join the lovers, join the repenters.

At that moment in the last hour of Ramadan when we're asking Allah for forgiveness, all of us may Allah make us from the repenters and the lovers, Allahumma ameen may Allah make us from the mustakhireen and the muhibbeen Allahumma ameen, the repenters and the lovers, at that moment gathering together, or rather connecting to Allah together, shutting everything off and just saying Ya Allah, forgive me Ya Allah, accept this Ramadan Ya Allah, accept Laylatul Qadr Ya Allah, accept all of my repentance Ya Allah, accept my intentions to the best of them, all the good that I intended to do that I wasn't actually able to do.

Ya Allah just as when a person accidentally eats in the day of Ramadan you give them the full reward of that fast, and the food is Sadaqah, and just as a person sleeps sometimes at night, though they intended to wake up and pray Qiyamul Layl, and you give them that sleep as a charity and you write down the full night of Qiyamul Layl, Ya Allah as we turn to you in these last moments of Ramadan, Ya Allah, reward us to the best of the intentions that we have for this Ramadan for every minute of it, and forgive us for the times that we fell short, either in the performance of good, or the performance of bad, or a moment of heedlessness that could have been used for good.

A Challenge for the Last Hour

Use this last hour use these last moments to just say Astaghfirullah Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah and this is a challenge that I want to give to everyone that the last hour of Ramadan, and I say the last hour, I'm not just talking about the last hour of the night of Ramadan, the last hour between Asr and Maghrib of the last day of Ramadan most people would have already shifted to Eid mode, they're already thinking about what they're going to do for Eid, and it might be an unusual Eid, but it's still Eid right, people are trying to adjust to their Eid celebrations most people have moved on from Ramadan the last night is gone if you can commit yourself to just that last hour that you're going to sit there, and you're going to isolate yourself in supplication, in prayer, and ask Allah to forgive you in that last hour of Ramadan, then do so.

Make the most of the last night of Ramadan, which is tonight InshaAllah Ta'ala, and make the most of the last day of Ramadan as well ask Allah to count you amongst the repenters, and to join you with the lovers.

The Special Mercy of Allah for the Fasting Person

And I'm going to end with one hadith InshaAllah Ta'ala, which many of you have heard, but just to show you the mercy of Allah to cover our shortcomings when it comes to Ramadan many of you have heard the hadith:

"Lil-sa'imi farhatani: farhatan heena yufiru wa farhatan heena yalqa rabbahu"

(For the fasting person is two joys: the joy when he breaks his fast and the joy when he meets his lord)

So for the fasting person is two joys the joy of breaking the fast and the joy of meeting your lord with that fast.

Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah's Commentary

Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah Rahim Allah Ta'ala he says about this he says that when the day of judgment comes, and Allah has taken account of all of the people so Allah has taken account of all of his servants, and the Prophet said that Allah has said:

"Kullu 'amal ibn Adam lahu illa as-sawm fa innahu lee wa ana ajzee bihi"

(All of the deeds of the sons of Adam are for them except for fasting, fasting is for me and I reward accordingly)

So Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah Rahim Allah he said that when the day of judgment comes and Allah has gone through the accountability of the servants and all of those who a person has oppressed, all of those who a person has fallen short with all of the person's shortcomings in regards to themselves and in regards to others will be taken from them and Allah will do with those good deeds what is necessary and so you know the hadith of the Prophet where he said:

"Atadruna man al-muflis?" qalu: al-muflis feena man la dirhama lahu wa la mata'a, faqal: "Inna al-muflis min ummati ya'ti yawm al-qiyamah bi-salah wa siyam wa zakah, wa ya'ti qad shatama hadha, wa qadhafa hadha wa akala mal hadha, wa safaka dam hadha, wa daraba hadha, fa-yu'ta hadha min hasanatihi, wa hadha min hasanatihi, fa-in faniyat hasanatuhu qabla an yuqda ma 'alayhi, ukhidha min khatayahum fa-turihat 'alayhi, thumma turiha fi an-nar"

(Do you know who the bankrupt person is? And it's the person who had so many sins that they committed towards others that they take their good deeds on the day of judgment that a person will be in a situation where the only thing that remains for that person is the reward of fasting the only good deed that remains is the reward of fasting)

And if the person was sincere in that that Allah would have compensated all of the oppressed parties or all of those that that person fell short with from his bounty and Allah would have taken all of the good deeds that that person had due to their shortcomings or whatever it may be but then Allah will take fasting, the reward of fasting and Allah will increase it until it covers that servant enough to enter them into paradise with sincerity under his mercy.

SubhanAllah, the fact that the reward of fasting in its performance is so profound and cannot be quantified and falls out of all of the rules of the quantification, the quantifying of good deeds, the fact that fasting is so significant, by the way this doesn't mean by all means, this doesn't mean go ahead and oppress because fasting has you covered, go ahead and mess up with the rest of your deeds because fasting has you covered, this refers to a person who inevitably fell short in different ways in different wrongdoings and they were sincere in trying to turn back to Allah and some of the scholars say that this is referring to a person who turned the page with Allah but inevitably could not make up for all of the things that they've done in the past that fasting is that reward that Allah will increase and forgive everything for a person, Ramadan is that reward that will overlook everything in the past.

The Best Deed for the End of Ramadan

So ask Allah for forgiveness and the best deed that you can prepare at the end of Ramadan is the best deed that you can have, period, which is husn adhan in Allah. Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrates that that is the best deed that you can have is husn adhan, to have a good expectation of your Lord, that's why Allah taught us through our Messenger to say:

"Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbu al-'afwa fa'fu 'anni"

(O Allah, you are the forgiving one you love to forgive, so forgive me)

And so carry that with you to the last hour of Ramadan Inshallah Ta'ala as you ask Allah for forgiveness O Allah, you love to forgive despite my sleeping, despite my sinning, despite my shortcomings you love to forgive, so forgive me and if you can't join lovers, then join the repenters.

Final Du'a

May Allah make us from the repenters and from the lovers, may Allah allow us to elevate ourselves and be elevated in His sight may Allah allow us to carry what we have benefited from in this Ramadan far beyond it may Allah allow the deeds that we started to practice in this Ramadan to be lifelong deeds, transformative deeds, may Allah forgive us for the sins that we had promised to repent from that we still fell into a few times in Ramadan may Allah forgive us for the sins that we commit knowingly and unknowingly the small ones and the large ones, may Allah allow us to power through what is left of this life with only the best of deeds, may Allah allow us to stay connected to Him after Ramadan, to stay connected to His book after Ramadan to stay connected to His Prophet Muhammad after Ramadan to stay connected to our adhkar, to our salah to our remembrances, to our supplications, to our prayers after Ramadan, may Allah allow our hearts to remain firm O turner of hearts, keep our hearts firm on your path may Allah grant us istiqamah, grant us sabat grant us firmness with our hearts firmness with our feet firmness with our tongues