Changing Oneself in Ramadan

Changing Oneself in Ramadan

(الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر - Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar)

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Introduction and Welcome

On behalf of the Muslim American Society, I would like to welcome you to another series covering the beautiful month of Ramadan. Insha'Allah this year we'll be discussing the famous hadith of Salman and Abu Darda where the Prophet laid out a program for change which is based on moderation, consideration of the human element and understanding of one's environment.

The Soul's Right Upon You

First and foremost let's begin our discussion on the soul because the Prophet said to Abu Darda, that indeed your soul has a right upon you.

One of the objectives of the Prophethood of the Prophet was purification of the soul. This is actually the answer of a du'a that was made by Sayyidina Ibrahim عليه السلام and his son Ismail when they said, this is amazing, watch this, pay attention. Ibrahim and Ismail عليهما السلام they said:

"Our Lord, send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."

Oh Allah, raise up amongst them a messenger who will recite your verses to them, number one. Number two, he will teach them the book and wisdom. Number three, this messenger will purify them. Indeed you are the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

Allah's Answer: Changing the Order

Allah answered this du'a of Ibrahim and Ismail but he changed the order of his answer where Allah says to them, what?

"Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know."

He says that this messenger will recite our verses and purify. So he changed purify from being number three to number two.

The Importance of Tazkiyyah

The importance of tazkiyyah, purifying them became now number two. Tazkiyyah to the nafs took precedence over knowledge. Why? Because the ulamas had akhlaaq and adab.

The akhlaaq and adab, if they're not there, then the knowledge will lead somebody astray. Somebody that doesn't have good akhlaaq and good tarbiyyah, if you fill a vessel with a lot of knowledge but you don't give that vessel any polish on the outside, they will not benefit. So the same with the heart.

If we put a lot of knowledge in people now, and this is the danger in the west where now knowledge became the goal. No, knowledge is the means without having this adab, we're in major trouble. That's why the mother of Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on her, she told Malik when he was a young boy and she sent him to study.

She said take from the knowledge that the etiquettes, take from the etiquettes and characteristics of your shaykh before you take from his knowledge. So here Allah shows us the importance of tazkiyyah.

Defining the Nafs

We have to define what does it mean the nafs when the Prophet has said to Abu Darda that indeed your soul has a right upon you.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

"By the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness. He has succeeded who purifies it, And he has failed who corrupts it."

By the nafs and the one who shaped it, and inspired it or taught it to know the evil and the good. Successful is the one who purifies his soul and destroyed is the one who corrupts it.

But here the soul doesn't mean just the heart, here the soul means the entire person.

Purification of the Entire Being

When Allah referred to the Prophet in his job, maqasid an-nabawiyah, Allah said what?

"It is He who has sent among the unlettered a messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom."

Allah is the one who sent his messenger to what? Yuzakkihim, to purify them. Allah didn't say to purify the hearts or the minds. Allah said to purify them completely and that's why Imam Ibn Kathir, he said in his tafsir to purify them from all the evils related to akhlaq, behavior and spirituality and the way that they deal with people.

The entire existence of the person is being purified by the touch of Rasulallah.

Ramadan: A Month of Comprehensive Purification

With that in mind, the month of Ramadan is upon us and if we look at the month of Ramadan, we see subhanallah, this is a month that focuses to purify everything. That's why the Prophet said, fasting is not that just someone leaves their food and drink.

He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 1903)

Whoever doesn't leave an evil speech and acting on that evil speech, then Allah has no need that this person left his food or drink. So here the Prophet combines the inner spirituality with the outer.

Faith Linked with Good Character

That's why in many ahadith we find the Prophet says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6018, Sahih Muslim 47)

Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, let him speak well or remain silent. Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, let him be good to his neighbor. Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, let him be good to his guest.

Here the Prophet links faith with good akhlaq, faith with good behavior.

Ramadan as a Tool for Change

In the month of Ramadan, we find that we leave food and drink and we increase in ibadah. If you want, dear brothers and sisters, in this month, and if I want to find a change in our life spiritually, a betterment in our life, then we have to look at this month as a tool. You can have the best tool in the world, but if you don't use it, then it has no benefit.

This tool, the month of Ramadan that Allah gave us, wallahi nobody can understand its blessing. The ability and the power of the tool that you hold in your hand. It's like somebody gave you the keys to a Bentley and said, ride, and you're like, oh, I don't know how to drive a car or, you know, how do I use this car? Now Allah is giving you the month of Ramadan.

The Prescription of Fasting

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous."

Kutiba alaykumus siyam. Siyam, fasting has been prescribed for you. If a doctor prescribes for you medicine and you don't take it, don't blame the doctor. So Allah prescribed for us 29 or 30 days of what? Intense worship, intense ibadah.

How to Use This Tool

In this month, if we want to use this tool, we have to do one simple thing, and that is increase our worship.

Increase the ibadah. Increase the worship. And here ibadah means what? Faith, morality, and acts of worship.

Increase our faith in Allah. Increase the morality, our dealings with other people. Increase ibadah. Taraweeh, salatul taraweeh.

The Prophet said:

- And I made for you to establish the prayer in the nights of Ramadan.

We ask Allah to increase us in khair.

Practical Daily Program

My simple advice is to develop a daily program. Dhikr, Qur'an, and akhlaq.

Focus on remembrance of Allah on the way to work. Do your morning adhkar. On the way back, do your evening adhkar. Reading a little bit of Qur'an every day, and finally number three, increasing your salah. The salah is the connection to Allah.

We ask Allah to increase us in khair.