Ramadan and Allah’s Mercy
By Zaid Shakir | 2026-01-16T06:48:42.963384+00:00 | Topic: Ramadan
Ramadan and Allah's Mercy
The Power of Islam to Unite Humanity
All praises due to Allah who has guided us to this, to Islam. And we would not have been able to guide ourselves had not Allah guided us. So when we say, all praises due to Allah who has guided us to this. What is this? What is Islam? This is Islam. This gathering is Islam. The ability to bring people together, despite race, ethnicity, gender, class, is Islam.
The ability to create bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood between human beings from disparate races, and ethnicities, and social classes, and different backgrounds, and linguistic families. This is the power of Islam.
And this power has been demonstrated from the earliest days of Islam.
The Early Muslims: A Model of Unity
If we look at the earliest days of Islam, the beginning of Islam, we saw the Arabs were brought in such as the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr, and Umar, and Uthman, and Ali, and Khadija, and Aisha, and Fatima, رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. The Arabs were brought together with the Asians, such as Salman al-Farisi, and with the Africans, such as Bilal al-Habashi, wa Baraka al-Habashiya, Um Ayman, and many others. And brought together with the Europeans, such as Suhayb al-Rumi. Islam from its onset brought people together.
Not only from different races, the Asian, the Arab, the European, the African, it also brought people from its onset of different social classes together. Zayd bin Haritha, one of the first Muslims, the first four to accept Islam, was a servant, was a liberated slave, who had absolutely no wealth. Ali bin Abi Talib was an orphan, a young person with no wealth.
Khadija رضي الله عنها the very first Muslim, the very first human being to believe in the mission of Muhammad ﷺ was wealthy, as we all know. She was a wealthy business lady. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه,one of those first four Muslims, was a wealthy individual.
And then he brought many of his friends into Islam, such as Uthman رضي الله عنه who was wealthy. Abdul Rahman bin Auf who was wealthy. And they joined those who were converts subsequently, such as Bilal رضي الله عنه who was an impoverished slave. So we see from the onset, Islam had this power to bring people together, despite their races, despite their social classes. And that ability has continued throughout history.
Ramadan: A Month of Mercy
This is Islam. This is Islam. Ramadan is Islam. This beautiful opportunity Allah تعالی has given us. There are people who make an empty claim. But unfortunately, sometimes empty claims fall on empty heads which have nothing between the two ears. And then they resonate in the hearts of individuals who are living empty lives. الله لَعْنَهُم. An empty claim. That Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى is a merciless God.
You've all heard it. The Allah. That's how the people who advance these empty claims usually pronounce it. Allah. Is a stern God. Is a merciless God.
Ramadan alone is sufficient to refute that claim. We don't have to look at any other teaching of Islam except Ramadan which is a month of mercy. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم he described this month: أَوَّلُهُ رَحْمَةٌ وَأَوْسَطُهُ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَآخِرُهُ عِنْقٌ مِنَ النَّارِ - Its first days are mercy. Its middle days are مغفرة. The days we're in now. And its latter days are liberation from the fire of hell.
But as Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali mentioned, all of it is mercy. And all of it is forgiveness. And all of it is liberation from the fire of hell. All of it is mercy. The entire month is an embodiment of mercy. And the entire month is an embodiment of forgiveness. And the entire month provides us an opportunity to liberate ourselves from the fire of hell.
The Unlimited Reward of Fasting
But one manifestation of the mercy is the incredible opportunity Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى has given us to build up an unimaginable storehouse or treasure trove of good deeds for our soul. We mentioned in the nightly lessons here when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned as related by Abu Huraira:
(Sahih Bukhari 1904, Sahih Muslim 1151)
Every deed of the son of Adam is multiplied, ten times over up to seven hundred times over, and in another version of a similar hadith, many times over seven hundred. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ And Allah تعالی says: except fasting, that is Mine, I will reward the servant for that or with that.
The Mercy in Reserving the Reward of Fasting
The fasting being Allah تعالی's is a manifestation of His mercy. Had Allah تعالی left the fasting in our possession as He left the reward for our prayer and the reward for our Quran and the reward for our adhkar and the reward for our hajj and the reward for our umrah and the reward for all the good deeds that we do, had He left the fasting in our possession, and يوم القيامة,those people we have wronged, they come and they take from our good deeds. And they take from our good deeds, they will be able to take from the reward of our fast. But that is in His possession. And so some people who have oppressed people or animals or trees or the environment to such an extent that all of their good deeds will be exhausted, no one will be able to take the reward for the fast. And the reward for the fast will be returned to the servant. And for many people, they will be entered into paradise based on the reward of the fast alone, because that's all they will have. This is the mercy of Allah سبحانه وتعالى reserving the reward from the fast for Himself. إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ
The Certainty of Finding Our Reward
- Whatever you send forth for yourselves of good, the best thing خَيْرًا وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْرًا and it's the greatest reward. What are we sure to find with Allah? The reward of our fasting. We might find other things, but for sure we will find the reward of our fasting, because Allah says that's Mine. فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَلَيْسَ لَكَ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ - It's for Me, it's not yours, O son of Adam. It's Allah Ta'ala's. خَيْرًا هُوَ - And whatever is associated with Allah is surely the best. وَأَعْظَمَ
أَجْرًا - And whatever reward Allah Ta'ala has reserved for Himself to convey to the servant يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ is surely the greatest reward.
Is there anything we can do except seek Allah's forgiveness for our shortcomings, for our mistakes, for our transgressions? وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ - Verily Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Three Interpretations of the Hadith
Amongst His mercy, the other interpretation of إلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي that all of the deeds will be multiplied ten times or seven hundred times. And Ramadan is one occasion for the seven hundred. The normal deed is multiplied seventy times, and the normal deed is multiplied ten, and ten times seventy is seven hundred. ضِعْفٍ سَبْعِمِائَةِ إِلَى. Or وَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ .many times over that
Another interpretation, the ulama, they say the reward for the fasting has no numerical limits. All the other deeds will be multiplied ten times, seven hundred times, maybe many times over that. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ - Except fasting.
Fasting as a Manifestation of Patience
Why fasting? As the ulama say, because fasting is a manifestation of patience. It takes an entire month, it takes an entire long day to get through the fast. The believer has to patiently persevere. It's not over in five or ten minutes like the prayer. It's not over as soon as you write the check or gather up the livestock and give it to the person who's collecting it like the zakat. It's not over in four, five or six days like the hajj. It takes an entire month. It takes, there's no downtime in the fasting. Hajj, there's downtime. There's no downtime in fasting. So it's a manifestation of patience.
What is the reward for the patient? Allah Ta'ala, patient person, Allah Ta'ala mentions in the Quran: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ Quran (39:10) - The patient people will be given their reward with no numerical limit. إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ. بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ. So it's only fitting that fasting, being a manifestation of patience, should have an unlimited reward. And the unlimited reward from fasting is a manifestation of Allah سبحانه وتعالى's mercy
Nothing Rivals the Reward of Fasting
And what? Nothing in this world can rival the reward of our fast. Because something with no numerical limits, anything in this world is finite. Anything in this physical universe is finite. It has a limit. And so what does Allah Ta'ala say? Emphasizing manifestations of His mercy.
- Say in the mercy of Allah. And the unlimited reward of the fasting is one of the manifestations. Say in the mercy of the grace of Allah rather and His mercy. In this let them rejoice. هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ - It's better than anything they gather from this world.
55:60) - Is the reward for good ever anything other than good? If you love Allah with sincerity, for sure Allah تعالى will love you. And there is a huge difference between us loving Allah and Allah تعالى loving us. Our love comes from our jaded hearts. But Allah تعالی's love comes from His infinite mercy, quality and purity. Big difference.
May Allah bless us to be amongst the lovers. More importantly may Allah تعالى bless us to be amongst the beloved of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى . And may Ramadan be a great boost for us in our striving to attain to that station. May this be a great impetus for us in striving to attain to that station. So those are the people يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ. May Allah bless us to be amongst them.
The Second Delight: Meeting Allah
وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ - And delight when they meet their Lord. If you love someone but your love can only be expressed in correspondence, what is your state when you meet your beloved? You've only been in correspondence. Then you meet him or her. سُبْحَانَهُمْ. Some people melt. Some people become so ecstatic. They just, they don't even know where they're at.
The love of Allah and the meeting with Allah can't even be compared. You name it. Romeo, Juliet, whoever. The deepest love of any lovers in this world. The delight that they find when they meet each other. Cannot even be compared. There are no human terms that we can use to express how infinitely, infinitely rather greater the delight of the believer will be when he or she meets Allah.
And so Allah Ta'ala in the Quran can only express it in increase. Not in trying to describe some beautiful scenes, flowers or rivers. Allah Ta'ala just says: (لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ - )(Quran 10:26) - For those who do good in this world, they will have good. الْحُسْنَى is Jannah. وَزِيَادَةٌ - And an increase. An increase will be the meeting with Allah سبحانه وتعالى. Or with Him. The beatific vision.
So Allah just says زِيَادَةٌ - An increase. Why زِيَادَةٌ ? Because it is increased over anything anyone could imagine, is greater than that. لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ May Allah Ta'ala bless us to do good. We ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى to make us from those who do good in their worship. And in their lives. And in their relationships. And in everything they do. Of the good things in this world. And we ask Allah الْحُسْنَى Jannah. لَنَا وَلَكُمْ وَلِلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَلِجَمِيعِكُمْ وَلِجَمِيعِ النَّاسِ - For everyone.
An Invitation to Islam
Some people out there aren't Muslim yet. Some people in here aren't Muslim, are visitors. If you are visiting, not Muslim yet, after the prayer you can become a Muslim. Not now but then raise your hand. And inshallah we can take care of you inshallah. We want all the people to enjoy the blessings of Ramadan. You can go there's much more we'd like them to enjoy. This is Ramadan. This is a sufficient stop for anyone.
The Unimaginable Reward of Paradise
أَعَدَّ اللهُ لِعِبَادِهِ الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لَا عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ وَلَا أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ وَلَا :Quran 32:17). The hadith states) لَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ )Sahih Bukhari 3244, Sahih Muslim )2824( - وَفَرْحَةٌ عِنْدَ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِ . Allah has prepared for His
righteous servants in paradise that which no eye has ever seen, that which no ear has ever heard, that which has never been imagined by any human being.
May Allah bless us to see what our Prophet is speaking of. To hear what our Prophet is speaking of. And to experience that which we have never and could never even begin to imagine. I say this and ask forgiveness of my Lord. And all believing men and women ask forgiveness of their Lord.
Second Khutbah
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Messengers, our Master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. And peace and blessings be upon him.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا Indeed Allah and His angels pray for the Prophet )Quran 33:56) - O you who have believed, pray for him and send peace and blessings upon him. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا وَحَبِيبِنَا وَرَسُولِنَا وَنَبِيِّنَا وَالْقَائِمِ بِحَقِّكَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ
The Blessing of Security
Alhamdulillah, Allah Ta'ala has blessed us with something some Muslims don't enjoy. And something we should never cease thanking Allah for. And that's security. Security to meet, security to travel freely between our homes and whatever destination we choose. This is a great blessing of Allah. We should never underestimate it. We should never fail to give thanks for it. And of course there are violations and individual cases. But our general state is that we live in a state of security.
Allah Ta'ala mentions one of the great blessings the Quraysh experienced. We experience both that are mentioned. He fed them and drove off starvation and hunger from them. And we enjoy ample food and drink. And made them secure from fear. And we live lives, our general experience is secure from fear.
People, our sisters leave here at 12 midnight after the Tarawih and go unmolested to their cars. And we should always be security conscious. Brothers should be on the corner looking out. But generally if something happened it would be anomalous. It wouldn't be a norm, a normal situation. And this is quote unquote one of the bad parts of town. Quote unquote.
People park their cars all around. Come to Juma. Park three blocks this way, three blocks that way. Walk freely to the Juma. Go back to their cars. Go about their business in safety and security.
Praying for Our Brothers and Sisters
But some of our Muslim brothers and sisters, their security is threatened, can be violated as a norm. Now we know the situation in Syria, where the security situation is extremely tenuous in many of the cities and villages. Same can be said in Afghanistan or Iraq. Or some parts of Yemen. Palestine of course. Or now Burma, Myanmar.
So we should never neglect and fail to pray that the security we enjoy, that Allah Ta'ala extends it to all of our brothers and sisters in faith. And to all of our brothers and sisters in humanity. That the dignity that Allah Ta'ala has conferred upon us, that Allah Ta'ala blesses everyone to enjoy that dignity. Because every human being has a right to live a dignified existence.
The Dignity of the Human Being
Allah Ta'ala mentioned in the Quran : وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ )Quran 2017:70) - We have ennobled the human being. And the Muslim is dignified. Of humanity the Muslim is the most noble and the most dignified. And he or she should carry themselves with dignity. Even in Ramadan with fasting, the days are long. Hold your head up, don't mope. Hold your head up. Show the dignity of Islam. And who doesn't realize it? The hypocrites.
And that's a reflection. Just as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is a reflection of the light of Allah. And the believers reflect the prophetic light. And one manifestation of that is the Prophet reflects the dignity of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. And the believers reflect the dignity of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
And Allah mentions in the Quran: وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلْكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ )Quran 63:8) - To Allah belongs honor and dignity, as does the messenger, as do the believers. It is the hypocrites who realize it not.
Reflecting the Light and Generosity of the Prophet
And you can extend this analogy. Inshallah the next Juma we have an opportunity, and remember we can talk about this analogy of the sun. The purity and source of light, Allah تعالی having His most perfect reflection in the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم So when the Prophet approached Medina, what did the people say? طَلَعَ الْبَدْرُ عَلَيْنَا - The full moon has risen over us.
And the believers reflect that light. And in the charity Allah تعالیHis charity all the things that we mentioned at the outset of the khutbah, these are manifestations of Allah تعالی's generosity to us. And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم reflecting that to the fullest extent. How is he described كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ )Sahih Bukhari 6, Sahih Muslim 2308) - The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was the most generous of all people.
And one characteristic that doesn't attach itself to the believer is a miser. Believers are not misers. Why? Because they reflect the charitable nature of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
Closing Supplication
So may Allah تعالی bless us to be fitting reflections of the nobility and dignity of Islam. And may Allah forgive the Muslims and the Muslimat, and the believers, male and female, the living and the dead.
اللَّهُمَّ تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا مَا قَدَّمْنَا إِلَيْكَ فِي شَهْرِكَ رَمَضَانَ اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِيمَا بَقِيَ لَنَا مِنْ شَهْرِكَ رَمَضَانَ اللَّهُمَّ تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا وَزِدْنَا وَلَا تَنْقُصْنَا، أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ. سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ، وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
O Allah, accept from us what we have presented to You in Your month of Ramadan. O Allah, bless for us what remains for us of Your month of Ramadan. O Allah, accept from us and increase us and do not decrease us. You are our Protector, so grant us victory over the disbelieving people. Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Honor and
Power, above what they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.