By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Saturday, Ramadan 15, 1438 AH (June 10, 2017)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Bestower of Mercy
All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His Servant, and His Messenger."O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, an awe-inspired awareness, and die not except as Muslims." "O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory."My people! In the opening verse of Surah An-Nisa’, Allah says: “O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.” My respected Brothers and Sisters! With the Grace of Almighty Allah, we reached the fifteen (15) day of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah. Insha-Allah, Allah will grant you and me, and all our loved ones, His Divine Mercy, Forgiveness and Freedom from the Fire. Say “Ameen!” My people! Ramadan is the month of fasting, spiritual discipline, getting even closer to Allah and intensifying our good works. It’s not only a month of hunger and thirst, praying on time and gorging ourselves with a big meal after sunset. That’s not Ramadan! This is the month of Allah, and it’s the month of the Quran. This is the best chance we have to mend our bad habits and to find Allah’s Rida, Allah’s Good Pleasure. As we are reminded of a Hadith Qudsi in Sahih Bukhari. Allah declares that:
“Fasting is for Me, and I will give rewards for it.” “O You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn taqwa, (self-restraint).” [2:183] Servants of Allah! Those of us who are fasting, enjoy the satisfaction that we are giving up our delicious food and drink, our leisure and amusement so that we can please our Lord and Life-Giver. Allah tells us in the Hadith Qudsi that all our other duties concern the poor, the needy, our families and ourselves, but Fasting is for Him alone, and He rewards whom He pleases, as often and as much as Allah pleases.We must always bear in mind the purpose of our fasting. It’s not only to stay hungry and thirsty. It’s to be conscious of Allah at all times.
Fasting teaches us to tame our lower passions, al-nafs-al-ammara-bis-su'i. This is the lower self that clings to the earth, and drags us towards all the hateful and shameful actions, like envy, greed, sexual lust, jealousy, anger, hatred, extremism, tribalism, corruption, stinginess, miserliness, arrogance, revenge, etc.
Think of the murderous events in North East Nigeria (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe etc), Afghanistan, Somalia, Manchester and London recently, but I’ll say more about that later!
Servants of Allah! Fasting helps us to be disciplined. It helps us to strengthen our conscience, the higher self, which in Arabic is called al-nafs-al-lawwamah. This is the self-reproaching nafs, this is the higher self that constantly blames itself and seeks to put right all the errors and sins of the lower self. Throughout our lives we struggle with this greater Jihad, of trying to control our ugliest desires and passions. All our thoughts, our words and our actions must be good and pleasing to Allah. Once the Muslims returned from a battle, and Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) said to them:
“You have completed the lesser Jihad, now you must engage with the greater Jihad.”
This is the struggle to control and to purify yourself.I pray that every one of us here will use this Ramadan as an opportunity to fight this most important of all struggles, the Greater Jihad of taking control of our lives, control of our lower passions and desires. This struggle to cultivate Self-discipline is not only for Ramadan. It’s a lifelong struggle. Shaytan (Satan) will constantly try to tempt us and make our evil nature seem pleasing to us. But we must be on guard. Whenever an evil thought comes to mind, we must resist it. We must remember what pleases Allah, and must say:
“I take refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the Cursed One."Remember to take refuge in Allah from Shaytan. If you forget Allah, you’ll be left with Shaytan! Remember that Allah will hold us to account for our actions. None of us wants to be among the losers, the ones whose end is hellfire, Jahannam, Nau'zu bil-Lah! We want to be among the winners, the ones who will enter paradise, Al Jannah Firdaws.Remember the prayer of Prophet Adam, which every pilgrim recites on Arafat, on the day of wuquf: “O our Lord! We have truly wronged our own souls, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the lost ones."My Dear Brothers and Sisters! From this Ramadan, let’s you and I spend our lives, purifying our thoughts and words and actions, so that when we die we have a purified heart and soul. We want our Ruh, our soul to be as pure and unblemished as it was on the day we were born.Dearest Brothers and Sisters! I pray that when death finally comes to you and me, then we will meet Allah while His angels recite these beautiful words from the last verses of Surah Al Fajr for us:“O Purified Soul, well pleased with yourself, and well pleasing to Me, enter you among my devotees, enter you my garden.”Ramadan is also a time for us to remember those who are fasting every day of their lives, not by choice, not because they want to fast, but because of poverty. They simply don’t have enough to eat or drink. Those who enjoy clean drinking water, hot meals every day and a warm comfortable home, must remember that they are very fortunate to have these blessings. Ramadan is a time to remember others less fortunate. It’s a time to show Compassion and Mercy. You know, every time a Muslim begins an important action, he says the Bismillah: Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim! He says: I begin this action in the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate! Dear Brothers and Sisters! How many times a day do we say these words? Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty times? Surely it must have some effect on our behaviour, if we are conscious of the meaning. Surely compassion and mercy must flow from our words and actions. In time our whole character should be infused with Allah’s mercy and compassion. This is one of the big lessons of Ramadan. This is how we can acquire the “Colours of Allah” Sibghatullah. And that is why it is important for us to pay our Zakah during this month. Zakah is the 2.5% of unused wealth that goes to the poor and needy. Let us try to remember these important lessons of Ramadan. Every week, month or year, we will have some cash collections for a worthy cause. Please give generously, as Allah has been generous with you.Dear Brothers and Sisters! Some Muslims think that Ramadan is a time to ‘go slow’ and to avoid exerting ourselves. If we had the opportunity, some of us would want to sleep all day until iftar! This is wrong. Ramadan is not a time for hibernation. Ramadan is the time we should be busy reading and understanding the Quran, studying our faith and trying to improve our knowledge and our character. All that information must lead to moral transformation. It’s a time of spiritual renewal and revival.My people! Know that, many important events took place in Ramadan as follows:
1. The Noble Quran was revealed in Ramadan.
2. The Battle of Badr took place in Ramadan.
3. Makkah was conquered in a bloodless battle by Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) during Ramadan.
4. Tariq bin Ziyad conquered Spain during Ramadan. The list goes on and on…
So remember, Ramadan is not an excuse for laziness. It is a time for improving ourselves, improving our mind and body and spirit. We must welcome Ramadan like a long lost friend.Finally, I’d like to say a few words about the tragic events in Jiddari Polo (Borno State), Adamawa, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Manchester and London recently. We should not be in any doubt about this, Murder is wrong. Killing innocent people is wrong. The Quran warns us that even if we take one person’s life without just cause, it is like taking the lives of all humanity. And if we can save just one life, it is as if we have saved all of humanity.
My respected people! Wallahi, Killers are criminals. I doesn’t matter what they choose to call themselves. Acts of terror are totally forbidden in Islam. It’s the polar opposite of Islam. In this noble month, we should also pray for the many innocent lives that were lost in Nigeria, London, Manchester, Brussels, Paris, Baghdad, Aleppo, Kabul, San’a (Yemen), Iran, Somalia, Libya and too many other places of conflict around the world. I ask Allah to bring all conflicts to an end. O Allah, let all people enjoy peace, and dignity and justice.May Allah accept our fasting which we do only for His sake. We do not fast just to lose weight or to show off to others how religious we are. We fast because we love Allah, and we want to please Him. We owe Him so much. Fasting is a very small thing that HE asks us to do, only for Him. Allah doesn’t specify how much, Ten times, Seventy times or Seven hundred times. Allah gives rewards for fasting, from His limitless bounty, “bi ghairi hisab,” without limits.I pray that you and I will be amongst those whom Allah rewards, without limits. Ameen.Brothers and sisters, to conclude my today's lecture, Allah says:“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.” And Allah says: "Remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.” And without doubt:"Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do."Oh Allah! Make every single aspect of our life be for You and in service of Your Creation. Please remove all false intentions that we have.Oh Allah! save humanity from being its own enemy. Protect Your creation from oppression. Save the people of Nigeria from internal and external oppressors and give them justice. Protect us all from violence, fear and danger, You are our Protector.Oh Allah! let us love You as You deserved to be loved, and let us fear You as You deserve to be feared, and let us leave this world serving Your creation for Your sake.Oh Allah! increase us in beneficial knowledge, let this knowledge be with sincerity, not for seeking fame, glory, status, material wealth. Let this knowledge serve Your cause in a way that You accept, and let it benefit humanity. Oh Allah! please guide our children and all children. They are surrounded by so much temptation and forbidden things. Protect them our Lord from all of the evil influences that are around them. Give them friends who will strengthen their faith and help them stay on the Straight Path. Ameen Ya Rabb! My respected people! For a Muslim Ramadan is the month in which they can gain maximum blessings and mercy from Allah Almighty and seek forgiveness for whatever sins they have committed. Therefore, prayers, charity, Du'as etc need to be ensured during the month as these are the means that can help a Muslim achieve the desired objectives.I pray that Allah Ta'ala allows me and you all to finished this Ramadan with the highest degree of Iman, ameen.
Wassalamu AlaikumA lecture delivered by Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, at Alhaji Abdurrahman Okene's Mosque (Wokili's Compound), Okene Kogi State Nigeria. He can be reached via: +2348038289761.
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