Praise be to Allah, The Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the Truthful and the Faithful. O Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us, You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, let us make use of what You have taught us and advance us in knowledge. O Allah, show us the righteous things as righteous and help us do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of It, and admit us, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants.
Ramadan is the month of keeping connected to Allah and drawing closer to Him:
Dear noble brothers, I hope that you meet Ramadan every year with a good health.
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, decreed Ramadan to be the month of closeness to Him, performing good deeds, maintaining kinship ties and excelling in performing the acts of worship.
Unfortunately, for some Muslims, Ramadan has become a month of feasting and TV shows. It has lost its true essence, for this month is meant to be a remarkable a spiritual transformation.
(( Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven" ))
(( Abu Hurairah narrated that: The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." ))
[ Al-Bukhari
]
Being forgiven for all sins in Ramadan is like someone drowning in debt and facing imprisonment and the confiscation of all his properties, but he is then told that he will be completely freed from his debts if he commits to a certain action for just 30 days.
(( He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven ))
And:
(( Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. ))
Beware of thinking that wrongdoings against others will be forgiven in Ramadan, for the sins that are forgiven are only the ones between you and Allah.
(( Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'O son of Adam, I forgive you as long as you pray to Me and hope for My Forgiveness, whatever sins you have committed. O son of Adam, I do not care if your sins reach the height of the heaven, then you ask for My Forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you come to Me with an earth load of sins, and meet Me associating nothing to Me, I would match it with an earth load of forgiveness.' " ))
[ At-Tirmizi and Ahmad, on the authority of Anas bin Malik ]
Sins committed between you and Allah are only the ones subject to forgiveness in Ramadan, but any wrongdoings against people will not be forgiven unless the person you wronged pardons you, or you restore his rights.
Once again, Ramadan is the month of drawing closer to Allah, spending on the poor, giving Sadaqah (charity), paying Zakat, maintaining kinship ties, performing acts of worship and being spiritually transformed.
You perform Salah for 365 days every year as it is Fard (an obligation) upon every Muslim. However, Ramadan is an exceptional month of worship.
(( He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven ))
And:
(( Whoever stands (in the voluntary night prayer of) Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. ))
Man owns the freedom of choice which is the most important characteristic in his life:
The bitter truth is a thousand times better than the comforting delusion. The Islamic world possesses nearly half of the world's natural resources and occupies a strategic location at the crossroads of three continents. It also overseas key maritime passages: the Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandeb strait and the strait of Hermes, through which a significant portion of global trade flows. Hence, the Muslims across the Islamic world are the richest in natural resources and they have so much in common. Furthermore, two Billion Muslims perform the same acts of worship: Salah, Siyaam (fasting), Hajj and Zakat. Also, they own distinctive qualities which the rest of world lacks. Yet, Muslims are not in a good condition as you can see in the news. They are suffering and that is why they have turned back to Allah.
The critical question is: If Muslims adhere to righteousness, will their suffering come to an end? The answer is: No, it will not.
Islam is applied both individually and collectively. On the individual level, you have your own sphere where you make decisions to pray or not, to be honest or not and to treat other well or bad. Thus, you have freedom of choice and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ And say: "The truth is from your Lord." Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. Verily, We have prepared for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.), a Fire whose walls will be surrounding them (disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah). And if they ask for help (relief, water, etc.) they will be granted water like boiling oil, that will scald their faces. Terrible the drink, and an evil Murtafaqa (dwelling, resting place, etc.)! ﴿
Here is another proof:
﴾ Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful. ﴿
[ Al-Insan, 3
]
You own freedom of choice and this is the most significant quality in man's life.
Ramadan is the month of observing Siyaam, reconciling with Allah, returning to Him with sincere repentance, maintaining kinship ties, giving charity especially Zakat and strengthening social bonds. So, if you have a sister who lives on the outskirt of the city, you should visit her during Ramadan.
As you can see, there is a wide range of good deeds by which you are elevated in rank before Allah (as long as you are alive).
There is a delicate question which goes as follows: what does a person say when he is about to die? Allah, gives us the answer in the following Ayah:
﴾ And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!"﴿
The Blessings of Allah are the result of obeying Him:
The problem people suffer from is lacking knowledge.
None of the eight billion people on earth desires poverty, illness or oppression. Rather, everyone longs for abundance in wealth, good health, a successful marriage, dutiful children, righteous daughters and honorable social status. Such blessings are attained through obedience to Allah.
If a young child on Eid ul-Fitr tells his uncle that he owns a big amount of money, he most likely means no more than 200, since it is simply the allowance he receives from his relatives. On the other hand, if a senior official in a powerful county declared, "We have allocated a large sum of money to this war", it would most likely mean 200 billion. In the same vein, when The Creator of the heavens and the earth and The Sovereign of all Kings says the following, then you cannot imagine how significant seeking the Islamic knowledge is:
﴾ Had not the Grace of Allah and His Mercy been upon you (O Muhammad PBUH), a party of them would certainly have made a decision to mislead you, but (in fact) they mislead none except their own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allah has sent down to you the Book (The Qur'an), and Al-Hikmah (Islamic laws, knowledge of legal and illegal things i.e. the Prophet's Sunnah – legal ways), and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH). ﴿
As one of the notable scholars says, "If you desire the gains of the worldly life, pursue Islamic knowledge. If you desire the gains of the Hereafter, pursue Islamic knowledge. If you desire them both, then also pursue Islamic knowledge." Remember, knowledge will not grant you even fraction of it unless you are entirely devoted to seeking it, but if you are partially devoted, it will grant you nothing.
Man is the most honored creature and has been Divinely assigned to worship Allah:
Let us begin with basic axioms. This table has three dimensions, weight and volume. A plant, on the other hand, is similar to a table, except that it grows, while animals are distinguished by movement.
Human beings encompass all these qualities, they possess physical form like inanimate objects, they grow like plants and they move like animals. However, Allah honored mankind with cognitive power which no other creature possesses. By using this power, man is able to foresee the consequences, and through this insight he believes.
Because of this cognitive power, human beings are the most honored of creatures, and are assigned to worship Allah. Worship, by definition, is a voluntary act of obedience, combined with wholeheartedly love (to Allah), based on certainty and leading to eternal happiness.
Once again, we are welcoming the month of reconciliation with Allah, of drawing closer to Him, of sincere repentance, of qualitative leap, and of establishing a connection, as a weak creature, with the Source of beauty, perfection and bestowal, who is the Divine Character.
Dear noble brothers, once I happened to visit a very distant country where I was invited to attend the top-ranked motor show there. The tour lasted seven hours during which my host told me that a car is consisted of 300,000 pieces.
All I know about the car was that it has a body, chassis, engine and four wheels. So how those 300.000 parts could be reduced to just seven main components? Likewise, how many scholars are there in Islam? How many Islamic institutes are there? How many Islamic universities are there? How many Islamic books are there? They are counted in the millions. Could all of these immense resources be summarized into main fundamentals?
Creed is the basis of all actions in Islam:
Dear noble brothers, there are fundamentals in Islam, among which is Aqidah (Creed). If the Islamic Aqidah is correct, actions will be correct, but if it is flawed, actions will be flawed. This fact explains why seeking Islamic knowledge is a must.
I would repeat these influential words of the notable scholar, "If you desire the gains of the worldly life, pursue Islamic knowledge. If you desire the gains of the Hereafter, pursue Islamic knowledge. If you desire them both, then also pursue Islamic knowledge." Furthermore, "Knowledge will not grant you even a fraction of it unless you are entirely devoted to seeking it, so if you are partially devoted, it will grant you nothing."
When you go the Masjid, what do you learn there? You learn the explanation of the Commands of Allah, The Creator and the Lord of the Worlds Who brought you into existence. You also learn the obligations and prohibitions which are the Divine Manual of The Creator.
Imagine you own a very expensive car, and a red light on the dashboard warned you that the engine oil needs changing to prevent a breakdown, once you realize that this red light is a warning, you will take an action immediately. Similarly, your ownself is so dear to you, and out of concern for it, you must follow the Guidance of its Creator.
﴾ But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad, and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise). ﴿
[ Ar-Rahman, 46
]
The two gardens refer to one in the worldly life and another one in the Hereafter.
﴾ But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad, and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise). ﴿
Closeness to Allah is the garden of the worldly life:
If your eyes saw the beauty of Ours they have seen,
you would never turn your back on Us for other's sake
If your ears heard Our nice speech,
you would throw away the arrogance garb and come to Us
If you taste an atom of Our love,
you would excuse him who loved Us to death.
If you felt the breeze of Our closeness to you,
you would die in excitement and longing for us.
If you had a glimpse of Our radiant
You would have left all creations for Us
Attaining our love is not that easy
and who pretends otherwise
We say to him you indeed are not aware of Us
Easiest of love is to kill the lover out of love
And harder than killing someone is abandoning him
[ Ali Muhammad Bin Wafa'
]
To think seriously of the purpose of man's existence, consider this example. When a wealthy person sends his son to Paris to pursue a doctorial degree at Sorbonne University, which is one of the top-ranked universities in the world, what is the purpose of this son's presence in Paris? The purpose is to study. Thus, he may eat in a restaurant, sit in a park or buy a book; however, the main reason of his presence is to study.
As a human being, you are the most honored among creatures in the Sight of Allah. To clarify, angels have reason but no desires, animals have instincts but no reason, whereas man owns both, so if his reason overcomes his desires he rises above the angels, but if his desires overcome his reason, he descends to a level lower than animals. There is no middle-ground, so either you rise above angels or you descend to a level lower than animals.
Your existence is a fateful matter, since you are the most honored among creatures in the Sight of Allah, and you are assigned to worship Him.
Once again, worship, by definition, is a voluntary act of obedience, combined with wholeheartedly love, based on certainty and leading to eternal happiness.
Everlasting and ever-increasing happiness on earth does not exist:
Man longs for tangible pleasures such as tasty food, a spacious house, a luxury car and a beach house with beautiful view. Bear in mind that all these pleasures require money, time and good health. For profound wisdom, man usually lacks one of these three elements.
In his youth, man has health and time but little money. When he grows older, he may have wealth and health, but he becomes short on time.
A pious man, who owns fabric factory, said to me once, "I buried myself in work at the factory for 36 years, and I have never even had the chance to go for a picnic. The only time I broke my routine was when I traveled to Latakia to bring home my new car."
This person had wealth and health, but he lacked time. As he grew older and retired, handing his business over to his children, he finally had plenty of time and money, but he no longer enjoyed good health.
Allah decreed that the worldly life will not grant anyone an everlasting growing happiness. This is absolutely impossible, because it may deviate you from the main purpose of your existence which is worshipping Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He:
﴾ And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). ﴿
You are the only honored creature, and upon knowing Allah, you will rise above angels in The Sight of Allah. Thus, obeying Him is inevitable to achieve that transcendental purpose. I would like to repeat one more time that worship is a voluntary act of obedience, combined with wholeheartedly love, based on certainty and leading to eternal happiness.
As for the fundamentals of Islam, they are the basics of this religion, and Aqidah is one of them. If it is correct, actions are correct, but if it is flawed, actions are flawed.
To have sound Aqidah, you should seek Islamic knowledge which requires serious striving for its sake. To elaborate, it takes 23 years of study to earn the title "Dr." before your name, doesn't it? In the same vein, how can you hope for eternal Jannah (Paradise) without dedicating time to attend a religious session, recite the Quran and find answers to questions like: Who am I? Why am I in this world? What is the purpose of my existence? What is death? What comes after death?
It is painful to see that for many among the eight billion people on earth, life revolves around eating and satisfying desires. Sadly, this is the state to which much of the world has descended. There are hundreds of Ayaat in the Quran emphasizing believing in Allah and in the Hereafter. Believing in Allah is realized through worshiping Him, and believing in the Hereafter is reflected in refraining from harming any creature.
Unfortunately, in our era, the powerful countries have built their security on oppressing other nations, their prosperity on the suffering of others and their glory on the humiliation of others.
We are suffering deeply, although we possess nearly half of the world's natural resources, and oversea key maritime passages through which a significant portion of global trade flows, speak one language and share the same hopes.
It is very painful for me to admit that we remain among the most vulnerable nations, and that five Islamic capitals are occupied by hostile forces. Nevertheless, I urge you to avoid hopelessness, pessimism and melancholy, for such feelings can lead a person toward Kur. The believer should be optimistic.
As I have said earlier, Islam is applied both individually and collectively. On the individual level, you have your own sphere in which you make decisions to pray or not, to lower your gaze or not and to be honest with your customers or to cheat them. Thus, you have freedom of choice. Allah says:
﴾ Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. ﴿
﴾ Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful. ﴿
Everything is in Allah's Hand, yet He does not force us to worship Him:
You are the most honored, beloved and favored creature in The Sight of Allah Almighty, and therefore you have been assigned to worship Him. Worship, as mentioned earlier, is a voluntary act of obedience.
Regarding this definition, life and death, health and illness, poverty and wealth are in the Hand of Allah, yet He does not accept to be worshiped by force. Allah says:
﴾ There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. ﴿
Allah willed that affection be an essential element in the relationship with Him:
﴾ O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower. ﴿
Hence, love is of two kinds: love for the Sake of Allah, which is the essence of Tawheed (believing in Allah as the only Deity worthy of worship); and love that associates others with Allah, which is the essence of Shirk.
Love for the sake of Allah includes loving Allah, His Messenger, all Prophets, PBUT, righteous scholars, the Masjids and being dutiful to one's parents. This is Islam.
Once again, the love for the Sake of Allah is the essence of Tawheed, while the love that associates others with Allah is the essence of Shirk.
I know a man who is not religiously committed and who held a very high position in the Ministry of Education. At the age of 45, he decided to fast Ramadan. One day he visited a very important government official who asked him, "Are you fasting?" He replied, "No I never fast", and he broke his fast to please that man.
When you realize how great Allah is, you will say, "No one on earth is happier than I, except the one who surpasses me in righteousness."
Most people spend their lives in eating drinking, entertaining themselves and sleeping, but what about considering death in their lives? Death turns a living person, who once filled his house with joy, into a corpse feared by his own family. They hesitate to enter his room, and they even hasten to distribute his clothes as gifts to others.
This is the reality of death dear noble brothers. By Allah, if you only considered death in your daily decisions, your life would take a complete 180-degree turn. It was reported in the relic that once the burial ceremony ends, it will be told to the deceased:
(O My servant, they all went back home and left you alone after burying you underground. Even if they have stayed, they would never be useful for you. No one remains for you, but Me, and I am The Ever Living Who never dies.)
There will be Hereafter which will last for eternity:
Death is not something to be taken lightly, as it relates to the Hereafter and eternal life.
How long is the eternal life? How many years does it last? Is it one million years? Is it one billion years? Is it billion billion years? Eternal life is forever.
In order to understand eternity, let me give you this example. The distance between the earth and the sun is 150 million kilometers. Imagine writing the number 1 on the earth then adding a zero beside it every one millimeter all the way to the sun. Even this unimaginably large number would be nothing when compared to eternity.
Never forget that you have been created for eternity, which is unavoidable. It is said, "The Worldly life is only one hour, so spend it in obeying Allah. Your ownself is greedy but accustom it to contentment."
It is Allah's Favor that every desire has a lawful way of fulfillment:
Every desire instilled in man has a lawful way through which it can be fulfilled. If you desire a woman, you should marry her. She will be your wife, and the mother of your children, and you will have great happiness together.
Once again, every desire instilled in man has a lawful way through which it can be fulfilled.
Imagine that you have a bowl, and each time you lower your gaze instead of looking at a woman, a gold coin is placed in the bowl. After you get married, you will make benefit from the bowl (you will get the fruitful results of lowering your gaze). It may be a strange example, but it shows that the one who lowers his gaze will enjoy the company of his future wife; otherwise, he will be miserable.
The most important person in your home is your wife, the mother of your children. When affection exists between you and her, it becomes a shield which reduces the impact of any negative incidents your family may encounter.
For twelve years we have been facing negative events, but what makes it all worthwhile? It is the smallest circle, but what is it? It is the family: the father, the mother, the sons, the daughters and the grandchildren. Some families consist of 43 members.
I know a Syrian scholar whose family consists of 45 members, including himself, his wife, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. If this small circle (i.e. the family) is united and its members are in harmony, the impact of negative news will be minimal.
When you care for your children, your wife and your closest relatives, such as your father and mother, your success will be reflected in life in general. When harmony, affection, sympathy, cooperation and love are present in your family which is the smallest circle, your familial success will make you forget all hardships in life. On the other hand, when you lack all that, every hardship will devastate you, and you will not be in peace since the worldly Jannah of the believer is his home.
I invoke Allah from the bottom of my heart that every single man among you may marry a righteous wife who brings him joy at the sight of her, guards her chastity in his absence and obeys him in what is right.
The righteous wife is the reward for the one who lowers his gaze before marriage. On the other hand, the one, who stares at women before marriage will end up with a wife who will bring him misery.
Islam is our guidance and believing in Allah and the Hereafter shapes our destiny. Unless the believer, who is connected with Allah and is obedient to Him, says that there is no one or earth happier than him, except for those who surpasses him in righteousness, then there is a problem in his faith.
May Allah preserve your faith, your families, your children, your health and your wealth.
May Allah grant peace to our country and accept our Siyaam.
As-Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh.
