Echoes from the pulpits
And Ramadan has arrived
A sermon by the honorable Sheikh
Khalid al-Humudi
May Allah preserve him
Praise be to Allah, the One, the Unique
The Eternal Refuge, who neither begets nor is born, and to whom there is no equal
Praise be to Allah with a praise that is boundless and beyond count
And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, alone, with no partner
“All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah; unto Him belongeth Sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise, and He is Able to do all things.” (64:1)
He has always been known for His benevolence
And described by His goodness, generosity, and bounty
And I bear witness that our master, our Prophet, and our beloved, Muhammad, is the servant of Allah and His Messenger
His chosen one and His intimate friend
We all bear witness that he delivered the message
And fulfilled the trust, and gave sincere counsel to the Ummah
And through him, Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, dispelled the distress
And he strove for the sake of Allah as He ought to be striven for, until the certainty came to him
In sending blessings upon you, I find what suffices me
And through them, my certainty has found its peace
It is the cure; whenever you complain of an ailment
I find its essence healing me
In sending blessings upon you, O best of creation
Is a light that guides me to the path of piety
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad as long as a star appears
And a bird sings, and a traveler chants
O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad
As long as those who remember him remember
And as long as the heedless remain heedless of his remembrance
O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him, his family, and his Companions
And whoever is guided by his guidance
And follows his Sunnah and treads his path
And grant him abundant peace until the Day of Judgment
Now then, servants of Allah
I advise you and myself to fear Allah
And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out
“And for such of your women as despair of menstruation, if ye doubt, their period (of waiting) shall be three months, along with those who have it not. And for those with child, their period shall be till they bring forth their burden. And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, He maketh his course easy for him.” (65:4)
O community of believers
The Generous has answered our prayer
And has brought us to Ramadan
So welcome, O welcome to fasting
Welcome, O welcome to fasting
O beloved one who visits us every year
Yes, the awaited visitor has come
The lights have shone to herald your arrival
And the atmosphere has become perfumed by your coming
Ramadan, O most gentle and generous of visitors
For our feelings and hearts are parched
They have longed for your river, for it is sweet and flowing
A quenching and a healing for our hearts
O Lord, grant us success in it to do that which
Pleases You, for You are the Bountiful Giver
And make it a mercy that wipes away our distress
O Lord, we are Your weak servants
O Allah, O Lord, just as You have brought us to Ramadan
Grant us success in it to fast and pray the night well
And make us among those who fast and pray it out of faith and seeking reward
And make us among those accepted in it
And those shown mercy and those emancipated
O Allah, amen
O noble ones
Ramadan is an annual station
In which the righteous provision themselves
With the fuel of faith and piety
Allah the Almighty says
O you who have believed
Fasting has been prescribed for you
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil);” (2:183)
That you may become righteous
And among the greatest of deeds
In which the righteous compete
In this blessed month
Is fasting
And what eases the hardship of fasting for the Muslim
Is to know that the fast of Ramadan
Is one of the pillars of Islam
And its mighty foundations
And the obligatory is more beloved to Allah than the supererogatory
And the act of fasting
Combines within it
All types of patience
And therefore
Allah has singled it out for a great reward that has no limit
For He, the Glorified, said
“Say: O My bondmen who believe! Observe your duty to your Lord. For those who do good in this world there is good, and Allah's earth is spacious. Verily the steadfast will be paid their wages without stint.” (39:10)
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said
Every deed of the son of Adam
Is multiplied
A good deed by ten times its like
Up to seven hundred times
Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, said
Except for fasting
For it is Mine, and I shall reward for it
He leaves his desire and his food for My sake
And among the deeds
In which the righteous compete
In this blessed month
Is the night prayer (Qiyam)
For whoever prays the night in Ramadan
Out of faith and seeking reward
His past sins will be forgiven
And whoever prays with the Imam
Until he finishes
It is written for him as if he prayed the whole night
Glory be to Allah
A few minutes
You pray them with the Imam
And it is written for you before Allah
That you have prayed the entire night
Oh, for this great favor
In this noble month
In this blessed month
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said
Know that the believer
Has gathered for him in the month of Ramadan
Two struggles for his soul
A struggle by day through fasting
And a struggle by night through prayer
So whoever combines these two struggles
And fulfills their rights
And is patient through them
His reward will be given without measure
And among the deeds
In which the righteous compete
In this blessed month
Is the recitation of the Qur'an
For the month of Ramadan
Is the month in which the Qur'an was revealed
And Jibril, peace be upon him
Used to meet the Prophet, peace be upon him
Every night of Ramadan
And study the Qur'an with him
So it behooves the Muslim
To set a goal to complete the Qur'an in Ramadan
And whatever you increase is better
For whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah
Has a good deed for it
And the good deed is ten times its like
But, O servants of Allah
It is also necessary
To reflect and contemplate
Because Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, says
“(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect.” (38:29)
To contemplate its verses
And among the deeds
In which the righteous compete
In the month of Ramadan
Is charity, O servants of Allah
For the Messenger of Allah
Peace be upon him
Was the most generous of people
And he was at his most generous in Ramadan
And the greatest of charity
Is the obligatory charity
Such as zakat and expiations
But
Let us beware of an important matter
Let us beware of paying it
To unknown external entities
So that Islam is not fought
With the wealth of the Muslims
And there are known official channels
That we should be keen to use
And that it should be through them
And also among charities
From the types of charity
Is the charity of dhikr (remembrance)
Such as glorifying Allah (tasbih)
And declaring His greatness (takbir) and His oneness (tahlil)
And the charity of good character
Such as smiling
And refraining from harming others
And that you forgive those who wronged you
And give to those who deprived you
And uphold ties with those who severed them
All of that
Are charities before Allah
Which are magnified in the month of Ramadan
And among the deeds in which the righteous compete
In this blessed month
Is frequent supplication
Allah the Almighty says
“And when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he crieth unto Me. So let them hear My call and let them trust in Me, in order that they may be led aright.” (2:186)
Indeed, I am near
Indeed, I am near
“And when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he crieth unto Me. So let them hear My call and let them trust in Me, in order that they may be led aright.” (2:186)
And this verse
Allah mentioned it
Between the verses of fasting
Ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said
And in this verse
Is an indication
That the fasting person
Is one whose prayer is hoped to be answered
And that the month of Ramadan
Is a time when prayers are hoped to be answered
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said
Three prayers are answered
The prayer of the fasting person
And the prayer of the oppressed
And the prayer of the traveler
And here we draw attention to an important matter
That many people
Believe
That the answering of the prayer
Only at the time of breaking the fast, or shortly before it.
This is correct.
Because there is a hadith that stipulates this.
However, it is also
from the grace of Allah
upon the fasting person
that He has made all of his time a time for answering prayers.
As we heard in the hadith:
"Three supplications are answered,"
and it mentioned among them
the supplication of the fasting person.
So, if Allah inspires you, O servant of Allah,
if Allah inspires you to supplicate,
then praise Allah,
and know
that with supplication comes the answer.
So trust in Allah,
and pray for yourself,
for your parents,
for your household,
and for the Muslims.
For the fasting person
has a supplication that is not rejected.
O noble ones,
among the deeds also
in which the righteous compete
during the month of Ramadan
is the purification of hearts
from malice, envy,
doubt, hypocrisy,
dissimulation, and hardness.
For the world is fleeting,
and nothing remains of it
except your righteous deeds, O servant of Allah,
and your sound heart.
Remember the saying of Allah:
“The day when wealth and sons avail not (any man)” (26:88)
"Except for one who comes to Allah with a sound heart."
O fasting ones,
guard your fast
from that which would mar it
or diminish its reward,
such as forbidden acts
and time-wasting activities.
For whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it,
and ignorance,
Allah has no need
for him to abandon his food and drink.
Praise Allah, O servants of Allah,
that He has brought you to Ramadan,
and that He has aided you in fasting
and in standing in prayer.
For others
were not able to fast,
and were not able to stand in prayer.
O Allah, to You be praise,
and we cannot enumerate Your praises;
You are as You have praised Yourself.
May Allah bless me and you with the Great Qur'an,
and benefit me and you with the verses and wise reminder it contains.
I say what you hear, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness;
indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Praise be to Allah for His benevolence,
and thanks be to Him for His guidance and favor.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
To proceed, O servants of Allah,
the date today
is the twenty-ninth of the blessed month of Ramadan.
Pardon me, O servants of Allah,
do not think that I have made a mistake in the date; no.
I know that today is the fourth day of the month of Ramadan,
but this day will pass,
and it will come to pass, if Allah extends our life
and grants us more time.
How swift are the days!
How swift are the nights and the days!
And Allah spoke the truth when He said regarding Ramadan:
"A limited number of days."
This month is short,
it does not tolerate negligence,
its arrival is a passing event,
it does not accept lethargy.
And whenever you become lazy, O servant of Allah,
whenever you become lazy or slacken in obedience,
remember the saying of Allah:
"A limited number of days."
And if you are able
that no one should outstrip you to Allah,
then do so.
For they are but days,
then this month will come to an end.
We ask Allah, the Majestic,
as He brought us to its beginning,
to bring us to its middle and its end,
and to grant us success in it
for every deed He loves and is pleased with.
O Allah, O Lord,
O Possessor of Majesty and Honor,
O Ever-Living, O Sustainer,
make us among those who fast and stand in prayer during Ramadan
out of faith and seeking reward,
so that You forgive them, have mercy on them,
and free them from the Fire.
O Allah, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor,
O Allah, suffice us against what concerns us,
be gentle with us in what You have decreed,
and aid us in what You have ordained.
We seek Your forgiveness, O Lord,
for every word followed by regret,
or every deed by which the foot slips.
For You are the trust for those who rely upon You,
and the protection for those who entrust their affairs to You.
O Allah, remove every affliction from us,
clothe us in the garment of piety,
and make Paradise our abode.
Have mercy on those who have preceded us to You,
O Most High, O All-Knowing,
and specifically our fathers and mothers.
O Allah, heal our sick,
have mercy on our dead,
grant well-being to those of us who are afflicted,
settle our debts,
relieve our worries,
and ease our distress.
Do not make us in need of anyone but You.
O Allah, You are the Merciful,
whose bounty overflows upon all existence,
whose grace overflows upon all existence.
You are the Forgiving,
whose forgiveness encompasses all things.
You are the Self-Sufficient,
whose generosity and kindness overflow upon Your servants.
You are the Light,
which illuminated the universe with the light of Your Face and Your Greatness.
O Allah, O Lord,
open for us the locked doors,
prepare for us the best of means,
provide us with the best of companions,
and make us among the people of piety and those of understanding.
O Allah, grant us security in our homes and dwellings,
reform those in authority,
expand our chests,
and illuminate the graves of the deceased Muslims,
by Your mercy, O All-Mighty, O All-Forgiving.
O Allah, grant victory to our soldiers on the borders,
O Allah, grant victory to our soldiers on the borders,
be for them a supporter and a helper,
and a helper and a backer.
O Allah, return them safe and victorious.
Protect us from the evil of Your creation,
O Ever-Living, O Sustainer.
O Allah, You have in Ramadan,
every night, those whom You free from the Fire.
O Allah, make us among those You free from the Fire,
O Allah, make us among those You free from the Fire.
O Allah, free us, our parents,
our children, our descendants,
and the Muslims from the Fire,
by Your mercy, O All-Mighty, O All-Forgiving.
O Allah, this is the supplication, and from You is the answer,
this is the effort, and upon You is the reliance.
Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of Might, above what they describe,
and peace be upon the messengers,
and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.