Why Did We Enjoy Ramadhan?
Alhamdulillah, after one light has finished, Allah ta’ala has entered us into another light. The Noor of Ramadhan has ended and Allah ta’ala has brought us into the months leading up to Hajj. From one Noor, Allah ta’ala has taken us into a second Noor, and this is all Allah’s Fadhl and His Grace and His Blessings. Allah ta’ala has prepared such excellent things for us human beings; He has given us life and time, and also understanding and awareness – and if He has given Iman on top of that, this is a truly great thing. In addition, Allah ta’ala bestows opportunities to the human being one after the other – alhamdulillah, what a beautiful life Allah ta’ala gives a human being. The taste and excellence of Ramadhan has not left us - that taste is so fantastic that it is still there. Even though that taste is still with us, Allah ta’ala has sent the next dish to us. Allah’s food mat is so vast, and every dish and taste upon it is unique, alhamdulillah. We should be of those who are able to partake of and consume those bounties.
Allah ta’ala gave us Ramadhan, and in the whole of Ramadhan, Allah ta’ala opened up and unravelled so many wisdoms of A’maal that have made the Deen very easy for us, so now and for the rest of the year, we should think about those things continually, reflect upon them and keep them in front of us to thank Allah for those treasures and Ni’mahs that we enjoyed. So think – what was Ramadhan? It has gone, and most people are upset and feel a bit down at the moment. You can hear the statement ‘Ramadhan went by so quickly’ on many people’s tongues. They say ‘We didn’t realise how fast it went! There was so much enjoyment in Ramadhan – we really loved it.’ Everyone is saying this – SubhanAllah. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us such a big message through this – what is this enjoyment and this taste? What is it that we are actually missing? Think about this for a little while, at least.
Allah ta’ala made us stop everything in Ramadhan; we stopped eating, we couldn’t drink, we had to stop so many other actions, and endure extreme heat – so what was there that was enjoyable? Didn’t everyone enjoy it? And now that it has ended, we say that we feel a big loss and that we didn’t want it to end. Normal people are saying this, not Walis of Allah or great Muttaqis. Allah ta’ala is giving a big message to us through this – think about it; a very important message is being given here. Allah ta’ala is explaining to us what enjoyment is. Why do you feel the loss of Ramadhan and remember how it was, now that it has gone? Why do you miss it? Why do you remember the enjoyment of those days?
Allah ta’ala is saying ‘This enjoyment comes from the fact that I gave you an order, and you implemented it completely; you completed it. The completion and implementation of the order of Ramadhan was achieved just by complying with My order that you stop eating and drinking for a few hours each day – that was it. That was the order that I gave to you. I told you not to eat or drink, and you had to follow that order.’ We took that one order and instruction of Allah on board, and Allah ta’ala kept us like this for thirty days. It is hard to do this just for one day, but Allah ta’ala kept us in this state for thirty days, and at the end, everyone says that they really enjoyed it. So Allah ta’ala is saying ‘Just through accepting this order of Mine, look at the enjoyment you attained; look at how you rejoiced!’ And people say ‘It was not hard - rather, it was very easy, and we feel like we would like to keep more fasts - if only Ramadhan could have gone on for longer!’
So Allah ta’ala is saying ‘See - it was easy to implement My order, wasn’t it? Was it a minor order? To make you stay hungry all day long was a big instruction, and I made everything Haram for – and you accepted that and implemented it and upheld it. And then you also said that it was very easy! So the message that I have given you here is that you should treat all My orders in this same way. Ramadhan is just one example of an order, but you should consider that all of My orders are like this – so why do you disobey Me? You can get the same taste and enjoyment and rejoicing from all of them. This was just one order that I gave you, but the enjoyment for implementing all of My Ahkams is the same. When a person implements My orders with Ikhlas and sincerity, which is how you kept the fasts, without showing off or looking for recognition or rewards, when a person implements any of My other orders with this same drive and sincerity and passion, then even more enjoyment will be attained. So why are you afraid of following My orders? Why are you afraid of doing this? It is because shaytan has told you that it is too hard for you to do these things – he tells you it is too difficult. But I gave you an extremely difficult task in Ramadhan, which you implemented and from which you derived so much enjoyment and taste, so after that, how can you reject the other things I ask of you?’
So it was not Ramadhan itself that gave us enjoyment; rather, the actual enjoyment came from implementing the order of Allah – that is what we loved. Say SubhanAllah! Look, this message was hidden, but now that we are thinking back to Ramadhan after it has gone, see all the commands of Allah in that light. Allah ta’ala tells us to pray Salah regularly and continually, waking up at the right time and praying with a strong desire and passion, and if we do so, by Allah, the enjoyment of one Salah is many times greater than the enjoyment of Ramadhan - many times greater. The enjoyment and depth of feeling will be much more from one Salah than from the whole of Ramadhan – why? Because Allah ta’ala has given a great promise with Salah. Allah is saying ‘Prostrate to Me and you will come close to Me’ – what a very great reward Allah ta’ala has given us here. Think about it. The more reward that Allah ta’ala gives for an action, the more enjoyment He gives for doing that deed – and the more you achieve also.
So, MashaAllah, we have understood this point that the taste and the enjoyment of Ramadhan was given to us just so that we would implement Allah ta’ala’s Hukms and orders, and for the rest of our lives, complete all of Allah ta’ala’s orders in the same way. Don’t be half this and half that, one foot in and one foot out – no; that is shaytan’s way, not our way. Try it and see - look how people achieve big feats in the world and look what the Sahaba-e-Kiram and the pious predecessors did, alhamdulillah. Whatever they did, they did with enjoyment, just as you enjoyed that hunger and thirst and whatever condition you found yourself in while fasting. There was so much enjoyment which picked us up and carried us forward happily. There was enjoyment in hunger and enjoyment in heat – why? Because following Allah’s orders brings this enjoyment, taste and satisfaction. We accepted Allah ta’ala’s order, and that is what brings the enjoyment and taste. So tell me, how great will be the enjoyment and taste that a person will attain for this in Paradise?
Allah ta’ala says ‘You implemented My order when I told you not to eat or drink, so don’t do Zina or transgress any of My other orders.’ If you follow these orders with Ikhlas and sincerity, you will start to experience the enjoyment for this while you are living in the world - although the real enjoyment for implementing His orders will be what Allah ta’ala will give in the Hereafter, in Jannah. We leave alcohol just as we left food and drink in Ramadhan, and Allah ta’ala gave us the taste and enjoyment in the world for being obedient in Ramadhan - but the real enjoyment will accrue in the Hereafter. What reward will Allah ta’ala give for leaving these things and following His orders? Allah has mentioned that there will be something in return for obeying every order of Allah.
I will give you the example of a person who leaves alcohol or other intoxicants. To such a person, Allah says ‘When you leave these things in obedience of My order, I will give you such enjoyment, but I will give you the real enjoyment in Jannah. What will that be? You left alcohol and other substances when on earth, so in Jannah you will get the alcohol of Paradise, from which there will be no stench nor befuddlement, but rather you will be overtaken by a unique feeling that you cannot even comprehend at the moment. There will be enjoyment from following My orders here on earth as well – but the real enjoyment will be in the Hereafter.’
So, my brothers, Allah’s Deen brings enjoyment beyond enjoyment. Even outside Ramadhan, everything brings enjoyment if we practice it. May Allah ta’ala give us determination and courage, and may we implement this valuable lesson of Ramadhan in our lives so that we do not leave any order or Amal that is commanded by Allah subhana wa ta'ala. We should strive to implement every action, for just as every dish has a different taste, so every Amal and order of Allah has a different taste, as I explained with the example of Salah. We must implement every one of Allah’s orders - and if Allah ta’ala tells us not to do something and to leave it, shunning that thing will also give enjoyment. And the real enjoyment for obedience will be given in Paradise.
وأخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
Alhamdulillah, after one light has finished, Allah ta’ala has entered us into another light. The Noor of Ramadhan has ended and Allah ta’ala has brought us into the months leading up to Hajj. From one Noor, Allah ta’ala has taken us into a second Noor, and this is all Allah’s Fadhl and His Grace and His Blessings. Allah ta’ala has prepared such excellent things for us human beings; He has given us life and time, and also understanding and awareness – and if He has given Iman on top of that, this is a truly great thing. In addition, Allah ta’ala bestows opportunities to the human being one after the other – alhamdulillah, what a beautiful life Allah ta’ala gives a human being. The taste and excellence of Ramadhan has not left us - that taste is so fantastic that it is still there. Even though that taste is still with us, Allah ta’ala has sent the next dish to us. Allah’s food mat is so vast, and every dish and taste upon it is unique, alhamdulillah. We should be of those who are able to partake of and consume those bounties.
Allah ta’ala gave us Ramadhan, and in the whole of Ramadhan, Allah ta’ala opened up and unravelled so many wisdoms of A’maal that have made the Deen very easy for us, so now and for the rest of the year, we should think about those things continually, reflect upon them and keep them in front of us to thank Allah for those treasures and Ni’mahs that we enjoyed. So think – what was Ramadhan? It has gone, and most people are upset and feel a bit down at the moment. You can hear the statement ‘Ramadhan went by so quickly’ on many people’s tongues. They say ‘We didn’t realise how fast it went! There was so much enjoyment in Ramadhan – we really loved it.’ Everyone is saying this – SubhanAllah. Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us such a big message through this – what is this enjoyment and this taste? What is it that we are actually missing? Think about this for a little while, at least.
Allah ta’ala made us stop everything in Ramadhan; we stopped eating, we couldn’t drink, we had to stop so many other actions, and endure extreme heat – so what was there that was enjoyable? Didn’t everyone enjoy it? And now that it has ended, we say that we feel a big loss and that we didn’t want it to end. Normal people are saying this, not Walis of Allah or great Muttaqis. Allah ta’ala is giving a big message to us through this – think about it; a very important message is being given here. Allah ta’ala is explaining to us what enjoyment is. Why do you feel the loss of Ramadhan and remember how it was, now that it has gone? Why do you miss it? Why do you remember the enjoyment of those days?
Allah ta’ala is saying ‘This enjoyment comes from the fact that I gave you an order, and you implemented it completely; you completed it. The completion and implementation of the order of Ramadhan was achieved just by complying with My order that you stop eating and drinking for a few hours each day – that was it. That was the order that I gave to you. I told you not to eat or drink, and you had to follow that order.’ We took that one order and instruction of Allah on board, and Allah ta’ala kept us like this for thirty days. It is hard to do this just for one day, but Allah ta’ala kept us in this state for thirty days, and at the end, everyone says that they really enjoyed it. So Allah ta’ala is saying ‘Just through accepting this order of Mine, look at the enjoyment you attained; look at how you rejoiced!’ And people say ‘It was not hard - rather, it was very easy, and we feel like we would like to keep more fasts - if only Ramadhan could have gone on for longer!’
So Allah ta’ala is saying ‘See - it was easy to implement My order, wasn’t it? Was it a minor order? To make you stay hungry all day long was a big instruction, and I made everything Haram for – and you accepted that and implemented it and upheld it. And then you also said that it was very easy! So the message that I have given you here is that you should treat all My orders in this same way. Ramadhan is just one example of an order, but you should consider that all of My orders are like this – so why do you disobey Me? You can get the same taste and enjoyment and rejoicing from all of them. This was just one order that I gave you, but the enjoyment for implementing all of My Ahkams is the same. When a person implements My orders with Ikhlas and sincerity, which is how you kept the fasts, without showing off or looking for recognition or rewards, when a person implements any of My other orders with this same drive and sincerity and passion, then even more enjoyment will be attained. So why are you afraid of following My orders? Why are you afraid of doing this? It is because shaytan has told you that it is too hard for you to do these things – he tells you it is too difficult. But I gave you an extremely difficult task in Ramadhan, which you implemented and from which you derived so much enjoyment and taste, so after that, how can you reject the other things I ask of you?’
So it was not Ramadhan itself that gave us enjoyment; rather, the actual enjoyment came from implementing the order of Allah – that is what we loved. Say SubhanAllah! Look, this message was hidden, but now that we are thinking back to Ramadhan after it has gone, see all the commands of Allah in that light. Allah ta’ala tells us to pray Salah regularly and continually, waking up at the right time and praying with a strong desire and passion, and if we do so, by Allah, the enjoyment of one Salah is many times greater than the enjoyment of Ramadhan - many times greater. The enjoyment and depth of feeling will be much more from one Salah than from the whole of Ramadhan – why? Because Allah ta’ala has given a great promise with Salah. Allah is saying ‘Prostrate to Me and you will come close to Me’ – what a very great reward Allah ta’ala has given us here. Think about it. The more reward that Allah ta’ala gives for an action, the more enjoyment He gives for doing that deed – and the more you achieve also.
So, MashaAllah, we have understood this point that the taste and the enjoyment of Ramadhan was given to us just so that we would implement Allah ta’ala’s Hukms and orders, and for the rest of our lives, complete all of Allah ta’ala’s orders in the same way. Don’t be half this and half that, one foot in and one foot out – no; that is shaytan’s way, not our way. Try it and see - look how people achieve big feats in the world and look what the Sahaba-e-Kiram and the pious predecessors did, alhamdulillah. Whatever they did, they did with enjoyment, just as you enjoyed that hunger and thirst and whatever condition you found yourself in while fasting. There was so much enjoyment which picked us up and carried us forward happily. There was enjoyment in hunger and enjoyment in heat – why? Because following Allah’s orders brings this enjoyment, taste and satisfaction. We accepted Allah ta’ala’s order, and that is what brings the enjoyment and taste. So tell me, how great will be the enjoyment and taste that a person will attain for this in Paradise?
Allah ta’ala says ‘You implemented My order when I told you not to eat or drink, so don’t do Zina or transgress any of My other orders.’ If you follow these orders with Ikhlas and sincerity, you will start to experience the enjoyment for this while you are living in the world - although the real enjoyment for implementing His orders will be what Allah ta’ala will give in the Hereafter, in Jannah. We leave alcohol just as we left food and drink in Ramadhan, and Allah ta’ala gave us the taste and enjoyment in the world for being obedient in Ramadhan - but the real enjoyment will accrue in the Hereafter. What reward will Allah ta’ala give for leaving these things and following His orders? Allah has mentioned that there will be something in return for obeying every order of Allah.
I will give you the example of a person who leaves alcohol or other intoxicants. To such a person, Allah says ‘When you leave these things in obedience of My order, I will give you such enjoyment, but I will give you the real enjoyment in Jannah. What will that be? You left alcohol and other substances when on earth, so in Jannah you will get the alcohol of Paradise, from which there will be no stench nor befuddlement, but rather you will be overtaken by a unique feeling that you cannot even comprehend at the moment. There will be enjoyment from following My orders here on earth as well – but the real enjoyment will be in the Hereafter.’
So, my brothers, Allah’s Deen brings enjoyment beyond enjoyment. Even outside Ramadhan, everything brings enjoyment if we practice it. May Allah ta’ala give us determination and courage, and may we implement this valuable lesson of Ramadhan in our lives so that we do not leave any order or Amal that is commanded by Allah subhana wa ta'ala. We should strive to implement every action, for just as every dish has a different taste, so every Amal and order of Allah has a different taste, as I explained with the example of Salah. We must implement every one of Allah’s orders - and if Allah ta’ala tells us not to do something and to leave it, shunning that thing will also give enjoyment. And the real enjoyment for obedience will be given in Paradise.
وأخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين