Allah subhaanahu wa ta'ala has given Shaytan a chance, when Shaytan was being expelled, when he was exposed, then he sought some time, he requested some time from Allah ta'ala. That Allah ta'ala give me some time, give me a chance. And Allah ta'ala said, okay fine, that until Qiyaamah, i'll give you a chance, i'll give you an opportunity and then because he is our enemy and he is the severe enemy of ours, shaytan, so he said "okay, then I will also attack you from all 4 sides, all 4 corners, left and right and front and behind from all directions, I will attack the human being." So this is the start of our life which we should understand, the start of humankind and this is where everything started. So he got an opportunity, he was given permission or free rein and then he said, "fair enough, Allah has now given me the opportunity so I am now going to go after this mission of mine that no human being of yours Allah, I will not leave him in a state, or a way, that he will become such that the paradise you have made for them, the gardens, the paradise you have taken one out of, expelled me from, that I will let them go. Rather I will make sure that I fill up Jahannam with all your servants." He said to Allah that, "you have now given me the strength so from the right I will come, from the left, I will come, from the front I will come, I will come from behind and every attack of mine every resource and tool I will use at my disposal," said Shaytan. So this is what Shaytan said and he explained his secret, his formula. "I will attack them, my first attack," he said. So this is something to listen to, what he said. He said, "my first attack, what will that be?" Said Shaytan.
ولا تجد اكثرهم شاكرين
"Allah ta'ala, My first attack is that I will make the human being ungrateful to you. Ungrateful."
So my brothers, this is our connection, relationship you can say, with Shaytan. His enmity with us. So the first thing that Shaytan does with the human being is that he makes him ungrateful. Ungratefulness is a very big sin and he didn't mention any other sin. So then you can see that there are many sins. The whole world is full of sins. There's murder. There are wrong actions. And such severe sins and evil actions and vice استغفراللہ , the condition in this world, a person shakes when he looks at the sin that is occurring.
But he only mentioned one sin. Shaytan. At that time. When he sought permission and leave, he said that I will make your servant, Allah, ungrateful to you. He knew Allah and he was very close to Allah. Before that. And he knew that what makes Allah ta'ala angry most of Allah. Say SubhaanAllah. Shaytan. Listen to this. This event. So most of all, Allah ta'ala gets angry, when? When his servant becomes ungrateful, because ungratefulness, Allah ta'ala doesn't like.
And shaytan picked on that. Because what he himself was, when he himself was ungrateful. So he knew that, "I was punished in a severe way that I have been expelled from Jannah. I have been made zaleel. I am wretched now. I am cursed," said shaytan. For which sin? Because he was ungrateful. Shaytan was ungrateful to Allah. So he said, this same action Allah, I'm going to take revenge and I'm going to make your servants, human beings, ungrateful to you." So what does this mean then? The rest of the sins. How do we commit them then? So what happened then is that the root of all sins is what? Ungratefulness. Ungratefulness. When Shaytan makes someone ungrateful, then consider all the sins have come into that person and then it's very easy for Shaytan after that. For example, whenever somebody does wrong, he lays the foundation and for example, even a surgeon, he will carry out the main operation, then he will tell the younger junior doctors to do the finishing touches and he goes to the side. Then the juniors do the small actions. So the first sin that the head, the peak of that pyramid of sin, Shaytan, he makes the human being commit ungratefulness. Then he tells his workers to do the rest. He says, "do what you are going to do after that. Make him go here and there and commit sin because I have made him do the severe sin first which is ungratefulness." But Allah ta'ala has given a great answer my friends, to Shaytan, that he gave Mal'un, wretched Shaytan such a strength that from infront, behind, left and right, he can attack us and make us ungrateful. So then will Allah ta'ala not give strength and power to His believers. To ward this off or will He just leave them? So Allah ta'ala said, "fine Shaytan, you do your work. I have given you that leave but I am also Rabb and creator of those who believe in me. So don't think Shaytan, that I've just sent them down to the earth, and I will just leave them without any help. No how can I leave them without assistance, because they believe in me." Allah says, "rather, they will be given more assistance. The more, Allah ta'ala says that a person is in difficulty and he believes in Allah, Allah ta'ala values and appreciates that person. If a person is in difficulty and problem, ups and downs and severe tests, for example if you have got the ka'bah shareef infront of you, then in Saudi Arabia what else are you going to do? You're going to prostrate and believe in Allah and do tawaaf and worship. But where we are surrounded in that place with this sin upon sin and then to do 5 times a day sajdah there, that's when a person is successful. So that is the great achievement. So Allah said, "fine, I have given you permission. You can go, wander off free and try to ward off and distract the human beings but you think that I'm going to leave my human beings without assistance?" Allah ta'ala then prepared. Allah said to my servants then, the whole year you work hard Shaytan as much as you can, but one month I will give them that I will forgive all of their sins. SubhaanAllah. Allahu akbar. All year long Shaytan will work hard, he will shove a person towards Jahannam, he will make him ungrateful and all his workers, his sidekicks, he will make them distract the human beings and make them do sins but Allah says that I have also set aside one month. Allah's karam my friends. Think about it for a few moments. In hadith it is stated that the biggest loser is he who, if in this month of Ramadan, he loses out from Allah's mercy and he comes into this month ungrateful and he leaves ungrateful. So the greatest struggle in this month that we need to make is to be grateful to Allah. Leave the rest. In this month the biggest thing we need to achieve, the soul, the ruh of this month is to be grateful to Allah. Shukr. To do shukr to him. The greatest ibaadah. The greatest action. What is shukr? And what is being ungrateful? So how does a human being become ungrateful to Allah. How does ungratefulness come in, in comparison to a ni'mah, a favour or a gift, if you utilise that incorrectly, then you are ungrateful of that. For example, it you are given a big car, and you go and smash it in the wall. You say, "you're very ungrateful." Your father will say. That "if you had earnt it yourself and bought that, then you would value it but you didn't value it and appreciate it." It happens doesn't it in the world? If for example, your father gives you something or someone and you break it or smash it and he will say, "what did you do? I gave you a shop, business place." He says, "look how you have mistreated this place. You haven't run it properly." So look, what has this person done? He has been ungrateful for that gift he was given. That opportunity. So Allah ta'ala says, "my ni'mah's, they are لا تحصوها. They are infinite, Allah ta'ala says. My ni'mahs. My gifts. My treasures. So much I have given to you human beings that you will lose count of my nimah's Allah ta'ala says. Imagine. From top to bottom Allah ta'ala says, "I have immersed you in my ni'mah." Sheikh Saudi Rahmatullahi alayh said, " forget about counting all the millions of ni'mah's of Allah ta'ala, just look at the breath Allah ta'ala has given you. One breath a human being has that when you inhale, when you exhale. When you exhale and when you inhale, your ribs go in and out. So when you breathe in and out, when you breathe in, its such a great treasure that you have breathed in, you could pass away then. When you breathe out, you could pass away then. The doctors try their best. They suppress you. They press on your chest. They use the machine, that we want him to breathe in and breathe out. But when he breathes out and he doesn't breathe in, end of life. So Sheikh Saudi said that, "when you breathe out, how can you repay that one favour of Allah. And when you breathe in, how can you repay that favour of Allah?" Whole lifelong we are not even grateful to Allah for these two breaths. We cannot even repay the favour to Allah for these two breaths. For these two breaths. So Aam normal human beings Allah ta'ala says, normal human being, that is his case. Even the disbelievers, Allah ta'ala says, "I give them food. I give you food. I give water. Ni'mah. Allah says, they drink water, you drink water. Its not a big ni'mah. Because even the disbeliever, he eats and he drinks and he breathes. Is there a bigger ni'mah than this? Food, drink clothes. All the assets in the world. The disbelievers, the disobedient, they have, they use, we do. So these are Aam things. These are common things. The Mu'min, the believer what does Allah ta'ala say? What have I given to you which is special and select? What is the real difference here Allah ta'ala says. The greatest ni'mah which is the biggest treasure from all of the treasures Allah has given, that is Imaan. That is faith. That is belief. This, the disbeliever does not have. We have this and what is this? Imaan. Faith. The greatest ni'mah. And Allah says, that this is not a ni'mah if you have got a shop or a house or food or bread, Allah says even the disbelievers, they enjoy this. The real n'imah, the real gift and treasure which is the greatest treasure from all of the things, the greatest treasure and I repeat again, that is Imaan. That is faith and belief. Because the people who don't have Imaan, they cannot be grateful for this. So Imaan is the greatest treasure. And nothing can compare to this treasure. The whole of the kingdoms of the world and the money and the treasures take to one side but Imaan nothing can compare to it. If someone comes to you and says, "look, I have this many buildings, this many houses," and you're running around empty handed, you've got nothing. You don't know anything in the world. You will reply to him "I have got Imaan." He will say, "what is Imaan?" Allah says, yes you were right. This Imaan if we compare to this, Allah ta'ala says in the Quran, in comparison to Imaan, you cannot even imagine, nor can you understand, your heart cannot even, your mind cannot realise what you have. That hur that you will get for the Imaan. That house you will get in the hereafter. You cannot imagine what you will get. Repayment for Imaan. You cannot even imagine for a second that as a gift for the Imaan Allah says that you pass away and die with imaan, the rewards that you get. Allah says that if you knew now that due to Imaan, how great a wealth it was, then we will learn in the Hereafter. So we are people of Imaan. Allah ta'ala has given us the highest rank. The highest status and the greatest treasure of the universe. Imaan. Belief. A kaafir. Allah gives the dunya, the kingdoms, the lands, and the person of Imaan who has belief and he doesn't have that, he should not even think for a second and sweat. "Ooh," he says, "look at the Muslims today," we complain that we have nothing. The people who have no Imaan, they are enjoying themselves. They have got things in the world." What is their enjoyment? What is their enjoyment?
This is temporary enjoyment. But the Mu'min with Imaan, his enjoyment, nobody can imagine what his enjoyment will be. Permanent. Permanent. Forever. And that's why the Maqaam of a Muslim is great. That's why his Maqaam is high. He hasn't seen paradise. He hasn't seen the hur's. He hasn't seen the rewards of paradise yet. He hasn't seen the mansions and the palaces in paradise. Allah says that he has just trusted me and believed in me and he is practicing. So can he see? But the person in this world , he gets his land, his kingdom, his leadership but the Mu'min, the believers, have not seen anything with regards to this.
So that's the true miracle that without seeing he has believed and he has given up everything from here Allah ta'ala says. Everything. And Allah says, do you think I will leave him empty handed? I will give him everything in the hereafter. But what we realise now and learn is that Shaytan, acursed shaytaan, what does he attack, what does he try to steal from us? Our Imaan, our faith, straight forward, direct, he attacks the Imaan of a Mu'min. Attacks. And how does he attack the Imaan of a Muslim? He makes the believer ungrateful for his Imaan. That we practice acts of ungratefulness for the Imaan that we got. That's what Shaytan will do. And that naa shukri will come into the life of that person. So this is the challenge for the Mu'min and this is the status of Imaan. So being ungrateful, I have explained to you is when you don't value something. When you don't appreciate something, you abuse it, you misuse it. You stamp on it. You tread on it. And make it into a bad state. So when a Muslim doesn't value his Imaan and how does a Muslim not value his Imaan? What are the acts of ungratefulness of Imaan? The imaan that Allah has given us, the ungratefulness is when you disobey Allah you are ungrateful for your Imaan. When a human being disobeys Allah, then he is ungrateful for the Imaan that Allah has given to him. Remember this point. When Allah's orders, when we disobey them. When Allah's Ahkaam come to us and we disobey them, when we reject Allah ta'ala's orders, at that time in reality, what is the human being doing? He is the ni'mah Allah ta'ala has given him, the greatest ni'mah, Imaan, he is ungrateful for that ni'mah. Thats what he is doing. He is being ungrateful. Yes and that is the biggest act of ungratefulness of a human being is that depite having Imaan in his heart that Alllah ta'ala gave to him, he doesn't listen to what Allah ta'ala tells him. He doesn't obey Allah commands. Rather in opposition to that , he obeys his nafs. His desires. Yes he believes some, be disbelieves some, he follows some, he leaves some. He thinks sometimes. He doesn't think sometimes. Yes fair enough. We do make mistakes, we are human beings. If one mistake or commit a sin, say استغفراللہ, Allah will wipe away that sin. Then the Imaan will come back to that original position. But, if we flagrantly and blatantly say, "I swear, I live in the world, we need to earn, we need to work, yaar how can we practice the deen, how can we live in the world with this deen. This islam is for the older generations. The fundamentalists. The extreme people. We live in the scientific advanced age. How can we practice," we say. Openly we criticise. This is how it is isn't it? "Oh yaar these people are extremists, foolish people, stupid people, practicing Islam. Yes they are the people of the olden times, the prehistoric times and the dark ages. We cannot practice this deen استغفراللہ." This is the test for the people of imaan. The big test today that how do we stand up firm on the deen in this day and age. So when a believer, when he disobeys Allah, and even a small scale sin, even Allah's disobedience, for example, is that you cannot even say a word against Allah ta'ala's deen. What do we do? We disobey. We sin. We go against the deen. Every order. Halal. Orders for halal. Orders for haram. All of them we mix them up today. We do what we desire. What we feel like we leave. We are servants of our desires. We are slaves of our desires. So all of this. This is the biggest sin. That despite having Imaan, despite having faith, the believer lives his life as a disobedient servant of Allah. It's not just praying salaah that is Islam.
Allah says, "I have many Ahkaam's and orders in Islam." This is just for a few minutes or seconds in the day. Allah ta'ala didn't just say that pray salaah and then forget me after that. Allah says believe me as I tell you, every footstep of your life. My orders will come, my Prophets will come, my Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam will come. He will tell you that for example when the Prophet's finish, when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the final Prophet and then after that, the Awliyah Allah came, the Mashaaikh. Allah says, My wali's, they will not sit with you and talk about the house, and your shop and your business and your earnings. The Nabi doesn't talk about this. He teaches you about the fikr-e-Akhirah. The fikr of the Hereafter. He introduces you to Allah. Whether it is bitter or sweet, he has no fikr if somebody is upset or feeling happy or down or Abu Jahal will be upset. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn't think like that. "He's a big man of the tribe of the Quraish, or the big kuffar." The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "no, قولوا لا اله إلا الله, Recite laa ilaha illallah. Only then you will be successful. He wasn't worried abou them being put off, relatives or friends etc. That, "you do what you have to do and you do what you have to do." No. The biggest relative of mine will be he, even if he becomes Bilal like my relatives , said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. SubhaanAllah. So for that. This is the sign for a Mu'min. That people like Abu Jahal they were politicians and they said we are relatives.
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, If Bilal who is a slave and believes in what I am saying, the message I am giving, then his Maqaam will be that he will be walking on the earth, but you will hear his footsteps in paradise!
SubhaanAllah. And his Maqaam will be such that he will go into paradise before even I go, he will enter into paradise. How? SubhaanAllah he said, "the reins of my camel will be in the hands of Bilal." So he will walk in first and he will enter paradise first and I will be behind him," said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. SubhaanAllah. Why? So at that time what did he do? That "such a Maqaam!?" People asked
He said, "yes, he will recite the kalimah and due to reciting the kalimah he will also protect his Imaan and the kalimah and he won't be ungrateful." Why? Because he was laid down on the coal. He said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." He was laid down on hot sand and he said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." His skin was ripped. He said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." What was he doing at that time? What was he doing? He was grateful to Allah at the time that Allah you gave me this ni'mah of Islam, I will not waste it, I am grateful to you oh Allah. So these Ibaadaat that Allah ta'ala has given to us that we pray Fajr salaah. This is being grateful to Allah that in the evening Allah, I didnt leave Imaan, you gave me Imaan. I am grateful to you so those people who don't pray Fajr salah their Imaan is dissappeared. Listen to this carefully. This is not a game deenul Islam. Islam is not a game that the person who is a believer in the morning, he will be a disbeliever in the evening and a person who is a disbeliever in the evening will be a believer in the morning. This is the hadith. Okay fair enough. If a person is sick. He sets the alarms. He tries to get up. He makes effort to get up but he couldn't get up. Okay fine. There is forgiveness, rather there is reward. You will get 2 thawaab. For sleeping and for the Ibaadah. He tried. He made effort. Allah ta'ala looks at the effort that a person is making. For example, we say, "oh he doesn't pray. He is young. He has got to go work in the morning. He has to go university and straight away the mother will say, "you're always pestering him and strictly scolding him. And don't pester him. He has got to study. He is studying. He has got to go to college etc. He will pray when he has got time. When he has the time. When he's got the chance. When he sees that there's time. Straightaway the wife will come, the mother, to protect the son and then the father, he goes quiet and he says, "fair enough, okay, you will pray one day, you should pray one day." And when he doesn't go to work, mother and father will both give him the telling off. "How dare you you haven't started working. You're free all the time. What will you do in the dunya? Where are you going to earn from? And if you don't become this and this career, if you don't study, if you don't graduate, from all sides he will be getting la'nat and cursed. Why don't you do do something?" But until today mother and father don't get asked, "does your son pray salaah or not?" No some people, their habit is, "my son is this, and he has achieved this career." And there was a faqeer, poor soul. Simple person. He didn't have much. He rejected the dunya. And leaving the dunya was such that he didn't want to disobey Allah. He didn't want to be ungrateful to Allah. He wasn't ungrateful of his Imaan. So he didn't say that my son is this or my son is this amd they weren't showing off. "So what is your son?" He said, "my son is a Mawlana. He is a scholar." SubhaanAllah. He said that, "what is it that you have done, you have made him a Mawlana, your son. You could've taught him something else. What is this namaaz and Quran and he is an aalim. Where will he eat from? Where will he earn from?" They said. So brothers, what is this? These negative thinking of ours, is this Imaan? Tell me. Is this faith? Is this really faith? So Imaan. This is being disobedient to Imaan. When the believer, when Allah bestows him with Imaan, to be grateful for this, we should protect it. Just like Hazrat Bilal Radiyallahu anhu, just like the sahabaah, the noble companions, the Awliyah Allah and the pious predecessors. That is called protecting Imaan. Valuing Imaan. Not on small issues. Running away. We don't know about halal. We don't know about haraam. We don't know about the right way and we get scared and put off and that we can't practice deen it's soo hard. These are tests in life my friends. All the ibaadaats that Allah ta'ala has given to us, Allah ta'ala wants to see, is he grateful to me for the Imaan that I have given him or is he ungrateful. Yes five times in the day Allah says you have to be grateful to me. You have to pray salaah Allah says. Let's see who is grateful to me. Allah could've said, "pray at home or at your shop or your business place. Okay you don't have to pray no. Allah says, No, that whoever is grateful to me for their Imaan i have given to him, the man, only grateful will be he that as soon as it is Fajr time, all the menfolk and the youngsters at home, they run to the masjid and he who doesnt go, will be such that he will be taken away. Vanished. Allah says that destruction will come to that person just like the hadith, the Fuqaha say that the person who doesn't pray, some say imprison him, some say hit him. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that I feel like that I want to burn the houses of those people who don't pray. Why? Because he has lost Imaan. This is being grateful for the Imaan. The ibaadaat that Allah ta'ala has given to us, the hajj that we do, this is the ibaadah of being grateful. Yes. All the ibaadat we have been given, what do they represent, the acts of worship? They represent us being grateful for the imaan Allah ta'ala has given to us and the rest of the angels they testify that Allah ta'ala, you gave them the ni'mah of Imaan, they are grateful of their Imaan because they are doing the right thing at the right time. So do not consider Ibaadah, don't think that if someone's not praying salah in your home, it is nothing. Never. Turn a blind eye. Your kids. You are bringing them up. You have to bring them up. And bear them. قوا انفسكم. You will be asked in the Hereafter. Just like you send your children to university, college, you exhort them to study or if by chance you make somebody a Mawlana, and then you worry that where is he going to eat from? How is he going to earn? How is he going to flourish in the world. This our Tawakkul that "oh I've done wrong now. I've sent my son towards becoming a Molvi. Let's drag him back to the dunya. We say. Let's drag him back towards the dunya. That no fikr we have for our salaah, or our family, if they are praying salaah.
Remember that In that house where salaah isn't prayed, let me remind you, what are those people? They are close to kufr, disbelief. Because they cannot bear witness and prove their Imaan. They are rejecting the ni'mah Allah ta'ala is giving to them. They are rejecting the ni'mah Allah ta'ala is giving them. Doesn't matter who is involved, any level of person he is. Doesn't matter if a person has learnt ilm, he has got knowledge and he prays salaah at home and he is forgiven. No way, oh he's a scholar. Oh he's a Mawlana. He's a Haafidh. What is his punishment? That he, they, the others who are non Aalim's, non scholars, they will get punished after. First the Aalim, the Scholar, the Haafidh, he will get punished. Double. Just like the people of Imaan, Hifdh and Aalim's, they will be given double the reward in the Hereafter. Same if those people who rejected and didn't prayed salah and they pray salaah at home, they will get double Jahannam. Double punishment. And they will be gievn double criticism. Did you not have shame that you had Quran in your heart, ilm in your heart and you went against that? And you gave tarbiyyah to your children opposite to that? Those so called learned people and those learned people will be punished twice. That you taught your children to imitate those who had no Imaan!? Brothers. Don't go towards inferiority complex. Allah's Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. Oh did he say, "Abu Jahal you're rich and you're maaf and you're forgiven?" No. And that the poor person, it is only for him. That is not the case. SubhaanAllah. "You will see on the day of Judgement oh Abu Jahal, that my Bilal, how he will shine," said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. His face will shine. So brothers. My colleagues. Understand the deen of Islam. If today we, when we practice it is difficult for us, then these difficulties are there, that is part of life. This is the challenge of life. Allah says that my friend is he who when I test him, he comes into the fold and passes the test. Say SubhaanAllah. If I say to a friend that, "I'm your friend," and when your friend tests you. Let me knock on his door. "I need 500 pound from my friend. Can you give me?" "500 pounds!? Um, my business is down, it is flopped. I can't. I haven't got no money to give you and the other person that I gave a loan to, he hasn't paid me back. I have to pay fees for my children. If I had money, I'd give to you my friend." And your friend says, "I'm in hard times. I need your help. Please if you give to me, then I will repay to you after 2 weeks." He says, "sorry yaar. Or i'll ask somebody for you. Please go away today." And he says, "yaar, my heart feels that what has happened to you?" But he's not taking out one pound from his pocket. So is that a real friend? He can't help at the time of need. So Allah says in the same way, you have said that you got Imaan my servant, but you're saying a big statement oh my believer that I have given you a very big blessing to every person with Imaan, all your lifelong, i'll test you that are you really my friend or not? Allah says that I will test you. Sometimes I will test you with hunger. Dont run away due to hunger. Oh my Rabb, I understand that he is testing me but I am not going to do a U-turn because Allah promises that I am his beloved and he is my beloved. I won't run away from Islam. Don't ever let it come from your mouth that, look at the disbelievers, they're enjoying life. I have got no food, no clothes. They are enjoying life and they're disobeying Allah and they're enjoying themselves in the world. Never in your mind should this atoms weight of thought come otherwise you will be destroyed in this world. Never in your mind should you criticise and consider that others are better than you. You will be destroyed. Allah says, "I also test my friends. My wali's. That how much does he repay the favour?" SubhaanAllah. What a great statement. لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ Allah says. That when my servant is grateful for my Imaan that I have given to him and he saves himself from sins. Every sin that a person runs away from, look at the reward, Allah says لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ that when my believer, when my servant is grateful and he runs away from the vice and evil then Allah says I increase his status even more. We think that when we eat, be grateful and Allah will increase the food, that's all we understand from this statement. هذا فضل ربي written on top of the shops. This is the fadl of Allah. If we work, then Allah will give us more money. This is not being grateful to Allah. I am talking about Imaan my friends. Allah is talking about Imaan. Allah is explaining about Imaan that SubhaanAllah when you're tested upon in the dunya and when upon Imaan you save yourself from the sin and you protect your Imaan. Due to you protecting your Imaan and running away from sin, Allah says that I will increase your Imaan, I will strengthen your Imaan. The more you save yourself from the sin, i'll strengthen your Imaan more to this extent that Allah says that you've come so close to me and I am with you and you are with me. We are together. لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
That is the meaning of this statement. So we think that Allah has given us more food and drink and water and money. No. لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ And Where are we grateful? Allah says, the Imaan that I have given to you and you run away from disobedience, you run away from the sins. You were able to sin. You had the capacity to sin and you stopped it. In reality, you are grateful for the ni'mah that Allah ta'ala has given to you at the time. When for example, when you are running away from disobedience and sin, what are you doing in reality? You are grateful and you are doing shukr for the Imaan that Allah ta'ala has given to you. Yes. That's what you're doing. Rather, what are you doing? That the greatest ni'mah Allah has given to human being, Imaan, the Muslim is being grateful for that. Allah says then I increase it and it carries on increasing and carries on increasing. But ontop of that Allah ta'ala says, at the same time, كفرتم , what does that mean? شكرتم ، كفرتم.
The person who rejects, the person who is disobedient to Allah, Allah says that ni'mah that I gave to you for Imaan, when he commits sin, when he leaves salaah, when he consumes Haraam, when he does haraam actions. When he does wrong actions. When he makes halaal, haraam. "Oh I'm forced to do this. I can't do this." And he consider himself a Muslim!? And he recites the kalimah Allah says, he is Munaafiq, he is a liar. He is a hypocrite. Allah says, "I tested him but he is not my friend. He ran away." كفرتم. The person who rejects, he shuns the right, then what happens? Allah says عذاب شديد. Not just عذاب , but شديد. Allah says unlimited Adhaab that he cannot imagine. On the other side. On one side, Allah says I increase the Imaan, but the person who rejects. Adhaab. Unlimited. And on the other side it is Thawaab if you do the right that you cannot imagine. So both extremes Allah ta'ala has mentioned here. Both extremes.
So this is the fantastic message we need to understand for which Allah ta'ala says, "I have given you one month." The whole month of Ramadan Allah has given to us. This is the practice on these points that you need to become a grateful servant of Allah. That's why Ramadan has been given to us so we can learn how to be grateful to me. Practice has been given in this month of Ramadan. Because this is the soul of deen. The person who is ungrateful, then he will be far from the deen. So this is the meaning of fasting. This is the meaning that when a person keeps a fast, the meaning of the fast is that he has to learn how to be the obedient and grateful servant of Allah. Why? Because Allah ta'ala has ordered him, "don't eat." Hes not eating. Allah says, "don't do this action, x,y,z." He doesn't do that. So he's saving himself from disobedience. Yes. He is saving himself form the disobedience through this fast completely. That human being. He does the fast. How is it completed? It's not be leaving food and drink the fast. Rather by leaving the disobedience of Allah. That is the definition of fasting. There is a hadith of Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah Radiyallahu Anhu, and it is stated that some people are such that they want to save themselves from Jahannam, but when they commit a sin, they fall into the trap. So the whole fast gives this message. Its teaching us from the begining that if we really want to become the genuine fasting person by the evening, you want to get the reward from Allah, then Allah says, how much through this day of the fast did you protect your Imaan and run away from the sin. That's when it will be considered that you didn't eat or drink and you'll be given the reward of the fast. Otherwise there are sick people in hospitals, they can't eat. Yes. There are people in the hospitals, they can't eat or drink. Today if I get a stomach upset, then I can't eat even then.
Yes so the food will stop for the day. So this is not some great achievement, not eating or drinking, even the sick person can't eat. So if you don't eat or drink that is not the miracle or the achievement of the fast. The achievement. This is something extra. Allah ta'ala could've said, eat and drink but don't commit the sin during the fast. So the special grace and karam and mercy of Allah during the month of fasting is that Allah ta'ala has to make us even weaker physically, Allah ta'ala has kept us away from food and drink. Here the Sufi's say that the greatest condition physically for a human being is poverty or hunger. When you see that your nafs is not coming into control, then you should go through hunger. That's why in the Naqshbandi silsilah, it is exhorted that sleep less and eat less, that's when you become a proper human. When you eat less, there's less passion, less thinking about earning and passion and lust. Yes. So a person who is hungry. This is the reward of Allah that during the fast you are not eating and drinking. It will become reward for you when at that time you leave the disobedience. Allah says, I have given you the fast for this reason. To run away from the sins.
30 days Allah ta'ala has given us to practice in fasting in the month of Ramadan so that you can become a grateful servant and depart the world in that way. That nonsense that shaytan spoke about right in the beginning of time that, "I will make your servants Alllah ungrateful to you," then you have to give him he answer in these 30 days of Ramadan that look, Allah ta'ala has given us a great ni'mah of Imaan and we will not commit sin in these 30 days. So Allah ta'ala will then, due to the barakah of this month, what will he do? In the next world. So this is not just a plan for these 30 days. Allah ta'ala says im telling you this for this reason so for the rest of your life even after Ramadan you have to pass like this. It's not just Ramadan. That 30 days we do this. We stop sinning and we stop eating and drinking and after that it's stopped. Allah say, 30 days I am helping you through Ramadan. I have imprisoned Shaytan. I have kept you hungry, thirsty. I am enabling you. I am assisting you. The method. How to control your nafs so then you have to carry this on after Ramadan, Allah ta'ala says, "Go and sit with a Wali Allah afterwards. Sit with a Sheikh." And he will teach you and train you the same works like the works of Ramadan." At the moment it is Ramadan. Even if you want to be safe from ungratefulness then Allah ta'ala says, through these 30 days, i'll make you practice. If for the rest of the life you want to practice, then go to the Khankah. The place where the Sheikh is sat. The Wali Allah. Take his hand and then you'll be saved otherwise you will go back towards ungratefulness and Shaytan will deviate you to him. Because Shaytan has many tools and resources but at the same time, the Wali Allah, he also has tools and resources. He is the master and surgeon of this field of Tazkiyah. They've opened their hospitals. The Khankah. After Ramadan they say, "you are free from fasting now. Come and enrol into this hospital, the Khankah so the rest of your life you can get guidance, so you don't lie, so you don't do ghibah, so you don't consume haraam and morning and evening you will go and pray salaah and you will protect your Imaan and you will testify to your Imaan that Allah we have Imaan and we value and we appreciate." And that's the environment you find in the Khankah. What else do you find in the Khankah? Do you find noise and singing and dancing? No the Wali's of Allah, this is the fikr and the concern they have. The fikr they have for the Hereafter. And then they revise and repeat the same lessons that Ramadan has given us today. The khankah and the Sheikh teaches you that and repeats that. That's why every mureed of a Sheikh, he is a grateful servant of Allah. The true student of a Sheikh is a grateful servant of Allah. That he tries from day one that I want to obey my Sheikh and whatever the Sheikh says, he says and teaches the student, those things which can make him a true grateful servant of Allah. Never will a student be an ungrateful servant of Allah. The mureed if he is sincere and he has gone with an honest true heart, first time he takes the hand of his sheikh, he becomes a grateful servant of Allah. Because that is the promise the Sheikh takes from the student so he connects to Allah. Just like in the Quran in Surah Mumtahinah, that, Oh my Nabi, when the believing women come to you, how should you give bay'ah to them? Accept their pledge of allegiance. Dont do kufr. Dont commit this sin.
Dont commit this sin. Dont commit this sin. So this is the promise that the Sheikh takes from the student. That you've come to me now student, fine. But you need to promise to Allah that you wont do this sin, you won't do this sin, you won't, you won't do this. This means then alhamdulillah, you are controlling your desires and the Sheikh guides the student and he does his Ilaaj. His cure.
What a great cure and solution. The Sheikh gives to the student. Yes. That my student. What should you do? "Start doing the dhikr of Allah in parallel. Do the dhikr of Allah in parallel
And then here the gratefulness, the shukr is attached to dhikr. Thats why in the Khankah, in the morning and evening, Dhikrullah is performed. You will get the quantity of Katheer. High quantity Dhikr from the teacher. And this is the one solution of how to become the grateful servant of Allah and Shaytan runs away. Sheikh gives you tarbiyyah, coaching, guidance, and ontop of that, in parallel, he teaches you dhikr of Allah with ma'mulat. With a schedule. People nowadays they say it is a waste of time doing Dhikr. Why shall we do dhikr? Why do you keep doing dhikr, you Sufi's, you are wasting time, doing bidah, innovation. If you want to today my brothers, save your Imaan and protect your Imaan,
then 2 things you can do to save your Imaan, protect your Imaan. In 2 things, you will get the protection of Imaan and success at the time of death. If before death you want to protect your Imaan then, number one, practice Ramadan correctly, yes in Ramadan you can preserve your Imaan and secondly, you will get the preservation of the Imaan taught to you in the khankah's of the Sheikh, no where else in the world will you get protection. Remember this point. Unfortunately today the situation is upside down. Shaytan has deviated, given us da'wah and taken us out of the fold and made us wasters. Yes. It doesn't matter if he's an aalim or muhaddith or a scholar. To save Imaan, hundred percent, laazim, essential, he has to go physically to a Sheikh. He has to sit in the Sheikhs service and company. This is the principle of the deen. And that's from where the human being becomes a proper human being an learns the principles of life. So its not the case that Allah ta'ala hasn't prepared for us but if we don't utilise the resources that Allah ta'ala has given to us, then we will become sick. Allah has given us a medicine. Allah has given us a medicine. And Shaytan has the power, he can make us devoid of Imaan, he can make us ungrateful but Allah ta'ala has prepared also opposition to that. Allah ta'ala has given us great preparation and resources until Qiyaamah so we can ward of Shaytan. No Dajjal or fitna will succeed. The Wali's of Allah, they are here in the world. They will assist mankind. They coach and they guide and they protect their students. Okay fine we are human beings, you can make a mistake. But they have the Tareeqah. Allah has given us the Tareeqah and it is essential that when you sit in the company of a teacher, that the person who doesn't go to a teacher he says, so what if I made a mistake. It's fine. It doesn't make any difference if I don't practice. But the student who is a sufi, who is sincere and sits in the company of the Sheikh, if he's a mureed of a Sheikh, of a teacher, then after sinning he will be extremely remorseful and regretful. And he will do استغفراللہ. And Allah says, promise that as soon as you do Istighfaar, I will wipe away that sin. Tawfeeq Istighfaar. To have the ability to do istighfaar is a great ni'mah of Allah. Great great resources and tools have been given to us so brothers you have to spend time in the company of a Sheikh, a teacher, go, find a teacher and this is the best way to live your life. Do istikhaarah and seek guidance from Allah. Allah grant me the company of your Wali so I can go their for my Islaah. I can correct my Aqeedah. My belief. My worship. Strengthen my connection with Allah. Strengthen my Aqaaidh and then inshaaAllah his Aqeedah is corrected and then he becomes a proper human being. So this Ramadan, the teaching of Ramadan. Dont think Ramadan is a waste of time. Not just eating and not drinking. No. There's a great message Ramadan has brought to us. Biggest message of Ramadan is that the human being becomes a grateful servant of Allah. Fasting teaches us how to become a grateful servant of Allah. The definition of being grateful to Allah, not, "alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, shukr alhamdulillah!' The definition of Gratefulness is to run away from the disobedience to Allah. Yes fast teaches us how to run away from the disobedience to Allah and run away from sin when until the evening, the human being fasts in that way and he doesn't disobey Allah and he doesn't commits sin, then he becomes the grateful servant of Allah. And when he commits sin then his fast breaks. In the same way the rest of the life, the humans being should live like this. Its not just for 30 days you're a muslim, 30 days our masjid are full. Allah is making us practice. He is overhauling our Imaan. What we've done is that just until Ramadan we have restrained and restricted ourselves to Ramadan. Us people, we will just practice in Ramadan. So when Ramadan dissappears, we say, then after we will practice. When Ramadan dissappears, we will do it. But then when Ramadan goes, we carry on. Does this mean that Imaan is just confined to Ramadan? No. Allah's ta'ala's karam and mercy, He has revived our Imaan all year long. We have committed the sins, Allah has washed those sins and made us release that you were living the wrong life. Such a great realisation Allah has given us that this is the life of a Mu'min, the life of Ramadan in which there is no sins. Salah is prayed. In which the Quran is recited and people hasten, run to Islam. High darajaat. Qadr of islam and salah Allah has given to us in Ramadan. Salaah and Quran, Great value and appreciation in Ramadan. This is the life of the Mu'min. This is how we should live the life. We run away from Fard, compulsory. Allah says. No this is the reality of life that how you should observe the nawaafi, so Allah ta'ala has given us this great ni'mah. Great ni'mah. That Allah has made fasting fard and he has made the other actions Sunnah Muakkadah. Taraweeh. It is laazim. We must pray Taraweeh and it is Quran. Laazim. Essential. The whole masjids, all the Imaams, they accept that this is Sunnah Muakkadah. Praying Taraweeh. Yes. And what is it in Taraweeh? That Allah subhaanahu wa ta'ala the action that the life of a Mu'min that he saves himself from disobedience and totally the connection that he has with Ibaadah. In his life. And the top class Ibaadah is what? Quran and Salaah. This is the life of the Mu'min, the life of the believer. And this is the example we've been given in Ramadan. 30 days. We do that. We have the Quran we complete the Quran and we pray taraweeh. But then as soon as fasting goes, then salah goes, Quran goes, love for dunya comes back and immodesty comes back. No. In Ramadan we are taught the life of a Mu'min. The rest of our life we should be like this. May Allah swt grant us all the Tawfeeq. Ameen
Allah subhaanahu wa ta'ala has given Shaytan a chance, when Shaytan was being expelled, when he was exposed, then he sought some time, he requested some time from Allah ta'ala. That Allah ta'ala give me some time, give me a chance. And Allah ta'ala said, okay fine, that until Qiyaamah, i'll give you a chance, i'll give you an opportunity and then because he is our enemy and he is the severe enemy of ours, shaytan, so he said "okay, then I will also attack you from all 4 sides, all 4 corners, left and right and front and behind from all directions, I will attack the human being." So this is the start of our life which we should understand, the start of humankind and this is where everything started. So he got an opportunity, he was given permission or free rein and then he said, "fair enough, Allah has now given me the opportunity so I am now going to go after this mission of mine that no human being of yours Allah, I will not leave him in a state, or a way, that he will become such that the paradise you have made for them, the gardens, the paradise you have taken one out of, expelled me from, that I will let them go. Rather I will make sure that I fill up Jahannam with all your servants." He said to Allah that, "you have now given me the strength so from the right I will come, from the left, I will come, from the front I will come, I will come from behind and every attack of mine every resource and tool I will use at my disposal," said Shaytan. So this is what Shaytan said and he explained his secret, his formula. "I will attack them, my first attack," he said. So this is something to listen to, what he said. He said, "my first attack, what will that be?" Said Shaytan.
ولا تجد اكثرهم شاكرين
"Allah ta'ala, My first attack is that I will make the human being ungrateful to you. Ungrateful."
So my brothers, this is our connection, relationship you can say, with Shaytan. His enmity with us. So the first thing that Shaytan does with the human being is that he makes him ungrateful. Ungratefulness is a very big sin and he didn't mention any other sin. So then you can see that there are many sins. The whole world is full of sins. There's murder. There are wrong actions. And such severe sins and evil actions and vice استغفراللہ , the condition in this world, a person shakes when he looks at the sin that is occurring.
But he only mentioned one sin. Shaytan. At that time. When he sought permission and leave, he said that I will make your servant, Allah, ungrateful to you. He knew Allah and he was very close to Allah. Before that. And he knew that what makes Allah ta'ala angry most of Allah. Say SubhaanAllah. Shaytan. Listen to this. This event. So most of all, Allah ta'ala gets angry, when? When his servant becomes ungrateful, because ungratefulness, Allah ta'ala doesn't like.
And shaytan picked on that. Because what he himself was, when he himself was ungrateful. So he knew that, "I was punished in a severe way that I have been expelled from Jannah. I have been made zaleel. I am wretched now. I am cursed," said shaytan. For which sin? Because he was ungrateful. Shaytan was ungrateful to Allah. So he said, this same action Allah, I'm going to take revenge and I'm going to make your servants, human beings, ungrateful to you." So what does this mean then? The rest of the sins. How do we commit them then? So what happened then is that the root of all sins is what? Ungratefulness. Ungratefulness. When Shaytan makes someone ungrateful, then consider all the sins have come into that person and then it's very easy for Shaytan after that. For example, whenever somebody does wrong, he lays the foundation and for example, even a surgeon, he will carry out the main operation, then he will tell the younger junior doctors to do the finishing touches and he goes to the side. Then the juniors do the small actions. So the first sin that the head, the peak of that pyramid of sin, Shaytan, he makes the human being commit ungratefulness. Then he tells his workers to do the rest. He says, "do what you are going to do after that. Make him go here and there and commit sin because I have made him do the severe sin first which is ungratefulness." But Allah ta'ala has given a great answer my friends, to Shaytan, that he gave Mal'un, wretched Shaytan such a strength that from infront, behind, left and right, he can attack us and make us ungrateful. So then will Allah ta'ala not give strength and power to His believers. To ward this off or will He just leave them? So Allah ta'ala said, "fine Shaytan, you do your work. I have given you that leave but I am also Rabb and creator of those who believe in me. So don't think Shaytan, that I've just sent them down to the earth, and I will just leave them without any help. No how can I leave them without assistance, because they believe in me." Allah says, "rather, they will be given more assistance. The more, Allah ta'ala says that a person is in difficulty and he believes in Allah, Allah ta'ala values and appreciates that person. If a person is in difficulty and problem, ups and downs and severe tests, for example if you have got the ka'bah shareef infront of you, then in Saudi Arabia what else are you going to do? You're going to prostrate and believe in Allah and do tawaaf and worship. But where we are surrounded in that place with this sin upon sin and then to do 5 times a day sajdah there, that's when a person is successful. So that is the great achievement. So Allah said, "fine, I have given you permission. You can go, wander off free and try to ward off and distract the human beings but you think that I'm going to leave my human beings without assistance?" Allah ta'ala then prepared. Allah said to my servants then, the whole year you work hard Shaytan as much as you can, but one month I will give them that I will forgive all of their sins. SubhaanAllah. Allahu akbar. All year long Shaytan will work hard, he will shove a person towards Jahannam, he will make him ungrateful and all his workers, his sidekicks, he will make them distract the human beings and make them do sins but Allah says that I have also set aside one month. Allah's karam my friends. Think about it for a few moments. In hadith it is stated that the biggest loser is he who, if in this month of Ramadan, he loses out from Allah's mercy and he comes into this month ungrateful and he leaves ungrateful. So the greatest struggle in this month that we need to make is to be grateful to Allah. Leave the rest. In this month the biggest thing we need to achieve, the soul, the ruh of this month is to be grateful to Allah. Shukr. To do shukr to him. The greatest ibaadah. The greatest action. What is shukr? And what is being ungrateful? So how does a human being become ungrateful to Allah. How does ungratefulness come in, in comparison to a ni'mah, a favour or a gift, if you utilise that incorrectly, then you are ungrateful of that. For example, it you are given a big car, and you go and smash it in the wall. You say, "you're very ungrateful." Your father will say. That "if you had earnt it yourself and bought that, then you would value it but you didn't value it and appreciate it." It happens doesn't it in the world? If for example, your father gives you something or someone and you break it or smash it and he will say, "what did you do? I gave you a shop, business place." He says, "look how you have mistreated this place. You haven't run it properly." So look, what has this person done? He has been ungrateful for that gift he was given. That opportunity. So Allah ta'ala says, "my ni'mah's, they are لا تحصوها. They are infinite, Allah ta'ala says. My ni'mahs. My gifts. My treasures. So much I have given to you human beings that you will lose count of my nimah's Allah ta'ala says. Imagine. From top to bottom Allah ta'ala says, "I have immersed you in my ni'mah." Sheikh Saudi Rahmatullahi alayh said, " forget about counting all the millions of ni'mah's of Allah ta'ala, just look at the breath Allah ta'ala has given you. One breath a human being has that when you inhale, when you exhale. When you exhale and when you inhale, your ribs go in and out. So when you breathe in and out, when you breathe in, its such a great treasure that you have breathed in, you could pass away then. When you breathe out, you could pass away then. The doctors try their best. They suppress you. They press on your chest. They use the machine, that we want him to breathe in and breathe out. But when he breathes out and he doesn't breathe in, end of life. So Sheikh Saudi said that, "when you breathe out, how can you repay that one favour of Allah. And when you breathe in, how can you repay that favour of Allah?" Whole lifelong we are not even grateful to Allah for these two breaths. We cannot even repay the favour to Allah for these two breaths. For these two breaths. So Aam normal human beings Allah ta'ala says, normal human being, that is his case. Even the disbelievers, Allah ta'ala says, "I give them food. I give you food. I give water. Ni'mah. Allah says, they drink water, you drink water. Its not a big ni'mah. Because even the disbeliever, he eats and he drinks and he breathes. Is there a bigger ni'mah than this? Food, drink clothes. All the assets in the world. The disbelievers, the disobedient, they have, they use, we do. So these are Aam things. These are common things. The Mu'min, the believer what does Allah ta'ala say? What have I given to you which is special and select? What is the real difference here Allah ta'ala says. The greatest ni'mah which is the biggest treasure from all of the treasures Allah has given, that is Imaan. That is faith. That is belief. This, the disbeliever does not have. We have this and what is this? Imaan. Faith. The greatest ni'mah. And Allah says, that this is not a ni'mah if you have got a shop or a house or food or bread, Allah says even the disbelievers, they enjoy this. The real n'imah, the real gift and treasure which is the greatest treasure from all of the things, the greatest treasure and I repeat again, that is Imaan. That is faith and belief. Because the people who don't have Imaan, they cannot be grateful for this. So Imaan is the greatest treasure. And nothing can compare to this treasure. The whole of the kingdoms of the world and the money and the treasures take to one side but Imaan nothing can compare to it. If someone comes to you and says, "look, I have this many buildings, this many houses," and you're running around empty handed, you've got nothing. You don't know anything in the world. You will reply to him "I have got Imaan." He will say, "what is Imaan?" Allah says, yes you were right. This Imaan if we compare to this, Allah ta'ala says in the Quran, in comparison to Imaan, you cannot even imagine, nor can you understand, your heart cannot even, your mind cannot realise what you have. That hur that you will get for the Imaan. That house you will get in the hereafter. You cannot imagine what you will get. Repayment for Imaan. You cannot even imagine for a second that as a gift for the Imaan Allah says that you pass away and die with imaan, the rewards that you get. Allah says that if you knew now that due to Imaan, how great a wealth it was, then we will learn in the Hereafter. So we are people of Imaan. Allah ta'ala has given us the highest rank. The highest status and the greatest treasure of the universe. Imaan. Belief. A kaafir. Allah gives the dunya, the kingdoms, the lands, and the person of Imaan who has belief and he doesn't have that, he should not even think for a second and sweat. "Ooh," he says, "look at the Muslims today," we complain that we have nothing. The people who have no Imaan, they are enjoying themselves. They have got things in the world." What is their enjoyment? What is their enjoyment?
This is temporary enjoyment. But the Mu'min with Imaan, his enjoyment, nobody can imagine what his enjoyment will be. Permanent. Permanent. Forever. And that's why the Maqaam of a Muslim is great. That's why his Maqaam is high. He hasn't seen paradise. He hasn't seen the hur's. He hasn't seen the rewards of paradise yet. He hasn't seen the mansions and the palaces in paradise. Allah says that he has just trusted me and believed in me and he is practicing. So can he see? But the person in this world , he gets his land, his kingdom, his leadership but the Mu'min, the believers, have not seen anything with regards to this.
So that's the true miracle that without seeing he has believed and he has given up everything from here Allah ta'ala says. Everything. And Allah says, do you think I will leave him empty handed? I will give him everything in the hereafter. But what we realise now and learn is that Shaytan, acursed shaytaan, what does he attack, what does he try to steal from us? Our Imaan, our faith, straight forward, direct, he attacks the Imaan of a Mu'min. Attacks. And how does he attack the Imaan of a Muslim? He makes the believer ungrateful for his Imaan. That we practice acts of ungratefulness for the Imaan that we got. That's what Shaytan will do. And that naa shukri will come into the life of that person. So this is the challenge for the Mu'min and this is the status of Imaan. So being ungrateful, I have explained to you is when you don't value something. When you don't appreciate something, you abuse it, you misuse it. You stamp on it. You tread on it. And make it into a bad state. So when a Muslim doesn't value his Imaan and how does a Muslim not value his Imaan? What are the acts of ungratefulness of Imaan? The imaan that Allah has given us, the ungratefulness is when you disobey Allah you are ungrateful for your Imaan. When a human being disobeys Allah, then he is ungrateful for the Imaan that Allah has given to him. Remember this point. When Allah's orders, when we disobey them. When Allah's Ahkaam come to us and we disobey them, when we reject Allah ta'ala's orders, at that time in reality, what is the human being doing? He is the ni'mah Allah ta'ala has given him, the greatest ni'mah, Imaan, he is ungrateful for that ni'mah. Thats what he is doing. He is being ungrateful. Yes and that is the biggest act of ungratefulness of a human being is that depite having Imaan in his heart that Alllah ta'ala gave to him, he doesn't listen to what Allah ta'ala tells him. He doesn't obey Allah commands. Rather in opposition to that , he obeys his nafs. His desires. Yes he believes some, be disbelieves some, he follows some, he leaves some. He thinks sometimes. He doesn't think sometimes. Yes fair enough. We do make mistakes, we are human beings. If one mistake or commit a sin, say استغفراللہ, Allah will wipe away that sin. Then the Imaan will come back to that original position. But, if we flagrantly and blatantly say, "I swear, I live in the world, we need to earn, we need to work, yaar how can we practice the deen, how can we live in the world with this deen. This islam is for the older generations. The fundamentalists. The extreme people. We live in the scientific advanced age. How can we practice," we say. Openly we criticise. This is how it is isn't it? "Oh yaar these people are extremists, foolish people, stupid people, practicing Islam. Yes they are the people of the olden times, the prehistoric times and the dark ages. We cannot practice this deen استغفراللہ." This is the test for the people of imaan. The big test today that how do we stand up firm on the deen in this day and age. So when a believer, when he disobeys Allah, and even a small scale sin, even Allah's disobedience, for example, is that you cannot even say a word against Allah ta'ala's deen. What do we do? We disobey. We sin. We go against the deen. Every order. Halal. Orders for halal. Orders for haram. All of them we mix them up today. We do what we desire. What we feel like we leave. We are servants of our desires. We are slaves of our desires. So all of this. This is the biggest sin. That despite having Imaan, despite having faith, the believer lives his life as a disobedient servant of Allah. It's not just praying salaah that is Islam.
Allah says, "I have many Ahkaam's and orders in Islam." This is just for a few minutes or seconds in the day. Allah ta'ala didn't just say that pray salaah and then forget me after that. Allah says believe me as I tell you, every footstep of your life. My orders will come, my Prophets will come, my Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam will come. He will tell you that for example when the Prophet's finish, when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the final Prophet and then after that, the Awliyah Allah came, the Mashaaikh. Allah says, My wali's, they will not sit with you and talk about the house, and your shop and your business and your earnings. The Nabi doesn't talk about this. He teaches you about the fikr-e-Akhirah. The fikr of the Hereafter. He introduces you to Allah. Whether it is bitter or sweet, he has no fikr if somebody is upset or feeling happy or down or Abu Jahal will be upset. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn't think like that. "He's a big man of the tribe of the Quraish, or the big kuffar." The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "no, قولوا لا اله إلا الله, Recite laa ilaha illallah. Only then you will be successful. He wasn't worried abou them being put off, relatives or friends etc. That, "you do what you have to do and you do what you have to do." No. The biggest relative of mine will be he, even if he becomes Bilal like my relatives , said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. SubhaanAllah. So for that. This is the sign for a Mu'min. That people like Abu Jahal they were politicians and they said we are relatives.
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, If Bilal who is a slave and believes in what I am saying, the message I am giving, then his Maqaam will be that he will be walking on the earth, but you will hear his footsteps in paradise!
SubhaanAllah. And his Maqaam will be such that he will go into paradise before even I go, he will enter into paradise. How? SubhaanAllah he said, "the reins of my camel will be in the hands of Bilal." So he will walk in first and he will enter paradise first and I will be behind him," said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. SubhaanAllah. Why? So at that time what did he do? That "such a Maqaam!?" People asked
He said, "yes, he will recite the kalimah and due to reciting the kalimah he will also protect his Imaan and the kalimah and he won't be ungrateful." Why? Because he was laid down on the coal. He said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." He was laid down on hot sand and he said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." His skin was ripped. He said, "Laa ilaha illallaah." What was he doing at that time? What was he doing? He was grateful to Allah at the time that Allah you gave me this ni'mah of Islam, I will not waste it, I am grateful to you oh Allah. So these Ibaadaat that Allah ta'ala has given to us that we pray Fajr salaah. This is being grateful to Allah that in the evening Allah, I didnt leave Imaan, you gave me Imaan. I am grateful to you so those people who don't pray Fajr salah their Imaan is dissappeared. Listen to this carefully. This is not a game deenul Islam. Islam is not a game that the person who is a believer in the morning, he will be a disbeliever in the evening and a person who is a disbeliever in the evening will be a believer in the morning. This is the hadith. Okay fair enough. If a person is sick. He sets the alarms. He tries to get up. He makes effort to get up but he couldn't get up. Okay fine. There is forgiveness, rather there is reward. You will get 2 thawaab. For sleeping and for the Ibaadah. He tried. He made effort. Allah ta'ala looks at the effort that a person is making. For example, we say, "oh he doesn't pray. He is young. He has got to go work in the morning. He has to go university and straight away the mother will say, "you're always pestering him and strictly scolding him. And don't pester him. He has got to study. He is studying. He has got to go to college etc. He will pray when he has got time. When he has the time. When he's got the chance. When he sees that there's time. Straightaway the wife will come, the mother, to protect the son and then the father, he goes quiet and he says, "fair enough, okay, you will pray one day, you should pray one day." And when he doesn't go to work, mother and father will both give him the telling off. "How dare you you haven't started working. You're free all the time. What will you do in the dunya? Where are you going to earn from? And if you don't become this and this career, if you don't study, if you don't graduate, from all sides he will be getting la'nat and cursed. Why don't you do do something?" But until today mother and father don't get asked, "does your son pray salaah or not?" No some people, their habit is, "my son is this, and he has achieved this career." And there was a faqeer, poor soul. Simple person. He didn't have much. He rejected the dunya. And leaving the dunya was such that he didn't want to disobey Allah. He didn't want to be ungrateful to Allah. He wasn't ungrateful of his Imaan. So he didn't say that my son is this or my son is this amd they weren't showing off. "So what is your son?" He said, "my son is a Mawlana. He is a scholar." SubhaanAllah. He said that, "what is it that you have done, you have made him a Mawlana, your son. You could've taught him something else. What is this namaaz and Quran and he is an aalim. Where will he eat from? Where will he earn from?" They said. So brothers, what is this? These negative thinking of ours, is this Imaan? Tell me. Is this faith? Is this really faith? So Imaan. This is being disobedient to Imaan. When the believer, when Allah bestows him with Imaan, to be grateful for this, we should protect it. Just like Hazrat Bilal Radiyallahu anhu, just like the sahabaah, the noble companions, the Awliyah Allah and the pious predecessors. That is called protecting Imaan. Valuing Imaan. Not on small issues. Running away. We don't know about halal. We don't know about haraam. We don't know about the right way and we get scared and put off and that we can't practice deen it's soo hard. These are tests in life my friends. All the ibaadaats that Allah ta'ala has given to us, Allah ta'ala wants to see, is he grateful to me for the Imaan that I have given him or is he ungrateful. Yes five times in the day Allah says you have to be grateful to me. You have to pray salaah Allah says. Let's see who is grateful to me. Allah could've said, "pray at home or at your shop or your business place. Okay you don't have to pray no. Allah says, No, that whoever is grateful to me for their Imaan i have given to him, the man, only grateful will be he that as soon as it is Fajr time, all the menfolk and the youngsters at home, they run to the masjid and he who doesnt go, will be such that he will be taken away. Vanished. Allah says that destruction will come to that person just like the hadith, the Fuqaha say that the person who doesn't pray, some say imprison him, some say hit him. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that I feel like that I want to burn the houses of those people who don't pray. Why? Because he has lost Imaan. This is being grateful for the Imaan. The ibaadaat that Allah ta'ala has given to us, the hajj that we do, this is the ibaadah of being grateful. Yes. All the ibaadat we have been given, what do they represent, the acts of worship? They represent us being grateful for the imaan Allah ta'ala has given to us and the rest of the angels they testify that Allah ta'ala, you gave them the ni'mah of Imaan, they are grateful of their Imaan because they are doing the right thing at the right time. So do not consider Ibaadah, don't think that if someone's not praying salah in your home, it is nothing. Never. Turn a blind eye. Your kids. You are bringing them up. You have to bring them up. And bear them. قوا انفسكم. You will be asked in the Hereafter. Just like you send your children to university, college, you exhort them to study or if by chance you make somebody a Mawlana, and then you worry that where is he going to eat from? How is he going to earn? How is he going to flourish in the world. This our Tawakkul that "oh I've done wrong now. I've sent my son towards becoming a Molvi. Let's drag him back to the dunya. We say. Let's drag him back towards the dunya. That no fikr we have for our salaah, or our family, if they are praying salaah.
Remember that In that house where salaah isn't prayed, let me remind you, what are those people? They are close to kufr, disbelief. Because they cannot bear witness and prove their Imaan. They are rejecting the ni'mah Allah ta'ala is giving to them. They are rejecting the ni'mah Allah ta'ala is giving them. Doesn't matter who is involved, any level of person he is. Doesn't matter if a person has learnt ilm, he has got knowledge and he prays salaah at home and he is forgiven. No way, oh he's a scholar. Oh he's a Mawlana. He's a Haafidh. What is his punishment? That he, they, the others who are non Aalim's, non scholars, they will get punished after. First the Aalim, the Scholar, the Haafidh, he will get punished. Double. Just like the people of Imaan, Hifdh and Aalim's, they will be given double the reward in the Hereafter. Same if those people who rejected and didn't prayed salah and they pray salaah at home, they will get double Jahannam. Double punishment. And they will be gievn double criticism. Did you not have shame that you had Quran in your heart, ilm in your heart and you went against that? And you gave tarbiyyah to your children opposite to that? Those so called learned people and those learned people will be punished twice. That you taught your children to imitate those who had no Imaan!? Brothers. Don't go towards inferiority complex. Allah's Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. Oh did he say, "Abu Jahal you're rich and you're maaf and you're forgiven?" No. And that the poor person, it is only for him. That is not the case. SubhaanAllah. "You will see on the day of Judgement oh Abu Jahal, that my Bilal, how he will shine," said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. His face will shine. So brothers. My colleagues. Understand the deen of Islam. If today we, when we practice it is difficult for us, then these difficulties are there, that is part of life. This is the challenge of life. Allah says that my friend is he who when I test him, he comes into the fold and passes the test. Say SubhaanAllah. If I say to a friend that, "I'm your friend," and when your friend tests you. Let me knock on his door. "I need 500 pound from my friend. Can you give me?" "500 pounds!? Um, my business is down, it is flopped. I can't. I haven't got no money to give you and the other person that I gave a loan to, he hasn't paid me back. I have to pay fees for my children. If I had money, I'd give to you my friend." And your friend says, "I'm in hard times. I need your help. Please if you give to me, then I will repay to you after 2 weeks." He says, "sorry yaar. Or i'll ask somebody for you. Please go away today." And he says, "yaar, my heart feels that what has happened to you?" But he's not taking out one pound from his pocket. So is that a real friend? He can't help at the time of need. So Allah says in the same way, you have said that you got Imaan my servant, but you're saying a big statement oh my believer that I have given you a very big blessing to every person with Imaan, all your lifelong, i'll test you that are you really my friend or not? Allah says that I will test you. Sometimes I will test you with hunger. Dont run away due to hunger. Oh my Rabb, I understand that he is testing me but I am not going to do a U-turn because Allah promises that I am his beloved and he is my beloved. I won't run away from Islam. Don't ever let it come from your mouth that, look at the disbelievers, they're enjoying life. I have got no food, no clothes. They are enjoying life and they're disobeying Allah and they're enjoying themselves in the world. Never in your mind should this atoms weight of thought come otherwise you will be destroyed in this world. Never in your mind should you criticise and consider that others are better than you. You will be destroyed. Allah says, "I also test my friends. My wali's. That how much does he repay the favour?" SubhaanAllah. What a great statement. لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ Allah says. That when my servant is grateful for my Imaan that I have given to him and he saves himself from sins. Every sin that a person runs away from, look at the reward, Allah says لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ that when my believer, when my servant is grateful and he runs away from the vice and evil then Allah says I increase his status even more. We think that when we eat, be grateful and Allah will increase the food, that's all we understand from this statement. هذا فضل ربي written on top of the shops. This is the fadl of Allah. If we work, then Allah will give us more money. This is not being grateful to Allah. I am talking about Imaan my friends. Allah is talking about Imaan. Allah is explaining about Imaan that SubhaanAllah when you're tested upon in the dunya and when upon Imaan you save yourself from the sin and you protect your Imaan. Due to you protecting your Imaan and running away from sin, Allah says that I will increase your Imaan, I will strengthen your Imaan. The more you save yourself from the sin, i'll strengthen your Imaan more to this extent that Allah says that you've come so close to me and I am with you and you are with me. We are together. لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
That is the meaning of this statement. So we think that Allah has given us more food and drink and water and money. No. لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ And Where are we grateful? Allah says, the Imaan that I have given to you and you run away from disobedience, you run away from the sins. You were able to sin. You had the capacity to sin and you stopped it. In reality, you are grateful for the ni'mah that Allah ta'ala has given to you at the time. When for example, when you are running away from disobedience and sin, what are you doing in reality? You are grateful and you are doing shukr for the Imaan that Allah ta'ala has given to you. Yes. That's what you're doing. Rather, what are you doing? That the greatest ni'mah Allah has given to human being, Imaan, the Muslim is being grateful for that. Allah says then I increase it and it carries on increasing and carries on increasing. But ontop of that Allah ta'ala says, at the same time, كفرتم , what does that mean? شكرتم ، كفرتم.
The person who rejects, the person who is disobedient to Allah, Allah says that ni'mah that I gave to you for Imaan, when he commits sin, when he leaves salaah, when he consumes Haraam, when he does haraam actions. When he does wrong actions. When he makes halaal, haraam. "Oh I'm forced to do this. I can't do this." And he consider himself a Muslim!? And he recites the kalimah Allah says, he is Munaafiq, he is a liar. He is a hypocrite. Allah says, "I tested him but he is not my friend. He ran away." كفرتم. The person who rejects, he shuns the right, then what happens? Allah says عذاب شديد. Not just عذاب , but شديد. Allah says unlimited Adhaab that he cannot imagine. On the other side. On one side, Allah says I increase the Imaan, but the person who rejects. Adhaab. Unlimited. And on the other side it is Thawaab if you do the right that you cannot imagine. So both extremes Allah ta'ala has mentioned here. Both extremes.
So this is the fantastic message we need to understand for which Allah ta'ala says, "I have given you one month." The whole month of Ramadan Allah has given to us. This is the practice on these points that you need to become a grateful servant of Allah. That's why Ramadan has been given to us so we can learn how to be grateful to me. Practice has been given in this month of Ramadan. Because this is the soul of deen. The person who is ungrateful, then he will be far from the deen. So this is the meaning of fasting. This is the meaning that when a person keeps a fast, the meaning of the fast is that he has to learn how to be the obedient and grateful servant of Allah. Why? Because Allah ta'ala has ordered him, "don't eat." Hes not eating. Allah says, "don't do this action, x,y,z." He doesn't do that. So he's saving himself from disobedience. Yes. He is saving himself form the disobedience through this fast completely. That human being. He does the fast. How is it completed? It's not be leaving food and drink the fast. Rather by leaving the disobedience of Allah. That is the definition of fasting. There is a hadith of Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah Radiyallahu Anhu, and it is stated that some people are such that they want to save themselves from Jahannam, but when they commit a sin, they fall into the trap. So the whole fast gives this message. Its teaching us from the begining that if we really want to become the genuine fasting person by the evening, you want to get the reward from Allah, then Allah says, how much through this day of the fast did you protect your Imaan and run away from the sin. That's when it will be considered that you didn't eat or drink and you'll be given the reward of the fast. Otherwise there are sick people in hospitals, they can't eat. Yes. There are people in the hospitals, they can't eat or drink. Today if I get a stomach upset, then I can't eat even then.
Yes so the food will stop for the day. So this is not some great achievement, not eating or drinking, even the sick person can't eat. So if you don't eat or drink that is not the miracle or the achievement of the fast. The achievement. This is something extra. Allah ta'ala could've said, eat and drink but don't commit the sin during the fast. So the special grace and karam and mercy of Allah during the month of fasting is that Allah ta'ala has to make us even weaker physically, Allah ta'ala has kept us away from food and drink. Here the Sufi's say that the greatest condition physically for a human being is poverty or hunger. When you see that your nafs is not coming into control, then you should go through hunger. That's why in the Naqshbandi silsilah, it is exhorted that sleep less and eat less, that's when you become a proper human. When you eat less, there's less passion, less thinking about earning and passion and lust. Yes. So a person who is hungry. This is the reward of Allah that during the fast you are not eating and drinking. It will become reward for you when at that time you leave the disobedience. Allah says, I have given you the fast for this reason. To run away from the sins.
30 days Allah ta'ala has given us to practice in fasting in the month of Ramadan so that you can become a grateful servant and depart the world in that way. That nonsense that shaytan spoke about right in the beginning of time that, "I will make your servants Alllah ungrateful to you," then you have to give him he answer in these 30 days of Ramadan that look, Allah ta'ala has given us a great ni'mah of Imaan and we will not commit sin in these 30 days. So Allah ta'ala will then, due to the barakah of this month, what will he do? In the next world. So this is not just a plan for these 30 days. Allah ta'ala says im telling you this for this reason so for the rest of your life even after Ramadan you have to pass like this. It's not just Ramadan. That 30 days we do this. We stop sinning and we stop eating and drinking and after that it's stopped. Allah say, 30 days I am helping you through Ramadan. I have imprisoned Shaytan. I have kept you hungry, thirsty. I am enabling you. I am assisting you. The method. How to control your nafs so then you have to carry this on after Ramadan, Allah ta'ala says, "Go and sit with a Wali Allah afterwards. Sit with a Sheikh." And he will teach you and train you the same works like the works of Ramadan." At the moment it is Ramadan. Even if you want to be safe from ungratefulness then Allah ta'ala says, through these 30 days, i'll make you practice. If for the rest of the life you want to practice, then go to the Khankah. The place where the Sheikh is sat. The Wali Allah. Take his hand and then you'll be saved otherwise you will go back towards ungratefulness and Shaytan will deviate you to him. Because Shaytan has many tools and resources but at the same time, the Wali Allah, he also has tools and resources. He is the master and surgeon of this field of Tazkiyah. They've opened their hospitals. The Khankah. After Ramadan they say, "you are free from fasting now. Come and enrol into this hospital, the Khankah so the rest of your life you can get guidance, so you don't lie, so you don't do ghibah, so you don't consume haraam and morning and evening you will go and pray salaah and you will protect your Imaan and you will testify to your Imaan that Allah we have Imaan and we value and we appreciate." And that's the environment you find in the Khankah. What else do you find in the Khankah? Do you find noise and singing and dancing? No the Wali's of Allah, this is the fikr and the concern they have. The fikr they have for the Hereafter. And then they revise and repeat the same lessons that Ramadan has given us today. The khankah and the Sheikh teaches you that and repeats that. That's why every mureed of a Sheikh, he is a grateful servant of Allah. The true student of a Sheikh is a grateful servant of Allah. That he tries from day one that I want to obey my Sheikh and whatever the Sheikh says, he says and teaches the student, those things which can make him a true grateful servant of Allah. Never will a student be an ungrateful servant of Allah. The mureed if he is sincere and he has gone with an honest true heart, first time he takes the hand of his sheikh, he becomes a grateful servant of Allah. Because that is the promise the Sheikh takes from the student so he connects to Allah. Just like in the Quran in Surah Mumtahinah, that, Oh my Nabi, when the believing women come to you, how should you give bay'ah to them? Accept their pledge of allegiance. Dont do kufr. Dont commit this sin.
Dont commit this sin. Dont commit this sin. So this is the promise that the Sheikh takes from the student. That you've come to me now student, fine. But you need to promise to Allah that you wont do this sin, you won't do this sin, you won't, you won't do this. This means then alhamdulillah, you are controlling your desires and the Sheikh guides the student and he does his Ilaaj. His cure.
فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُواْ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ
What a great cure and solution. The Sheikh gives to the student. Yes. That my student. What should you do? "Start doing the dhikr of Allah in parallel. Do the dhikr of Allah in parallel
فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُواْ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ
And then here the gratefulness, the shukr is attached to dhikr. Thats why in the Khankah, in the morning and evening, Dhikrullah is performed. You will get the quantity of Katheer. High quantity Dhikr from the teacher. And this is the one solution of how to become the grateful servant of Allah and Shaytan runs away. Sheikh gives you tarbiyyah, coaching, guidance, and ontop of that, in parallel, he teaches you dhikr of Allah with ma'mulat. With a schedule. People nowadays they say it is a waste of time doing Dhikr. Why shall we do dhikr? Why do you keep doing dhikr, you Sufi's, you are wasting time, doing bidah, innovation. If you want to today my brothers, save your Imaan and protect your Imaan,
then 2 things you can do to save your Imaan, protect your Imaan. In 2 things, you will get the protection of Imaan and success at the time of death. If before death you want to protect your Imaan then, number one, practice Ramadan correctly, yes in Ramadan you can preserve your Imaan and secondly, you will get the preservation of the Imaan taught to you in the khankah's of the Sheikh, no where else in the world will you get protection. Remember this point. Unfortunately today the situation is upside down. Shaytan has deviated, given us da'wah and taken us out of the fold and made us wasters. Yes. It doesn't matter if he's an aalim or muhaddith or a scholar. To save Imaan, hundred percent, laazim, essential, he has to go physically to a Sheikh. He has to sit in the Sheikhs service and company. This is the principle of the deen. And that's from where the human being becomes a proper human being an learns the principles of life. So its not the case that Allah ta'ala hasn't prepared for us but if we don't utilise the resources that Allah ta'ala has given to us, then we will become sick. Allah has given us a medicine. Allah has given us a medicine. And Shaytan has the power, he can make us devoid of Imaan, he can make us ungrateful but Allah ta'ala has prepared also opposition to that. Allah ta'ala has given us great preparation and resources until Qiyaamah so we can ward of Shaytan. No Dajjal or fitna will succeed. The Wali's of Allah, they are here in the world. They will assist mankind. They coach and they guide and they protect their students. Okay fine we are human beings, you can make a mistake. But they have the Tareeqah. Allah has given us the Tareeqah and it is essential that when you sit in the company of a teacher, that the person who doesn't go to a teacher he says, so what if I made a mistake. It's fine. It doesn't make any difference if I don't practice. But the student who is a sufi, who is sincere and sits in the company of the Sheikh, if he's a mureed of a Sheikh, of a teacher, then after sinning he will be extremely remorseful and regretful. And he will do استغفراللہ. And Allah says, promise that as soon as you do Istighfaar, I will wipe away that sin. Tawfeeq Istighfaar. To have the ability to do istighfaar is a great ni'mah of Allah. Great great resources and tools have been given to us so brothers you have to spend time in the company of a Sheikh, a teacher, go, find a teacher and this is the best way to live your life. Do istikhaarah and seek guidance from Allah. Allah grant me the company of your Wali so I can go their for my Islaah. I can correct my Aqeedah. My belief. My worship. Strengthen my connection with Allah. Strengthen my Aqaaidh and then inshaaAllah his Aqeedah is corrected and then he becomes a proper human being. So this Ramadan, the teaching of Ramadan. Dont think Ramadan is a waste of time. Not just eating and not drinking. No. There's a great message Ramadan has brought to us. Biggest message of Ramadan is that the human being becomes a grateful servant of Allah. Fasting teaches us how to become a grateful servant of Allah. The definition of being grateful to Allah, not, "alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, shukr alhamdulillah!' The definition of Gratefulness is to run away from the disobedience to Allah. Yes fast teaches us how to run away from the disobedience to Allah and run away from sin when until the evening, the human being fasts in that way and he doesn't disobey Allah and he doesn't commits sin, then he becomes the grateful servant of Allah. And when he commits sin then his fast breaks. In the same way the rest of the life, the humans being should live like this. Its not just for 30 days you're a muslim, 30 days our masjid are full. Allah is making us practice. He is overhauling our Imaan. What we've done is that just until Ramadan we have restrained and restricted ourselves to Ramadan. Us people, we will just practice in Ramadan. So when Ramadan dissappears, we say, then after we will practice. When Ramadan dissappears, we will do it. But then when Ramadan goes, we carry on. Does this mean that Imaan is just confined to Ramadan? No. Allah's ta'ala's karam and mercy, He has revived our Imaan all year long. We have committed the sins, Allah has washed those sins and made us release that you were living the wrong life. Such a great realisation Allah has given us that this is the life of a Mu'min, the life of Ramadan in which there is no sins. Salah is prayed. In which the Quran is recited and people hasten, run to Islam. High darajaat. Qadr of islam and salah Allah has given to us in Ramadan. Salaah and Quran, Great value and appreciation in Ramadan. This is the life of the Mu'min. This is how we should live the life. We run away from Fard, compulsory. Allah says. No this is the reality of life that how you should observe the nawaafi, so Allah ta'ala has given us this great ni'mah. Great ni'mah. That Allah has made fasting fard and he has made the other actions Sunnah Muakkadah. Taraweeh. It is laazim. We must pray Taraweeh and it is Quran. Laazim. Essential. The whole masjids, all the Imaams, they accept that this is Sunnah Muakkadah. Praying Taraweeh. Yes. And what is it in Taraweeh? That Allah subhaanahu wa ta'ala the action that the life of a Mu'min that he saves himself from disobedience and totally the connection that he has with Ibaadah. In his life. And the top class Ibaadah is what? Quran and Salaah. This is the life of the Mu'min, the life of the believer. And this is the example we've been given in Ramadan. 30 days. We do that. We have the Quran we complete the Quran and we pray taraweeh. But then as soon as fasting goes, then salah goes, Quran goes, love for dunya comes back and immodesty comes back. No. In Ramadan we are taught the life of a Mu'min. The rest of our life we should be like this. May Allah swt grant us all the Tawfeeq. Ameen