Ramadan is the month of patience and collecting good deeds. It is the month of having concern for others and demonstrating good conduct. It is the month of eliminating the defects within us. Ramadan doesn’t come to change our schedules, it is not merely fasting and increasing worship. In reality, Deen has many components and the most important component, is to have regard for other people.
Allah ta'ala loves His servants and loves those who love His servants. If we don't have love for the creation and we run after attaining Allah's pleasure through His worship, then we won't attain anything. Thus, the greatest deed is having good character and good connection with people.
We must be wary of the rights of others and even those who accompany us on a journey. This is what we need to achieve. Generally, we do not lack in worship. Rather, our connection with the Creation is very weak. We remain unaware of the condition of our neighbours nor are we aware of their rights upon us. We are ignorant of the rights of our relatives. Instead, we believe that we will succeed in life through our prayers. In reality, we should take up those actions which bring us closer to Allah ta'ala effectively and dhikr is the cure to attaining all these good qualities.
We should make a habit of sitting in the company of the pious people because such a person will never be deprived. He will most definitely reach his destination no matter how corrupted he is.
However, in these noble gatherings, one must have the intention and desire to reach Allah's nearness and only then he will reach his destination. Thereafter, do not look towards your sins and your burdens, as Allah ta'ala will definitely assist you and deliver you to your destination.
What is the point of fasting if you're not earning good deeds? This month is to recognise your nafs. The biggest loser is he whose nafs has defeated him in this month. He makes excuses and gives up the resources which Allah ta'ala has provided in this month and does not try to exercise patience. He doesn't collect good deeds to earn rewards and instead, has other concerns. He fasts, but he is deaf and blind to the true objective. Such a person will never succeed in life. Such a person has fallen prey to his nafs because shaytan has been imprisoned in this month. If Allah ta'ala imprisoned the Shaytan, then he could've easily expelled our nafs in this month too. This shows that the nafs is something which can most definitely be controlled and Allah ta'ala trains us to control our nafs throughout this month.
Hadhrat Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as رضي الله عنه reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands the Muslims are safe.." [Bukhari & Muslim]
Nabi ﷺ didn't mention any physical worship here. Rather, he summarised the best of deeds and that deed which will grant us the highest level of great character. This is what we must strive to acquire this month. We desire Wilaayat [friendship with Allah ta'ala], however, the sign of Wilaayat is not the mark of prostration on one's forehead. Rather, Wilaayat is achieved through ones excellent character. It is achieved through forgiving others and when you have the capacity to take revenge, but you forego that opportunity. It is achieved through the concern of other peoples issues and hunger, to the extent that all your actions become for the sake of Allah ta'ala. You teach Quran, lead prayers and give lectures for the sake of Allah. Your life objective is to please Allah ta'ala through assisting His creation. This is true friendship with Allah ta'ala which one should strive for.
If Allah ta'ala has made you a wealthy individual, then all your wealth is not considered truly yours. Rather, Allah ta'ala has entrusted you with this wealth so that you can distribute it to the poor. Your personal wealth should only be according to your need. It's not for your bank nor to evade tax.
The Prophet ﷺ stated, "whoever provides a sip of water to someone else, I will feed him from the fountain of Kawthar."
In order to achieve this great reward, our hearts must be rectified and improved. Many people spend their nights in worship and supplicate fervently for this reward. However, this is easily attained just by giving a sip of water to someone or alternatively, fulfilling even a minor need of someone else.
A person earns many good deeds by sacrificing himself for others and eliminating their sorrows.
We have the concern to worship and pray on time, so we should also develop concern for those who are hungry and needy around us.
After showering generosity upon others, we often acknowledge and remind them of our favours upon them. In reality, when one seeks recognition for his actions and is arrogant, then all his goodness turns to dust.
Such a person should instead be grateful to Allah ta'ala for giving him an opportunity to serve the needy. He should submit in front of the needy and request them to accept his assistance and thereafter, thank them for accepting his offering, because in reality he was not worthy of assisting Allah ta'ala's creation. This opportunity is in fact, a great favour from Allah ta'ala because if someone has been made happy through your words or support, then paradise becomes destined for you.
Similarly, the great Awliyah Allah have no need to accept your offerings so we shouldn't consider that we are favouring them and expect to be repaid for it. This mind-set wipes away a person's good deeds.
Ramadan teaches us to seek Allah ta'ala through serving His creation. Nowadays, we fail to serve our parents who have the greatest right for our service, let alone serving others. In reality, one isn't required to be close in distance to his parents in order to serve them. You may serve them through other means via your heart and your thoughts. You can serve them by including them in your prayers. This is also considered service. We must have regard and love for our parents regardless if they are near or far or if they have passed away.
We do not need to seek recognition and respect from others. Some people are very famous in this world, (either due to their wealth or knowledge), but they are completely unknown in the heavens. On the other hand, there are some individuals who are unknown in this world, yet known by all the inhabitants of the heavens.
The real goal is to live in this world and have the inhabitants of the heavens pray for you. You may be unaware, but the angels see you in distress and pray for your calamities to be removed. Thus, we should strive to be known in the heavens and this is achieving by adopting 2 habits - Silence and Great Conduct. These habits may appear to be small, yet, they weigh heavy upon the scales of the Hereafter. These are habits which can be implemented by everyone and these characteristics are instilled within us via engaging in dhikr.
One acquires good character and Taqwa in the company of the pious people. Therefore, we should take up their company and adopt those habits which have been prescribed to take us nearer to Allah ta'ala.
This Ramadan, we should be a humble and sincere person and be in the service of others. We should develop the pain of others in our hearts. We should amass the good deeds and not leave any opportunity, because one receives the rewards equivalent to Fard through them. This is why we should not consider any good deed to be insignificant.
May Allah ta'ala grant us the ability to implement.
Ramadan is the month of patience and collecting good deeds. It is the month of having concern for others and demonstrating good conduct. It is the month of eliminating the defects within us. Ramadan doesn’t come to change our schedules, it is not merely fasting and increasing worship. In reality, Deen has many components and the most important component, is to have regard for other people.
Allah ta'ala loves His servants and loves those who love His servants. If we don't have love for the creation and we run after attaining Allah's pleasure through His worship, then we won't attain anything. Thus, the greatest deed is having good character and good connection with people.
We must be wary of the rights of others and even those who accompany us on a journey. This is what we need to achieve. Generally, we do not lack in worship. Rather, our connection with the Creation is very weak. We remain unaware of the condition of our neighbours nor are we aware of their rights upon us. We are ignorant of the rights of our relatives. Instead, we believe that we will succeed in life through our prayers. In reality, we should take up those actions which bring us closer to Allah ta'ala effectively and dhikr is the cure to attaining all these good qualities.
We should make a habit of sitting in the company of the pious people because such a person will never be deprived. He will most definitely reach his destination no matter how corrupted he is.
However, in these noble gatherings, one must have the intention and desire to reach Allah's nearness and only then he will reach his destination. Thereafter, do not look towards your sins and your burdens, as Allah ta'ala will definitely assist you and deliver you to your destination.
What is the point of fasting if you're not earning good deeds? This month is to recognise your nafs. The biggest loser is he whose nafs has defeated him in this month. He makes excuses and gives up the resources which Allah ta'ala has provided in this month and does not try to exercise patience. He doesn't collect good deeds to earn rewards and instead, has other concerns. He fasts, but he is deaf and blind to the true objective. Such a person will never succeed in life. Such a person has fallen prey to his nafs because shaytan has been imprisoned in this month. If Allah ta'ala imprisoned the Shaytan, then he could've easily expelled our nafs in this month too. This shows that the nafs is something which can most definitely be controlled and Allah ta'ala trains us to control our nafs throughout this month.
Hadhrat Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as رضي الله عنه reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands the Muslims are safe.." [Bukhari & Muslim]
Nabi ﷺ didn't mention any physical worship here. Rather, he summarised the best of deeds and that deed which will grant us the highest level of great character. This is what we must strive to acquire this month. We desire Wilaayat [friendship with Allah ta'ala], however, the sign of Wilaayat is not the mark of prostration on one's forehead. Rather, Wilaayat is achieved through ones excellent character. It is achieved through forgiving others and when you have the capacity to take revenge, but you forego that opportunity. It is achieved through the concern of other peoples issues and hunger, to the extent that all your actions become for the sake of Allah ta'ala. You teach Quran, lead prayers and give lectures for the sake of Allah. Your life objective is to please Allah ta'ala through assisting His creation. This is true friendship with Allah ta'ala which one should strive for.
If Allah ta'ala has made you a wealthy individual, then all your wealth is not considered truly yours. Rather, Allah ta'ala has entrusted you with this wealth so that you can distribute it to the poor. Your personal wealth should only be according to your need. It's not for your bank nor to evade tax.
The Prophet ﷺ stated, "whoever provides a sip of water to someone else, I will feed him from the fountain of Kawthar."
In order to achieve this great reward, our hearts must be rectified and improved. Many people spend their nights in worship and supplicate fervently for this reward. However, this is easily attained just by giving a sip of water to someone or alternatively, fulfilling even a minor need of someone else.
A person earns many good deeds by sacrificing himself for others and eliminating their sorrows.
We have the concern to worship and pray on time, so we should also develop concern for those who are hungry and needy around us.
After showering generosity upon others, we often acknowledge and remind them of our favours upon them. In reality, when one seeks recognition for his actions and is arrogant, then all his goodness turns to dust.
Such a person should instead be grateful to Allah ta'ala for giving him an opportunity to serve the needy. He should submit in front of the needy and request them to accept his assistance and thereafter, thank them for accepting his offering, because in reality he was not worthy of assisting Allah ta'ala's creation. This opportunity is in fact, a great favour from Allah ta'ala because if someone has been made happy through your words or support, then paradise becomes destined for you.
Similarly, the great Awliyah Allah have no need to accept your offerings so we shouldn't consider that we are favouring them and expect to be repaid for it. This mind-set wipes away a person's good deeds.
Ramadan teaches us to seek Allah ta'ala through serving His creation. Nowadays, we fail to serve our parents who have the greatest right for our service, let alone serving others. In reality, one isn't required to be close in distance to his parents in order to serve them. You may serve them through other means via your heart and your thoughts. You can serve them by including them in your prayers. This is also considered service. We must have regard and love for our parents regardless if they are near or far or if they have passed away.
We do not need to seek recognition and respect from others. Some people are very famous in this world, (either due to their wealth or knowledge), but they are completely unknown in the heavens. On the other hand, there are some individuals who are unknown in this world, yet known by all the inhabitants of the heavens.
The real goal is to live in this world and have the inhabitants of the heavens pray for you. You may be unaware, but the angels see you in distress and pray for your calamities to be removed. Thus, we should strive to be known in the heavens and this is achieving by adopting 2 habits - Silence and Great Conduct. These habits may appear to be small, yet, they weigh heavy upon the scales of the Hereafter. These are habits which can be implemented by everyone and these characteristics are instilled within us via engaging in dhikr.
One acquires good character and Taqwa in the company of the pious people. Therefore, we should take up their company and adopt those habits which have been prescribed to take us nearer to Allah ta'ala.
This Ramadan, we should be a humble and sincere person and be in the service of others. We should develop the pain of others in our hearts. We should amass the good deeds and not leave any opportunity, because one receives the rewards equivalent to Fard through them. This is why we should not consider any good deed to be insignificant.
May Allah ta'ala grant us the ability to implement.