Is it Right to Give up Virtue?
In this Ramadhan, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us a very great reward. Our understanding cannot grasp what rewards and what treasures are in this month. In regard to these blessings and the importance of the month, prior to Ramadhan, at the end of Sha’ban, our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained how important the month was, so that we would not miss out on what Allah ta’ala has prepared for us. This month has been given to us especially because we are negligent, lazy and laid back for the rest of the year, and Allah ta’ala has put so much Barakah into the month that if we just pay a little bit of attention and give a little time, then the rest of the year can pass with ease and with Deen. So this month is not only about this month; rather it is protection for us for the rest of the year. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has especially mentioned those A’maal that we normally don’t pay attention to during the rest of the year, due to which we lose out so much.
Look, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentioned the Fadhaa’il of Ramadhan, he said before it began ‘This is a great month that is to come’ and then he emphasised one thing. What did he say? SubhanAllah. First and foremost, he gave advice regarding something, and we are very weak in this matter, very weak indeed. If Allah’s Nabi subhana wa ta'ala had not given advice about this thing, maybe we would also leave this action in Ramadhan - and that is to do small deeds. Say SubhanAllah. For us, we say ‘It has no value, it is just a small deed. It is not Muakkadah, it is Mustahabb, so it is not a big action. No need - we have just done a big action.’ Regarding this, Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Don’t consider it as a small Amal. This is a great action indeed – don’t consider small deeds to be small.’ If something will be presented to Allah, how can that be small or minor? That is what is being mentioned here. Whatever is presented in the Court of Allah is presented because it is has importance and weight– it is an action that is being presented to the greatest, to Allah subhana wa ta'ala, so how can it be minor? Allah’s Nabi subhana wa ta'ala said that even if it is a minor action, it will take you close to Allah subhana wa ta'ala, very close to Allah.
So how can something that takes you close to Allah be a minor or small thing? How can this thought have come into our minds? So we were given this advice because it is obvious that if we practice this and emphasise this in this month, then we will earn for the rest of the year. We have been advised about this because Allah ta’ala has said that He knows our nature and that we are greedy, and that if we are not greedy for something, we don’t move. So He gives us all of this for our benefit. He gives us a great and positive encouragement, saying ‘If you can’t do significant things, fair enough, but I have given you this month so that you can practice and gain encouragement to do minor deeds in Ramadhan at least.’ If a person does these in Ramadhan, his reward is equivalent to Fardh! Allahu Akbar – amazing. Look at the reward for Fardh.
So first and foremost, don’t leave these things. Don’t wonder whether you should or should not do these things – don’t leave the Sunnah and don’t leave the Nawafil. Why? Because we know that Ramadhan is here, and that for Nawafil, we are getting the equivalent of a Fardh, so we say ‘Okay, we’ll pray the two Nafl.’ What is making you do that? Allahu Akbar. It is Ramadhan, because it is equivalent to a Fardh. And in reality, Allah ta’ala is saying ‘The Thawab is always big because small deeds draw you near to Me. If you keep practicing and practicing, then you become a Muqarrib, someone who is close to Me, and I will make you My Wali, My friend. And then I will become your hand, and your tongue when you speak.’ Allah says that a great Maqam can be acquired from these so-called minor deeds – and yet we leave these deeds in normal circumstances.
Giving Salam, for example – how long does it take? How long does it take to reply to the Salam? We have come to the Masjid to pray and worship, and we can give Salam. Or we can make Niyyah for I’tikaf when we come in, and how long does it take to send Durood? But we don’t think it is necessary. When it comes to praying Nawafil, we say ‘Oh, what’s the point of praying Nawafil – let’s just pray the Fardh.’ We are experts at taking shortcuts in Salah and doing shortcut Ibadah. We pray the Fardh and then that’s it – we leave. So in this month, Allah ta’ala is reviving the importance of all the Thawab that we waste. Allah is saying ‘I will give you the Thawab of Fardh for this so that you do not leave the small actions.’
Say for example, you see an obstacle in the path, and you pick it up. You think it is a small action, but it is a great action. Small actions include things like somebody doesn’t know the direction and you tell him the way, or if you help somebody that is lost, or if you offer to help push someone’s car that won’t start; if you cant do these, then even if you help your wife at home and say ‘Here, let me help you clear the dishes away,’ or ‘Let me help you clean something’ – do we do this? Imagine how great deeds like this are. These are those deeds in return for which Allah ta’ala will give you forgiveness and salvation. It could be that our big deeds may be thrown back in our faces because there is no Ikhlas in them, but Allah ta’ala may say ‘Okay fine – you did this additional action, so I accept it.’ We should become habitual in these things – make a habit to do them.
Look, there is a small deed that is mentioned so many times in Hadith. It is said that on the Day of Qiyamah, a person will be presented who will have one deed too few, just one. Allah will say ‘You do not have enough deeds, so you cannot go into Paradise.’ The person will ask ‘What can I do?’ and Allah will say ‘Go and ask someone to give you a good deed.’ Allah demonstrates the importance of this through this example He has shown. So that individual goes to those who attended big gatherings and gathered great deeds and asks them for a good deed, but they say ‘Oh no brother – we can’t give you any deeds, for we ourselves are in dire need of the deeds that we have.’ He is looking for just one good deed, and we can earn such deeds all the time; at every moment we can earn, and with every breath we can earn – it is wide open for us to earn.
This is a big state of negligence from which Ramadhan is reviving us. We should become used to doing these small good deeds. How long are we going to live? Every day we hear that this person has dies and that person has also died, and another person has been taken into hospital. The end will eventually come, and our big buildings and mansions and shops and all the things which we have that have made us wealthy and rich – eventually, all this will become dust and soil. It doesn’t matter how much you build and construct, because it is not Maal but A’maal that we need. That’s it – and what is A’maal? Good deeds that we should earn. If you can’t do big deeds, at least do the minor, small deeds; don’t leave those. This is a very valuable practice. We will run around looking for that one good deed – Allah will say ‘Ask,’ but nobody will respond.
So then there will be one broken-down person like me, who will say ‘You seem sad and distressed – what is the issue?’ He will say ‘What is the point of asking you? You seem like a hollow person yourself, so what is the point of me asking you?’ That person will say ‘Listen – at least tell what you are going around asking about. What’s the issue?’ This is not the exact wording, but I am just giving you the meaning of the Hadith, according to my passion and interest, SubhanAllah. So he’ll say ‘Okay – I’ll tell you my problem. You aren’t going to do anything, but I am in need of a good deed. Do you have anything?’ So the person said ‘Does no one has anything for you? The issue here is that all I have in my account is just one good deed, and so it looks like I haven’t succeeded, in which case what use will it be to me? You have it and then at least you can go into Jannah. I’ll be fine.’ Say SubhanAllah - look at what a great thing he did here. So the man says ‘Great – I’ve got the deed!’ So he runs back to Allah and says ‘I have been successful – I have got the good deed.’ Allah will say ‘Who gave you the good deed?’ So he says ‘It was an individual who said that he only had one good deed to his name, so he gave that deed to me.’ Allah then says ‘Is there anyone who can be more generous than Me? I will send that person who assisted you into Jannah first – you and him can both go!’ SubhanAllah – look at that. Look at the greatness of that one good deed.
Hadhrat Bilal was wandering around in heaven – his footsteps could be heard in heaven – so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam asked him ‘What do you do that allowed me to hear your footsteps in the heavens? What a great deed it must be, for I heard your footsteps in heaven.’ He replied ‘Me? I have nothing, no good deeds. The only thing I do is that after making Wudhu, I pray two Rakats of Nafl’ – and Allah gave him that Maqam due to those two Rakats after Wudhu. Allah has given us health, energy, time, but we run from the Masjid. Do we not have any need? At least pray the complete Salah. People say ‘Oh, there’s no need – just leave it.’ It is so sad that now they make announcements telling people not to pray Nafl Salah because they cannot wait. What will happen, then? Tell me, where can that person go? How can he leave it at just his Fardh if the Moulana Sahib makes an announcement telling people there is not enough time for them to pray Nafl? What will the condition of the Deen be? Think for a moment. People are given this as advice and a recommendation. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Man taqarrab fihi bi haslata min al khair’ For the normal deed in this month, you will get the reward of an obligatory, Fardh act. Anyone who does a virtuous habit will get the reward of a Fardh, but such a generation has come that they leave this. But the statements of Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam will always come and revive us and refresh us and bring us back to life. Is this not the case?
So it is stated that we shouldn’t waste the small deeds. Make a habit of this in Ramadhan. So see Allah’s Karam and Fadhl – we are sat here to do good deeds. Why else are we sat here? It is Allah’s mercy to us that He has gathered us in a Masjid - what else will we get here? Nothing at all but good deeds – and such good deeds we will get! We have come here to do Dhikrullah. A person might say ‘Oh, I am working, there is no need to do this Dhikr. Dhikr is not necessary, is it? I have done this and that other actions, I have prayed Tahajjud and have done a thousand other actions. Dhikr is not necessary, is it?’
What has been stated about this Dhikr that we are doing? Hadhrat Anas radhiAllahu anh narrates that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said “مَا مِنْ قَوْمٍ اجْتَمَعُوا يَذْكُرُونَ اللهَ” ‘Whichever group of people sit in a gathering’ - as we are doing - meaning wherever they gather, not just in a Masjid, but we are gathered in the house of Allah, for which there is a big Thawab – then when people gather “لَا يُرِيدُونَ بِذَلِكَ” solely for the sake of Allah with no other Niyyah or intention, not thinking ‘I will do this task and that task as well’ – no, these people put away all other objectives and they had sincere Niyyah that they will not do anything else in this gathering. They will have no other motive whatsoever so that their Niyyah is pure – this is called doing something purely and sincerely for the sake of Allah, just to attain Allah’s Radha. So don’t come to the Masjid for any other reason and keep all your private affairs outside. Come to the gathering with one point and one objective, so that all the people who gather to sit have come for the sake of Allah and just to do Dhikr of Allah, and what happens then?
What does Allah say? “مُنَادٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ” - that an angel calls out from the heavens! This is the Hadith, brothers. Our Iman says that the Qur’an and Hadith are everything – if we do not do Amal when we hear such beautiful points, then padlocks have been applied to the heart, haven’t they? Tell me. Padlocks have been applied. So Ramadhan is telling us that an angel calls out from the heavens and announces. This means that me and you are being introduced in the heavens; we are being introduced. From today until the Resurrection, we will be recognised, and it will be said ‘Those are the people who went to Ashrafiyyah Masjid in Ramadhan, and they went with a sincere Niyyah, one from this place, one from another place, and they all ran there with no other objective, even though it was Ramadhan and was the time of resting, and even though they could have taken their rest anywhere else, in this or that Masjid, but they saw that Dhikrullah was happening so they went there as quickly as possible.’ SubhanAllah. So an angel calls out, and what does the angel say? Think – what a great, great reward Allah ta’ala has given for this. “أَنْ قُومُوا مَغْفُورًا لَكُمْ” ‘Oh people, when you gathered, you were all forgiven!’ SubhanAllah - Alhamdulillah!
Today is such a day that we should rejoice – I have been forgiven and you have been forgiven. No power in the world can remove this – I swear by Allah, I have total Yaqeen that I have been forgiven due to this Majlis. Why? Because Allah ta’ala has stated this; Allah ta’ala has made the announcement. Allah ta’ala sends the people who He wants to forgive, SubhanAllah. He makes their hearts soft and tender, and he takes away their tiredness. Allah ta’ala is saying ‘I create the love in that person’s heart for that deed’ - because Allah ta’ala has made that person his own. Who will come? It is not Allah’s law that anyone should say ‘Look at him – he is a thief, and that person is a bandit, and this person did Zina and is sinful. I have seen all these dramas - look at that person. I know him all too well – he has stolen people’s money and has done this and that.’ There are thousands of excuses and doubts that could be raised, but what does Allah ta’ala say about the he who sits in this Majlis? SubhanAllah. Allah says ‘The one who arrives in this gathering, which is My gathering, he can never leave empty-handed or at a loss – never, if he comes with a sincere intention!’
So when is Allah ta’ala making us do this action? In Ramadhan. And for what reason? Not so that they only do this in Ramadhan, but so that they can become habitual and always come to Masjid Ashrafiyyah and do Dhikr. That is when you will get the reward of Ramadhan, my friends, so don’t come thinking that you will just come for the Thawab during Ramadhan. If your Rabb can give you Thawab today, then He can give you Thawab tomorrow as well. I invited you today appealing to your greed, but will you keep coming afterwards as well? Bring others as well, for that will become a river of forgiveness for you. Spread this action. But today we feel overwhelmed by problems – Corona, Torona - but all of this that is happening around us is because we are far from Allah, and Dhikr of Allah immediately draws you near to Allah - immediately and suddenly. How close have we become by sitting here and assembling to do Dhikr. After this, the angel will call out ‘Go! You are forgiven!’
And in addition, it is said – SubhanAllah, listen to another piece of good news; take this certificate as well. Allah is saying ‘Whatever your sins, whether you were a thief or a bandit prior to this Majlis, whatever you were, I have given another mercy to you. I haven’t just forgiven your deeds, rather, I have transformed them into good deeds!’ SubhanAllah – say SubhanAllah. This is Allah, the Most Merciful – this is Ramadhan. Ramadhan does not mean just keeping fasts and doing a few extra deeds – no. Look for everything, keep looking and become supremely rich in the Hereafter – every second is valuable. That is why it is stated that in every second and moment of Ramadhan, Allah ta’ala has given us the ability to earn. Allah has given us strength which we use to earn money in the world, but we leave all that money behind us when we pass away. Someone will say ‘Whose money was this?’ The reply will come ‘It belonged to that man, but he has now passed away. Look – this was his house, and these were his items, and these were his cars, this was his, and that was his. But where has he gone?’ It will be said to him ‘He’s gone – he is not here anymore.’ SubhanAllah, these just become the memories of his life. But take the real memories of life - those in which there is Dhikrullah, SubhanAllah.
Let me tell you what this action of Dhikr is. What happens during Dhikr? What is the effect of Dhikr? When we sit down to do Dhikr of Allah, what will we achieve? There are two effects in this: the Kalam of Allah ta’ala, and the Durood and Salam upon Allah’s Nabi sallahu alayhi wasallam. SubhanAllah. When you do these two actions together, that becomes Dhikrullah. That is the definition of Dhikrullah, that you recite the Kalam of Allah – and what great rewards Allah reserves for that – and also Durood-e-Pak, sending prayers of peace upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and Allah ta’ala has created angels specifically for Durood. Look what you will get from this Majlis. You will get the rewards for the Kalimaat and also the rewards for reciting Durood, because a gathering in which there is no Durood is not accepted. Say SubhanAllah. It will not ascend or get success without Durood. If a person comes and just wastes time, then there will be regret later when he realises what he missed in the Majlis.
So there are two glories here – two glories. Allah’s Kalam, and sending Durood and Salam on the Gracious Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, sending Salatu-wa-Salam. Look at the Thawab of Salatu-wa-Salam. Allah ta’ala has selected specific angels for Durood – and what is their job? They wander around the Majalis and Masjids and in different places all day long – say SubhanAllah – why? These are the angels of Durood, and what do they look for? They search for where Salat and Salam is being prayed upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, saying ‘Where is Durood going to be recited?’ And when they see a gathering, they attach themselves to it just like we run after money. Just like we get the taste for money, these angels run to where Durood is being recited and attach themselves to that place and envelop them in their wings and hide them in their wings -and what beautiful wings they have, in which Durood is hidden! They protect the Durood that we impure people recite from our mouths. This is happening now – say SubhanAllah!
This is for you, and also for those who are also sat taking part online, even if they are one thousand or two thousand miles away; if they are gathered to be included in this Majlis, they are totally attaining this Thawab. I don’t know if there is a receiver in this Masjid, but if so, those mothers and sisters who are listening via the receiver are totally getting the same reward. Their destiny has opened up and the fortune of this town has opened up. This is how the earth is made fertile and how the ground is made alive. When a person starts to recite Allah’s Name, the destinies of those at that gathering start to open up. This ground is unique– it has become the house of Allah. It has started to sparkle and the Adab has become different. Until Qiyamah, the status of this locality and this town has become unique. This place is different because it has been attached to Allah. This is a small piece of land that we are sitting on, and if you compare it to palaces and seven storey buildings or five-star hotels or tall buildings and manors and mansions, the glory of this place, of this Masjid where we are doing Dhikr, is incomparably greater. The angels that are descending here, the mercies that are descending here, and the Sakeenah that is descending here cannot be attained in any of those other big buildings. Why? Because this place is linked to who? Who is this piece of earth attached to? To Allah – so its fortune has transformed. The person who leaves the Dunya and is broken down and rejected by the world, a waster in a bad situation, an alcoholic who is disrespected in the world, when he recites Allah’s Name and becomes connected to Allah, he becomes elevated. He does Dhikr of Allah, and Allah says ‘His name is connected to Me now. I don’t look at the sins, rather I look at who he is connected to and linked to.’ Say SubhanAllah.
This is Dhikr, brothers. Are we are lazy and negligent in this and then want all our affairs in the world to be smooth? If so, we are like dead people. When you recite Durood Sharif, angels immediately come and super-glue themselves to the gathering and spread their wings over the gathering and hide you within their wings. You are sat here, and Madinah is closed! There is no visa you can get to go there - Corona has come, so you are sat at home and cannot go there. You are sat at home, but when you recite Durood Sharif, they seal it in their wings and fly to Madinat-ul-Munawwara and present it in the court of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in that atmosphere, saying ‘Ya Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that person in that gathering sent Durood to you.’ This comes in Hadith. Do me and you have the destiny and the fortune to do this? We are sat here, and the angels take our Durood and present it to the Master of the two worlds, saying ‘Ya Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, they took your name; they recited Durood while they were sat in a Majlis at the Masjid. This Durood came from this man, this is the Durood from that man, and this person and that person also recited.’ So the Master of the two worlds, Rahmatul-lil-Alameen sallallahu alayhi wasallam, will he not give a response? Immediately, he will raise his hands and say ‘Ya Allah, just as he has remembered me and has recited Durood upon me in Ramadhan, forgive him and also his whole family.’ SubhanAllah.
This is the gathering of Dhikr. What have we attained? Tell me. We will recite Durood – will you get anything for these good deeds? I will present a Hadith about Durood from Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha – Durood is a truly great action, my friends, SubhanAllah. If you do not have Durood at the beginning and the end of your Dua, you can ask whatever you want but your Dua is not accepted – you have to give the Waseelah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Don’t be lazy in this – you cannot be lazy in this; there is no way out. So in a beautiful and beloved Hadith, Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha narrated that when an individual recites Durood and Salatu ‘ala-n-Nabi, then Allah ta’ala has apportioned an angel who has so much power – alhamdulillah, Allah knows best the strength of this angel; he has so much power that whenever Durood is recited in any part of the world, he immediately picks up that Durood. Say SubhanAllah. The other angels are there to take that Durood immediately to Madinat-ul-Munawwara, but this second angel I am speaking about goes where? To Makkah – SubhanAllah.
Wherever in the world Durood is recited, that angel picks it up and immediately and directly goes to the Holy Court of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and presents that Durood, saying ‘Ya Allah, this man in that Masjid presented Durood to Your beloved Nabi. He recited Durood and I have brought this Durood to You, Ya Allah.’ Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua has narrated this Hadith – read it yourselves. SubhanAllah. Look at the Maqam of that person. If I recite Durood, it goes to Allah and it also goes to the Prophet of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam – SubhanAllah! When my Durood and your Durood arrives at the Court of Allah, Allah will say ‘Oh angel, take this Durood back to his grave with this instruction, that until Qiyamah, this Durood will send blessings and mercy upon that person and cool the heat of that grave.’ Your father will forget you, your brother will forget you, your Cha-Cha will forget you, those for whom you earned money in the world will forget you, but the Durood of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will not forget you – SubhanAllah. The Durood that you recite upon your beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will not forget you when you lie down in your grave.
Two meanings come out of this Hadith, so listen carefully. If a person is dead, how can he recite Durood? Two meanings come out, and the first is that at that time when that person was alive and he recited Durood, just like me and you will recite Durood, SubhanAllah, when a person dies, that Durood that he recited is sent to his grave. The second meaning that can be derived is that Allah is Khabir and Basir, He knows everything, sees everything and hears everything, so the meaning is that Allah knows where a person is going to die. He may live here but be destined to die in America; he lives here but may be destined to die in Bharuch; he lives here, but he may be destined to die in Mirpur; he lives here, but he may be going to die in Multan – Allah knows best. So how do I know? We think ‘How am I going to die there? I have no need to go there.’ But this is all recorded in Allah’s Kitab, and wherever his grave is to be is where he will get the benefit. Allah knows that soil in which he going to be buried; Allah knows best – He knows everything. So what happens? When you and me recite Durood Sharif, Allah ta’ala sends that Durood to that soil, to the earth that will be surrounding that grave, and makes it stand there waiting in advance – Allahu Akbar.
SubhanAllah – today, in Masjid Ashrafiyyah where you will recite Durood, Allah ta’ala has told that Durood to go in advance and stand on the graves of those people. We haven’t even arrived at our graves, and the Durood has started his work, saying ‘After his death, this person will come to this earth, so I will start to send Salam and Durood.’ It will start to send Salam and Durood and give such security to that person – what will that person get? Imagine what he will get from that Durood. When he goes into that grave, there will be Noor ‘ala Noor due to the Durood he sent upon Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The person will say ‘Where has this light come from?’ and the Durood will say ‘You may have forgotten me, but I haven’t forgotten you. You sat in this Masjid on that day and recited Durood on the Holy Prophet, and for many years, for so long, I have been waiting so that I could cool your eyes today.’ SubhanAllah.
So, my brothers, do not consider any minor deed to be insignificant. In Ramadhan, you get the reward for doing any virtuous deed equivalent to one Fardh action, and due to this, a person becomes a Wali - one good deed can make you the Wali of Allah. These so-called small deeds, like giving Salam to someone, spreading Salam, the Masnoon actions, beautiful A’maal, the A’maal of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam – make these your life, and they will become such bricks that they will complete the construction of your whole building. And the second point – Allahu Akbar – do Allah’s Dhikr. This is the second action. The first is Durood, and the second is attach yourself to the Dhikr of Allah. Illuminate your life with Dhikr. Plant the beautiful flower that Allah ta’ala has given you, and the love of Allah will increase, and the Qurb of Allah will increase. So start doing Dhikr. May Allah give us all the Tawfeeq to do this. Ameen
Recite Durood Sharif.
In this Ramadhan, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given us a very great reward. Our understanding cannot grasp what rewards and what treasures are in this month. In regard to these blessings and the importance of the month, prior to Ramadhan, at the end of Sha’ban, our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam explained how important the month was, so that we would not miss out on what Allah ta’ala has prepared for us. This month has been given to us especially because we are negligent, lazy and laid back for the rest of the year, and Allah ta’ala has put so much Barakah into the month that if we just pay a little bit of attention and give a little time, then the rest of the year can pass with ease and with Deen. So this month is not only about this month; rather it is protection for us for the rest of the year. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam has especially mentioned those A’maal that we normally don’t pay attention to during the rest of the year, due to which we lose out so much.
Look, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentioned the Fadhaa’il of Ramadhan, he said before it began ‘This is a great month that is to come’ and then he emphasised one thing. What did he say? SubhanAllah. First and foremost, he gave advice regarding something, and we are very weak in this matter, very weak indeed. If Allah’s Nabi subhana wa ta'ala had not given advice about this thing, maybe we would also leave this action in Ramadhan - and that is to do small deeds. Say SubhanAllah. For us, we say ‘It has no value, it is just a small deed. It is not Muakkadah, it is Mustahabb, so it is not a big action. No need - we have just done a big action.’ Regarding this, Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Don’t consider it as a small Amal. This is a great action indeed – don’t consider small deeds to be small.’ If something will be presented to Allah, how can that be small or minor? That is what is being mentioned here. Whatever is presented in the Court of Allah is presented because it is has importance and weight– it is an action that is being presented to the greatest, to Allah subhana wa ta'ala, so how can it be minor? Allah’s Nabi subhana wa ta'ala said that even if it is a minor action, it will take you close to Allah subhana wa ta'ala, very close to Allah.
So how can something that takes you close to Allah be a minor or small thing? How can this thought have come into our minds? So we were given this advice because it is obvious that if we practice this and emphasise this in this month, then we will earn for the rest of the year. We have been advised about this because Allah ta’ala has said that He knows our nature and that we are greedy, and that if we are not greedy for something, we don’t move. So He gives us all of this for our benefit. He gives us a great and positive encouragement, saying ‘If you can’t do significant things, fair enough, but I have given you this month so that you can practice and gain encouragement to do minor deeds in Ramadhan at least.’ If a person does these in Ramadhan, his reward is equivalent to Fardh! Allahu Akbar – amazing. Look at the reward for Fardh.
So first and foremost, don’t leave these things. Don’t wonder whether you should or should not do these things – don’t leave the Sunnah and don’t leave the Nawafil. Why? Because we know that Ramadhan is here, and that for Nawafil, we are getting the equivalent of a Fardh, so we say ‘Okay, we’ll pray the two Nafl.’ What is making you do that? Allahu Akbar. It is Ramadhan, because it is equivalent to a Fardh. And in reality, Allah ta’ala is saying ‘The Thawab is always big because small deeds draw you near to Me. If you keep practicing and practicing, then you become a Muqarrib, someone who is close to Me, and I will make you My Wali, My friend. And then I will become your hand, and your tongue when you speak.’ Allah says that a great Maqam can be acquired from these so-called minor deeds – and yet we leave these deeds in normal circumstances.
Giving Salam, for example – how long does it take? How long does it take to reply to the Salam? We have come to the Masjid to pray and worship, and we can give Salam. Or we can make Niyyah for I’tikaf when we come in, and how long does it take to send Durood? But we don’t think it is necessary. When it comes to praying Nawafil, we say ‘Oh, what’s the point of praying Nawafil – let’s just pray the Fardh.’ We are experts at taking shortcuts in Salah and doing shortcut Ibadah. We pray the Fardh and then that’s it – we leave. So in this month, Allah ta’ala is reviving the importance of all the Thawab that we waste. Allah is saying ‘I will give you the Thawab of Fardh for this so that you do not leave the small actions.’
Say for example, you see an obstacle in the path, and you pick it up. You think it is a small action, but it is a great action. Small actions include things like somebody doesn’t know the direction and you tell him the way, or if you help somebody that is lost, or if you offer to help push someone’s car that won’t start; if you cant do these, then even if you help your wife at home and say ‘Here, let me help you clear the dishes away,’ or ‘Let me help you clean something’ – do we do this? Imagine how great deeds like this are. These are those deeds in return for which Allah ta’ala will give you forgiveness and salvation. It could be that our big deeds may be thrown back in our faces because there is no Ikhlas in them, but Allah ta’ala may say ‘Okay fine – you did this additional action, so I accept it.’ We should become habitual in these things – make a habit to do them.
Look, there is a small deed that is mentioned so many times in Hadith. It is said that on the Day of Qiyamah, a person will be presented who will have one deed too few, just one. Allah will say ‘You do not have enough deeds, so you cannot go into Paradise.’ The person will ask ‘What can I do?’ and Allah will say ‘Go and ask someone to give you a good deed.’ Allah demonstrates the importance of this through this example He has shown. So that individual goes to those who attended big gatherings and gathered great deeds and asks them for a good deed, but they say ‘Oh no brother – we can’t give you any deeds, for we ourselves are in dire need of the deeds that we have.’ He is looking for just one good deed, and we can earn such deeds all the time; at every moment we can earn, and with every breath we can earn – it is wide open for us to earn.
This is a big state of negligence from which Ramadhan is reviving us. We should become used to doing these small good deeds. How long are we going to live? Every day we hear that this person has dies and that person has also died, and another person has been taken into hospital. The end will eventually come, and our big buildings and mansions and shops and all the things which we have that have made us wealthy and rich – eventually, all this will become dust and soil. It doesn’t matter how much you build and construct, because it is not Maal but A’maal that we need. That’s it – and what is A’maal? Good deeds that we should earn. If you can’t do big deeds, at least do the minor, small deeds; don’t leave those. This is a very valuable practice. We will run around looking for that one good deed – Allah will say ‘Ask,’ but nobody will respond.
So then there will be one broken-down person like me, who will say ‘You seem sad and distressed – what is the issue?’ He will say ‘What is the point of asking you? You seem like a hollow person yourself, so what is the point of me asking you?’ That person will say ‘Listen – at least tell what you are going around asking about. What’s the issue?’ This is not the exact wording, but I am just giving you the meaning of the Hadith, according to my passion and interest, SubhanAllah. So he’ll say ‘Okay – I’ll tell you my problem. You aren’t going to do anything, but I am in need of a good deed. Do you have anything?’ So the person said ‘Does no one has anything for you? The issue here is that all I have in my account is just one good deed, and so it looks like I haven’t succeeded, in which case what use will it be to me? You have it and then at least you can go into Jannah. I’ll be fine.’ Say SubhanAllah - look at what a great thing he did here. So the man says ‘Great – I’ve got the deed!’ So he runs back to Allah and says ‘I have been successful – I have got the good deed.’ Allah will say ‘Who gave you the good deed?’ So he says ‘It was an individual who said that he only had one good deed to his name, so he gave that deed to me.’ Allah then says ‘Is there anyone who can be more generous than Me? I will send that person who assisted you into Jannah first – you and him can both go!’ SubhanAllah – look at that. Look at the greatness of that one good deed.
Hadhrat Bilal was wandering around in heaven – his footsteps could be heard in heaven – so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam asked him ‘What do you do that allowed me to hear your footsteps in the heavens? What a great deed it must be, for I heard your footsteps in heaven.’ He replied ‘Me? I have nothing, no good deeds. The only thing I do is that after making Wudhu, I pray two Rakats of Nafl’ – and Allah gave him that Maqam due to those two Rakats after Wudhu. Allah has given us health, energy, time, but we run from the Masjid. Do we not have any need? At least pray the complete Salah. People say ‘Oh, there’s no need – just leave it.’ It is so sad that now they make announcements telling people not to pray Nafl Salah because they cannot wait. What will happen, then? Tell me, where can that person go? How can he leave it at just his Fardh if the Moulana Sahib makes an announcement telling people there is not enough time for them to pray Nafl? What will the condition of the Deen be? Think for a moment. People are given this as advice and a recommendation. Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘Man taqarrab fihi bi haslata min al khair’ For the normal deed in this month, you will get the reward of an obligatory, Fardh act. Anyone who does a virtuous habit will get the reward of a Fardh, but such a generation has come that they leave this. But the statements of Allah’s Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam will always come and revive us and refresh us and bring us back to life. Is this not the case?
So it is stated that we shouldn’t waste the small deeds. Make a habit of this in Ramadhan. So see Allah’s Karam and Fadhl – we are sat here to do good deeds. Why else are we sat here? It is Allah’s mercy to us that He has gathered us in a Masjid - what else will we get here? Nothing at all but good deeds – and such good deeds we will get! We have come here to do Dhikrullah. A person might say ‘Oh, I am working, there is no need to do this Dhikr. Dhikr is not necessary, is it? I have done this and that other actions, I have prayed Tahajjud and have done a thousand other actions. Dhikr is not necessary, is it?’
What has been stated about this Dhikr that we are doing? Hadhrat Anas radhiAllahu anh narrates that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said “مَا مِنْ قَوْمٍ اجْتَمَعُوا يَذْكُرُونَ اللهَ” ‘Whichever group of people sit in a gathering’ - as we are doing - meaning wherever they gather, not just in a Masjid, but we are gathered in the house of Allah, for which there is a big Thawab – then when people gather “لَا يُرِيدُونَ بِذَلِكَ” solely for the sake of Allah with no other Niyyah or intention, not thinking ‘I will do this task and that task as well’ – no, these people put away all other objectives and they had sincere Niyyah that they will not do anything else in this gathering. They will have no other motive whatsoever so that their Niyyah is pure – this is called doing something purely and sincerely for the sake of Allah, just to attain Allah’s Radha. So don’t come to the Masjid for any other reason and keep all your private affairs outside. Come to the gathering with one point and one objective, so that all the people who gather to sit have come for the sake of Allah and just to do Dhikr of Allah, and what happens then?
What does Allah say? “مُنَادٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ” - that an angel calls out from the heavens! This is the Hadith, brothers. Our Iman says that the Qur’an and Hadith are everything – if we do not do Amal when we hear such beautiful points, then padlocks have been applied to the heart, haven’t they? Tell me. Padlocks have been applied. So Ramadhan is telling us that an angel calls out from the heavens and announces. This means that me and you are being introduced in the heavens; we are being introduced. From today until the Resurrection, we will be recognised, and it will be said ‘Those are the people who went to Ashrafiyyah Masjid in Ramadhan, and they went with a sincere Niyyah, one from this place, one from another place, and they all ran there with no other objective, even though it was Ramadhan and was the time of resting, and even though they could have taken their rest anywhere else, in this or that Masjid, but they saw that Dhikrullah was happening so they went there as quickly as possible.’ SubhanAllah. So an angel calls out, and what does the angel say? Think – what a great, great reward Allah ta’ala has given for this. “أَنْ قُومُوا مَغْفُورًا لَكُمْ” ‘Oh people, when you gathered, you were all forgiven!’ SubhanAllah - Alhamdulillah!
Today is such a day that we should rejoice – I have been forgiven and you have been forgiven. No power in the world can remove this – I swear by Allah, I have total Yaqeen that I have been forgiven due to this Majlis. Why? Because Allah ta’ala has stated this; Allah ta’ala has made the announcement. Allah ta’ala sends the people who He wants to forgive, SubhanAllah. He makes their hearts soft and tender, and he takes away their tiredness. Allah ta’ala is saying ‘I create the love in that person’s heart for that deed’ - because Allah ta’ala has made that person his own. Who will come? It is not Allah’s law that anyone should say ‘Look at him – he is a thief, and that person is a bandit, and this person did Zina and is sinful. I have seen all these dramas - look at that person. I know him all too well – he has stolen people’s money and has done this and that.’ There are thousands of excuses and doubts that could be raised, but what does Allah ta’ala say about the he who sits in this Majlis? SubhanAllah. Allah says ‘The one who arrives in this gathering, which is My gathering, he can never leave empty-handed or at a loss – never, if he comes with a sincere intention!’
So when is Allah ta’ala making us do this action? In Ramadhan. And for what reason? Not so that they only do this in Ramadhan, but so that they can become habitual and always come to Masjid Ashrafiyyah and do Dhikr. That is when you will get the reward of Ramadhan, my friends, so don’t come thinking that you will just come for the Thawab during Ramadhan. If your Rabb can give you Thawab today, then He can give you Thawab tomorrow as well. I invited you today appealing to your greed, but will you keep coming afterwards as well? Bring others as well, for that will become a river of forgiveness for you. Spread this action. But today we feel overwhelmed by problems – Corona, Torona - but all of this that is happening around us is because we are far from Allah, and Dhikr of Allah immediately draws you near to Allah - immediately and suddenly. How close have we become by sitting here and assembling to do Dhikr. After this, the angel will call out ‘Go! You are forgiven!’
And in addition, it is said – SubhanAllah, listen to another piece of good news; take this certificate as well. Allah is saying ‘Whatever your sins, whether you were a thief or a bandit prior to this Majlis, whatever you were, I have given another mercy to you. I haven’t just forgiven your deeds, rather, I have transformed them into good deeds!’ SubhanAllah – say SubhanAllah. This is Allah, the Most Merciful – this is Ramadhan. Ramadhan does not mean just keeping fasts and doing a few extra deeds – no. Look for everything, keep looking and become supremely rich in the Hereafter – every second is valuable. That is why it is stated that in every second and moment of Ramadhan, Allah ta’ala has given us the ability to earn. Allah has given us strength which we use to earn money in the world, but we leave all that money behind us when we pass away. Someone will say ‘Whose money was this?’ The reply will come ‘It belonged to that man, but he has now passed away. Look – this was his house, and these were his items, and these were his cars, this was his, and that was his. But where has he gone?’ It will be said to him ‘He’s gone – he is not here anymore.’ SubhanAllah, these just become the memories of his life. But take the real memories of life - those in which there is Dhikrullah, SubhanAllah.
Let me tell you what this action of Dhikr is. What happens during Dhikr? What is the effect of Dhikr? When we sit down to do Dhikr of Allah, what will we achieve? There are two effects in this: the Kalam of Allah ta’ala, and the Durood and Salam upon Allah’s Nabi sallahu alayhi wasallam. SubhanAllah. When you do these two actions together, that becomes Dhikrullah. That is the definition of Dhikrullah, that you recite the Kalam of Allah – and what great rewards Allah reserves for that – and also Durood-e-Pak, sending prayers of peace upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam; and Allah ta’ala has created angels specifically for Durood. Look what you will get from this Majlis. You will get the rewards for the Kalimaat and also the rewards for reciting Durood, because a gathering in which there is no Durood is not accepted. Say SubhanAllah. It will not ascend or get success without Durood. If a person comes and just wastes time, then there will be regret later when he realises what he missed in the Majlis.
So there are two glories here – two glories. Allah’s Kalam, and sending Durood and Salam on the Gracious Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, sending Salatu-wa-Salam. Look at the Thawab of Salatu-wa-Salam. Allah ta’ala has selected specific angels for Durood – and what is their job? They wander around the Majalis and Masjids and in different places all day long – say SubhanAllah – why? These are the angels of Durood, and what do they look for? They search for where Salat and Salam is being prayed upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, saying ‘Where is Durood going to be recited?’ And when they see a gathering, they attach themselves to it just like we run after money. Just like we get the taste for money, these angels run to where Durood is being recited and attach themselves to that place and envelop them in their wings and hide them in their wings -and what beautiful wings they have, in which Durood is hidden! They protect the Durood that we impure people recite from our mouths. This is happening now – say SubhanAllah!
This is for you, and also for those who are also sat taking part online, even if they are one thousand or two thousand miles away; if they are gathered to be included in this Majlis, they are totally attaining this Thawab. I don’t know if there is a receiver in this Masjid, but if so, those mothers and sisters who are listening via the receiver are totally getting the same reward. Their destiny has opened up and the fortune of this town has opened up. This is how the earth is made fertile and how the ground is made alive. When a person starts to recite Allah’s Name, the destinies of those at that gathering start to open up. This ground is unique– it has become the house of Allah. It has started to sparkle and the Adab has become different. Until Qiyamah, the status of this locality and this town has become unique. This place is different because it has been attached to Allah. This is a small piece of land that we are sitting on, and if you compare it to palaces and seven storey buildings or five-star hotels or tall buildings and manors and mansions, the glory of this place, of this Masjid where we are doing Dhikr, is incomparably greater. The angels that are descending here, the mercies that are descending here, and the Sakeenah that is descending here cannot be attained in any of those other big buildings. Why? Because this place is linked to who? Who is this piece of earth attached to? To Allah – so its fortune has transformed. The person who leaves the Dunya and is broken down and rejected by the world, a waster in a bad situation, an alcoholic who is disrespected in the world, when he recites Allah’s Name and becomes connected to Allah, he becomes elevated. He does Dhikr of Allah, and Allah says ‘His name is connected to Me now. I don’t look at the sins, rather I look at who he is connected to and linked to.’ Say SubhanAllah.
This is Dhikr, brothers. Are we are lazy and negligent in this and then want all our affairs in the world to be smooth? If so, we are like dead people. When you recite Durood Sharif, angels immediately come and super-glue themselves to the gathering and spread their wings over the gathering and hide you within their wings. You are sat here, and Madinah is closed! There is no visa you can get to go there - Corona has come, so you are sat at home and cannot go there. You are sat at home, but when you recite Durood Sharif, they seal it in their wings and fly to Madinat-ul-Munawwara and present it in the court of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in that atmosphere, saying ‘Ya Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that person in that gathering sent Durood to you.’ This comes in Hadith. Do me and you have the destiny and the fortune to do this? We are sat here, and the angels take our Durood and present it to the Master of the two worlds, saying ‘Ya Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, they took your name; they recited Durood while they were sat in a Majlis at the Masjid. This Durood came from this man, this is the Durood from that man, and this person and that person also recited.’ So the Master of the two worlds, Rahmatul-lil-Alameen sallallahu alayhi wasallam, will he not give a response? Immediately, he will raise his hands and say ‘Ya Allah, just as he has remembered me and has recited Durood upon me in Ramadhan, forgive him and also his whole family.’ SubhanAllah.
This is the gathering of Dhikr. What have we attained? Tell me. We will recite Durood – will you get anything for these good deeds? I will present a Hadith about Durood from Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha – Durood is a truly great action, my friends, SubhanAllah. If you do not have Durood at the beginning and the end of your Dua, you can ask whatever you want but your Dua is not accepted – you have to give the Waseelah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Don’t be lazy in this – you cannot be lazy in this; there is no way out. So in a beautiful and beloved Hadith, Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua radhiAllahu anha narrated that when an individual recites Durood and Salatu ‘ala-n-Nabi, then Allah ta’ala has apportioned an angel who has so much power – alhamdulillah, Allah knows best the strength of this angel; he has so much power that whenever Durood is recited in any part of the world, he immediately picks up that Durood. Say SubhanAllah. The other angels are there to take that Durood immediately to Madinat-ul-Munawwara, but this second angel I am speaking about goes where? To Makkah – SubhanAllah.
Wherever in the world Durood is recited, that angel picks it up and immediately and directly goes to the Holy Court of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and presents that Durood, saying ‘Ya Allah, this man in that Masjid presented Durood to Your beloved Nabi. He recited Durood and I have brought this Durood to You, Ya Allah.’ Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqua has narrated this Hadith – read it yourselves. SubhanAllah. Look at the Maqam of that person. If I recite Durood, it goes to Allah and it also goes to the Prophet of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam – SubhanAllah! When my Durood and your Durood arrives at the Court of Allah, Allah will say ‘Oh angel, take this Durood back to his grave with this instruction, that until Qiyamah, this Durood will send blessings and mercy upon that person and cool the heat of that grave.’ Your father will forget you, your brother will forget you, your Cha-Cha will forget you, those for whom you earned money in the world will forget you, but the Durood of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will not forget you – SubhanAllah. The Durood that you recite upon your beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam will not forget you when you lie down in your grave.
Two meanings come out of this Hadith, so listen carefully. If a person is dead, how can he recite Durood? Two meanings come out, and the first is that at that time when that person was alive and he recited Durood, just like me and you will recite Durood, SubhanAllah, when a person dies, that Durood that he recited is sent to his grave. The second meaning that can be derived is that Allah is Khabir and Basir, He knows everything, sees everything and hears everything, so the meaning is that Allah knows where a person is going to die. He may live here but be destined to die in America; he lives here but may be destined to die in Bharuch; he lives here, but he may be destined to die in Mirpur; he lives here, but he may be going to die in Multan – Allah knows best. So how do I know? We think ‘How am I going to die there? I have no need to go there.’ But this is all recorded in Allah’s Kitab, and wherever his grave is to be is where he will get the benefit. Allah knows that soil in which he going to be buried; Allah knows best – He knows everything. So what happens? When you and me recite Durood Sharif, Allah ta’ala sends that Durood to that soil, to the earth that will be surrounding that grave, and makes it stand there waiting in advance – Allahu Akbar.
SubhanAllah – today, in Masjid Ashrafiyyah where you will recite Durood, Allah ta’ala has told that Durood to go in advance and stand on the graves of those people. We haven’t even arrived at our graves, and the Durood has started his work, saying ‘After his death, this person will come to this earth, so I will start to send Salam and Durood.’ It will start to send Salam and Durood and give such security to that person – what will that person get? Imagine what he will get from that Durood. When he goes into that grave, there will be Noor ‘ala Noor due to the Durood he sent upon Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The person will say ‘Where has this light come from?’ and the Durood will say ‘You may have forgotten me, but I haven’t forgotten you. You sat in this Masjid on that day and recited Durood on the Holy Prophet, and for many years, for so long, I have been waiting so that I could cool your eyes today.’ SubhanAllah.
So, my brothers, do not consider any minor deed to be insignificant. In Ramadhan, you get the reward for doing any virtuous deed equivalent to one Fardh action, and due to this, a person becomes a Wali - one good deed can make you the Wali of Allah. These so-called small deeds, like giving Salam to someone, spreading Salam, the Masnoon actions, beautiful A’maal, the A’maal of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam – make these your life, and they will become such bricks that they will complete the construction of your whole building. And the second point – Allahu Akbar – do Allah’s Dhikr. This is the second action. The first is Durood, and the second is attach yourself to the Dhikr of Allah. Illuminate your life with Dhikr. Plant the beautiful flower that Allah ta’ala has given you, and the love of Allah will increase, and the Qurb of Allah will increase. So start doing Dhikr. May Allah give us all the Tawfeeq to do this. Ameen
Recite Durood Sharif.