The true objective of Ramadan is to become a Muttaqi and now that we are in the final days, we should assess ourselves as to whether we have attained Taqwa.
The first two Asharah were given to us to work hard to attain Taqwa. Whoever has Taqwa, will succeed and whoever has not, will have failed to attain Ramadan.
We are instructed to become a Muttaqi because the entire Deen is based on Taqwa, so, Allah ta'ala trains us to acquire this in Ramadan because without Taqwa, our worship cannot be accepted.
A person who has Taqwa, is forgiven by Allah ta'ala, saved from the punishment of the grave and rewarded Paradise.
What is Taqwa and where can we find it?
Taqwa refers to purifying the heart. Every worship depends on Taqwa and Taqwa depends on the purification of your heart. The purer your heart, the more your worship becomes worthy of acceptance in the eyes of Allah ta'ala. The worship of the one who has a contaminated heart is not accepted, hence, we must be purified, so the efforts of our worship can be accepted in the eyes of Allah ta'ala. Furthermore, Allah ta'ala desires the quality of our deeds, over the quantity.
Allah ta'ala gave us these 30 days to purify our hearts, yet we still follow our desires and perform every other worship besides the action for which Ramadan was given to us.
If a tap was to release dirty water in every washroom of the house, the engineer would seek to examine the source, which is the water tank. The taps are not defective itself, but the tank may be contaminated and require cleaning. Similarly, our worship comes from the heart primarily. This is the root of worship. So, if this vessel is impure, it will render our worship impure too. Thus, the heart must be given attention and purified.
Allah ta'ala is pure and loves pure things. If you notice a fly in your water, you wouldn't drink it. Similarly, our prayers are full of pretence, envy, banditry, theft, hatred. We contaminate our prayers via our sins and then present it to Allah ta'ala. In reality, our prayers take us to the court of Allah ta'ala towards His nearness. If we are lacking, it is not the fault of our worship, rather, it is the fault of our vessel which requires cleaning.
An unclean vessel provides contaminated water to others, which causes them to become sick. Similarly, through our impure heart and contaminated worship, enmity increases, backbiting and quarrelling spreads and society is corrupted. When society becomes corrupted due to a person's impure heart, it ends up presenting the Deen incorrectly and it becomes a massive problem. This is why it is necessary for the heart to be purified.
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
"As for the God-fearing, they shall be amid gardens and springs." [15:45]
Allah ta'ala has used the word "Muttaqeen" (the God-fearing) here, instead of, "Mussalleen," (those who pray.) Thus, righteousness is what is considered most important.
The Muttaqeen are given Paradise and are made to enter with peace and happiness. All fear will leave their heart and they will be content. Their worship gave them happiness and due to their purified hearts, their love for worship increased. When the heart is clean, then a person becomes inclined towards worship. This is what Ramadan teaches us. Those who have impure hearts, dislike praying.
We have all the luxuries in the world, but we toss and turn at night and take tranquillisers because we carry the burden of hatred and malice in our hearts. The ones who have nothing besides a straw mat, sleep peacefully as they have no burden on their hearts.
A person whose heart is clean attains Allah ta'ala very quickly. Allah ta'ala doesn’t ask for our worship. Rather, He asks us to crush our desires in order to attain His pleasure and Paradise. Allah ta'ala desires us to be near to Him, but it is us who have gone far from Him.
All companions are equal and all are stars, but each companion had their own glow and sparkle. This is because Allah ta'ala wanted to benefit the Ummah through the noble Sahabah, thus, they were well known for different qualities.
To meet a friend of Allah in this day and age is a great deed and causes a person's sins to become forgiven. This is because the Awliyah Allah are connected to Allah ta'ala. People travel hundreds and thousands of miles to get a glimpse of their blessed faces, because the magnificence and splendour of Allah ta'ala descends from the heavens upon the hearts of the Awliyah Allah.
Baytullah is greater than all buildings as it is connected to Allah ta'ala. Kalaamullah, the Quran, is greater than all books because it is connected to Allah ta'ala. The Awliyah Allah are greater than all human beings because they have a connection with Allah ta'ala.
The Sheikh doesn't look at the students defects and sins because the one who approaches him has come to get rid of his sins. True repentance is when it causes your life to change and completely transform.
How to commemorate Layla-tul-Qadr?
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates, .."Whoever spends the night of Lailat Al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." [Nasa'i]
Layla-tul-Qadr is granted to those whose hearts are clean, therefore, the Muttaqeen are given the reward of Layla-tul-Qadr.
This is the night of reward in which we must purify our hearts from jealousy and hatred and seek to remove the love of the world from our heart. We should rectify our affairs between the people and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. Go ashamed, to the one you hurt, with the intention of pleasing Allah ta'ala and removing malice from your heart. Go to those whose rights you have violated. Create friendship with your enemies and submit yourself to the one you cursed. Mend ties with those whom you have cut off. This is the enjoyment. This is what this night is for. Seek forgiveness for the sake of Allah and immediately Allah ta'ala will grant you Layla-tul-Qadr.
The way to clean the heart is through dhikr, otherwise, your heart will destroy your life and make you a hypocrite.
We don't even accept and admit that we are impure. What great pride we have within us! On the other hand, those who clean their hearts morning and evening through dhikr, receive Mercy from the Angels. Thereafter, Allah ta'ala doesn't let them go towards the darkness of sins. Rather, Allah ta'ala removes their sins and allows the light of His nearness to enter their hearts.
The true objective of Ramadan is to become a Muttaqi and now that we are in the final days, we should assess ourselves as to whether we have attained Taqwa.
The first two Asharah were given to us to work hard to attain Taqwa. Whoever has Taqwa, will succeed and whoever has not, will have failed to attain Ramadan.
We are instructed to become a Muttaqi because the entire Deen is based on Taqwa, so, Allah ta'ala trains us to acquire this in Ramadan because without Taqwa, our worship cannot be accepted.
A person who has Taqwa, is forgiven by Allah ta'ala, saved from the punishment of the grave and rewarded Paradise.
What is Taqwa and where can we find it?
Taqwa refers to purifying the heart. Every worship depends on Taqwa and Taqwa depends on the purification of your heart. The purer your heart, the more your worship becomes worthy of acceptance in the eyes of Allah ta'ala. The worship of the one who has a contaminated heart is not accepted, hence, we must be purified, so the efforts of our worship can be accepted in the eyes of Allah ta'ala. Furthermore, Allah ta'ala desires the quality of our deeds, over the quantity.
Allah ta'ala gave us these 30 days to purify our hearts, yet we still follow our desires and perform every other worship besides the action for which Ramadan was given to us.
If a tap was to release dirty water in every washroom of the house, the engineer would seek to examine the source, which is the water tank. The taps are not defective itself, but the tank may be contaminated and require cleaning. Similarly, our worship comes from the heart primarily. This is the root of worship. So, if this vessel is impure, it will render our worship impure too. Thus, the heart must be given attention and purified.
Allah ta'ala is pure and loves pure things. If you notice a fly in your water, you wouldn't drink it. Similarly, our prayers are full of pretence, envy, banditry, theft, hatred. We contaminate our prayers via our sins and then present it to Allah ta'ala. In reality, our prayers take us to the court of Allah ta'ala towards His nearness. If we are lacking, it is not the fault of our worship, rather, it is the fault of our vessel which requires cleaning.
An unclean vessel provides contaminated water to others, which causes them to become sick. Similarly, through our impure heart and contaminated worship, enmity increases, backbiting and quarrelling spreads and society is corrupted. When society becomes corrupted due to a person's impure heart, it ends up presenting the Deen incorrectly and it becomes a massive problem. This is why it is necessary for the heart to be purified.
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
"As for the God-fearing, they shall be amid gardens and springs." [15:45]
Allah ta'ala has used the word "Muttaqeen" (the God-fearing) here, instead of, "Mussalleen," (those who pray.) Thus, righteousness is what is considered most important.
The Muttaqeen are given Paradise and are made to enter with peace and happiness. All fear will leave their heart and they will be content. Their worship gave them happiness and due to their purified hearts, their love for worship increased. When the heart is clean, then a person becomes inclined towards worship. This is what Ramadan teaches us. Those who have impure hearts, dislike praying.
We have all the luxuries in the world, but we toss and turn at night and take tranquillisers because we carry the burden of hatred and malice in our hearts. The ones who have nothing besides a straw mat, sleep peacefully as they have no burden on their hearts.
A person whose heart is clean attains Allah ta'ala very quickly. Allah ta'ala doesn’t ask for our worship. Rather, He asks us to crush our desires in order to attain His pleasure and Paradise. Allah ta'ala desires us to be near to Him, but it is us who have gone far from Him.
All companions are equal and all are stars, but each companion had their own glow and sparkle. This is because Allah ta'ala wanted to benefit the Ummah through the noble Sahabah, thus, they were well known for different qualities.
To meet a friend of Allah in this day and age is a great deed and causes a person's sins to become forgiven. This is because the Awliyah Allah are connected to Allah ta'ala. People travel hundreds and thousands of miles to get a glimpse of their blessed faces, because the magnificence and splendour of Allah ta'ala descends from the heavens upon the hearts of the Awliyah Allah.
Baytullah is greater than all buildings as it is connected to Allah ta'ala. Kalaamullah, the Quran, is greater than all books because it is connected to Allah ta'ala. The Awliyah Allah are greater than all human beings because they have a connection with Allah ta'ala.
The Sheikh doesn't look at the students defects and sins because the one who approaches him has come to get rid of his sins. True repentance is when it causes your life to change and completely transform.
How to commemorate Layla-tul-Qadr?
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates, .."Whoever spends the night of Lailat Al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." [Nasa'i]
Layla-tul-Qadr is granted to those whose hearts are clean, therefore, the Muttaqeen are given the reward of Layla-tul-Qadr.
This is the night of reward in which we must purify our hearts from jealousy and hatred and seek to remove the love of the world from our heart. We should rectify our affairs between the people and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. Go ashamed, to the one you hurt, with the intention of pleasing Allah ta'ala and removing malice from your heart. Go to those whose rights you have violated. Create friendship with your enemies and submit yourself to the one you cursed. Mend ties with those whom you have cut off. This is the enjoyment. This is what this night is for. Seek forgiveness for the sake of Allah and immediately Allah ta'ala will grant you Layla-tul-Qadr.
The way to clean the heart is through dhikr, otherwise, your heart will destroy your life and make you a hypocrite.
We don't even accept and admit that we are impure. What great pride we have within us! On the other hand, those who clean their hearts morning and evening through dhikr, receive Mercy from the Angels. Thereafter, Allah ta'ala doesn't let them go towards the darkness of sins. Rather, Allah ta'ala removes their sins and allows the light of His nearness to enter their hearts.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement.