Throughout the year, we experience different seasons. When a particular food or item is in season, it is widely available and can usually be purchased at a lower price.
Similarly, we are currently in the season of earning good deeds which means the good deeds are easily performed and are of high quality and value. Those who have intellect, are not satisfied upon performing a few acts of worship. Rather, they try to perform every good deed because the reward of every good deed is multiplied many fold during this season.
During Ramadan, Allah ta'ala expects us to acquire three things, His mercy, His forgiveness and freedom from Hellfire. To make it easier to attain, He has split this month into three portions.
One may receive the mercy of Allah ta'ala without struggle during these days because the doors of Mercy are opened during the first ten days.
During the second portion, He grants us forgiveness which is a treasure for our Hereafter. Our abode in the Hereafter depends upon whether we die upon forgiveness or not. Either a person is reckoned and punished for his every deed, or his grave becomes a garden from the gardens of Paradise.
It is not about performing certain actions, rather, it is about receiving what Allah ta‘ala wishes to grant us. For example, how much of His mercy have we gained during these days?
If our life circumstances are the same and we are still committing sins, then we have wasted these precious days. The sign that a person has attained the Mercy of Allah ta'ala, is that his lifestyle and thinking transforms and his inner state improves. He begins to dislike the actions which Allah ta'ala dislikes. He abandons sins and adopts good habits. Furthermore, He begins to make sacrifices for the sake of Allah ta'ala.
Being poor is not a punishment from Allah ta‘ala. True believers are those who transform themselves inwardly so that they may live their lives in accordance with the pleasure of Allah ta‘ala. They remain conscious of Him and fear Him.
If a person spends the first ten days of Ramadan in an excellent manner, then he deserves to enter the next ten days and is welcomed with the forgiveness from Allah ta'ala. Such a person feels light and experiences a unique feeling of accomplishment.
The time of death is a severe moment for a believer. A person who is granted salvation, will depart this world successfully and will be welcomed by the angels at the time of his death.
Fasting is not the objective itself. Rather, it assists us to attain the purpose of Ramadan.
The purpose of Ramadan is not merely to fast and carry out various acts of worship. Ramadan is a time in which Allah ta‘ala helps us fulfil our true purpose by making fasting obligatory. Through fasting, our desires are restrained, enabling us to attain our ultimate goal- His mercy, with greater ease.
Allah ta'ala grants the reward of fasting Himself. He has taken personal responsibility to grant the reward for two actions, fasting and Dhikr performed in the heart. The angels may not have the knowledge of these good deeds and unable to record them, however, Allah ta'ala is All-Aware.
Those who fail to perform Muraqabah during their lives, will depart this world with a dead heart. They may perform other acts of worship, however, they are considered deceased.
There is no limit to gaining Islamic knowledge. We should never feel content in life that we have reached the heights in Deen. Rather, we are students until we die and we should learn from the company of the teacher.
If a person's heart is revived through Dhikr, he will refrain from committing sins.
We should be willing to sacrifice everything for the remembrance of Allah ta‘ala and remain humble. In return, a person’s rank is elevated in the sight of Allah ta‘ala, and he is even able to improve and develop many of those around him.
We should learn to make sacrifices for Allah ta‘ala and never assume that success is guaranteed.
If we succeed during the first two portions of Ramadan and acquire the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allah ta'ala, then we will graduate from the last portion of Ramadan having acquired freedom from Hellfire permanently.
Allah ta'ala has granted us the nights of Laylatul Qadr to grant us success. He will grant these blessed nights to those individuals who succeeded in the first two portions of Ramadan.
Allah ta'ala desires to reward the believers during these nights and the details of this reward is a secret between Allah ta'ala and His servant.
Nabi ﷺ said, “No people gather to remember Allah Almighty but that the angels surround them, cover them with mercy, send tranquility upon them, and Allah mentions them to those with Him.”
He ﷺ also said, "And in this month, four things you should endeavour to perform in great number, two of which shall be to please your Lord, while the other two shall be those without which you cannot make do. Those which shall be to please your Lord, are that you should in great quantity recite the kalimah ṭayyibah: Lā ilāha illa Allāh, and make much istighfār (beg Allah’s forgiveness with Astaghfirullāh). And as for those two without which you cannot make do, you should be Allāh for entry into paradise and seek refuge with Him from the fire of Jahannam.” [Baihaqi]
During the first ten days, we should perform abundant Dhikr. We must recite all four in high quantity and this will grant us the mercy of Allah ta'ala in return.
Similarly, the formula for the next ten days, is to sincerely repent to Allah ta'ala and this will grant us forgiveness.
There are three conditions of performing Tawbah. A person should acknowledge his sins, feel remorseful over his sins and make a firm resolve to stop his sins immediately. A person should repent through the intermediary of a Sheikh so that he becomes a witness and so that his Tawbah remains existent.
It is a shame that we have abandoned the Sunnah and have considered it insignificant. We regard it as unnecessary and not obligatory. We believe that if we fail to imitate the Prophet ﷺ, then it is fine, as there is no benefit, despite Nabi ﷺ saying that, "Whoever turns away from my Sunnah, has no connection to me."
In reality, the truly intellectual people are those who are mocked for their sincere practice of the Deen.
To earn freedom from Hellfire and attain Paradise, we are expected to shun and abandon sins and promise not to repeat them.
A person cannot attain Paradise merely through his worship, because if he continues to sin alongside it, those sins spoil his worship and his worship is rendered futile.
If a person lives this way, he will have no good deeds to his name when he dies, as his sins were burning his good deeds. Nafs and Shaytan may cause you to feel satisfied with your good deeds, however, this is nothing but pure deception.
When a person performs acts of worship while avoiding sin, he is granted a special light in his deeds and worship.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement these precious pearls. Ameen
Throughout the year, we experience different seasons. When a particular food or item is in season, it is widely available and can usually be purchased at a lower price.
Similarly, we are currently in the season of earning good deeds which means the good deeds are easily performed and are of high quality and value. Those who have intellect, are not satisfied upon performing a few acts of worship. Rather, they try to perform every good deed because the reward of every good deed is multiplied many fold during this season.
During Ramadan, Allah ta'ala expects us to acquire three things, His mercy, His forgiveness and freedom from Hellfire. To make it easier to attain, He has split this month into three portions.
One may receive the mercy of Allah ta'ala without struggle during these days because the doors of Mercy are opened during the first ten days.
During the second portion, He grants us forgiveness which is a treasure for our Hereafter. Our abode in the Hereafter depends upon whether we die upon forgiveness or not. Either a person is reckoned and punished for his every deed, or his grave becomes a garden from the gardens of Paradise.
It is not about performing certain actions, rather, it is about receiving what Allah ta‘ala wishes to grant us. For example, how much of His mercy have we gained during these days?
If our life circumstances are the same and we are still committing sins, then we have wasted these precious days. The sign that a person has attained the Mercy of Allah ta'ala, is that his lifestyle and thinking transforms and his inner state improves. He begins to dislike the actions which Allah ta'ala dislikes. He abandons sins and adopts good habits. Furthermore, He begins to make sacrifices for the sake of Allah ta'ala.
Being poor is not a punishment from Allah ta‘ala. True believers are those who transform themselves inwardly so that they may live their lives in accordance with the pleasure of Allah ta‘ala. They remain conscious of Him and fear Him.
If a person spends the first ten days of Ramadan in an excellent manner, then he deserves to enter the next ten days and is welcomed with the forgiveness from Allah ta'ala. Such a person feels light and experiences a unique feeling of accomplishment.
The time of death is a severe moment for a believer. A person who is granted salvation, will depart this world successfully and will be welcomed by the angels at the time of his death.
Fasting is not the objective itself. Rather, it assists us to attain the purpose of Ramadan.
The purpose of Ramadan is not merely to fast and carry out various acts of worship. Ramadan is a time in which Allah ta‘ala helps us fulfil our true purpose by making fasting obligatory. Through fasting, our desires are restrained, enabling us to attain our ultimate goal- His mercy, with greater ease.
Allah ta'ala grants the reward of fasting Himself. He has taken personal responsibility to grant the reward for two actions, fasting and Dhikr performed in the heart. The angels may not have the knowledge of these good deeds and unable to record them, however, Allah ta'ala is All-Aware.
Those who fail to perform Muraqabah during their lives, will depart this world with a dead heart. They may perform other acts of worship, however, they are considered deceased.
There is no limit to gaining Islamic knowledge. We should never feel content in life that we have reached the heights in Deen. Rather, we are students until we die and we should learn from the company of the teacher.
If a person's heart is revived through Dhikr, he will refrain from committing sins.
We should be willing to sacrifice everything for the remembrance of Allah ta‘ala and remain humble. In return, a person’s rank is elevated in the sight of Allah ta‘ala, and he is even able to improve and develop many of those around him.
We should learn to make sacrifices for Allah ta‘ala and never assume that success is guaranteed.
If we succeed during the first two portions of Ramadan and acquire the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allah ta'ala, then we will graduate from the last portion of Ramadan having acquired freedom from Hellfire permanently.
Allah ta'ala has granted us the nights of Laylatul Qadr to grant us success. He will grant these blessed nights to those individuals who succeeded in the first two portions of Ramadan.
Allah ta'ala desires to reward the believers during these nights and the details of this reward is a secret between Allah ta'ala and His servant.
Nabi ﷺ said, “No people gather to remember Allah Almighty but that the angels surround them, cover them with mercy, send tranquility upon them, and Allah mentions them to those with Him.”
He ﷺ also said, "And in this month, four things you should endeavour to perform in great number, two of which shall be to please your Lord, while the other two shall be those without which you cannot make do. Those which shall be to please your Lord, are that you should in great quantity recite the kalimah ṭayyibah: Lā ilāha illa Allāh, and make much istighfār (beg Allah’s forgiveness with Astaghfirullāh). And as for those two without which you cannot make do, you should be Allāh for entry into paradise and seek refuge with Him from the fire of Jahannam.” [Baihaqi]
During the first ten days, we should perform abundant Dhikr. We must recite all four in high quantity and this will grant us the mercy of Allah ta'ala in return.
Similarly, the formula for the next ten days, is to sincerely repent to Allah ta'ala and this will grant us forgiveness.
There are three conditions of performing Tawbah. A person should acknowledge his sins, feel remorseful over his sins and make a firm resolve to stop his sins immediately. A person should repent through the intermediary of a Sheikh so that he becomes a witness and so that his Tawbah remains existent.
It is a shame that we have abandoned the Sunnah and have considered it insignificant. We regard it as unnecessary and not obligatory. We believe that if we fail to imitate the Prophet ﷺ, then it is fine, as there is no benefit, despite Nabi ﷺ saying that, "Whoever turns away from my Sunnah, has no connection to me."
In reality, the truly intellectual people are those who are mocked for their sincere practice of the Deen.
To earn freedom from Hellfire and attain Paradise, we are expected to shun and abandon sins and promise not to repeat them.
A person cannot attain Paradise merely through his worship, because if he continues to sin alongside it, those sins spoil his worship and his worship is rendered futile.
If a person lives this way, he will have no good deeds to his name when he dies, as his sins were burning his good deeds. Nafs and Shaytan may cause you to feel satisfied with your good deeds, however, this is nothing but pure deception.
When a person performs acts of worship while avoiding sin, he is granted a special light in his deeds and worship.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement these precious pearls. Ameen