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Ramadan Warriors
A khutbah By Muhammad Alshareef
Sahl ibn Sa'd - radi Allahu 'anhu - narrates that An-Nabee -
sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - said, "In Jannah there is a gate
called Ar-Rayyan, a door which the Saa'imoon will enter from,
no one else except them. It will be announced, 'Where are the
Saa'imoon?' and the Saa'imoon will stand. No one except them
will enter from the Rayyan gate."
Have you ever heard of a weekend warrior? They are employees
who sit in cubicles and relax at a coffee station weighed down
with donuts all week long. Then on the weekend they rip off
their suits bearing their Reebok gear underneath and spend the
entire weekend playing basketball, hang gliding, and mountain
climbing. What happens? They break their knees, pull a dozen
muscles, and are hospitalized on Monday.
This is in relation to the physical body. But there are people
that should be known as Ramadan warriors. They are those that
haven't fasted all year long and then shock their bodies with a
whole month. Or haven't prayed in the Masjid or haven't woken
up to pray in the night all year long. What happens to them? As
one Muslim doctor said, "In normal days, we have about 5 - 7
patients a day. On the first day of Ramadan,the patients
increase to over 50!"
Ramadan warriors were rare in our Islamic history. To
illustrate, let's all remember where we were at the beginning
of Safar - corresponding this year to the second week of May.
We were probably praying for work to end, or just finished up
with exams, or looking through brochures for a holiday getaway.
Interestingly, if we were sitting beside a taabi'ee over a
thousand years ago in a simple Masjid, we would have heard him
raising his hands asking Allah to grant him the blessing of
being around when a guest comes, a guest called Ramadan!
There are different ways that we can 'warm up' for Ramadan. One
of those ways is by increasing the frequency of our Du'a:
Allah ta'ala says in the Qur'an ... the verse before it is
talking about Ramadan and the verse after it is speaking about
Ramadan, and right in the middle we read: [And when My servants
ask you, (O Muhammad), concerning Me - Indeed I am near. I
respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon
Me. So let them respond to Me (by obedience) and believe in Me
that they may be guided.]
- Surah Al Baqarah 2/186
Every goodness on earth is from Allah. And one of the most
exclusive blessings is Ramadan. So let us ask the Lord of
Ramadan to help us find His Mercy in the coming days.
Last year, we gave a khutbah here on Hajj entitled 'The Call of
Ibraheem'. A brother just a few weeks ago told me that during
that Khutbah he raised his hands to Allah and asked Allah to
find him a way to make Hajj. He said that he had no money to
make the trip, but that night more then one brother approached
him with the offer, "Brother we have a Hajj program for new
Muslims, would you like to come!" Alhamdulillah, that brother
made Hajj last year from a Du'a that came straight from the
heart - in sha' Allah.
The early generations of the Ummah used to make Du'a 6 months
after Ramadan that Allah accept their deeds in Ramadan. And for
the next 6 months, they would make du'a to Allah to grant them
the blessing of being alive in the coming Ramadan.
Cleanliness - Whenever a guest comes, we prepare in advance for
his arrival by vacuuming the carpet, dusting the shelves, and
scrubbing the sinks. We should do this for our guest called
Ramadan. But the scrubbing should not just be of our physical
surroundings, it should include the scrubbing of our sins.
Listen to the words of an-Nabee - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam -
speaking about those people that don't want to clean up for
Ramadan, "Whoever doesn't desist from speaking falsehood and
acting upon it, Allah has no need that he desist from his food
and drink." - Bukhari
Fasting in Sha'baan (this Month that we are now in) - The
biggest downfall of the weekend warriors was that they were not
properly warmed up for the exercise which caused the injuries.
Similarily, when Fasting, some people only do it once a year
making their bodies very foreign to going without food and
drink.
From here we see the following Sunnah: Umm Al-Mu'mineen Aisha -
radiAllahu 'anha - observes, "Allah's Messenger never fasted an
entire month other than Ramadan and I haven't seen him fast
more than he did in Sha'baan."
A poet said: Oh ye who isn't satisfied with his sins in Rajab /
so much so that you continued disobedience in Sha'baan / The
month of fasting has now come upon you / so do not convert it
also to a month of disobedience.
Part II
When we look at the celebrations, 'the holy days' of this
country, we see that they put all their time and effort and
spirit in preparation. I tell you, go to any store outside this
Masjid and you will see preparations of Candy Canes, red and
green bouquets, even Eggnog all in the wait for the annual
celebration of the birth - as they falsely claim- of Prophet 'Esa
(alayhis salam.) They are preparing for their falsehood almost
2 months in advance! One of the ways to prepare for Ramadan is
to educate ourselves in the Fiqh of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah -
sitting in this Masjid today are many brothers and sisters for
whom this will be their first Ramadan. Allahu Akbar! May Allah
accept it from them and allow them and us to share in the
blessing of Ramadan for many years to come. Let us briefly
review what fasting is:
Fasting Ramadan is not optional - it is a must. The evidence
for this is found in the Qur'aan and Sunnah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Observing al-sawn (the fasting) is
prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you,
that you may become al-muttaqoon (the pious)." [al-Baqarah
2:183]
The Prophet said: "Islam is built on five [pillars]..." among
which he mentioned fasting in Ramadaan. - Bukhari
The Arabic word for fasting is Sawm. In Arabic it literally
means to abstain from something. And in Islamic Law it is to
abstain from those things that break the fast starting from
dawn (Fajr Prayer) and ending with sunset (Maghrib prayer)
having first made the intention to do so.
The things which break ones Fast, the things which he or she
must abstain from from dawn to sunset are as follows:
(a) Eating and Drinking
(b) Marital Relations
These apply if 3 conditions are met (1) That the person is not
ignorant that this thing breaks ones fast (2) That he is aware
that he is doing something that breaks his fast (meaning he did
not do so in forgetfulness) (3) He does so out of his free will
and no one forced him to break his fast.
In conclusion, as the month of Ramadan draws nearer, we should
prepare for this special guest by preparing a Ramadan program
*Operation: Valuable Time* in our homes and at our Masjids. The
program should in sha' Allah include:
1. Locked times of the day when we will consistently recite
Qur'an, learning it's meanings and memorizing new Sur'ahs.
2. Something useful for the time before Taraweeh prayers and
the time after Taraweeh. And how to increase our worship in the
last ten nights - i.e. what will we do extra.
3. We should make sure that there are days of this month when
we feed people. Bring dates or milk to the Masjid for Maghrib.
Invite people over to have dinner with your family. Organize a
dinner in the Masjid and invite people that don't normally get
invited because they are new. Take care of the New Muslims in
your community and for the sake of Allah ta'ala make their
Ramadan special.
4. Make the intention to double and triple the amount of
Sadaqah we give, the worship we normally do, the Dhikr we do,
and the deeds that'll help us purify our souls, etc.
And finally, for those that can afford it plan a Umrah to the
Ka'bah in Ramadan!
After returning from the farewell Hajj, Rasul Allah - sal
Allahu alayhi wa sallam - saw an Ansari women who had not made
the Hajj. He asked her, "What kept you back from joining in the
Hajj?" She said, "We had a camel that we used to ride which Abu
Fulan and his son went on, and another we used for farming." So
Rasul Allah - sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam - said, "Verily,
Umrah in Ramadan is the same (reward) as performing Hajj with
me!" - Bukhari and Muslim
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