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Fasting Is for Allah

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

19 August 2012 Burton, Michigan

`Eid Khutbah at As-Siddiq Mosque (1)

Rabbanaa taqaba ‘l-minna wa`fuw `anna waghfir lanaa warhamna wa tub `alayna... wa tawil amrana li idrak Sayyidina Saahib az-Zamaan.... Salaam `alaykum wa rahmatullah.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, laa ilaaha illa-Llah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillahi ‘l-hamd. Alhamdulillahi... man yahdillah fa laa mudilla lah wa man yudlilla fa laa hadiya lah... alhamdulillah for this honored day and ... alhamdulillah for being from followers of Sayyidina Muhammad (s).

O Muslims! Unify all together and support each other! Allah has been overly generous to us and said, "Hold fast to the Rope of Allah and do not separate." The Rope of Allah is Sayyidina Muhammad (s), our Prophet, who is holy and whom Allah sent to the believers.

O Believers! We are celebrating Eid al-Fitr this morning and Allah (swt) wants us to be happy that He made us Muslims! That is why we have to say, “Ash-hadu anla ilaaha illa-Llah wahdahu laa shareeka lah wa ash-hadu anna Sayyidina Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebahu wa rasooluh.” ...wa `alaa baqiyyati's-sahaabati wa ‘t-tabi`een... inna Allah m`aa alladheena taqaw walladheena hum muhsinoon. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, laa ilaaha illa-Llah! Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillahi ‘l-hamd.

For the fasting person there are two happinesses, as the Prophet (s) said in a hadith, “farhataan,” that two times in his life he was happy: when he broke fast, and he made it equal to the one who is meeting his Lord on the Day of Resurrection; and “farhat,” when he is meeting and speaking with His Lord and Allah (swt) says to him, "O My Servant! You fasted for Me and, therefore, go to Paradise with no account." So Prophet (s) ordered us to make the iftaar quickly (break fast) as that pleasure is waiting for us. Many people think the reason for quickly breaking the fast is the happiness of it, but we have to think more carefully.

By using harf al-waw al-`atif, Prophet (s) made the meeting with the Lord the same level of happiness as eating, so it is not that you are so happy when you eat, but rather, since you fasted that day Allah (swt) is dressing you with all kinds of spiritual blessings, not just physical blessings. So that is why anyone who fasts the day and breaks fast in the evening, the Prophet (s) said, ajall bi ‘l-iftar, “quickly break fast,” as these great tajalliyaat are ready to come on you, so quickly break fast to get them. Therefore, the purpose of breaking fast quickly is not as many scholars say, ‘to get food,’ and some even say to eat before calling adhaan. Rather, in reality, tajalliyaat come at the moment of breaking fast and angels descend:

Tatanazalu `alaykum al-malaa’ikat alaa takhaafu wa laa tahzan wabshiru bi ‘l-jannat allatee kuntum tuw`adoon.

Good tidings that the angels come with, not to fear and not to grieve, and to be given good tidings that you are going to Paradise.

May Allah make us happy with those glad tidings of angels! And as much as you can hold onto that, you keep that dress and increase it, and more and more manifestations come. Everyone is different; not all are equal. In the eyes of awliyaullah they are all equal, as your shaykh will intercede for you in the presence of the Prophet (s), saying, “These are my followers. Don’t leave them behind.” And the Prophet (s), who is Mercy to all Creation, will take them all in. Don't think awliyaullah are sitting doing nothing; they are working behind the scenes.

.. some people rush to break fast (to eat), but the actual purpose is to quickly break fast and get all these blessings that are coming down at that moment. …

To Allah (swt), the smell of the breath of a fasting person is better than the fragrance of Paradises, which is why He (swt) said:

الصوم لي وانا اُجزي به

As-sawmu lee wa anaa ajzee beehi.

Fasting is for Me and I will reward it.

In his tafseer of this hadith, our Master, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (q) said, “Does Allah eat or drink? Does He have any character that resembles human beings? No, but human beings are granted by their Lord one specialty that will make Him jalees man dhakaranee, and that is to fast, as Allah does not eat or drink.”

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Qul in kuntum tuhibboona 'Llaaha fattabi`oonee yuhbibkumullaahu wa yaghfir lakum dhunoobakum w 'Allaahu Ghafooru 'r-Raheem.

Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat Aali-'Imraan, 3:31)

So who doesn't eat is imitating Allah (swt) by not eating that day and, therefore, Allah gives endless rewards to those who fast. Fasting also regulates the body. Today people go to the gym to regulate their body, because they don't know that fasting will do that better than the gym.

I knew smoeone who used to come to Grandshaykh `AbdAllah, may Allah bless his soul, and his age was more than 105 years. He sold olive oil. He fasted the whole year except the five days when it is not allowed, on the first day of `Eid al-Fitr and the four subsequent days of `Eid al-Adha. From his childhood until he died, he never broke his fast. He was 105 when I knew him and he died at age 110. His body was in great shape with no wrinkles in his face, whereas now they spend thousands of dollars on ‘wrinkle cream’ for the eyes, face, etc. Cosmetic companies make millions on that, but were they to give that money in zakaat for the poor would be better. The Prophet (s) said to use olive oil as a cream for your body and it will regain strength and beauty, but today doctors want to make money so they say don't use that as it is old-fashioned. Now we have all these creams. They cheat people, especially dermatologists who mix these creams with cheaper ingredients and sell them in their clinics; what cost them $5.00 they sell for $300.00! Customers say, “The doctor gave it to me so it must be good.”

Allah (swt) said, “You will be happy from fasting.” Don't think fasting is too much. One day, when you die, you are going to fast forever by force: each Ramadan that you miseed, one by one, not in dunya but in the grave! Any Muslim and mu’min who did not fast, but who said, “Laa ilaaha illa-Llah Muhammad Rasoolullah” will fast in their grave and then enter Paradise. That is scholar's understanding, but awliyaullah understand that Allah is Ghafoorun Raheem, Forgiving and Merciful. Make your intention to make up the fasts and inshaa-Allah, at the end of the day you are between the Hands of Allah (swt) and He will ask, “Why did you not fast? I told you to fast.”

If you drive 65 MPH in a 45 MPH zone and the police catch you, then you are in trouble, but sometimes the police let you go without a ticket or fine. Allah (swt) might forgive you, depending on your `amal. and fasting in the grave is much more difficult than fasting during your life. Allah wants fasting to be for Him, and even angels cannot interfere in it in the grave.

All this to tell you that when they say you need every type of therapy--social therapy, family therapy, speech therapy, gym therapy, drumming therapy--the Prophet (s) mentioned them in a hadith almost 1,500 years ago and people didn't need any therapy at that time, not even a doctor!

Sayyida A`yesha (r) related that the Prophet (s) said, “The body of every human being is born on 360 mafsil (points).” Today they tell you there are 360 joints in the human body, and practioners of Chinese medicine or those who want to make money do therapy by touching these points. Many doctors are here, and they have to open their mind to what the Prophet (s) said. A group of doctors in Egypt wanted to know about the 360 joints that the Prophet (s) mentioned and recently three medical doctors and one `alim from al-Azhar University counted every joint in the human body, which totalled 360, as mentioned in a suhbah I gave in Cyprus.[1] Today doctors prescribe medicine to cure you, saying, “Take this cream and this tablet for this and that.” Which is better for us, the Prophet's description or the doctor's description?

Fifteen-hundred years ago, the Prophet (s) said, “Whoever recites 72 times daily, ‘Subhaan- Allah, w'alhamdulillah, wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah, w’Allahu Akbar, astaghfirullah,’ (for a total of 360 [5 x 72 = 360]) will sleep that night having removed his body from Hellfire, meaning the fire of dunya and the fire of Akhirah.)” To remove yourself from the fire of Akhirah is one of the greatest things you can do, and symbolically, the fire of dunya is the pain of your sickness! So when you recite that, it means you want to take your body from the fire of sickness. Then (recite), “kabbirullah, wa hammidullah, wa halillullah, w’asbihullah, w’astagfirullah” 360 times and Allah will take that sickness from you!

وعن عائشة رضى الله عنها ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : انه خلق كل انسان من بنى آدمد ز على ستين وثلاث مائة مفصل 360 فمن كبر الله وحمد الله وهلل الله وسبح الله واستغفره وعزل حجرا عن طريق الناس او شوكة او عظما عن طريق الناس وأمر بمعروف او نهى عن منكرعدد تلك الستين والثلاث مائة السلامى فانه يمشى يومئذ وقحزح نفسه عن النار

Fasting is a remedy and when you say, “SubhaanAllah, w'alhamdulillah wa laa ilaaha illa-Llah w’Allahu Akbar, astaghfirullah,” it takes you out of your sins, and combined with fasting, and you stop backbiting and slander, that will take you out of problems.

May Allah forgive us on this first day of `Eid, after completing Ramadan!

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[1] See the entire suhbah at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wq8JTKcCDVcv2DdIWyvKss_QrwgY1KrbpfYVEIs_bck/edit

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