Jumuah Khutbah at As-Siddiq Institute & Mosque
[Du`a of Khutbah.] As-salaamu `alaykum.
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ
Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an descended. (al-Baqara, 2:185)
Allah (swt) is Merciful, He is giving us jewels to appreciate. When you go to a jeweler to buy a jewel, he says. “This is a diamond, an emerald, a ruby.” Everything has its price, but Allah gave us a jewel that has no price, no one can evaluate it’s value, but everyone likes it. Those who buy it will be successful and those who lose it will not get it. Allah gave us Friday, the holy day of Muslims, the day that erases sins, and Allah also gave us Friday in Ramadan, which is double the honor of what Allah (swt) opened to us as the Prophet (s) said:
فضل الجمعة في رمضان على سائر أيامه كفضل رمضان على سائر الشهور
The value of Friday in Ramadan over its other days is like the value of Ramadan among the other months. (Daylami, Isfahani in his Targheeb, and Nuzhat al-Majalis)
The other eleven months are not equivalent to Ramadan, which is rahmatun li ’l-Ummah, as Allah said:
الصوم لي وانا اُجزي به
Fasting is for Me and I will reward it. (Bukhari, Muslim)
“I will reward you for Ramadan, I will give you what you need, but fast Ramadan as it is for Me. The rest of the different months are for you. Salaat is for you, but Ramadan is for Me.” So that is why it is important to make sure that we are fasting Ramadan. What did Sayyidina `Ali (r) say?
لو اراد الله ان يعذب أمة محمد ما اهدى اليهم رمضان وقل هو الله أحد
If Allah had wanted to punish the Ummah of Muhammad he would not have gifted them Ramadan and Qul Huwa ’Llahu Ahad.
The Prophet (s) said:
أنا مدينة العلم و علي بابه
I am the City of Knowledge and `Ali is its Door (or Gate). (al-Haakim, Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (s) mentioned Sayyidina `Ali (r) as the door to the city of knowledge of the Prophet (s), and also that he is the door to Paradise. Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “If Allah wanted to punish Ummat an-Nabi (s), He would never have given them Ramadan and nor Qul Huwa ’Llahu Ahad.”
Ramadan yarmad adh-dhunoob, it burns the sins. The first ten days is rahmah, mercy, the second ten days is maghfirah, forgiveness, and the last ten days is `itqun min an-naar, freedom from Hellfire. In the first ten days, Allah dresses us with His Mercy because Ramadan is a mercy from Allah (swt) and the other months are for us, which means He will also make an opening for us to be with the Prophet (s) in dunya and Akhirah:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds.
(Surat al-Anbiyaa, 21:107)
So first He gives us Ramadan as an opening to be with the Prophet (s); therefore, anyone who wants to see the Prophet (s) must fast Ramadan. One person came to me yesterday and said, “I saw myself in a room. There were many people with turbans coming and going, then I saw many saints and then the Prophet (s) and Sayyidina Mahdi (a).” It is said turbans are the crowns of Arabs:
العمائم تيجان العرب, فاذا وضعوا العمائم وضع الله عزهم
Turbans are the crowns of the Arabs (i.e. Muslims). Whoever took them off, Allah lowered their honor.
(ad-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws)
I told him, “Because you are fasting Ramadan, these dreams come in Ramadan.” So Allah gave this month to Ummat an-Nabi (s) and Sayyidina `Ali (r) said, “If Allah (swt) wanted to punish Ummat an-Nabi (s), He would not have given them Ramadan.” What is the difference between us and the other Ummahs? We have Ramadan! Some fast for half a day, while we fast for a whole day, we give up food completely, whereas some give up certain foods but not others, and today in western countries you are fasting 17 to 18 hours.
Sayyidina Musa (a) went to Tur Sina and he is Kaleemullah, he speaks directly to Allah. It came to my mind, does he come out of the blue and speak directly or does he have to take permission first? Allah (swt) called him to His Presence in the Valley of Tuwa where there is no sin, it is a holy valley. Meccatu 'l-Mukarrama, Rawdah ash-Shareefa, and the room of Sayyida `Ayesha (r) are also holy places, there is no sin there. Sayyidina Musa (a) said, “Yaa Allah! You have honored me to speak with You directly without hijaab. Did You give anyone else what You gave me?” Look at how the ego is playing. Sayyidina Musa (a) is like that, he is Allah’s Friend, from Oolu ‘l-`Azam, the Five Great Prophets, and he says whatever comes to him as he is Kaleemullah.
Allah (swt) wants to break that Siffat al-Anaaniyya, the characteristic of “I”. Allah (swt) said, “Yaa Musa, I will have servants who will appear in the Last Days of this world,” like today most of the Signs the Prophet (s) mentioned about the Last Days have appeared, as narrated in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and others. One Sign (s) that everyone can see in Gulf countries is:
وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء يتطاولون في البنيان
You will see the barefoot, naked, destitute Bedouin shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings.
(Bukhari)
They are competing for who will make the better high-rise building, forgetting what Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:
إِِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَاوَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا وَقَالَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا لَهَايَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَى لَهَا
When the Earth is shaken to her (utmost) convulsion and the Earth throws up her burdens (from within) and Nan cries (distressed), "What is the matter with her?" on that Day will she declare her tidings, for your Lord will have given her Revelation. (Surat az-Zalzalah, 99:1-4)
One day an earthquake will come and there will no longer be any high-rises. According to Sunnah, the homes must be a maximum one or two stories high, but now they build big apartment buildings with 150 to 200 apartments, which is a Sign of the Last Days. Allah said to Sayyidina Musa (a), “I will bring the Last Days and I have servants whom I will honor with something precious to Me, the best jewel on Earth and one of the best jewels is in Heaven: the holy month of Ramadan. I will be near everyone of them! I will be there with them and all of them will see My Presence. You are allowed to speak with Me and there are 70,000 veils between Me and you.”
That is why Sayyidina Musa (a) said to Allah, arinee anzhur ilayk, “Let me see You!” (Surat al-`Araaf, 7:143) because he wanted to break those veils, but he couldn’t because his ego was too big. That is why he said at beginning of the story, “You have honored me to speak with You. Did You honor anyone more than me?” and Allah said, “Yes. Between Me and you there are 70,000 veils. In the Last Days when Ummat an-Nabi (s) will fast, their lips will become white as they will be dehydrated,” from not drinking water and the temperature will be 50 degrees Centigrade in Mecca and Madinah, where the Prophet (s) and the Sahaabah (r) were fasting. Although the hours were less and they were dehydrated, they were still going for futoohaat, opening countries with the Message and doing what the Prophet (s) wanted them to do. Allah is saying, “If Ummat an-Nabi (s) fasted until their lips became white and their faces became yellow from dehydration, at that time I will lift up all the veils between Me and them and as soon as they break fast these veils will be taken off. So good tidings to the one whose stomach became thirsty and hungry in Ramadan, because I open for them My Paradise.”
So here is a question: why you don't see that? That is because the 70,000 veils are lifted except for al-hijaab al-`umoom, the common veil that is taken off in Akhirah. However, whenever you read Holy Qur'an, make dhikrullah and worship, the veils are lifted up.
Ka`b al-Ahbaar (r), a famous Tabi`, said that Allah (swt) revealed to Sayyidina Musa (a):
ياموسى إني ألهم في شهر رمضان السماوات والأرض والجبال والشجر
والدواب أن يستغفروا لصائمي شهر رمضان
O Musa! In Ramadan I inspire the Heavens and the Earth and the trees and the animals to make istighfaar for those who fast the month of Ramadan. (Hilyat al-Awliya of al-Isfahani)
“Anyone who is fasting Ramadan, I will not reject his du`a, if he asks I will give him!” So ask Allah (swt) for what you want before it ends! May Allah give us the barakah of Ramadan. I brought these Ahadeeth to show us how lucky we are that Allah will give us mercy in the first ten days, forgiveness in the second ten days and freedom from Hellfire in the last ten days of Ramadan. Allah said that every good `amal you do is hasanah and Allah will increase from one to 700 times because, “Fasting is for Me and I will reward it.”
May Allah (swt) give us the blessing and rewards of Ramadan. Yaa fawzan li ’l-mustaghfireen astaghfirullah. [Du`a]
[End of Khutbah.]
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