Brothers and sisters! Today’s khutba is a discussion on how Ramadan is a time to purify our hearts and how we should engage ourselves in it in ways that Allah (SWT) and His Prophet (SAW) have taught us. In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA), Allah’s Messenger said, “Allah neither looks at your figures, nor at your outward appearance; He looks at your hearts and your deeds.”
Ramadan offers an excellent opportunity to cure ailments of the spiritual heart. The word Ramadan comes from the Arabic root “ramada,” which refers to severe heat, like the harsh heat of the sun scorching the earth. As heat purifies metals of its impurities, so does Ramadan purifies us of the diseases of our spiritual hearts. Let us discuss some of these diseases and see how Ramadan goes about to cure them. Some of the major diseases of the heart are arrogance (takabbur), ostentation or showing off (riya’), and stinginess (bukhl).
Arrogance means having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one’s own importance, merit, ability etc. This is the first step to many evils. Besides, it is unjustified. All our blessings and bounties are from Allah.
وَمَا بِكُمْ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.” (an-Nahl 16:53)
The Prophet (SAW) warned against arrogance and said: “No one will enter Paradise who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart.” Bragging or boasting is also a disgusting practice that universally sickens people. No one likes a person who boasts; the person who walks with a swagger; the person who cannot be in the company of other people without speaking about himself or drawing attention to what he has done; or the person who cannot help but try to gain rank by mentioning his or her ancestry or accomplishments. Allah reveals His dislike of bragging.
وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ
“And do not turn your face away from people in contempt, nor walk on the earth arrogantly. Surely, Allah does not like any arrogant and boastful person” (Luqman, 31:18). The repulsive behavior of arrogance and boasting cannot survive a sincere engagement with Ramadan. How can it survive, while in Ramadan we admit our complete need of Allah and His generous provision? What is the du’a before breaking the fast?
اللَّهُمَّ اِنِّى لَكَ صُمْتُ وَبِكَ امنْتُ وَعَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَعَلَى رِزْقِكَ اَفْطَرْتُ
“O Allah! I fasted for You and I believe in You and I put my trust in You and I break my fast with your sustenance.”
Ostentation (riya’) is a desire to show off and seek praises from others. It is referred to as the “hidden shirk” (ash-shirk al-khafiy). This disease of the heart is so hidden and so dangerous that the one who feels safe from it is usually the one who gets entrapped in it. The meaning of a hadith suggests that just as the creeping of a black ant on a black rock on a pitch dark night is hidden and unnoticeable, so also is the unnoticeable disease of ar-riya.
It is difficult to show off in Ramadan for a couple of good reasons. Salah or ritual prayer is an open act; so is the zakah or the obligatory charity; so is the hajj or pilgrimage. Fasting, however, because it involves abstinence, is invisible. One can stare a person in the face and not know whether or not he is fasting. This makes fasting an impossible act to show before others. Also, because many people attend the mosque in Ramadan to perform extra devotional prayers, a person prone to showing off no longer feels so significant.
Stinginess or miserliness (bukhl) is to hoard money and not to spend it on one’s family and the needy as it should be spent. It is a terrible disease. The Prophet (SAW) taught us to seek Allah’s refuge from stinginess. It leads to an attitude of not caring for others. It holds people from fulfilling their duties and recognizing the rights of others. And what better time can there be than Ramadan to get rid of this disease. It is well known that the Prophet (SAW) was the most generous of people, and in Ramadan he was even more generous. His Companions described him like a wind that bears gifts. Ramadan is a time in which the quality of generosity is easier to attain. People are more generous in Ramadan than any other month.
It is to be understood that despite all our fasting and praying, earning rewards is not automatic and requires that we appropriately engage ourselves in ways that Allah and His prophet have taught us. We should first purify our intentions. One shouldn’t fast, for example, because it is healthy to do so, or to go with the flow. While fasting has numerous virtues and benefits, the primary motivation of fasting should be solely to seek Allah’s pleasure. So, if your intention is tainted with other ulterior motives or you aren’t clear on your intentions, you risk losing the rewards of your worship.
In a well known hadith the prophet had highlighted the conditions for fasting to be accepted by saying,
مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
“Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.” “Out of faith” in this context refers to ensuring that your worship is solely for Allah (SWT). The Prophet (SAW) said,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَقْبَلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ إِلاَّ مَا كَانَ لَهُ خَالِصًا وَابْتُغِيَ بِهِ وَجْهُهُ
“Allah does not accept any deed except that which is done only for Him and to seek His pleasure.” Let’s therefore remind ourselves that for our fasting to be accepted, it should be solely for the sake of Allah (SWT). Otherwise there is a risk of non-acceptance.
It is also important to have the “hope of reward.” It is difficult to hope and wish for something without recognizing its value. So, if we indeed recognized the value of Ramadan and fasting and the associated rewards, then we should feel the eagerness in our hearts for our fasts and worships to be accepted. If the month-long worship (’ibadah) failed to overwhelm us spiritually, then it’s time to correct our intentions and recognize the value of fasting before we lose that opportunity. Besides busying ourselves with various modes of worship, we also need to engage our hearts to make our ’ibadah more meaningful. The Prophet (SAW) said,
رُبَّ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ الْجُوعُ وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ السَّهَرُ
“There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer but a sleepless night.”
Let’s therefore ensure that all our acts of worship during Ramadan are purposeful, absorbing, and given due time. Let us engage our hearts to the fullest. It would indeed be a big loss if we only earned hunger, thirst, and sleeplessness from our actions at the end of the month. May Allah accept our fasting, and all our acts of worship; ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! We should realize that good deeds and evil deeds are the basic currencies that will decide our fate in this life and the hereafter. Many of us hear about rewards (hasanat) associated with good deeds without realizing their value. The prophet (SAW) said, “Do not look down on any act of goodness, even if it is just emptying your bucket into the vessel of one who wants to drink, or speaking to your brother with a cheerful expression.” Similarly, we hear about the ill effects of sins without truly comprehending how they chip away at our spiritual and worldly fortunes. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Beware of sins that are seen as insignificant, for they will keep accumulating until they destroy a man.”
The tilt of the scale that will weigh our rewards and sins on the Day of Judgment will determine our final abode. Ibn Mas’ud (RA) described the attitudes of the believer and the evildoer towards sins when he said: “The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting at the foot of a mountain fearing that it might fall on him, while the evildoer (fajir) sees his sins as a fly that lands on his nose, he just waves it away.” Let’s therefore direct all our efforts to earn as many rewards as possible and to stay away from sins. Ramadan provides us a chance of multiplied rewards but the multiplication is all tied to the sincerity of our worships and the intensity with which we are eager to earn those rewards and erase our sins.
The spirit of the month of Ramadan is not alien to most Muslims. However, many of us engage in practices that tend to dilute the spirit of the blessed month thus preventing us from capitalizing on the month’s blessings. For example, many make Ramadan the focal point of social events rather than focusing on ‘ibadah. Others know Ramadan because of the opportunity to feast on a variety of meals and excessively indulging in eating and drinking. There are others who tend to get lax about the obligatory prayers (e.g. Fajr) for the sake of optional prayers such as Tarawih.
With Ramadan offering a unique opportunity to earn Allah’s pleasure, what more can we ask for and what could be said about us if we didn’t make use of this opportunity?
Remember that many who were with us during last year’s Ramadan didn’t live long enough to see this year’s Ramadan. And none of us know if we would live to see next year’s Ramadan. Why not make the most of it now before it is too late? Let us ensure that we capture as many moments of this month as we can because every moment counts. The Prophet (SAW) said: “In every day and every night, during the month of Ramadan, there are people to whom Allah grants freedom from the Fire, and there is for every Muslim a supplication which he can make and will be granted”.
Finally, during Ramadan, as we plead to Allah to forgive our sins and to fulfill our needs, we should not forget the millions of needy Muslims around the world who are in states of distress far worse than any of us can imagine. As Ramadan provides us the promise of Allah’s increased mercy, let’s plead their case also to Him.
O Allah! Have mercy on humanity and cure us of the hate and evil that are destroying us and dividing us through wars, and other acts of violence and intolerance. O Allah! Have mercy on all of those who are suffering from starvation this Ramadan. Relieve their difficulties and provide them with what they need, as You are the best of Providers. O Allah! Have mercy on our brothers and sisters in faith and our brothers and sisters in humanity. O Allah! Have mercy on everyone who is struggling financially. Relieve their suffering, help them pay off their debts, cover their expenses, and increase their Halal earning. O Allah! Please strengthen us and put love and mercy in our hearts for each other.
