ICICE AL-NOOR MASJID KHUTBAH FOR FRIDAY 26/APRIL/2019

VIRTUES OF THE MONTH OF RAMADAAN

All praise is due to Allah (The Lord of the universe). I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but HHH im alone (He has no partner) and I testify that Prophet Muhammad S.A.W is His Servant and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his households, his righteous companions and those who follow their path till the Last day.

O Brothers and Sisters in Islam!

Here we are facing the month of fast, the month of righteousness and the month of salvation from the hell fire.

The month of Ramadan has distinctive qualities which made it excel the entire months of Islam, among these qualities:

• When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise will be opened, as in the Hadith related by Imam Ahmad and Al-Nasa’I on the authority of Anas bin Malik: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When Ramadan begins, the gates of Jannah are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained.”
• The first night of Ramadan has tremendous virtues: It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and mischievous Jinn are chained up, and the gates of the Fire are closed, and none of its gates is opened. The gates of Paradise are opened and none of its gates is closed. And a caller cries out: ‘O seeker of good! Proceed O seeker of evil, stop.’ And Allah frees some of His servants (from the Fire), and that happens every night (in Ramadan)”. Related by At-Tirmizi

• When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of Hell will be closed; as in the Hadith related by Bukhari: “When Ramadan begins, the gates of heaven will be opened, the gates of Hell will be closed, and the devils will be chained.”
• Fasting the month of Ramadan expiates the past sins.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that: The

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The five (daily) Salat (prayers), and   one Jumu’ah prayer to the (next) Jumu’ah prayer, and Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals); provided the major sins are not committed”. Related by Muslim

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said while on the pulpit: Amen three times, he was then asked, why did you do that? He replied saying: there came to me Angel Jibreel and said to me:

“May the man before whom my name is mentioned – and does not invoke Allah’s blessing upon me – be humiliated. And may a man upon whom Ramadan enters and then passes without having his sins forgiven, be humiliated. And may a man whose parents attained old age in his presence, and they were not a cause for his entrance to Paradise, be humiliated. Then I said Amen.”

• The reward of he who performs lesser Hajj i.e. Umrah, in the holy month of Ramadan will be multiplied. (The Holy Prophet) said told a woman among the Ansaar: “So when the month of Ramadan comes, perform Umra, for ‘Umra in this (month) is equal to Hajj (in reward).

Imam Al-Minaawy said about this Hadith: This means observing Umrah in the holy month of Ramadan is equivalent to Hajj in times of reward, not in times of obligation; because of the consensus of the Muslim scholars that indicated that performing Hajj is compulsory upon all the Muslims that have the opportunity regardless of those who perform Umrah in and outside Ramadan.

• The Holy Qur’an was revealed in the holy month of Ramadan. Allah says in His Magnificent Book: “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind”.

Imam ibn kathir said in this regard: Allah elevated the month of Ramadan above other months by choosing it to reveal the Glorious Qur’an, just as He did for all of the Divine Books revealed to the Prophets. Imam Ahmad reported on the authority of Waathilah bin Al-Asqa` that Allah’s Messenger said: (The Suhuf (Pamphlets) of Prophet Ibrahim were revealed during the first night of Ramadan. The Gospel was revealed during the sixth night of Ramadan. The Injeel (Bible) was revealed during the thirteenth night of Ramadan and Allah revealed the Qur’an on the twenty-fourth night of Ramadan).

• The night of decree (which is better than a thousand months).

Majority of the scholars of Tafseer (The interpreters of the Holy Qur’an) said: worship during the Night of Al-Qadr is equivalent to an act of worship performed for a period of one thousand months.

It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“Ramadan began, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘This month has come to you, and in it there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly wretched.” Related by ibn Maajah

• Among the significance and features of Ramadan are voluntary prayers.

The Muslims consensually agreed on the sunnatic prayer in Ramadan’s nights. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported in the Hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “He who observes optional prayer (Tarawih prayers) throughout Ramadan, out of sincerity of Faith and in the hope of earning reward will have his past sins pardoned.”

The phrase “Out of sincerity of faith” from the Hadith means: Bearing in mind that it is true, believing in its significance, seeking Allah’s pleasure with it without show-off or any other thing that contradicts sincerity, his past sins will be forgiven.

Imam Al-Nawawy said: The mode of speech on the Hadith shows being motivational and voluntary, not compulsion; because the Muslim Ummah agreed upon observing prayer during Ramadan being voluntary.

• Among virtues and features of the month of Ramadan: I’tikaf (Seclusion in the Masjid for the sake of devotion to Allah).

‘Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to engage himself in I’tikaf (seclusion for prayers) in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan till he passed away; thereafter, his wives followed this practice after him”.

The focused point from I’tikaf is devotion of mind to Almighty Allah with fasting and total submission to Him, taking pleasure in his remembrance and shunning away all negativities.

• The month of Ramadan is the month of generosity and the month of recitation of the Noble Qur’an.

Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was the most generous of the men; and he used to be more generous during the month of Ramadan when Angel Jibril used to visit him every night and recite the Qur’an with him. At that time his generosity exceeded the wind that brings forth heavy rains”. Related by Bukhari

The multiple and immeasurable generosity of the Prophet in this holy month Ramadan has tremendous benefits, among them:

• The distinctive quality of the month and the multiple rewards in it.
• Helping the fasting people and those who pray and supplicate in their submissiveness and devotion to Allah, and whoever does such a good deed will earn the same reward with those people. As in the Hadith related by At-Tirmizhi on the authority of Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani (May Allah be pleased with him):

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He who provides a fasting person something with which to break his fast, will earn the same reward as the one who observed the fast, without diminishing in any way the reward of the later.”

• Ramadan is the month of Allah’s generosity, forgiveness and salvation from the hell fire. Most especially in the night of decree and Allah is merciful only to those who are merciful; as in the Hadith related by Bukhari: “Allah shows compassionate only to those among His slaves who are compassionate (to others)”. So whosoever shows generosity to others, Allah will be generous to him.
• Also, combining fasting and charity is part of the ways of getting Jannah.

‘Ali (Peace be upon him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“Indeed in Paradise there are chambers, whose outside can be seen from their inside, and their inside can be seen from their outside.” A Bedouin stood and said: ‘Who are they for, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “For those who speak well, feed others, fast regularly, and perform salat [for Allah] during the night while the people are still sleeping.”

And all these actions are prevalent in the month of Ramadan. In it a believer combines between fasting, voluntary prayers charity and nice words. A fasting person avoids vain talks and obscene words. Therefore, fasting, Salat and charity admit the faithful into jannah.

Some pious predecessors were reported to have said: “Prayer gets the one who observes it mid way, then fasting gets him to the door of the king and charity takes hold of his hand and brings him before the king.

Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:

Who amongst you is fasting today? Abu Bakr said: I am. He (again) said: Who amongst you followed a funeral procession today? Abu Bakr said: I did. He (the Prophet) again said: Who amongst you served food to the needy? Abu Bakr said: I did. He (again) said: Who amongst you has visited the sick today? Abu Bakr said: I did. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Anyone in whom (these good deeds) are combined will certainly enter paradise.

Abu- Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “Observe two raka’at in the darkness of the night to be free from the darkness of the grave, fast on a very hot day to be free from the hotness of the day of resurrection, give charity in order to avert the difficulties of the day of judgment.

Generally, most people do not fast as required by Islam and that is why it is disliked to say: I fasted Ramadan completely, or I stood up in Ramadan in Salat throughout of Ramadan completely. Because charity amends any faults in the fast. That is why Zakatul-Fitr is obligatory at the end of Ramadan so as to serve as purification from vain talks and obscene words as regards the fasting person.

Fasting and charity also play a vital role in the expiation for oaths, prohibition during Ihram and the expiation for having a sexual intercourse while fasting in the month of Ramadan.

Initially, the Muslims were given the option to either fast or feed the needy. That was abrogated, leaving only those who are incapacitated to feed the poor.

Most scholars are of the view that if a person delays paying back the missed days in Ramadan till another Ramadan; he is too fast and as well feed the needy in order to strengthen his fast. Also, anyone who breaks his fast because of someone else; like the pregnant woman and the nursing mother, some scholars hold the view that they are to pay back and feed the needy as well.

Also, the fasting person forsakes his food and drink because of Allah. This assists him in attaining the fear of Allah. He is also encouraged to break his fast in the company of some other Muslims who have fasted. By doing this, he is grateful to Allah for the favor of food and drink.