Gems of Ramadan - Shaykh AMJ PDF

Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Contents Foreword ​ 4 Shackle your inclinations ​ 5 Yearning to Allāh ​ 14 How do I revive my longing to Allāh? ​...

Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Contents Foreword ​ 4 Shackle your inclinations ​ 5 Yearning to Allāh ​ 14 How do I revive my longing to Allāh? ​ 16 Take the Qur‘ān to heart ​ 16 Remember the blessings and provision of Allāh ​ 18 Regret and repent ​ 19 Remember the foremost​ ​ 19 Remember this Hadīth ​ 20 Secrets with Allāh ​ 21 Fasting is for Me ​ 29 Why did Allāh say fasting is for Me? ​ 29 There is no Riyā in fasting ​ 30 Fasting is among the most beloved ‘Ibādāt to Allāh ​ 31 No one knows the reward of fasting but Allāh ​ 32 Fasting requires all three types of patience ​ 33 Allāh honors fasting by attributing it to himself ​ 35 Fasting cannot be taken from on the judgment day ​ 36 The Mushrikeen did not commit Shirk in fasting ​ 36 Allāh is showing us the importance of fasting ​ 37 Women in Ramadān ​ 38 The reward for one who is prevented from ʿIbādah for a legitimate reason ​ 39 Can a sister take a pill to delay her menstrual cycle?​ 41 What can a woman do during these days?​ 42 Can a woman recite the Qur‘ān?​ 43 Can she read from the Qur‘ān by touching it?​ 44 The issue of respect ​ 46 Catch the breeze ​ 48 1 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Let the competitions begin ​ 57 Tawbah and Inābah​ 63 Repentance ​ 70 He responds to the invocations ​ 77 The special times for Du’ā ​ 79 Be formal in your Du’ā ​ 80 Make Du’ā in a voice not too loud and not too low ​ 80 Do not try to make your Du’ā rhythmic ​ 81 Be firm in your Du’ā ​ 82 Be persistent in your Du’ā ​ 84 Work on your internal matters ​ 86 The arrows of the night never miss ​ 89 A finger worth more than a 1000 soldiers ​ 96 Revive abandoned worships ​ 100 Making Istighfār before Fajr ​ 101 Tafakkur ​ 105 Tabattul ​ 109 Befriend the Qur‘ān​ 111 The power of the Qur‘ān​ 120 They give to the poor, orphan & captive​ ​ 129 Sweetness in Siyām​ ​ 140 Our Spain & Ramadān ​ 150 I'tikāf ​ 161 Does one have to do all ten days? ​ 161 What is the minimum duration of I'tikāf? ​ 161 I'tikāf must be in a Masjid ​ 163 Some of the etiquettes of I'tikāf ​ 164 What invalidates I'tikāf? ​ 164 When should one enter the Masjid? ​ 165 The rules of I'tikāf ​ 165 I'tikāf for women ​ 165 2 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Final ten days of Ramadān​ 167 The night of destiny - Laylatul Qadr​ 173 The significance of Laylatul Qadr ​ 173 The signs of Laylatul Qadr ​ 177 The precise night of Laylatul Qadr is unknown ​ 179 Practical advice for Laylatul Qadr ​ 181 ‘Ayn Jālūt in Ramadān ​ 185 Part one ​ 185 Part two ​ 193 ‘Izzah in Ramadān ​ 204 Fasting of the tongue ​ 219 Saying goodbye to Ramadān ​ 239 3 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Foreword ‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬ All the most perfect and complete praises belong to Allāh, and may the Salāh and Salām of Allāh be upon the Messenger of Allāh. As for what follows: Firstly, we ask Allāh to reward our Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril (May Allāh protect and preserve him). Secondly, we take no credit for the contents of this work as we only assembled the transcripts and printed it. We pray that Allāh accepts this as a Sadaqah Jāriyah on behalf of us and the Shaykh. The Shaykh has a strict policy when it comes to profiting off of Dawah. In his own words: “My father has taught me never to charge or take anything for Da’wah and has done so throughout his career, whether it may be a marriage, seminars, lectures, classes like this or even more than that.” Therefore this book is not going to be sold, rather it will be distributed for free. We ask the reader of this book that they are mindful of the Shaykh’s words and do the same. Do not sell this book, rather give it to the next person for free. This is our Shaykh’s Haqq and we should not transgress the limits. Lastly, we ask Allāh subhanahu wa ta'ala that He accepts this effort and that it is sincerely for His sake. 4 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Shackle your inclinations Alhamdulillāh Thumma Alhamdulillāh for the great blessing of living to reach Ramadān. A true blessing, a blessing many in their graves desperately wish to have an opportunity at. A blessing many onlookers will regret they did not take advantage of. Even though there is no specific proof on congratulating one another for the start of Ramadān, there is general proof on the permissibility of greeting one another in general matters upon receiving glad tiding and good news. We all know the story of Ka'b ibn Mālik and his two partners, when Allāh revealed their forgiveness after they were ordered by the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to be abandoned and shunned. In Sūrah at-Tawbah Allāh says: ‫َو َع َلى ٱل َّث ٰ َل َث ِة ٱ َّلذِينَ ُخ ِّلفُو ْا‬ “And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error].” [9:118] He declared that He has forgiven them. When it was revealed, people went to them in groups, congratulating them. Ibn Qayyim rahimahullāh said commenting on this story in Zād al-Ma’ād, that it is proof that any Īmānic blessing is something one may embrace another on and congratulate him for. Ibn Muflih narrated many opinions that Imām Ahmad said pertaining to this matter but at the end he said, the most popular opinion is that Imām Ahmad permitted it. Allāh said: َ‫ر ِّم َّما َي ۡج َمعُون‬ٞ ‫ض ِل ٱهَّلل ِ َو ِب َر ۡح َم ِتهِۦ َف ِب ٰ َذلِ َك َف ۡل َي ۡف َر ُحو ْا ه َُو َخ ۡي‬ ۡ ‫قُ ۡل ِب َف‬ “Say, ‘In the bounty of Allāh and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.’” [10:58] 5 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Having established that, I say may Allāh bless your Ramadān and accept from you. May Allāh honor you by granting you the opportunity to gain the most out of this Ramadān and may it be sincere for His sake. I ask Allāh that you be among the special ones whose necks are marked as saved from the punishment of Hell. We will have daily Khawātir or reminders In shaa Allāh after Salat al-‘Asr. I will try my best to keep them around ten minutes. They will be short so they will not take us away from our ʿIbādāh, because every second of your life is precious and more precious is every second of Ramadān. Putting these talks into action is the purpose of these talks and of all knowledge. It starts during the talk, when a verse is mentioned, imagine as if Allāh is speaking to you and you are ready to act on it. When you hear a Hadīth, imagine that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is before you and you are attentively listening, contemplating and ready to act upon it. When you hear a story of the Salaf, let your mind flow back to their time as if you are consulting them and sitting there enjoying their precious advice. In Ramadān, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬compared those who succeed and get their forgiveness from Allāh like one whose neck is freed, which means like a slave that has been freed. Why this example or parable? In order to understand it, you have to understand the Fiqh rule. In divorce, marriage and freeing a slave, whether one is joking or serious there is no going back on it. If he says a woman is divorced (joking or serious) and if he frees a slave (joking or serious), there is no going back on it. If a human with all his deficient qualities cannot go back on freeing a slave when he does so, imagine the All Mighty, Al-Ghafūr, Ar-Rahīm, Al-Karīm. If He frees your neck from Hell, do you think He will go back on His word? This is the 6 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril month where forgiveness comes to you from every angle. Not getting forgiveness from Allāh in this month means you worked hard not to get forgiveness from Allāh. As Ramadān starts, keep these three Hadīth in your mind about attaining the forgiveness of Allāh. “Whoever fasted for Ramadān in faith and seeking the reward from Allāh, he will be forgiven.”1 Two words in these Hadīth, Īmān and Ihtisāb. Iman in all three of these Hadīth, Ibn Hajar ‎rahimahullāh said it is faith and knowing and believing it is obligatory upon you. Ihtisāb means that you are seeking the reward only from Allāh. What reward are we talking about? Forgiveness from Allāh. Does it stop there? No, certain people chosen that their necks be freed from Hellfire. Does it stop there? No, everyday you get golden moments where your Du’ā is accepted. Everyday you get mountains of deeds, only Allāh calculates it for you. Everyday you fast, you are seventy years away from Hell if not more. If you finish Ramadān properly, seventy times thirty, you have two thousand and one hundred years away from Hell. So the first Hadīth says whoever fasts for the sake of Allāh (Īmān and Ihtisāb for the sake of Allāh), he gets forgiveness. The second Hadīth has a near the same ending but a different beginning. “Whoever fasted the month of Ramadān out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allāh, then all his past sins will be forgiven.”2 Let us say you had some type of deficiency in fasting, there is another shot at it, another opportunity to attain the forgiveness 1 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 38 2 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 2014 7 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril of Allāh. Praying the nights, what we call Taraweeh. There is even a third shot at it. “He who observed the fasts of Ramadān with faith and seeking reward (from Allāh), all his previous sins would be forgiven.”3 Every one of the three Hadīth is in the Sihāh. Let us say someone had a deficiency in fasting and he had a deficiency in praying the night Qiyām (the Taraweeh). Then here is the third shot at it, the Night of Destiny (Laylatul Qadr), and that by itself is sufficient to attain the forgiveness of Allāh. All three of these Hadīth have the same ending, you will be forgiven. You will be forgiven if you fast the days of Ramadān, if you pray the nights of Ramadān and if you pray the night of Laylatul Qadr. And in between all that forgiveness, Allāh gives multiple folds of reward to get you to the high ranks of Jannah. So if you do not get forgiven by Allāh, you sure know how to dodge, but you are dodging forgiveness of Al-Ghafūr. You are avoiding Rahmah and forgiveness pouring at you from every angle. Rahmah and forgiveness you desperately need for blessings in this life, and more importantly for entry to Jannah. So many chances for forgiveness and attaining the high rank, that the mercy of mankind the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, Rahmatal lil ‘Ālamīn and Rūh al-Qudus, Jibrīl made Du’ā on one who misses out on this opportunity. Abū Hurayrah radiyAllāhu ‘anhu said in an authentic Hadīth, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was ascending the Minbar, and then he said Āmīn every step. Āmīn, Āmīn. They said: “O Prophet of Allāh, why did you say 3 Sahīh Muslim 760a 8 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Ameen?” He said: “Jibrīl came to me and said: ‘May Allāh rub his nose in the dust, the person who Ramadān comes and does not get forgiven by Allāh’, so I said Āmīn.”4 The superiority of Ramadān comes in knowing what you do in Ramadān is extra reward, extra credit. It is knowing that it is time to make up for what you missed out in the past eleven months. What you read of Qur‘ān, what you do of Salah, what you say of Dhikr is worth more than any other month. Multiple folds of reward, neither I nor anyone can calculate it, that is why the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said in a Hadīth Qudsī: “Every act of the son of Adam is for him except fasting. It is done for My sake, and I will give a reward for it.”5 So much reward that Allāh calculates it for you, to honor you. It is for Him, He says it is for Me and I shall reward you. The reward continues to elevate in its value until it reaches the summit peak of being worth 83.33 years (a thousand months). One Rak‘at in Laylatul Qadr ends up being worth as if you did it for thirty thousand nights. One SubhanAllāh will end up being worth as if you did it for thirty thousand nights. That path to seeking the summit of Firdaws is a content path of ʿIbādah. When you take off on that path (and now is the time to start), you see plains, valleys, hills and mountains, and on the left and side of that path you are going to see bandits and thugs. These thugs, robbers, creeps and thieves on that path and on that journey do not want your money. They do not want your wealth, they do not want your life, they want something more precious than all that. They are after your 4 Ibn Khuzaymah, 1888; al-Tirmidhī, 3545; Ahmad, 7444; Ibn Hibbān, 908, Sahīh al-Jāmi’, 3501 5 Sunan an-Nasāʾī 2219 9 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Deen and your Īmān and your time to attain that. In order to reach safety and salvation, a person on that path and course needs guidance. He needs a map to direct him to the safe routes and the hidden spots where the bandits pop up, when to move faster, when to maintain a pace, and that is what we are going to be talking about in these Khawātir In shaa Allāh. Ramadān is a virtuous season and a time for diligence. It is our duty to recommend to each other the truth and inspire each other for ʿIbādah and righteousness. It is general throughout the year but more so in Ramadān, as in Surah al-'Asr: ‫ٱلص ۡب ِر‬ َ ‫اص ۡو ْا ِب ۡٱل َحقِّ َو َت َو‬ َّ ‫اص ۡو ْا ِب‬ َ ‫َو َت َو‬ “And advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [103:3] No one is exempted from recommending and no one is above accepting recommendation. In Ramadān, many veer off the course of what Ramadān was intended for. In some cultures, it has become a time for taking one away from Allāh rather than taking him closer to Allāh. It has becomes stripped of what it was intended for. Some spend it in vain, others in Mubāh and others incur sin. It is the few who stay on the path, avoiding the bandits, speeding their path on their way to Allāh. The Shaytān has been shackled and he is one cause of the sin, the other cause is your Nafs. If one is worse in Ramadān, he can diagnose his Nafs al-Amārrah bis-Sū’ as having worse tendencies than the Shaytan. ۢ ‫َّ ۡ َأَل‬ ُّ ‫ارةُ ِبٱل‬ ِ‫س ٓوء‬ َ ‫س َّم‬ َ ‫ٱلنف‬ “The soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil,” [13:53] 10 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Now is the time to subdue and defeat that Nafs. As the Shaytan is shackled, you need to shackle your Nafs al-Amārrah bis-Sū’ (the evil inclination). Just like the Shaytān was shackled, you have to shackle your Nafs al-Amārrah bis-Sū’. Ramadān is a therapy for one’s Īmān because as time goes by your Īmān wears out. When you wash your clothes and wear them time and time again, you wear them out. When metal comes into contact with air and moisture over time, there is a process of oxidation and when it occurs rust begins to form on the metal. And that is the Hadīth of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. ’Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar in at-Tabarānī: “Faith wears out of the heart like any one of your clothes wear out, so ask Allāh to renew your faith in your hearts.”6 You ask Allāh and you act upon it too. Ramadān dusts your heart off. It repatches your clothes, it revives your Īmān and it ignites it for a take off. You start off this Īmānic therapy by directing your inclination and fighting your desires, shackling your inclination like the Shaytān was shackled. If you leave eating and drinking and your wife, which is otherwise Halal on normal days, this is a boot camp to train you never to do what is Harām throughout the entire year. You must understand an important concept in your relationship with Allāh. The process starts with you, you have to take the first step forward. In the Hadīth Qudsī Allāh said: “I am as my servant thinks of Me, I am with him when he mentions Me. - You have to mention Him first - If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself.” Who starts? He said: “If you mention.” “And if he mentions me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than that. If he comes near to me a hand’s 6 Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir lil-Tabarani 14668 11 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril length, I come to him an arm’s length or a cubit. And if he comes to me a cubit’s length, I go to him the distance of two outstretched arms. And if he comes to walking, I come to him at the speed of running.”7 In every sentence of the Hadīth, the relationship starts with you and then Allāh responds. It is consistent in the verses of the Qur‘ān. ۚۡ‫ۡٱد ُعون ِٓي َأ ۡس َت ِج ۡب َل ُكم‬ “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” [40:60] You have to invoke Me, then I will answer. You start the invocation, then Allāh will give you. ۡ‫َف ۡٱذ ُك ُرون ِٓي َأ ۡذ ُك ۡر ُكم‬ “So remember Me; I will remember you.” [2:152] You have to start it, so you have to start your relationship with Allāh. Ramadān is the season to ignite your longing to Allāh. Just like when winter approaches, you go and ignite your furnace, you have to ignite your longing and yearning to Allāh. Ignite your longing and yearning to Allāh so you can do the worship in this month with pleasure, delight and enjoyment. If you do not ignite your longing to Allāh, you cannot do your worship in joy. We want you not only to worship Allāh, but we want you to do it with enjoyment. There is a difference between one who fasts and hates it (wrong doers), one who just fasts and the one who fasts and enjoys it. 7 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 7405 12 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril ِ ‫اب ۢقُ ِب ۡٱل َخ ۡي ٰ َر‬ ِۚ ‫ت بِِإ ۡذ ِن ٱهَّلل‬ ِ ‫س‬َ ۡ‫د َوم ِۡن ُهم‬ٞ ِ‫ِم ِّل َن ۡفسِ هِۦ َوم ِۡن ُهم ُّم ۡق َتص‬ٞ ‫َفم ِۡن ُهمۡ َظال‬ “And among them is he who wrongs himself [i.e., sins], and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allāh.” [35:32] There are some who follow the middle course and then there is the third category above all that, the supreme one who fasts and enjoys it. Sābiqun bil-Khayrāt - the ones who are the foremost in their good deeds. There is one who does Tarāwīh and Qiyām and he cannot wait for the Imām to do Salām, one who does it just to do it, and there is another one who does it and he is excited as he is standing before Allāh. Some are superficial and traditional in their worship. Others enjoy it when their stomach is rumbling, gurgling and growling, because his mind escapes his body in realizing how beautiful this fast is. He realizes how much he loves the One he is leaving all these desires for. His stomach is growling but his heart is laughing at how much further and further this is taking him from Jahannam, and how further and further it is getting him to Firdaws. He stands on his feet the long hours, excited, enthusiastic and eager because his mind is with the reward of where this stand is going to land him. A palace, and the ceiling of it is the ‘Arsh of Allāh, neighboring Allāh subhanahu wa ta'ala in Jannah. That is why you need to ignite your longing to Allāh in order to enjoy your ʿIbādah, and In shaa Allāh we will talk about that in one of the sessions. 13 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Yearning to Allāh One should do his worship longing and yearning to Allāh, to jump to His worship. And worship, it is a meeting between you and Allāh so look forward to it. Look at the story of Musa ʿalayhi-s-Salām when he had a meeting with Allāh. Allāh quotes him as saying, he himself says to Allāh: َ ‫َو َع ِج ۡلتُ ِإ َل ۡي َك َر ِّب لِ َت ۡر‬ ‫ض ٰى‬ “And I hastened to You, my Lord, that You be pleased.” [20:84] And that is our topic. After Allāh destroyed Fir’aun, Allāh made an appointment with Musa ‎ʿalayhi-s-Salām and Banū Isrā’īl, and that is where Allāh spoke to him by the mountain and where he asked to see Allāh, and where he was given the Tawrāh. When he left Banū Isrā’īl back with Harūn ʿalayhi-s-Salām and the appointment with Allāh got closer, Mūsā ʿalayhi-s-Salām quickly hastened his footsteps and sped to the meeting. Mūsā ʿalayhi-s-Salām could have walked slowly, sluggishly. The appointment is set with Allāh, the appointment is not going to be missed. But Mūsā ʿalayhi-s-Salām sped because he longed to Allāh and he was eager to speak to Allāh. You have five daily meetings with Allāh, not even that, you have every single minute of Ramadān as a meeting with Allāh. You can walk sluggishly to it, you can sprint to it, and you can cancel the meeting altogether. It is your choice. What made Mūsā ʿalayhi-s-Salām hasten to the meeting with Allāh? That is because he enjoyed it. He enjoyed a meeting with Allāh, to converse with Allāh, he enjoyed worship. You will not enjoy worship unless you ignite your longing and yearning and love to Allāh. If someone responds to another 14 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril who he loves, he responds to something they ask without that hasten and spark, that special excitement, you call that cold love, love with no flavor or taste. Your ʿIbādāh is your main course, you sprinkle that main course with longing and yearning to Allāh so you can add excitement when you perform it. Let us diagnose why we lose our longing and yearning to Allāh. As times passes, your heart gets Rān on it, as Allāh said: ِ ُ‫كَاَّل ۖ َب ۡۜل َرانَ َع َل ٰى قُل‬ َ‫وب ِهم َّما َكا ُنو ْا َي ۡكسِ بُون‬ “No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.” [83:14] Rān are little black dots that are put on a heart every time one commits a sin. For some, they are washed away when they repent. And for others, it becomes a black heart like a crow. Now is the prosperous season to wash that Rān away. That rust needs to be deoxidized and those clothing need to be refurbished. You need to revive your longing to Allāh, it may be dead but this is something you can bring back to life. It may be covered, but you can always clean it up. 15 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril How do I revive my longing to Allāh? In these few moments, let us take four quick steps to doing so. Take the Qur‘ān to heart Recite the Qur‘ān, understand the meaning and contemplate it, and understand the names and qualities of Allāh as you read the Qur'an. Read the translation when you read the Qur‘ān, if you do not know the Arabic meaning. Read the Tafsīr, we all have Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr and it has been translated, one of the greatest achievements. Hearts have a lock and you must break that lock to understand the Qur'an. ‫ب َأ ۡق َفالُ َهٓا‬ ٍ ‫َأفَاَل َي َتدَ َّبرُونَ ۡٱلقُ ۡر َءانَ َأمۡ َع َل ٰى قُلُو‬ “Then do they not reflect upon the Qur‘ān, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?” [47:24] This verse does not mean to ask a question, it means to state. To state, do they not comprehend the Qur‘ān because they have locks on their hearts. When you read the Qur‘ān, do not be mindless of it. It is very easy to read the Qur‘ān, it is very easy to praise and glorify Allāh, but your mind could be wandering somewhere else and that is what is difficult. ‫َواَل ُتطِ ۡع َم ۡن َأ ۡغ َف ۡل َنا َق ۡل َبهُۥ َعن ذ ِۡك ِر َنا‬ “And do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance.” [18:28] Why did He say do not obey those whose hearts are heedless? Because many tongues remember Allāh a lot but there are few hearts that tag along with the tongue. Look at an 16 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril ideal example of how you should read the Qur‘ān, the example of Abū ad-Dahdāh radiyAllāhu ‘anhu and how Qur‘ān incited him to act when he heard one verse. ‫س ٗنا‬ َ ‫ضا َح‬ ُ ‫َّمن َذا ٱ َّلذِي ُي ۡق ِر‬ ً ‫ض ٱهَّلل َ َق ۡر‬ “Who is it that would loan Allāh a goodly loan?” [2:245] Who wants to loan Allāh? When Abū ad-Dahdāh heard it, he asked the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, he said: “Allāh wants a loan from us O Prophet ‫ ”?ﷺ‬The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said yes. Abū ad-Dahdāh said: “Give me your hand O Prophet of Allāh, I give you a commitment to loan my orchard of dates.” Abū ad-Dahdāh gave his entire, his best orchard of dates, six hundreds palms to the Prophet ‫ !ﷺ‬Abū ad-Dahdāh had many farms, he was wealthy. He went to the best one. You know which one? The one he and his own family were living in, and he told his wife: “Pack up and let us go. Let us go, I have loaned this property to Allāh and it no longer belongs to us.” What do you think his wife said? Did she nag and complain? Why, what is going on? I am not going to say she did not even nag or complain, but rather she got up and took the children by the hand. The property has been loaned out and what is in the property is going with the property. She took the dates out of the mouths and sleeves of her children and led them out of the garden. To long and yearn to Allāh is to understand the word of Allāh, let there be no hesitation nor any resistance in accepting and applying what is in the Qur‘ān. When the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬heard what he did, he said: “How many huge date clusters are there in Jannah for Abū ad-Dahdāh.”8 Radāh means huge date clusters. 8 Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr Sūrah al-Hadīd:11 17 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Remember the blessings and provision of Allāh The second way to dust off your longing, yearning and love to Allāh is to remember the countless blessings and provision of Allāh over you. Humans have a tendency and a nature that Allāh put within them to like those who do good for them. One shows good gratitude, gratefulness and appreciation over one who gives a bouquet of flowers or gives him help in getting a job. Sometimes it is a matter less than that and sometimes it is a matter more than that, yet Allāh gave you more than all that and that which no one else could give you. There are plenty of verses in the Qur‘ān on hearing, on the tongue, on eyesight, on the sky, on the Earth, on the night and the day. Why do you think there are so many verses in the Qur‘ān that mention the blessings of Allāh to us? To make this meaning surface in our hearts so our longing for Allāh can illuminate in our hearts. The more you know and the more you realize the blessings of Allāh upon you, the more you long to thank Him. Sit everyday for a few moments and contemplate the blessings Allāh gave you and your family. Look at those around you who have nothing and sit and think of Allāh, that will ignite your love and yearning to Allāh. Alhamdulillah, I woke up at peace when others are terrorized in prisons and under bombs. Alhamdulillah, I woke up safely in my home. Alhamdulillah, I am healthy in my body. Alhamdulillah, I have my provision for the day. Listen to the Hadīth: “Whoever wakes up safely in his home, healthy in his body and has his provision for the day, it is as if he has acquired all worldly possessions.”9 9 Sunan Ibn Mājah 4141 18 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Regret and repent Liven your heart and longing to Allāh by regretting the past that went either in vain, you have to regret that, the past that went with no worship and the past that went with some sins. Regret it enough to ignite repentance, which entails yearning to worship Allāh. After you remember, regret and repent, put a period there. Put a period on your past and start a new sentence, flip the page and start on a new page. Now, your aim is to catch up and be better than ever and better than anyone else. Remember the foremost Remember the foremost so you can be with the foremost and compare yourself to them, that will spark a feeling to urge you to compete with them. ۡ‫ار ُع ٓو ْا ِإ َل ٰى َم ۡغف َِرةٖ ِّمن َّر ِّب ُكم‬ ِ ‫س‬َ ‫َو‬ “And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord,” [3:133] ۡ‫ابقُ ٓو ْا ِإ َل ٰى َم ۡغف َِرةٖ ِّمن َّر ِّب ُكم‬ ِ ‫س‬َ “Race toward forgiveness from your Lord,” [57:21] َ‫س ۡٱل ُم َت ٰ َنفِسُون‬ ۡ ٰ ِ ‫َوفِي َذلِ َك َفل َي َت َنا َف‬ “And in Jannah, let the competitors compete.” [83:26] Yes, in the levels of Jannah you need to compete. Longing and yearning to Allāh is like fuel for your Īmān. It entices you to worship Allāh ecstatically, with pleasure and delight. When the spark in your worship fades, when the longing to Allāh dims in your heart, remember the ultimate destiny you are 19 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril trying to achieve and get. The destiny of those whose love, long, and yearn for Allāh. Remember this Hadīth Post this Hadīth that I am going to say in your mind, and in front of your computer, in your house and in your bedroom, and most importantly never let it get out of your heart. In Sahīh Muslim, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “When those who deserve Paradise enter Paradise, Allāh will ask: ‘Do you wish Me to give you anything more?’”10 Everyone is occupied in the happiness and joy of Jannah. َ‫ش ُغ ٖل ٰ َف ِكهُون‬ ُ ‫ص ٰ َح َب ۡٱل َج َّن ِة ۡٱل َي ۡو َم فِي‬ ۡ ‫ِإنَّ َأ‬ “Indeed the companions of Paradise, that Day, will be amused in [joyful] occupation.” [36:55] “The people will say: ‘Have you not brightened our faces? Have you not made us enter Paradise and saved us from Jahannam?’ Allāh will lift the veil from their eyes and everything given to them will be nothing compared to the sight of their Lord.”11 Long and yearn to the mercy of Allāh, to the meeting of Allāh, to seeing Allāh in Jannah and to Firdaws. To Firdaws, so the ceiling of your palace will be the throne of Allāh. Your aim this Ramadān is to have the throne of Allāh as your ceiling, that is going to be the top of your ceiling. And from your sides and in your neighborhood, you are going to try to be as close to the Wasīlah as possible. You want to be in the neighborhood of 10 Sahīh Muslim 181a 11 Sahīh Muslim 181 20 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, ‘Alī, Khālid, Abū ‘Ubaydah radiyAllāhu ‘anhum and Ā‘ishah, Khadījah, Umm Salamah and Safiyyah radiyAllāhu ‘anhunna. That is how you achieve your longing to Allāh. In conclusion, know that in your path to igniting this desire to Allāh, you are going to come across bandits of the hearts that we always mention. The jobs, prestige, money, children and spouses. Some may be pleasure and delight but do not let them be a Fitnah. Secrets with Allāh All of our deeds at all times must be solely for the sake of Allāh. You do not give any portion of your deeds to other than Allāh, not for Riyā’ or anything else. َ ‫َو َمٓا ُأ ِم ُر ٓو ْا ِإاَّل لِ َي ۡع ُبدُو ْا ٱهَّلل َ ُم ۡخلِصِ ينَ َل ُه ٱلدِّ ينَ ُح َن َف‬ ‫ٓاء‬ “And they were not commanded except to worship Allāh, [being] sincere to Him,” [98:5] One of the best cures for those who struggle or think they struggle with show off is to establish in your heart that in this simple world people run into trials and tribulations by the Qadhā and Qadr of Allāh and everyone here and everywhere can tell you of times where people turned away, in minor and major difficulties they went through. People turned away and left them alone. If they are not going to stand in this simple world, why would you give them some of your most valuable assets (your deeds) when the only One who will be there for you and worthy of your deeds is Allāh subhanahu wa ta'ala, both in this life and in the life after. Secret, discreet, sincere deeds between you and Allāh are what you ask Allāh with 21 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril when you are in a desperate need both in this life and for matters of the life after. You know the story in Sahīh Muslim of the three men who sought refuge in a cave when it began to rain. As they entered the cave, it closed upon them. One of the three men said: “Get up each one of you and make Du’ā through your deeds so Allāh can rescue us.” So the first man got up and said: “O Allāh, my children wept at my feet because I did not deem it advisable to serve milk to them, because when I returned from work late I found my parents were sleeping. O Allāh I remained at my parents’ head as my children wept all night long until daylight broke out and I fed them, then I fed my kids. O Allāh if I did that for Your pleasure and Your sake and Your sake only, grant us riddance from this trouble that we are in O Allāh.” The rock slipped away a little, but not enough for any of them to leave. Note how he said: “If I did it for Your sake and Your sake only.” Yes it was the deed he did but it is also the sincerity of that deed, the secretiveness of that deed. The next one gets up, he says: “O Allāh I had a cousin that I wanted to have a relationship with and she refused. One day she fell on a hardship, she said I need to borrow one hundred Dinar and I agreed to give her one hundred Dinner if she had relationship with me. He said O Allāh when I approached her for intercourse, she said servant of Allāh, fear Allāh and do not break this seal of chastity except by its lawful means. Yaa Allāh I got up, O Allāh if I did that for Your sake and Your sake only, grant us riddance from the trouble and problem that we are facing.” It opened a little bit, not enough. Likewise the third man gets up, the third one says: “O Allāh I had a worker, he did not take his wages for that day. He left 22 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril some of his rice, so I planted it and I became rich with flocks of cows and sheep from that investment. He returned to me later and he said fear Allāh and give me my wages, so I told him that flock of sheep and cows are all yours. He said fear Allāh and do not mock me, he said O Allāh I told him I am not mocking you. Yaa Allāh if I did that for Your sake and Your sake only then remove this hardship that we are facing.” The rock moved away and they were finally able to leave from the cave. You want that to happen to you? It is not impossible, that is why the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬taught us this. If you want that to happen to you, Ramadān is the best time to stock up on secretive, sincere deeds. Let nobody know about them, you yourself try to forget about them. The days go by, life is pregnant with its trials and tribulations, after years maybe a child will get sick, maybe cancer, pain, poverty, may Allāh safeguard all of you from all that. Then you raise your hand, you say: “O Allāh I have that deed and I did it in secrecy and sincerely for Your sake, O Allāh grant me riddance from this trouble that I am facing.” Or forget about it all together and let Allāh remind you of it when it is placed in your scale on the balance on Judgment Day. WAllāhil ‘Adhīm Allāh will remind you of it. ‫ش ۡي ٗـٔ ۖا َوِإن َكانَ م ِۡث َقال َ َحبَّةٖ ِّم ۡن َخ ۡردَ ٍل‬ َ ‫س‬ ٞ ‫ض ُع ۡٱل َم ٰ َو ِزينَ ۡٱلق ِۡس َط لِ َي ۡو ِم ۡٱلقِ ٰ َي َم ِة فَاَل ُت ۡظ َل ُم َن ۡف‬ َ ‫َو َن‬ ‫ب‬ َ‫ِ َ ِين‬ ِ‫س‬‫ح‬ٰ ‫ا‬‫ن‬َ ‫ب‬ ‫ى‬ ٰ َ ‫ف‬ َ ‫ك‬ ‫و‬ ۗ ‫ا‬ ‫ه‬ َ َ ِ ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬‫ن‬َ ‫ي‬ۡ َ ‫ت‬ ‫َأ‬ “And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant.” [21:47] Ibn Qayyim rahimahullāh said deeds without sincerity are like a traveler who carries a water jug full of dirt, carrying that jug 23 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril burdens him and does not bring him no benefit. What a statement, what an amazing statement. Deeds without sincerity are like a traveler who carries a water jug full of nothing but dirt, carrying it burdens him and brings no benefit. Dāwūd ‘ibn Abi Hīnd fasted for forty years, his own wife did not know about it. He was a wool maker and his wife would prepare some food for him and send him off when he leaves to work. He would give it to a poor man in the market and return at night after Maghrib to break his fast with his wife. The people in the market think that he ate with his wife, and the wife thinks that he ate from that which she prepared for him, which he gave to a poor man. Sincerity, that is what it was about. He prayed Qiyām for twenty years, his wife did not know about it, Ikhlās. Ayyūb as-Sakhtiyānī used to pray the entire night and then a few moments before Fajr he would raise his voice in recitation, in Qur‘ān, so people would think he got up just a few moments before Fajr when he in reality never even got any sleep all night long. Hasan ibn Abī Sinān, his wife said: “My husband used to trick me like we parents trick their kids. He used to trick me to sleep and when I would sleep, he would get up and pray. One time she caught him, she said: ‘Abu Abdillah, - with his Kunyah - why do you punish yourself like this? Easy on yourself.’ He said: ‘Woe to you woman, you want me to sleep, I will sleep and I am going to sleep and get my rest on a day when I will never wake up from my sleep.’” Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn the great grandson of ‘Alī bin Abī Talīb radiyAllāhu ‘anhu, he used to feed poor people in Madinah for ten years, nobody knew who was bringing them food. Every day in the morning they would find food in front of their houses. When Zayn al- ‘Aabideen died, they figured out it was 24 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril him because no longer did they get any food. And more so when they washed him and shrouded him, they found marks in his back from carrying the bags to the poor people. Al-‘Āmish said: “I visited Ibrāhīm an-Nakha’ī and he began to read Qur‘ān and he constantly read Qur‘ān. Whenever he had guests he would quickly put the Qur‘ān and hide it away and he would tell me, confide in me, I do not want people to see that I am reading Qur‘ān.” What a difference between them and those who never sweat for the sake of Allāh yet bolster about it. Those who bolster about a simple little Khutbah they gave, a couple of orphans they sponsored, maybe a five minute talk or just going for the Tarāwīh two or three nights out of Ramadān, it is usually those with such deeds that they bolster about that have no effectiveness or sincerity. And it is those with secret deeds that have the effective sincere deeds. Ibn al-Jawzī rahimahullāh said ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak who died a hundred and eighty one years after the Hijrah, he was a sincere master who feared losing sincerity of his deeds if people knew about his deeds or if they praised him. Na’īm ibn Hammad said when Ibn al-Mubārak read a Hadīth he would cry like a camel or a cow when they are being sacrificed, the noise they make when they are being sacrificed. Sufyān ath-Thawrī said: “I wished for one year of my life I could do the deeds that Ibn al-Mubārak did.” He said: “I could not even do three days worth of what Ibn al-Mubārak does.” ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak, a worshipper, an Imām in knowledge, a man who put his knowledge into action, beneficial knowledge, a Mujāhid. He went with the Muslim army one time to fend off the Romans and when the armies clashed or are posted up to begin the war, as was the trend back then, a man from each 25 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril side will start off the fight. So a man from the Romans got up, he said who wants to sword fence with me? Which is the one on one fighting with the sword. One Muslim stood up to him, fought him for a while, he was wounded and the Roman killed him. A second Muslim went up to him, same thing happened. Third Muslim got killed, same thing. The fourth man fought him for some time and killed him. The people crowded around this heroic man to see who he was. ‘Abda ibn Sulaymān said: “I was among those who crowded around this hero to see who he was. He turned out to be someone who was masked, he covered his face.” He did not want anybody to know who he was, and he walked away from the crowd as if nothing happened. ‘Abda said: “I grabbed his mask and I took it off, and it was no other than ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak.” ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak said: “Abu Umar - the Kunyah of the man who pulled the mask off, - you are among those who expose us?” He considered it exposing him. Commenting on this story, Ibn al-Jawzi said he is a sincere master who feared it would affect his sincerity if anyone ever saw or praised any of his deeds. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “Allāh did not raise ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak to the elevated status that he reached, except by secrets he had between him and Allāh.” Establish those secrets this month, these days. Ibn al-Jawzī mentioned that al-Hasan al-Basrī and Ibn al-Mubārak, they lived in the same time for a period and they took a walk one day. When they got to a fountain to drink, it was crowded. Had people known who they were and recognised them, they would have opened the way for them, but no one knew who these men were. ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak reached the fountain, broke through the crowd, reached the fountain, drank and left. And then al-Hasan al-Basrī said: “He looked at me and said, ‘This is the right way to live.’” Imām in every aspect that you look at it. They were all Imāms in every aspect, they did not want 26 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril anything to be known. Secret deeds that no one knows about, tears in the deep darkness of the night, recitation in the deep darkness of the night, Allāh will raise your mention and honor in both worlds. Ar-Rabī ibn Khuthaym, the worshiper who used to cover his worship so no one would know what he did. When he recited Qur‘ān and he saw people were about to pass by, he would cover it with his Thobe so no one would know he was reciting. ٞ ‫فَاَل َت ۡع َل ُم َن ۡف‬ َ ۢ ‫س َّمٓا ُأ ۡخف َِي َل ُهم ِّمن قُ َّر ِة َأ ۡع ُي ٖن َج َز‬ َ‫ٓاء ِب َما َكا ُنو ْا َي ۡع َملُون‬ “And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e., satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.” [32:17] Why did Allāh say hidden? Why is it hidden? They hid their deeds from humans so Allāh hid for them a special reward. Reward depends on the kind of deed, you reap what you sow. You hid something, Allāh is going to save something hidden for you. In Sahīh Muslim: A disheveled man, “Ash’ath” means dusty. Madfū’in bil-Abwāb meaning he is looked down upon so much that if he knocks on your door, you will not even open the door. He is neglected in society, everyone looks down on him. What about him? The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: ”If he gives an oath by Allāh, Allāh will fulfill it.”12 You may think he is a nobody, I may think he is a nobody, but he has got some secrets at home in the dark nights that if he gives an oath to Allāh in a Du’ā like fashion, Allāh will answer it. Meaning if he says WAllāhi Yaa Allāh You are going to do this for me, but the intention is of course in Du’ā, it will be answered. Every single day you say seventeen times: “It is You we worship.” By Fardh you say it seventeen times. Every day you say 12 Sahīh Muslim 2622 27 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril seventeen times, You alone we worship and You alone we ask for Your help, and tens of more times other than that in Sunnah you say them. Every time you say it, remember to renew your vow that you are only doing this for the sake of Allāh and make it as secretive as possible. For this Ramadān, plan and make your deeds secret and establish a secretive relationship with Allāh. Worship no one knows but you and Allāh, sincerely for the sake of Allāh. Keep it hidden, Salah, prayer, Zakah, reciting of the Qur‘ān, Taraweeh, charity, knowledge or Da’wah. You yourself try to forget it, WAllāhi you are going to be reminded of it on the Judgment Day, WAllāhil-‘Adheem you are going to see its effect in this life. If you are inflicted with a hardship years and years later, raise your hands to Allāh and say: “Yaa Allāh I got up every single night of Ramadān, no one knew that but me and You. If I did that sincerely for Your sake and Your sake alone, then grant me riddance of this trouble and trial that I am facing.” O Allāh! I seek refuge in you lest I associate anything with you while I know it, and I seek your forgiveness for what I do not know. 28 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Fasting is for Me The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said that Allāh said: “Every good deed of the sons of Adam is for them except fasting, it is for Me and I shall reward the fasting person for it.”13 The Hadīth is in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and the Hadīth is a Hadīth Qudsi. Ahādīth Qudsiyyah are the ones that are revealed to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬but they are the words of Allāh. The difference between them and the Qur‘ān is that you cannot recite them in Salah and they get a general reward, not the specific reward of the Qur‘ān where you get ten Hasanāt per letter. And also they get scrutinized like other Ahādīth, so some are accepted and some are rejected. You do not accept automatically a Hadīth Qudsi just because it is a Hadīth Qudsi, the ʿUlamāʾ of Hadīth tell you which is authentic and which is not. Why did Allāh say fasting is for Me? In this Hadīth, Allāh said every good deed of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, it is for Me and I shall reward the fasting person for it. All the deeds are for Allāh, we know that. That is an established fact but why did He specify fasting here, fasting is for Me? That is the point of our talk today. Fasting is for Me, Allāh said that. You may think it is a simple issue but Ahmad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Qazwīnī in his book Hadhāʾir al-Quds mentioned fifty five scholarly opinions as to this matter, Ibn Hajr mentioned ten. In these few moments, we will discuss some of the popular opinions so we can achieve our goal of understanding the Hadīth and understanding fasting better. 13 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 5927 29 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril There is no Riyā in fasting “Every good deed of the sons of Adam is for him except fasting, it is for Me.” That is our point, I reiterate that is our point. Al-Māzirī, al-Qurtubī, Ibn al-Jawzī and others said that fasting was specified in this Hadīth and Allāh attributed it to Himself because fasting has no Riyāʾ. It has no eye service, no hypocrisy, no dissimulation, it has no showing off in it. Fasting is a special worship between you and Allāh, there is no show off in it unless you speak about it, unlike other matters of worship. If you give charity, if you lecture, if you offer Salah, if you perform Hajj, if you are dutiful to your parents, if you are good to your neighbors, and other matters of worship, they are apparent and there may be a show off aspect in them because people see them. The act itself can be for show and one at times needs to struggle with himself to purify his intention, to eliminate the show off aspect of these worships. In fasting, it is different. A man fasting to show off while his stomach is full, a fake, looks and appears to the public like one who is sincerely fasting for the sake of Allāh, a genuine Muslim. Both appear to the public as not eating, they do not eat, no one knows the reality of the matter but Allāh. One can be fasting a Nāfil, a Sunnah, a non obligatory outside Ramadān and no one knows that but Allāh, and one can break his obligatory fast in Ramadān and no one knows about it but Allāh. Fasting in itself is a silent and private ʿIbādah no one knows about unless you speak about it. Let me make it clear in an example, a story that I once read. There was a line at a meat market once and a man from back of the line told the butcher, he said: “Hurry up, I have to get home and cook the meat before Maghrib because I am fasting today.” So an unwise man behind him who was possibly 30 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril worse than him told him, he said: “You want him to rush and you are only fasting one day? I have been fasting three days and I wait in line all day long and I have not asked him!” The point of that is Allāh covered the matter, no one would have known that. Had both of them not spoken, no one would have known about it. It is a matter only Allāh knows, so that is one of the scholarly explanations of this Hadīth, that, “fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it.” There is a weak saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬that there is no show off in fasting. It is weak and it cannot be used. However, had it been authentic, it would have been a decisive matter in the interpretation of this Hadīth. So this first opinion, and you learn from every one of these opinions, is that unlike other matters, fasting is a worship that does not have a show off aspect to it, it is very unique and special in that matter. Fasting is among the most beloved ‘Ibādāt to Allāh The second opinion of why Allāh chose fasting to attribute it to Himself over other ‘Ibādāt, is because fasting is among the most beloved worships to Allāh. Salah is among the most beloved type of worships to Allāh. In an authentic Hadīth Ahmad Shākir said: “The best of your deeds is Salah.”14 But so is fasting because in another Hadīth, the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ said: “Take to fasting, for there is nothing like it.”15 The Prophet told a man to fast because there is no equivalent to fasting. Fasting is considered among the best of all ‘Ibādāt because it raises fear of Allāh in one's self. Fasting is unique in that it livens and deepens the love and fear of Allāh. Fasting embeds fear of Allāh in your heart because Allāh said about fasting, it is to establish Taqwā: 14 Sunan Ibn Majah 277 15 Sunan an-Nasā'ī 2221 31 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril َ‫َل َع َّل ُكمۡ َت َّتقُون‬ “That you may become righteous.” [2:183] In the verses about fasting. Awareness that Allāh sees and hears you, and knows of you constantly. You have to be on alert constantly knowing that Allāh is watching you, that is why you do not go near your wife, that is why you do not go near the fridge. So the first opinion is that there is an aspect of sincerity in fasting and lack of show off in fasting. The second opinion is that it is among the most beloved ʿIbādāt to Allāh. No one knows the reward of fasting but Allāh The third opinion as to why Allāh said fasting is for Me, is because no one knows the reward of fasting but Allāh, and this is also the second sentence of the Hadīth. All deeds have a specified amount of reward, except fasting. In Sahīh Muslim, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Every deed has ten to seven hundred folds except fasting, it is for Allāh.”16 No one knows or calculates fasting but Allāh. No one knows the specific reward of fasting but Allāh. No one calculates the multiple folds on top of the regular reward, but Allāh subhanahu wa ta'ala. You can see possibly in the Hadīth that I mentioned where one gets ten to seven hundred folds of reward in all deeds except fasting, meaning that Inshaa Allāh fasting is even way more than seven hundred. WAllāhi, one who contemplates and thinks about that fully, will make most of his life a Ramadān. When a king or prominent person or an employer on this earth gives a gift, he gives it in such generosity to suit 16 Sahīh Muslim 1151e 32 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril the position he is in. So imagine the King of all kings when He says fasting, I got you on that reward. Fasting requires all three types of patience The fourth reason why Allāh said fasting is for Me, patience is three types, fasting requires all three types of patience. There is patience in obedience to Allāh, patience in refraining from Harām and there is patience in Qadhā' & Qadr (decree and destiny). Unlike many matters of ʿIbādah and worldly matters where one type of patience is needed, in fasting you need all three of them. 1. You need patience in refraining from Harām How does it pertain to fasting? You have to refrain from food, you have to refrain from drinking, you have to refrain from relationship with your wife. Food, drink and relationship with your wife is Harām during the day of Ramadān, so one needs to be patient in that. One needs to be patient in refraining from other Harām like backbiting, speaking ill, speaking evil and lying. Those that are Harām on regular days, but more so on days that one is fasting in them. It takes a lot of patience for one on a night of Ramadān where there is a gathering that consists of nothing but slander and backbiting, to stand up and walk away. 2. Patience in obedience In fasting, you also need patience in doing the ordains, the second type of patience. One needs patience to fast in obedience to Allāh, especially when the Nafs (one’s self inclination) may at times dislike fasting due to its hardship. He uses patience to fast, to resist that Nafs, that self inclination. 33 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril ۢ ‫َّ ۡ َأَل‬ ُّ ‫ارةُ ِبٱل‬ ِ‫س ٓوء‬ َ ‫س َّم‬ َ ‫ٱلنف‬ “The soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil,” [12:53] One disliking fasting because it is from Allāh, that is totally different. The deeds of that person vanish and he needs to take his Shahadah again. But there are matters like fasting that are heavy on one’s self and he needs patience to endure them. 3. Patience in Qadhā' & Qadr And the third type of patience is patience in decree and destiny, and you need that in fasting. Allāh decreed hot days, you have to fast in them, you accept the decree of Allāh. Sometimes you have to go to work, sometimes you become lazy or bored or thirsty, yet you accept the decree of Allāh and you fast. You go through that because you know Allāh decreed that for you. Allāh decreed that hot day, Allāh decreed that you are not going to be as energetic on that day at work, so you accept that decree. When fasting contains all three types of patience, you need all three types of patience, the reward is supreme. So that is why Allāh attributed fasting to Himself and to give the amount that He said: “I will give the reward for it.” 34 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Allāh honors fasting by attributing it to himself A fifth reason some of the ʿUlamāʾ mention as to why Allāh said fasting is for Me, they said it is because Allāh honors fasting with that. You know how you say Baytullāh (the house of Allāh), you honor the house of Allāh. When you say the she-camel of Allāh: ‫س ۡق ٰ َي َها‬ ُ ‫َنا َق َة ٱهَّلل ِ َو‬ “[Do not harm] the she-camel of Allāh or [prevent her from] her drink.” [91:13] As in the Qur‘ān many times, you honor the camel by saying that. The rule of Usūl in specializing a matter that is otherwise general, means to honor it. We know the Masājid are Masājid but when Allāh says Baytullāh, it is to honor it. When you say Nāqatullāh (the camel of Allāh), it is to honor it. Zakah, fasting, Salah, all that are worships of Allāh, but when it is specialized and when Allāh says fasting is for Me, it is to honor that. Fasting is great and it is supreme. Why? Because it pins down your inclination and desire for the sake of Allāh, that is what fasting is about. His wife behind closed doors, he does not touch her. He returns from work on a hot day away from the refrigerator and from food, because he fears Allāh. So that requires a lot of reward, and Allāh honored it for that. It cannot be any type of normal reward, so Allāh honored it by saying fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it. This by itself is sufficient honor, grace and merit for those wise to know the value of fasting, in knowing that Allāh attributed it to Himself and attributed the reward that He is the only One who is going to give it. 35 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Fasting cannot be taken from on the judgment day Finally, a sixth opinion that ʿUlamāʾ mentioned why Allāh attributed fasting to Himself is because on the Judgment Day people who wronged one another, one can take from their deeds. If I got wronged from someone, I take from their deeds on the Judgment Day. Any and all deeds except fasting can be taken from on Judgment Day, this is the opinion of Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah. Before one passes on to the front yard of Jannah, after he passes as-Sirāt there are some who have to go to al-Qantarah to settle the score and it is not a money score that they settle, it would be easy if it was money but it is deeds. They have to go on a bridge and they settle it with deeds. If I wronged someone, they take from my deeds. If they wronged me, I take from their deeds. May Allāh guard us and save us from that. You have Salah, you have Zakah, you have Hajj, you have Umrah, you have charity, people can take from all that and if all that vanishes, the person who was wronged gets sins taken off of him and they are placed on one who wronged him, except fasting. This is the opinion of Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, he said fasting is untouched because Allāh said fasting is for Me. The Mushrikīn did not commit Shirk in fasting The final opinion we will mention for today is some of the ʿUlamāʾ said fasting is for Me, Allāh specialized it for Himself because the Mushrikīn did not commit Shirk in fasting. It was always only for Allāh. What we mean by that is you heard of Mushrikīn who sacrificed for their statues, they gave pledges and oaths for their statues, they prayed in Rukūʿ and Sujūd for their statues, they feared them and had hope in them, unlike fasting where we never heard of the Mushrikeen fasting 36 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril for their statues. So the meaning here is that Shirk did not enter in the worship of fasting. Allāh is showing us the importance of fasting Finally, Allāh attributed fasting and its reward to Himself to show the importance of fasting, to put your hearts and minds into it, to take this matter of worship seriously. Your days of fasting should not be like any other day, especially in Ramadān. Siyām is purification, it is a university of Taqwā. It is manners, it is a school you need to value. Imagine the reward, your mother and your father will not be able to help you on that Day, but fasting comes to you on that Day to help you and rescue you. If Muslims realized this virtue of fasting and how Allāh honored it when He attributed it to Himself and how much reward comes out of it, if we understood the value, we would go down in Sujūd to Allāh thanking Him for making fasting obligatory in this month. 37 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Women in Ramadān Some of the most popular questions that I have been getting since the start of Ramadān pertain to women and the issue of women on their menstrual cycle in this month. Most of our sisters are anguished at being unable to fast while everyone else is enjoying their ‘Ibādāt, so we will dedicate the few minutes of this Halaqah to that issue. This Halaqah is directed more towards sisters but brothers need to be patient and it is also something they need to know. If they do not have a wife, they have mothers, sisters and aunts, and in the future In shaa Allāh ta'ala they are going to have daughters so it will be something that they will need to know about. Let me start off by saying first of all, our sisters should not feel anguished, sad or depressed or think that others beat you in ʿIbādah because you were ordered not to fast or pray in Ramadān by the same One who ordered others to fast and pray. So you are in an ʿIbādah by obedience to Allāh. This is a common feeling among our sisters and it is shared by many of our sisters. And before that, it was shared before that by our mother ‘Ā‘ishah radiyAllāhu ‘anha, may Allāh grant our sisters lofty palaces next to that of ‘Ā‘ishah. In the Hadīth in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was heading towards Hajj, when he stopped in an area called Sarif on the outskirts of Makkah. He saw ‘Ā‘ishah was weeping and crying, he said: “What is the matter?” She said: “I wish I had not made Hajj this year.” And the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬immediately knew what she was talking about so he asked her: “Maybe you got your menses?” ‘Ā‘ishah replied, yes. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬then comforted and consoled her, he told her this is a 38 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril thing which Allāh has ordained and decreed on all the daughters of Adam. After he comforted her, then he gave her the ruling. He said: “Do that which pilgrims do except do not perform your Tawāf around the Ka’bah until you are clean.”17 Pay attention to that statement because we are going to refer to it a few times through this class, do that which pilgrims do except performing Tawaaf around the Ka’bah until you are clean. So it is the feeling of agony our sisters go through of not being able to do significant, special worships like the rest of the Ummah in blessed times and in blessed situations. The reward for one who is prevented from ʿIbādah for a legitimate reason Rest assured without a doubt that any sister who truly, genuinely and sincerely was going to an ʿIbādah such as fast and pray (both Fardh and Nafl) yet the only thing that stopped her short of that was getting her monthly days, then she will get the full reward Inshaa Allāh, not a tiny bit less than if she had done it. Listen to this Hadīth. In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “If one gets sick or travels, he will get the same reward as he was when he was not traveling and healthy.“18 He was deprived for a legitimate reason so he will get the reward, the reward continues on. A woman in her days is no different than that, you can take the Hadīth to mean if a woman is on her menstrual cycle, she will get the same reward of deeds as if she had fasted. When one is deprived of ʿIbādat because of something beyond their means, they will get the reward for deeds they missed out on because it was 17 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 1650 18 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 2996 39 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril not by their choice. The Hadīth mentioned if one gets sick, they will get their deeds of ʿIbādah they missed out because they are sick. One who is on her monthly days is very similar, near identical to that. The common denominator is that both cannot perform their ʿIbādah and they cannot perform it by force and not by choice. Ibn Hajr said this Hadīth applies to anyone who otherwise would perform a deed, yet is not able to continue for circumstances beyond their means. There are several Ahādīth indicating that if one is not able to perform worship due to circumstances not under their control, the reward of it will continue on, they will get the reward. Even in Jihad, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬one time left for a battle and he left men behind in Madinah. He told the people with him, those men who did not join us, not a step you took or a valley you crossed except they will get the identical reward as you because they were held back for a legitimate reason. The point of all this is do not feel sad, distressed or agonized. Sisters who do not do their ʿIbādah are doing worship because Allāh told them not to do so, and they will get the Ajr In shaa Allāh ta'ala if they are sincere. 40 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Can a sister take a pill to delay her menstrual cycle? The simple answer is yes. Why? Matters like these fall under general rule in Islam of being Halāl unless proven Harām. The only one I have read and know of that considered it prohibited was Imām Malik. He considered it prohibited but he also stated the reason was because it causes harm. That is a totally different reason, if it causes harm. In al-Mughni he quoted Imām Ahmad as permitting it and likewise, ash-Shāfi’ī permitted it. It is very clear it is permissible unless it causes harm, that is a totally different story. You have to do your homework and make sure it does not cause harm to you. In fact I remember when I was ten or maybe eleven years old, WAllāhi I remember I sat with my father in one of his Halaqah in the Harām in Madinah, Shaykh ‘Atiyyah Sālim rahimahullāhi ’alayhi and he mentioned a Hadīth that stuck in my mind about Miswāk and one of the benefits of Miswāk. I later read in Musānnaf ‘Abdur-Razzaq, when ‘Amr said that Ibn ‘Umar was asked if a woman can take medication to delay her menstrual cycle. Ibn ‘Umar said there is no problem and he recommended the soup or water of Miswāk, so they had this back in the days. What they did was bring a Miswāk and you make sure it is an Arak Miswāk, the original Miswāk, the right main tree and not similar close plants. They cut it into small pieces, boiled it in a pot for what today would be about ten minutes and you drink it two to three times a day starting on the day before you expect the menstrual cycle to begin. I am not sure if that works with the Miswāk we have now because I label them as expired Miswāk. The Miswāk that I used to get in Madinah, I used to buy them from sellers who would freshly cut them days before they sold them. Some types have a strong natural taste, a peppermint like flavor that 41 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril is sometimes so strong that you could not even keep the Miswak in your mouth for a few minutes. That is natural, not something they added. Another side issue and I do not want to get distracted with it, but let me mention it. In the Common Mistakes During Ramadān article that was taken from our Fiqh classes, I said: “I do not feel that toothpaste is even makrūh, it is mubāh actually based on Qiyaas (analogy).” Miswāk is permissible throughout the day when you are fasting, even towards the late evening, and the Miswāk at times has a stronger taste than the toothpaste, so that was the rationale behind it. The Miswāk we get here are outdated, even if you buy them overseas sometimes, many of them are also outdated as well. Going back to our topic, I know that the soup of Miswāk was used in the old days as a means for delaying the cycle. However, I am not sure in this day and age if these Miswāk that come to us will have any effect because of the time since they were cut. They are old and they are like I said, expired. It is worth a try and if it works let us know, we will pass the word on. What can a woman do during these days? She can do everything except fast, make Salah or make Tawāf if she goes to Umrah. She makes up her fasts but she does not make up her Salah. She can do everything else. What happens and it is a problem is that some sisters think it is that time of the month when they do not fast so Ramadān is on pause. They go sit in front of the TV and neglect these blessed days. Yes you cannot fast, you cannot pray, but you are still in blessed days and there is plenty of other ‘Ibādāt to do. There is Dhikr, exert your energy in Du’a, you can recite 42 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril the Qur‘ān, which brings us to the next point. Can a woman recite Qur‘ān and can she touch the Qur‘ān? Both are disputed. Can a woman recite the Qur‘ān? As to reciting the Qur‘ān from her memory without touching, there is a dispute on that and the correct opinion is that which Ibn Taymiyyah states in the 21st volume of the Fatāwa. Imām Mālik, Ash-Shawkānī and others adopted the same opinion that it is permissible for a woman to read from memory or if she is not touching the Qur‘ān. The origin is that matters like these are Halāl unless proven by a solid proof that they are Harām, and there is no solid proof. Let me repeat that, there is no solid, authentic proof to indicate it is Harām for a woman to recite the Qur‘ān. Imām Malik, Imām Ahmad, Ash-Shawkānī and Ibn Taymiyyah said: “A woman can read from memory”, because these are matters that can be prohibited with solid proof and there is no solid proof on that, and that is correct. There is a saying attributed to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that a woman on her menstrual cycle cannot read Qur‘ān. That is in Ibn Mājah and Tirmidhī but it is so weak that you cannot even attribute it to the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬. Some used analogy to compare a woman to a man who is on his major impurity (Junub). We have an authentic, clear Hadīth stating that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did not recite while he was Junub. However, in order to compare a male who is on a major impurity to a woman on her menstrual cycle, it must be similar in order for Qiyaas to take place. A man who is Junub is by choice, not by force. He can get his lazy self up and go take a shower, while a woman is not like that. She is forced to wait, so there are differences that invalidate the use of analogy and 43 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Qiyaas. A woman getting her monthly days is a matter that happens to all women, since the time of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and even before that. There was many Muslim women then and the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had many wives radiAllāhu ‘anhunna who taught us the utmost, deep details of life of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ and their lives. Do you think we would not have had at least one solid, authentic Hadīth that it is Harām if it was really Harām? Can she read from the Qur‘ān by touching it? This matter goes back to the root issue of whether one can touch the Qur‘ān while he is impure. The great, overwhelming majority of the ʿUlamāʾ say that one must be pure. The minority say it is permissible for one to touch the Qur‘ān if they are impure, and among them is Ibn ‘Abbās, Ash-Sha’bī, Ad-Dahhāk, Al-Hakam ibn ‘Utaybah, Hammad ibn Abī Sulaymān, Dawūd adh-Dhāhirī and Adh-Dhāhiriyyah. However, we do not go by vote, we go by proof, it is not a democracy here. In my second year of Sharī’ah study when I was in Madinah, I had to do a short essay on every class that we took. I think it was fifteen pages or so and for my Fiqh class my teacher told me your topic is this, you have to write on this. That was in the early nineties and with Islamic knowledge, as long as you continue to research you develop and grow in your knowledge over time. And as time goes by you find the Hadīth you missed out on, the opinion you did not know of or did not take heed of, you find that the Hadīth you thought was authentic turned out to be weak or the opposite, but since then until today I stick behind the conclusion I put in the final sentence of my thesis on this issue. I said the conclusion is, every explicit, direct saying on this matter is not authentic and that 44 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril which is authentic is not explicit. Let me repeat, every explicit saying on this matter is not authentic and that which is authentic is not explicit. For example, there is many non authentic Hadīth, but there is one proof that many use which is a verse in the Qur‘ān. It is on the tip of the tongues of the people who use this as proof: َ‫س ُهۥٓ ِإاَّل ۡٱل ُم َط َّهرُون‬ ُّ ‫اَّل َي َم‬ “None touch it except the purified.” [56:79] Ibn ‘Abbās said this is the book in the heavens, the Lawh al-Mahfūdh. It is not even talking about the Qur‘ān, it is referring to the angels and the Preserved Tablets in the Lawh al-Mahfūdh, not us and the Qur‘ān. And even more so, you do not use “Mutahhar" for the word “purified” in Arabic, except for those who are infallible. Me and you, you do not use that word for us. Even though similar to the word pure that we use, when we make Wudhū we use Mutatahhir not Mutahhar. Mutahhar is for those who are infallible like the angels. More so, the first Hadīth that I mentioned to you, when the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬told Ā‘ishah do everything women do except Tawāf and Salah. During Hajj people read Qur‘ān and they touch it, and they did it every single day, more so in Hajj of course. So why did the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬not tell her do not touch the Qur‘ān and do not recite the Qur‘ān? There is one authentic Hadīth in Al-Hākim, Ahmad, Mālik and others: “No one touch the Qur‘ān but someone pure.”19 But here Tāhir could mean pure from Kufr, not necessarily pure from Wudhū. ‫س‬ٞ ‫ِإ َّن َما ۡٱل ُم ۡش ِر ُكونَ َن َج‬ “Indeed the polytheists are unclean,” 19 Muwatta Malik; Book 15, Hadīth 1 45 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril [9:28] That means the believers are pure, so here it could mean the purity of Islam. There is other Hadīth that say: “A Muslim does not become impure.”20 So it could be the purity of Islam versus Kufr. The Hadīth was a letter written from the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to ‘Amr ibn Hizām when he was living in Najrān among Christians, so it may be that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was directing him not to let non believers touch the pages of the Qur‘ān. So basically, there is not authentic, explicit proof to prohibit it and that which is authentic entails other meanings. The issue of respect Putting the issue of Halāl und Harām aside on this matter, there is an issue of respect. The Qur‘ān, the word of Allāh, needs to be respected. That is a different story. Even though I do not believe there is explicit, authentic Hadīth saying that a Muslim must be pure to touch the Qur‘ān, I do not recall any time from when I was a little kid that I ever while remembering touched the Qur‘ān while I was not on Wudhū. Even though it is not a must, there is an issue of respect. ِ ‫ِئر ٱهَّلل ِ َفِإ َّن َها مِن َت ۡق َوى ۡٱلقُلُو‬ ‫ب‬ َ ۡ‫ٰ َذلِ ۖ َك َو َمن ُي َع ِّظم‬ َ ‫ش ٰ َٓع‬ “That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols [i.e., rites] of Allāh - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts.” [22:32] Some of the Salaf like Ibn ‘Umar used to make Wudhū before touching the Qur‘ān. Others out of respect used to make Wudhū, go brush their teeth with a Miswāk, face the Qiblah, 20 Sahīh al-Bukhārī 283 46 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril sit humbly with respect and recite Qur‘ān. This is the word of Allāh! A sister may choose to evade this entire dispute and read the Qur‘ān with some kind of barrier, and that is permissible. Or she can go further and read from an iPhone, an iPad, or a computer because that is not considered a Mushaf. The ruling does not apply on that, that is definitely permissible because the ruling of a Mushaf does not apply on that. 47 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Catch the breeze Ibn Abī ad-Dunyā narrated that Mālik ibn Dīnār and also Mujāhid said the following statement in one chain, and actually this statement is said by more than these two. With a slight variation, you will find Al-Hasan al-Basrī, Abū Bakr al-Muzanī and others said it. The statement is not a day passes by which does not say: “O son of Adam I have come to you today and I will never return until the Judgment Day, so be careful of what you do during my stay.” When that day passes and leaves and it is done with, it is folded up and sealed, never to be reopened again by anyone until Allāh reopens it on the Judgment Day. In another statement, Al-Hasan al-Basrī compared the days like guests. He said: “The days, ‘say O son of Adam I am your guest and guests always leave thanking or vilifying you.’ They either say, ‘he is generous or cheap’, they speak good or bad about you. And likewise the days and nights are just like that, meaning they will either testify for you or against you.” Understand that the night and day are like two treasures chests. Be careful what you do with them and be careful how you spend them. Take care of them like you would take care of a treasure. It is as if you were made up of time. Time is your capital and investment. Time is days, days are your life and life is like road, it will either take you to Jannah or to Jahannam wal ‘iyadhu billah!. Nights and days are for worship but more so the nights, and the days are for the marketplace. One time I went with Shaykh Ibn Qaʿūd to do Hajj with him. May Allāh raise his ranks to Jannah, a true Imām of our time who spoke the truth. He was among the official ʿUlamāʾ of Ifta years and years ago, actually it is so far back that I do not think anyone here was born when he was in the official Iftāʾ 48 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril group. He spoke on some matters and then resigned from the Ifta, or more accurately put he was forced to resign. Many say where are the ʿUlamāʾ that speak the truth? Alhamdulillah as bad as the situation is, this Ummah has righteous ʿUlamāʾ but the problem is where those people are looking for them. They are looking for them in the wrong places because they are rejected from satellite channels. They are sidetracked and imprisoned by governments who put them down and crush them and promote other ignorant heads, and unfortunately the masses of the Ummah lost the scale of how to find out the genuine ʿUlamāʾ from the fake ones. As to Ibn Qaʿūd, one of the matters he spoke about back in the days was TV. Back in the seventies and eighties the TV in Saudi Arabia was filth, polluting the pure lands of the Harāmayn. When we were in Madinah in 1979, I remember it and I recall it very clearly, we were leaving the Harām one day as we did every single day Alhamdulillāhi Rabbil-‘Alamīn. The market was right outside the door, unlike how it is today, we walked by the shops and we passed by TV shops that had TVs displayed all throughout the store. They had them on the only government channel they had and it was the only channel in the whole country. In 1979, I remember one day we were walking out of the Harām and it was Donny Osmond on their TV. The TV and the situation of the TV was one of the reasons why the 1979 massacre in Makkah happened, that is one of the reasons Juhaymān mentioned. So to diffuse the situation, the king had a meeting with the high ʿUlamāʾ because people listen to the ʿUlamāʾ. He said: “Alhamdulillāh we fixed the TV and now it is Da’wah oriented,” to convey it to the ʿUlamāʾ. It was total silence but then the lion, may Allāh raise his rank to 49 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril Firdaus, had to roar. Ibn Qaʿūd got up and said: “No that is not true,” and that was the point that started the feud. The point of mentioning this is when I did Hajj with him, I was sitting by him one time and a man came to him and asked him. He said: “Shaykh what is the ruling on TV?” The man appeared to be a normal person, he was not a Tālib al-ʿIlm where the Shaykh would go into details so the Shaykh kept it clear, brief and short in a way the man will understand it. And this pertains to our talk today, that is why I mention it. He said: “Is there anyone with his right mind who knows that his every heartbeat, every exhalation and inhalation, every one of those is counted and fixed, does anyone who realizes that wastes his time on any of that filth?” All those statements I mentioned to you by Al-Hasan al-Basrī, Mujāhid and others, that pertains to regular days. Normal days are precious to a believer, now take it a step further and imagine how valuable it is when the reward is multiple folds like the days we are in today. Allāh gave some months more merit, priority and grace over others months. Look at the four months of Al-Ashhur al-Hurum. َ ‫ت َوٱَأۡل ۡر‬ ‫ض م ِۡن َهٓا‬ َّ َ‫ب ٱهَّلل ِ َي ۡو َم َخ َلق‬ ِ ‫ٱلس ٰ َم ٰ َو‬ ِ ‫ش ۡه ٗرا فِي ِك ٰ َت‬َ ‫ش َر‬ َ ‫ور عِ ندَ ٱهَّلل ِ ۡٱث َنا َع‬ ُّ ‫ِإنَّ عِ دَّ َة ٱل‬ ِ ‫ش ُه‬ ۚۡ‫س ُكم‬ ۡ ۚ ۡ ٰ َ ُ‫ۚم َذلِ َك ٱلدِّ ينُ ٱل َق ِّي ُم فَاَل َتظلِ ُمو ْا فِي ِهنَّ َأنف‬ٞ ‫َأ ۡر َب َع ٌة ُح ُر‬ “Indeed, the number of months with Allāh is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allāh [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion [i.e., way], so do not wrong yourselves during them.” [9:36] Out of those, a second level is Ash-Shahrul-Harām. 50 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril ‫ۚت‬ٞ ‫ر َّم ۡعلُو ٰ َم‬ٞ ‫ۡٱل َح ُّج َأ ۡش ُه‬ “Hajj is [during] well-known months,” [2:197] We have twelve, then four out of that, and then out of that is Dhul-Hijjah and the best month beyond a doubt is, Shahru Ramadān: ُ‫نزل َ فِي ِه ۡٱلقُ ۡر َءان‬ ِ ‫ِي ُأ‬ ٓ ‫ضانَ ٱ َّلذ‬ َ ‫ش ۡه ُر َر َم‬ َ “The month of Ramadān [is that] in which was revealed the Qur‘ān,” [2:185] Likewise, some days are better than other days and the nights have merit and priority over the days in matters like Qiyām. For example, an oath was given by the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah: ٍ ‫َو ۡٱل َف ۡج ِر َو َل َي‬ ‫ال َع ۡش ٖر‬ “By the dawn and [by] ten nights.” [89:1-2] And the night of Laylatul-Qadr is better than a thousand nights. Now we are in Ramadān and now it is time to catch a whiff of that Ramadānic breeze that will not give you a cold, rather it will make you among the most successful there are. What are you talking about Ahmad? A whiff and a breeze, what is that? Let me repeat that. Catch a whiff of that Ramadānic breeze that will not give you a cold, rather it will make you among those who will never be wretched. You know how there is a saying when one is in a room temperature and their hair is wet or they are sweating in the gym, they say do not go outside because you are going to catch a cold or you are going to catch your death of cold (especially in our cold weather here). In a Hadīth, the Prophet 51 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril ‫ ﷺ‬compared the blessed days in general (like that of Ramadān or the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah) like a breeze, like a whiff. It is like catching a whiff of perfume, smell it while it lasts because it is soon going to go away. It is like a cold breeze passing by you, within seconds it is going to leave. This is not going to give you a cold or death. It is going to make you among the happiest there ever was and among those who will never be wretched. Because the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬ said in an authentic Hadīth in At-Tabarānī, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Maslamah that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Your Lord has in the days of your lifetime Nafahāt21, so expose yourselves to them so that you may be touched by one of the ‘moment of joy’ and thus never feel distress or unhappiness thereafter” Nafahaat means breeze, whiffs. Subject yourself, throw yourself at the wind, extend your arms at the wind. He will never be among the wretched if he catches one of those whiffs. That is in days where there are multiple folds of Ajr, like that which we are in today (like Ramadān, Dhul-Hijjah and Laylatul-Qadr). A righteous, wise man was once in a funeral procession and he said to the other man next to him: “This man that is dead, if he comes back to life, do you think he would do good and better or what do you think he would do?” So the other man said: “Of course, there is no doubt about it! He would come back and do better and at least he probably wishes to wake up and do two Rakaʿāt and then die again.” The first one who asked said: “If it is not him then let it be us,” meaning “let that be a lesson to us.” 21 Fragrances, breezes, moments of joy 52 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril When you are overcome with laziness and habits that deter from ʿIbādah or the devils of humans and the Jinn that become a barrier from catching that breeze, then resist and revolt against it. We have a solution to every matter in our Deen, our Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬did not leave us barbarians. Each one of the solutions to these problems (laziness, boredom or devils of the humans and the Jinn), you could talk about for Halaqaat. For example, when the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬used to get up at night and pray Qiyaam at-Tahajjud, he would start off with two preparatory Rak’aat. Before you work out, when you want to weight lift and when you want to jog, they tell you to stretch out because you are going to pull a muscle. Likewise, you do not want to pull a heart or a soul muscle. The Nafs (the self, the soul) struggles at times to do these ordains and we struggle to do the Nawaafil (the extras). You overcome boredom and laziness by knowing the rewards for all that. Learn about the lives of the Salaf and the examples of the lives of the Salaf. Have righteous friends to compete with and remind each other. Know that the opportunity in this life is very short. Al-Hasan al-Basrī said: “Whoever wants to compete with you on matters of the Deen, go for it and take the challenge.” “If it is a matter of this Dunya, then throw it in his face and walk away.” In this month and time, surround yourself with those who you see are better than you. You do not have to necessarily tell him I am competing with you but take it as a competition. َ‫س ۡٱل ُم َت ٰ َنفِسُون‬ ۡ ٰ ِ ‫َوفِي َذلِ َك َفل َي َت َنا َف‬ “So for this let the competitors compete.” [83:26] 53 Gems of Ramadān - Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril WAllāhi it is a race to Allāh. Wuhayb ibn al-Ward said: “If you can be the first in the race to Allāh, be so.” Shams ad-Dīn Muhammad bin ʿUthmān at-Turkustānī said: “I never heard of anyone doing any matter of worship, except that I did like it or more.” They asked Nāfi’, how was the life of Umar in the house. Tell us how his life was. He said: “In his house it was Wudhū and Salah, and in between that it was recitation of Qur‘ān.” When the son of Umar used to miss one Salah in congregation, he would fast the following day, free a slave and pray all night. Did you hear that? If he missed a Salah in congregation, and you know Ibn Umar he had to have missed it for a legitimate excuse. These are supreme people who have supreme goals and hold themselves to a high standard. The point to take away in your pouch today is to understand and comprehend what I advised you, and Allāh is my witness that I need this before anyone else. I am only reminding myself speaking out loud, that is all I am doing in reality. Time is more precious than gold and wealth. Some of the Salaf were more generous with their wealth than they were with their time. We have an entire Surah (al-‘Asr) to cherish time. That is in normal days so imagine that it is blessed days like these. Days where a deed is worth not between ten to seven hundred, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said deeds are worth folds of ten to seven hundred except Siyaam, so it means over seven hundred In shaa Allāh. Whatever interferes in taking you off the course of ?