AN-NOOR MASJID KHUTBAH IBB WAY WUSE II ABUJA 26-05-2017:
WELCOME TO THE MONTH OF RAMADAN
O people! Fear Allah your Lord, worship Him and thank Him on his blessings upon you; praise Him and appreciate His blessings upon you of the seasons of goodness that occur repeatedly every year, so that you gain through them grace and favor repeatedly.
O Servants of Allah! Indeed it has come to you a great month and a generous season, good deeds are multiplied in it and sins are greatly heinous in it. It is the month of Ramadan that Quran was revealed in it, it is the month of fasting and night prayers, a month of charity and piety, a month whose beginning is full of mercy, whose middle is full of forgiveness and whose end is full of emancipation from the hell.
Ramadan O brothers is a month in which Allah has blessed the nation of Muhammad with (peace be upon him) and has granted her five privileges He had not given any other nation. These privileges are:
1. The khuloof (smell) of the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter in the Sight of Allah than the fragrance of musk.
2. The angels keep praying to Allah to forgive them (i.e. those who are fasting), until they break their fast.
3. Allah decorates Jannah (paradise) every day saying to it, 'My pious slaves are about to be relieved of their burdens and sufferings and enter you'.
4. Devils are chained in this month, so they cannot achieve what they usually achieve (at other times).
5. The believers' sins are forgiven by the last night of Ramadan.
Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. Also, whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. Ramadan is a month in which the doors of paradise are opened and the doors of hell are closed. It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim that the messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah Said, every act by the son of Adam will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold. Allah said: ‘Except fasting, for it is for Me and I shall reward for it for he gave up his desires, his food and his drink for My Sake. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord.”
O servants of Allah! Verily the month of Ramadan is a month you should take advantage of and profit from. You should take advantage of it through
worship, frequent prayer and
recitation of Quran, zhikr (remembrance of Allah),
forgiving people, and
goodness. Clear all enmity
and hatred from among you because People's deeds are
presented before Allah on
Mondays and Thursdays, and then every slave (of Allah) is granted forgiveness (of minor sins) if he does not associate anything with Allah in worship. But the person in whose heart there is rancor against his brother, will not be pardoned. With regard to them, it is said twice: 'Hold these two until they are reconciled.
Increase in this holy month your Istigfar, shahada (testifying that there is no deity that deserves worship except Allah), asking Allah the
paradise and seeking refuge with Allah from hell . You also should be keen of dua
(supplication) at the time of iftar (breaking fast) because it is stated in an authentic hadith that the fasting person has at the time of iftar a chance of a supplication that doesn’t get rejected.
We should know that fasting was ordained so that we get beautified with piety and for us to deprive our bodies from what Allah has prohibited. Therefore, we are to abstain from all taboos like fraud, oppression, cheating, reducing the scale and weighing balance, depriving rights, looking at haram, and
listening to forbidden songs; because listening to forbidden songs reduces the reward of fasting person. We should also abstain from all ill talks like lie, backbiting, gossip, insults and verbal abuse , even if somebody insults or verbally abuses you, you should say: “I am fasting” and don’t respond/reply with abuse or insult.
O Muslim! You should not make your fasting days look like your normal days, the prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions and does not abandon foolishness, Allah is not in need of his leaving food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his FASTING).”
Finally, the month of Ramadan is a school for renewing Iman (faith), polishing conducts, sharpening lives, reforming souls, and adjusting instincts. Ramadan is an institution of
curbing lust/desire . Ramadan is a month which you and I should understand the reality of fasting and its secrets, learn its etiquettes and its
provisions, spend its days and nights in pious deeds, guard
your fasting from shortages and nullifiers, renew your repentance and fulfill its conditions; Allah might overlook your sins as a result and count you among those He gives Rahma (mercy), those that He emancipates from fire.
May Allah count us among those that He will grant Aljannah and emancipate from fire in this holy month.
By: Imam Auwal Muhammad Adam