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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD
Munir Ahmad Azim
(18 Ramadhan 1432 Hijri)
(Summary of Friday Sermon)
After having greeted with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and he said:
Ramadan is the month of excitement to most of the Muslims in the world. It is the month of revelation of the Quran; the month of fasting; the month of reading and reciting the whole Quran; the month of Tahajjud and Qiyaam Al-Lail; the month of Tarawih prayers; the month of Sadaqua, Zakaat. It is also the month of social activities among Muslims, it has cultural aspects as well, food, business and trade are among the daily excitement for many Muslims. The whole lifestyle of Muslims does change, the night becomes like a daytime while the day before noon becomes the night-time.
In the Muslim (Arab) countries, markets are closed down. The educational programs of schools and universities are changed. Government employees and other segments of the society do not work early, but at night after they enjoy the Iftaar, go to their offices and work for few hours until mid-night.
The spiritual excitement of Ramadan supersedes all other activities throughout the year. No one can explain the happiness of Ramadan unless he lives and practices the blessings of this month days and nights. For these reasons and many more, the following is a list of recommendations for those who wish to enjoy Ramadan.
In order to receive the blessings of Ramadan, one has to prepare himself long in advance; preparation should start at least in the month of Rajab, the seventh month in the lunar year. While Ramadan is the ninth month, Rajab is the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Therefore there is enough time to prepare oneself to receive this blessed month when it comes.
Allah, Exalted is He, revealed an Ayat in Quran in Surah At-Tawbah (repentance) concerning the four sacred months. Allah, Exalted is He, says the following: “The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year). So ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred.” (9: 37)
As far as the Hadith is concerned, it was reported by Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) and recorded in Sahih Bukhari that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Yes! time has turned around as it was at the time that Allah created the heavens and the earth ; the year is composed of twelve months, four of which are sacred ; three of which are one after the other, Zul Qidah, Zul Hijjah and Muharram ; and then the month of Rajab which is between Jamada and Shabaan.”
Therefore, it is recommended that Muslims increase their fasting in those months so as to get close to Allah. Moreover, they would be preparing themselves for Ramadan before it comes.
Similarly, let’s take the example of a football team. It does not come to play without any training. It takes months and months of training before it is ready to compete with other teams in big matches, and in international football leagues. The training it does helps it to confront its adversaries and be victorious, or it tries to equalise the score so that the other team does not have an upper hand over it. If without training, the football team comes to play a match, therefore can it play correctly for 90 minutes or if it goes for the final (match), if both teams are equal in scores, can that untrained team undergo prolongation? That was for the mundane field, but as for the spiritual field, I am stressing on the 6 Nafil fasting after the 29 or 30 fasting in the month of Ramadan.
Our beloved prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast most of the month of Shabaan. It was narrated by Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) and recorded in the books of Muslim and Bukhari the following: “I did not see the Messenger of Allah complete fasting any month except Ramadan, and I did not see him fasting so many days except in the month of Shabaan.”
Also it was narrated by Usama Ibn Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) and reported by Abu Dawood and Nasaee that: Usama (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “O Messenger of Allah, I never saw you fasting any month as you fast in Shabaan.” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Many people are unaware of this month’s significance; it is between Rajab and Ramadan. In this month the deeds of people are lifted to the Lord of the worlds. I like my deeds to be lifted while I am in a state of fasting.”
Ramadan is the month of fasting (2: 184). It is the month of the revelation of the Quran as a guide to all mankind (2: 186). It is the month where angels and angel Jibril (upon him be peace) descend on us to bless us and to give us good news.
To fast a whole month all of a sudden is difficult unless we prepare ourselves for it, otherwise, in the first few days we will have headaches, dizziness, hunger, thirst and many more biological upsets. The liver, pancreas, spleen, stomach, heart, brain and other organs will be working together to adjust the body to the new physiological situation, and at the same time they are trying to cleanse the body from all the toxins and poisons stored within. All the body organs have to detoxify and purify the body from all these junk materials. It is not easy for these organs to perform their jobs easily, and it is not easy for us also. For that reason, we feel headaches and other biological and mental disturbances. Therefore, it is better that we prepare ourselves partially and step by step before Ramadan comes as a shock.
I therefore give you all a series of recommendation for the things to avoid. Prevention is far better than cure. By avoiding certain activities one should fill the gap with something better. Otherwise, the month of Ramadan may come, and someone may not know it, and hence he may lose its blessings. These recommendations are meant to be avoided before Ramadan arrives and implemented even during the course of Ramadan.
1. Try to reduce the number of hours that you watch television, and instead spend some time reading the Holy Quran, Hadith, Malfoozat of Hazrat Massih Maoud (upon him be peace), Zikr and any literature about Islam.
2. Avoid looking at any unlawful pictures.
3. Avoid going to theatres or cinemas, instead try to go to the Masjid and make it as a habit at least once a day.
4. Avoid eating too much, and try to reduce your eating habits. Don’t eat unless you are hungry, and try not to fill your stomachs.
5. For those who have the habit of drinking coffee, tea or juice etc., try your best to reduce their consumption.
6. For those who have the habit of smoking cigarettes, try to stop it before Ramadan arrives, otherwise Ramadan will be difficult for you to observe. If not you will continue to smoke even when you keep fasting, you will smoke during Sehri (Suhur) and as soon as you make Iftaar, you will smoke a lot of cigarettes. Remember Ramadan is a golden opportunity for the Muslim smokers to stop smoking for their own benefit (spiritual, health).
7. For those who have the habit of listening to music, rap music and songs of western societies or from Muslim countries, try to reduce the time spent on them. Replace them with reciting and listening to Quran.
8. For those who enjoy playing cards, domino and any gambling try to avoid it as much as possible and fill your time in Zikr and helping poor people.
9. For those who enjoy going with friends to picnics to enjoy social life, try to avoid socialising with them, attach yourselves with your five daily prayers, and Nafil and a lot of duahs (in the mosque if possible).
10. If you have Muslim friends who do not practice the teaching of Islam, try your best to make Dawa with them.
11. If you travel quite often for the sake of business, try to do local business so that you will be close to your family and your local community.
12. If you have the habit to stay up until midnight, try to go to bed early, so that you will be able to wake up early for Fajr Salat and Tahajjud as well.
No one can go to any place without preparing himself. And no one invites a guest without preparing himself to welcome him. Similarly, to welcome Ramadan, the month of fasting, one has to prepare himself to welcome this blessed month, Insha-Allah for the next Ramadan. To prepare ourselves before Ramadan approaches us is far better than waiting until it comes. Now that half of this month has gone by, then we must strive to maximise the rest of it as recommended by the Quran and Sunnah and to prepare ourselves morally also to welcome the month of fasting anytime in our life on earth. To prepare ourselves for anything else in life is a sign of wisdom and maturity. To train ourselves step-by-step is an excellent idea instead of last minute training or to face the total shock all at once.
I hope and pray that Muslims should train themselves and prepare themselves long in advance for Ramadan, as well as for Hajj. Moreover, for those who are wise, they should train themselves now and to prepare themselves for the departure from this life to the life after. Death is the biggest shock; therefore, we should train ourselves as to how we should practice the teaching of Islam. No one should delay his application of the teachings of Islam. No one is assured to live one day more. Tomorrow may not come, so hurry and benefit from the blessings and rewards from Allah. Ameen. |
