| VIRTUES OF RAMADHAN Dear Brothers and Sisters, May Almighty Allah be
pleased with you. May He have you
benefit from
the mercy and blessings of this month that are prepared for the
virtuous
servants of Allah. Dear Brothers and
Sisters! Salmān-i Fārisī
RA was one of the closest companions of the Prophet SAS: (Salmāni
minnā ehlel
beyti) "Salmān
is from
us, my family." Salmān RA reported: وعن سلمان
رضى الله عنه
قال: خطبنا
رسول الله صلى الله
عليه وسلم فى
اۤخر يومٍ من
شعبان قال: يا ايها
الــنــاس! قد
اظلَّــــكم
شهرٌ عــظــيمٌ
مــباركٌ، شهرٌ فيه
ليلةٌ خيرٌ من
الف شهرٍ (Khatabanā
rasūlullah SAS fi
akhiri yawmin
min sha'ban) "On the last day of
Sha'ban, the
Messenger of Allah delivered a sermon." According to Salmān RA, the Prophet SAS said: (Yā
ayyuhan nās)
"O
mankind! (Qad ezallekum
shehrun azīmun)
A great
month has cast a shadow on you." Since it is still Sha'ban, not
Ramadhan yet, the Prophet expressed it that way. (mubārakun) "It is a blessed month, (shahrun fīhi
laylatun khayrun
min elfi shehrin)
a month in
which is a night that is better than a thousand months." As you know, the Night of
Power is better than one thousand months. It is somehow hidden in
Ramadhan. The Prophet SAS suggested: "Search for the Night of
Power
in the last ten days of Ramadhan." He also suggested the odd days
of
Ramadhan. The Prophet would spend the last ten days of Ramadhan
in the
mosque. He would not go to his house; he would spend his
time in
worship. For us to benefit from the blessings of the Night of
Power, we
must follow the footsteps of the Prophet. Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Prophet Mohammed SAS was a messenger of Allah, His most beloved
servant, the
master of all who lived before and after him, the noblest of all
mankind, the
leader of the prophets, and the owner of the highest stage in the
hereafter. He
was exemplary in code of conduct and in the lifestyle. Everything
about
his was excellent. Yet during the three months season, he would
do more
worship despite the fact that he was in a state of worship
continuously.
This is a great observation for us to take a lesson. During the month of Rajab,
the prophet fasted more days than he did other months. Rajab is
the month
two months before Ramadhan. There is the Raghąib
Night in Rajab. That is a signal for Muslims to realize that
three months
season has arrived. Almighty Allah grants great blessings during
the
night of Raghąib. In the
twenty-seventh night
of Rajab, the Prophet had the Mi'raj.
The
Prophet was accepted to the Divine Presence and saw Almighty Allah
during
Mi'raj that happened in Rajab. The Prophet maintained his
worship in Sha'ban. He maintained his fasting, too. There
is the night
of Bara'ah in the middle of Sha'ban.
We have
had the Bara'ah Night and reached
Ramadhan. The
Prophet was delivering His sermon at the end of Sha'ban. I am
reading the
hadith reported by Salmān RA. In the hadith the
Prophet SAS indicates how great and blessed the month of Ramadhan
is.
Then he states that the night of power that is better than one thousand
months
is hidden in the month of Ramadhan. Since the Night of Power is
hidden in
Ramadhan, we should spend every night of Ramadhan as if it is the Night
of
Power. In fact, there is a
proverb: "Consider every night as the Night of Power, every person you
meet as Khidir." The person you meet
could
look poor, homeless, be in need of a hair trim, yet you must not look
down upon
him. He could be The very first thing the
Prophet pointed out in this hadith is the Night of Power. Then we
must
keep the Night of Power in our mind as an important matter. We
have the
intention: "If Almighty Allah allows me, I would like to do i'tikaf as the Prophet did in the last
ten days of
Ramadhan. I will spend the day and night in a mosque. I can
read
the jurisprudence books and learn about the manners of the i'tikaf.
It is a Sunnah muakkad. If nobody
does i'tikaf in a locality,
everybody in that locality
will be held responsible. I will do it this Ramadhan." Let
us
have this intention and catch the Night of Power. Almighty Allah has
promised: "You ask from Me, I will give you what you want." Our
beloved Prophet SAS said that Almighty Allah would give There are ahadith that each
Muslim should ask Almighty Allah for martyrdom: "My Lord!
Let
me give my life for Your sake in Your path.
Grant me
martyrdom." If a person does not have a desire to die as a
martyr,
he dies in a state of hypocrisy. Each Muslim should be willing to
give up
his life for Allah. If a Muslim dies in his bed with the desires
of
becoming a martyr, Almighty Allah would elevate his rank to the level
of
martyrs. This is stated in the ahadith. That means the
intentions
are very important. Then we should have the
intention of "catching" the Night of Power by practicing i'tikāf in the last ten days of
Ramadhan. We
remind our brothers and Sisters so that they do not miss the
opportunities. We reminded about the three months over two months
ago. We reminded about Sha'ban and Ramadhan. Now I am
telling you
about the Night of Power. Let me tell you something
else. As you know we sacrifice an animal on the Eid-al-Adha.
Those who are qualified as "rich" from an
Islamic
point of view would buy a good-looking ram and slaughter it on the day
of Eid-al-Adha. May Allah
accept their sacrifice. We ought to
have the intention about Eid-al-Adha, too:
"By the will of Allah, I intend to
sacrifice an animal on the next Eid-al-Adha."
Let it be our practice to have intentions for good deeds. Sacrificing an animal on
the day of Eid-al-Adha is a must (wajib),
and every practicing Muslim who is "rich" does that. Yet there
is the sacrifice on the day of Eid-al-Fitr.
We
are on the second day or Ramadhan, and I am reminding you ahead of
time:
Sacrificing an animal on the day of Eid-al-Fitr
has
so much rewards--seven hundred folds! In a hadith the Prophet SAS
listed four deeds that are rewarded in seven hundred folds: 1. Spending in the way of
Allah is rewarded seven hundred folds: Jihad, Hajj, Umrah and alike. 2. Spending
for the parents is rewarded seven hundred folds: their food, clothing,
rent and
alike. 3. Spending
for the family is rewarded seven hundred folds. Isn't that
nice?
Islam pays utmost attention to the love and affection in the
family.
Taking a bag of grocery for the spouse and children would make them
happy and
content, so they would not look at what other people have. They
would
find all they need at home. All of this spending is rewarded
seven
hundred times. 4. Sacrificing an animal on
the day of Eid-al-Fitr is rewarded seven
hundred
folds. Why is it so? The Eid
is a happy
day, a day to celebrate. If one slaughters an animal on that day,
there
would be an abundance of sustenance in the house. Do not think of
When an animal is
sacrificed, there would be abundance and feast in the house. One
could
entertain his guests easily by offering them meat dishes. That is
also a
reminder for you. I have reminded you two
things that we could practice in near future: Practice i'tikāf
during the last ten days of Ramadhan so that you could appreciate the
Night of
Power and not miss it. Then, by the will of Allah, if you have
the means,
you sacrifice an animal on the day of Eid-al-Fitr
and
receive seven hundred folds of rewards. Salman RA, the companion of the Prophet,
the crown of our heads, reported from the Prophet SAS: "Our beloved
Prophet delivered a sermon on the last day of Sha'ban." First he
said that Ramadhan is a great month, it is a blessed month, and he said
that
there is the Night of Power in Ramadhan. These are very
important. The Prophet SAS continued
in the hadith: شهرٌ جعل
الله
صــيامــه
فريضـــةً،
وقيام ليله
تطوُّعًا (Ja'alaląhu
siyāmahū farīdaten
wa qiyāma
laylihī
tatawwu'an) "Allah made fasting
during
the
days in this month obligatory (fard)
and
prayers at night non-obligatory but rewarding (tatawwu)."
We all fast during the day and offer Tarawih
prayers
after Ish'a as the tatawwu'
worship. We practice Tarawih as the sunnah of the Prophet
SAS with
eagerness and zeal. It is in Ramadhan--not in other months. Alhamdu lillah, we could not find any room inside
the Yeni Cami; we
offered the sunnah
prayer
outside, then found some room inside. I congratulate our brothers
in Denizli--may Allah be pleased with
them. It is the
abundance of Islam that Muslims do not fit in the mosques and the
congregation
spills to the streets. It is an indication that the youth realize
the
beauty of Islam and practice it. We pray that it is a continuous
effort
and it increases in time. The Prophet continued: من تقرَّب
فيه بخصـلةٍ
من الخــير
كان كمن ادَّى فريضــةً
فــيما سواه،
ومن ادَّى
فريضــةً
فـيــه كان كمن
ادَّى سبعين
فريضةً فيما
سواه. (Men
taqarraba fīhī
bihasletin minel
khayri aw eddā
farīdaten kāne
kemen eddā
seb'īne farīdaten
fī mā siwāhu)
"If a person gets closer to Allah in this month by doing a good deed or
fulfilling an obligation, he would be like a person who fulfilled
seventy
obligations in other times." Zakat,
for
instance, could be paid in Ramadhan although it is not an obligation to
be
carried out in Ramadhan. If a Person goes for Umrah in Ramadhan, he receives much more rewards
than he
would if went for Umrah other times.
This is
the abundance of the month of Ramadhan. Since I am following the
hadith, I did not mention other ahadith about Ramadhan that are
introductory
ahadith. Almighty Allah prepares The decoration of the sky
and وهو شهر
الصبر، (Wa
huwa shahrus-sabri)
"And, it is the month of patience." Almighty Allah ordered us
not to do some of the pure and good things during the day in Ramadhan:
"Do
not eat food or drink during the day." We accept the order and
observe it. We would not drink water even if we get very
thirsty.
Well in some places Ramadhan could be in winter and the days would be
short. However, in some places, it could be summer time.
The days
would be long. Our forefathers kept fasting while they harvested
the
wheat during the hot days of summer. Their mouth got dry and their lips
got
cracked, yet they kept their patience. It is the month of
patience. Different parts of the
world could experience different seasons at a given time. For
instance,
our brothers in We are patient about not
eating food and not drinking water during the day. Another form
of the
patience is not getting angry. You should not get angry with your
children, your spouse, your neighbor or your associates. You have
to be
gentle, soft and calm towards them. You have to control your eyes
and
your tongue. These are also parts of being patient. والصبر
ثوابه الجنة، (Was-sabru thawābuhul jenneh) "The
reward for patience is وشهر
المواساة، (Wa
shahrul muwāsāti)
"This is the month of muwāsāh,"
i.e., helping somebody by giving him food, clothing or other
things. We
shall spare some money, go to the market, buy
few
things: half a kilo of cheese, three kilos of rice, five kilos of
potatoes,
some onions and other things. We shall put them in a box and take
it to a
poor family. That would be a support for that family. Ramadhan is the month of
helping one another. A believer should look after other
believers, help
the needy and make them happy. He should help them cope with the
economical hardship. وشهرٌ يزاد
فى رزق المؤ
من فيه، (Wa
shahrun-yuzādu fī
rizqil mu'mini
fīhī) "Almighty Allah increases
the
sustenance of
the believer in this month." In fact, if you draw a graphic of what you
eat in your home and compare the section for Ramadhan with the rest of
the
year, you can see the increase in Ramadhan. That is because of
the
blessings of Ramadhan as indicated in this hadith. the
sustenance of the believer is increased in Ramadhan. You see a
variety of
food at the table. Our late master Mehmed Zahid Effendi--may
his abode be In Ramadhan we witness that
a variety of food would be at the table. If we try to count it,
our
fingers would not be sufficient; we would out-count the toes,
too.
This abundance in Ramadhan is due to the fact that is indicated in this
hadith: "The sustenance of the believer is increased in this
month." Sadaqa rasūlullah--the Messenger of Allah stated
the truth. من فطَّر
فــيه صائمًا
كان مــغفرةً
لذنوبه وعطــق رقــبــتــه
من الــنار،
وكان له مثل
اجره من غــير ان ينقــص
من اجره شئٌ. (Men
fattara fīhī
sąimen kāne
maghfiraten lizunūbihī)
"If a person provides food for a person who has fasted the day, he will
have his own offenses forgiven." This is another aspect to
remember. We shall generously invite people for dinner in
Ramadhan. (Wa
itqa raqabatihī
minen nār)
"And he would free his neck from Hellfire. (Wa kāne
lehū mithli
ejrihī) "What ever the reward the
fasting
person
earns, the same would be given to the person who provide him food in
the
evening (min ghayri en yenqusa
min ejrihī shay') without any decrease
in the
rewards of the person who fasted." This is very important, too,
because we would earn the same rewards the fasting person gets when we
invite
him for dinner. In the continuation of the
hadith, there is another good news: قالوا: يا
رسول الله!
ليس كلُّنا
يجد ما يفطّر الصائم. (Qąlū: Yā rasūlallah! Leyse kullunā yejidu mā yufattirus sąim.)
"O prophet of Allah! Not all of us have the means to provide
dinner
for a fasting person." They had quite a bit hardship. They hardly
had any food in their houses to feed a person. They were curious
about
what would happen to a person who could not provide much of food for a
fasting
person. The Prophet said: فقال رسول
الله صلى الله
عليه وسلم:
يعطى الله هذا الــثواب من
فــطَّــر
صــائمًا على
تمــرةٍ، او
على شــربــة ماء، او
مذقــة لـبن. (Yu'tillāhu
hādhes thawābe
men fettara sąimen
alā temratin
aw alā sherbeti
mā'in
aw medhkati lebenin.)
"Almighty Allah gives this reward to any person who offers a date
fruit, a
sip of water, or some milk to a fasting person." Even the small
offers to the fasting person are rewarded in large quantities. Having heard of this
hadith, we should provide things for people to break their fast when
the sun
goes down. It would be quite beneficial if one carries a bag of
dates to
offer to other people. Sometimes, they would be on the road or at
work
when the time arrives for iftar.
They could
break their fast with the date you offer. You get your rewards. Last week, we were
traveling towards وهو شهرٌ
اوله رحمةٌ،
واوسطه
مغفرةٌ،
واۤخره عطق من النار.
(Wa
huwa shahrun
awwaluhū rahmetun)
"This
is such a month that the first part is dominated by the mercy of
Allah." We are surrounded by the mercy of Allah alhamdulillah!
(Wa awsatuhū maghfiratun)
"The
middle of this month is dominated by the forgiveness of the sins." We
all
have wrongdoing in the past, and we have so many shortcomings. As
we keep
fasting, Almighty Allah forgives us our sins by the middle of this
month. (Wa
ākhiruhū
itqun minen
nār) "The last part of this month
is freedom
from
the hellfire." Almighty Allah will say, "O My servant! You
have fasted in Ramadhan, I have forgiven
you and freed
you from the fire." It is for those who fasted in Ramadhan
properly.
May Almighty Allah place us
among those who are freed from the Hellfire.
من خفَّف عن
مملوكه فيه
غفر الله له،
واعتقه من النار. (Men
khaffefe an memlūkihī
fīhī ghafaralląhu
lehū wa a'tekahū
minen nār)
As you know
in the past the prisoners of wars could be taken as slaves. The
slaves
had to work hard. The prophet said: "If a person reduces the
burden
on his slave in this month--some slaves were Muslims, yet they still
had to
work--Almighty Allah forgives that person (wa a'tekahū
minen nār)
and frees him from
the hellfire." واستكـثروا
فــيه من اربع
خصالٍ:
خصلــتـين
ترضون بهما ربكم،
وخصلــتـين
لا غناء بكم
عــنهما. فاما الخصلـتان
اللـتان
ترضون بهما
ربكم: فشهادة ان
لا لااله الا
الله،
ويستغفرونه.
واما
الخصلتان اللتان
لا غناء بكم
عنهما:
فــتسألون
الله
الجــنة، وتعوذون
به من النار. (Festekthirū
fīhī min erbai
hisāl) "Do these four deeds in
plenty (Hasleteyni turdłne
bihimā rabbekum)
two of these
deeds will have you earn the consent of your Lord. (Wa hasleteyni lāghināe
bikum anhumā)
The other two deeds are something you cannot
give up." What we understand is that
we need to keep saying "Esh-hadu
en lā ilāhe illallah"
and "Estaghfirullah." We could
say "Estaghfirullah al azīm wa etūbu
ileyh" I had written in the
magazines in the past: "Ramadhan is the month of
Tasawwuf." As you see in this hadith, the Prophet is ordering the
practices of Tasawwuf. You shall do the dhikr of "Lā ilāhe illallah" and "Estaghfirullah."
With these dhikr, you will make Almighty Allah pleased with you.
It is
grace of Allah that he is pleased with us when we say
"Lā ilāhe
illallah" and "Estaghfirullah."
What a great system of belief! Dear brothers and Sisters,
do these dhikr and become a good dervish. (Wa
emmel hasletānilletāni
lā ghināe
bikum anhumā)
"The other two deeds that you could not do without are (Fetes'elūnallahel jenneh
wa tełzūne
bihī minen
nār) asking ومن سقى فيه
صائمًا سقاه
الله من حوضى
شربةً لايظمأ
بعدها ابدًا
(الترغيب
والترهيب
٩٤/٢) (Wa
men saqą fīhī
sąimen) "If a person provides
food and
water to
somebody who fasted the day, (saqąhulląhu
teālā min hawdī
sherbeten) Almighty Allah
provides that
person from the
pool of Kawthar in a way that (lā
yezmau ba'dehā
ebedā) one who drinks from that
pool
never feels
thirsty again." With this hadith,
the Prophet had given us the good news that the person
who provides some food to another person who has fasted the day will be
served
from the pool of Kawthar in We must be careful and not
miss the Night of Power. For this, we should practice i'tikāf
in the last ten days of Ramadhan. If we have the money, we should
sacrifice an animal on the day of Eid-al-Fitr.
We must realize that this month is the month of patience and remember
that the
reward for patience is The sustenance is increased
in this month, and we must be thankful for that and say "Alhamdu lillah!"
We shall support the poor and needy by giving them money or
goods.
Everybody will have some kind of a feast in Ramadhan, and feel free of
hardship. Those who provide food for
a person who is fasting will be forgiven their sins and are freed from
the
hellfire. They also receive the same rewards that the fasting
person
receives. That is why we need to open our doors and invite people
for iftar. If we cannot afford it,
we could offer simple
things such as a cup of water, a date fruit, or some milk to a fasting
person
to break his fast in the evening. That will also bring the same
rewards. We shall do the dhikr
"Lā ilāhe
illallah" and "Estaghfirullah"
in plenty and ask for May Almighty Allah have you
practice all the good things stated by the Prophet SAS in this
hadith. May
He have you live many Ramadhans as his
beloved
servants who practice the deeds that are favorable to Allah and benefit
from
the blessings of these months. May Allah grant you a life
in compliance with His consent. May
He
illuminate your hearts, fill your hearts with His love, and make you
His
beloved servants. May he grant you a good end as you depart from
this
life and accept you as illuminated servants whom He is pleased
with. May
He honor all of us with His beauty in His Paradise.
May He make us neighbors to his beloved Prophet Muhammed
Mustafa in the hereafter. May He
grant us the
drinks from the pool of Kawthar in As-salāmu
aleykum wa
rahmatulląhu wa
barakātuhū!.. Peace, mercy and blessings
of Allah be with you. Bizim Eller Radio,
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