SNP Ramadhan - Gem 04

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and He alone has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Peace and blessings be upon you. Previously, we spoke about Ibn Qudama, Ahmad Ibn Qudama. Dividing the fast into three types. The first type is the person who is able to fast from food, drink and social desire. From intercourse. The Muftira, the things that break your fast. The second level is the level of those people who are able to do that. But also they ensure that all the things that are ordinarily haram are not performed in Ramadan. That all the things that are ordinarily haram, their harm becomes greater or their sin becomes greater in Ramadan. To bring that consciousness, to close those doors. And the third level he mentions is those people whose constant thought and movement is sincerely for the sake of Allah. So, I implore myself and yourselves to be of the second and the third. And the first, the first is to look at the joy of pleasing Allah instead of our nafs. Pleasing Allah more than the things that please us. And to carry that moderation into the evening after we break our fast. And not to be people who constantly eat through the night. Previously you probably wouldn't constantly eat and drink through the night. But if your eating and drinking is planned and with wisdom so that you have strength. Then one, it won't be, it will be managed and you won't be over eating and over drinking. In fact many people aren't over drinking, they are under drinking. You plan your drinking and share knowledge about that. But if it's unplanned, then the lesson of the day hasn't been brought to the evening. And the nature of fasting is to bring the lesson of the day into the evening. And the lesson of the day and the evening into the morning. And we keep cycling, recycling, we're firing it actually. Because we may falter, we will make mistakes. Allah Ta'ala through his absolute wisdom has it so that we feel our nafs. That the shayateen are tied up or chained up and they have limited movement. Limited movement I'm saying. Limited is different to being completely incapacitated. They are very limited movement. That much of our inclinations are our own. And we can't blame anyone else. And then we realise how much of an effort it is to control our nafs. At times, our habits. When nafs takes over a field of our thoughts which is a habit. Then it becomes a habit. Then we are, we've programmed ourselves. Let's take full responsibility for ourselves. Let's take full responsibility. Some of us will blame evil eye. And it's true, al-ayn is true and it's very powerful. But we have iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in. You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help. And that's why, and some people will blame sihr. And sihr, we believe in the existence of sihr and magic. But in this month, don't give up your power. Not having it, give up your power. For, early on, for excuses. And some people say jinn. Yes, qula'udhu rabbil falaqa al-nafs are about these things. Are about these things, but their power is less. If their power is less, then how is it that some people's symptoms of jinn, etc. get worse in this time? The answer is, number one, for the majority it isn't. For the majority it isn't the case. For the majority. So if you've been tested and you, in your mind, feel that that's the case. Then I would say, believe in what Rasulullah s.a.w. has said. And find ways of overcoming. Remember the hadith of Rasulullah s.a.w. where he was told to have honey. He was told someone to take honey for a particular stomach problem they had. And the person wasn't cured in the first day. And he told him again to take honey. And by the third day, third or fourth day, he was cured. And he said that Allah has spoken the truth. Allah describes honey as a cure. Allah has spoken the truth. And your stomach was lying. So sometimes we need to persevere. We need to persevere and have belief and hope. We believe in what's been revealed. What's the end of Surah Baqarah? The messenger believes. And so do those with him, the believers. So the believers in what's been revealed to him. So, at the beginning of Surah Baqarah. This is the book about which there is no doubt. Guidance in those. Guidance for the muftiqeen. Those who believe in the unseen. They establish the prayer. And they spend out of what I provided them. Those who believe in what I revealed to you. And to those before you. And have certainty about the Hereafter. So in this, while we're fasting, we believe in the pillars of Iman. We strengthen our belief in the pillars of Iman. We have one chance. So if you, in any situation, in a slippery slope, hold on to Allah. With hope and belief. I give you an example how to have belief. How to have hope is with Rajat. Rajat is the hope in Allah. You have to apply a filter. Does that make sense? If a person stares at the sun without a lens, without a filter. What will happen to the eyes? If a person looks at a solar eclipse without a lens, without a filter. The right filter, you'll damage yourself. So in every situation, we stand to damage ourselves. Shaytan might come to you and say, Oh, you're a Muslim, you should be protected. In any situation, you might throw yourself in. Why didn't the believers throw themselves in any situation? A believer wouldn't want to be in a battle they know they're going to lose. If you don't have enough preparation for a situation, you wouldn't go to that battle. If you're not protected from the sun with the right lens, you wouldn't stare at the sun if you were meant to. If you didn't know how to swim, you wouldn't jump into a swimming pool. In that same way, in every situation, you must have the lens, the correct lens. If you think about the punishment of the grave and the hereafter, then you have to have the lens of seeking forgiveness. But at the same time, you must have hope. You must have hope that what you are following is going to deliver you from this. Your practice is, you put your hope in Allah, that these practices I've been taught will deliver me from these evils, the evils of the Day of Judgment. Rasulullah s.a.w. used to himself call it su- evil, wrong, but it's not one bad. It's the su- to us, it's pain. So, never think of the punishment of the grave without at least two things. One, the hope that you're going to be delivered from Allah, because you'll believe you're la ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah s.a.w. and the good actions you do. And secondly, actively seeking refuge. The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. used to seek refuge from the fire and the grave several times a day, several times a day. And even though it could sound negative that you're thinking about punishment, you're using the worship of hope, your hope is with Allah. So, keep your hope with Allah s.w.t. If your hope is with Allah s.w.t, amazing things will happen. Similarly, in your calamities of the world, if you feel you've been afflicted by Al-Ain or any other losses or tragedies, have hope, you must have hope that Allah will take you out of all this. If the Shaytan, don't let the Shaytan give you an angle where you lose hope with Allah s.w.t. You must have hope, no matter how deep your well is. Never approach any situation which is painful for us in the world of the hereafter without hope that Allah s.w.t. through his mercy will deliver us. So, while we read how Ahmad ibn Khuddamah divides the levels of fasting into three. Ibn Rajab says, those who fast are on two levels. The first, who leaves his food, his or her food, drink and desires for Allah. Seeking what's with him as a reward and compensation in Jannah. This person is in a transaction with Allah s.w.t. In all their actions, they are getting the better deal. Allah s.w.t. will not let their profit be lost if their actions are correct and good. And he is going to give profit, such a big profit. So, Ibn Rajab is saying, for all the things we are giving up, it's belittled compared to what we are getting. Even in the night, your prayer, the difficulty is small compared to the reward you are getting. Side issue, in the night prayer, are you allowed to hold the Mus'haf? Mus'haf means a copy of the Qur'an. The answer is, yes, you can. Yes, you can, as long as you stay focused in the Salah. You can read the translation with the Iman. It's better to pray in congregation. If there are circumstances where you chose to pray in congregation, not in the Masjid, but at home. Or individually at home, if there are circumstances, I don't advise it unless someone has got very strong Iman. Because the risk is in there. Of not performing as well as you would. Either way, in any situation, you are permitted to hold the Mus'haf. Secondly, if you do have a need to sit in the non-Fard prayer, meaning the Taraweeh. Then you can sit and pray, sit on a chair or sit on the ground. And you would get up for the Ruku' and so on. I am only mentioning these things so that people do not, in any shape or form, miss the Taraweeh. Because if you pray all the Taraweeh, what's your reward? Heaven. There are many doors of hope open up in Jannah. One of them is if you prayed every night with Iman, seeking reward from Allah. Try your best, in other words, to think that your Iman is with Allah. Then all your previous sins will be forgiven. If you can combine several Hadith like this, whoever fasts Ramadan with Iman, seeking reward. Iman, when you believe in the unseen, and you believe in Allah and the unseen, and you are seeking His reward. So people are always seeking gains somewhere. Seek it from Allah. You are not trying to put anyone down. You are not trying to put yourself down. You are trying to raise yourself by the prayer and the fast. And whoever stands on the ledge, it's a foolish night of power with Iman and seeking reward. The word for seeking reward is Ihtisab. Ihtisab, Ihtisab. If you do those two things, Iman and Ihtisab, all your sins will be forgiven. So you have a Hadith for one, for praying all the nights of Ramadan. Even if on those very difficult days, you pray on your own. And if you are not praying, if one is menstruating or in postnatal bleeding, then be in the spirit of Ramadan. People can read the translation. Get into the meanings of the Quran that you never have before. Because Rasulallah s.a.w. was all about the meaning of the Quran. And Ramadan was all about the meanings of the Quran. And the second level Ibn Rajam said, which is almost like the third level of Ahmad Ibn Qudama. And the second level which Ibn Rajam mentions is to fast from anyone besides Allah. It's like an internal Itikaf with Allah at all times. An internal Itikaf with Allah at all times. To speak only for the sake of Allah. To move for the sake of Allah. To give for the sake of Allah. To give socially for the sake of Allah. And constantly to be within the Sunnah. And to be in one's heart to have as much as possible Ayat from the Quran which you are following. Hadith from Rasulallah s.a.w. which you are following. And the rights which you are fulfilling. And passion in fulfilling Allah's rights. And then the rights of others. Passion. Commitment. And on top of that to minimize unnecessary actions of the dunya when you can do actions of the hereafter. Excuse me. To get to this level it may take some development. So monitor yourself. What you are improving on. Beware not everyone may be on your level. Beware there are those who are on a higher level than you. If there are issues or differences of opinion you may want to follow the most safest of opinions. So that you can safely get back to Allah s.w.t. Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdik. Ash'hadu an la ilaha illa anta. Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh. May Allah accept our prayers and our standing in your recitation of Quran. Allahumma ameen. Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.