Night of Power: Shed your veil at night

“We have indeed revealed this [Message] in the Night of Power. And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Alláh’s permission on every errand. Peace… this until the rise of Morning!”

Allah created heavens and the earth, and then created one being to stand out amongst all the others: mankind

Out of all the ways that were sent down of ages past, he chose Islam as a way for us “This day I have perfected your religion for you and given you Islam”

Out of mankind, he created one human being to stand out amongst all the humans: Muhammad “verily in the Messenger of Allah do you have a most excellent of example”

And for mankind, once in a lifetime, he has given us Hajj as an act of worship

And out of all the acts of worship, Allah has chosen one act for Himself and he will reward it without measure “assiyammu li”; fasting in the month of Ramadan

And out of the fasting that he has given us, He has chosen one night to forgive us our sins;

The night in which Allah opened up the heavens and revealed the Qur’an to a man whose named would encompass the annals of history; we cannot even imagine how the world would be without this one act of Mercy that Allah did for us:

Arabs would still be in jahiliyyah, many nations would still be in darkness, including Europe, science, technology, math, all would have stopped in their tracts as Islam was the religion that created geniuses that trailblazed history;

Movie came out a few years ago called Independence Day and in it, the President of the US, after seeing his country destroyed, gets up and makes a speech to the few of mankind that are left and says “this day we take back our humanity, we take back our country”

So this Night of Power is an independence night of sorts for all of humanity; the day when an independence for ignorance, tribalism, bloodshed, took root in the most backward of places; a night as we look back in History, we can easily say that it was a night when Allah “gave us back our humanity, and gave dignity back to mankind”

But like any other celebration that occurs in Islam, we honored it not with parties, dances, or any public occurances, but rather with solemness and gratitude to the One who gave us this opportunity: the Creater of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between: Allah

But it is for us to take advantage of this night; to use it as an opportunity to get closer to him; so we are instructed to seek it out in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan; it is difficult: our bodies are tired from lack of energy, our mind is weaker because of lack of food, but if we did the first 20 days correctly, one organ is stronger and can rejuvinate the entire body and push us till the end: our heart

And so we need to seek it out at night during these nights that are upon us, and don’t let the opportunity pass us by; who knows if it will ever come again;

Abu Dah Daah was one of those who found an opportunity and won that which is greater than the heavens and the earth. An adult companion of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) cultivated his garden next to the property of an orphan. The orphan claimed that a specific palm tree was on his property and thus belonged to him. The companion rejected the claim and off to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went the orphan boy to complain. With his justness, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) measured the two gardens and found that the palm tree did indeed belong to the companion. The orphan erupted crying. Seeing this, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) offered the companion, “would you give him the palm tree and to you is a palm tree in Jannah?” However, the companion in his disbelief that an orphan would complain to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) missed the opportunity and went away angry.
But someone else saw the opportunity, Abu Dah Daah – radi Allahu ‘anhu. He went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked, “Ya Rasul Allah, if I buy the tree from him and give it to the orphan shall I have that tree in Jannah?” The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) replied, “Yes.”
Abu Dah Daah chased after the companion and asked, “Would you sell that tree to me for my entire garden?” The companion answered, “Take it for there is no good in a tree that I was complained to the Prophet about.”
Immediately, Abu Dah Daah went home and found his wife and children playing in the garden. “Leave the garden!” shouted Abu Dah Daah, “we’ve sold it to Allah! We’ve sold it to Allah!” Some of his children had dates in their hand and he snached the dates from them and threw them back into the garden. “We’ve sold it to Allah!”
When Abu Dah Daah was later martyred in the battle of Uhud, Rasul Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) stood over his slain body and remarked, “How many shady palm trees does Abu Dah Daah now have in paradise?”
What did Abu Dah Daah lose? Dates? Bushes? Dirt? What did he gain? He gained a Jannah whose expanse is the heavens and the earth.
Abu Dah Daah did not miss his opportunity, and I pray to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) that we do not miss our opportunity of standing to Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) on Laylatul Qadr.
It was narrated that in the days that Musa (Alahi salaam) wandered with Bani Israel in the desert an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa (Alahi salaam) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel whom had disobeyed Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) for more than forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) told Musa (Alahi salaam). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”
Musa (Alahi salaam) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.” That man, waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one.
The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with a humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said: “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”
As Musa (Alahi salaam) and the people of Bani Israel awaited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa (Alahi salaam) asked Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala), “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.” And Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel with water.”
Musa (Alahi salaam), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!” Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”
The night is a veil over the day, just like our clothes are a cover for us; use the night as an opportunity to expose your sins, open your hearts, and cry to Allah for He is the only one that can forgive, change our hearts, and make us be close to Him on the Day of Judgment.

Last Friday of Ramadan

Imagine a loved one coming to visit at your house for a little while. Before the arrival, there is much anticipation, a yearning for the days to go by fast until they arrive, preparation, etc. and the initial days are great, filled with talking, laughing, hanging out, etc. the middle period is a bit more awkward and thoughts begin to come into your head, although you don’t voice them, that when will this be over? And before you know it, it comes time for your friend to leave; you begin to wonder how quickly the time went by, how you could extend it a bit more, you know you have to, but you hate to say good bye, so you say “till next time”!!!

The month of Ramadan is that visitor, who comes but once a year, stays for a little while, and then departs; you hate to say good bye, so you settle with “till next time” not knowing, but praying that next year, you will be around for his visit;
So it is time for us, in this last Friday of the month of Ramadan to say farewell to this blessed visitor; it came with eager anticipation, filled our lives with blessings, and although we knew this day would come, we didn’t know it would come so soon!!! But this visitor is not leaving without a mark on our lives; because of its visit, Muslims got together and became closer; and this visitor is leaving some things behind for us to reflect upon, because it taught us a bit more about ourselves; most importantly being that we can do anything we set our minds to:

Following are some of the lessons that we learnt in Ramadan (borrowed from Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi):

1. Patience: Fasting in Ramadan taught us patience (sabr). It taught us self-discipline. Now we have to use this training. We avoided some permissible things during fasting, now we know how to control ourselves and protect ourselves from unlawful (Haram) things.

2. Control over passions and desires: Fasting taught us to control our passions and desires. Now we have to use this training and keep ourselves always pure. We must not be the slaves of our lusts and desires. We should not obey our desires, but we must obey Allah all the time.

3. Control over bad temper: Fasting taught us to control bad temper. It taught us how to avoid bad words. Now we have to use this training. We must not quarrel with others or use bad language. We should be a gentle and honorable people all the time.
4. Charity: Fasting taught us charity (muwasat). We paid our Zakat and our Sadaqat in this month. Now we know how to be good, kind and generous to those who are in need. Now we know how to help good causes always.

5. Nawafil: During Ramadan we prayed Tarawih during the night. Now we should be regular in our daily prayers. We should pray them on time and in a proper manner. We woke up for Sahur every night. Now we can get up for Tahajjud prayer. We should try to pray Tahajjud as much as possible.

6. Regular Visit to Masjid: During Ramadan we came to the Masjid every day. Now we should make a habit to pray at the Masjid as much as we can. We have our Friday which is known as the Sayyid al-Ayyam (the best day of the week). We should not neglect the Friday prayer. We should also take care of the Masjid. Those who come to the Masjid should be also those who maintain the Masjid.

7. Reading of the Qur’an: During Ramadan we read the Qur’an and we listened to the Qur’an. Now we should make a resolution to read the Qur’an every day. We should read one juz’ or half Juz’ every day. We should read with translation and try to reflect on the Words of Allah.

8. Family gathering: During Ramadan we spent more time with our families. We ate together and we prayed together. Now we should keep this habit. The families that eat together and pray together stay together. We should have good relations with our spouses. We should pay more attention to our children and our youth. We should give them more time and continue to help them to learn the principles and values of Islam. We must pay attention to their Islamic education and training.
9. Concern for the Ummah: During Ramadan we prayed to Allah to help the Muslims of Palestine, Chechnya, Muslims of Kashmir, Muslims of Iraq, Muslims of Afghanistan and Muslims who are suffering in many other lands. We should continue to know more about them and do whatever we can to relieve their suffering and to help bring justice and peace in the world.
10. More good deeds: During Ramadan we did a lot of good things. Now we should be in the habit of doing good all the time.
The purpose of ‘Ibadah (our acts of worship) is to make us Allah’s servants. Allah’s servants are the best human beings. Our challenge is to become the best human beings that we are supposed to be.

Beware the Ides of Ramadan

This past week, we had a very important analyst that came and visited us here at Saturna; but beside being an analyst, he was also a PhD in Shakesperean Literature and in his spare time had done a lot of research on him

During a conversation at dinner, I recalled in one of the plays of Shakespeare called Julies Ceasar; in one scene, a soothsayer comes up to Julius Ceasar and says “Beware the Ides of March” which in the play is a foreshadowing of his death that he pays no heed to; Ide in the context is referring to Middle, and thus “beware of March 15th”

I thought about this because we are now going through the middle of the month of Ramadan and it is appropriate to use the words “Beware the Ides of Ramadan”; of course I am not saying that we will die during this month, it is during this middle of the month that Muslims begin to get more tired, more sleepy, more frustrated, because of their service to Allah that is being performed during this month;

Another example one can use is that of a marathon; as a runner begins the race, he is excited and has energy and is ready to run; during the middle portion, he begins to feel pain, gets tired, is thirsty, and just wants to give up, mental and physically, but if he can hold out for a bit longer, then there is a tipping point, after which point he reaches a state of bliss; in this state, he feels very light, no pain, and feels he can run forever

The month of Ramadan is no different for us; as we begin, we are excited about many things: good food, fasting being accepted by Allah, seeing many Muslims around us; but it is during this time of the month that we begin to really feel Ramadan; the good food becomes a chore to make, you begin to doubt whether or not Allah will accept your fast or not, and you feel like staying home and sleeping rather than getting together with Muslims for iftar; but it is also during this time that we as Muslims have a tipping point as well; and it is right around the corner; and we need to be steadfast and have sabr:

Allah mentions in the Qur’an “Fasbir sabran jameel” – have patience with a beautiful patience and “Innallaha ma’as sabireen” -- Verily Allah is with those who are paitent

Allah also mentions in the Qur’an: “kulli nafsin dhaa’ikatil mowt….” (21:35) – Every soul shall taste death, and We will try you with evil and good, and to Us is your return;

So we need to be patient during this time when we don’t want to stay for taraweeh, when we don’t want to wake up for suhur; and give yourself an extra push to do these things; this is also another reason why I think, Allah left Laylatul Qadr in the last 10 nights of Ramadan; it is only through going the entire month of fasting, and then staying up at night when you are tired from a whole month of that that Allah will forgive you your sins; if the night which is worth a 1000 months was early in the month it would be too easy and if too easy, then where is the reward? Allah mentions how he made us believers, and he will test us in our wealth, family, and in ourselves;

We need to be strong during these “ides of Ramadan” and I can guarantee that if we push ourselves just a bit more, we will reach the tipping point feel as though we can fast the entire year, and next Friday, we will all be wondering, how did the month go by so fast?

And I want to close this first khutba with a hadith of the Prophet regarding trials and hardships, and how for the believers, they are both a blessing:

Abu Yahya Suhaib b. Sinan said that Rasulullah saw said : “Wondrous are the believer’s affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs, and this is so only for the believer. When something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him; and when something displeasing happens to him, he is enduring (sabr), and that is good for him” ( Muslim )

Comments on Natural Disasters

Over the past week or two, we have had 2 natural disasters; a cyclone in Burma and an earthquake in China; from the disasters themselves to Burma not allowing any people inside it’s borders, the death toll might rise to over 100k people; because of these two and others that have happened in this decade, it is natural as human beings to ask why are these happening; what does Allah mean by them? Or even why would Allah bring this to happen?

All of these questions are valid and ok to ask, as long as one knows that we might not be able to come up with the answer, as our minds are limited and Allah’s knowledge and wisdom is unlimited; and with this understanding, a Muslim can venture out and ponder on these points and pray to Allah to guide him on the straight path

So the first answer can be summed up into scientific reasons; and there are two here; the first, that there is massive climate change going on and as the temperature of the oceans becomes warmer, more storms happen that are stronger and deadlier; we also have more people alive today that in centuries or mellenia before us, so more people will obviously die; or we can say that maybe there is not an increase, but news can travel faster and thus we has human beings around the world here about them more often;

But these scientific answers do not get to the heart of the theological question; why would Allah bring these things to happen and what does Allah mean by them;

So for the question of what does Allah mean by them, we must know that for everything that happens in this world, there is a reason, even if we don’t see it in our lifetimes; there is always a benefit from every harm or hardship, as individuals, communities, nations, or as human begins; as Allah mentions in Sura Inshirah:

Verily with the hardship, there is good
Indeed with the hardship, there is good


And Allah also mentions in the qur’an about things in this life of the world being examples for us in Sura Baqara, v. 26:

Verily, Allah is not ashamed to set forth a parable even of a mosquito or so much more that it. And as for those who believe, they know that it is the Truth from their Lord, but as for those who disbelieve, they say: “What did Allah intend by this parable?” By it He misleads many, and many He guides thereby. And He misleads only those who are rebellious, disobedient to Allah”

And so the first part of this verse says that Allah can use an example of a mosquito, or something much bigger than that; like earthquake or tsunami, or cyclone, or hurricane; or something smaller, like even a stubbed toe; but in these examples is a test

The believers will always say, there is Truth in it from their Lord; here Allah is not saying that the believers understand the example or parable, but that they know it is a Truth; so it doesn’t matter if you question, but it matters as to the end result; many things in the world happen, and we don’t understand why, so why is this any different;

The disbelievers, however, ask the question “what did Allah intend by this parable?” meaning they ask the question, and then never come to a conclusion, always remaining in doubt; slowly this doubt can grow into a cancer that will eat away at a person’s faith;

And we find throughout the qur’an stories of generations that have gone before us, wiped out, for there disobedience; and all of them are examples; ‘Imad, Madyan, people of Nuh, and on and on; we can read them and use them as examples as to what not to do, or we can read them and say, wow, Allah destroyed all these people? Why? Its not fair!! And so on…. I ask Allah to protect us from disbelief and keep us on the straight path;


So as we have been mentioning, disasters around the world have happened throughout time and will continue to happen till the end of time; with the greatest disasters happening at the end; and we as believers, need to take them as examples and benefit from them; rather than keep questioning them and lose faith;


Also as I mentioned earlier, these examples are such that even if we don’t know of the benefit now, we might realize it in the future, maybe centuries, or thousands of years later; take a simple example as the oil and natural gas we consume, have consumed, and will consume in the future; aside from the what it is doing to our planet, no one can argue how beneficial it has been to the human race; and yet, imagine what type of a calamity, death, destruction happened millions of years ago for us to be able to benefit from it now?


So the best answers to questions about why did Allah allow this to happen is we don’t know; we know it is the truth from Allah, and He is the All-knowing, All-wise; but do know 2 things: first, for us as individuals, this is an opportunity; and second there are ways to prevent these disasters;

he opportunity is that through these types of disasters, millions of people get together and help each other; and this gets rewarded by Allah;

If you take the Tsunami for example, yes hundreds of thousands died, but billions of people were able to pool resources and help the ones that survived and the reconstruction effort is still going on today; so for us as individuals, we need to open up our wallets and give sadaqa for the people that are suffering;

And there are ways for us to prevent these disasters; a hadith of the prophet says:

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to us and said, 'O Muhajirun, (emigrants from Makkah to al-Madinah) you may be afflicted by five things; God forbid that you should live to see them.
If fornication should become widespread, you should realise that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people which their forebears never suffered.
If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should realise that this has never happened without drought and famine befalling the people, and their rulers oppressing them.
If people should withhold zakat, you should realise that this has never happened without the rain being stopped from falling; and were it not for the animals' sake, it would never rain again.
If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, you should realise that his has never happened without Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their possessions by force.
If the leaders do not govern according to the Book of Allah, you should realise that this has never happened without Allah making them into groups and making them fight one another

Checklist for Your Life

(Sura Mu’minoon,v. 1-11)

As we are going through life, one initially begins with a goal, and that for us as Muslims is to attain paradise; we do this by first submitting ourselves to Allah, and thus enter into Islam, but as we struggle to work on our souls and our sincere in attaining Allah’s pleasure, then we are blessed with the gift of Iman, or faith, and then can be one of the Mu’mins

Just like at work, when you have reviews, your boss has a checklist to see what your progress has been, how you are doing, where are you lacking or need improvement; in the same way, there must be a checklist that Allah or the Prophet left for us as well, otherwise how can we know we are headed in the right direction? Sure the Qur’an can be that checklist, but most of us don’t have time to go through the Qur’an and use as a checklist, it is just way too big;

Alhamdulillah, that He has given us such a checklist for life; Allah says in the Qur’an:

Qad aflahal mu’minoon
Successful indeed are the believers
Alladheena hum fi salaatihim khaashi’oon
Those who offer their prayers solemnly and full of submission
Walladheena hum ‘anil laghwi mu’ridhoon
And those who turn away from falsehood
Walladheena hum lizzakaati fa’iloon
And those who pay the zakaat
Walladheena hum lifuroojihim hafidhoon
And those who guard their chastity
Illa ‘ala azwaajihim aw malakat aymaanuhim, fa innahum ghayru maloomeen
Except from their wives and those their right hands posses
….
Walladheena hum li amaanaatihim wa ‘ahdihim raa’oon
Those who are faithfully true to their duties and covenants
Walladheena hum ‘ala salawaatihim yuhaafidhoon
And those who guard their prayers
Oolaa ikahumul waarithoon
These are indeed the inheritors
Alladheena yarithoonal firdausa hum fihaa khaalidoon
Who shall inherit the Paradise and live there forever

So this is the checklist we need to follow and constantly refer back to it to analyze how we are doing; here, Allah lays out the characteristics of a successful person, and even though Allah is mentioning the qualities of a successful believer in the hereafter, the also apply to the present life; if you can do these things, then you are also going to be successful in this life and the hereafter




Qad aflahal mu’minoon
Successful indeed are the believers
Alladheena hum fi salaatihim khaashi’oon
Those who offer their prayers solemnly and full of submission

The first thing that Allah mentions is the prayer to show how important it is; and it is the only one he mentions twice in this formula or checklist for success; here it is not about whether we perform, but how we do it; with concentration, understanding, reverence to Allah? Or just do the ritualistic actions to get it over with; and many people do the prayers and as soon as they say Allahu Akbar, they do everything, think of everything, but concentrate; that is why my grandmother used to tell me, if you can’t remember where you left something or forgot something, just pray 2 rakat, you will remember; I thought she was saying this cause if I prayed Allah would help me find or remember it, but really it was because she knew that people think of everything in their prayer even where they left their keys;

Walladheena hum ‘anil laghwi mu’ridhoon
And those who turn away from falsehood

And here, the falsehood that Allah is mentioning is all kinds of falsehood; and the goal here is a moving target in that the more you stay away from, the more you will find you will need to stay away from as falsehood is all around us in large and small firms; one begins by staying away from the large ones, backbiting, cursing; so the falsehoods are those things that you personally get yourselves involved with, but then from here a believer must move on the seeing no evil, hearing no evil, and speaking no evil; the hearing and seeing are very difficult, but not impossible; they way to begin to do this is what Allah says in the Qur’an in Sura Furqan:

Walladheena laa yash-hadoonaz zoora wa idha marroo billaghwi marroo kiraama
And those who do not witness falsehood, and if hey pass by some evil play or talk, they pass by it with dignity

That you stay away from it and as is life, you will encounter it some times, and dignity is that you don’t repel falsehood with falsehood, but falsehood with that which is better – repel evil with good

Walladheena hum lifuroojihim hafidhoon
And those who guard their chastity
Illa ‘ala azwaajihim aw malakat aymaanuhim, fa innahum ghayru maloomeen
Except from their wives and those their right hands posses

That a person is modest in their dress, and protects themselves, their bodies with from evil; staying away from fornication, is just the last step, and believer should not even find himself in a situation that would lead to this; that in this case, anything that leads to this, is evil in and of itself; similar to when Allah forbade Adam and hawa from even approaching the tree, let alone eating from you: laa taqraboo hadhihish shajaraa
But with certain people, letting down your guard, not only is it ok, but sometimes even encouraged, like your spouses; that you should take one another as a source of comfort for each other

Walladheena hum li amaanaatihim wa ‘ahdihim raa’oon
Those who are faithfully true to their duties and covenants

The biggest Amana we have to fulfill is the amana of the shahada; that when we say it as an oath, we are pledging to Allah and His messenger our devotion and to follow His way; but the duties and covenants are many others in our lives, from the covenant of marriage, to employment, to the everyday business dealing we have; we must always be fair, honest, fulfilling our pledges; and remember that even before our Prophet was a messenger, he was known as Al-Ameen, the trustworthy;

Walladheena hum ‘ala salawaatihim yuhaafidhoon
And those who guard their prayers

And finally a full circle is made, as we started with prayer, we end with prayer as well; and here Allah is mentioning that we, to be successful, must be protective our our 5 dialy prayers; and we shouldn’t let go of the importance of this issue of prayer;

1) it should be something we do no matter what; it is the only active pillar that we cannot leave; not fast if sick or on journey; no zakaat if no wealth, no hajj if no money; but prayer, no excuse; you must pray whether you are healthy or sick, rich or poor, tired or active;
2) that if we hold fast to our prayer, then we will naturally avoid the other things that Allah is mentioning; and even more importantly, going back to the khushoo’, if we have it, then we will taste a sweetness that we not only fulfill the other items on checklist, but we will do it, including prayer, with a sweet zealousness

last thing is that in order to make sure we hold fast to the prayer, we revolve our lives around prayer, and not our prayer around our lives; that the five prayers are the pillars in your daily life and everything else gets scheduled, around it; and if you miss a prayer or delay it, something inside your heart is missing;

Oolaa ikahumul waarithoon
These are indeed the inheritors
Alladheena yarithoonal firdausa hum fihaa khaalidoon
Who shall inherit the Paradise and live there forever

And if we do the above, then Allah promises us Paradise; one thing to note here is Allah uses the term inherit; which implies a rightful ownership; in Islam, when you inherit property, it is rightfully yours because it is stated in the Qur’an; similarly, if we do fulfill our checklist and are successful believers, then it is our right to get paradise; because it is a fulfillment of a contract;

Public Shame Law and Islam

• Recently there was a law that was going through the Washington State Legislature on shaming citizens who violate the certain laws; for example, currently in Ohio, they have a law that if you are caught driving drunk, you are mandated to have a bright yellow license plate as a form of public shame; WA was about to do something similar

• This brings up an issue that I would like to discuss in this khutba today; the role of shame as a deterrent in our lives; as we know from the Qur’an, there are three stages of the soul, and not necessarily are they one after another: nafs al amaara: desiring soul; nafsil lowwaama: the self reproaching soul, and nafssil mutu ma’inna: sould at peace/rest

• And it is the nafsil lowwaama that gives us, as humans, the aspect of shame; and we know it exists because Allah swears by it in the Qur’an:

“laa uqsimu bi yowmil qiyaama; wa laa uqsimu binnafsil lowwaama”
I swear by the Day of Resurrection; and I swear by the self reproaching soul

• It is the soul that is in between desire and peace; and Allah has put it there as a check for us; it is the one that feels guilty, embarrassed, shame; all things that will move us away from becoming animals; however if we keep ignoring this soul, then it becomes weaker and weaker; and if we listen to it, it becomes stronger and stronger until it transforms into the soul at rest; if you commit a sin for the first time, you feel really bad; bad enough to stop doing it; but if you continue, then each subsequent time, the feeling gets easier, until no remorse exist; and the opposite is true as well

• So this self reproaching soul is there because Allah knows we will make mistakes; this is in our nature as Allah created us:

“khuliqal insana dha’eefa” created mankind weak

• So we cannot all be good all the time, and this is not what Allah wants; what Allah is looking for from us is what we do after we make mistakes; do we remain arrogant and refuse to accept it, or do we seek forgiveness from Allah; and remember that it is a balance that is struck; if we were all, as humans, making mistakes and never asking for forgiveness, then we have many examples in the Qur’an of all can destroy us; and if we are never sinning and are perfect, then Allah will still destroy us and create a being that will make mistakes, and seek forgiveness

• But this idea of shame, in Islam, is something that is inward, not to be shown in public; that when someone commits a sin, (s)he should try to hide it and not make a public display of it; that is why a person who, say, drinks alcohol in the confines of his house (hides it) is still better than a person who does it publicly; similarly, if another person sees someone committing a sin, (s)he should try to hide it and not expose it; as in the hadith we find that if a believer conceals a sin of another in this life, then Allah will conceal his sins on the Day of Judgment; so this idea of public shame and humiliation is not in Islam and could have the opposite effect of making people worse;

• So in the example of the drunk driver who has a yellow license plate, although it might start of as a plate of shame, it might end up as a license to commit more acts; like a badge of honor;

• I ask Allah to keep our reproaching soul strong so that on the Day of Judgment, it is a soul at rest;


• So as I mentioned earlier, in my opinion, Islam does not want us to publicly humiliate people for their wrong actions, and on the contrary, there are benefits to hiding one’s sins and having others hide them for you as well

• So obviously, the question that comes to mind if I say that Islam is against this and it is not what Allah wants, is what about some public acts that are seen as humiliation in Islam; i.e. cutting of the hands, stoning to death, etc.

• The one thing to keep in mind is that in the current laws that are proposed or enacted, they are a form of humiliation and shame to make the person not do it again; if you don’t want them to do it, don’t give them a yellow license plate, take away their license

• Also, the public displays that happen in Islamic law are an evidence not of committing an act, but rather of having been forgiven by Allah; so the idea of the hands being cut is not so that everyone in public knows you stole something, that will happen anyway, but rather that by your hands being cut off, you have been saved from something worse in the hereafter;

• Furthermore, public shame usually implies that you are or have something less than normal; and thus the humiliation; again in Islam it is not that way; consider the story of the woman who committed adultery; she came to Prophet and he turned the other way, she came again, and he said you are carrying a child; after 9 months, she came again, and he said you have to wean the child; she came after 2 yrs and finally the Prophets gave her the punishment; and will it was being carried out publicly, again it was to show redemption of this woman and not to shame her; how do we know this? Cause as the companions were stoning her, some blood fell on one of them and he went aback in disgust; the Prophet noticed this and said publicly, that this woman had more faith than all present here combined, so don’t look down upon her; that she has been forgiven by Allah;

The Process of Change

• Spoke a couple of weeks ago about Change and how it is a buzz word these days; that real change in history has never happened from the top down, but from the grass roots; and Allah confirms this in the Qur’an when he says:

“Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves”

• So if we want to change society, we need to change ourselves; and one thing to remember is that it is not a light that goes off or on in your head and you are changed; it is always a process; maybe the only time it is that dramatic is when Allah moves people towards change, then it is instant – companions accepting Islam, many in modern day having near death experiences and then accepting Islam; but even with this, after the initial change, the complete transformation is a lifelong process

• This process can be summed up into four different parts: muhaasaba (taking account), tauba, the change itself, and finally maintaining what has changed;

• Muhasaba: the first thing we have to do as we begin the process is to reflect upon, think about, take to account our lives; and we should be doing this constantly; that is why Allah mentions this over and over again in the Qur’an; afalaa tafakaroon, afalaa tadhakaroon, afalaa ta’qiloon?

• And in this process we have to be honest with ourselves; it is very easy to deceive ourselves, or be deceived by Shaitan into thinking we are doing just fine; there is no need to change; but keep in mind that if there was nothing to change then a) we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in today, and b) if you didn’t need to change then we would be perfect, which is only something that Allah has a right to claim; and if we were perfect without sin, then as the Prophet mentions, Allah would replace us with another creation that did make mistakes and then asked for forgiveness

• Tauba: Repentance; small word but large meaning; it is different that seeking forgiveness (istighfaar), which is only a part of taub; so tauba is not that you do things wrong during the day, go home, ask forgiveness from Allah, and then the next morning you go back to doing the same thing; that Allah may or may not forgive; but tauba is something that Allah says he will accept;

• So the two parts of tauba are istighfaar with a hatred of what you did was wrong; and then making a commitment not to do it again; if you do this, then acceptance from Allah is yours; more importantly, if you follow up this tauba with righteous deeds, then Allah promises to not only wipe the sins, but to take them and convert them into good deeds on the day of judgement:

“except those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful”

• the next thing we have to discuss is the change itself; and here it is very important to realize that this will take time, and the best way to approach change is not revolution, but evolution; so if you have a whole list of things you want to change about yourself, then you don’t do all of them at once, but rather take them one at a time, the easiest one first, and work you way from there;

• and the Prophet has taught us that it takes 40 days to make a change, for some, maybe a bit less, for others, maybe a bit more; to paraphrase: “if two brothers are together for 40 days, one of them will change the other”;

• so many times I see brothers who take change as a revolution and not evolution and fail; grow religious, long beard, everything haram, mean look, and 6 mos. Later, everything is halal!!!! Why? They got burned out, their body could not handle the change, and neither could their mind, and so they gave up; but if they would have taken things slowly, then they would have continued

• story of frog put in boiling water jumps out; but if you put it in water and turn up the heat, it will die and never jump out. Why? Incremental change, the frog didn’t notice;

• finally we come to the last part of change, which is the maintaining the change; and so after you have picked out items to change about yourself, you begin to change them; but remember that it will always be a struggle; so if you take it one month at a time, then the second month, you should be focused on 2 things, the first one and the second; because if you just focus on the second, you will lose the first; third month, 3 things, and so forth; from the stories of the companions we learn that once they began to do something good, they hated to drop it:

• a companion came to the Prophet and said that he wanted to fast as a worship to Allah, the messenger said to fast the middle of the month; the companion said he could do more, and so the messenger said add Monday and Thursday to it; to which he said he could do more, and the Prophet said to fast every other day; later on in his life, the companion said he wished he had never started this fasting every other day because in his old age, it is very difficult; he didn’t give it up!!!!

• and remember the this process of change is on going for the rest of your life and does not stop; if you have bad, then change by getting rid of it slowly, but if you have no bad and only good, then one should change by adding more good to it;

• and one very important thing we have to remember is that no change is possible without the help of Allah; so we should make it a point to make du’a to Allah to help us change: maqalib al-quluub

Khutba Before Ramadan

Shahru Ramadan - The month of Ramadan

Shahr ul Bishara - The month of Glad Tidings

Shahr ul Burhan - The month of the Proof

Shahr ul Ghufran - The month of Forgiveness

Shahr ul Ibada - The month of the Worship of Allah

Shahr ul Ihsan - The month of Goodness

Shahr ul iman - The month of True Faith

Shahru Laylatil Qadr - The month of the Blessed Night of Power for night-long worship

Shahr ul Mahamid - The month of the Praises of Allah

Shahr ul Masabih - The month of Luminous Lamps

Shahr ul Masajid - The month of the Mosques

Shahru Nabiyyuna Muhammad alayhis salatu was salam - The month of our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him

Shahr ul Qiyam - The month of Standing-up for Prayer

Shahr ul Quran - The month of the Quran, when it was first revealed

Shahr us Saada - The month of Happiness, the month of Salvation

Shahr ush Shahada- The month of Witnessing

Shahr us Siyam - The month of Fasting

Shahr ut Tahara The month of Purification, of body, heart and soul

Shahr ut Tarawih - The month of Tarawih prayers

Shahr ut Tawba - The month of Repentance

Shahr uz Ziyada - The month of Increase (in Allah's Blessings)

As you know, the month of Ramadan is fast approaching, so I thought I would take the opportunity in this khutba to remind myself and you about some of the basics. We go through them every year, masha Allah, but nonetheless, it is a good reminder.

First of all, we must thank Allah for allowing us the opportunity to witness it’s beginning whereas there are some people, who did not live long enough from last year till this year. It is reported in stories that the companions used to make du’a during the month of Ramadan to make them complete it with acceptance, and then after it was over, they used to make dua that they would live to be blessed by another one. I pray to Allah that He allows us to live until this Ramadan begins and allows us the blessing of completing it with acceptance.

It is stated that the Ramadan comes from the root Ra ma da, ramida, arramad, which means to burn through scorching. It is said that Ramadan used to fall in the hottest month of the year during the time of the Prophet and before (August). So, for example, Allah made the cycle of forests in such a way that they have fires that burn everything to the ground, and from this lifelessness of the forest, you get richer and stronger growth. And the same can be said about the human body, that it needs a fast to cleanse itself of the impurities of this world. Some people call this detoxification, but interestingly enough, to all religions, Allah gave a certain kind of fast. It might not have the same fiqh rules as the fast of Muslims, but they were still given one, as it mentions in the Qur’an:

O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you attain righteousness (2:183)

And the last part of this verse is very important when it comes to fasting. We need to reflect upon it within the context of our own lives. For many of us, we have been through many fasts of Ramadan, so the question becomes, have we increased in God-consciousness. If we haven’t, then either we are doing the fasting perfectly and the Qur’an is wrong (that fasting does not increase God consciousness) or we are imperfect and need to improve our fasting.

So it is important to revisit, before the month begins, how we will fast to attain more God-consciousness. And the best way to do this is to practice how we will fast in Ramadan, by fasting in this month, of Sha’ban. These next few days are important for this practice, but also to get a running start on Ramadan. If you look at it like a race, say 100 meter. If you take the fastest time of the 100 meter and multiply by 4, it will still be more than if you took the 400 meter fastest time. Why? Cause 3 of the runners had a running start. Starting from a stand still means you have to build momentum and this takes precious time. Time we don’t want to waste in Ramadan, so get a running start by fasting for the next few days, insha Allah.

And this blessed month, because it is so blessed has many names, as I mentioned earlier:

Shahru Ramadan - The month of Ramadan

Shahr ul Bishara - The month of Glad Tidings, because it is a month that Allah has given to Muslims as a blessing in that Gates of Paradise are swung open, Gates of Hell are slammed shut, and the shayateen are in chains

Shahr ul Burhan - The month of the Proof, because it is a month when the above hadeeth is manifested before our very eyes

Shahr ul Ghufran - The month of Forgiveness, because it is the month where the Prophet said in a hadith related by Abu Hurraira: “whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan with sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s reward, then all his past sins will be forgiven”

Shahr ul Ibada - The month of the Worship of Allah because it is a month it is the only entire month where you can be in worship of Allah for the entire day, every hour, every minute, every second, if you are fasting

Shahr ul Ihsan - The month of Goodness because it is a month where you find people being more good, by inviting each other over, sharing meals, being happy and festive

Shahr ul iman - The month of True Faith because it is a month where if you fast properly, you will increase your Iman

Shahru Laylatil Qadr - The month of the Night of Power because it is the month that Allah has given us one night which is better than 1000 months

Shahr ul Mahamid - The month of the Praises of Allah because it is a month where you find during the day and night, many more servants praising Allah

Shahr ul Masajid - The month of the Mosques because it is the month when the masajid become full of life and people come who never came before

Shahru Nabiyyuna Muhammad alayhis salatu was salam - The month of our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him because it is the month in which he secluded himself even before Islam and then was honored with revelation during it

Shahr ul Qiyam - The month of Standing-up for Prayer because it is the month when Muslims stand for prayer at night in worship of their Creator

Shahr ul Quran - The month of the Quran, because it is the month in which it was first revealed, and later, in which it was compiled in it form today by Jibreel and the Prophet

Shahr us Saada - The month of Happiness, the month of Salvation because it is a month that even if you were bad the entire year, it is in this month that you can be happy that Allah will forgive you

Shahr ush Shahada- The month of Witnessing in that it is the Month wherein Allah opened up the heavens and delivered to humans the final guidance and criterion

Shahr us Siyam - The month of Fasting because it is the only month which Allah has made obligatory on us to fast the entire month

Shahr ut Tahara The month of Purification because it is in this month, through the fasting that you purify your body, heart and soul

Shahr ut Tarawih - The month of Tarawih because it is in this month that you stay up after the ‘Isha prayer, and pray some more, completing the recitation of Qur’an

Shahr ut Tawba - The month of Repentance because it is the month that brings an opportunity to reflect on the past, ask for forgiveness, and move on with your life with a new beginning

Shahr uz Ziyada - The month of Increase (in Allah's Blessings) because it is the month when Allah increases all the good actions that one performs for 70 fold



The Sermon given by the Most Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam on the last Friday of Sha'ban on the reception of the month of Ramadhan. I could not find it’s chain of narration, but it has a good message, and I found it on Shk. Google:


"O People!

Indeed ahead of you is the blessed month of Allah.

A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness.

A month that, with Allah, is the best of months.

Its days, the best of days; its nights, the best of nights; and its hours, the best of hours.

It is the month that invites you to be the guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him.

Each breath you take glorifies Him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and your supplications are answered.

So, ask Allah, your Lord; to give you a sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite His book, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah's forgiveness during this great month.

Remember the hunger and thirst of the day of Qiyamah (Judgement) with your hunger and thirst; give alms to the needy and poor, honor your old, show kindness to the young ones, maintain relations with your blood relations; guard your tongues, close your eyes to that which is not permissible for your sight, close your ears to that which is forbidden to hear, show compassion to the orphans of people so compassion may be shown to your orphans.

Repent to Allah for your sins and raise your hands in dua during these times, for they are the best of times and Allah looks towards his creatures with kindness, replying to them during the hours and granting their needs if he is asked...

O People! Indeed your souls are dependant on your deeds, free it with repentance, lighten its loads by long prostrations; and know that Allah swears by his might: That there is no punishment for the one who prays and prostrates and he shall have no fear of the fire on the day when man stands before the Lord of the worlds.

O People! One who gives Iftaar to a fasting person during this month will be like one who has freed someone and his past sins will be forgiven."

Some of the people who were there then asked the Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam: "Not all of us are able to invite those who are fasting?"

The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam replied:

"Allah gives this reward even if the Iftaar is a drink of water."

"One who has good morals (Akhlaq) during this month will be able to pass the 'Siraat'...on the day when feet will slip...

One who covers the faults of others will benefit in that Allah will curb His anger on the day of Judgment...

As for one who honors an orphan; Allah will honor him on the day of judgment.

And for the one who spreads his kindness, Allah will spread His mercy over him on the day of Judgment.

As for the one who cuts the ties of relation; Allah will cut His mercy from him...

Who so ever performs a recommended prayer in this month, Allah will keep the fire of Hell away from him...

Whoever performs an obligatory prayer, Allah will reward him with seventy prayers [worth] in this month.

And who so ever prays a lot during this month will have his load lightened on the day of measure.

He who recites one verse of the Noble Qur'an will be given the rewards of reciting the whole Qur'an during other months.

O People! Indeed during this month the doors of heaven are open, therefore ask Allah not to close them for you;

The doors of hell are closed, so ask Allah to keep them closed for you.

During this month Shaytan (Satan) is imprisoned so ask your Lord not to let him have power over you."