victory - preparation and execution of your best ramadan ever (notes)

7/31/2019 Victory - Preparation and Execution of Your Best Ramadan Ever (Notes)

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Victory: Preparation & Execution of Your Best Ramadan EverShaykh Yasir Qadhi

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Victory: Preparation & Execution of Your Best Ramadan EverShaykh Muhammad Alshareef

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First and foremost, Allh (subnahu wa tala) gave Ramadan to the believers as a giftfrom Him. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Fasting is for Allh, and He

gives the reward for it. When Ramadan comes, what is amazing is that everything isfocused on worshipping Allh. This is with fasting, tarw, qiratl-Qurn, seeking outlaylatl-qadr. Everyone is worshipping Allh. Allh (subnahu wa tala) taught us in theQurn that this is the purpose of creating us. Allh (subnahu wa tala) says, I havenot created jinn and mankind except that they would worship Me. Every year we getdistracted throughout the year and busy in our lives, but when Ramadan comes around,we are back together and focusing intensely on the worship of Allh. This is why Allh(subnahu wa tala) created us.

Understanding that, when Allh (subnahu wa tala) speaks about Ramadan andfasting in the Qurn and the essence of worship, in the middle of the verses, Allh

(subnahu wa tala) also tells us about a very critical principle of this worship ofRamadan and worship in general. Allh (subnahu wa tala) says, And if My servantasks you, tell them verily I a near. I answer the duof the person who calls upon Mewhen they call upon Me. Let them believe in Me so that perhaps they would beguided.

In Ramadan, when it comes down to it, the cherry on top and the cream of the fastingand tarw is the du that you make to Allh. In that regard, Allh (subnahu watala) also teaches us what to say. As the shaykh leads tarw and recites every day,there are verses of Qurn which are du that Allh (subnahu wa tala) puts on ourtongue. In witrand making du, he likes to make those dus.

One of the most amazing dus that Allh (subnahu wa tala) taught us is: Rabbanatina fil-dunya asanah wa fil-khirati asanah wa qina adbl-nr (O Allh, give usgoodness in this life and goodness in the hereafter and protect us from the Hellfire).This gives us the principle and directions of making du.

As a believer, there is nothing wrong with making dufor the dunya. A little child maybe making for toys and a big child may be making du for bigger toys. Everyone ismaking dufor dunya. A person wants to get married, get a home, etc. Those types ofducan be sources ofmn boosting. When you are desperate for something, you raiseyour hands to Allh.

In exam time, how many people cry in alh because they want to do well in theirexams? Allh (subnahu wa tala) says it is not just about making dufor the dunya.Those who make du only for the dunya will have no share for the hereafter. Allh(subnahu wa tala) teaches us to also make dufor the Hereafter. Our duis not just


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this dunya. By the way, the du is not just the Hereafter it is both! A person ispraying to be in Jannah, to be with the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), to be heldfirm on the ir, to drink from the aw, Paradise for themselves and family andchildren. This creates the balance.

The third part of the duis the fear and hope coming together: and to protect us fromthe Hellfire. Many people just think duis a to-do list and a goal list. We need to seekprotection of Allh (subnahu wa tala) from things that would lead to a miserable end.Seek protection from Hellfire, bad character, bad companionship.

Together, if you use these three principles in making du, you cant go wrong.

To make this the best Ramadan, have good companionship. Where does this come up

in the Qurn and Sunnah? When the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was fastingand would go to somebodys home, after completing his food, he would turn to the hostand say to him, May righteous people eat your food. I love this duso much! TheProphet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is telling the host, May righteous people in thefuture eat your food. This means: may you always be in the companionship withrighteous people when you are fasting and when they are fasting.

When Ramadan comes along, a person needs to focus on good companionship. If youare living in the West, you know that all around you there are distractions from fasting.This year the Olympics are going on. Nothing is really reminding you of Allh(subnahu wa tala). In the old days, you couldnt do much about that, but now, you

can choose your environment.

For example, if you are online or on your phone, you can unsubscribe from things thatare not reminding you from Allh (subnahu wa tala) and not bringing you closer toAllh. You can start subscribing to many of the shuyukh who are doing Ramadanreminders. Start bringing in more good companionship and pushing away things thatarent reminding you from Allh.

This is a footnote: It was really brilliant what Shaykh Muhammad did. On Facebook,you get messages on the side of the page, which are distracting. He keeps reporting adsthat are offensive, so he did something amazing: he signed up for Islamic pages,

especially the I Love Allah page. When you like a whole bunch of Islamic pages, thenthey will start understanding that you want Islamic advertisements, and nowalamdulillh he has all of these Islamic advertisements and has taken care of thatdistraction.

How can we make this Ramadan a victorious one? By victory we mean sins forgivenand having a ticket to Paradise. At the end of Ramadan, if you put in a lot of effort or


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not so much effort, it doesnt matter because if at the end of Ramadan you end up withsins forgiven and going to Jannah, then you have ended up victorious.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was going up on the minbarand said mn and

took another step and said mn and stepped up one more and said mn. Later, heasked the companions if they knew why he was saying this, and he told them, Jibrlcame to me and was making duand telling me to say mn. One of the three duswas: May his nose be rubbed in dust / may he perish he who finds himself inRamadan and is not forgiven. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said mn.The other two: someone finds his parents in old age and doesnt end up in Jannah fromgood treatment of the parents and whoever hears the Prophets name and doesnt sayallallhu alayhi wa sallam.

What we learn from this is that Ramadan is a gold mine of good deeds. In Mario Bros.there is a part where you go down a pipe and there are so many coins to get. Ramadan

is like that! In Ramadan, opportunities are in abundance and you just have to reach outyour hand.

There are three things to focus on if you are looking to be victorious in Ramadan.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Whoever fasts in Ramadan with mn anditisb, his past sins will be forgiven. mn is to believe in the reward and itisb is to

hope and seek the reward from Allh. If you are told the reward for something is such-and-such, mn is to believe in it and to desire it. If a person is told that if he does such-and-such and his past sins will be forgiven and he doesnt care, then he doesnt haveitisb. Itisb is to seek the reward of Allh (subnahu wa tala).

When you break the fast, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) taught us that thereare two happy moments: when breaking the fast and then when meeting Allh. Whenyou break the fast, you have hope in these two happinesses. You hope in the reward ofmeeting Allh (subnahu wa tala) who will reward us for the fasting.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Whoever stands up in Ramadan [tarw,praying at night, focusing onalh] and does it with mn and itisb (seeking reward ofAllh), their past sins will be forgiven. If you really want to feel your Ramadan andtake it to the next level, have itisb. Try and understand and learn more about theQurn and Words of Allh.


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The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Whoever stands up for laylatl-qadrwithmn and itisb (seeking the reward of Allh), their past sins will be forgiven. We

have fasting, tarw, and laylatl-qadrin the last ten nights of Ramadan.

Lets talk about some obstacles that may get in the way of everything youve hoped for.Ill give the analogy of someone who has plugged in their mobile phone and thinks it ischarging and comes back later thinking it is fully recharged, but there was a mistakethat caused the phone to be disconnected so the charge is not complete. When thishappens, you feel really bad. You spend 30 days charging, but something may bemissing. We dont want this to happen.

In the beginning of Ramadan, there is a burst of energy and everyone is like supermanor superwoman and they want to do this and that. There is a burst of energy in the lastten nights of Ramadan, from the 24th/25th to the 27th/28th. There is a pick-up of energyin the last ten nights. There is a strong push at the beginning and end of Ramadan.You dont have to worry too much about the beginning and end because there is a lot ofcommunity support at these times.

In the middle of Ramadan, there is a dip that happens in peoples energy andenthusiasm. I think it happens from the fourth day of Ramadan. People may startgetting tired and eating too much at ifrand missing out on tarw and it becomes aspiral effect. By the tenth of Ramadan, youll see the numbers in the masjid have gone

down. People are missing the tarw. The enthusiasm isnt as strong in the middle.

How do you make sure you are strong in the beginning, middle, and end?

Find something to do where people are dependent on you. If you are leading thetarw, the alh doesnt happen unless you arrive. There are many times when youmay feel tired and not want to go but you get up and go. If you dont have thisresponsibility, you may submit to this energy dip. The muadhdhin is showing up. Thepeople who volunteer for parking are there. People helping with tarw management

show up. They all show up and show up early. Find something you can help out with atthe masjid so that you are constantly there and participating.

This is the nature of fasting, which is to cleanse out toxins from the mind, heart andbody. Because you are cleansing your body, you naturally will dip and get a bit sickerbefore getting better. When Ramadan starts, doctors in Muslim countries say the


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number of people going to the hospital increases. It increases on the first day ofRamadan, but it isnt the fasting that is doing this to the people. It is the habits thatcome before the fasting: bad eating habits, bad drinking habits. Ramadan is a mercyand gift to cleanse us.

If you do it properly and dont stuff yourself with five ifr meals and are not havingCoke with sur, and you are putting in healthy food in your diet, then inshAllh youwill find that you will come out of the energy dip faster. If you do it properly, yourenergy will zoom to a level that is higher than when you started the fast.

If you start fasting and start getting sick within the next few days, then around the fifthday the sickness will intensify. Then if you are eating properly and drinking fluids, byabout day seven to day ten, you will start coming out of this toxicity and will have anenergy burst that was stronger than when you started Ramadan. By the last ten nights,you should be cleansed and you will have a lot of energy.

Take a nap during the day. This is not necessarily napping from maghrib to ish. Somepeople eat ifrand nap before going for tarw. It is okay to lie down at this time, butif you sleep after maghrib, there is no way that you will on a consistent basis get up for ishevery time. It may be better to take an afternoon nap while fasting. Leave thetime after maghrib to relax before the tarw starts.

If you miss it, it will intensify the pain and it isnt good for you. The Prophet (allallhualayhi wa sallam) encouraged us to get up and eat sur: Eat sur for verily in it isbarakah. Sometimes it is hard to get up and make a meal, but Id recommend takesome food and drink and put it by your bed so that inshAllh you can easily reach for itand eat it.

I was asking online about peoples favorite drinks, and you should make your favoriteRamadan drink water, especially in the summer. Fill your body up with cool, refreshingwater when breaking ifr in the evenings. Document how much water you are

drinking so if you find you arent drinking enough, you can drink more. If you arentpaying attention, you may only have one or two cups of water in a few days ofRamadan. Focus on drinking more water.


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Feeding is when you give adaqah and charity. Focus on this more than going to foodfestivals.

This will motivate you to keep going.

Some people in Ramadan find themselves in situations where they cant take full

advantage of Ramadan. Sometimes people get ill or some people have to work or havea night shift. Other people may be traveling. A student may be away from their familyfor the first time. A woman may be pregnant or on her menstrual cycle.

Here are some tips, which can help in these situations to extract the most benefit:

Many times people try to do big things and you may not be able to execute them. Smallthings give an mn boost throughout the day. If you create a habit of them, youll feelthe Ramadan spirit.

If you are traveling, go to the free ifrs and make friends and talk to Muslims. Makethe best of the situation you are in.

Dont wait for other people to step up. Everyone is waiting for someone else. As soonas you start, youll find many Muslims will love to help out. If there are a lot of studentsin your area, arrange something like a pot-luck ifr.


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Say that every day you will read X pages of Qurn or do different acts of worship.Create consistency. When you create consistency, it helps you focus and become

stabilized in your worship instead of jumping from here and there. When people jumpfrom here and there, they get lost. Do actions consistently to get stabilized and makingthe most of it.

If you cant join in on prayers, then listen in on live tarw prayers at Makkah andother places. At least watch and listen to the Qurn being recited. This is also good forpregnant women at home or women on their menstrual cycle. Make it a habit to listenin on Makkahalh and tarw.

If you find people are feeding others and there is a free ifr, then dont just go for theifr but help serve people and do work in Ramadan. It will be an amazing Ramadanexperience.

A reminder for all of us: let us not forget to make du for victims of war. We keephearing about those who are really hurting, and ask Allh (subnahu wa tala) forthose in Syria and Burma and other countries where people are suffering. Make dutoAllh (subnahu wa tala) to make it easy for them.

A few years ago it was a big topic on brothers who were unjustly detained for being aMuslim. Many of those brothers are still in prison, but weve forgotten about them.Their children are growing older and their fathers are in prison. Make du to Allh(subnahu wa tala) to ease their situation as well.

For our loved ones who were with us in previous Ramadans and who are not with usnow, make du to Allh: May Allh (subnahu wa tala) forgive the believers, thosewho are alive amongst us and those who have passed away.

Shaykh Muhammad teaches a program called Niche Hero, which helps Muslims buildIslamic businesses and projects, and there are internal competitions. The top NicheHero student of one classes was Deeds in 60 Seconds. This Ramadan, ShaykhMuhammad is teaming up with him with the Ramadan Good Deeds Cookbook. Each dayin Ramadan starting from tomorrow, they will be suggesting a good deed recipe. For allthose who have ajrcravings, they will be suggesting some new and exciting remindersto enliven some sunnahs and good deeds to do throughout the day. We can be anencouragement for each other and magnify our reward in Ramadan.


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Victory: Preparation & Execution of Your Best Ramadan EverShaykh Yasir Qadhi

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This is strange but so true: all of you in the Western world know about the massacresthat happened two days ago with the crazy gunman who shot 60 people and killedmore than a dozen. Shaykh Yasir found out about it a few minutes after it happened.

He kept wondering the whole night that something was strange and that he is notreacting the way he should. And then it struck him the next morning: every timesomething like this happens in North America, the first thought that comes is pain andbeing saddened that this wanton killing is taking place but at the same time we areworried about what if it is a Muslim, and we are making du that it is not a Muslim.That night, the thought didnt even occur that it could be a Muslim because the shaykhknew that it was the first of Ramadan, and he knew that no matter how crazy peopleare, on the first day of Ramadan, no one from our faith is going to do something likethat. This made him realize how Ramadan changes people.

Everybody changes. You see people in the masjid who you have never seen before. This

is one of the barakahs of Ramadan. It manages to bring the good out of all of us,alamdulillh. The reason for this is that Allh (subnahu wa tala) has blessed andgifted us this month. Allh (subnahu wa tala) could have made all of the days of theyear equal and He could have made all of the months of the year equal. Think aboutwhat if Allh (subnahu wa tala) had done that. Allh (subnahu wa tala) says in theQurn, What if I made all day and no night? What if I made all night and no day?How would you have reacted?

Similarly, the question arises, what if Allh (subnahu wa tala) made the whole yearexactly the same? There is no Friday, d, no ajj, no Ramadan. How would we havereacted? Allh (subnahu wa tala) knows we need variety and incentives and

motivational factors, so He chose certain times and dates and months over others, andHe blessed those dates, months, and times so that there is a huge incentive for us to bebetter in those days and months.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) gave us a weekly holiday on Friday. Every Friday Allh(subnahu wa tala) gives us so many blessings. Allh (subnahu wa tala) gave us theblessed days of ajj in Dhul-ijjah and the holy month of Ramadan. As ShaykhMuhammad said, duis central to Ramadan. Right after Ramadan, Allh (subnahu watala) mentions du in the Qurn. Aanother point Allh (subnahu wa tala)references in these verses which is commonly overlooked. There are two thingsreferenced in these verses. One is du, which Shaykh Muhammad already talked

about, and the second of them is in Sratl-Baqarah, which is the only verse thatmentions Ramadan. By the way, Ramadan is the only month mentioned by Allh(subnahu wa tala) in the Qurn.


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Allh (subnahu wa tala) says, The month of Ramadan By merely mentioning andreferencing this one month over the others, He is blessing it and making it stand out

and sacred over all of the other months. Allh (subnahu wa tala) says, The month ofRamadan is the month in which the Qurn was revealed. The Qurn is a guidance formankind and a criterion and clarification that tells you what is right from what iswrong. Whoever witnesses this month, then let him fast it.

What did you notice? The fasting is mentioned secondarily and incidentally. The realblessing of Ramadan that Allh (subnahu wa tala) starts the verse off with isneglected by most of us. It is as if Allh (subnahu wa tala) is saying the sanctity ofthe month and sacredness of the month comes from the fact that it is related to theQurn and is associated with the Qurn. Fasting is the second thing and is incidentaland will happen afterwards. The sanctity was before the fasting and is not directly

related to the fasting. It is not dependent on the fasting.

It is as if the primary blessing of Ramadan and main association we should have withRamadan and the main linkage should not be fasting, which is secondary. The mainlinkage should be the Qurn and the recitation of the Qurn and contemplation of theQurn. The month of Ramadan is the month that the Qurn came down. This is thesanctity.

Because the month of Ramadan is linked to the Qur n, our primary focus of course

the fasting is far above and beyond has to be the Qurn. Imam Mlik the firstauthor of a book ofadth meant to be published and distributed, the Muwaa whenthe month of Ramadan came, he would close his books of adth and would stopnarrating aadth and would simply go to the masjid and read Qurn day and night.Someone as great as Imam Mlik and doing one of the greatest jobs of the ummah preserving aadth of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and come Ramadan eventhat knowledge became secondary and the Qurn became his primary focus. This isalso narrated by many scholars of the past. When the month of Ramadan came, theywould pause what they are doing and stop all other lectures and turn their attention tothe Qurn.

The shaykh really want to emphasize this point. Subconsciously we all know thatRamadan is linked with the Qurn, but this Ramadan, let us make sure we pay specialattention to the Qurn. Even the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) come the monthof Ramadan would recite in an extra beautiful manner and longer manner and greaterrecitation recitation.

The question arises: who would the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) recite to?Those who memorize or are memorizing find someone to recite to in order to make


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sure we dont make any mistakes. Who is the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) goingto recite to when the Qurn came down to him? a Bukhri tells us: in the month ofRamadan, Allh (subnahu wa tala) would send the angel Jibrl down every singlenight in order that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) recite the Qurn to Jibrl.

Think about it, who amongst the men will correct the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wasallam)? It is impossible. Allh (subnahu wa tala) sent down the holiest of holyangels to the holiest of holy men in order that he can recite the Qur n on a daily basis.In the year he (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) passed away, he recited the Qurn twice fromcover to cover. It is also said that Jibrl would recite to him. It was a two-way street.The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) would recite to Jibrl, and Jibrl would recite tothe Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).

The most important advice: the Qurn, the Qurn, the Qurn! We are still at thebeginning of the month. Let every one of us make a sincere intention that the bareminimum is that you will finish reciting the Qurn in the entire month. Better than

this is to make more than one recitation. Also listen to the Qurn as well. The Prophet(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) would recite and listen. Each one is a separate act ofworship and each has its own psychological impact. The Qurn mentions both of them.Allh (subnahu wa tala) says that the Qurn has been recited to them and then Allh(subnahu wa tala) says, you do tilwah.

SubnAllh, in this month it is the easiest combination. We read the Qurn during theday and have it recited at night to us in tarw. This is the easiest combination. Noother month affords us this combination of reciting the Qurn and having it recited tous. This is exactly what our Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) did.

Some people may say, Lets get real. It is too much! To this, the shaykh responds: Itis only great and difficult if you make it difficult. Twenty pages a day is not a lot. Youare making it bigger than it really needs to be. Ask yourself when you have free time.One of the easiest systems, which the shaykh is doing himself this Ramadan, is that onhis iPhone, he has the Qurn app. After everyalh he recites five or six pages or morethan that. If you recite even four pages after every single alh, it works out to 20pages. If you spend literally 3 minutes after every alh, you can read four pages andthen you will automatically be doing a juza day. By the end of the month, you wouldthen finish a juz. Four pages is the bare minimum. The shaykhs advice is to be

realistic. For example, after maghrib, many of us wont spend time to read the Qurn.If you know you will do that, then recite five pages after four alawt. Do the math.Divide up twenty pages. If you only have time after two alawt, then read ten pagesafter each.

Be realistic and rediscover the beauty of the Qurn, not just in recitation but also intilwah to you.


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Remind ourselves of the beautiful adth which is simple and to the point. Whoeverfasted the month with mn and itisb, all of his previous sins will be forgiven. This is

a huge blessing! Think about it. What are the deeds that forgive all of the previoussins? There are very few in number and not that many. This is one of those deeds inthe top ten deeds that forgives all of your previous sins, but there are two conditions.

What does mn mean? mn doesnt just mean having faith of course that is theprimary meaning here. If a non-Muslim fasts, then it will not be given the reward fromAllh (subnahu wa tala) because he didnt do it from Allh. However, who fastsRamadan other than Muslims? There is a deeper meaning than whoever fasts as aMuslim because only Muslims fast Ramadan.

The word mn here doesnt just mean while having mn but means while renewinghis mn, while reinvigorating his mn, while always being conscious that he is doingsomething for Allh (subnahu wa tala) and to please Allh. It is as if this adth is tofasting what khush is to alh. This adth reminds us that we need to have humility,humbleness, and perseverance when it comes to fasting just like when it comes toprayer, it is not just the motions and rituals that are rewarded but it is the khush,humility, attention.

If you pray like a parrot moving up and down, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)said a person may not get anything of the alh except maybe one-tenth of it or may a

measly amount of it. Similarly, if a person fasts a Muslim knows he is supposed to fast but if he has no mn and no consciousness and no khush as he is fasting, then thepurpose of fasting has not really been met. mn here means that with full certainty heis doing it for Allh (subnahu wa tala) and to please Allh (subnahu wa tala) andfor the sake of Allh.

mn here means with isn, which is worshipping Allh (subnahu wa tala) as thoughyou see Him because even if you dont see Him, He sees you.

Itisb is always expecting the reward and always greedy for the reward. In this case,greediness is good because when you are greedy for the reward, then you are alwaysthinking of the reward. You need to have itisb when any type of problem comes up.These days Ramadan is in July and in most of the world it is very hot, and you need tohave itisb when you are sweating and when your throat gets dry and you are in thesun. This is when itisb comes and you say, InshAllh I am doing this for the sake ofAllh. This is going to get me reward. Again, it goes back to consciousness.


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This adth is to fasting what khush is toalh.

Some of the blessings that come out of Ramadan:

The attachment with the Qurn has to be there.

Dont worry about them, Ill take care of you. Eating, drinking, and our sensualdesires are minimized.

What is the wisdom in this? There are multiple wisdoms. A man came to the Prophet(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) who was not knowledgeable and wanted to become a type ofrecluse or hermit, and he asked if he could castrate himself like the Christians of olddid. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said (literal meaning), The castration ofmy ummah is fasting. There is a deeper meaning here. Being a hermit or monk themaximum you are supposed to do is through the fasting. A hermit or monk issomebody who cuts off his worldly pleasures and all relationship with the dunya. OurProphet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said that fasting is what Allh (subnahu wa tala)has legislated if you want to do something like this. This is the max you can do. Youcant physically castrate yourself. You cant go and live in the desert or on a mountain.

This is not what our religion requires.

There is clearly and undoubtedly an indication that we should not concentrate on ourphysical bodies during the day, especially during the day. What does that do? Whenyou dont concentrate on the spiritual body, the spiritual soul becomes more aware.There is a little bit of attention between the body and soul. When we overfeed the body(not just eating too much but all pleasures), we feel lazy and lethargic and want to donothing.

When you overfeed the body, the soul (r) gets neglected. When the body getsneglected, the r is more spiritually aware and more fine-tuned. This is the purpose of

Ramadan and why you are supposed to increase the Qurn. The r is now aware.When the lights go out, your eyes become more sensitive to the dark. When thephysical light is extinguished, Allh (subnahu wa tala) blesses your vision to becomemore powerful. The same thing happens when the light (i.e. the body) is cast aside fora while. Instantaneously, your spiritual vision becomes more aware and more sensitive.Allh (subnahu wa tala) tells us to read Qurn more during this time because it is thebest time to benefit from the Qurn.


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The adth can be translated this way: The monasticism of my ummah is through thefasting. If you want to lead a rough and tough life, then the max recommended byAllh (subnahu wa tala) is through fasting.

The saying is that you dont appreciate what you have until it is taken away from you.This is a reality every one of us has experienced. In fasting, Allh (subnahu wa tala)forces us to take away those blessings for a while so that we are forced to confront thefact that we neglect those blessings. Allh (subnahu wa tala) forces us to take awaythe blessings, and when they are taken away for a while, we appreciate them. How canwe possibly live without food or water? These are blessings Allh (subnahu wa tala)reinforces us with in Ramadan that throughout the year He is giving them to us, sothank Allh (subnahu wa tala) for those blessings. How do we thank Allh

(subnahu wa tala) for these blessings? There are many ways, and of them is:

Fasting is also the month of generosity and sharing with the poor. Anas b. Mlik(rayAllhu anhu) said, The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was the most generousof all people, but in the month of Ramadan, his generosity exceeded all bounds. Itcould not be measured. It was like the uncontrollable desert wind. Imagine you are inthe desert and the wind is blowing. How can you stop the wind? Anas b. Mlik said theProphet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is the most generous but in the month of Ramadan,he would become even more generous than this uncontrollable wind.

Every one of us needs to ask himself / herself what we can do to be generous even if itis feeding somebody a date in the masjid or going and finding a poor family in yourneighborhood and giving them food.

By the way, brothers and sisters, this is the best way to give charity: find a family. Theshaykh is not criticizing those who donate to Islamic charity events he is alwayspromoting Islamic charities. At the same time, far better than going online and givingmoney is to find somebody in your community who needs the money. Find an orphanor widow or refugee family in your own community. Visit the person. Not only willyour money be taken advantage of more, but also you will have direct contact with

these families and will see what is happening in their lives and may even cater to theirneeds in a better way. Suppose they dont need money but rice or dont need rice buteggs, then you can now see what they need and help them out. This is the best thing todo, especially in this month of Ramadan.

Go find an opportunity and avenue you can give charity to. The shaykh reiterates heis not saying dont give to an online charity. He has helped raised hundreds of


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thousands of dollars and appreciates what they are doing, but at the same time, manyof us neglect the smaller and local cases, and we also need to concentrate on them.

You realize this the most a few days after Ramadan. When Ramadan finishes, everyonenotices the gap. People dont go to the masjid as much and miss the spiritualenvironment. In Ramadan, everyone gets reintroduced to the masjid. MashAllh it issuch an mn boosting sign to see so many people in the masjid. The masjid is jam-packed, and it is a great blessing to see people come to the community. Make sure youform an association with the masjid.

Abu Hurayrah (rayAllhu anhu) reported that the abah would spend most of thedays in the masjid in Ramadan to protect their fasting. They wanted to protect it frombusiness transactions, cursing, evil glances, etc. What better way to protect your

fasting than to fortify yourself in the local masjid.

Every one of us meets our brothers and sisters on a daily basis. We see them at tarwand at ifr. We are solidifying the bonds of friendship. This is one of the greatest mnboosters the ummah will become united through this.

In Ramadan, all of us increase in our du. Duis the weapon of the believer, and dhikr

is the fortress of the believer. These are phrases from the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wasallam) and early scholars. Duand dhikrare twins and you need both of them duto go on the offensive and dhikr for the defensive. In Ramadan, our du and dhikrincreases. We all make duto Allh.

The best time to make du in Ramadan is before the ifr because the Prophet(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, The duof the one who is fasting when he breaks hisfast is never rejected. We all know that when we are sitting at the table with all thefood laid out, it is almost impossible to concentrate on du. That is what our Prophet(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is saying. At that time, in the last few minutes of fasting,makes sure that you take some time out and truly purify yourself. Never is your soul

and body in attention as it is right before ifr. Make duto Allh. This dusincerelysaid right before ifr is one of the most beautiful times when you can have a privaterelationship with Allh (subnahu wa tala).

This is one of the greatest blessings of Ramadan. This is something that every one of usexperiences ourselves. Every one of us gets better in Ramadan. We leave the sins we


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are doing and we increase our ibadt. Even the furthest Muslim in Ramadanrediscovers Islam. This is the beauty of this month.

Anyone who has an ounce ofmn or an atoms weight ofmn, come Ramadan you find

some change in them. Something happens! This is a clear sign that Ramadan is a timewhen Allh (subnahu wa tala) allows us to see our potential. Do you know whathappens when you see your potential? For example, if you are having problems in aclass and cant understand anything and one day it all fits into place. One day you nowunderstand every problem and you go home and can solve them.

The confidence boost that you get and the power that you feel that alamdulillh youcan do this is what happens. This is why Allh (subnahu wa tala) legislated Ramadan.It gives us the potential and makes us realize that we are capable of being betterpeople. If we can be better people in Ramadan, we can be better people outside ofRamadan.

During this month we all start praying more, fasting more, making dhikrmore and dumore. Everything increases. Every single avenue ofkhayrgoes up in Ramadan, and yourealize that not only can you do it, but it is actually fun to do and makes you feel better.It is spiritually rewarding, it is physically challenging but uplifting. Allh (subnahu watala) gives us a taste of our reward and blessings of being Muslims.

Therefore, one of the primary wisdoms of Ramadan is that it affords us the opportunityto become better every single year. One of the scholars of the past said, The sign ofRamadan having being accepted is that a person continues to perform good deeds afterRamadan is over.

We all know that after Ramadan is over, we wont be this religious and wont read thismuch Qurn and wont go to the masjid this much. It is not something that most of usare able to do. The point is not that you continue the routine of Ramadan outside ofRamadan. This is impossible. You will not fast every day this is actually against theSunnah. Many of us wont pray tahajjud or qiym every night. The recitation of theQurn will go down. This is a reality.

However, the point is that lets say before Ramadan you are at the bottom of the ladderand during Ramadan you climbed up 100 steps of this ladder. When Ramadan is over,you know that you are not going to remain 100 steps up but when you go down, dont

come crashing down to the very step you began the month at because that means youwasted the entire month. It is like your boss gave you a promotion and after a month isover, you say that you want to go back to your old salary or old privileges. This is notthe way Allh (subnahu wa tala) wants us to work. When you get this promotion, ifyou cant keep it at 100, go down to 70 or 60 or 50, but dont go back down to where youbegan because that defeats the whole point of the month!


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We all know that when Ramadan is over, there will be a little bit of a crash, but let it bea little bit of a crash and let it not be crashing down all the way to where you began orelse if it is as if our chart remains steady at zero and therefore as if there was noRamadan. Use Ramadan as a stepping-stone for your life! That is the point, brothers

and sisters. Every year, let Ramadan boost you up. Go for 100, go for 1,000, or go for100,000. After Ramadan is over, when you come back down, remain higher than whereyou began when the month began. What will happen? Every year, your chart willincrease and your graph will go higher and higher and higher. Every Ramadan will bebetter than the previous Ramadan. This is one of the greatest secrets and wisdoms onwhy Allh (subnahu wa tala) legislated this month.

May Allh (subnahu wa tala) make us of those who appreciate the blessings of thismonth. May Allh (subnahu wa tala) make us of those who read Qurn and who fastand who pray during this month. May Allh (subnahu wa tala) make us of those whoenter Jannah from bbl-rayn.

Let me remind you of a very frightening adth. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wasallam) stepped on a minbarthree times and said mn, mn, mn. Jibrl came to himand told him three things and said, Say mn at the end of these three things. One ofthem was a person whom Allh (subnahu wa tala) allows his parents to live to an oldage and he is not able to get his sins forgiven, that such a person never be forgiven.The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, mn. If you cannot use one of yourparents to get into Jannah, then you are really a failure. Another is: a person whodoesnt say altand salm upon the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), may there be

no good in him. Say, mn. The third is: Whoever manages to catch Ramadan andstill cannot get his sins forgiven, then may he have no good in him and may he befurthered from Allhs Mercy. Say, mn. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)said, mn.

The bottom line: if you cannot step up your acts in Ramadan and cant get your acttogether in Ramadan, if you cannot step up your game, and if you cannot be a righteousperson, then you have no good in you. This is Jibrl commanding our Prophet (allallhualayhi wa sallam) to say mn to this fact. The goal is amazing: having all of your sinsforgiven! Jibrl did not say whoever cannot fast the month and he did not saywhoever reads a few extra juz. Jibrl set the bar as high as we ever want it to go,

which is having all sins forgiven. Why is this bar so high? Allh (subnahu wa tala)made access to that bar so easy and not so difficult even though it is so high. Allh(subnahu wa tala) made it so easy and the rewards are so great and the path to get itis so easy, and if you are too lazy to take the path to get the goal and prize, then there isno good in you or in anybody who does not do that.

May Allh (subnahu wa tala) save us from that category of people. May we be ofthose who benefit from this month the way it should be benefitted from.


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The masjid are filled with people who dont come the rest of the year.

What should the relationship be between those who are masjid going and those who arecoming for tarw and ish?

The reality that we notice and see is that the masjid fill up in Ramadan, andwhen Ramadan finishes, the masjid are not full. However, there is a caveat, whichgives us hope. We notice that after every Ramadan, there is a noticeable difference inthe quantity of people coming to the masjid. Before Ramadan if there are five or sixrows, then after Ramadan, it goes to seven or eight. What has Allh (subnahu watala) blessed the community to do? To increase our retention rate. There are a lot ofpeople coming to the masjid. In an average ish, you get 10% of them. The goal is tomake sure that these brothers and sisters try their best to attach themselves to Allh(subnahu wa tala) and have a great experience. Provide for them the best spiritual,mn-boosting, and logistical experience. Our masjid should be clean and ifrshouldbe on time and people should be friendly. Make sure that these things are taken care

of. If you see a new person, go up to him and talk to him and become his friend.Ramadan does open doors for people to enter the masjid. There will always be theRamadan Muslims. Allh (subnahu wa tala) knows their faith and judgment. Our jobis to try to get the Ramadan Muslims to be 24/7 Muslims. A smile you give to yourbrother. A plate you give to them. Something small will open up his heart and mn.Your job is to act as an ambassador to your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. Be aloving and caring person and leave the rest to Allh.

The Fasting and the Furious by Shaykh Muhammad AlshareefThis lecture is on avoiding the Ramadan dip.

The Ramadan Checklist by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

victory - preparation and execution of your best ramadan ever (notes)

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