PART 1
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
الله اكبر كبيرا، والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ ونستغفره ونومنه ونتوكل عليه ,ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ,ومن سيئات أعمالنا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ
,وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ, لَهُ المُلْكُ، ولَهُ الحمْدُ، وَهُو عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدِيرٌ, وَأَشْهَدُ وَأَنَّ سيدنا وحبيبنا ومولانا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه وَحَبيبحُهُ ﷺ
عما بعد
فقال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز
بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِۦ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ
Allah says in His Generous Book:
You who believe, have taqwa of Allah with the taqwa due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
We thank Allah for allowing us to have witnessed another Ramadan. There is no doubt that it is distinct from other months, and by His generosity and ever-present creative power, he removes other burdens through it so that we are more able to dedicate ourselves to His worship, making it easier for us to have awareness of His all-pervading presence. Alhamdulillah wash-shukru lillah!
This day of Eid is a celebration of this divine generosity. Allah says about Ramadan after a’oodhu bi’llahi min ash-shaytani-‘r-rajeem:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and discrimination. Any of you who are resident for the month should fast it.
Thus, the month marks the beginning of the revelation of the Qur’an to His beloved Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. The Book of Allah is His guidance to humanity, containing guidance to the path of direct knowledge of the Divine presence as well as discrimination, making clear what is true and what is false. This discrimination is vital in fostering a healthy society and allowing a safe space for Divine knowledge to be attained. The ayat continues:
وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ * يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ
But any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number of other days. Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you. You should complete the number of days.
Meaning, any fasts you missed of the 29 or 30 days must be made up. Allah does not expect us to do more than we can bare, but it is a part of taqwa that we do not meet Allah with missed prayers and fasts hanging over us. So, I must remind you and myself that it is incumbent on us to make up any missed fasts, whether they were missed due to illness, childbirth, menstruation, etc. Once the reason for having missed the fast is no longer there, one must make up the fast before the following Ramadan, and if one does not make it up, it remains a debt that we will have to answer for on the day we meet Allah. This is the same with all obligated acts of worship, such as the obligatory prayers, the payment of zakat, etc. Any obligatory acts of worship that we have missed must be made up.
It is also worth mentioning the Zakat al-Fitr at this juncture. It is important to remember to pay the Zakat al-Fitr if you have not already done so. Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory for all Muslims and is given in a staple food such as rice, dates, barley or wheat. It is obligatory to pay it for yourself and any of your dependants. It should already have been paid before the Eid prayer, but if for some reason it was not, it remains a debt until it is paid. The Prophet, sallaAllahu alayhi wa sallam enjoined Zakat al-fitr to expiate for any moments of inappropriate speech or behaviour and to ensure that the poor have something to eat on Eid day. When paid before Eid prayer it is accepted as Zakat, and if it is delayed it becomes a sadaqa which is, nevertheless obligatory.
The ayat continues:
وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
And [you should] proclaim Allah’s greatness for the guidance He has given you so that hopefully you will be thankful.
These words allude to the day of Eid al-Fitr and the takbirat which have filled the air and illuminated our hearts.
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
الله اكبر كبيرا، والحمد لله كثيرا، وسبحان الله بكرةً وأصيلا
Thus, the day of Eid is a day of gratitude for the guidance we have received. It is a guidance that has caused us to oppose our appetites for His sake and only He knows the extent of that reward. Yet, through our obedience, we have been able to taste the sweetness of Allah’s generosity and favour, and in reading, listening to and studying the Book of Allah, we have been gifted precious jewels of guidance, and we ask Allah for increase in guidance and illumination. Thus, in the face of such boundless generosity, we can only be grateful.
الحمد لله على نعمة الإسلام وكفى بها نعمة
Alhamdulillah for the gift of Islam and it is a blessing that suffices.
This gratitude for one’s countless blessings, along with patience in time of difficulty, infuses the life of true believers with an impenetrable contentment and the whole affair is good for such a person. In the Hadith we have from Suhayb, may Allah be pleased with him that the Messenger, sallAlahu alayhi wa sallam said:
عَجَبًا لأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ *إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لأَحَدٍ إِلاَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ* إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ
How wonderful is the situation of the believer! His whole situation is good for him, and that is not the case for anyone except for the believer. If he is subjected to good times, he is grateful and that is good for him, and if he is subjected to difficulties he is patient and that is good for him.
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
However, verbally expressing gratitude is only the beginning. In order that gratitude be true, it should also be activated. For example, He gave us a tongue, and gratitude for it is to use it to do dhikr Allah, to speak the truth and to benefit others. If Allah has given you wealth, gratitude would be to spend some of it feesabeelillah – using it to help those in need and in support of the Deen of Allah.
May Allah place true gratitude in our hearts and may that gratitude be activated in service to Him and to His creation.
أقول قولي هذا واستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين
واستغفرواه ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على خير المرسلين وعلى آله وصحبهِ أجمعين
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِی هَدَىٰنَا لِهَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهۡتَدِیَ لَوۡلَاۤ أَنۡ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُۖ لَقَدۡ جَاۤءَتۡ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلۡحَقِّۖ
عما بعد
قال الله تعلى في كتابه العزيز بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَخَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
Allah says in His Generous Book:
You who have iman! have taqwa of Allah and let each self look to what it has sent forward for Tomorrow. Have taqwa of Allah. Allah is aware of what you do.
Know that all of us sitting here will eventually meet our Lord. Time is short and passes us by. If we are to reflect on how brief Ramadan has been and how quickly it comes around each year, we would see that we are hurtling toward this Divine meeting. Allah punctuates our busy lives with moments in which we are reminded of the temporary nature of our life here and the absolute permeance of His existence. The moment of the shahada of the one entering the Deen, the five prayers, the paying of zakat, the fast of Ramadan, the Hajj are all obligatory moments that Allah has gifted us to provide us perspective and to help us understand the reality of our situation.
Thus, we must take hold of the lessons learned in this Ramadan, and take that knowledge with us into the rest of the year by acting on it. We must also take hold of the Qur’an and make it our guide, for there is no point receiving guidance if do not act on it. If someone tells you there is poison in your glass of water and you drink it anyway, the knowledge that the glass contains poison has been of no benefit to you. This is the nature of the guidance we have received. Allah tells us what will poison us and what will quench our thirst, yet if we think we know better, or if we ignore the advice on account of some doubt that we have, we will drink poison and forgo that which will quench our thirst.
All of the prohibited actions in the sharia are there to protect us from the negative consequences of such actions, while obedience to His commands is a source of joy and contentment in the two worlds. Of course, it may not be easy to see how that is, but for those with Iman, they say: sami’ana wa ata’na, we hear and we obey, as Allah says in surat al-Noor:
إِنَّمَا كَانَ قَوْلَ الْمُومِنِينَ إِذَا دُعُوآ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَهُمُۥ أَنْ يَقُولُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَخْشَ ٱللَّهَ وَيَتَّقِهِ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَآئِزُونَ
The reply of the muminun when they are summoned to Allah and His Messenger so that he can judge between them, is to say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ They are ones who are successful.
All who obey Allah and His Messenger and have awe of Allah and taqwa of Him, they are the ones who are victorious.
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
It is very important to understand that this is not simply a dry lifeless affair. The believers have access to the sweetness of faith; to unmatched joy, radiance and love. The success and victory mentioned in the ayat is eternal bliss and safety from the fire. For those whose hearts are alive in the perception of Allah’s presence, it is not just a far-off promise; rather it is something that we can have direct access to in this life. Our Messenger called this the sweetness of faith. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ حَلاَوَةَ الإِيمَانِ أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا، وَأَنْ يُحِبَّ الْمَرْءَ لاَ يُحِبُّهُ إِلاَّ لِلَّهِ، وَأَنْ يَكْرَهَ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي الْكُفْرِ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُقْذَفَ فِي النَّار
Whoever has three qualities will obtain the sweetness of faith: That Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than any other, that he loves someone purely for Allah, and that he hates to return to kufr to the same extent he would hate to be flung into the fire.
And from Abbas ibn Abdulmuttalib may Allah be pleased with him we also have the following hadith:
ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا
The one who is satisfied with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his Deen and with Muhammad as his prophet will enjoy the taste of Iman.
However, the world, particularly the modern world, promises something different. We are told that we will find happiness in buying more stuff, in illicit relationships, and a world of other short-term gratifications, yet, the illusory nature of this is exposed as soon as it is acted on. Allah says, again in surat al-Noor:
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍۭ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ ٱلظَّمْـَٔانُ مَآءً حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَهُۥ لَمْيَجِدْهُ شَيْـًٔا وَوَجَدَ ٱللَّهَ عِندَهُۥ فَوَفَّىٰهُ حِسَابَهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
But the actions of those who are kafir are like a mirage in the desert. A thirsty man thinks it is water but when he reaches it, he finds it to be nothing at all, but he finds Allah there. He will pay him his account in full. Allah is swift at reckoning.
Although this is specifically talking about the actions of the disbelievers, it is also true that any act of disobedience that is done with the hope of gaining some happiness or general benefit leads to us being disappointed. The dunya itself is always running away from you, that is, unless you turn your back on it, in which case it will chase you.
زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱلْقَنَٰطِيرِ ٱلْمُقَنطَرَةِ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَبِوَٱلْفِضَّةِ وَٱلْخَيْلِ ٱلْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ وَٱلْحَرْثِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥحُسْنُ ٱلْمَـَٔابِ
To mankind the love of worldly appetites is painted in glowing colours: women and children, and heaped-up mounds of gold and silver, and horses with fine markings, and livestock and fertile farmland. All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of this world. The best homecoming is in the presence of Allah.
Of course, it is true that we are always in presence of our Lord, yet most are not aware of it. This is the haqiqa – the reality. Knowledge of this presence coupled with submission to Him quenches the thirst that humans have built into them, which most seek in temporary enjoyments. It is the blessed Sharia, by which I mean obedience to the divine commands and avoidance of the divine prohibitions, that leads us to this knowledge. Linguistically, Sharia is a path that leads to a water source. The water is a metaphor for the knowledge of the divine presence which quenches the thirst of the believers.
This is the secret of Ramadan. Allah is not some distant entity who controls things from afar. He, subhanahu wa ta’ala is near, He is close, He is present in every moment, and we therefore always have access to Him. Allah says, in the middle of the ayats in surat al-Baqara about Ramadan:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِی عَنِّی فَإِنِّی قَرِیبٌۖ أُجِیبُ دَعۡوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِۖ فَلۡیَسۡتَجِیبُوا۟ لِی وَلۡیُومِنُوا۟ بِیَ لَعَلَّهُمۡ یَرۡشُدُونَ
If My slaves ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me. They should therefore respond to Me and believe in Me so that hopefully they will be rightly guided.
As the years pass and Ramadans come and go, and as all of the other practices of Allah’s Deen purify the heart of the believer, he or she becomes increasingly imbued with this knowledge. This knowledge of Allah’s presence brings tranquillity and love to the heart and illuminates the core of slave’s very being. Thus, the month has departed from us, but has left in its wake its illumination which we can take with us into the coming year.
We ask Allah to accept our fasting and any efforts made to draw near to Him. We ask Allah to restore justice to the world and to make the Muslims at the forefront of its establishment. We ask Allah to purify our hearts and keep us firm on the path. We ask Allah to establish the Deen here and protect it through people of noble character. We ask Allah to protect and guide our children and our families.
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
رَبَّنَآ آتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّاب
اللهم أرنا الحق حقا وارزقنا إتباعه وأرنا الباطل باطلا وارزقنا إجتنابه
إنَّ اللهَ ومَلائِكَتَهُ يُصلُّونَ على النَّبِي يَا أَيُها الذينَ آمنوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وسَلِّمُواتَسْليماً. اللهمَّ صَلِّ وسَلِّم وبارِك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آلِهِ وصَحْبِهِأجمعين.
وارضَ اللهم عن الخلفاء الراشدين أبي بكرٍ وعمرَ وعثمانَ وعلي ، وعنسائر الصحابة أجمعين، خصوصا الأنصارَ منهم والمهاجرين، وعنالتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یَامُرُ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِ وَٱلۡإِحۡسَـٰنِ وَإِیتَاۤىِٕ ذِی ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَیَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَاۤءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱلۡبَغۡیِۚ یَعِظُكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ
اذكروا الله يذكركم ولذكر الله اكبر والله يعلم ما تصنعون
All that is left is for me to say:
Eid Mubarak!
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