Ramadan sermon 24/04/2020

On responding to Allah’s calls

First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah who honoured us with the month of goodness and blessings and sent us a caller to guide us to perform acts of obedience and give us glad tidings of attaining great recompense and all that is good. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He was the best amongst those who responded to Allah’s calls and obeyed their Lord and turned back (to Him). May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family and all of his companions and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Resurrection.

As to what follows,

I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, for He calls upon His servants and say, “O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good.” (Az-Zumar: 10).

O Observers of Fasting,

We have welcomed the holy month of Ramadan, a great month during which Allah, the Most Exalted, made fasting an obligatory act of worship and one of the five pillars of Islam. On the occasion of its advent, we would like to express our heartfelt greetings to you and pray to Allah the Almighty to grant us all success to fast its days and stand for prayer in its nights. May Allah also make us amongst the righteous believers who respond to His call and observe fasting of the holy month. The Exalted is He says, “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.” (Al-Baqara: 183).

In the blessed month of Ramadan, a caller calls out on the believers to seize the opportunity of the holy month in performing acts of obedience and good deeds so as to see their status raised in degrees and be admitted to the Paradise of their Lord on the Day of Judgment. An illustration of this can be found in the following Hadith in which the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “On the first night of the month of Ramadan, the Satan is shackled, the jinn are restrained, the gateways of the Hellfire are shut such that no gate amongst them would be opened. The doorways of Paradise are opened such that no doorway amongst them would be closed, and a caller will call out: ‘O seeker of the good; come near!’ and ‘O seeker of evil; stop!’”

In each day of the blessed month, this call is made to the fasting people to invite them to draw closer to their Lord and respond to His commands by doing good acts that may please Allah, the Most Sublime. Indeed, Allah is the One Who sends a caller every morning to call upon us to follow His path. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, “Every time the sun rises, two angels on its both sides will call out and all the creatures will hear them except the two prominent beings (Jinn and human beings): ‘O people! Draw (closer) to your Lord’.”

So, what are those deeds that Allah the Almighty calls upon His servants to perform in order to attain His satisfaction?

O Fasting people,

The answer to this question is that the deeds that are conducive to draw the believer nearer to their Lord are many. The first of such deeds is prayer. It is one of the acts of worship that Allah, the Most High, has enjoined upon His servants to perform. The Most Exalted says, “O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed.” (Al-Hajj: 77). Truly, prayer is one of the pillars of religion, and whoever establishes it would have maintained his religion. Yet, whoever fails to perform it regularly would have ruined his religion. Allah, the Most Great, sends down a caller to call out for each obligatory prayer to urge and command the believers to offer them so as to get their misdeeds forgiven and their sins expiated.

In evidence of this, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “At the time of each prayer, a caller will be sent down and say, ‘O sons of Adam! Stand up and extinguish (the fire) that you have kindled on yourselves! (i.e. the sins that you have committed). So, they purify themselves and their sins will fall from their eyes. Then they establish prayer and they will be forgiven whatever between the two (eyes). The same happens for the remaining prayers. And when the night comes – i.e. Isha prayer – the same thing happens. Thereafter, they go to sleep with their sins forgiven.”

You are urged, therefore, to strive in offering your prayers at their prescribed times and in congregation. You are also recommended to show diligence in establishing Nawafil prayers and remember Allah the Almighty often, in line with His call: “O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance. And exalt Him morning and afternoon.” (Al-Ahzab: 41-42).

Thus, Allah the Most Exalted sends down a caller who will call out on those who remember Allah much and gives them glad tidings of having all their misdeeds forgiven and attaining rewards in abundance. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “No people gather for the remembrance of Allah, seeking His satisfaction, except that a caller (angel) from the sky calls out: stand up! You are forgiven your sins and your bad deeds have been replaced with good ones.”

Amongst the other great acts of obedience that one can perform in response to Allah’s commands is Dhikr (remembrance of Allah). The Almighty says, “and indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.” (Fussilat: 41-42). In this Aya, Allah the Almighty enjoins upon us to fulfil His commandments and avoid all that He prohibited us to do.

So, you are advised to ponder upon the meanings of Allah’s revelations, be conscious of Him at all times and strive to recite the holly Quran during Ramadan, the month of Quran. Truly, those who are devoted to reciting the holy Quran will be called on the Day of Judgment in a status of honour. This was accentuated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh as he said, “The one who was devoted to the Quran will be told (on the Day of Resurrection): ‘Recite, and rise up, recite (melodiously) as you would recite in the world. For indeed your rank shall be at the last Ayah you recited.”

O Observers of Fasting,

Allah the Almighty calls upon His servants saying, “O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you.” (Al-Baqara: 254). This Aya guides us to another act of obedience that draws the believer closer to His Lord, being to spend in charity. Allah, the Most Gracious, sends down an angel to encourage His servants to spend in the ways of goodness. To further inspire them, He also sends a caller to invoke the Most Exalted to recompense those who spend in charity and reward them in multiples. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, “Indeed there is an Angel upon a doorway from the doorways of Paradise who says, ‘Whoever gives a loan today will be recompensed tomorrow!’ and another Angel at another doorway who says, ‘Oh Allah give the one who spends (in the way of Allah) a goodly substitution and give the one who withholds (from giving) destruction’.”

Thus, it is really such a great success to spend in the sake of Allah, provide food for a fasting person, treat others in kindness and pardon their flaws in the month of tolerance. Indeed, so doing is conducive to strengthen the bonds of affection and harmony amongst people. Moreover, those who spend in the way of Allah will be shaded under His shade on the Day of Resurrection as the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Where are those who love one another for the sake of My glory? Today I shall give them shade in My shade, it being a day when there is no shade but My shade.”

Congratulations, therefore, for those who obey the orders of Allah, the Most Glorious, and respond to His callers, following the example of His righteous servants who say, “our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed.” (Al Imran: 193). Undoubtedly, those will, by Allah’s grace, attain the satisfaction of the Most Merciful, love of the inhabitants of the Heaven and acceptance of the people on earth. The Prophet pbuh said, “If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel, saying, ‘Allah loves so and so, O Gabriel love him.’ So Gabriel would love him and then would make an announcement in the Heavens: ‘Allah has loved so and so, therefore you should love him also.’ So all the dwellers of the Heavens would love him, and then he is granted the pleasure of the people on the earth.”

With this in mind, let us beseech Allah the Almighty to make us amongst those who respond to His calls.

May Allah guide us all to obey Him and obey His trustworthy Messenger Muhammad and obey those He has commanded us to obey in line with His orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou­­r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime.

O Fasting People,

Please know that whoever responds to the calls of Allah the Almighty in this world will surely be called to the gateways of Paradise in the Hereafter. On this account, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “He who is amongst those who pray will be called from the gate of the prayer (in Paradise) and he who is amongst those who observe fast will be called from the gate of fasting, the gate of Raiyan.”

On the same matter, the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, ‘Where are those who used to observe fasts?’ They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it.”

When the true believers have entered Paradise, a caller will call out: “O people of Paradise! You have a covenant with Allah and He wants to fulfil it." They will say, ‘What is it? Has Allah not made the Balance (of our good deeds) heavy, and made our faces bright, and admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?” He said, “So the Veil will be lifted and they will look upon Him, and by Allah! Allah will not give them anything that is more beloved to them or more delightful to their eyes than looking upon Him.”

So, let us pray to Allah to make us amongst those who will be called on the Day of Judgment to enter Paradise and complete His favours upon us. Ameen.

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al-Ahzab: 56).

On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.”

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allah, please forgive us all.

O Allah, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allah we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful.

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability, cure from any illness and peace.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to all of us, Muslims and all the world.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead.

O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing our country with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing our country with safety and security.

O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.

O Allah: we turn to Your name through which nothing is harmed in the earth and the heavens. That we not be afflicted through disease or calamity. Or that disease or epidemic may befall us, O Allah: hear this supplication. We ask you Allah for constancy of well being. For ourselves and for all of the people around us. Save us from the evil of epidemics and diseases.

Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.