Fursan AlBalagh Media. Transcription and Distribution Department. Presents. Transcript of: Ramadan Lessons Series

Transcription

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2 In The Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Fursan AlBalagh Media Transcription and Distribution Department Presents Transcript of: Ramadan Lessons Series 1433h Of Mujahid Sheikh: Khaled AlHosainan (Abi Zayd AlKuwaiti) - May Allah Accept him Sahab Media Production Establishment Safar 1435h December 2013CE T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 2

3 Contents 4...Balagh Preface 7... Nature of Jihadi life 14...Jihadi Education The Lenient Soul 22...How to be blessed Forgiveness of sins T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 3

4 Balagh Preface In the name of Allah, and thanks be to Allah, He, alone without a partner, to Him belongs ownership of all, and to Him thanks [are], and He is most Capable above all, and prayers and peace and blessings be upon him the messenger of Allah Mohammed bin Abdullah and his family and companions and their affiliates till day of judgment, And what follows; How needy the nation is nowadays for the godly scholars; who apply their knowledge, and direct the nation to what is rightful and are its leaders, guiding it to goodness [what is good] and be there first, their words have a blessing in souls, its echoes come back to life to change it from knowledge [only] to [practical] deeds, how good they are in this life, or when they alive are with their Lord. Of those scholars; sheikh Khaled AlHosainan may Allah accept him and reward him fine for [on behalf of] the nation of Islam as best can be; his words have effect on souls, as it has truth of monotheism, and ease of address, and [represents a] gathering of what s good, and he [i.e. the sheikh] presents it in an interesting way, which excites [people] to act. And in this series, the sheikh may Allah accept him moves between true descriptions of the nature of Jihadi life such that true people among the nation would prepare for it, and then goes on to describe the Jihadi school for us, and what that entails in terms of Jihadi education for souls, to heighten morals and heads. And goes on to elevate the nation and its Jihadi sons especially in terms of good manners talking about the virtue of soul forgiveness and how to attain it, once people have chosen to, and [what happens] when they complain of the lack of blessing in days and nights, he then speaks advising, good heartedly as to how to be blessed, directing and advising. Once the worshipper is separated from the All-Merciful, and his heart is covered with blackness, due to sins and mistakes, then his speech comes about reasons T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 4

5 for forgiveness to dispel the devil s talk and to make the nations hurry to [attain] forgiveness and to Allah s acceptance. Due to the importance of this series in directing the nation and educating it, And by Nafs (an Adam s son or a person or a soul, etc.), and Him Who perfected him in proportion * Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him; * Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds). And indeed he fails who corrupts his own-self (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds). Your brethren at Fursan AlBalagh establishment have gathered this material and produced it asking Allah the Mighty the Sublime to bless it and to guide who goes through it to distribute it and gain rewards for it. And the last of our supplication is that thanks and grace be to Allah.. Your brethren in: Fursan AlBalagh Media T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 5

6 In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious Sahab Media Production 1433h Daawa lessons department :Presents Ramadan Lessons Daawa Sheikh Khaled bin Abdurrahman AlHosainan Abi Zaid AlKuwaiti may Allah accept him I seek refuge in Allah against the accursed Satan O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al- Muttaqun (the pious) *[Observing Saum (fasts)] for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g. an old man, etc.), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskin (poor person) (for every day). But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast, it is better for you if only you know. [AlBaqara: 183-4] T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 6

7 First Lesson Nature of Jihadi life Thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universes, [with] much obliged blessed grace, and I bear witness that there s no god but Allah, alone without a partner, and that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger, prayers of Allah be upon him and his family and companions and greetings [to them], and what follows: In this meeting we will talk by will of Allah about the nature of Jihadi life; What is the nature of life in Jihad? As so many people, however much they read about the rules of Jihad and about the jurisprudence of Jihad, you still haven t lived in the battlefields of Jihad and preparation, you won t understand or grasp the reality of Jihadi life, and before a person enters anything, he has to learn its nature, a person who wants to travel to a certain country, you find that that person [goes] asking about that country, for example tourist attractions, he asks about people, and many things such that he knows how to deal with people in that country. Also Jihad is a ritual of the greatest reverence by Allah, a Muslim has to be wary before entering a door or [joining] the ritual of Jihad, he has to acclimatise with the nature of Jihadi life. Allah says in His honourable book, having gathered Jihad and patience in two verses of His honoured book, He says in Sourat Al Imran: Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who fought (in His Cause) and (also) tests those who are As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.)? [Al Imran : 142] and said in Sourat Mohammad: And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard (for the Cause of Allah) and the patient ones, and We shall test your facts (i.e. The one who is a liar, and the one who is truthful). [Mohammad : 31] T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 7

8 So look may Allah care for you; [see] how Allah has gathered patience and Jihad in one verse? As it is impossible for Jihad to be without patience, Jihad without patience is impossible, even Imam AlSaadi said in his explanation of this verse [,] he said: the greatest test is Jihad, Jihad is of the greatest tests, a lot of people can t imagine that Jihad is a test, no; [rather] Jihad is a test, a trial and exam from Allah, shall we present our souls and money cheap for the satisfaction of Allah? Or do we be miser and careful and get back and retreat?! Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him says: in Jihad [you] follow [practice] the three types of patience: patience in obeying Allah, patience in not disobeying Allah, and patience for when it s a painful event. Jihad needs patience, not of a day or two, or of a month or two, or of a year or two, no, [but] as one of the companions said may Allah be pleased with them - : We gave allegiance to Muhammad... On jihad as long as we live The matter is not that the person goes to front lines or the battle field to sit for a day or two or a week, goes and returns, no; [rather] Jihad is so great it needs patience, and persistence; - Waiting on front lines needs patience, that s why we find that the prophet peace and prayers be upon him has put as a consequence of Jihad a great reward when he said in the hadith narrated by Muslim of the hadith of Salman he said: (Observing Ribat in the way of Allah for a day and a night is far better than observing Saum (fasting) for a whole month and standing in Salat (prayer) in all its nights); why? Because in Ribat you need patience, you are just standing, standing without fighting. - Patience in obeying Allah - Patience and not committing sins. - Patience on painful events Allah [which] wills; you may be wounded, you would need to be patient, and not complain and not show discontent against the will of Allah, the Emir might tell you for example The emir of T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 2

9 the battalion : you are sitting in this guesthouse for six months don t go out for security reasons, you have to be patient, as who doesn t have patience in the fields of Jihad will fail and lose and can t continue and must go back immediately. We say O honourable beloved ones, we must understand the nature of Jihad; put in your mind that Jihad is the way of tribulations and blood and body parts, that s something we must understand, the matter needs patience. Of the nature of Jihad is that [;] you were served in your country, everything is ready for you in your country; food is ready; clothes are ready, bed is ready, everything is ready when you re at home, but when you come to the land of Jihad, you serve yourself, and serve your brethren, you wash the dishes, and wash the clothes, and prepare the food and bake. the matter is not easy, you must know the nature of Jihad, some people come to Jihad and sit like that expecting people to serve him, no; who are you? In your country you were served, now you serve. The nature of Jihad [necessitates] that you listen and obey the commander; some people don t listen and don t obey the commander, then inconvenience[s] and imperfections occur and problems and losses happen, why? For disobeying the commander, even if you don t like the commander, his character doesn t appeal to you, you have to be patient; you have to put up, why? Because you are after a great goal, and that s establishment of the religion of Allah on earth, you are after a great goal, that s martyrdom, you want the height of paradise, and you have to be patient. Sometimes and that s most likely greatness is to Allah you find the going of the road of Jihad is full of thorns, adventures and dangers, anyone wanting to go to Jihad, he must, because he might be caught and be a prisoner, [is] subject[ed] to so many things, he needs patience, the person needs to have strength of bearing, and confronting and steadfast and will and purpose, how many times do we hear o brethren about people by Allah who get caught on the way taken prisoner and then remains a T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 9

10 year of two in prison, and after that when he comes out he is determined to continue the route, and then he goes back to Jihad again for the sake of Allah, even though he has put up with so many kinds and types of tests, and in spite of that he says I have to achieve the goal I am after. Jihad is full of patience; Separation from the wife needs patience, some people can t remain away from the wife, being away from the children also needs patience, leaving joys and enjoyments also needs patience, being away from countries needs patience, walking at night sometimes; Mujahidin go out walking nights, I mean five or six hours till they go to an operation of some kind, and the commander prohibits anyone to have light or spotlights, he can t open it at night, so you walk in those valleys and mountains and may fall or your feet [may] slip, and things may happen to you, that needs patience. So my beloved ones, for he who wants to be successful in his Jihadi life, he has to resort to patience; patience is a pillar of Jihad, but may who can t be patient in his Jihadi life, and can t bear troubles, and doesn t listen and obey the commander, and he won t continue in Jihadi life. So all Jihad is patience, listen to this word, memorise it and contemplate and think of it: [Jihad]," is a trip [that] starts with [a] suffering trip and ends with [a] safe trip." What does this sentence mean: Jihad starts with a suffering trip? Since the young man starts to think about going to Jihad, the suffering trip starts, and human and nonhuman devils come to him to repel him from this worship, and the ideas and fears and questions start to come to his brain and mind and heart, and then the war starts between you and yourself and the devil. That s why I am telling you: grace be to Allah, you would only find Satan calling for you, which means he stops [deters] you from a worship such as Jihad for the way of Allah the Exalted. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 11

11 When you want to go on Hajj or Omrah, you wouldn t find doubts and obsessions, or repelling from the devils of Jinn and human race, when you want to do any kind of worship you may face doubts, but no worship brings about Satan s efforts as much as the worship of Jihad for the way of Allah the Exalted, why? It s because it s the shortest route to paradise, [it] is that of Jihad for the way of Allah the Exalted. So be aware you worshipper of Allah that the greatest worship for Allah is that of Jihad, and that s why you will find the devil doing [all] he can to stop you from this worship. This is what s meant by Jihad in the beginning is a suffering trip as we have said is it of various nature; away from the wife, from the kids, from the countries, the whole lot, and also the end of it is a trip of safety; [that is because] since when the soul leaves the body, the safety trip starts. - The first safety trip; you don t feel the pain of death: how wouldn t you feel it? The prophet said peace and prayers be upon him - : (The martyr experiences no more pain in being slain than one of you experiences from the stinging of an ant.) Imam Ibno Taymia said may Allah have mercy on him: The best death is that of the martyr and that s the easiest death, martyrs don t feel pain of death, that s the first safety. - The second safety; is you are not tested in the grave: the prophet said peace and prayers be upon him - : (The flashing of the swords above the heads of the martyrs is trial enough) The martyr is not tested in his grave, and we say: spy-craft is enough trial on the heads of the martyrs. That s the second safety; martyrs are not tested in their graves, trial here means: the question of the angels when they come to the person in his grave asking: who s your Lord, what s your religion, who is your prophet? - The third safety; the martyr is not tortured in the grave: The prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (The martyr has six T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 11

12 things (in store) with Allah), and of which peace and prayers be upon him said: (he is spared the torment of the grave). - The fourth; he is spared the Grand Fright: this is the fourth safety, you are spared the Grand Fright, and fears and disasters and fire, as the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (he is kept safe from the Great Fright;) At the end of the journey; in this trip of safety, you are safe, as safe can be, your entire trip is safe once the soul leaves the body, as in your life you suffered tests and hardships and being chased and [being] instable, Allah rewards you greatly and well. What is the end? [It s] the Paradise. Where? In the high places, the best places in paradise, it s in Sahih AlBukhari that our prophet peace and prayers be upon him entered paradise and said: (I saw a house better of which I have never seen). Whose testimony is this? It s that of the true believer and [truly] believed peace and prayers be upon him - He asked peace and prayers be upon him whose house is this? Wonderful beautiful house - He was told: it s that of the martyrs. So the best and most beautiful and most wonderful house in paradise is that of the martyrs, we ask Allah to grant us His generous assets. So I tell you brothers, in short very briefly; You have to learn about the nature of Jihadi life, the nature of Jihadi life requires patience, of that is Jihad, it s putting in the effort and toil, you have to practice O worshipper of Allah, you who wants Jihad for Allah the Exalted, you have to learn to be patient and to put up, and have tolerant chest, and bear, as one day you may be a loser and another a winner, this is the life which the prophet said peace and prayers be upon him (war has alternate success), you are not always the winner, no you may lose, you may be wounded, you may be tested, you may be taken prisoner, many things happen to you in the land of Jihad, you have to have a tolerant chest, and receive those tests, [receive] them all with tolerant chest T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 12

13 and a big mind, otherwise you won t be able to be patient in this life, Jihadi life. I ask Allah the Generous, Lord of the Grand Throne, to end our lives with martyrdom [and] patiently accepting not running away. And the end of our supplications is that thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, and prayers and peace and prayers be upon him be up our prophet and his companions and family as a whole. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 13

14 Second Lesson Jihadi Education Thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, much obliged blessed grace, and I bear witness that there s no god but Allah, alone without a partner, and that Mohammad is His worshipper and messenger, prayers of Allah be upon him and his family and companions and greetings follow, and what follows: Many people don t know of Jihad but that it is fighting, and don t know of Jihad but only [of] the rules and jurisprudence matters; loot; repossession, parts of booty, and about martyrs; would he [the martyr] be washed, would one pray on him [the martyr], and other matters that jurisprudents spoke about. It s but known that Jihad or the school of Jihad is of the best education schools; [Here] the substance of men shows but in the battle fields; and that s as said by Imam martyr Abdullah Azzam may Allah have mercy on him-: Jihad with the soul is better than Jihad with money, and that s why the prophet peace and prayers be upon him didn t excuse rich companions like Abdurrahman ibno Auf and others and others, they were not pardoned [excused to leave] from Jihad for Allah, the Exalted, why? He said may Allah have mercy on him: because Jihad is soul education. And that s why Imam Ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him shows that there s nothing to which there s reward and gains Allah [the Exalted] s pleasure more than Jihad for Allah s way. And that why Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him said: the benefit from Jihad is general in life and in the hereafter to the person and to others, people think that Jihad is only for the person as he gets martyrdom, but that s not the case, it surpasses that, and not only to the person, and we will contemplate the words of the Imam ibno Taymia Allah have mercy on him, and comment on it briefly; as Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him said: T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 14

15 Jihad includes apparent and discreet worship ; of which he mentions: the love of Allah the Exalted, sincerity, asceticism, patience, giving up soul and possessions to Allah the Mighty the Sublime, dependence on Allah the Exalted, mentioning Allah, and other types of worship which [are] included [in] Jihad for Allah s way. Jihad for Allah include includes or consists of other types of worship which other types don t as Imam Ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him mentioned. And here there s glad tiding form Imam ibno AlQayem may Allah have mercy on him, while he tells us that the highest of the faithful s degrees are the martyrs we ask Allah with His mercy and Generosity to bestow upon us to die for His way the highest [degree] is the for martyrs, they are the nearest of Allah s worshippers. He mentioned may Allah have mercy on him ibno AlQayem; the most [complete] person of the creation for Allah is he who completed the Jihad stages, the stages of Jihad, heart Jihad; and the tongue, the body, the money, self-jihad, Jihad against the devil, Jihad against the apostates, that [Jihad] against the lechers and tyrants, against the hypocrites, and others that he mentioned may Allah have mercy on him. So, you worshipper of Allah, if you wish to be of the most complete, you have to complete all types of Jihad. We now contemplate some of the educating sides of Jihad for Allah the Exalted, and how of that this or that, the school of Jihad is of the greatest educational schools, because some caller [Daawa] people say: a man can t go to Jihad till he has educated himself, educate and improve yourself, purification and education before going to Jihad. And that is not correct and there s no proof for it in the book of Allah and neither from the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him, even that man as in the Sahih of AlBukhari who came to the prophet peace and prayers be upon him and said: ("O Allah's Messenger peace and prayers be upon him T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 15

16 Shall I fight or embrace Islam first? The Prophet Peace and prayers be upon him said, "Embrace Islam first and then fight.") The prophet peace and prayers be upon him didn t say to him: Go to Medina and seek knowledge and educate yourself [first] and then go to Jihad. We say that when a person goes to Hajj, he should not [go] till after he has educated himself, should not do any other worship, that s not true, why then O worshipper of Allah, do you put education first only when a person goes to Jihad he can t till he educates himself. That is not correct, we say: the real education is here in the battlefields of Jihad, and hence some highlights on educational sides of the life of a Mujahid for Allah. Full love: The first side is what s been mentioned by Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him he said: Jihad for Allah is the proof of full love to Allah, and then he mentioned Allah s saying: Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight... are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah). [Altauba 24] Ask yourself O worshipper of Allah in all frankness, if your wife tells you: O man; if you go to Jihad I will ask for divorce, what would you chose? [Would you choose?] Jihad or [choose] wanting your wife? If the country where you live, the government which rules you: if you go to Jihad, we will fire you from your job, (finish you off) and especially if the salary is T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 16

17 big [which] you get from the government, what would you put first? Here the true love of Allah shows. Therefore we say it in all frankness, and declare it with all bravery and daring, we say: Jihad for the way of Allah is of the most prominent signs that a person sacrifices for Allah s way. If this person prioritises the obedience of Allah and His messenger peace and prayers be upon him, and Jihad for the way of Allah, over all pleasures and enjoyments and wives and children and wealth and jobs and everything, and that is not a thing to be said only, I mean some people might give lessons and lectures and show that loving Allah comes first for us before everything, and when the time comes, and the serious hour and call for Jihad for the way of Allah comes, you find that person retreating and retarding, and he gets to be weak and despair and loses. That s then the first aspect of the educational aspects of Jihad for Allah; it s proof of full love to Allah. Imam Ibno Taymia mentioned too may Allah have mercy on him another verse related to love, he said: when Allah described the loved and the loving: O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; what are their characteristics O Lord humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. [AlMaeda 54] Allah s great; these are all of the characteristics of the loving, because some people unfortunately, some of the callers when they come to describing the love of Allah, they restrict it to If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 17

18 Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you [Al Imran 31] and say: following the prophet peace and prayers be upon him is the proof of loving Allah, and [they] don t mention the other verses which mention sacrifice; man sacrifices his wife and children and place and job and all, all for giving victory to the religion of Allah and strengthening this religion. - Second and of the educational sides of the life of Jihad; the Jihad Subhana Allah makes a person learn asceticism in life. That's why subhana Allah you won t find a Muslim having gone out for Jihad but you will also find life is of no value to him; [it represents] no weight for him in his life, the proof is that he sacrificed everything; that s practical proof that he sacrificed all, and that s proof on his asceticism. You wouldn t find the Mujahid fighting for jobs or money or joys or enjoyments, he feels the hadith of our prophet peace and prayers be upon him: (be in this world like a stranger, or one who is passing through,) Allah s great. Indeed; Jihad for Allah s way teaches a person asceticism, not to run after life, but [to] be greedy as to what Allah offers, wanting paradise and martyrdom, longing to meet Allah. Unlike who refrains from Jihad, who would leave out Jihad if he gets reduction in salary and would turn all life around, if he misses a joy of life, you would see him not happy and repulsive, unlike the Mujahid for Allah s way. This is all from the education of Jihad, the Jihad, [from which] one learns asceticism, and to get higher than the whims of life and wishes and wantons and that s why I say it frankly: T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 12

19 The most ascetic in life are the Mujahidin for Allah s way; you will find that a Mujahid doesn t have his own property, his own car, [enjoys] no [home] stability, expects death any minute. Those who don t do Jihad want life and are keen on it; [they] want a prolonged life, holding on to life, unlike the Mujahid for Allah s way who wants martyrdom today before tomorrow. - Of the educational sides of the worship of Jihad, [it is that] the Jihad teaches a Muslim to be patient, even the Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him said: there are three kinds of patience all are in Jihad; patience to obey Allah, patience to refrain from sin, and patience on the painful events Allah wills. He is patient because Jihad is not a day or two, or a month or two, no; Jihad is as a companion said: we are the ones who vowed allegiance to Mohammad doing Jihad as long as we live. Jihad is not to go to the frontline, to the battlefield, throw two missiles, come in the media, and out on the press, no; that it s not all Jihad, you must love it in your heart and blood, as the prophet peace and prayers be upon him companions [did], yes, because in Jihad man leaves all his wishes, he needs patience, patience away from the wife, patience away from the children, patience away from wishes and joys, patience away from the countries, the patience of Jihad, who wants to qualify from patience school, he should stick to Jihad. He who stays enjoying life in his own country, with every world joy around him, how can he taste the bitterness of patience and sweetness of patience?! I don t imagine him living like a Mujahid lives who is [ a T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 19

20 Mujahid is chased] followed, and who [a Mujahid] subjects himself to dangers and death. - Fourth: of the educational sides in the worship of Jihad, and the life of Mujahidin, trust in Allah, and adhering to Allah. Trust in Allah is of the greatest goals of religion, you find the Mujahid having hung his heart on Allah s will; knowing the victory comes from Allah, and that sustenance come from Allah, and that he can t resist the enemies of Allah except by trusting in Allah. We read in so many pages about trust [in Allah], but do we really live the life of trust in Allah?! By Allah brethren I tell you through the experience and [through] what we tried [and went through] -: We found that the people who most trust in Allah are the Mujahidin. Subhana Allah, you find he has trust, the world now, all the Arab and western world have knelt to America in its war against Jihad and Mujahidin, yet you find the Mujahid saying, I don t care, I trust in Allah, victory is but from Allah, he lives the real life of trust [in Allah], not just in words but in practice. - Fifth: also of the educational sides in the life of Mujahidin, giving up soul and possessions to Allah. Be accustomed O worshipper of Allah, ask yourself in all honesty; is your money and soul so cheap to give them away for the way of giving victory to the world of there s no god but Allah? That you can t do except in the land of Jihad. Regular armies now don t fight unless paid money, unlike the Mujahidin subhana Allah; they pay money to fight for Allah s way, as for the regular armies, I challenge an army that fights for no money, they say: pay the salary, a salary after a month or two or three, is doubled twice to get him to fight, for defense and solidifying the throne of tyrants of earth, not for Allah the Exalted, they say, pay and I fight. The Mujahid no, in the devotion of Jihad, the soul of the person becomes cheap, to give to the way of Allah, we find that he subjects himself to dangers and death, T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 21

21 and being followed, and imprisonment, and killing, and may be cut to pieces, and may evaporate and yet he says, I have no problem, repeating what the poet said: I don t care, as long as I am killed as a Muslim... No matter what side I lay on. Subhana Allah; you find that the Mujahid for the way of Allah and that is all from the worship of Jihad, it teaches the Muslim to do that if he loses the whole life he has no problem, but he would not leave his faith, or religion, saying: I get killed rather than give away my faith and religion. Unlike the person who abstained from Jihad for the way of Allah, when he is threatened in his sustenance, or is removed from his post, or is deprived from a wish of life, he will give in to those pressures; starts to retreat and give up and change the religion of Allah, all that for the fear of losing his job and money, and life and wish, and no power or ability but by Allah. Indeed, the worship of Jihad educates the Muslim that his soul and person and money are cheap for the way of Allah. - Sixth: of the educational sides also in the life of Jihad and what Jihad teaches that was mentioned by Imam Ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him, is the Dhikr of Allah [mentioning Allah] You will find subhana Allah that the Mujahidin are the people who do Dhikr of Allah most, the proof is that they are on front lines and battle fields the nearest of people to death, that s the Mujahidin. A Mujahid in the battlefield of Jihad has no life attractions and wishes and enjoyments and has none but fighting the enemies of Allah in front of him, and defending this religion. - Seventh: and of the educational sides that that we found in the land of Jihad, is that it strengthens the belief of faith in fate and destiny. By Allah O brethren, we saw that by our own eyes, that subhana Allah subhana Allah a rocket comes or a missile that come on brothers for instance in a certain place, all the brothers are killed but one, you ask why? Then you believe: Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us [Altauba: 51] you believe in his saying peace and prayers be upon him: (you know that what has come to you could not miss you and T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 21

22 that what has missed you could not come to you), you have a faith at heart that Jihad won t change your [death] time, unlike people who think that they are going to Jihad, therefore they will die earlier; that s weakness in faith. Jihad doesn t bring your death closer, how many people stayed for years like Sheikh Osama may Allah have mercy on him and let him be in top paradise for thirty years, Dr. Ayman also more than thirty to forty years, commander Khattab, fifteen years, others (20) years, a lot of the people who lived Jihad and tasted the sweetness of fighting for Allah s way think that if they go to Jihad that s it, directly, one two or three months he is a martyr, no that s not true, the same day you would have died back in your country, on your bed [,]that [is the] same [if] you die in a battle neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour [AlAaraf 34 _ AlNahl: 61] These - beloved one - are some of the educational sides which we wanted to please you with, and how the Jihad is educational and purifying to man, not just fighting, no; it s but education, teaches you bravery, teaches you put other people in front of you, to be modest, to be patient, to have asceticism, to be near Allah, and other types of worship. I ask Allah the Generous, Lord of the Grand Throne, to end our lives with martyrdom patiently accepting not running away and the end of our supplications is that thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, and prayers and peace be upon our prophet and his companions and family as a whole. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 22

23 Third Lesson The Lenient Soul Thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, [with] much obliged blessed grace, and I bear witness that there s no god but Allah, alone without a partner, and that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger, prayers of Allah be upon him and his family and companions and greetings follow, and what follows: It s of the most important characteristics of the Mujahid to have a lenient soul. Why do we say that the Mujahid should possess this characteristic? Three reasons: - First: because in the field of Jihad he will live with and accompany many types of people, one from the East and other from the West, one who is Arab and another who is not, one who is used to certain standards, and another who is not, if he doesn t have a lenient soul, he wouldn t be able to continue in the land of Jihad, and he would have to have many problems, every day a problem with one of his brethren. - Second: and of the reasons why we talk about a lenient soul, why? Because the Mujahid would live with his brethren (24) hours, days and months, and perhaps years, unlike in his country where he would cohabit with his brethren for two or three hours in certain places. Whereas in the land of jihad he would sit with his brethren in centres or go to operations for several months, he needs to have a lenient soul, and be nice and tolerant and easy going with his brethren. - Third: and of the reasons why we talk about this topic lenient soul : Is that a person in the land of Jihad, and the nature of the earth, and the nature of Jihadi life may be hard one day, and easy the next, sometimes the Mujahid goes through hardship, if he doesn t possess a lenient soul, he may not bear it, that s why Allah encouraged our prophet peace and prayers be T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 23

24 upon him to have this characteristic, and said educating him - : And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you; which means you have to be lenient and easy and merciful with your companions and Allah describes His worshippers saying: humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers [AlMaeda 54] The prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him has given us the most wonderful of examples on this characteristic: - He was lenient towards his family; when a woman came to him with a plate of food to give it to the prophet peace and prayers be upon him, what did Ayesha may Allah be pleased with her do? She broke the plate! What has the prophet peace and prayers be upon him done? He didn t say harsh words, or tell off, or swear or hit, he said a word; he said: your mother s jealous, peace and prayers be upon him, just like that. - Second: his lenience in educating the ignorant; when an Aa rabi came and peed in the mosque, he didn t tell him off, or beat him, or say harsh words, because he [the Aa rabi] is an ignorant man, he taught him that this can t happen in mosques, not good for a man to do that, but rather it s [the mosque] for mentioning Allah and reading Quran and prayers. - Third: his lenience with even the servants; there s Anas ibno Malik may Allah be pleased with him saying: I served the prophet peace and prayers be upon him for ten years not a year or two, ten years, he never told me of, or if I did anything, why I did it. And the situations are many. And here we have another stop: What are the signs and appearance of lenience? How would you know that you possess this characteristic? T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 24

25 No doubt beloved brethren; our prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (there are two military expeditions; - the expedition loved by Allah a man who performs it for the sake of Allah, and the authorities are obeyed, and the valuables are spent and then he said and the contributor is willing) what does that latter mean? It means ease and lenience. That s why of our prophet peace and prayers be upon him advice to Abi Mosa AlAshaari: (Work in collaboration and don't be divided, and Show leniency (to the people); don't be hard upon them) this is of the recommendations of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him; you have to follow this policy with your brethren, especially who are in the land of Jihad for Allah. We talk now of some of those signs of the appearance of lenience: - First: of the signs; a smiling face, receiving people with glad tidings, according to the prophet peace and prayers be upon him saying: (your smiling in your brother s face is a good deed) you find that person and you know he is lenient, always smiling face, unlike an unhappy person who doesn t laugh or smile, one on his face you don t find hope, that s proof he is not lenient. - Second: of the signs of lenience, a person starts with greeting, and shaking hands, that s proof of lenience, he doesn t wait for people to shake hands first, no; he starts it, because he knows the rewards of shaking hands are many, as the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (the better is the one who starts to greet) - Third: and of the signs of lenience; good company, good treatment and conversation. O subhana Allah, you find that that person who has a lenient soul his words and sayings are always full of mercy and love and supplication, you don t see harshness or hardship or swearing or cursing or derision, and you don t find that with a lenient person. - Fourth: of those appearances also is; forgiving errors, forgetting harm; whether with family or friends or brethren. Some people- very unfortunately, and that s proof they re not lenient if T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 25

26 you err against a person ten years ago, he still remembers it, he says, O do you remember ten years ago I came to borrow some money and you didn t give me? He remembers subhana Allah; this is not proof of a lenient person, because a lenient person if you err against him now by word or a situation O subhana Allah after an hour all is gone from his heart, he forgets about errors; those are proofs of a lenient person. - And finally, of the signs of self-lenience, accepting the fate of Allah. You wouldn t find grumble and discontent of Allah s will, it s of the supplication of Omar ibno Abdul-Aziz may Allah be pleased with him he used to say: O Allah; make me accept your will. You will find the nature of accepting soul subhana Allah anything Allah wills whether be loved or hated, you will find the motto : it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good [Alnisaa 19] beware, Allah didn t just said good but a great deal of good. Therefore we say and beware of this wisdom the great man is the one whose morals would increase and his characteristics would be accepting and his patience increases [with calamities] and he would excuse people. That great man, and that s why the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said and beware of this point and that signal: (Hell fire is forbidden to touch a man who is always accessible, having polite and tender nature) Subhana Allah, some people consider him who has this kind of personality, thus, accessible, polite and tender to be weak, and without a personality. Considerations have been reversed in people s minds, this characteristic that Allah likes and our prophet peace and prayers be upon him like. I say the reasonable person is he who forgives people, why? The people are different. There are of different races and shapes. A strange situation occurred to sheikh AlIslam may Allah have mercy on him is mentioned by his disciple Ibno AlQayem he says: I came to him one day to bear glad tidings that one of his enemies (of sheikh AlIslam) has died so I came T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 26

27 and bore glad tidings, sheikh AlIslam ibno Taymia has become angry look at the lenience and forgiveness and acceptance and said: you expect me to be glad that a Muslim has died?! Verily from Allah we come and to Allah we return, and after that he went to that person s home and family and told them: I replace him for you How beautiful it is of a Muslim to imitate that characteristic, which is lenience, to be loved by Allah and Allah would be pleased with him, and be loved by the people because people naturally don t like a harsh solid person, let alone a good scholar or sheikh or caller for Islam. Your motto O honourable brother must be Allah s saying: Repel (the evil) with one which is better [Fossilat: 34] he who passes by you and doesn t greet you, you greet him, and he who says bad words and swears against you, you say good things about him, that s not proof of weakness, but rather of strength, as the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: ("The strong man is not one who is good at wrestling, but the strong man is one who controls himself in a fit of rage) that person who can t control himself, and always is angry for his wishes is a weak person and that is the proof. Ending this meeting I say; It was of the supplication of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him to say: ("O Allah! I seek refuge in You from undesirable manners, deeds, and aspirations") The end of our supplication is that thanks be to Allah Lord of the universe, and peace and prayers be upon our prophet Muhammad and his family and companions and greetings be to them. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 27

28 Fourth Lesson How to be blessed Thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, with much obliged blessed grace, and I bear witness that there s no god but Allah, alone without a partner, and that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger, prayers of Allah be upon him and his family and companions and greetings follow, and what follows: If the heart is hung on what life has to offer, the person s standards and measurements become life related, and if it is stuck to what s in the hereafter then it becomes related more to the hereafter, and we are in a time of appearances and materialistic world and wishes; most people look and care about quantity and doesn t care about blessings. In this meeting by the will of Allah we will talk about the reasons of blessings, or in other words: (how to be blessed?) who that Allah the Mighty, the Sublime blesses your home, your family, your knowledge, your worldly needs and religious life, Allah blesses everything for you. What are the reasons? What are the methods to attain this blessing? And before I start this topic and tell you the reasons, I give you four bases in this aspect: - First: everything not for Allah has no blessing. Anybody who works for [attaining] anything other than Allah [ s pleasure], Allah wouldn t bless his work, you do it for your life, or for people to thank you or saying good things about you, or for a life [related] job, Allah wouldn t bless it for you. - Second base; that everything or work that the devil is connected to, its blessing is also removed. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 22

29 That s why you find that the Law-Giver -our Lord hallowed be His name - ordered us to mention his name at the beginning of everything; in the beginning of food or drink or cloth or intercourse, why? To have the blessing. And what s the meaning of {In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Gracious} {In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Gracious} simply means as if you are saying: I seek help from Allah and seek blessing from the Names and Characteristics of Allah. - Third bases: is that blessing can t be sought but from Allah. Whoever seeks blessing from other than Allah, he has committed polytheism and took partner to Allah. Why do we say that a blessing can only be sought from Allah? Because Allah has the key to all wells of wealth, He rules everything, Allah is the Most Rich, Most Thankful, Most Generous, Most Giving, Most Strong, He control all wealth between heaven and earth. How would you request it form the creature that is not able and lacking and imperfect?! - Fourth bases: don t bother with quantity rather mind the blessing. And before we start the reasons and give you some reasons; What does blessing mean? And what is the concept of blessing? Imam Ibno AlQayem may Allah have mercy on him says: blessing is the continuity of goodness, or increase in goodness and continuity - First: fearing Allah: - fearing Allah is the key to mercy; Allah says: and My Mercy embraces all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who are the Muttaqun [AlAaraf 156] - Second: Fearing Allah is the key to all blessings, Allah said: And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, [AlAaraf: 95] T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 29

30 - Third: Fearing Alla is the key to attain sustenance, Allah said: And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty) And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine [AlTalaq 2-3] - Fourth: Fearing Allah is the golden key to be saved from problems and catastrophes, Allah said: And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty) [AlTalaq: 2-3] - Fifth: Fearing Allah is the key to be Allah s beloved; if you want to be a beloved person by Allah, you have to fear Allah, Allah said: None can be its guardian except Al-Muttaqun [AlAnfal:34] That s why Imam ibno Taymia may Allah have mercy on him said-: whoever fears Allah is one of Allah s beloved. - and finally, fearing Allah is a reason for forgiveness of sins, and that Allah increases your reward greatly;, and whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him, and will enlarge his reward [AlTalaq:5] and that s why sins are a reason for removal of blessing, Imam ibno AlQayem said: (and very briefly): sins remove the blessing of life and the hereafter, and he said may Allah have mercy on him: sins a side effect of sins is that it removes the blessing of knowledge, and blessing of deeds, blessing of rizq, and blessing of age, that removed blessing. Some good people were told: prices have gone up i.e. everything has become expensive he answered, lower it down by fearing Allah. So O worshipper of Allah if you wish Allah to bless you and bless your children and grandchildren and family and money and everything, you stick to fearing Allah. Our prophet peace and prayers be upon him has made so much supplication to be supplied by Allah the fear of Allah: (O Allah! Grant us the sense of piety and purify our souls as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend.) and the other supplication: (O Allah! I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity and self- sufficiency) T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 31

31 So make that reason in front of you, to fear Allah in everything, fear Allah in what you look at, fear Allah in your words, fear Allah in what you eat, what you think about, everything. Fear is; to obey the orders of Allah and avoid what He forbid that s very briefly. The second reason to have blessing is; supplication: That s why some of the Salaf said: O son of Adam, you have had something blessed that you have repeatedly made supplication for (Allah bless that particular thing) i.e. something that s of religion or a life thing that Allah blesses for you, so O worshipper of Allah have you made it part of your daily routine to put some part of your supplication to ask for blessing?! That s why our prophet peace and prayers be upon him has taught AlHassan ibno Ali in the famous Qonoot supplication to say: (And bless what You have given us), Allaho Akbar. this is a generalised statement: (and bless what You have given us); everything O Lord that You have given me O Lord bless it for me; in my house, my car, my money, my time, my life, my wife, my children, the whole lot, (and bless what You have given us). that s why there are many scriptures in Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him teaching us to make supplications for blessing, for example, as an example: - if someone gets married, what do we say to him? O Allah bless for you, and upon you and gather you in goodness. - Also in food; if you eat at someone s: (O Allah bless what you have given them, forgive them and have mercy on them. - if you see a thing and like it you bless: (Allah bless) that s a blessing. - in greeting; imagine when you greet your Muslim brother, many people deny themselves and can t feel that this is supplication when we say: T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 31

32 (Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings) that s supplication: * (Peace be upon you) that s a prayer to be saved from diseases and ailments and problems and disasters in life and the hereafter. * (and the mercy of Allah) That s a supplication for mercy, that Allah has mercy on him in life and the hereafter. * Third: (the blessing) i.e. that Allah blesses him, blesses his deeds, in his time, in what Allah has bestowed upon him. May people forget that matter, and say: (peace be upon you and His mercy), brother continue and say: (and His blessings) even the angel makes supplication for you, as you have made for your Muslim brother, the angel would say: (and for you the same) That s why sheikh AlSaadi may Allah have mercy on him said about Allah s saying: And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow." * Except (with the saying), "If Allah will!" he mentioned three uses for the Will, of course the man doesn t mention the Will in supplication, and that s wrong, as the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (When you are making dua do not say; 'O Allah, forgive me if You wish. O Allah, forgive me if you wish.' You should be firm in your asking, for there is no compelling Him) I mean some people say may Allah reward you if He wills, may Allah guide you if He wills, bless you if He wills, that s wrong, you don t use the divine Will in supplication unlike other matters. Sheikh AlSaadi may Allah have mercy on him mentioned that If a person intends to do something and says: if Allah will there are three benefits: - First: it makes matter easier. - Second: blessing is realized. - And third is that this includes seeking power from the worshipper to his Lord. and that s why Eissa peace and prayers be upon him made supplication what did he say? and make me blessed wherever I am what does that mean? and make me blessed wherever I am T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 32

33 It means that if he goes some place or sits somewhere, he would find people would benefit from him, would guide them, distribute a book or a tape, advise, direct, whenever he goes to a mosque, he would stand and talk, O subhana Allah, wherever he goes, he is blessed. so O worshipper of Allah, every day repeat the blessing: (O Allah bless what you have bestowed upon me), (O Allah bless what you have bestowed upon me) Third: the third reason to attain blessings, is for a person to use early times: and that s the beginning of the day after Fajr prayers, as the prophet - peace and prayers be upon him said (my people s early mornings have been blessed) and that s why O subhana Allah, you find that this blessed time, after Fajr prayers, is a blessed time, I know a good person, he reads after Fajr prayers till sun rise almost three parts, a blessed time, subhana Allah. Fourth: also of the reasons for blessing; reading Quran a lot: Allah has described His book by saying: (This is) a Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, [Saad : 29] so have you felt O worshipper of Allah when you read the Quran that blessings are coming unto you?! Take it as a rule; the more you read the book of Allah and ponder over it, the more blessing will be your way. That s why we hear of people suffering from narrow chest, and problems and when you ask him how much he reads per day, he doesn t day and months pass without reading the book of Allah. and that s why the prophet peace and prayers be upon him advised us saying: (Satan runs away from the house in which Surah Baqara is recited.) why then are problems in the houses of Muslims? Fighting and problems, children are apart, and husband and wife everyday problems, why? What s the reason? What s the secret? It s being far from Quran, a person when he is far from Quran, he is far from the obedience of Allah, and that s what solves problems, who causes them? It s Satan, you find him living in T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 33

34 Muslims house, I wouldn t say he took them as his home, but rather he gave gave birth there too. Of the reasons behind blessings is following of the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him - : Yes when a person builds his whole life on the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him from the time he wakes up till he goes to bed, blessing will cover him - The prophet peace and prayers be upon him says - : (Take Sahur, for in Sahur there is blessing). How comes a blessing? Scholars say a blessing i.e. a worldly blessing and a blessing for the hereafter ; hereafter life is when you wake up and have Sahur, applying the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him that in itself is a blessing, and worldly as when a person eats Sahur he gets power and activation in day time. - Another example; also the prophet peace and prayers be upon him that a person before eating food or drinking drinks to mention the name of Allah. Why? Because then Satan would share with you the food. - Also the prophet peace and prayers be upon him recommended a person to like his fingers and the plate why? He said because of the possibility that the blessing of the food may be in that remaining part - And he recommended that we eat from the side of the plate, and not from the middle, because the middle is where the blessing is lowered, and other scriptures. So make a part of your daily life dedicated to imitating the prophet peace and prayers be upon him in everything such that it is blessed, in your status, time and all affairs and matters. Also of the reasons for blessing; requesting guidance [from Allah]: Before a person performs any action, he has to seek guidance from Allah, The Exalted. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 34

35 What does seeking guidance mean? Very briefly; seeking guidance is to submit to Allah s Powers, you ask Allah to guide you to He loves and accepts, which is better for you And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him [AlTalaq:3] suffice means enough, and that s why it s a practical thing seen and touched we see that many actions when a person seeks guidance from Allah, Allah blesses it for that action. Also of the reasons of blessing is; making many prayers upon the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him -: Have you felt O worshipper of Allah that prayers upon the prophet peace and prayers be upon him brings about blessing in your life and that was mentioned by Imam ibno AlQayem may Allah have mercy on him in his book: (Jalaa AlAfham) he mentioned that of the fruits and benefits of saying prayers on the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him is that the person receives blessing i.e. the person who makes prayers upon the prophet peace and prayers be upon him -. Ask yourself and hold yourself accountable; have you made the prayers upon the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him part of your daily life?! Every day you pray upon he the prophet peace and prayers be upon him two hundred, three hundred, a thousand times, peace and prayers be upon him. Of the reasons of blessing; increase in seeking pardon [from Allah] I wouldn t see seek pardon once or twice or for a day or two or a week or two, [but rather] make seeking pardon your motto in life, because a person sometimes hears a lecture or a sermon about the virtue of pardon seeking, and goes rushing into pardon seeking and then two weeks later he starts to retreat and delay and weaken in seeking pardon. Also of the reasons of blessing is to keep or habitually thank Allah, The Exalted: T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 35

36 To Thank Allah, always saying the thanks prayers, Allah The exalted says: If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings) [Ibrahim:7], that s the promise of Allah, Allah promises to increase the blessing on who thanks. So try to practice your tongue O worshiper of Allah by thanking Allah, Thanks be to Allah Lord of the universe, Thanks be to Allah whenever I eat or drink or get dressed or done any worldly thing or religious thing, say: Thanks be to Allah, may Allah guide you to stay up and pray at night, and say: Thanks be to Allah, thanks be to Allah who guided me to stay up and pray the night, may Allah guide you to pray at the mosques in Jamaa on time and say: Thanks be to Allah, thanks be to Allah Lord of the universe, may Allah guide you to perform any charity work and thank Allah, The Exalted; it s because it s Allah who guided you and made it easy for you to perform that action, so you thank Allah, The exalted and Allah will increase His generosity with you. Also of the reasons of blessing is charity, and that is why Allah said: and whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allah's Cause), He will replace it [Sabaa:39], Don t you believe Allah s promise?! Allah tells you: He will replace it. that s a promise, and the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said in a hadith: (O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.) and he said peace and prayers be upon him: (The wealth of a man will not diminish by Sadaqah) If you volunteer a certain part of time O worshipper of Allah; I suggest you put away a month s salary that is given as charity, as Allah, The Exalted would bless that salary. Unlike a person who doesn t give Sadaqah, you find him suffering by the middle of the month, of what? He would suffer saying: the salary is gone, and say: there s no blessing in the salary No, it is blessed; but if you have followed the reasons of blessing, and not disobeyed Allah in that salary, or asked Allah to bless that salary, you would find that Allah blesses it even if it is small. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 36

37 So worshipper of Allah at the end of this meeting, I advise you an advice, I say: O worshipper of Allah, try to make part of your daily supplication be asking Allah for blessing, Allah blesses your knowledge? How does Allah bless your work? It is such that this knowledge would affect your behavior, in your moral, your dealings, even in your worship. Allah would bless your time; Many people now pass the twenty four hours saying, what have I done today? Have you prayed morning prayers? He would say no have you stayed up the night praying? No, have you paid alms even little? No have you made prayers upon the prophet peace and prayers be upon him he would say: no have you sought pardon a hundred times? No. Have you said Subhana Allah wa behamdehee a hundred times? No You may find many good deeds missing, what are the secret and the reason? The reason and the secret are that Allah hasn t blessed that person, hasn t made the blessing in the person s time, and that s a result of what he has done [by his hands]: We blame our age and it s our fault.. and our age has us only as faults We ask Allah the Most Generous, Lord of the Grand Throne to guide us to what He loves and accepts, and that Allah, The Exalted to bless our deeds and times and souls and children, and in all that Allah has given us, that Allah, The Most Exalted would bless it and bestow goodness on it, because Allah alone possesses that blessing, and He is the one who offers that blessing to whom He wants with His mercy and generosity and kindness. The last of our supplication is that thanks be to Allah The Lord of the universe, and peace and prayers be upon our prophet Mohammad and his family and companions and greetings to them all. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 37

38 Fifth Lesson Forgiveness of sins Thanks be to Allah, Lord of the universe, much obliged blessed grace, and I bear witness that there s no god but Allah, alone without a partner, and that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger, prayers of Allah be upon him and his family and companions and greetings follow, and what follows: It s of the daily faith educational practical programs which every Muslim must care about, and to hold on to very closely is to be keen on reasons for forgiveness of sins, it s of the mercy of Allah, the Might and Sublime on us and His generosity and kindness on us, is that Allah, the Exalted has made our deeds and saying which if done, Allah the Exalted for forgive us with, that s of His mercy and generosity and offering to us. We need this subject, the subject of: (reasons for the forgiveness of sins) not once and a lifetime, neither once a year, not even once a month or once a week, not even once a day, we need it in every moment of our lives, as Allah the Might and Sublime says as in the divine hadith narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, of the hadith of Abi Dhar and listen to the address, the divine Lord addressing, extremely merciful and kind and nice and tender Allah talks to His worshippers, so what would He say, the Exalted? He says: (O My servants, you commit error night and day and I am there to pardon your sins, so beg pardon from Me so that I should grant you pardon.) By Allah O brethren if we had live hearts; when a person hears this addressing, he would cry, but what can we say? We say: Verily we are from Allah, and to Allah we return. And no power or ability but by Allah. Kind brethren; our Lord the Mighty and Sublime, has encouraged us in His honourable book to hasten and compete to seek pardon from Allah, because Allah alone has the power to forgive, alone with no partner, so he said, the Might and Sublime, said: And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 32

39 from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqun [Al Imran: 133] And in another verse: Race one with another in hastening towards Forgiveness from your Lord (Allah), and towards Paradise, the width whereof is as the width of heaven and earth [Alhadid: 21] And if we study the lives of the messengers the best of the creatures, who have attained that great degree, and high place in Allah [ s consideration], they used to seek forgiveness from Allah the Mighty and Sublime. - There s Noah peace and prayers be upon him said: My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women [Noah: 28] - Ibrahim AlKhaleel peace and prayers be upon him said: Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and (all) the believers on the Day when the reckoning will be established. [Noah: 28] - Mosa peace and prayers be upon him said: O my Lord! Forgive me and my brother. [AlAaraf:151] - Soliman peace and prayers be upon him said: He said: "My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me. [AlAaraf:151] As for our prophet peace and prayers be upon him he gave us the greatest of examples in his being keen to seek pardon from his Lord the Mighty and Sublime, I mention to you seven examples from the life of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him s daily life, imagine every day the prophet peace and prayers be upon him since he wakes up till evening comes, and he seeks forgiveness from his Lord the Mighty and Sublime, and he is the one whose sins have been forgiven before and after. [of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him seeking his Lord s forgiveness of sins]: - First: the prophet peace and prayers be upon him sought forgiveness a hundred times a day. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 39

40 - Second: the prophet peace and prayers be upon him used to say in a single instance: (My Rubb! Forgive me and pardon me. Indeed, You are the Oft-Returning with compassion and Ever Merciful.) [narrated by Termithi and Abi Dawood] - Third: he peace and prayers be upon him used increase in saying in his bowing and prostration: (O Allah! You are free from imperfection and I begin with praising You. Forgive my sins) as in the hadith which has been narrated by both Imams of the hadith of Ayesha. - Fourth: he peace and prayers be upon him used to say between the two prostrations: (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me). - Fifth: after Tashah hod and before concluding salutations as narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, of the hadith of Ali ibno Abi Taleb: (O Allah! Forgive my former and latter sins, which I have done secretly and those which I have done openly, and that I have wronged others, and those defaults of mine about which You have better knowledge than I have. You Alone can send whomever You will to Jannah, and You Alone can send whomever You will to Hell-fire. None has the right to be worshipped but You) - Sixth: he used to seek pardon from Allah after prayers three times. - Seventh: he peace and prayers be upon him used to say The best supplication for seeking forgiveness which the Muslim says every morning and evening. the life of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him imagine it, from the morning till night he wouldn t forget that subject, seeking forgiveness from Allah the Mighty and Sublime, as part of his daily life peace and prayers be upon him-. How while we educate ourselves and raise ourselves and make part of our daily deeds which are practical educational and faith related can we apply those principles? I will talk if Allah will- about (16) reasons of forgiveness that occur every day, and reasons for forgives mean; that we are promised forgiveness, i.e. who does T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 41

41 thus is promised forgiveness, who says thus is forgiven, and we trust Allah s promise, and our hearts should be full of trusting Allah the Mighty and Sublime, and wishing and wanting to be forgiven by Allah the Mighty and Sublime. Before we start talking those reasons, what is the use of forgiveness? The benefit behind forgiveness is that you win Janna and be saved from hellfire as said by ibno AlQayem may Allah have mercy on him-: whom has been forgiven would surely enter paradise) thus, he said. Now we will talk about reasons for forgiveness in the day and night: there are reasons for forgiveness for example on a yearly, weekly or a monthly bases, but our lesson today, we will only talk about reasons for a day and a night, I have arranged them in a way that that a person can justly follow; six reasons are related to prayers, and six reasons related to mention [of Allah], and two related to Athan, and a general reason, and another related to your relationship with other. As for the general reason: that s following the Sunnah of the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him -. When a person follows the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him and builds his life on the Sunnah of the prophet peace and prayers be upon him in the way he prays, in the way he sleeps, in the way he dresses, even the way he wears his shoes, and a reason of the reasons of forgiving sins, Allah the Mighty the Sublime said: if you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins [AlImran:31], So Allah has made following the prophet peace and prayers be upon him a reason for forgiveness of sins. And now we will talk if Allah will about six reasons related to prayers: - The first reason related to prayers; perfecting prayers. A Muslim must perfect Salah, it came in Musnad Ahmad and Sunan AlNassai of the hadith of Abada ibno AlSamet may Allah be pleased with T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 41

42 him - he said, the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (Allah, the Exalted, has made five prayers obligatory. If anyone performs ablution for them well, offers them at their (right) time, and observes perfectly their bowing and submissiveness in them, it is the guarantee of Allah that He will pardon him; if anyone does not do so, there is no guarantee for him on the part of Allah; He may pardon him if He wills, and punish him if He wills. See, he then has a promise from Allah, imagine that Allah the Mighty, the Sublime never leaves out his promise, have felt O worshipper of Allah that perfected your prayer? Because some people fall into a problem that the most important thing is just to pray, he doesn t care how the prayer is? Does this prayer please Allah or doesn t please Allah, has he perfected bowing and prostration? He doesn t care, it s part of the reasons of forgiveness of sins that the worshipper has to perfect the prayer. - The second reason related to prayers; to perform ablution and perfect ablution, prayer two Rak aa without being distracted. The prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (Whoever performs ablution like my present ablution and then offers two rak`at in which he does not think of worldly things, all his previous sins will be forgiven) [narrated by AlBukhary]. so make it part of your daily program to pray two rak at, perform ablution and perfect it and stand up and pray two rak at, would take only (10) minutes, do the prayers well, (his previous sins will be forgiven) whenever you do it, in the morning, between Athan and Iqaama, at night, but don t do it when it is prohibited to pray. - The third reason of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Salah is saying ameen By way of Abi Huraira may Allah be please with him said, the prophet of Allah said peace and prayers be upon him - : (When the reciter says Amin, then say: "Amin" too, for the angels say Amin and if a person's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, Allah will forgive his previous sins) [narrated by AlBukhari and Muslim] T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 42

43 (forgives him) Allaho Akbar, look at the mercy of the Most Merciful, one word that doesn t cost you any effort or time or money or anything; Allah the Exalted forgives you, have you felt O worshipper of Allah when you are saying: Ameen that this is a reason for forgiveness? And you are saying out of greed that Allah would forgive you and in your heart. - The fourth reason related to Salah of the reasons of forgiveness is supplication after standing up from bowing. By way of Abi Huraira may Allah be pleased with him said that the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said : (When the Imam says: (Sami Allahu liman hamidah) 'Allah listens to those who praise Him. Then (all of you) say: (Rabbana wa lakal-hamd) 'O our Lord! And to You is the praise for whoever's saying concurs with the saying of the angels, then his past sins will be forgiven) [narrated by AlBukhari and Muslim] - forgiven you". So praying in Jamaa is a reason for forgiveness. = The last reason related to prayers; Dhikr after Fardh Salat. It s in Saheeh Muslim of the hadith of Abi Hurara may Allah be pleased with him said the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: He who recites after every prayer: Subhan-Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) thirty-three times; Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-three times; Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times; and completes the hundred with: La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir (there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent), will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea) So be careful O worshipper of Allah to perform this Dhikr after every Fardh Salah. Those are six reasons related to forgiveness of sins related to Salah. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 43

44 Six reasons as well as behind forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr: - First Dhikr congregations. - It s in AlBukhari and Muslim in the hadith when the prophet peace and prayers be upon him mentioned a long hadith I will abridge it to the point of interest here: (Allah has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked; - He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: They say: O Lord, among then is So-andso, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: And He says: And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer.) and in another story that the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (they are told at the end of the gathering, stand up you are given, I have replaced your sins with rewards). - the case of gatherings of Dhikr is that the person makes it part of his daily life, an easy case that doesn t cost or a person should have qualifications for it, or be a jurisprudent or a hadith scholar or a scholar, you can everyday for instance with your brethren or family open the book of Reyad AlSaleheen or any book of Tafsir to read three hadith for five minutes and that s a Dhikr gathering. - The second reason of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr: The prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (He who utters a hundred times in a day these words: 'La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli sha'in Qadir (there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him; His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent),' he will have a reward equivalent to that for emancipating ten slaves, a hundred good deeds will be recorded to his credit, hundred of his sins will be blotted out from his scroll, and he will be safeguarded against the devil on that day till the evening; and no one will exceed him in doing more excellent good deeds except someone who has recited these words more T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 44

45 often than him.) The second reason of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr; - so how would you O worshipper of Allah saying: ('La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli sha'in Qadir) a hundred times a day that takes only (10) minutes, and you are on your way to work, and you are waiting for a certain thing to happen, to say a hundred times: ('La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli sha'in Qadir) - The third of the reasons of sins forgiveness related to Dhikr:- what came in Sunan Abi Dawood and AlTermithi, and AlHakem said it fulfills the conditions of Muslim, of the hadith of Abdullah ibno Masood may Allah be pleased with him said, the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (He who uttered these words:" I seek pardon from Allah besides who there s no god All ever-alive and repent to Him, his sins are forgiven even if he runs away from battle line). It s known that a person who runs away from battle line is of the major sins, so how do you o worshipper of Allah make part of your duties or daily chores to say that Dhikr: (I seek pardon from Allah besides who there s no god All ever-alive and repent to Him) either in prostration or on your bed or in a gathering, any time say this Dhikr. - The fourth reason of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr: It came in Saheeh Muslim of the hadith of Abo Horaira that our prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: ( Whoever says a hundred times, How perfect Allah is and I praise Him, his sins will be forgiven though they may be as much as the foam of the sea. Agreed upon) - The fifth reason of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr: what came in Saheeh AlBukhari of the hadith of Abada ibno AlSamet that our prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (Whoever gets up at night and says: -- 'La ilaha il-lallah Wahdahu la Sharika lahu Lahu-lmulk, walahu-l-hamd wahuwa 'ala kullishai'in Qadir. Al hamdu lil-lahi wa subhanal-lahi wa la-ilaha il-lal-lah wa-l-lahu akbar wa la hawla Wala T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 45

46 Quwata il-la-bil-lah.' (None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He is the Only One and has no partners. For Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are due for Him. He is Omnipotent. All the praises are for Allah. All the glories are for Allah. And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, And Allah is Great And there is neither Might nor Power Except with Allah). And then says: -- Allahumma, Ighfir li (O Allah! Forgive me). Or invokes (Allah), he will be responded to and if he performs ablution (and prays), his prayer will be accepted) So how would you O worshipper of Allah make that great deed part of your night propram? - Once you wake up any part of the night, even for going to the toilet, for whatever reason, say this Dhikr then do whatever supplication, Allah the Exalted will respond and forgive your sins. - The sixth reason of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr; praying unto the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him the prophet peace and prayers be upon him said : (Whoever supplicates Allah to exalt my mention, Allah will exalt his mention ten times, ten good deeds will be recorded to his credit, ten of his sins will be blotted out from his scroll, and his status will be heighten ten degrees. So have you felt O worshipper of Allah while praying upon the prophet peace and prayers be upon him that the prayer upon the prophet peace and prayers be upon him is a reason for forgiveness of sins. The short version of prayers upon the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him are four words: (prayers and peace be upon him) this short version has both prayers and greetings, as Allah the Exalted said: O you who believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad ), and (you should) greet (salute) him [AlAhzab:56] That s then six reasons of the reasons of forgiveness of sins related to Dhikr. There s another reason related to others, related to your relationship with others: Shaking of hands : T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 46

47 It s in Sunan Abi Dawood that our prophet peace and prayers be upon him said: (Two Muslims will not meet and shake hands without having their sins forgiven (by Allah ) before they depart) Have you felt while shaking the hand of your Muslim brother that that reduces sins?! We end our lesson with two reasons for the forgiveness of sins related to Athan: - First The Moathen. - peace and prayers be upon him said: (The mu'adhdhin will receive forgiveness to the extent to which his voice reaches) [narrated by Abi Dawood] so have you O worshipper of Allah tried that you at least twice or three times to perform Athan making or even once? - The second reason: look at the mercy of Allah, I mean even if you can t do Athan, Allah the Exalted has opened other doors, which are making Athan after the two Shahada or after Athan. The prophet peace and prayers be upon him said and it s in Saheeh Muslim, of the hadith of Saad ibno Abi Waqas: (If anyone says on hearing the Mu'adhdhin: I testify that there is no god but Allah alone. Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, (and that) I am satisfied with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as Messenger. and with Islam as din (code of life), his sins would be forgiven.) - Subhana Allah, this Dhikr either your say it after the two Shahada or after Atham, I mean after you pray upon the prophet of Allah peace and prayers be upon him and say: O Allah, Rubb of this perfect call (Da'wah).. then third say: I am satisfied with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as Messenger. and with Islam as din (code of life) This in short O beloved honourable ones. We nearly mentioned (16) reasons of the reasons for the forgiveness of sins, that repeat with you O worshipper of Allah in a day and a night, so will you keep to them as part of your daily life? Or part of your practical daily chores? T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 47

48 And don t forget O worshipper of Allah that the most riles Satan most is that he sees you asking for forgiveness from Allah always, and that s why it s been mentioned in some sayings not hadith, just a saying-: Satan says I tired people with sins and they tire me with seeking forgiveness [from Allah]. When you seek forgiveness form Allah and ask for pardon, you destroy and burn Satan. The Wise Loqman look at his beautiful advice says to his son: O son, accustom your tongue: Oh Allah forgive me, Allah has hours when he doesn t return a seeker [unanswered]) I ask The Most Generous Allah, Lord of the Grand Throne to forgive us and have mercy on us, and the last of our supplication is that Grace be to Allah Lord of the Universes. And prayers and peace and prayers and blessings be upon our messenger Mohammad and upon his family and companions and greetings be to them. T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 42

49 T r a n s c r i p t o f : R a m a d a n L e s s o n s S e r i e s h 49