1] Sunnahs Neglected in Ramadhan

1]
Question: "Could the Shaikh give us some words of benefit for the
blessed month of Ramadaan, on this fine occasion?"
Shaikh al-Albaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him replied:
"Allah, the Exalted and Most High, says in the Noble Quraan:
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed
for those before you, so that you may become people having Taqwaa.
Soorah al-Baqarah (2):183
So in this aayah , as will not be hidden to all those who are present,
Allah, theMighty and Majestic, informs the Ummah of Muhammad,
sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, through this aayah , that He has made
Fasting obligatory upon them just as He had made its like obligatory
upon the nations before us. This is a matter that is well-known to
all of the Muslims who read this aayah , and clearly understand its
meaning. But what I wish to speak about is something else, a matter
which very few of the general people notice-‹and this is the saying of
Allah, the Exalted and MostHigh, at the end of this aayah :
So that you may become people having Taqwaa .
So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, when He commands His believing
servants, or obligates them with some Legislation, (then He) usually
just mentions the command, without explaining the wisdom for it. This
is because the general wisdom behind Allah, the Mighty and Majestic¹s,
placing duties upon His servants is that He should test them by it, so
that it should become apparent (as to) those whowill obey Him and
those who will disobey Him, the Exalted and Most High.
However in this aayah, He mentioned something thatis not found
frequently in the Noble Quraan, which isthat He mentioned the reason
for the order to Fast, by His Saying:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa .
So the wisdom behind the Believers to fast is not just that they
should prevent themselves from enjoyableand permissible and good
things, even though this is an obligation upon the Fasting person -
but this is not the only thing that is required and intended by this
Fasting. So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, concluded His command
tofast by His Saying:
So that you may become people of Taqwaa .
Meaning: that the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that
the Muslim should increase in obedience to Allah, the Exalted and Most
High, in the month of Fasting, and become more obedient than he was
before it.
Then the Prophet, sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, clearly stated and
completely clarified this point of divine wisdom, byhis, sallAllahu
alaihi wa sallam, saying, as is reported in the Saheeh of al-Bukhaaree
(no. 1903), that he sallAllahu alaihi wasallam, said, "Whoever does
not abandon falsehood in speech and action, then Allah has no need
that he should leave his food and drink." Meaning: that Allah, the
Mighty and Majestic, did not intend and desire, by the obligation of
Fasting - which is to withhold for a stated time, well known toyou all
- that they should only withhold from eating and drinking. Rather
they should also withhold from that which Allah, the Mighty and
Majestic, has forbidden with regard to sins and acts of disobedience
to Him; and from that is falsehood in speech and action.
So the Messanger, sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, is emphasizing the aayah :
So that you may become people of Taqwaa .
i.e. that you should, as an act of worship to draw youcloser to Allah,
the Mighty and Majestic, in addition towithholding from food and
drink, also withhold from forbidden actions such as backbiting,
carrying tales to cause harm to people, false witness, lying and so
on, with regard to those forbidden manners that we are all aware of.
Therefore it is obligatory that all the Muslims shouldbe aware that
actions which disrupt the Fast are not just the physical acts, which
are generally known, which are eating, drinking and sexual
intercourse. The Fast is not just that you withhold from this.
Therefore some of the scholars differentiate, and divide those things
which disruptthe Fast into two categories, and this is what I intend
by this talk of mine at this time that is blessed, if Allah wills.
This is especially importantsince those who deliver Khutbahs and
admonish the people during Ramadaan , when they speak about those
things which disrupt the Fast, then they only speak about the material
things, those things that we have just mentioned (eating, drinking and
sexual intercourse). But what they should do, as sincere advisers and
people who give reminder to the Muslims in general, is to concentrate
a great deal upon the second category of things which disrupt theFast.
....

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Help Others and Help Yourself

The Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alaihi wa sallam)said,
"Whoever relieves a believer of a hardship from the hardships of this
world, then Allah will relieve him of a hardship from the hardships of
the Day of Resurrection… Allah is helping the servant as long as the
servant is helping his brother, " [Hadith Tirmidhi /Muslim].
Do you need help? Help others, and Allah will help you.
Helping others doesn't have to consist of anythinggrand. Even a smile
is sadaqah. Removing a harmful thing from the road is sadaqah.
Speaking gentle words to someone in distress, or feeding a meal to
someone who is hungry, or making a donation to help an orphan… or
donating blood, or working a few hours a month for a charity, or
visiting someone who is sick… all those things are valuable. They are
not nothing. Theyare important and worthwhile acts.
Changing the world starts with every person doing one small thing. And
in theprocess, you help your own soul, and you bring happiness to your
own heart, and you get the blessings and barakah of Allah. What a
deal!

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What's the point of going to Jumah?

A Muslim wrote a letter tothe editor of the Jammat newspaper and
complained that it made no sense to go to Mosque every Friday.
"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard
something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me I can't remember
a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting my time . . . and the
Imaam they are wasting theirs bygiving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the"Letters to the Editor" column,
much to the dismay of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone
wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked
some32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall what the
menu was for a single one of those meals.But I do know this: they all
nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my
wife had not given methose meals, I would be dead today."
No comments were made on the sermon contents anymore.
"The lips of the righteous nourish many . . ."

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Eyes open at the face of death

This is something that is very personal and important to me. I hope
that you will learn and benefit from it. Let me begin by
saying"Bismillah".
When I first started University I had met another Muslim brother. We
had become good friends, but this friendshipwas not like any other
ordinary friendship, I would have done anything for him, he was like
my real brother.
During our last year of University, this brother of mine announced
that he was engaged and that he was to be married after he graduates
this year and finds himself a job. I was glad for him and so was he.
He talked non stop about getting married, I was sort of getting
jealous of him because the brother had it made for him, finishing
school, getting married, and especially coming from a wealthy family.
One day this brother was to meet me at the coffee shop. He showed up,
but astonishingly he wasn't smiling and wasn't talkingabout his
fiancee. I asked him what was wrong, he asked if we could talk
somewhere privately and we did. Finally I knew why he was upset.
He had told me that he found out that he had a brain tumor which was
malignant, which meant ithad become cancerous. When he told me the
news his voice was quivering and tears were streaming down his cheeks.
I had never seen him like this before. I tried keepingin my tears and
I tried notto show that I was hurt also. I was burning up inside and
things were racing through my mind. Ikept thinking how could have this
happened? A man who had everything made and had everything perfect. I
kept it inside because I did not want him to see me upset.
I saw this brother slowly go down. He had to drop out of school at his
last year because he began to loose his memory and he started to
repeat himself over again. He did not have a chance at school without
his memory. This brother was intelligent, but after he became lost.
He had told his fiancee and her family and her parents did not want
theirdaughter to marry him, because he had no job and basically no
future.
This was hard for him, I remember he would cry to me about her and how
he cared for her and how hopeless he felt.
Later the brother had problems writing and his right eyesight was
fading.The tumor was on the leftside of his brain so it affected
everything on hisright. Because of his memory loss the brother soon
forgot suras and he even forgot how to pray. A year later his right
arm was paralyzed and his eyesight was taken away from him.
It was the hardest thing for me to see. The brotherI loved so much was
going through so much. I began coming over everyday helping him recite
suras.
When I was reciting sura Fatiha to him and he was slowly repeating
after me.I looked at him and I thought, This was the same brother who
was sointelligent and was to finish school, this was the same brother
who came from such a wealthy family, this was the same brother who
talked for days about getting married and raising a family, this was
the same brother who had everything. But now he can barely remember
what I said to him ten minutes a ago, he can't get married, and now he
is struggling to read Qur'an, he was not much of a practicing Muslim
so it was harder for him to recite the Qur'an.
This man was now turning towards Allah, he dropped EVERYTHING and
turned towards Allah. Allah gave him everythingand he could take
everything away just as easily.
A month ago, I had gottena call saying that the brother passed away
and that his janaza is today. I washed his body with a couple of other
brothers and I saw his lifeless body. He was buried and after I
returned home. Thenext day I sat down wondering to myself about the
power of Allah. My brother's death made me realize that we forget what
our purpose of being here is for: To serve Allah. You could have
everything, but do you have anything that is important? I spent six
years knowing this brother, and caring for him. I never once shed a
tear when he was alive and not even when he passed away. But the day
after his death I did cry because I thought about the power of Allah.
I thought about my brother. We always say that we will return to
Allah, but we never really believe it. If we did then we would
struggle to read Qur'an and pray to Allah like my brother did. My
brother had his eyesight taken away fromhim, his arm was paralyzed and
his memory was lost but he still got up every morningand he insisted,
and I repeat insisted on recitingthe Qur'an. But we are able, but we
still do not struggle to read the Qur'an. We do not really believe
that we will return to Allah or else we would struggle for Allah.

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