Ramadaan: The Month Of Qur’aan

zAk · **Ramadaan: The Month Of Qur’aan -** 09-15-2005

Sheikh Saud ibn Ibraaheem Ash-Shuraym

Ramadaan 1, 1422 (November 16, 2001)

All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! I implore you and myself to fear Allaah for it is the fear of Allaah that honours the soul and brings you near to your Lord. No God-fearing person ever fails and no one who disregards piety succeeds.

Dear Muslims! Whoever observes the conditions of people in the light of changes that occur and the calamities and tribulations that are witnessed these days will see that Muslims are in dire need of this generous guest that brings along progress. They are in need of this grand guest with whom they hope to be strengthened after series of incidences have weakened their strength and they have been afflicted by indescribable calamities, hence their need for this great month of tranquillity and spiritual development. It is the month of self-examination, conscience reawakening, freedom from selfishness and lustful desires. Allaah says,

“O you who believe! Observing fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may be pious.”

(Al-Baqarah 1: 183)

Fellow Muslims! The month of Ramadaan is the month of Qur’aan; a Book whose light can never die out and which is a path that never leads astray. The Glorious Qur’aan is actually like a soul to the body and a light for guidance. Whoever does not read the Qur’aan nor put its injunctions into practice is like a dead man even if he speaks and works. Whoever does not put it into practice has gone astray even if he flies in the sky and dives in the sea.

Allaah says,

“Is he who was dead (without faith) and we gave him life (by faith) and set for him a light whereby he can walk amongst men – like he who is in darkness (of disbelief) from which he can never come out?”

(Al-An’aam 6: 122)

A human being without the Qur’aan is like a living thing without water or air. He is bankrupt in all his endeavours. Allaah says,

“Say: It is for those who believe a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is deafness in their ears and it (the Qur’aan) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a faraway place.”

Fellow Muslims! There is no doubt in the fact that the relationship of many Muslims with the Qur’aan smells of abandonment of either its recitation or implementation of its injunctions. It is not an exaggeration if we say that the disease of those past nations have affected Muslims while they know not. Allaah says,

“And there are among them unlettered people who know not the Book, but they trust in false deities and they but guess.”

The scholars of Tafseer say, ‘It means: they know nothing of the Book except its recitation, for it never passed their lungs and throats and that is because of the fact that there was spiritual absence in their recitation and they were unable to ponder over its meanings.

Among the causes of absence of reflection on the meanings of the Qur’aan is the failure to explore the laws of Allaah in human-beings and the horizons, sanctification of erroneous concepts and wrong interpretations that have become widespread among people and which are caused by the vicious love for this world and the hatred of death. Ziyaad ibn Zabeid al-Ansaaree narrated that the Messenger of Allaah mentioned something and then said, ‘and that is when there will be no more knowledge.’ We said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! How will the knowledge disappear while we have the Qur’aan with us and we teach it to our children and our children will also teach it to their own children?’ The Prophet retorted, ‘I thought you were one of the most understanding of the people of Madeenah! Are there not Jews and Christians who have the ures with them and yet they benefit not from what is inside them?’ (At-Tirmidhee and others)

One may be stricken with surprise when he sees the stance that many Muslims take with the Book of their Lord. They have been so surrounded by darkness that they wander aimlessly. The foreign systems and ideologies they adopted avail them of nothing. How can we have the light and yet follow the paths of other nations?

The Messenger of Allaah lived for sixty three years and we are used to a saying that old age and vicissitudes of life cause the hair to turn grey. What then will you think of a man who attributed grey hair to some verses of the glorious Qur’aan that he used to recite. Aboo Bakr one day asked the Messenger of Allaah about what caused him grey hair and he replied, ‘I was caused to grow grey hairs by Soorah Hood, Soorah Al-Waaqi’ah, Soorah ‘Amma yatasaa-aloon and Soorah Idhash-Shamsu Kuwwirat.” (At-Tirmidhee)

Brothers in faith! Ramadaan by its blessed advent should be regarded as a great opportunity for a Muslim to save himself from destruction and to purify his soul in preparation for Qur’aanic guidance that is inherent in night prayer. Allaah says,

“Verily, the rising by night (the Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing (the soul) and most suitable for (understanding) the word (of Allaah).”

(Al-Muzammil 73: 6)

Brothers in faith! The blessed month of Ramadaan is a great opportunity for a Muslim who is preparing himself for rising up in the night for prayers and seeking refuge with Allaah and turning to Him for his needs for none has the power to answer his need except Allaah alone. The last third of the night is the time when the Lord descends to the nearest heaven – in a way that befits His Majesty – and says, “Is there anyone who seeks for My forgiveness so that I can forgive him?” Does any of us ever think of this great period which is one of those periods in which supplications are mostly answered? Tell me, what are people’s stance as per the last part of the night? Many a suffering person missed this blessed period! Many a people are in deep slumber. People who are negligent of this great period are however ready to roam about the East and the West looking for a place where they can lodge their complaints and seeking for solutions to their problems from their fellow human beings, forgetting that it is only Allaah who is capable of removing sorrow and distress. He says,

“What is the matter with you (that you fear not Allaah), and hope not for reward (from Allaah or you believe not in His Oneness) while He has created in different stages?”

(Nooh 71: 13-14)

Imaam Ahmad reported that the Prophet of Allaah said, ‘There are three persons whose supplications are never rejected: The just leader, the fasting person when he breaks his fast and the oppressed when he supplicates and whose supplication is raised above the clouds on the Day of Resurrection and the gates of heaven are opened for it and Allaah would say, “By My Glory! I shall help you even though it be after a while.”

Brothers in faith! There are however some people who raise up their hands in prayer and are impatient of the answer. They may even be affected by a kind of despair. The delay in the acceptance of supplication of such people are often caused by their haste for acceptance. The Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Allaah will answer the prayer of any one of you if he does not hurry and say: I called my Lord and He did not answer me.’

The delay may also be caused by his sins and failure to be kind to his kith and kin or maybe that his prayer did not transcend his lips and did not come from the heart. The Prophet said, ‘Allaah does not accept the prayers from an inattentive heart.’ The heart is not free from turning to the lust of this life while it is known that one who always looks back does not reach his goal in time.

Therefore, I implore you O Muslims to make supplications to Allaah, for supplication is the essence of worship and let no one disregard his needs however much or little they may be. Allaah says,

“And your Lord said: Invoke me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.”

(Ghaafir 40: 60)

We are giving an example for those with sorrow and distress. The Messenger of Allaah entered the mosque one day and met an Ansaaree man there whose name was Abu Umaamah. The Prophet asked him, ‘O Abu Umaamah why are you sitting in the mosque at a time that is not a prayer time?’ He said, ‘I was forced to do that by sorrows and debts.’ The Messenger of Allaah then told him, ‘Shall I not teach you a word that if you say it Allaah will remove your sorrow and pay for you your debts?’ He answered, ‘O yes, Messenger of Allaah!’ The Prophet then said, ‘say every morning and evening:

Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bikka minal-hammi wal hazan, wa a’oodhu bika minal-‘ajzi wal-kasal wa a’oodhu bika minal-jubni wal-bukhul wa a’oodhu bika min ghalabatid-dayn wa qahrir-rijaal.’

(meaning: O Allaah, I seek refuge with you from distress and sorrow, I seek refuge with you from weakness and laziness. I seek refuge with You from being subdued by debts and overpowered by men.)

Aboo Umaamah said, ‘I did that and Allaah removed my distress and paid for me my debt.’ (Aboo Dawood)

Fellow Muslims! The month of Ramadaan is a month of generosity and spending in the ways of good. Let every Muslim share in the generosity of this month and not hesitate to wipe the tears off the faces of orphans, widows and the destitute. Let everyone keep away from stinginess and covetousness for these two are bad qualities from which the Messenger of Allaah sought refuge in his Lord. The Prophet used to be generous but his generosity multiplied during the month of Ramadaan. He was never asked of anything to which he would say ‘No’.

Further, the benefits of charity are not restricted to the beneficiary but the giver also has some of that. An example of this is that when a generous man wants to give charity, his heart becomes gladdened, he is pleased with that and he yearns for the reward that he will gain therefrom. He will then give more and more. But as for the miser, whenever he aims at giving charity his heart becomes constrained and feels as if he is giving out a part of his very life and this makes him live a constrained life. However nothing destroys the tricks of Satan and his insinuation more than giving sincere charity. Allaah says,

“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit evil deeds whereas Allaah promises you forgiveness from Himself and bounty and Allaah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.”

(Al-Baqarah 2: 268)

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zAk LI's Weirdest Status: Offline Posts: 20,041 Reputation: 38712 Rep Power: 91 Join Date: Jan 2005 Gender: Way of Life: Muslim	Ramadaan: The Month Of Qur’aan - 09-15-2005 Sheikh Saud ibn Ibraaheem Ash-Shuraym Ramadaan 1, 1422 (November 16, 2001) All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions. Fellow Muslims! I implore you and myself to fear Allaah for it is the fear of Allaah that honours the soul and brings you near to your Lord. No God-fearing person ever fails and no one who disregards piety succeeds. Dear Muslims! Whoever observes the conditions of people in the light of changes that occur and the calamities and tribulations that are witnessed these days will see that Muslims are in dire need of this generous guest that brings along progress. They are in need of this grand guest with whom they hope to be strengthened after series of incidences have weakened their strength and they have been afflicted by indescribable calamities, hence their need for this great month of tranquillity and spiritual development. It is the month of self-examination, conscience reawakening, freedom from selfishness and lustful desires. Allaah says, *“O you who believe! Observing fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may be pious.”* (Al-Baqarah 1: 183) Fellow Muslims! The month of Ramadaan is the month of Qur’aan; a Book whose light can never die out and which is a path that never leads astray. The Glorious Qur’aan is actually like a soul to the body and a light for guidance. Whoever does not read the Qur’aan nor put its injunctions into practice is like a dead man even if he speaks and works. Whoever does not put it into practice has gone astray even if he flies in the sky and dives in the sea. Allaah says, “Is he who was dead (without faith) and we gave him life (by faith) and set for him a light whereby he can walk amongst men – like he who is in darkness (of disbelief) from which he can never come out?” (Al-An’aam 6: 122) A human being without the Qur’aan is like a living thing without water or air. He is bankrupt in all his endeavours. Allaah says, “Say: It is for those who believe a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is deafness in their ears and it (the Qur’aan) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a faraway place.” Fellow Muslims! There is no doubt in the fact that the relationship of many Muslims with the Qur’aan smells of abandonment of either its recitation or implementation of its injunctions. It is not an exaggeration if we say that the disease of those past nations have affected Muslims while they know not. Allaah says, *“And there are among them unlettered people who know not the Book, but they trust in false deities and they but guess.”* The scholars of Tafseer say, ‘It means: they know nothing of the Book except its recitation, for it never passed their lungs and throats and that is because of the fact that there was spiritual absence in their recitation and they were unable to ponder over its meanings. Among the causes of absence of reflection on the meanings of the Qur’aan is the failure to explore the laws of Allaah in human-beings and the horizons, sanctification of erroneous concepts and wrong interpretations that have become widespread among people and which are caused by the vicious love for this world and the hatred of death. Ziyaad ibn Zabeid al-Ansaaree narrated that the Messenger of Allaah mentioned something and then said, ‘and that is when there will be no more knowledge.’ We said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! How will the knowledge disappear while we have the Qur’aan with us and we teach it to our children and our children will also teach it to their own children?’ The Prophet retorted, ‘I thought you were one of the most understanding of the people of Madeenah! Are there not Jews and Christians who have the ures with them and yet they benefit not from what is inside them?’ (At-Tirmidhee and others) One may be stricken with surprise when he sees the stance that many Muslims take with the Book of their Lord. They have been so surrounded by darkness that they wander aimlessly. The foreign systems and ideologies they adopted avail them of nothing. How can we have the light and yet follow the paths of other nations? The Messenger of Allaah lived for sixty three years and we are used to a saying that old age and vicissitudes of life cause the hair to turn grey. What then will you think of a man who attributed grey hair to some verses of the glorious Qur’aan that he used to recite. Aboo Bakr one day asked the Messenger of Allaah about what caused him grey hair and he replied, ‘I was caused to grow grey hairs by Soorah Hood, Soorah Al-Waaqi’ah, Soorah ‘Amma yatasaa-aloon and Soorah Idhash-Shamsu Kuwwirat.” (At-Tirmidhee) Brothers in faith! Ramadaan by its blessed advent should be regarded as a great opportunity for a Muslim to save himself from destruction and to purify his soul in preparation for Qur’aanic guidance that is inherent in night prayer. Allaah says, *“Verily, the rising by night (the Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing (the soul) and most suitable for (understanding) the word (of Allaah).”* (Al-Muzammil 73: 6) Brothers in faith! The blessed month of Ramadaan is a great opportunity for a Muslim who is preparing himself for rising up in the night for prayers and seeking refuge with Allaah and turning to Him for his needs for none has the power to answer his need except Allaah alone. The last third of the night is the time when the Lord descends to the nearest heaven – in a way that befits His Majesty – and says, “Is there anyone who seeks for My forgiveness so that I can forgive him?” Does any of us ever think of this great period which is one of those periods in which supplications are mostly answered? Tell me, what are people’s stance as per the last part of the night? Many a suffering person missed this blessed period! Many a people are in deep slumber. People who are negligent of this great period are however ready to roam about the East and the West looking for a place where they can lodge their complaints and seeking for solutions to their problems from their fellow human beings, forgetting that it is only Allaah who is capable of removing sorrow and distress. He says, *“What is the matter with you (that you fear not Allaah), and hope not for reward (from Allaah or you believe not in His Oneness) while He has created in different stages?”* (Nooh 71: 13-14) Imaam Ahmad reported that the Prophet of Allaah said, ‘There are three persons whose supplications are never rejected: The just leader, the fasting person when he breaks his fast and the oppressed when he supplicates and whose supplication is raised above the clouds on the Day of Resurrection and the gates of heaven are opened for it and Allaah would say, “By My Glory! I shall help you even though it be after a while.” Brothers in faith! There are however some people who raise up their hands in prayer and are impatient of the answer. They may even be affected by a kind of despair. The delay in the acceptance of supplication of such people are often caused by their haste for acceptance. The Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Allaah will answer the prayer of any one of you if he does not hurry and say: I called my Lord and He did not answer me.’ The delay may also be caused by his sins and failure to be kind to his kith and kin or maybe that his prayer did not transcend his lips and did not come from the heart. The Prophet said, ‘Allaah does not accept the prayers from an inattentive heart.’ The heart is not free from turning to the lust of this life while it is known that one who always looks back does not reach his goal in time. Therefore, I implore you O Muslims to make supplications to Allaah, for supplication is the essence of worship and let no one disregard his needs however much or little they may be. Allaah says, *“And your Lord said: Invoke me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.”* (Ghaafir 40: 60) We are giving an example for those with sorrow and distress. The Messenger of Allaah entered the mosque one day and met an Ansaaree man there whose name was Abu Umaamah. The Prophet asked him, ‘O Abu Umaamah why are you sitting in the mosque at a time that is not a prayer time?’ He said, ‘I was forced to do that by sorrows and debts.’ The Messenger of Allaah then told him, ‘Shall I not teach you a word that if you say it Allaah will remove your sorrow and pay for you your debts?’ He answered, ‘O yes, Messenger of Allaah!’ The Prophet then said, ‘say every morning and evening: *Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bikka minal-hammi wal hazan, wa a’oodhu bika minal-‘ajzi wal-kasal wa a’oodhu bika minal-jubni wal-bukhul wa a’oodhu bika min ghalabatid-dayn wa qahrir-rijaal.’* (meaning: O Allaah, I seek refuge with you from distress and sorrow, I seek refuge with you from weakness and laziness. I seek refuge with You from being subdued by debts and overpowered by men.) Aboo Umaamah said, ‘I did that and Allaah removed my distress and paid for me my debt.’ (Aboo Dawood) Fellow Muslims! The month of Ramadaan is a month of generosity and spending in the ways of good. Let every Muslim share in the generosity of this month and not hesitate to wipe the tears off the faces of orphans, widows and the destitute. Let everyone keep away from stinginess and covetousness for these two are bad qualities from which the Messenger of Allaah sought refuge in his Lord. The Prophet used to be generous but his generosity multiplied during the month of Ramadaan. He was never asked of anything to which he would say ‘No’. Further, the benefits of charity are not restricted to the beneficiary but the giver also has some of that. An example of this is that when a generous man wants to give charity, his heart becomes gladdened, he is pleased with that and he yearns for the reward that he will gain therefrom. He will then give more and more. But as for the miser, whenever he aims at giving charity his heart becomes constrained and feels as if he is giving out a part of his very life and this makes him live a constrained life. However nothing destroys the tricks of Satan and his insinuation more than giving sincere charity. Allaah says, “Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit evil deeds whereas Allaah promises you forgiveness from Himself and bounty and Allaah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 268) __________________ My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher. -Socrates