Firstly, I want to say, congratulations!
Congratulations to those of you whose sins were forgiven! We know from this month which has passed.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1901, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 760
Congratulations to those of you who were found worshipping during the Night of Power – that night which is better than 1000 months and as a result their deeds were multiplied by the Mercy of Allah.
Congratulations again to those who stood in worship during that night.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever stands in prayer during the Night of Decree due to faith and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1901, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 760
Congratulations to those of you who fasted and to those of you who could not fast but desired to do so.
Congratulations to those of you who increased in their taqwa – their awareness of Almighty Allah.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may – increase in taqwa
أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ[Fasting for] a limited number of days.
Al-Baqara 183-184
The month which came and went, ayyaman ma’dudaat, that was a month made up of a limited number of days.
Those days are now gone my brother and sisters, congratulation to those of you who benefited and what loss for those who let those days pass by and yet they benefitted not.
If I was to sum-up Ramadan in one word, I would say it was a bootcamp – a short, intensive, and rigorous course of training.
It is an intense month of abstinence from food, drink, marital relations and all ephemeral things which distract you from God, but instead filled and infused with prayer, Quran, dhikr, charity and good works.
It is short, ayyaman ma’dudat, it is intense and it is rigorous. Towards the end we feel tired and broken and we long for it to end. Then it ends! As suddenly as Ramadan came, it ends and after the initial euphoric moments of Eid pass, a sudden overwhelming feeling of dread sweeps over you as you realise that this great and blessed month has gone.
Congratulations to those who harnessed the awesome power from this month.
But the end of Ramadan does not mean that our obligations as Muslims are over. Rather, it is just the beginning of a new phase in our journey of faith. It is a time to reflect on what we have learned during the month of Ramadan and to implement it in our daily lives.
On the first Friday of Ramadan I gave a khutbah and I said that Ramadan can be the great disruptor – it can allow you to break from bad habits and forge new habits.
Today is your day of Eid, it is your day of celebration but it is your day of reflection. Spend some time, think about the bad habits you left behind and the new good habits your forged. I can’t expect myself or anyone to continue the same level of effort and commitment which we showed during Ramadan and indeed Allah doesn’t expect it – ayyaman ma’dudaat – but we need to be wise and see “what can I run with?”
What can I continue with until next Ramadan. Is it Isha in the masjid, is it a daily litany of Quran, is it learning Arabic, is it giving charity, is it eating less, is it being more focussed on dhikr?
Which habits can I work hard to avoid – spending time on devices, reading useless articles, gossiping, wasting time online browsing, watching movies…
Congratulations finally to those who will use this month as a springboard to a better them, to a better worshipper of Allah.
You can maintain connections you made during Ramadan with the Quran, hadith, dhikr and friends by attending our weekly gathering. The gathering is informal and for men, women and children.
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