By Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Sudais – 05 Ramadan 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Sudais –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday khutbah titled “Ramadan and Gaining Taqwa” in which he talked about the month of Ramadan and the purpose behind setting it as a duty on Muslims, which is gaining the Taqwa of Allah, the Almighty (i.e. fear of disobeying Him). He also urged Muslims to avail themselves of every single moment of this month and do all that would please Almighty Allah such as pious deeds and avoid sins and grave offences.

Praise be to Allah, the Benefactor, Who has blessed His Servants with the grace of faith and Who has perfected His beneficence with the blessing of the Ramadan month. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner. He has made time a rich resource for worship and deliverance as well as success for those who observe obedience and repentance. I also bear witness that our Prophet and Master, Muhammad, is the Servant and Messenger of Allah –the Right Honourable, the best and most sublime of all mankind in fasting and night praying. May Allah send His profuse and placating Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy) and Blessing upon him, his family and Companions who attained remarkably high degrees of piety, upon the tabi’in (the contemporary of the Companions of the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ after his death) and all those who follow in their footsteps until the Day of Judgement!

Now then, O Servants of Allah!

The best of all that has taken root in the heart and led the tongue to repeat it so often is exhortation to observe Taqwa of the All-Compassionate and the All-Merciful. With Taqwa, blessings abound while chaos and perilous situations fend off:

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allâh, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).” [At-Tawba: 119]

(Sheikh al-Sudais recited two lines of poetry that can be translated as follows):

He who shows Taqwa vis-à-vis Allah will be blessed with relief
His affairs will be plain-sailing and he will experience no hardship
You, pious man, rejoice and cherish happiness!
For you deserve to enjoy a happy life.

O Muslims!

We are well into the fasting season whose crescent is born up in the horizon and showed itself radiant to the people who had been waiting impatiently for its advent. No wonder! It is the month of Ramadan: the pearl of all time.

(The Sheikh recited four lines of poetry that can be translated as follows):

With plentiful bounties Fasting has arrived,
Praising, glorifying Almighty Allah, and reciting the Qur’an,
The spirit labours in words and in deeds,
Fasting by day and making taraweeh prayer1 by night.
Many a bountiful gift Almighty Allah has bestowed,
With your blessed advent, Month-of-Radiance,
Many a righteous heart has shown awe,
And pious eyes have welled with tears.

O Muslim Ummah!

Here is our Muslim Ummah enjoying the scent and fragrance of the days of this eternal month. It is cherishing its plentiful bounties, clad in the most beautiful garments, sipping its nectar, drinking from its potable springs, and admiring its lights and captivating face.

It is a month with whose bliss the morn has gained whiteness, and with whose diffusing fragrance lands are redolent. It is the spring of those remembering Allah, the companion of worshippers, the garden of the followers of the Straight Path, and a gushing source for competitors. It is the spring of fresh water frequented by competing worshippers, the month whose days are replete with joy and good deeds and whose nights are illuminated with recited verses and light.

(The Sheikh recited two lines of poetry that can be translated as follows):

Ramadan, your hands are full of good deeds,
And the universe is sailing in the glow of your beauty.
People shouted with joy at your encounter,
Out of piety, they are seeking forgiveness with their tears.

O Ummah of faith!

Your generous guest is an opportunity and a divine deal for you to take provision of pious deeds from this world to the Hereafter. Obtaining the satisfaction of the Compassionate (Allah) would not be too difficult if the Muslim watched himself, took great care of his behaviour, and observed obedience without tardiness or laziness, taking lessons from those who were amongst us last year but are now amongst the dead.

Therefore, hurry to Allah’s beneficence before it is too late. Do your best to put an end to indolence and procrastination. A rolling stone gathers no moth. The best pearls are in the teachings of the Master of Mankind –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him!

Aisha –the Mother of the Believers– reported that “the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– used to exert exceptional efforts in Ramadan,” [Narrated by Imam Muslim]. Indeed, fasting by day and praying by night in Ramadan constitute the path to happiness, pleasure and joy.

Quoting Abu Hurairah, it was reported in the Two Sahihs (the collection of hadiths by Imam Muslim and that by Imam Al-Bukhari) that the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “He who observes fasting rejoices twice: one when he breaks his fast, and the other when he meets his Lord: He’ll rejoice at his fasting.” He who supplicates his Lord, his supplication will be answered. The Lord will never shut him off. The Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “The supplication of a fasting person when he is breaking his fast will not be turned down.” [Narrated by ibn Majah]

(Sheikh al-Sudais recited two lines of poetry that can be translated as follows):

A month that the Lord of the Throne has given us as a present,
During which, Allah grants mercy to those in hardship.
He is the Clement to us; has any hopeful supplicating the Merciful
With a humble heart ever been turned down?

O you who seek good deeds come forward! You who seek good deeds come forward! Welcome to the one who has chosen all forms of benefaction, adhered to all types of good, and is keen on remembrance, reciting the Qur’an, asking Allah for forgiveness, showing repentance and spending money on charity.

O Ummah of fasting and night prayer!

Do rein in your senses by exercising mental restraint and self-control through piety and righteousness. This will protect the soundness of your fast. There is no point in abstaining from food and water if one still commits sins and evil deeds, giving a cold shoulder to religion and to Ramadan.
Admonishing those sinking in the quagmire of sins, the Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “Many a fasting person gains nothing from his fast but hunger and thirst; many a night-worshipper has nothing but the strenuous effort of keeping awake and getting tired.” [Narrated by al-Nasa’i and ibn Majah]

O the Ummah of he who is the best of all mankind –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him! What are the great objectives of fasting other than refining the souls, holding them back from filthy habits, and purifying them? The loftiest objective and the highest aim behind fasting is attaining Taqwa:

“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-Muttaqûn (the pious – see V.2:2).” [Al-Baqarah: 183]

Imam ibn al-Qayyim –May Allah bless his soul– “Fasting is the bridle of the pious, the protection of the warriors, and the religious exercise of the righteous and those close to their Lord.”

Fasting is therefore a shield for the Muslim against sins and evil deeds, a cuirass against being stained with filth and muddiness, and a protection against the flames of Fire. The Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “Fasting is a shelter with which the servant protects himself from Hellfire.” [Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad (book of hadiths)]

Regrettably, many people have strayed from guidance in these blessed days. They abstained from food and drink, but not from the satellite channels of debauchery and licentiousness. They are watching obscenities, and participating in calumniation, backbiting, fabrication of lies, and in the rumour, defamation, and false allegation forums and internet sites.

O fasting people!

Where are the great effects of fasting on you? Where is the radiance of night prayer in your eyes? Have not your longings to soar high in the skies of tranquillity and worlds of immaculateness and serenity been realized? Where is the exploitation of the days and nights, nay, the minutes and seconds of the month? You will never attain what you desire of Ramadan unless you pay attention to its merits and objectives.

This is a loud appeal (I make) at the beginning of this great month for all Muslims to exhort one another to observe righteousness, do good deeds and cooperate in the cause of probity and Taqwa.
O you writers and people of the media! Come and conclude a pact of professional ethics that protects principles and values, guards ideals and manners, elevates the edifice of virtue that sobs like a female baby treacherously buried alive, and safeguard the reverence of fasting and its splendid nights.

Let us stand up against the hostile media campaigns being waged against your religion and homeland, against Islam, its Prophet, its Book, countries, central figures and leading personalities. See to it that Islamic media be activated and promoted from void theorization to factual implementation.

Parents of good descent are invited to observe Taqwa in raising their children; they should wipe out from their minds and hearts defeatism, subordination, and polluted ideas, bad manners, terrorism, and extremism. Instead, they should instil in them religious virtues, Islamic manners and the sublime Sunnah. They should guard their children against wasting these blissful moments in pacing markets and streets and against being transfixed on the couch watching TV channels.

Do observe Taqwa –O servants of Allah– and take lessons and admonition from the school of fasting, and do recite the Holy Qur’an as much as you can and reflect on it, for it contains both guidance and eloquence.

I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

The month of Ramadân in which was revealed the Qur’ân, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadân i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allâh intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allâh [i.e. to say Takbîr (Allâhu-Akbar; Allâh is the Most Great) on seeing the crescent of the months of Ramadân and Shawwâl] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him. [Al-Baqarah: 185]

May Allah bless me and you with the Two Revelations, and benefit me and you with the guidance of the Master of the thaqalain (the two races: humans and Jinn)! I say this and ask Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic, to forgive all my sins and wrongdoings, yours and those of the rest of all Muslims. Therefore, do ask Him for forgiveness and repent unto Him, for my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Forbearing.