His Eminence Sheikh Osama Khayyat –may Allah protect him– delivered this Khutbah titled “Ramadan: The Month of Sacrifices”, in which he talked about the Month of Ramadan as well as the bountiful favours and the great rewards Allah has reserved for His servants. The Sheikh equally reminded his congregation that fast involves many sacrifices: in fast per se, in night prayer, in expenditure for the sake of Allah, and so on. 

Praise be to Allah Who ordained that fast must be observed by Muslims. I praise Allah (?) for His abundant favours and great bounties. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah alone without associate, the Sovereign, the Intrinsically Holy, and the Granter of Peace and Concord; and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) is Allah’s Servant and Messenger, whose sanctified basin will be visited by the residents of Paradise (to quench their thirst) and whose rank is distinctly superior (to that of all creatures). O Allah! Send Your permanent Salât (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace onto Your Servant and Messenger, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), and his family as long as days and nights alternate.

 Servants of Allah! Observe Taqwa of Allah: "And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allâh. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." [Al-Baqara: 281] 

Servants of Allah! The inherent need in man to discipline the self on righteousness and truth in order to attain self-control, restraint and containment has prompted for nations around the world a formal approach devising methods and plans that have long been adopted, approved and trusted. Muslims, however, find in the religious obligation of fasting during the month of Ramadan the cherished goal in this respect as it offers them the greatest motive to withstand the hardships of life through the innumerable sacrifices they set forth in terms of physical endurance as well as personal desires. 

In reality, fasting is weaning oneself off the permitted pleasures and delights, compelling oneself to endure the pain of hunger and the rage of thirst, controlling oneself from grumbling, from feeling discontented, or showing any type of conduct which is likely to spoil one’s fast or decrease its divine reward. This act of weaning oneself involves a number of sacrifices by the fasting Muslim for the purpose of pleasing Allah and showing faith in His promise of an ample reward and a generous recompense.

 

During the day, the fasting Muslim sacrifices the consumption of food and beverages as well as sexual intercourse with one’s spouse, and at night, he/she sacrifices the pleasure of sleep and physical rest by qiy?m (night prayer). This requires patience and effort to recite the Holy Qur’?n and stand up long in night prayer, particularly during the last ten nights in which those devout night worshippers look forward to the Night of Al- ?adr (Night of Power), “which is better in reward than a thousand months” .

  

Besides, if the fasting Muslim spends some time making I’tik?f , he will have had an ample share of sacrifices.

 

O servants of Allah! Forms of sacrifice in Ramadan are limitless. Just as sacrifice can take the form of relinquishing physical comfort through keeping the body off the sources of pleasure and weaning it off permitted desires, it can also manifest itself in sacrificing wealth (money and all forms of property), which the human self loves very much. Such love of wealth is still taking possession of it and is so deeply embedded in it that it goes on till death. Allah (?) says: "And you love wealth with much love." [Al-Fajr: 20]

 

Al-Bukhary and Muslim reported in their authentic books of Hadith through Abu Hurairah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (?) said: "The son of Adam grows up, and with him grow two things: the love of wealth and long life."

This attachment to wealth is visible in man’s persistent search for acquiring it and his reluctance to spend it (out of meanness). In fact, man can only be satisfied when he spends it in return for something with a greater profit or something yielding more revenue. 

Among the great and admirable effects of fasting we find the refinement of emotions and the softening of hearts. Such refinement would transform the nature of human feelings from the restrictions of individualism to the larger horizon of altruism which urges the individual to feel soft on other people and to discover how much they are in need of his charitable acts. Therefore, he voluntarily proceeds to donate part of his money or other forms of property to the needy, with the certitude that Allah will generously grant him a bountiful recompense and will give him in return for his open-handedness an even more profitable, advantageous, and rewarding substitute.

 

O Servants of Allah! Offering food to fasting Muslims is one type of sacrifice which is manifest in spending on charitable acts in the hope of gaining Allah’s satisfaction and obtaining His munificent reward, as is confirmed by Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) when he said, “Whoever feeds a faster shall gain as much recompense as the latter will obtain, without ever diminishing the reward gained by the faster himself.” This Hadith has been reported by Imam Ahmed in his Musnad (a Hadith Book) and by Imam Tirmithi as well as Imam Ibn Majeh in their respective Sunan (Hadith Books) via an authentic narration chain reaching its initial narrator Zaid Ibn Khaled (RA). 

 

Feeding fasters, however, is not the exclusive domain of sacrifice in Ramadan. In reality, there are numerous ways of sacrificing, for Ramadan is a racing track where Muslims compete for obtaining promised divine recompense and bounteous reward. The sacrifices made by fasters who relinquish part of their body energy and wealth in obedience to Allah’s command and in quest for gaining divine satisfaction will definitely gratify the Generous Lord.

 

Indeed, as is confirmed in the Qudsi Hadith (sacred narration of Allah’s revealed message in the Prophet’s [Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam] words), Allah has reserved unimaginable multiplied reward for such sacrifices made by fasters: “All human deeds are equitably rewarded: a good deed is rewarded tenfold up to seven hundred times except fast. It is exclusive, as I alone will determine its reward!” This Hadith was reported by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their Sahih Books. The wording here is that of Sahih Al-Bukhari as narrated by Abu Huraira (RA).

 

O servants of Allah! As is affirmed by Muslim scholars, the rationale behind leaving the reward for fast unspecified and boundless is the fact that fast represents a category of patience with multifarious manifestations. In relation to rewarding perseverant people, Allah actually said: "Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning." [Az-Zumar: 10]; that is to say, divine reward will be boundlessly multiplied and recompense will have no ceiling.

 

Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) described Ramadan as “the month of patience”. He said, “Fasting the month of patience [i.e. Ramadan] followed by three days from each [lunar] month equals fasting for one’s lifetime.” This Hadith was reported by An-Nassa’î via an authentic chain of narration reaching Abu Huraira (RA). This is a further reward supplementing the initial one. It is exclusive to fasters and nobody else will ever share such privilege with them. In another Hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their Sahih Books and narrated by Abu Huraira (RA), Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, “There is in Paradise a gate called Ar-Rayyen; it is exclusively used by fasters for entry and nobody else will use it. As soon as they get in, the door will be closed and no one else will gain access afterwards.”   

All of this makes fasting during the month of Ramadan special, immeasurably and indefinitely rewarding and valuable.

Blessed be those who have learned from their experience of sacrifice during the month of Ramadan the most appropriate way of living and the best of morals that are to be followed for the rest of their lives! Blessed be those who have sacrificed their own efforts and wealth for the sake of pleasing Allah, and following the example of His Messenger (?) as well as his Companions after him; those who had, along the path of sacrifice, the greatest experiences, the most significant lessons and the most fascinating effects.  

May Allah benefit you and me with His Book's guidance, the Sunnah of His Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam)!  Having said this, I pray Allah, the Almighty, the Exalted to forgive my sins, yours and those of all Muslims; He is truly Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!