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WHAT NEXT AFTER RAMADAN 2023 ?

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL

BEING THE FIFTH KHUTBAH FOR THE MONTH OF RAMADAN, DATED 30TH RAMADAN 1444AH (21ST APRIL, 2023CE)

TITLED: WHAT NEXT AFTER RAMADHAAN?

THE FIRST SERMON

All Praises to the One Who has blessed the Ummah of Islaam with the month of Ramadan and made it an avenue to make provisions for the morrow – the days ahead. Then, may the Benedictions and Peace of Allah be upon the one who showed his ummah the innumerable and uncountable good and blessings in Ramadhaan, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the best of all who testify to Allah’s Oneness, the best of all who pray, fast, pay zakat and do hajj. And also on his family, the people of allegiance and loyalty, and also his companions, people of utmost refinement and purity and those who follow their path until the Day of Judgment.

Thereafter, I enjoin you to fear Allah as it is the Divine Command directed to His believing servants:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقاتِهِ وَلا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَاّ وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ (102) وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْداءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْواناً وَكُنْتُمْ عَلى شَفا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْها كَذلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آياتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah. And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided.” (Aal-Imraan: 102-103)

 The topic of our sermon today is: What next after Ramadhaan?.

Ramadan has come and gone.

A market that arose and then disperses. In the market while it lasted, those who have gained have gained and those who lost have lost, and the Muslim directs his focus to parting with Ramadhaan and is left with remembering his days and nights, how they were full of goodness, filled with worship and brightened with obedience and good deeds!

And Ramadan will not end except that you find the mosques that were filled to the edges have been emptied, except for some of the people who are its real people!

Why do people go to sleep after Ramadhaan and become preoccupied again with their world affairs after they have tasted the sweetness of being close to their Lord?

When the Messenger of Allah died, Abubakr stood up saying: “Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is alive and does not die.” From that we could say: “Whoever used to worship Ramadhaan, Ramadhaan has indeed gone, but whoever worships Allah, then Allah is alive and does not die.” (كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْها فانٍ (26) وَيَبْقى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلالِ وَالْإِكْرامِ) “Everything on it (earth) will perish. And (Only) the Face of your Lord will remain, the Most Majestic and Most Honourable.” (Ar-Rahmaan: 26-27).

(وَلا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلهاً آخَرَ لَا إِلهَ إِلَاّ هُوَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هالِكٌ إِلَاّ وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ) “And invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). Everything will perish save His Face. His is the Decision, and to Him you (all) shall be returned.” (Al-Qasas: 88)

Dear brethren! (وَلا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَها مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنْكاثاً) “And be not like the one who breaks her yarn after spinning it strong with hard labour into thread…).” (An-Nahl: 92).

Have you seen a woman spinning a dress, spinning, and spinning, and after it was all complete and made perfect for her, then she got up and undoes her thread… She returns the dress back to the separate threads lie it was before! Is this the behaviour of a sensible person?!

Dear listeners! Our religion is a religion of uprightness and steadfastness in which faltering, variance, and deviation are not appropriate. Allah Ta’alah said to His Messenger (Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him): (فَاسْتَقِمْ كَما أُمِرْتَ وَمَنْ تابَ مَعَكَ وَلا تَطْغَوْا إِنَّهُ بِما تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ) “So stand you upright, as you have been commanded, and (also) those who (have left their evil ways and) turned to Allâh (in repentance) and joined you. Do not exceed the bounds (set by Allâh, O people!). He indeed is Observer of your deeds.” (Hud: 112)

 So be upright and steadfast on Allah’s command… Be steadfast in obedience to Allah until you meet Him, and that will be your real Day of E’id. Our Lord, the Most Majestic and Most High, said: (وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ) “And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you” (Al-Hijr: 99). And certainty is death. Be devoted to your Lord, and not be devoted only to Ramadhaan!

Be steadfast on obedience to Allah, and do not falter.

When Hudhaifah ibn Yamaan, the great companion, was about to pass on, Abdullah ibn Mas’uud sat by his head and said: ‘Advise me’ Then he said to him: ‘Hasn’t the certainty come to you?’ Ibn Mas’uud said: ‘Yes, by the Grace of my Lord’. Then Hudhaifah said to him: ‘Beware of faltering, for it is the religion of Allah, the Only One.’ A righteous salaf was asked, ‘Which is better, Rajab or Sha’abaan?’ He said: Be a devotee of Allah and do not be devotee of Sha’abaan!! You must be steadfast and be patient and groom yourself and adhere to it.

Good Deeds (Should) Continue after Ramadan Uninterrupted

The Qur’an should not be abandoned as soon as Ramadan ends, but rather should continue with your steadfast regular reading from it. And so is standing up in the night to pray should not be stopped. The Prophet (Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him) did not leave praying at night, whether it was in Ramadhaan or other months, so much that even if he missed a day out of being ill or something other than that, he would pray twelve rak’ahs during the day. Fasting has not been ended, so you should engage in all kinds of voluntary fasts after Ramadan. Even i’tikaaf should not be completely forgotten because Ramadhaan has ended. I’tikaaf is allowed and recommended throughout the year.

Dear honorable gathering! Hasten to good deeds. Glad tidings to whoever hastened his short life (in this world) to grow and prosper his life in the Home of Return and prepare for the account of the Most Informed Reviewer while you are still able and before the Helper turns away!

In summary, dear beloved brethren, make the spirit of Ramadan your companion, the spirit of perseverance and persistence, the spirit of sublime morals, with no insult, no abandonment, no malice and no envy. The spirit of generosity, spending, and giving. The spirit of chastity from what Allah Ta’alah has forbidden.

I say all that you hear, I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims, for He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

THE SECOND SERMON

All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, who made Ramadan obligatory for His faithful servants, then blessings and peace be upon His Messenger Muhammad, who enacted the fasting of six days after Ramadan, and to his family, companions, and those who followed them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.

Thereafter:

Brothers in faith

Indeed, after Ramadan, Allah, the Almighty has legislated for you good deeds that complement your deeds and are close to you with your Lord- Allah, and as a sign of the acceptance of your deeds. Among these good deeds is fasting the six days of Shawwal. In Sahih Muslim, Narrated Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah- peace and blessing be upon him, said: Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year.” (Muslim).

The wisdom of fasting the six of shawwal

Among the rulings involved in the legislation of fasting the six days of Shawwal:

1- Fasting the six days is ​​like a supererogatory prayer that makes up for what is left opened and completes what is deficient.

2- It is an evidence of lack of fatigue from Ramadan and the readiness to continue in the path of obedience.

3- Continuity in the path of obedience is a sign of acceptance of the act that came before it, as the good deed says: my sister, my sister, and that is the normal course of events.  

4- Fasting of Ramadan is a reason for earning forgiveness by Allah’s will, and fasting six days of Shawwal is a show of gratitude over this favour.

As for the manner of fasting the six days:

1- There is among the scholars who recommended to commence the fast on the second day of ‘Eid in succession, and this is the view of Imam Shafi’i

2- Among them are those who did not differentiate between succession and separation within the whole month, and said they are all the same, and this is the view of Imam Ahmad and the majority of scholars.

3- That the fast should not be commenced immediately after breaking the fast, because these are the days of expansion/enjoyment, eating and drinking. Rather, three days could be fasted before the mid-days of the month, called ‘Ayyaamul- beed’ i.e 13th, 14th, and 15th days of the month) or after that, and this is the view of Muammar Abdur-Razzaq.

By Allah’s wish, there is expansion and facilitation on the matter, there is no blame on anyone who does any of those options. (Hashiyat Ibn Aabideen 2/125, Hashiyah al-Dasouqi 1/517).

The scholars differed regarding fasting the six days of Shawwal for someone who has uncompleted days of Ramadan to make up thus:

A group of scholars views that the six fasts cannot be done until after the make- up of the days missed in Ramadan, and they quoted the previous hadith of Abu Ayyub as proof.

Another group of scholars held that the virtue of fasting the six days of Shawwal applies to those who break their fast in Ramadan with an excuse, among them is Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ibn Muflih and al-Bahuti (Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj 3/457).

They said: The six days have a specificity, and that the time for the make- up of Ramadan is wide and extensive, so it is not necessary to pay it specifically in Shawwal, because of the sayings of Allah, the Almighty thus: (أَيَّاماً مَعْدُوداتٍ فَمَنْ كانَ مِنْكُمْ مَرِيضاً أَوْ عَلى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ “) “(Fasting for) a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey, (during then) – then an equal number of days (are to be made up).” (Suratul- Baqarah: 184)

The evidences are abundant that the excused person will get the full reward as long as an excuse held him back, as reported in the Sahih on the authority of Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah returned from the Battle of Tabuk and approached close to Madinah and said: “There are people in Madinah, that you did not walk or cross a valley except that they were with you (in that effort). They said: O Messenger of Allah while they were in Madinah? He said: “(indeed) while they are in Madinah, they were held back by the excuse.” (Agreed upon)

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