Part One
Praise be to Allah! Praise be to Allah, the sole designer of all states of affairs and the decider
of time limits for all creation. There is no divinity save Him, the Great and the Sublime. Glory
and gratitude are due to Him. He is very generous and is no miser; He is forgiving and is no
hasty. He has absolute power and command over the whole existence. The heavens and the
earth, along with every creature that exists therein, are praising Him ceaselessly day and night.
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone with no associate.
He is unique in perfection, grandeur, and awe; and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet
Muhammad is Allah’s Servant and Messenger. He enjoys a privileged status and is endowed
with immaculate traits. May Allah’s bounteous Salāt (Graces, Honours, Mercy) and Peace be
upon him, his chaste and virtuous family, his Companions, the best of all companions and of
the noblest family ever, his tābi’īn (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May
Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] after his death), and all those who follow them righteously till the Day of
Judgement.
Now then,
I enjoin you and myself ‒O people‒ to observe taqwā (fear of violating Allah’s commands).
So, observe taqwā vis-à-vis Allah ‒May Allah have mercy on you‒ as your Lord multiplies His
blessings for those who express gratitude to Him and offers special mention for those who
remember Him. He never lets down whoever beseeches Him and He offers recompense in
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exchange for gracious deeds and words. In return for evil acts, He proffers pardon and
clemency. Therefore, proceed to express regret for your evil deeds in order to redeem your
past, remedy for your current situation by means of good acts, and mend your future with
sincere expectations and limitless optimism.
May Allah bestow His grace on those who learn lessons from contemplation, engage in deep
reflections in silent moments, say ‘To Allah we indeed belong and unto Him we indeed shall
return’ and keep their patience in times of affliction, behave modestly when they acquire
knowledge, excel when they perform a given job, and gives generously whenever the needy
ask him. They act in accordance with divine revelation and are wary about procrastination and
justification: They (are those who) fulfil (their) vows, and they fear a Day
whose evil will be wide-spreading 7 And they give food, in spite of their
love for it (or for the love of Him), to Miskin (poor), the orphan, and the
captive8(Saying): "We feed you seeking Allâh's Countenance only. We
wish for no reward, nor thanks from you9 "Verily, We fear from our
Lord a Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible
(from extreme dislikeness to it)." 10 [Al-Insān: 7-10]
O Muslims!
Nights, days, seasons, and years belong to Allah and succeed in accordance with His perfect
laws. They keep alternating to signpost time for the dwellers of the herein. Glory be to Allah
Who makes time elapse and ages pass over! To Him belong decisive will, perfect wisdom, and
prevalent message. He who is endowed with insightful heart and alert faith will surely grasp
the message behind the very design of Allah’s days and signs in His universe and creation:
Allâh causes the night and the day to succeed each other (i.e. if the day is
gone, the night comes, and if the night is gone, the day comes, and so on).
Truly, in these things is indeed a lesson for those who have insight. [Al-Nūr:
44]; And He it is Who has put the night and the day in succession, for such
who desires to remember or desires to show his gratitude. [Al-Furqān: 62]
O brothers and sisters!
Among the golden rules to be observed by the followers of our wise religion, including the
tradition inherited from our righteous predecessors (assalaf assālih), is the connection to be
made between, on the one hand, the variance of life affairs as they fare through elapsing time
and, on the other hand, the whole scene in the hereafter and the consequences of our deeds.
This association serves as a reminder, a lesson, and a preparation for believers.
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O servants of Allah!
One of the focal points of meditation and reflection on the lessons to be learnt is the diversity
and alternation of seasons: summer and winter, spring and autumn, heat and chill, rain and
drought. Here are sample meditations on the winter season with its two alternating phases of
day and night, and its chilly and rainy weather. Let us contemplate how our righteous
predecessors meditated and wherefrom drew benefits.
Ibn Mas’ūd [May Allah be pleased with him] used to say, “Welcome to winter, during which divine
blessings abound (rain), night time stretches to allow for night prayer, and daytime shortens
to facilitate fasting.” In the same vein, Al-Hasan ‒may Allah have mercy on his soul‒ said,
“The best season of the year for the believer is winter: its long nights help him perform night
prayer and its short days make fasting easy for him.” Even more, Imam Ahmed reported the
hadith narrated by Abu Saeed Al-Khudri [May Allah be pleased with him] where Prophet Muhammad [May
Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] says, “Winter is the Spring of the believer.” Al-Baihaqi added: “Its nights
are long so he can perform night prayer, and its days are short so he can fast them.” Al-
Haithami proved that its chain of narrators is good. (not translated)
Imam Al-Tirmithi narrated in his Sunan (a collection of hadiths) as reported by Amer ibn
Mas’ūd that the Prophet [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] said: “Fasting in winter time is like cold
spoils of war.” This is a hadith established in multiple sources. In this respect, Omar [May Allah be
pleased with him] says, “Winter is indeed the spoils of victory for worshippers.” Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab
‒may Allah have mercy on his soul‒ clarifies that further as follows: “The reason why winter
is called the spring of the believer is that the latter would find ample time for quenching his
thirst in obeisance to Allah, satiating his longing for further acts of worship, and engaging his
heart in a pleasurable tour of the garden of pious deeds.” They are indeed cold spoils of victory
gained without combat, fatigue, or exhaustion. Its beneficiary can gain it spontaneously without
much contrivance and blissfully without any weariness.
During the prolonged night time in winter, the believer enjoys sound sleep and enough rest
after fatigue. He can equally benefit from night time to perform night prayer. Pious and night
worshippers experience frequent interludes filled with recital of godly meditations and prayers;
persevering worshippers engage in ecstatic moments of secret supplication to Allah, exposing
their need for divine assistance, expressing their total dependence on their Lord (the Self-
Sufficient), and mentioning their evil deeds before the Munificent, the Merciful (May He be extolled in
His Supreme Glory). With the advent of winter, Ubaid Ibn Omeir used to say, “O people of the Qur’ān!
Your night time has stretched so that you can recite Qur’ān; so go on with your Qur’ān recital;
and your daytime has shortened so that you can fast; therefore, go on with your fasting.”
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O beloved brothers and sisters!
There is a big difference between those who experience delight in reciting the Holy Qur’ān
and remembering Allah, on the one hand, and those who sit up all night, oblivious of Allah and
engulfed in mundane errands as if they totally forgot Doomsday, on the other hand.
How different they are indeed! There are people who spend their night in prostration and
long prayers; they occasionally fall into a gentle slumber and soon wake up to keep asking for
divine pardon by dawn: Is one who is obedient to Allâh, prostrating himself or
standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter
and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)?... [Al-Zumar:
9]; they remember, in winter, the hot wind of the Hellfire: ... "Our Lord! Avert from us
the torment of Hell. Verily! Its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent
punishment."Evil indeed it (Hell) is as an abode and as a place to dwell.
[Al-Furqān: 65-66]
How different this group is from those who are engulfed in oblivion and ensnared by the
fatal habit of vainly sitting up long nights! They engage in destructive and unending chit-chat
throughout the night, swallowed up by prohibited activities, including listening, reading, and
viewing illicit materials. How regretful and remorseful they will soon feel!
Brothers and sisters in the worship of Allah!
Among the lessons to be learnt by believers and the ample opportunities to be exploited,
we find the piece of advice Omar Al-Farūq (Ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb) gave to his son when he said to
him, “... and properly perform wudhū (ablution for prayer) on a chilly day.” This is because
the act of performing wudhū properly to reach the areas of one’s body which are sensitive to
cold water is one of the causes of expiating sins and elevating ranks. Abu Hurairah [May Allah be
pleased with him] narrated the hadîth in which Prophet Muhammad [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] said,
“Don’t you want me to guide you to what expiates sins and elevates ranks?” The Companions
said, “Yes, we do, O Messenger of Allah!” So, he replied, “Performing wudhū until water
covers makārih (i.e. the parts of one’s body that are sensitive to cold water), multiplying steps
to reach mosques, and awaiting the following prayer after performing the preceding one.
That is indeed similar to guarding Muslim frontiers; that is indeed similar to guarding
Muslim frontiers!” [Narrated by Imam Muslim]
In an attributed hadith1, Prophet Muhammad [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] was reported to have
said, “Three reasons of expiating sins”; then he mentioned among them “Performing wudhṻ
1 In Arabic, an attributed hadith ( حدیث مرفوع ) is one that goes back to the Prophet [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him]
without a proven continuous chain of narrators.
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properly in biting cold”. Performing wudhū properly means its completion as prescribed by
religion despite severe weather and bodily pain, notwithstanding the ensuing hardships
associated with it.
However, it is important to know ‒may Allah have mercy on you‒ that there is no harm in
performing wudhū with warm water, and then drying up one’s body organs after completing
wudhū. It is even permissible to resort to tayammum (i.e. substitute for wudhū, by using clean
sand or stone in the absence of water, in case of health risk or emergency) if you fear health
risks due to severe cold. This is indeed a graceful favour bestowed on us by Allah to facilitate
our worship rites.
In the same vein, we find the letters sent in winter time by Omar Ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb [May Allah be
pleased with him] to his local governors and tax-leviers. He used to say to them, “We are witnessing
the advent of winter. Knowing that it is one of your enemies, so be on your guard against its
perils: put on woollen clothes, shoes, and socks. Wear woollen underwear and heavy garments,
for cold is a swift enemy whose entry is expeditious but whose exit is quite tardy.”
Allah has bestowed on people such a convenience for keeping warm as clothing, in addition
to other conveniences. Allah (May He be glorified) said: And the cattle, He has created them
for you; in them there is warmth (warm clothing), and numerous benefits,
and of them you eat. [Al-Naḥl: 5]. Notice how Allah mentioned warmth exclusively in
the verse above although it is simply one of the “numerous benefits” Allah has endowed His
creatures with. Allah also said: ... and of their wool, fur, and hair (sheep wool,
camel fur, and goat hair), a furnishing and articles of convenience (e.g.
carpets, blankets, etc.), a comfort for a while. [Al-Naḥl: 80]
Servants of Allah, it might be pertinent here to point out that some people use fire as a
source of domestic heating, in addition to utilising other domestic appliances for keeping warm.
This represents in itself a divine blessing aiming at facilitating life conditions. However, your
Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) advises you to extinguish fire before going to
bed. In the authentic hadîth reported by both Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari, it is narrated
that Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) said, “This fire is surely an enemy of yours;
so, before going to sleep extinguish it (for your protection).” The Prophet’s advice is only a
reminder that fire might cause suffocation or lead to incendiary accidents.
Servants of Allah,
Worthy of consideration and remembering is what our Prophet (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him)
used to say to his Companions during times of excessive heat or cold. In the two Sahihs2, Abu
2 The two Sahihs are Sahih Bukhari (Imam Bukhari’s collection of hadiths) and Sahih Muslim (Imam Muslim’s
collection of hadiths).
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Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) said: “The Fire
said to the Lord: O Lord! Some parts of mine have consumed the others, so allow me to
exhale (in order to find some relief from this congestion). It was granted permission to take
two exhalations, one during the winter and the other during the summer”. The Prophet (May
Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) then said: “so whatever you perceive in the form of intense cold is from
the exhalation of Hell. And whatever you perceive in the form of extreme heat is from the
exhalation of Hell.”
Therefore –may Allah bless you– whatever bitter cold we experience in this life is but an
allusion to the intense cold of Hell prompting fear, prudence and readiness on our part. Allah
(To Whom belongs Might and Majesty) says in reference to the bliss enjoyed by paradise dwellers: Reclining
therein on raised thrones, they will see there neither the excessive heat of
the sun, nor the excessive bitter cold, (as in Paradise there is no sun and
no moon). [Al-Insān: 13]
Qatādah said: “Allah knew that extreme heat and cold are harmful, so He has put in place
measures to protect them (His servants) against their harm. This in itself engenders impetus
for them towards undertaking hard work and tahajjud3 for this life in its entirety is but a
parable of the Hereafter.”
With respect to Hell dwellers, Allah (May He be extolled) said: This is so! Then let them
taste it, a boiling fluid and dirty wound discharges. [Sād: 57]. He Almighty also
said Nothing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink (24). Except boiling
water, and dirty wound discharges. [Al-Naba: 24-25] May Allah Almighty protect
us from all of this!
Now then –may Allah bless you– Allah (May He be extolled) has made of your Herein a source from
which you draw lessons and of the fluctuations of your lives exhortations. Almost every
situation or event we come across in our lives carries within it an occasion to call to account
our own selves and an opportunity to undertake obedience and get ready for the Day of
Judgment.
O servants of Allah!
In winter, nights are long, so do not shorten them by oversleeping them, and the doors for
doing good are wide open. Therefore, take the initiative to alleviate your wrongdoings. While
on his death bed, Muādh (May Allah be pleased with him) cried and said: “I’m crying in remembrance of
those dry and scorching times, late winter night praying, and those times I used to squeeze in
among the ulama (religious scholars) in circles of dhikr (remembrance of Almighty Allah).”
3 It is short for salat al-tahajjud ( صلاة التھجد ), meaning "voluntary late night prayer".
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We seek refuge in Allah against the accursed Satan; in the name of Allah, Most Merciful,
Most Compassionate: (It is a great Grace and Protection from Allah), for the
taming of the Quraish, 2. (And with all those Allah's Grace and Protections
for their taming, We cause) the (Quraish) caravans to set forth safe in
winter (to the south), and in summer (to the north without any fear), 3. So
let them worship (Allah) the Lord of this House (the Ka'bah in Makkah).
4. (He) Who has fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from
fear. [Quraish: 1-4]
May Allah benefit me and you with the great Qur’ān and with the guidance of Prophet
Mohammed [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him]! I say this and ask Allah to forgive you and me and all
the Muslims! So ask Him for forgiveness; He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful!
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Part Two
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Majesty and Honour! I thank and commend Him, for He is
the Bountiful, the Almighty, the Benefactor! I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of
worship except Him, with no associate. He is the King, the Holy, the Peace. I also bear witness
that our master and Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) is His servant and
Messenger; he is the best of those He has ever created and the one He entrusted to His
revelation. Allah made the shining light of his mission rise from the depths of darkness; may
He send His Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy), Peace and Blessings upon him, his generous
family, his distinguished and eminent Companions, the tabi’in (the contemporaries of the
Companions of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him] after his death) and those who followed
them in righteousness as long as the day and night alternate!
Now then, O Muslims!
Think about the various blessings Allah has bestowed on people nowadays; think about the
different things He has subjugated to them including the various types of inventions and
discoveries: comfortable clothing and covers, heating systems at home, while travelling and in
market places and the varieties of food and drinks. Your winter time features such blessings,
favours and easement as never before.
Verily, worthy of your reflection, contemplation, consideration and will to pursue good
deeds is the bitter situation experienced by brothers and sisters of your in faith, near and far.
They are being exposed to mounting pain because of lack of food, drinks, clothing, shelter and
heating.
Whenever you sit around with your family or brothers and sisters in order to enjoy their
company, the food, and the warmth and comfort of your home –may Allah preserve for you
His blessings and security– try to remember those families out there who are shivering from
cold. Try to remember our brothers, sisters and families in Syria where bitter cold cuts through
their skins like a knife; where the wind causes their tears to run and where frost brings to freeze
their bodies. All of them, including the elderly, young children and women have suffered the
pangs of grief. Just imagine how they feel after they have lost their families, homeland, and the
comfort of their homes?!
O You, the Defender of the helpless, the Giver of victory to the distressed! It is Your mercy
we seek! It is Your mercy we seek! The affliction has become too grave and our brothers and
sisters in Syria are suffering great distress. You are the One to command speedy recovery and
victory for them.
O Allah! Send down Your mercy, compassion and warmth on our brothers and sisters in
Syria! O Allah! Send down Your mercy, compassion and warmth on our brothers and sisters
in Syria! O Allah! They are hungry, so feed them! They feel cold, so keep them warm! They
are oppressed, so grant them victory!
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O Allah! Have mercy on their young children, nursing infants, the bowing and kneeling (to
Allah Almighty) elderly among them and their grazing livestock! O Allah! Lift their distress
and grant them speedy victory! O Allah! Grant them sustenance, soldiers and victory of Your
own!
So observe taqwā (fear of Allah’s punishment) –may Allah have mercy on you– for all
Muslims form but one body in the way they reveal solidarity and assistance for each other.
Therefore, take the initiative to provide them with whatever you can afford from your money,
food, clothing and furniture. Call on those widows, helpless and needy people around you, for
“whoever fulfills the need of his brother Allah will fulfill his need and whoever removes the
troubles of his brother, Allah will remove one of his troubles on the Day of Resurrection.”
This being said, I advise you to send your salat and peace on the Mercy and Blessing Allah
bestowed on you, your Prophet Muhammad [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him], the Messenger of Allah,
as Your Lord commanded you to do in His wise Book where He so truthfully and graciously
said: Allâh sends His Salât (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the
Prophet (Muhammad صلى لله علیھ وسلم ), and also His angels (ask Allâh to bless
and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salât[1] on (ask Allâh to
bless) him (Muhammad صلى لله علیھ وسلم ), and (you should) greet (salute) him
with the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum. [Al
Ahzāb: 56]
O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy), Peace and Blessing on Your Servant
and Messenger, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him], the beloved
and the Chosen One, on his virtuous and immaculate family and on his wives, the mothers of
the believers! O Allah! We seek Your satisfaction with the four Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Omar,
Othman, and Ali, the Prophet’s Companions, the tabi’in and those who followed them in
righteousness until the Day of Judgment! O Allah! We seek Your Satisfaction with us as well,
as You are Most Forgiving, Most Generous, and Most Beneficent!
O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O
Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims, and fail polytheism and polytheists! O Allah! Let
down tyrants and infidels and all other enemies of Islam!
O Allah! Grant us security in our homelands, and set right our Imams and leaders! O Allah!
Entrust our government to those who fear You and seek Your satisfaction! O Lord of the
Worlds!
O Allah! Grant our Imam and Leader a success of Your own! Honour him with Your
obedience and make Your word uppermost through him! Make him an asset to Islam and
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Muslims! Grant him sound health and wellness! Guide him, his deputy, his brothers and his
aides to do what You love and what pleases You, and lead them to righteousness and piety!
O Allah! Help Muslim leaders to abide by Your Book and to follow the Sunnah of Your
Prophet, Mohammad [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him]! Make them a blessing on Your faithful
believers, and unite them on the grounds of righteousness and truth! O Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! Set right the conditions of Muslims, O Allah! Set right the conditions of Muslims,
stop their bloodshed, give leadership to the best among them, unite their word on the Truth, the
right guidance, and the Sunnah! Grant them victory over Your enemy and theirs!
O Allah! Whoever intends to do any evil against us, our religion, our homeland, our Ummah,
our security, our leaders, our ulamā (religious scholars), the righteous and benevolent among
us, or our unity and accord, O Allah, make him preoccupied with himself! O Allah! Make him
preoccupied with himself! Let his plotting return against him, and make his destruction in his
planning, O You, the Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! Make for this nation (the nation of Islam) a matter (an affair) of rationality
(guidance) where the people of piety are honoured and those of sins are guided, and where
virtue is promoted and vice is prevented! Verily, You are the Omniscient!
O Allah! Destroy the usurpers among the Jews! O Allah! Destroy the usurpers and occupiers
among the Jews! Destroy them, for You are certainly able to do so! O Allah! Inflict Your wrath
–which can never be turned back from the people who are Mujrimûn (criminals, polytheists or
sinners)– on them! O Allah! We leave them to You (to deal with them) and seek refuge in You
from their evils!
O Allah! You are Allah, and there is no deity worthy of worship except You! O Allah! You
are Allah, and there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are the Self-Sufficient and
we are the poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah, You are
Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are the Self-Sufficient and we are
the poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah, You are Allah,
there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are the Self-Sufficient and we are the
poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah! Send down rain upon
us! O Allah! Send down rain upon us! O Allah! Send down rain upon us!
O Allah! We ask You for forgiveness! Verily, You are Oft-Forgiving! Send down rain on
us in abundance, and make what You send on us support for us in worshipping You, and a
solemn proclamation from You until a predestined time!
O Allah! We are creatures of Yours, and we may not do without Your rain, so do not deprive
us of Your grace because of our sins!
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“In Allâh we put our trust. Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the folk who
are Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers) (i.e. do not make them
overpower us).”4
O Allah! Guide us to the path of repentance to You and reliance on You and open up for us
the doors of acceptance and gratification! O Allah! We implore You to accept our obedience
and supplication! We implore You to make righteous our deeds, expiate from us our
wrongdoings, lead us to redemption, forgive our sins and bestow on us Your Mercy, You, the
Most Merciful!
Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow
not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers. [Al-A'rāf: 23] …
Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter
that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire! [Al-Baqarah:
201]
Servants of Allah!
Verily, Allâh enjoins Al-‘Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allâh
Alone - Islâmic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsân [i.e. to be patient in performing
your duties to Allâh, totally for Allâh’s sake and in accordance with
the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet صلى لله عليه وسلم in a perfect
manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin[1] (i.e. all that Allâh has ordered
you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other
kind of help), and forbids Al-Fahshâ’ (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual
acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness,
to kill a life without right), and Al-Munkar (i.e all that is prohibited by
Islâmic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds),
and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression). He admonishes you, that you
may take heed. [Al Naḥl: 90]
4 This is Qur’ānic supplication. See Sūrat Yūnus, verse 85.
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So, remember Allah and He shall remember you, and be grateful to Him for His blessings
and He shall give you more of them. “… and the remembering (praising) of (you
by) Allâh (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering
(praising) of Allâh in prayers. And Allâh knows what you do.”5
5 This is again a Qur’ānic supplication. See the end of sūrat Al-‘ankabūt, verse 45.
