Part One


Praise be to Allah Who is Unique in His Might and Perfect Beauty, Glorified be He!


Praise be to Allah Who is the Only Controller of all the Universe’s affairs, be they singly or


en mass, and Who is Most High in His Greatness and Glory ... Who sent down the


criterion (of right and wrong, i.e. this Qur'ân) to His slave (Muhammad


SAW) that he may be a warner to the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns). [Al-


Furqān: 1]


I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partners, and I bear


witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, Select Companion and Close Friend,


and the one chosen from among all His creatures. He is the best of all those who performed


prayers and observed fasting and the most honoured of all those who went to Hajj and offered


late-night prayers. May Allah send His profuse Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy), Peace and


Blessing upon him, his immaculate and benevolent family, his pious and righteous


Companions and all those who follow in their footsteps until Judgement Day!


Now then,


O people! I enjoin you, as well as myself, to observe taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah)


because it is the provision before departure, and the shade at a resting place. It purifies the


spirit so that it may not go astray or be misled:


٢


We have recommended to the people of the Scripture before you,


and to you (O Muslims) that you (all) fear Allâh, and keep your duty


to Him, [Al-Nisā’: 131]


Servants of Allah!


The shortest of times is life span regardless of its longevity. The fastest thing is time.


Time is a fast mover, unbeatable, and has slow recoil. Days pass by, like clouds. Allah


brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly1.


Allah has decreed that everything, except His eternal paradise, come to an end. And


the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the Decree


of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing. And the moon, We have measured for


it mansions (to traverse) till it returns like the old dried curved date


stalk. [Yā-sῑn: 38-39]


Servants of Allah!


It feels like it was just yesterday that our tongues were mumbling joyfully about the


advent of Ramadhan. Now we see that the month has passed by like a fast-blowing wind. It


is as if it had never been. Today we are choked with sadness at its departure. Our eyes are


filled with tears at its exit. O Allah! How hard it is to say ‘good bye’ to one’s beloved! How


sad the heart is when it feels that its dear guest is packing and ready to leave and there is no


way to make ‘him’ stay.


O Muslims!


We have lived a blessed month full of peace and tranquillity. It was a month during


which the spirits of the faithful have soared high, and with their fasting, praying and Qur’ān


reciting have sublimated to the heights of divine serenity and within proximity of Allah


Almighty that they truly wished that the whole year were Ramadhan. But alas!


These are the nights of purification and meditation. They are the nights of casting


aside life’s worries and discomforts. They are the Qur’ān nights, and how could you know


what the Qur’ān is? It is the Word of our Lord, may He be extolled; it contains an account of


our predecessors and our successors. It is the final arbiter between us. It is the Truth; there is


no amusement in it. He who ignores it out of arrogance will be destroyed by Allah Almighty,


and he who seeks empowerment elsewhere, Allah will humiliate him.


The Word of Allah (Glorified and Elevated be He) has been read out in Ramadhan for


all to hear. It filled their ears with faith, and moral lessons. They have read in it the story of


1 This expression in bold is a paraphrase from the Holy Qur’ān, Surat Al-A’rāf: 54.


٣


the creation of the heavens and earth, and the entrance of the people of Paradise into Paradise,


and the entrance of the people of Hell into Hell after they have reflected on Allah’s miracles


vis-à-vis the previous nations who had passed away. They have pondered on Allah’s reward


for the obedient in the herein and the hereafter, and His punishment for the disobedient:


We relate unto you (Muhammad SAW) the best of stories through


Our Revelations unto you, of this Qur'ân. And before this (i.e.


before the coming of Divine Inspiration to you), you were among


those who knew nothing about it (the Qur'ân). [Yūsuf: 3]


Servants of Allah!


The wind has blown away most of the leaves of the fruitful Ramadhan tree. If one has


committed a sin during the past days out of negligence, he should know that persistence on


sinning in the coming days is worse than the sin itself.


You should know, servant of Allah, to what party you belong vis-à-vis Ramadhan!


Are you one of those who have wronged themselves? Are you just parsimonious or one of


those who hasten toward all that is good, Allah willing? If you have not been able to draw


moral lessons from the Qur’ān, wherefrom then will you draw such lessons? If you failed to


benefit from the school of Ramadhan, from which school will you benefit? If you have not


given charity in Ramadhan, then when will you give charity?


You should know ‒you servant of Allah– that this blessed month is a witness for or


against you. What are you going to do in its remaining nights?


Lest a person should say: "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to


Allâh (i.e. I have not done what Allâh has ordered me to do), and I


was indeed among those who mocked [at the truth! i.e. Lâ ilâha ill-


Allâh (none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh), the Qur'ân,


and Muhammad SAW and at the faithful believers, etc.] [Al-Zumar:


56]


O Allah! What a loser will the one who wasted Ramadhan be, if he succumbs to


procrastination, and neglects repentance till he sees the ropes of his tents loosened, and its


passages fold on his deeds!


The choking bitterness in our throats does not mean that Ramadan is not coming back.


Nay! Ramadan will certainly return unless the Day of Judgment comes first. The bitterness is


caused by the uncertainty of whether one will be alive when it returns or will be dead and


buried.


٤


How wretched the one who wastes the chance of the Gate of Rayyān2 is! How


wretched it is for the one who is meant by the Prophet’s ‘Amen’ when he was told by (Archangel)


Jibreel (Gabriel) –peace be upon him– “Humiliated be the one who lived through


Ramadan but his sins were not forgiven.” and the Prophet said, “Amen, amen, amen.”


O people!


Your month is about to say farewell. What is left of it will pass at the speed of light.


The wise sees it as short-shadowed; they see it long until it has elapsed and lasting until it has


become ephemeral. What is left of the month is the race track; success is the finish line, and


paradise is the trophy.


Horses run faster near the end of the race. The successful servant is the one who has


realised that a good ending outweighs a bad beginning. You never know, servant of Allah, the


bliss of your deeds might be in the end. It is the end that counts. How many a servant has


experienced sweetness at the very end after a bitter beginning!


How miserable is the unrepentant sinner! Woe unto the paradise seeker if he


succumbs to negligence! How wretched is he who is trying to escape hell fire while he goes


to sleep!


... and for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten


earnestly to the obedience of Allâh). [Al-Muṭaffiffin: 26]


Thus, fear Allah, O servants of Allah! Take a breath, O You who are fasting and


performing late-night prayer, before tight suffocation, and yield to Allah before you are


driven forcefully (in front of Him on the Day of Judgement):


That Day shall you be brought to Judgement, not a secret of you


will be hidden. [Al-Ḥāqqah: 18]


Indeed, it is only death that separates us from either Paradise or Hellfire, and a


destination awaiting such a moment deserves a short life no matter how long this life might


be!


May Allah have mercy on a servant who repents sooner rather than later and who


strives against his whims, for his death is hidden from him while his hope is only deceptive;


and between death and hope there is Satan beautifying sin for him so he keeps committing it


while giving him hope for repentance so he keeps delaying it:


2 One of the Gates of Paradise reserved exclusively for people fasting Ramadan appropriately.


٥


He [Shaitan (Satan)] makes promises to them, and arouses in


them false desires; and Shaitan's (Satan) promises are nothing but


deceptions. [Al-Nissā’: 120]


Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with both of them) said: "Allah called to His


forgiveness those who claimed that Uzair was the son of Allah, those who claimed that Allah


is poor, those who claimed that the hand of Allah is tightly closed (i.e. does not spend), and


those who claimed that Allah is the third of three (i.e. Trinity); He says to all of them:


Will they not repent to Allâh and ask His Forgiveness? For Allâh is Oft-


Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Al-Mā'idah: 74]”


O you who believe! Turn to Allâh with sincere repentance! It may


be that your Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into


Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise) the Day that Allâh will


not disgrace the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and those who believe


with him [Al-Taḥrῑm: 8]


May Allah bless you and me by the Glorious Qur'ān and make its verses and wise


words beneficial to you and me! This is what I have said. If it is correct, it is so thanks to


Allah, but if it is wrong, it is my own fault and Satan’s. I ask Allah to forgive my sins, yours,


and those of all the Muslims, so ask Him for forgiveness, for He is Most Forgiving, Most


Merciful!


٦


Part Two


Praise be to Allah for His blessings, and thanks are due to Him for His guidance and


bounty!


Now then,


Observe taqwa, O servants of Allah! Know that you are very close to a blessed Eid


(i.e. Eid Al-Fitr), during which you make takbir (say Allah is the Greatest) after you finish


your fasting days. This Eid is a break given to you by Allah; in it He permitted you


merriment that does not cause His wrath, a kind of joy that does not lead to exuberance and


wantonness, for Allah Almighty has dispraised those who reach this state. He (May He be


extolled) said:


Verily! Allâh likes not those who are glad (with ungratefulness to


Allâh's Favours). [Al-Qaṣaṣ: 76]


When a true believer feels glad, he feels the gladness of the strong and the pious; he


does neither become arrogant nor go astray because of his gladness. Moreover, it is not a


characteristic of the thankful, those who have delivered the right of Allah in Ramadhan (i.e.


fasted), to feel that kind of gladness which would bring about Allah's wrath; nor is it the


characteristic of the fearful, those who have lagged behind (in delivering the right of Allah) in


Ramadhan.


You should also know, O You ‒may Allah protect you‒ that war has harshly flared up


on some of your brothers and sisters in faith which might make them forget the merriment of


the Eid. What kind of Eid will make them feel merry while they do not find anyone who


gives them clothes! What kind of Eid will make them feel merry while they do not find


anyone who feeds them! What kind of Eid will make them feel merry and among them are


orphans whose heads have not been caressed by a compassionate hand, and mothers bereaved


of their children with no comforting person to wipe their tears!


٧


Haven't we read during our Month (Ramadhan) the words of The Maker (Sublime be


He):


And let those (executors and guardians) have the same fear in


their minds as they would have for their own, if they had left weak


offspring behind. So let them fear Allâh and speak right words. [Al-


Nisā’: 9]


It is a lesson derived from the heart of life and the core of repeated reality in that one


could imagine his progeny being weak, broken, eaten up by snake-like humans until they


become homeless; so it is Your Mercy we need, O Lord! Your Mercy!


Therefore, be with them (help them) O servants of Allah! Support them with your


money, compassion, and supplication, for Allah grants His mercy to those who are merciful.


You must also know, may Allah have mercy on you, that Allah has prescribed on you


Sadaqat/Zakat Al-Fitr which is purification of your fasting from vanity (vain discourse) and


obscenities; it is also food for the poor. It consists of one Sā’ (about 3kg) of food, wheat,


cottage cheese, dates, raisins, barley, etc. of what people usually eat for each Muslim male or


female, free person or slave, child or adult.


The Messenger of Allah (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) used to pay it


before going to perform the Eid prayer. His Companions (May Allah be pleased with them)


used to pay it one or two days before Eid.


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. (185) And when My slaves


ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning Me, then (answer them), I


am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the


invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any


mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so


that they may be led aright. [Al-Baqarah: 185-186]


This is said, send, O you Muslims ‒may Allah have mercy on you‒ your salat upon


Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), the best of Allah’s


creatures, the most honest human being, and the possessor of the ḥawdh (Blessed Basin in


Paradise) and the interceder in the Hereafter. For Allah ordered you ‒O believers‒ after


beginning by Himself and then His angels, who are praising His sanctity, saying:


٨


O you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allâh to bless) him


(Muhammad), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islâmic


way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum. [Al-Aḥzāb: 56]


O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon


Your Servant and Messenger, Muhammad, who has the brightest face and the most radiant


forehead! O Allah! Be pleased with his four Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, all of


his Companions, on the tabi’in (contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May


Alla’s Salat and Peace be upon him] after his death) and those who righteously followed


them till the Day of Judgement! O Allah! Be also pleased with us all, along with them, by


Your Pardon and Generosity, O You, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate!


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


(who associate partners with You)! O Allah! Grant glory to Your religion, Your Book and the


Sunnah of Your Prophet, and Your believing servants!


O Allah! Relieve the distressed among Muslims, alleviate their anguish, pay off the


debts of those indebted, and cure our patients and theirs, with Your Mercy, O You, Most


Merciful!


O Allah! Make the seasons of good a profit and prize for us; O Allah! Make times of


blessings and gratuity a path and ladder for us to Your Mercy!


O Allah! Grant us safety in our homelands, and set right our Imams and rulers! O


Allah! Make our leadership from among those who fear You, observe taqwa and seek Your


satisfaction, O Lord of the Worlds!


O Allah! Guide our leader to say and do whatever You love and whatever pleases


You, O You, the Living, the Everlasting! O Allah! Set right his retinue, O You, the Lord of


Majesty and Honour!


O Allah! Set right the conditions of Muslims everywhere, O Allah! Set right the


conditions of Muslims everywhere, O Allah! Grant victory to our oppressed brothers and


sisters in their religion everywhere! O Allah! Grant them victory in Gaza! O Allah! Relieve


their distress! O Allah! Render the condition of their enemy into depravity and his plans into


dire results, O You, the Lord of Majesty and Honour!


O Allah! Grant victory to our oppressed brothers and sisters in the Sham homelands;


O Allah! Grant them victory in Burma! O Allah! Grant them victory in every place Your


Name is mentioned, O You, the Lord of Majesty and Honour, O You Lord of the Worlds!


٩


… 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]


Glorified be our Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! You are free from what they


wrongly attribute unto You! May peace be upon all the Messengers! And the last of our


supplications is “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!”