LESSON FIVE

A KHUTBAH [SERMON] OF RASULULLAH SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam ON THE ARRIVAL OF RAMADAAN

عَنْ سَلْمَانَ الْفَارِسِىِّ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ خَطَبَنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِىْ آخِرِ يَوْمٍ مِّنْ شَعْبَانَ فَقَالَ يَا اَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ اَظَلَّكُمْ شَهْرٌ عَظِيْمٌ شَهْرٌ مُبَارَكٌ شَهْرٌ فِيْهِ لَيْلَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ اَلْفِ شَهْرٍ جَعَلَ اللهُ صِيَامَهُ فَرِيْضَةً وَقِيَامَ لَيْلِهِ تَطَوُّعًا مَنْ تَقَرَّبَ فِيْهِ بِخَصْلَةٍ مِّنَ الْخَيْرِ كَانَ كَمَنْ اَدَّى فَرِيْضَةً فِيْمَا سِوَاهُ  وَمَنْ اَدَّى فَرِيْضَةً فِيْهِ كَانَ كَمَنْ اَدَّى سَبْعِيْنَ فَرِيْضَةً فِيْمَا سِوَاهُ وَهُوَ شَهْرُ الصَّبْرِ وَالصَّبْرُ ثَوَابُهُ الْجَنَّةُ وَشَهْرُ الْمُوَاسَاةِ وَشَهْرٌ يُزَادَ فِيْهِ رِزْقُ الْمُؤْمِنِ مَنْ فَطَّرَ فِيْهِ صَائِمًا كَانَ لَهُ مَغْفِرَةٌ لِذُنُوْبِهِ وَعِتْقُ رَقْبَتِهِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَكَانَ لَهُ مِثْلُ اَجْرِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ اَنْ يُنْتَقَصَ مِنْ اَجْرِهِ شَيْئٌ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ لَيْسَ كُلُّنَا يَجِدُ مَا يُفَطِّرُ بِهِ الصَّائِمَ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُعْطِى اللهُ هَذَا الثَّوَابَ مَنْ فَطَّرَ صَائِمًا عَلَى مَذْقَةِ لَبَنٍ اَوْ شَرْبَةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ وَمَنْ اَشْبَعَ صَائِمًا سَقَاهُ اللهُ مِنْ حَوْضِى شَرْبَةً لَا يَظْمَأُ حَتَّى يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَهُوَ شَهْرٌ اَوَّلُهُ رَحْمَةٌ وَاَوْسَطُهُ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَآخِرُهُ عِتْقٌ مِّنَ النَّارِ وَمَنْ خَفَّفَ عَنْ مَمْلُوْكِهِ فِيْهِ غَفَرَ اللهُ لَهُ وَاَعْتَقَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ (رواه البيهقى فى شعب الايمان)

Salmaan Farsi RadhiyAllaahu Anhu narrated that Rasulullah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam delivered a sermon on the last day of the month of Sha’ban. He said, “O people! A great and blessed month is casting its shadow on you: a night of this blessed month [the Night of Qadr] is better than a thousand months. Allaah has made compulsory the fasts of this month and the standing up in his presence [i.e. the performing of Taraweeh salaat] during its nights as an additional act of worship [on which there is great reward]. Whoever will offer in it a non-obligatory [i.e. sunnat or nafl] act of worship with the object of seeking the pleasure of Allaah, will get a reward identical in value of the reward of a fardh [i.e. obligatory] act of worship during other days of the year, and the reward on the observance of a fardh [obligatory] duty in it is equal in value to the fulfilment of seventy fardh [obligatory] duties in other days of the year. It is the month of perseverance, and the reward on perseverance is Jannat, and it is the month of kindness and compassion. It is the month in which the sustenance of the believers is increased. Whoever will feed a fasting person in this month [to attain the pleasure of Allaah and rewards], then this will be a means of forgiveness for his sins and freedom from the Fire. He will get the same reward as the one who was fasting and there will be no reduction in his reward either.” We said, “O Rasulullah! Every one of us does not have the means to feed a fasting person. [So will we remain deprived of the great reward?] Rasulullah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam replied, “Allaah will give this reward to him also who gives a fasting person even a little milk or a sip of water.” [Continuing, Rasulullah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam observed], “And whoever will satiate a fasting person [i.e. gives him a full meal], Allaah will make him drink from my pond [Kauthar] in such a manner that after it, he will not feel thirsty until he enters Jannat. [Thereafter, Rasulullah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam said,] “The first portion of this month is mercy, the middle portion is forgiveness and its last portion is freedom from the Fire. Whoever will make a reduction in the work of his slave or servant in it, Allaah will forgive him and grant him freedom from the Fire.” (Baihaqi in Shuabul-Imaan)

COMMENTARY: The purpose of the above khutbah [sermon] is clear. Then too, we will offer a few comments on some of the points here:

1.) The first and the greatest virtue of the month of Ramadan is that there occurs during it a night which is better than not a thousand nights, but a thousand months. As is well-known, this has been mentioned in Surah Al-Qadr in the Quraan. In fact, the whole of the surah deals with the virtue and honour of this night. This should be enough to appreciate its greatness and importance.

One thousand months consists of thirty thousand nights. The night of Qadr being better than a thousand months should therefore be taken to mean that those who possess connection with Allaah and those servants who are seeking His closeness and pleasure can make so much progress in one night which they cannot make in other thousands of nights. Just as in the material world, we see that a fast-moving aeroplane or rocket can now-a-days cover as much distance in a day, or even an hour, as people used to cover in years before. Similarly, the speed of journeying to attain the pleasure of Allaah and His closeness is increased so greatly in this night that the sincere seeker attains in it what he cannot attain in a thousand months.

Understand Rasulullah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam’s statement in the same light that if a person will perform a nafl [optional] act in this month, he will gain the reward of performing a fardh [compulsory] act in other times of the year, and if he performs one fardh [obligatory] act in the month of Ramadan, he will gain the reward of performing seventy fardh acts in other times of the year. Thus, while the superiority of the Night of Qadr is peculiar to a particular night of Ramadan, the earning of seventy times more reward in performing a virtuous act is the blessings and virtue found every day and night of the blessed month. May Allaah Ta’ala grant us the conviction of these realities and the ability to benefit from them!

2.) Ramadaan has described in the khutbah quoted above as the month of perseverance and compassion. In the Islamic usage, ‘sabr’ refers to the suppression of sensual desires and urges and endurance of painful and unpleasant things for the sake of earning the pleasure of Allaah. This is what fasting stands for from the beginning to the end. In the same way, the fasting person while fasting experiences a bit of hunger. From it, he can learn to feel for and sympathise with those who are poor and needy.

3.) This hadith also mentions that in this month, the provision of the believer is increased. The experience of every fasting believer is that he gets more to eat and drink in Ramadan than in the other eleven months of the year. In whatever way or through whatever cause this increase may take place in this world of cause and effect, it is by the command of Allaah in any case.

4.) At the end of this khutbah [sermon], it is said that the first part of this month of Ramadan is mercy, the second is forgiveness and the third is the period of freedom from the fire of hell.

According to this weak servant, the most satisfactory explanation of this is that there are three types of Allaah’s servants who attain the blessings of Ramadaan. Firstly, there are those pious souls who habitually take care not to commit a sin, and if they ever fall into error, they immediately make amends for it through sincere repentance. On these servants, the mercy of Allaah begins to descend on them from the very first night of Ramadaan. Secondly, there are those servants who are not so pious, but are not altogether bereft of the fear of Allaah as well. When such servants improve their condition and make themselves deserving of mercy and forgiveness through fasting, repentance and other virtuous acts during the first part of Ramadaan, the decision for their forgiveness is taken in the second part of the month. Thirdly, there are those servants who have oppressed themselves and made themselves deserving of Jahannum due to their transgression and misconduct, when even they atone somewhat for their sinfulness through fasting and repentance along with the common Muslims during the first and second ten days of Ramadaan, Allaah makes a decision of their being freed from Jahannum during the last ten days [when the mercy of Allaah Ta’ala is at its peak].

According to this explanation, mercy in the first ten days, forgiveness in the second ten days and freedom from the Fire in the last ten days are for the above-mentioned three groups of the Muslim community, successively. And Allaah Ta’ala knows best.