O Allah, Allow Us to Reach Ramadan

First Sermon All praise is due to Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful, who has honored us with the month of Ramadan and prepared within it the means of mercy and forgiveness. We bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the Generous, the Bestower of gifts. And we bear witness that our master Muhammad is the Seal of the noble Messengers. O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon him, upon his family, his companions, and all who follow them in the best of ways. As for what follows: I counsel you, O servants of Allah, and myself, to obey Allah and to remain steadfast in God-consciousness (taqwa), for it is the greatest objective of fasting. Our Lord, the Bestower, says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwa.” (Qur’an 2:183) O believers: The glad tidings of the month of Ramadan have appeared, and its fragrant breezes have begun to spread, heralding the opening of the doors of divine generosity—when the caller from the heavens proclaims: يَا بَاغِيَ الْخَيْرِ أَقْبِلْ “O seeker of good, come forward!” (Reported in al-Tirmidhī) Calling the believers to sincere turning, beautiful reception, complete preparation, and perfect readiness. So hasten and do not hesitate: وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ “And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord.” (Qur’an 3:133) It is the month of forgiveness—a month to which the hearts of believers long and the souls of worshippers yearn. A month in which the mosques are filled with those bowing and prostrating, and the inhabitants of the heavens look upon the rows of worshippers—humble and submissive. So we say: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا ‌نَسْأَلُكَ ‌الْخَيْرَاتِ “O Allah, we ask You for good deeds.” (Reported in al-Tirmidhī) It is the month of Tarāwīḥ and night prayer, of remembrance (dhikr), glorification (tasbīḥ), and recitation of the Qur’an. So we say: اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنَّا عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ، وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ “O Allah, help us to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You excellently.” (Reported in Aḥmad) Indeed, it is a month in which the doors of hope are opened, and hands are raised in supplication and devotion: اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنَا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ “O Allah, guide us among those You have guided.” (From the supplication of qunūt, reported in al-Tirmidhī) Allah does not turn away a supplicant in it, nor does He repel one who seeks at His door. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عُتَقَاءَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ، لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مِنْهُمْ دَعْوَةٌ مُسْتَجَابَةٌ “Indeed, Allah has those whom He frees (from the Fire) every day and night, and for every servant among them there is a supplication that is answered.” (Reported by Aḥmad)  It is a month in which Allah grants abundant reward to the worshippers and multiplies recompense for the obedient. Listen with your hearts to the words of your Prophet ﷺ: كُلُّ عَمَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ يُضَاعَفُ، الْحَسَنَةُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا إِلَى سَبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: إِلَّا الصَّوْمَ فَإِنَّهُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ Every deed of the son of Adam is multiplied. A good deed is rewarded tenfold up to seven hundredfold. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: ‘Except for fasting, for it is Mine, and I Myself shall reward it.’ (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim) Meaning: He rewards it with multiplied reward beyond measure or calculation. So, O you whom Allah has honored with reaching Ramadan: Give thanks to the Most Merciful! How many people were with us before, whose lifespans have ended, and who did not reach their hopes for Ramadan? Glad tidings to the one who reaches its days, seizes its moments, and exposes himself to its divine breezes—so his good deeds increase and his rank with Allah is elevated. It is reported that one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) passed away, and his brother died a year later. People assumed that the first would be of higher rank, since he had exerted himself more in worship. But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ corrected them and clarified the virtue of reaching Ramadan. He said: أَلَيْسَ قَدْ مَكَثَ هَذَا بَعْدَهُ ‌سَنَةً؟ “Did not this one remain after him for a year?” They replied: Yes. He ﷺ said: وَأَدْرَكَ ‌رَمَضَانَ فَصَامَ...؟ “And did he not reach Ramadan and fast it?” They said: Yes. He ﷺ said: فَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا أَبْعَدُ مِمَّا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ “Then the distance between them is greater than the distance between the heavens and the earth.” (Sunan Ibn Majah) So, O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan in its fullness, and grant us success in fasting it and making the most of it. And why should we not humbly beseech the Most Merciful to allow us to reach the month of divine pleasure, when Allah has singled it out with unmatched virtues and mercies beyond measure? In it, the gates of Paradise are opened. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: إِذَا جَاءَ رَمَضَانُ؛ فُتِحَتْ ‌أَبْوَابُ ‌الْجَنَّةِ “When Ramadan arrives, the gates of Paradise are opened.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim) So, prepare for it from the very moment it enters. Hasten to your mosques. Be humble before your Lord. Stand with your imam until he finishes the prayer, for: إِنَّهُ مَنْ قَامَ ‌مَعَ ‌الْإِمَامِ ‌حَتَّى ‌يَنْصَرِفَ، ‌كُتِبَ لَهُ قِيَامُ لَيْلَةٍ “Whoever stands with the imam until he finishes, it will be recorded for him as if he prayed the entire night.” (Reported in Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī) Allah says: “O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (Qur’an 4:59) I say these words of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you—so seek His forgiveness. Second Sermon All praise is due to Allah alone, and prayers and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. As for what follows: O you who long for the month of Ramadan: Your Beloved and your Prophet ﷺ once ascended the pulpit, and when he mounted it he said: “Āmīn, Āmīn, Āmīn.” The people turned their ears toward him and fixed their eyes upon him, and they asked him about what he had said. He ﷺ replied: قَالَ لِي جِبْرِيلُ: ‌رَغِمَ ‌أَنْفُ عَبْدٍ أَدْرَكَ أَبَوَيْهِ أَوْ أَحَدَهُمَا لَمْ يُدْخِلْهُ الْجَنَّةَ “Jibrīl said to me: ‘May the nose be rubbed in dust of a servant who reaches his parents, or one of them, and they do not cause him to enter Paradise.’ So I said: Āmīn. Then he said: ‌رَغِمَ ‌أَنْفُ عَبْدٍ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ ‌رَمَضَانُ لَمْ يُغْفَرْ لَهُ ‘May the nose be rubbed in dust of a servant upon whom Ramadan enters and he is not forgiven.’ So I said: Āmīn. Then he said: ‌رَغِمَ ‌أَنْفُ امْرِئٍ ذُكِرْتَ عِنْدَهُ فَلَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَيْكَ ‘May the nose be rubbed in dust of a man in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send prayers upon you.’ So I said: Āmīn.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī) Therefore, resolve firmly to make the best use of your month, to organize your time, to cast away laziness, and to be diligent in learning the rulings of fasting—so that you may strive properly and emerge from Ramadan with your Lord having forgiven you. Among the greatest ways a fasting person can invest his time is by reciting the Book of his Lord and reflecting upon its verses. How could it be otherwise, when Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an? Our Most Merciful Lord says: شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ “The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed, as guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.” (Qur’an 2:185)  This very pulpit of yours will, during the month of the Qur’an, pause with selected surahs of the Qur’an—reflecting upon their verses, contemplating their meanings, and extracting their lessons and benefits. So, O Allah, bless for us what remains of Shaʿbān, and allow us to reach Ramadan. Let its crescent rise upon us: ‌بِالْيُمْنِ وَالْإِيمَانِ، وَالسَّلَامَةِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ “With blessing and faith, with safety and Islam.” (Reported by Aḥmad) O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon our master and Prophet Muhammad, the best of creation, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow them in excellence. Be pleased, O Allah, with Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī, and with all the noble Companions. O Allah, allow us to reach Ramadan and grant us success within it in fasting, night prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, and in investing its time in obedience to You, O Most Merciful. O Allah, have mercy upon our loved ones who did not reach Ramadan. Treat them with Your grace and benevolence—O Possessor of immense pardon, vast forgiveness, generous giving, and boundless bounty. O Allah, expand our provisions, ease our affairs, open our hearts, heal our sick, and have mercy on our deceased. O Allah, make us believers in You, worshippers devoted to You, mindful of Ramadan, dutiful to our parents—and have mercy upon them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, preserve the United Arab Emirates with Your protection, envelop it in the abundance of Your blessings, increase it from Your vast bounty, and perpetuate its prosperity and flourishing, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, preserve Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, President of the State, under Your protection. Surround him with Your care. Make his actions in obedience to You. Grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers—the rulers of the Emirates—and his trustworthy Crown Prince, in what You love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy upon Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the leaders of the Emirates who have returned to Your mercy. Admit them by Your grace into the vastness of Your Paradise. Encompass the martyrs of the homeland with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy upon the Muslim men and women—the living among them and the deceased. O Allah, send us rain and do not make us among those who despair. O Allah, grant us rain. O Allah, grant us rain. O Allah, grant us rain. Servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Magnificent and Majestic—He will remember you. Be grateful to Him for His blessings—He will increase you. And establish the prayer.