By Imam Yahya Garba Al-Yolawi
THE 69TH KHUTBAH TRANLATION AT NURUL YAQEEN JUMA’AH MASJID LIFE CAMP ABUJA, ON 6TH MAY 2022 / 5TH SHAWWAL 1443AH
In the name of Allah the Beneficent the most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah. We thank Him; we seek for His help and forgiveness. We also seek His refuge against the evils of our souls and that of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, nobody can mislead him, and whoever He misleads will never have no guide. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. May He bestow Peace and blessing upon this noble Prophet, his family and companions and those follow there foot- steps till the day of accountability.
Respected brothers and sisters in Islam, our last week’s khutba centered on Eid and zakat fitr preparation and today’s sermon will look at the life of muslim after Ramadan fast.
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allah as He should be feared for, the fear of Allah is the best treasure for you. Brothers and sisters in islam! Months, days and years are made to determine lifespan and to give people the opportunity to perform good deeds. Above all death goes round day and night to take the souls of those whose time is due and you shall be addressed on the Day of Resurrection on account of your deeds. …“These are only your deeds that has been recorded for you and for which I am going to reward you. So, whoever gets a good reward should be thankful to Allah and whoever gets otherwise should only blame himself.”
Your month of Ramadan has now gone with your deeds. Let those who have committed wrong among you quickly repent and amend their ways before door of Repentance is closed and let those who have done good continue on the same for, the best of all acts of obedience are the the ones followed up with its like. Be concerned more over the acceptance of your deeds than over the deeds itself for, Allah does not accept deeds except from the pious ones. Also, beware of following up good deeds with bad ones because, if we say that good deeds eradicate bad ones, it is also not impossible that bad deeds destroy good ones.
Certainly, the acceptance and rejection of deeds in this month have signs. Among the signs of acceptance of good deed is when it is followed up by good deeds and it is among the signs of rejection to follow up one’s good deeds with evil ones. Therefore, follow up the good deeds with its like, it will be a sign of acceptance of that good deed and follow up your evil deeds with good ones, that will indicate that those evil deeds have been overlooked. Allah says:
“Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice).” (Surah Hud 11:114)
The Prophet [SAW] said: “Fear Allah wherever you are, follow up the evil deed with good one it will remove it and relate with people with good conduct.” (Reported by At-Tirmizi)
On the authority of Abi Amr – and it also said Abi Amrah – Sufyan ibn Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me a statement about Islam such that I will not have to ask anyone other than you”. He answered, “Say, I believe in Allah and then stand firm and steadfast to that”.Reported in Muslim
Some the fastings and good deeds recommended after Ramadan include.
- Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. He said: “Deeds are presented to Allah on Mondays and Thursdays and I would like that my deeds be presented while I am fasting.”
2 . fasting 13th ,14th and 15th of every month.
It was reported by Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the prophet admonished thus:
“Fasting for three days in every month is (equal to) fasting forever.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
3.Fasting six (6) days of shwwal:“Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days fasting in Shawwaal has done as if he has fast for live.” (Reported by Muslim)
- Night prayers: “Allah [SWT] use to descend to the nearest heaven to this world when it is the last third of the night and say: “Who is going to call Me that I may answer him? Who is going to ask from Me that I
Dear respected Muslims! Fear Allah for fear of Allah is the head of all matters. Obey Allah through your righteous acts such as giving charity, saying azkar, recitation of the Holy Qur’an, doing good to others and keeping away from His restrictions, you will achieve His pleasure and be saved from His torment. Do not go back to sins and disobedience so as not to be entitled to His punishment.
Some ways to achieve Istiqāmah
- Fear Allah and always being aware of the final destination, i.e. the Day of Qiyamah. One way to do it is through remembering that a person’s journey towards Akhirah starts the minute he or she passes away and leaves this world. “If you live until the morning do not wait for the evening and if you live until the evening do not wait for the morning.”
- Commitment. (Mujāhadah)One has to make a commitment that he or she will be steadfast and will do things in the right way and in the best way possible, and to adhere to conjunctions of Islam. Unfortunately many Muslims are being lenient in making such a commitment.
- Feeling that Allah (SWT) and His two 2 Angel are with you and taking the record of your deeds all the time. (Muraqabah). But unfortunately some of our youth both male and female forget that as soon as it is after Ramadan and go back to their sins and criminalities. subhanallah!
- Self- accountability (Muhāsabah). This should be done twice: Firstly, before we start doing something, ensuring that it pleases Allāh, that we do it for His sake only, realizing the right way it should be done. Secondly, after the action has been done, to check whether we have achieved what we aimed for, and to check for defects and shortcomings such as riyaa and lack of sincerity.
- Striving for improvement (Tahsin). We have to make improvements in all that we do (daily activities, work place, actions, good deeds, ibadah, etc.) as one of our objectives.
Factors that lead to the weakening of Istiqāmah after ramadan include:
- Committing sins (ma’siah), insisting on repeating them again and again, without istighfar (seeking Allāh’s forgiveness) and without practicing repentance.
- Shirik (associating anything with Allāh) whether in intentions, by showing off our good deeds to others, seeking others’ appraisal, avoiding being blamed by others, being afraid of someone, or to seek rewards from others than Allāh.
- Nifaq (hypocrisy). There are two forms of nifaq: in belief and in action. The Muslim who submit totally to the will of Allah and accepts Islam based on his or her choice is free from the first form of hypocrisy. However any Muslim is subject to and should avoid the second form of nifaq which the Prophet, (SAW), warned us about: Not keeping promises and breaking them continuously without good reasons or excuses, not fulfilling commitments we make with others, being aggressive and unjust to others in quarrels, and disputes, failing to shoulder responsibilities or burdens we are entrusted with, etc
- Bad friends and evil companies: Mankind cannot live alone; every individual must live and interact with others, and when interacting with others one either influences or is himself influenced. Those people whom you sit with and make your friends are inevitably going to fall into one of two categories. They will either be good individuals – who guide and encourage you towards what is good and help you to accomplish that which Allah has ordered, or they are going to be bad – encouraging you to do what is pleasing to Satan, that which misleads you, and leads you to the Hell-Fire.
Prophet (SAW) gave a good example regarding this. He said: “The case of the good companion and the bad companion is like that of the seller of musk and the blower of the bellows (iron-smith). As for the seller of musk, he will either give you some of the musk, or you will purchase some from him, or at least you will come away having experienced its good smell. Whereas the blower of the bellows will either burn your clothing, or at least you will come away having experienced its repugnant smell.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
- There are other factors that also contribute to weaken your Istiqāmah, such as: recklessness, reluctance, pride, ignorance, heedlessness, being overwhelmed by a deceiving enjoyment, and being misled by self-interests and desires.
We ask Allah the most high to accept our fasting, devotion and grant us ability to continue to be steadfast in ibadat in and outside the month Ramadan. Ameen.
