All praise is due to Allah. He answers the supplications of His servants and grant them what they need. I bear witness that there is deity save Allah, having no associates. He is the Lord of the earth and the heavens. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his pure blessed family and companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment. As to what follows, I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted, in line with His orders: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.” (Al-Baqara: 21).
The title of today’s khutbah is Ramadan, the month of supplications O Observers of Fasting, We are in the month of Ramadan, a blessed month in which the believers invoke their Lord frequently and hope that their invocations get answered by the Almighty. Thus, it is recommended for the fasting Muslims to seize the opportunity of the holy month in praising their Lord as befitting to His Supreme status. They should also pray to Allah to invoke peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah pbuh and ask for Allah’s forgiveness. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, “Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, said, ‘O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind.” Allah, the Almighty, shows kindness to His fasting servants. Thus, He answers their supplications, fulfils their needs, and forgives their sins. Indeed, the invocations of the fasting person is never rejected. The Prophet pbuh said, “Indeed, Allah has people whom He frees (from the Fire), and this happens every day and night. Each of them had a supplication that was answered.” On the same matter, Allah, the Most Exalted, says, “call upon Me; I will respond to you.” (Ghafir: 60). More to the point, Allah, the Most High, praised His servants who invoked him and sought His refuge. For instance, the Most Exalted says about His Prophets, “indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 90). Moreover, all the Ayas related to fasting in the holy Quran urged Muslims to make supplications to Allah during Ramadan, in an indication to the strong association between fasting and Dhikr. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “and when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.” (Al-Baqara: 186). The Almighty also says, “indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night.” (Al-Dukhan: 3). It is a blessed night because Allah responds to the supplications in it. Our Master Muhammad pbuh valued highly the last ten days of Ramadan. In these days, he used to strive hard in acts of worship and obedience more than in any other times. This is because in these days fells Laylat Al Qadr (Night of Decree) which is better than a thousand months. Similarly, the Prophet’s companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to revive this night with sincere supplications and humbly imploring to Allah. For instance, it was reported that the Mother of Believers, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “I asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! If I realise Laylat Al Qadr, what should I supplicate in it?’ He pbuh replied, ‘you should supplicate: O Allah, You are the Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness; so forgive me.”On a related note, please know that there are certain blessed times at which supplications to Allah, the Almighty, are more likely to be heard and answered. These are: late at night and after each prescribed prayer. In this regard, it was narrated that Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah: ‘which supplication is most likely to be listened to?’ He said: ‘(During) the last part of thenight, and at the end of the obligatory prayers’. Moreover, Allah, the Most Gracious, also responds to the invocations that are said while in prostration. At such time, the believer will be theclosest to his Lord. As an emphasis on this, Allah, the Almighty, told his Prophet pbuh, “but prostrate and draw near [to Allah].” (Al- Alaq: 19). For this reason, the Messenger of Allah pbuh urged us to supplicateoften during prostration as he said, “The nearest a servant can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so invoke Allah much in it.” O People of Invocations This calls for a question about what to supplicate to Allah, the Almighty, for and why. The answer is that we make Duaa (supplication) to Allah to bestow his blessings upon ourselves, our parents, our family, relatives and all the believers. By so doing, we will be following in steps of Prophet Ibrahim pbuh who supplicated for his parents and all the faithful believers. About him, Allah, the Most Exalted says, “our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.” (Ibrahim: 41). In like manner, invoking Allah to bless our sons, daughters and offspring is a recommended act of goodness. Allah, the Most Merciful, emphasised this when spoke in His Book about the supplications of Ibrahim pbuh. The Almighty says, رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ “my Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.” (Ibrahim: 40). n another level, parents are also advised to make supplications for their children because their invocations will, by Allah’s grace, be answered. In evidence of this, it was narrated that the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “Three supplications are answered, there being no doubt about them;” and he mentioned “that of a father.” Thus, father should invoke Allah to grant his children success and guidance. Likewise, mother should supplicate to Allah to bless her children with welfare and happiness. Moreover, husband should supplicate for his wife and the wife for husband. In many places in the holy Quran, Allah advised us about the invocations that the righteous people supplicate, of which the Almighty mentions, “our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.” (Al-Furqan: 74). Amongst the other important prayers that a Muslim should make is Duaa for their homeland to be blessed with stability and welfare as Ibrahim pbuh asked His Lord: “my Lord, make this city [Makkah] secure.” (Ibrahim: 35). We should also pray to Allah to bestow upon our nation prosperity and blessings just like when our Master Muhammad supplicated for Medina saying, “O Allah! Bless for us our city, and bless for us our fruits, and bless for us our Mudd, and bless for us our Saa (these are two measures used in Medina), blessing upon blessing.” Muslims should also supplicate to Allah to protect and grant success to the ruler. One of the righteous scholars said in this regard, “Should I have one accepted supplication, I would have made it for the ruler, because he is a reason for protecting religion, the worldly affairs, stability of the nation and happiness of people.” On another level, when one is not pleased with his brother Muslim, he should invoke Allah for his good for the supplication for others in their absence will be answered. The Prophet pbuh said, “The supplication of a Muslim for his (Muslim) brother in his absence will certainly be answered. By his head there is an angel who is appointed for this particular task. Every time he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel says: ‘Ameen! May it be for you, too’. Following the guidance of the Prophet pbuh, the righteous ancestors used to supplicate to their Muslim brothers. For instance, one of the righteous people once supplicated for his friend and said, “O Allah! Please make him busy with your obedience he who distracted me from your obedience.” Allah, the Almighty, answered his supplication and his friend engaged diligently in Hajj and acts of worship. With this in mind, let us beseech Allah, the Bestower of favours and bounties, to provide for us sincere supplications and good refuge, for He is the One who hears the prayers and nothing on earth or the heaven can cause failure to Him. Second Sermon All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou¬¬r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment. I urge you, O servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Sublime and Exalted. O Worshipers, Please be aware that it is advised when invoking Allah for blessings to do so while trusting that Allah, the Almighty, will answer your supplications. The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.” Furthermore, there are certain etiquettes that one is recommended to following when making Duaa. One should start his supplications with praising Allah, the Most Exalted, as befitting to His Supreme status, then invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh, and then make the supplication and repeat it. Indeed, when the Messenger of Allah pbuh prayed, he prayed three times, and when he asked for Allah’s blessings, he did so three times. It is, therefore, such a success for those who engaged in Duaa to Allah for the Most Exalted is indeed, Generous and does not reject the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Him and never disappoint those who put hope in Him. An illustration of this can be found in the following Hadith in which the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “Indeed, you Lord is Modest and Generous, and would never turn the hands of a servant without gain when he raises them to Him (in supplication).”
1 Comment
Tawfeeq alsanoosy
5/1/2019 04:55:22 am
jazakallah khair
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