40- The Fasting of Ramadan

40- The Fasting of Ramadan

The First Khutbah
All praises are due to Allah who has made Paradise the reward for the righteous and opened up a door for the worshippers. I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the uniquely one who has no partners in His one-ness. And I testify that our Sayyid, our Prophet, Muhammad is the slave of Allah and His Messenger, may the peace and blessings upon him and upon whomsoever follows them in guidance.

To continue: I advise you slaves of Allah and myself with the Taqwa of Allah, as Allah says: 

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا ‌سَلَامٌ ‌عَلَيْكُمْ ‌طِبْتُمْ ‌فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, "Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein," [they will enter]. [Qur'an: 39:73]

O Believers:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
إِذَا جَاءَ رَمَضَانُ؛ فُتِحَتْ ‌أَبْوَابُ ‌الْجَنَّةِ
When Ramadan comes, the doors of Ramadan are opened. [Bukhari and Muslim]

So, we have the blessings of this blessed month coming to us, in which Allah opens for us the door of Paradise, with all its greatness and expansiveness. In it are opened various ways for worshippers to enter the doors of devotion unto Allah, which eases their way unto Paradise.

From the types of worship that opens up the doors unto Paradise is of course the fasting in the month, about which our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:
وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الصِّيَامِ؛ دُعِيَ مِنْ بَابِ الرَّيَّانِ
Those who fast will be invited to enter by the gate al-Rayyan (gate to enter Paradise) [Bukhari and Muslim]

Likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 

إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ بَابًا يُقَالُ لَهُ الرَّيَّانُ، يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ الصَّائِمُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، لَا يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ، يُقَالُ: أَيْنَ الصَّائِمُونَ؟ فَيَقُومُونَ لَا يَدْخُلُ مِنْهُ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُمْ، فَإِذَا دَخَلُوا ‌أُغْلِقَ، ‌فَلَمْ ‌يَدْخُلْ ‌مِنْهُ ‌أَحَدٌ
There is a gate in Paradise called Al-Rayyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Indeed, fasting is amongst the greatest of deeds, through it Allah removes the sins from people.

As the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
‌مَنْ ‌صَامَ ‌رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا؛ غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven. [Bukhari and Muslim]

The person fasting joins between forgiveness from his fast and the forgiveness acquired through his nightly prayers, about which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا؛ غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
He who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from God will have his past sins forgiven. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Through this a person will be from those who succeed by attaining unto the Paradise of felicity. So O Allah, open up for us Your doors of obedience and piety, and bless us with entering into Your paradise.

I say this and seek forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness for He is the most-forgiving.

Second Khutbah
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet after whom there is no other, and upon his companions and those that follow him, until the Last Day.

Slaves of Allah:
Paradise is the abode of felicity, about which Allah says:
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا فَفِي ‌الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ
And as for those who were [destined to be] prosperous, they will be in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord should will - a bestowal uninterrupted. [Qur'an: 11:108]

The inhabitants of Paradise were given this felicity completely without any lack. And fasting is a door that is open and a path that has been facilitated for us. So as we are on the onset of this blessed month, let us ask Allah to make us reach this month, for it is a noble month, whose time we should invest in, both the night and day. Let us be committed to the obligations, to performing the Taraweeh night prayers, to reading the Qur'an, and other acts of devotion. And let us commit our families – the men and the women, the young and old, to sharing the moments of this month, to breaking the fasts together, sharing care and affection amongst ourselves, that comes from the family atmosphere. For strengthening family ties builds compassion, increases community coherence and spreads peace. This includes acts of feeding others, helping the sick, whilst holding forth and adhering to the precautionary procedures necessitated in the current circumstances.  These are all acts of devotion to Allah, and they bring an increase in the reward we can acquire in this month of blessings.