بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Every person is responsible for his or her own actions, and only his or her own deeds are carried forward to the next life, starting with his grave.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, "Three things follow the bier of a dead person. Two of them come back and one is left with him: the members of his family, wealth and his good deeds. The members of his family and wealth come back and the deeds alone are left with him." [Muslim]
Ramadhan is slipping away from our fingers. Don't let these final days of Ramadhan pass you by with things that won't benefit you in your next life. Don't let anyone or anything take you away from your worship in these final days. Leave all distractions of this dunya (world). Ramadhan is going to be over before you realize it.
Allah has made this month very special -- it is the month of mercy, forgiveness and salvation from Hellfire. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to make preparations for this month 6 months in advance -- when they kept asking Allah to let them reach Ramadhan and in good health, and then for the next six months, they kept asking Allah to accept their worship of Ramadhan. This is the way of the best generation of the nation of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wassallam. They took the matter of worshiping Allah very seriously. It is their way of life.
The purpose of our existence is to worship Allah and no other (i.e the gods of this world -- those things that people are absorbed with or drawn to like money, people, things, status/prestige, places, food, news, social media network, ballgame -- creations of Allah that cause people to forget the Creator, sometimes even cause people to harm or even kill each other for).
What have we been doing this Ramadhan? In terms of worship, even our taraweeh and qiyamu alail (night prayers) in the last 10 days of Ramadhan could not even match the the Companion's one regular day in Ramadhan. But that should not stop us from trying our best. We should strive to do whatever is necessary to receive Allah's Mercy and His forgiveness and to be one of those chosen to be set free from Hellfire.
In the last 10 days of Ramadhan, Allah is choosing from those who are on the path to Hell to be set free from the Fire. Those who fast and do whatever necessary to get Allah forgiveness and receive his mercy, Allah will then decree those people be set free from entering the Hellfire.
So in these final days of Ramadhan, leave disobedience and rush to do obligatory works and supererogatory works. If you haven't been praying, start praying. If you have been lazy to wake up for Fajr, start waking up for Fajr. If you pray all five prayers everyday, add the sunnah prayers that are connected to the prayers. If you already have that in place, add the other sunnah prayers. Go to the masjid and join the taraweeh and qiyamu lail, stay up at night and read lots of Qur'an and make lots of du'a. Ask Allah for forgiveness a lot and keep asking. You ask for yourself, your parents, your family and the ummah. You can't afford to pass by these last few days.
All of us sinned and no sin should be taken lightly. Each sin do carry certain punishment in this life or the next life or both, unless it is forgiven. In this life, Allah may punish us individually or collectively or both for the sins committed. Something we should reflect when we hear the injustices and atrocities committed against the Muslims and killings of our innocent or when we hear all the calamities that are happening one after another.
We need Allah's mercy to protect us from His anger and punishment and to be set free from entering the Hellfire. Spend a little longer time in prostration during your prayers and beg Allah for His mercy and forgiveness for yourself and the Muslim ummah.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said Ameen thrice when Jibreel alayhissalaam come and said..
Ka'b Ibn Ujrah (RA) relates that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said, 'Come near to the mimbar' and we came near the mimbar. When he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) climbed the first step of the mimbar, he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said 'Ameen', When he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) ascended the second step, he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said 'Ameen', When he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) climbed the third step, he (peace be upon him) said 'Ameen' When he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) came down, We said 'O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam), we have heard from you today something which we never heard before' he (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said When I climbed the first step, the angel Jibreel appeared before me and said,
'Destruction to him who found the blessed month of Ramadhan and let it pass by without gaining forgiveness'
upon that I said ‘Ameen’. When I climbed the second step, he said,
'Destruction to him before whom your name is taken and then he does not make Du'a for Allah’s blessing on me (by saying, for example, sallallahu alayhi wassallam).”
I replied ‘Ameen’. When I climbed the third step, he said
'Destruction to him in whose lifetime his parents or either one of them reaches old age, and (through failure to serve them) he is not allowed to enter Paradise'.
I said ‘Ameen’. [Hakim]
Note: In this Hadith, it appears that Jibreel (alayhissalaam) gave expression to three curses, upon which Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said Ameen every time. Being an angel of such high mark, Jibreel‘s giving these curses is sure to be accepted.
We may at times have turned our backs on Allah through our disobedience or our wasting of time all year with all our devices and quests for material, but Allah never turns His back on us. He is always near. When you realize that Allah is near, you become different forever. What better conversation to have other than with Allah, Mighty and Majestic? Allah has blessed us with this Ramadhan so we can train ourselves to jump the hurdles and talk to Him. So spend the bulk of your time in these final days of Ramadhan with the Book of Allah by reciting, memorizing and learning it. Inshaa Allah the peace and tranquility you experience this Ramadhan will carry over after Ramadhan and for the rest of your life.
May Allah grant us good health and enable us to complete Ramadhan strong, and accept our worship. May Allah pardon us and make us among those who He decreed for complete salvation from Hellfire.
Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Allah alone grant success.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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