 The idea of Ramadan is for us to be able to achieve consciousness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and at the same time forgiveness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala As we know the Quran Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made mention of it quite clearly where he says كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب علي الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون Fasting has been prescribed upon you just as it was upon those before you so that you may achieve taqwa and taqwa would mean the consciousness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala My brothers and sisters also what we've learnt from the mouth of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and his blessed lips Whoever has fasted correctly in the month of Ramadan with belief and conviction expecting a reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he or she will achieve forgiveness for everything they've done in the past they will come out of the month of Ramadan pure and clean without any sin may Allah make us from amongst those and the hadith says whosoever stands at night in salah correctly throughout the month of Ramadan for them will be a similar reward on condition that it is done with conviction no laziness and it is done expecting a reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala remember when we worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we are not doing him a favor instead he has done us a favor subhanallah may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us from his mercy so once we have achieved this forgiveness and once we have achieved the levels of piety better than they were prior to Ramadan what should we do post Ramadan what should we do after Ramadan one of the signs my brothers and sisters of an accepted season of fasting and standing in salah one of the signs of an accepted Ramadan is that our life changes even if it were to mean or even if it was to mean just by a few inches but the life has changed if my life changes after Ramadan it means my Ramadan was correct if my life becomes better after Ramadan it means my Ramadan was correct but if my life goes back to where it was before Ramadan then I wasted my Ramadan you know Shaytan as we have learned from the blessed lips of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam the devils or the main devils are tied up in the month of Ramadan so what would happen is it is an opportunity for us to develop ourselves without major interference although the little devils are there and sometimes we become devils ourselves my brothers and sisters it's important for us to know that Allah has blessed us by telling us and informing us that the major devils are tied up in the month of Ramadan so my brothers and sisters what they do sometimes they keep us in a certain place they tie us down there before Ramadan as Ramadan goes we happen to do whatever we do in the month of Ramadan the day we see the Eid or the moon of the Eid we go back to exactly where we were prior to Ramadan what was the point my brothers and sisters this is why promise Allah that this Eid we will not engage in that which will earn the wrath of Allah or make him displeased with us the reason is as soon as we see the moon two things happen one is Ramadan comes to an end that is also very sad Eid is declared that is something happy because we deserve a day of rejoicing after so much of worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intense worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but the second thing that happens my brothers and sisters those devils who were tied prior to Ramadan they are released subhanallah and this is why may Allah protect us from the devil on the day of Eid many people without knowing or sometimes knowingly they start to commit sins that displease Allah yet it is the day of pleasure the day to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so the clothing that we are wearing on the day of Eid especially when it comes to our sisters let us make sure that it is cut in a way that will please Allah it is his day it is his day whatever we plan to do on that day we should never plan to do anything that will displease Allah look my brothers and sisters every time there is a happy occasion we celebrate it by increasing the acts of worship so I explained to you when it comes to marriage what a happy occasion we have an extra khutbah when it comes to Jumu'ah what a happy occasion we have a khutbah that is something that is not there on other days when it comes to Eid the happiness of a Muslim is shown by extra worship so we have Salatul Eid we have an extra prayer on that particular day this is how we as believers show our happiness and gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by obeying him more by doing things that will please him look at the other Eid that we will be having insha'Allah in approximately two and a half months from now we find the Eid where we will be sacrificing that is an extra act of worship for the sake of Allah this is how we declare our happiness we have never been taught to declare our happiness by doing that which will displease Allah we have meetings with the opposite sex on the day of Eid to go back and do whatever we did not do in the month of Ramadan in terms of sin is that what Eid is all about sometimes we become involved in gluttony to the degree that we eat as though we are doing Qadha of what we have missed in the month of Ramadan if that is the case we have missed the point it is a day of eating but it is not a day of gluttony may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us it is not a day when we are supposed to eat until we get sick that is not Eid Eid is a day when we are conscious of Allah we thank him for having given us a beautiful season and having come out with the forgiveness this is why my brothers and sisters are you aware of the fact that the eve of the Eid once the moon is sighted it is known as leilat ul ja'iza it is known as the eve of prize giving and this is why in one narration the prophet says that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala calls out to his angels on that eve and he asks them what do you think the reward of a slave who has fulfilled his job is they will say oh our lord it is to be given what he was promised so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says all my worshippers who have fasted for me who have prayed for me oh my angels I let you bear witness that I have forgiven them completely it is the night of forgiveness when the prizes are given you know a child who has been to the school through the year and worked very hard is a child that deserves the prize and there will be a night where that prize is actually given to the child making the child feel happy what about the prize dished out by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that is forgiveness and freedom from jahannam if I were to die now I have no hope but in the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala may Allah have mercy on myself and yourself my brothers and sisters this is the reason why straight after Ramadan we are not supposed to forget what fasting is all about the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says Mansama Ramadana thumma atba'ahu sitam min shawwal kana ka sayyamid dahab fasts the whole month of Ramadan and then follows it up by fasting the month of shawwal after the day of Eid 6 days they do not need to be consecutive but they will be after Eid sometime in the month of shawwal 6 more days they will have the reward of having fasted the whole year so for now we have the reward of having fasted Ramadan you want to multiply it if you want the reward of having fasted you need to fast 6 more voluntary days that do not need to be consecutive but in the month of shawwal how is it that we will then achieve the reward of the whole year well it is explained quite simply that in Islam when you do a good deed if you follow it through with goodness it is multiplied tenfold subhanallah if I read a Salah and I follow it through with goodness I do not harm after that I do not sin after that and so on in the sense that I do not usurp the rights of others or the rights of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then it is multiplied by ten so one month of Ramadan multiplied by ten you get ten months the reward of ten months how many months remaining two how many days in two months sixty days divided by ten six days so if I were to fast another six days multiplied by ten in terms of reward I am having a sixty days of reward one month is equivalent to ten months plus another sixty days which is two months the whole year that is the idea of fasting in the month of shawwal that is the idea insha'Allah I encourage you although it is not compulsory but I encourage you my brothers and sisters this year let us make an effort once in our lives a few times in our lives make an effort to fast in shawwal for those six days after the day of Eid and if we do it more collectively with a few more people it becomes much more easier than to do it individually whenever we do an act of worship even if it is Salah or the recitation of Quran or anything when we are alone sometimes we find it a little bit more difficult the minute we see others doing the same it becomes easier my brothers and sisters may Allah make us regular with Salatul Jama'ah and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us regular with that which is congregational in terms of the prayer as well as the fast may Allah make us from those who can fast my brothers and sisters I can inform you of what else to be done post Ramadan we take a look at where we have got to in terms of our prayer that is Salah a lot of us Masha'Allah we have read Salatul Taraweeh and we have tried to read it as correctly as possible that is a long lengthy Salah at night now outside Ramadan the minimum make sure you do not miss your Farad Salah this is something important it is a simple request an obligation from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if I could read extra Salah for one whole month every single night for half an hour, one hour, one and a half hours two hours subhanallah depending on how much you read and where you went and how slow or quick they were reading may Allah accept it from us but if I was reading so much surely it would be made easy for me to read at least my Farad so my brothers and sisters post Ramadan do not miss your Farad Salah try and increase even your sunnah and nafil and when we fulfill our Farad Salah make sure we take our time make sure that you are giving a gift to Allah don't rush in that gift Allahu Akbar when you are giving a gift to Allah do not rush in that gift subhanallah because that is a unique gift that we give it to Allah but the benefit is actually ours not his unique gift may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness what is for he who takes greater care when preparing what to give to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala another point after Ramadan we need to continue to be charitable brothers and sisters we never know when is the time of acceptance of prayer we never know which day Allah might forgive us so set aside a small charity on a daily basis even if it means putting a little tin on the fridge back at home and putting in a coin every day it is worth your while the day we die we will be able to see the reward of those single dollars and single ring gates and single rands that we have put into a little coin box subhanallah and when it is full we give it out in charity may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept it from us do not forget to be charitable but remember one thing charity begins at home the way you treat your wife the way you treat your spouse the way you treat your children be very careful in the month of Ramadan we were careful what went into our mouth we also need to be careful what comes out of the same mouth my brothers and sisters many of us will never touch haram the minute we hear that there is a little pork ingredient in something the whole world gets up and cries because we don't want haram to go into our mouths why don't the same people worry about haram coming out of their mouths on a daily basis when they are swearing when they are cheating my brothers and sisters we can put an end to this if only we fast correctly in the month of Ramadan fasting does not only mean to stay away from food and drink and sexual desires that are permissible but it actually also means to be conscious of what comes out of the same mouth Malam yadah qawla azzuri wa n'amalabihi wa l-jahl fa laisa lillahi hajatun fi an yadah a ta'amahu wa sharada whoever has not protected themselves from bad words whilst they were fasting and from bearing false witness and from utterances that are unacceptable then they have wasted their time staying away from food and drink Allah says we don't need that Allah swt forgive us truly my brothers and sisters in Ramadan we are trained how to live for the rest of the month of the year let us hope that we can achieve something so our dress code improves our prayer improves how we speak improves our charity improves and everything will improve on top of that we have the months of Hajj that have already commenced as soon as the moon is sighted once the moon is sighted the months of Hajj commence those whom Hajj is compulsory upon you need to try and make an effort to go we need to apply to the authorities and we do know in most of the countries there is a quota so we need to apply well in advance may Allah swt accept it from us all nowadays it is not like a long time ago when we can decide last minute to go for Hajj nowadays we need to decide a year in advance and perhaps begin to apply well in advance if we don't get it one year we will get it the next year depending on which country you live in may Allah swt make it easy for us so my brothers and sisters it is important for us to note that the day of the day of happiness we will eat we will declare the greatness of Allah Allah has given us a great day so that we can be thankful complete the prescribed time and at the same time we will declare the greatness of Allah this is one of the declarations of the greatness of Allah that we will be using on the day of Eid may Allah accept it from us but my brothers and sisters remember one thing if you have a sickness you are prescribed you are given a prescription by a doctor and the doctor will tell you how many tablets to have and the same doctor will tell you when to have it in the day and how long to have it for and perhaps if it is a course the doctor will tell you to make sure that even if you get better before you complete your medication make sure you complete the medication the same applies the word prescription is used for fasting in the Quran kutiba aleikum it has been prescribed upon you why because the diseases of the heart are dealt with in the month of Ramadan the 30 day period is exactly correct if it was less it was not going to help us if it was more it cannot help us people might get bored perhaps it will be too long but 30 days is exactly correct you and I know uniquely designed by our maker one month of the year you will be engaged in different type of act of worship and that is fasting and standing at night from amongst those nights one of the nights is given a lot of multiplication in power and it is known as the night of decree it is better than a thousand months it may have passed and it may be coming perhaps on the 29th it still may be there we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us from those who are forgiven in this beautiful month so my brothers and sisters complete the month correctly do not become in the mode of Eid before the time of Eid sometimes once the Quran is completed in the masjid the masjid is empty everyone is gone where are they gone subhanallah they are resting because the Quran we've heard the whole Quran now it's okay we will wait for the moon if that is the case you are similar to a person who has not completed their course of antibiotics perhaps when the disease strikes again you might be one of the first to be struck may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us this is why complete the course to the last minute be enthusiastic because perhaps the last moments of Ramadan might be those moments where forgiveness is being dished out by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala I don't want to be sleeping at that time and I don't want to be a person who is now in the relaxed mode it is better for a person to have started Ramadan with ease and become more serious at the end than a person who started very seriously and started easing at the end my brothers and sisters the reason I say this is quite simple because Allah has chosen it not to be from amongst the first night but it is from amongst the last night to show us that the power lies in the last moments may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us not from amongst those who calm themselves down at the end but rather we be from those who start increasing acts of worship sometimes we complete what is known as a khatam of the Quran our own reading and we say I am happy I finished my recitation and we pack the Quran away no start another one even if you do not complete the next one but at least you started it it shows your dedication to Allah the dedication to the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brothers and sisters a beautiful day a day of Eid a day when we will remember those who are struggling across the globe we will remember those who have lost their lives in the month of Ramadan those who were with us at the beginning of Ramadan and they are no longer with us may Allah grant them Jannah those who have lost their lives in the tragedies that we have been struck with of late may Allah protect us from further tragedy and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them Jannah may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala open their doors and hours perhaps we might never see another Ramadan again we might be gone by the time the next Ramadan is in place and the others are busy saying that man or that sister or that was with us last Ramadan they are there no more so make use of these days whilst they are here brothers and sisters they will definitely be from amongst us those who are not going to make it to the next Ramadan definitely they are from amongst us the only thing is we don't know whether we are included in those names so may Allah forgive us may Allah have mercy on us may Allah have mercy on those who are suffering across the globe here we are preparing for Eid whilst others are struggling without food without shelter some are suffering subhanallah in ways that we cannot describe it's important for us to reach out to them through our prayer to remember them on a day of happiness my brothers and sisters to reach out to them with a little bit of clothing to reach out to them with a little bit of food and to continue to strive until we earn the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala my brothers and sisters it is important for us to continue and to continue until the day we die worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala never lose hope everyone has to go back to their maker because the maker only made us for a short period of time in this world the eternal life is that which is to come so prepare using what you have been given in this life for that which will be eternal may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all goodness