 ايك الذين يعتقدون ان فير الله have تقوى of الله and speak the most telling true words الله will perfect your words and forgive your sins and who so obeys Allah and his messenger has won a might un-dying triumph Dear brothers dear sisters This is the last Friday before Ramadan. All praise belongs to Allah for He bestowed upon us an immense blessing. This blessing to reach the end of Shaaban and to reach insha'Allah the beginning of Ramadan and to benefit from the opportunities that Ramadan can offer us. If you were to be asked, what is the most valuable and precious thing in your life? What is the most valuable and precious thing? What would your answer be? And what criteria would you use to answer that question? Some of us might answer property, wealth. Some of us might answer children, my family. Some of us might answer my career or my reputation. Imam Ghazali answered this question in a different way based on a different criteria. He said the most valuable thing is actually time. The most valuable thing is your life, i.e. your time. Because all that we have access to is just a little bit of time. So why is time the most precious thing? Imam Ghazali says your time is your life. Every single moment is a jewel because it is irreplaceable. Once it's gone, it's irreplaceable. Can anything be more precious than that? Once you lose it, that's it. It's gone. It's finished. So his advice to us is so only rejoice in increase in knowledge and good deeds. And Ramadan is an opportunity for us to manage our time. And to increase in knowledge and good deeds. So all praise belongs to Allah for he bestowed upon us an immense blessing. And he shielded us from the roses of Satan and his designs. Because how does Satan influence us? Satan needs channels. Shaytan needs channels. And Shaytan comes to us through our appetites. Through our lower self. When we curb our appetites, we are undermining the plots of Shaytan. Ramadan is an opportunity where Shaytan are chained. Satan's are chained. And we're curbing our appetites. And Allah has shielded us from the plots of Shaytan. And has thwarted Shaytan's hopes and designs. So he has no impact on us. And we are left with ourselves. In this month of Ramadan, 20% of the population on the earth are fasting. 1.6, 1.7 billion Muslims. And on this day, on these days, we are afraid from eating, we are afraid from drinking, we are afraid from intimate relationships during the day. We are afraid from bad habits. We are afraid from yelling. We are afraid from being disrespectful. We are afraid from hate. We control ourselves. We are not selfish. We are rather generous. We try to be generous. We are afraid from smoking for those who smoke. Afraid from gossiping, from backbiting, from slandering, from arguing, from fighting, from bad words. From all bad habits. Ramadan is a time to reset. It's a reset button. It's an opportunity that Allah has given us that every year we can start again, with a clean slate. Hopefully clean slate. If not at least the clean slate. So perhaps it's timely today, just the last week before Ramadan, is to remind ourselves with a few things to prepare for Ramadan. Most recently had been focusing on preparing for Ramadan. And we can't get enough. We're all anxious for Ramadan to come. But we want Ramadan, we want to allow Ramadan to bring out the best in us. And we want to prepare ourselves in a way that the best of us can come out in Ramadan. So to prepare for Ramadan, we're not talking about preparing for ourselves mentally, or prepare our heart. But that's what we've been talking about for the last two months, is to prepare our heart for Ramadan. Not mentally, not spiritually, but also physically, prepare your body for Ramadan. Condition your body for Ramadan. When you make a plan in Ramadan, make also a plan for your body, for your spirit, for your mind, for your heart, for your family, for your family, for your children. One of the main responsibilities as parents is to take care of our families. When Yaqub A.S. was about to die, he gathered his children around him. And he says, Who are you going to worship after me? Jacob A.S. upon his death. What was he worried about? His family. And who are his families? One of the best people on earth, including Yusuf A.S. Says, Says, we worship Allah, your God, and the God of our fathers, and the great prophets, Isaac, and Ismail, and all these prophets. Allah, سبحانه وتعالى, قلت to Ismail. عليه السلام. Because Ismail processed an amazing quality. And this quality is Ismail used to instruct his family and his children with prayer and zakat. And as a result الله was pleased with him. The Prophet ﷺ used to wake up and say He says, pray at night, don't forget your winter. Ramadan is an opportunity for us. One of the main responsibilities as parents is to make sure that we take care of our family. We take care of their Islamic upbringing. Ramadan is an opportunity for that. We can make a corner in our house. Ramadan corner and involve our children with it to decorate it or whatever. But this corner is if you have an apartment, a small corner in your apartment. If you have a house, maybe a little room in the house. Where we pray, we recite the Quran, we gather as parents and children even in five minutes a day. This is Ramadan space. Bring our children to the mosque. Many of the scholars used to bring their children and their babies to the mosque just for the blessings of listening to scholars. Because there is a blessing and this is a place where the Melaika gather. Don't we want the blessings of the Melaika and their presence? Family. Take care of our family. Take care of our body. Allow ourselves to rest a little bit. After work, rest a little bit because we have to make maybe we have to go for Taraweeh. Allow our body to rest by not eating too much. Otherwise Taraweeh will be harder on us and we will be weak the day after. Make plan for the Quran. If you want Allah SWT renew your connection with Allah SWT. How do we renew our connection with Allah SWT? Allah SWT is speaking to us through the Quran. We want Allah to speak to us. Let's recite the Quran. Make a plan for the Quran. Make a plan. Make a process. Make a schedule. What is a process? It's a bunch of steps. But not any steps. These steps have to be interrelated. They're not just random steps. It's a series of interrelated steps toward an end. There must be an end in mind. There must be a goal in mind. And this goal that we have for Ramadan let's make it simple. Let's make it realistic. Let's make it achievable. So we and our children or our family can achieve it. In the morning I'm going to read 5 minutes between this time and this time. Can I recite the Quran? If I'm driving to work I can recite while I'm driving or I can listen. But in the evening I need to have time with the Quran. By myself with my children maybe in the mosque maybe in Taraweeh and if we miss time at home we have time in the mosque. And this community here this Masjid is amazing in terms of serving its community. They're always providing things for the community. Whether it's scholars or talks or workshops or whatever. Allah سبحانه وتعالى described fasting on the tongue of His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم إن حديث قدسي that إلا الصوم فإن هو لي وإن أجزي به. says every deed up to many more except for fasting it is mine it belongs to me and I shall grant its reward. What's so special about fasting even the angels didn't know how to record the reward for fasting. So Allah سبحانه وتعالى told them إلا الصوم فإن هو لي وإن أجزي به. Allah has made fasting give it a special distinction amongst all acts of worship because all acts of worship have been violated by others. لا إله إلا الله people have worshipped many gods. حج people make pilgrimage to their gods and their idols and their lords and their beloved and their woman and whoever they love the most. Money people have violated money by giving money to their idols and what they worship. Have you ever heard anyone saying I love you so much and because I love you so much I'm going to show my love by not eating for six hours that hasn't happened people don't use fasting to show love to someone or to worship someone إلا صوم فإن هو لي it shows that you are in love with Allah سبحانه وتعالى and you are to show your love for fasting the Prophet ﷺ described fasting as أصيام وجنة i.e. fasting is a shield fasting is a citadel that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given us and allowed his chosen servants to enter in this citadel and this citadel will protect us protect us in the month of Ramadan after the month of Ramadan from the plots and designs of Satan and of ourselves so the soul at peace can subdue its enemies in its adversaries in Ramadan we discipline our soul in Ramadan we refine our character in Ramadan we continue to purify our heart in Ramadan we reconnect with our Lord in Ramadan we fast out of love fasting is no longer a burden fasting is something we enjoy we can't wait for Ramadan to come when كولفة becomes كالفة when a burden becomes a joy would you like to work for a company when you don't enjoy your job why would you spend seven years working for a job that you don't like and you don't enjoy if you have to do something you might as well enjoy it and the Awliya and the good people the عبادة جعلت كورة عيني في الصلاة the comfort of my eyes and prayer as the Prophet ﷺ says when the act of worship is no longer they no longer they imply hardship or imply burden or imply anything but they imply that we are going to enjoy them it's a joy it's a pleasure we do it out of love and it shows our deepest commitment our deepest commitment is to Allah Ramadan at the end I'll end with these words Ramadan strips us down completely and humbles us Ramadan for those who are not familiar with Ramadan it hurts our ego especially when we live in a society that prides itself on wealth and on excess on the spectacles and all these things in Ramadan sometimes we feel small and powerless and we realize that our culture has deluded us and it's very easy to lose perspective in Ramadan we want to regain the perspective Ramadan humbles us Ramadan teaches us patience and patience Allah rewards those who are patient without measures and teaches us control Ramadan by the end of Ramadan when we cross the finish line our ego is reset and we start all over again I'll end with these words الحمد لله كثيرا كما أمر وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن سيدنا ونبينا محمدا عبده ورسوله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم كل ما تمتعت عينهم بنظر ووعت أزنهم بخبر عباد الله إتكوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عمانها عنه وزجر وأخرجوا حبة الدنيا وعلموا أن الله عز وجل أمركم بأمر عميم بدأ فيه بنفسه وسنى بملائكة قدسه فقال عز من قائل عليما إن الله وملائكته يصلون على النبي يا أيول الذين آمنه صلوا عليه وسلموا تسليمها اللهم فصلوا وسلموا بارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله سيدنا محمد صلاة وسلاما دائما متلازما إلى يوم الدين ورضي الله عن السادة الخلفاء الصحابة النجباء أبي بكرن وعمر وعوسمان وعلي وعن سائر الصحابة والقرابة والتابعين ومن تبيعهم بيحسان إلى يوم الدين اللهم أنصر الإسلام والمسلمين وأعلى يا مولان كلمة الإيمان والحق والدين اللهم من أراد بالإسلام والمسلمين خيرا فوفقوا لكل خير ومن أراد بالإسلام والمسلمين غير ذلك فخوزه اللهم اختر للمسلمين والمسلمات والمؤمنين والمؤمنات الأحياء منهم والأموات إن كياما ولانا سميع قريبا مجيب الدعوات عباد الله إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإتائد الخربة وينه عن الفحشاء والمون كار والبغي يعيز قم لعل لكم تذكرون واقم الصلاة اللهم أكمر أشهد ولا إله إلا الله يلتخل محمد رسول الله حيا على الصلاة حيا على الفلاح قد قامت الصلاة الله أكمر الله أكمر لا إله إلا الله يستقيموا أقوموا بداية لا تختلفوا الله أكهم بر بسم الله الرحمن الحمد لله ربي العالمين الرحمن الرحيم مالك يوم الدين إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين إهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغنوب عليهم وللللللين بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إن أعطينا كلك وسر فسل لربك وانحر إن شانئك هو الأبتر الله أكثر